Circumcision

Dare I speak of the unspeakable?

Why, yes, I think I shall do just that.

Annie posted an excerpt from an interesting study that seems as flawed and untruthful as it is misguided and cruel.  To summarize, the study claims that male circumcision causes no irreparable harm or loss of sexual function.

Pray tell, how would anyone know that?  You can’t claim a control group in this matter.  Those who are uncircumcised do not know what it feels like to grow up being circumcised, and the reciprocal is likewise true.  And because each person, male or female, experiences different sexual sensations and sensitivities, it’s impossible to make any such claim without a parenthetical note stating your entire study is bullshit.

Then come the great Jewish defenders (because the practice is and of itself a Jewish religious tradition without any medical need or reason).  If I call the practice barbaric, I’m anti-Semitic.

Not.

I’m realistic and a believer in personal choice and rights.  It has nothing whatsoever to do with disliking Semites in any way.  I’m far from bigoted. . .  Well, I don’t like stupid people, but that’s different.

Yet I’m suddenly an enemy of Israel for saying circumcision is uncivilized and unnecessary.

It is uncivilized and unnecessary, damn it!

In fact, it’s butchery of the most despicable kind, for it’s perpetrated on babies when they feel the pain yet have no ability to offer an opinion.  What if they don’t want their bodies modified, cut up with abandon and no justification?  Should the choice not be left to them when they can fully evaluate the issue?

Medicine proved decades ago it was not required for health.  Therefore, the only reason to continue the practice is to wield some level of control over men.  For you see, we stopped female circumcision a very long time ago because it was considered primitive, invasive, destructive.  But not so with men.  They need to be controlled, restrained, shown who’s in charge and how much damage can be done if they don’t stay in line with primal beliefs stemming from ancient mythologies and superstition.

Stop hacking away at newborns as though they are a cut of meat at the butcher’s shop.  Leave them as they are.

And for those who are religious, I ask this simple question: If your god made you in his/her/its image, why on Earth would you promptly modify that before the person in question even has a say?  Does your god’s image disgust you so much that you must adapt it, even with blade in hand, so that it becomes more aesthetically pleasing or acceptable?  Or does that same image disgust your deity so much that you’ve been commanded to change it before the life in question can decide if your god deserves worship and obedience?

Disgusting.

How apropos

“In a cat’s eye, all things belong to cats.”

— English proverb

A close-up of Kako's eyes in natural light (205_0515)

You have no idea how true that quote is when it comes to Kako. . .  In her case, all she surveys belongs to her; every living thing her subject, every object a slave to her whims, and every inch of space her domain to command.

Whether to rent or buy, the quest is on

In earnest have I begun my search for a new habitat.  One not in Dallas, that is.

But not just a place to live, mind you, but employment.

If I’m to make good on my self-imposed deadline of EOY 2007 to flee from concrete jungles in favor of a less crowded place to live, I must also ensure appropriate income to keep the family safe and comfortable.

This represents yet another drag on my time, of course.  That can’t be helped.

I need to get out of here.  I need to get another job.  I need to find a home closer to the family farm and, to a lesser degree, further away from humanity’s bungling colonies and deeper within nature’s grasp.

I dare not predict how all of this will go.  My present living costs will increase should I not extend them for at least six months.  I won’t do that.

The very idea of uprooting my entire household in order to move hours away (at least) is a daunting task I feel I must tackle.

So now it becomes of the utmost importance.

Do I find temporary housing at rental costs so that I might escape sooner rather than later?  Or do I hunt a purchase so that the relocation is less temporary than it might otherwise be?

No matter the answers, the quest is on.

let there be new flowering

(196_9699)
breathe these last and first like we
and bleed they too
for veins flow deep with crimson life
tender, young, old
dead and alive, alive and dead
(202_0285)
weep not, old child, alone
but weep always as your heart loves
touch gently pure tears of dew
wrested from time in eons past
stolen by that you birthed
of forms familiar and foreign, with promises unfulfilled
caressed of pure delight wrought in tears
the night alone can bring
(194_9461)
masses seethe, expand, overflow
yielded innocence you offer
while vengeance and wrath await
tawdry lives brushed away
like so much dust
how dare we complain
(194_9423)
wash over me
make me anew
mind dipped in eternity’s creation
flow through me
around me
upon me
your vessel I become
the voice in the darkness shouting your deafening silence
(180_8021)
quivering
my life takes on new flesh
my flesh new life
parting for your sake, I stand rent asunder
brightness betwixt shadow and gloom
am I the only to notice
to care

 
let the time be for living
let the fields once again flourish
let the we turn mellow
let the you be safe
let the world prosper as it did before our time

in the end
let there be new flowering

(203_0367)

Pummeled

A rather impressive thunderstorm has finally moved off a bit.  It rolled in just in time for rush hour.  What did it offer?  The same as we’ve had for who knows how long: very heavy rain, vociferous thunder and lightning that would frighten dead people, flooding… and more flooding, and roiling dark clouds that billowed with fierce intent.

It seems the rain has no intention of leaving Texas.  Whether it be scattered storms that exacerbate our problems, or better organized systems like today that really make matters worse, summer is poised to be a no-show this year.

We don’t have rain in summer.  We don’t have these cooler-than-normal temperatures in summer.  We don’t have this horrific tropical airmass in summer.

Yet here we are.

No one speaks of the drought anymore, or the fires, or all the problems that stemmed from both.  Neither exist now.  Instead we have perpetual floods and flash floods that visit each day.  Grass is once again dying, yet not for lack of water; instead, it’s because too much rain has washed away all the nutrients in the soil.  Many area lakes are at least partially closed due to overflowing banks.  And the list goes on.

I’m not complaining, mind you, for I find all of this a welcome respite from what should have been: hellish temperatures, no hope for rain, brutal sunshine that singes everything it touches, a clear blue sky that gushes with fiery vengeance, and all that comes with this season.

But wow!  I have to tell you, poppets, I’ve never seen anything like this before, and I’ve lived here for almost 40 years.

We’ve now entered August, normally the hottest month of the year ’round these parts.  What are the chances of summer making an appearance?  If the current forecast is any indication, they’re pretty good.  Our temperatures seem poised to dance about the century mark with overnight lows in the “heat advisory” area.  For anyone counting, that’s a forecast heat index of 105°F (41°C) but less than 115°F (46°C) for less than 3 hours per day, or nighttime lows above 80°F (27°C) for 2 consecutive days.  We might just hit one or both requirements beginning this weekend and continuing through next week.

Of course, it might actually be worse than a heat index.  Only time will tell.  We have forecast highs at 99°F (37°C) and forecast lows at 79°F (26°C).  Add to that this perpetual blanket of heavy moisture that seems intent to rest upon us for aye and anon… and you come up with what we expected to have at least two months ago, only worse.  The high dewpoints are the unusual piece of this puzzle, so the hot temperatures finally arriving could well be much worse than that to which we’re accustomed.  Not much worse, but worse nonetheless.

How long will it last?  There’s no promise it’ll even arrive.  Likewise, there’s no assurance it won’t be a passing meteorological fad.

Now, however, the rain continues, albeit at a much slower and lighter pace, and the temperature has dropped to a comfortable level, although the dewpoint is tickling the temperature’s toes, so the humidity is near 100%.

I’d prefer it to stay this way (sans the extra humidity if possible).  Let’s skip summer this year, shall we?