Modern Plastic Surgery

October 25, 2007 10:10 PM

Be a Music Faun Yourself.A sign of the popularity of this operation is that in big cities so-called Faun-Clubs are founded one after another, where entrance is only allowed with pointed ears. The reverberating success of this new look is supported by more and more celebrities with pointed ears, amongst whom we can find not only musicians, but, for example, models, as well. via
posted by squalor (33 comments total)

Fake, yes?
posted by arcticwoman at 10:14 PM on October 25, 2007

Next up: Furries vs Vulcans.
posted by Kinbote at 10:16 PM on October 25, 2007

PLEASE BE REAL OH MY GOD
posted by Sticherbeast at 10:17 PM on October 25, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

This is fake, right? Right?! RIGHT?!?!?! FOR THE LOVE OF ZOG AND EVERYTHING MOLEY PLEASE BE FAKE!!!!!!
posted by Kattullus at 10:25 PM on October 25, 2007

This is exactly the kind of crazy surgical option that people come to me for. I can't tell you who I've performed the procedure on, nor what the side effects may include, but it doesn't not work!
posted by Dr. Spaceman at 10:29 PM on October 25, 2007 [5 favorites has favorites]

They don't joke about total pointy ear reconstruction in Hungary, at least not according to my Hungarian elf acquaintances.
posted by aaronetc at 10:33 PM on October 25, 2007

I don’t speak Hungarian, but words like “megabullshitbombát” I can understand.
posted by tepidmonkey at 10:37 PM on October 25, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

That's some niiiiice photoshopping. Would be more convincing if it were less obvious from the hair and blemishes that all the after pictures were taken within moments of the befores.
posted by damehex at 10:41 PM on October 25, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

The only thing that changes is the shirts, everyone's hair is the exact same length (which if it was weeks later after a surgery, it obviously wouldn't be) and for the guys at least stubble length is also identical. Oh well, it would make going to concerts more of an adventure.
posted by KingoftheWhales at 11:02 PM on October 25, 2007

HaHaHaHaHa! Those Eastern Europeans are always so far behind the trends!

in big cities so-called Faun-Clubs are founded one after another, where entrance is only allowed with pointed ears.

Yeah, in freaking *2004*, they were! Now, you can't get into a club unless you've had your eyelids surgically removed. Get with the times, Hungary, if you ever want us to take you seriously in the hipster stakes!
posted by UbuRoivas at 11:06 PM on October 25, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Ear pointing body modification. Wikipedia entry.

Bonus weird link, world's largest stretched earlobes, close-up.
posted by nickyskye at 11:32 PM on October 25, 2007

Does this mean my naturally pointy ears will finally make me cool?
posted by jacalata at 11:55 PM on October 25, 2007

Are we going to catalogue every new hoax that comes along now?
posted by freshwater_pr0n at 12:00 AM on October 26, 2007

...and then there is this.
posted by nightchrome at 12:46 AM on October 26, 2007

Uhm... ow. Those pics make me feel about as queasy as when I see AFVs of skateboarders smashing their nuts into handrails.

...I bet my ex-wife has had this 'procedure' done by now. Ew.
posted by ZachsMind at 2:06 AM on October 26, 2007

Does this mean my naturally pointy ears will finally make me cool?

Yeah, sure they're natural.
posted by Sparx at 2:31 AM on October 26, 2007

That gave me a pleasant "well, I never..." moment.
Credulous fool.
posted by Jody Tresidder at 5:25 AM on October 26, 2007

...and then there is this.

Maybe they should have gotten rid of that awesome hairy mole while they were at it, too.
posted by SPUTNIK at 6:05 AM on October 26, 2007

It's weird, to me, how voluntary surgery (like the woman nightchrome linked) can make so squeamish.

...when from a strictly ethical standpoint, I don't care at all. More power to her. Hell, from a pure gore standpoint, I also shouldn't care -- I've personally seen die horrible horrible deaths and they didn't bother me.

But a couple stitches in an ear & I'm all squirmy.
posted by aramaic at 6:53 AM on October 26, 2007

Dammit, no caffeine: "can make me so squeamish"
posted by aramaic at 6:54 AM on October 26, 2007

mmm... T'Pol.
posted by John Kenneth Fisher at 7:35 AM on October 26, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Among all the goofy-ass stuff I've seen from the BME ilk, I like the pointy ear thing the best. Kinda cool, actually.

heh: "music-faun"
posted by everichon at 8:19 AM on October 26, 2007

Dr. Lajos Nagy, who is currently practicing in New York

This is supposed to be some kind of "Big Louie" joke, right?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:37 AM on October 26, 2007

Or maybe not. Carry on.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:39 AM on October 26, 2007

This is the only kind of plastic surgery I've ever remotely considered. I wouldn't really want to be associated with the music-faun community though.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 9:26 AM on October 26, 2007

real or not, the idea that this would improve rather than destroy your hearing is totally stupid.

The brain apparatus for doing things like stereo sound localization (figuring out where a sound is coming from front, back left right has to do with both the co-evolution of ear shape with neuroanatomical structures (nature), but also the tuning over a lifetime of experience (nurture) with a specific set of ears (your ears!)

Any modification of your ears is most likely to interfere with rather than enhance your hearing abilities.

Now you could imagine modifications that would improve one aspect of your hearing over another, for example you could sacrifice some degree of localization to improve directional amplification of sounds for example by making your ears into cone shapes.

Anyhow, probably too long of an explanation based on a story that probably has no basis in truth to begin with...
posted by mikojava at 10:12 AM on October 26, 2007

*rolls-eyes, keeps-on-walkin*
posted by jeffamaphone at 10:55 AM on October 26, 2007

This... this is like making you into a permafurry? I don't understand.
posted by Baby_Balrog at 1:34 PM on October 26, 2007

"You got your LARP in my BMEZine! You got your BMEZine in my LARP!"
posted by Cassilda at 2:22 PM on October 26, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Human ears and our auditory tuning are geared to detect vocalizations from other humans, preferentially, not the sounds made by prey. Vocalizations (language) are more important to us than hearing other frequencies. Besides, it isn't like changing the shape of your ear will change the frequency preferences or range within the cochlea anyway.

Look for stories on people who have lost ears due to burns, etc., and how well they hear without external pinnae. Replacing them with a prosthetic ear improves the ability to hear and localize the source of language and other sounds. According to this bullshit hoax, birds with great hearing have no pinnae - so cutting our ears off completely would benefit our auditory skills, not harm them as real life examples actually show.

Dumb.
posted by caution live frogs at 2:28 PM on October 26, 2007

clf and mikojava, are you really saying that pinching the tops of your ears together will have a noticeable impact on hearing? Clearing it can't improve hearing, but will it really make things worse?
posted by Squid Voltaire at 3:05 PM on October 26, 2007

I don't think this is about improving hearing. I don't think people who need to do this would mind much if it left them deaf.

I bet my sister would consider doing this. She used to have a crush on Spock when we were kids.

...ow! No really that's just all kinds of ow.
posted by ZachsMind at 4:02 PM on October 26, 2007

There is of course no chance she will regret this once she stops playing World of Warcraft 17 hours per day.

Of course not.
posted by Ynoxas at 9:09 PM on October 26, 2007