Re Shannon's death: You can check wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shannon_Larratt which does not say much. But the post on the Zentastic blog http://www.zentastic.com/blog/makes it pretty clear that Shannon had been suffering for some time - without much public complaint. (Please read it, there is some great writing there). Whatever finally happened is not important. I don't think anyone who has no close experience of a terminal illness can comment about a person's final days. Shannon Larratt was a pioneer in the bodymod community, there wasn't much before bmezine was there? Let us respect his contribution to our lives.
Agreed Buster thx for the info. The interactions I've had with Shannon over the years were all positive. It was a privilege to have known him even as an acquaintance and I do indeed appreciate everything he did for the community. RIP.