Saltwater

I've donated my share; enough
to float a monstrous armada.
You can see their sails
everywhere you look,
out at sea, floating
in waves of desperate hope.
But who knows
Where Go The Boats?

They go on, with a full crew,
on a boatload of tears,
trying to ride out storms,
only to become battered,
eventually breaking apart,
stranding the crew
in small lifeboats,
if they're lucky.

If not, everyone knows
people float in saltwater.
With all their miseries,
you'd think they'd sink.
But people float in an ocean
like it's a teardrop
belonging to the world.

Circumcision (yup, the real thing!)

Okay, this is about to get as personal as it gets without being naked, but what is a blog if it isn't to embarrass yourself in public?

Several times over the last few years I have tripped across articles stating that circumcision doesn't impact on how pleasurable sex is and that men need have no fear of such an operation impacting their love life. The last one I read of was by a female doctor, whose name I can't recall, but who I would like to meet in person so that I can ask her if she thinks that female circumcision would impact her ability to be pleasured during sexual intercourse? I think it is rather rude for anyone who has not undergone such a procedure to make any sort of broad and narrow-minded statement such as those I have mentioned. Here is the example of one such:

The American Academy of Family Physicians states "no valid evidence to date, however, supports the notion that being circumcised affects sexual sensation or satisfaction."

Here are the medical statistics: The foreskin of an uncircumcised male has 150,000 more nerve endings than in their circumcised counterparts, but according to these doctors (most likely all pedaling the chop block and have been previously indoctrinated by having themselves been circumcised young and are therefore unable to admit that their organs might be inferior), these nerves serve no function and won't be missed. Secondly, the glans (the head of the penis) becomes tougher after circumcision from the build up of keratin, which in turn makes the penis more resistant to diseases, such as AIDS, which is why there is such a huge push in Africa to chop whole cultures into extinction. I say extinction, because to many tribes in Africa, the only way that they are able to be distinguished from those of a neighbouring tribe is by the practise, or not, of circumcision. Essentially doctors are pushing forward on a continental scale a cultural genocide. However, apparently this tougher glans ALSO doesn't reduce the pleasure of sexual contact.

"With the proliferation of hospitals in urban areas, childbirth, at least among the upper and middle classes, was increasingly undertaken in the care of a physician in a hospital rather than that of a midwife in the home. It has been suggested that once a critical mass of infants were being circumcised in the hospital, circumcision became a class marker of those wealthy enough to afford a hospital birth"

"The major medical societies in Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand do not support routine non-therapeutic infant circumcision. Major medical organizations in the United States state that parents should decide what is in their child's best interests, explicitly not recommending the procedure for medical reasons. Neonatal circumcision remains the most common pediatric operation carried out in the U.S. today."

And this is what a so called, balance review of the circumcision debate has to say about it: (pay close attention here).

"Circumcision is one of the most common medical procedures in the world, with 25 circumcisions performed every minute worldwide [147]. It is also one of the oldest [97, 212], and one of the simplest. The fact that it is still popular must mean that there is something in it! In the USA, which has the greatest medical knowledge and medical expertise in the world, 65-90% of males are circumcised (> 1.2 million newborns per year."

Here is the personal note: I am uncircumcised. Due to those extra 150,000 nerve endings sex is often painful. The foreskin itself can pinch you if it isn't pulled back just so, which is also quite painful. Cleanliness is always an issue, because of the softer, more sensitive glans and greater risk of disease, or simple infection from bacteria under the foreskin, but it is nothing that daily showers don't take care of. Something that I think that circumcised men should also consider doing too! Despite these challenges with sexual intercourse, I have no intention of lopping off my foreskin to suit the pseudo-religious zeal of the Western establishment, nor do I think that the answer to AIDS is to emasculate half of the continent of Africa. Society has quietly passed from the Pax Romana, to the Pax Britannica, to the Pax America with barely a whimper. "When in Rome, do as Roman's do...” So we are encouraged dogmatically to circumcise the boys and rail in horror if it is suggested that it also be done to girls; it would after all help prevent infection for them as well, but we, the Western European, We, feel that it is barbaric to butcher a woman like that, but is a measure of status when done to a male.

It is my opinion that such an operation as circumcision should only be taken when consented to as an adult, of for medical reasons and no other, because if the argument is strictly preventive, I guess we should all remove our prostates too to prevent the risk of cancer, and the testes to reduce sex drive and the occurrence of AIDS. Until such draconian times as these become law, I will keep that extra-sensory foreskin that allows me to be teased and pleased with the most tentative touch of tongue, or tremulous cavern of mystery.

Also in my opinion, tight underwear holds a greater risk to male health than an uncircumcised penis does.

Here are sites that state information in a concise medical manner:

http://www.cirp.org/pages/anat/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision

http://www.infocirc.org/welcome2.htm

Here are the pro-circumcision sites:

http://www.circumcisioninfo.com/index_home_new.html

http://www.circinfo.com/guide_to_decision/index.html

http://www.circinfo.net/

Brucefur

Back To The Light

Sunshine blue, vibrant green,
pretty pinks and brilliant whites
life shines out to my soul,
calling me away from the old domain,
the domain of blood reds and dark greys,
of soulless black and midnight hues.

Crystal waters call out
against inner orcish demons.
Immortal elven guides
draw me from the cave,
showing the rainbow of wonders
not to be found in darkness.

Brilliant golds, reflective silvers,
sparkling diamonds, attractive rubies.
The true beauty of the dazzling
that night only hides
in shadowy tendrils.

A dark soul enlightened,
guided back to the path of light,
being brought back into balance.

Fog

19 stories above ground;
with a view of manicured greens
and rusty crunchy leave droppings.

19 trillion stars below heaven;
smothered in stratocumulus clouds
and the sensation of being watched.

Gold Rush

Klondike Kate
made men wait
to espy her
worldly treasures.

Nugget Nick
used his pick
to earn his gold;
he hailed from Cheshire.

With his pick in hand
Nick proved a man
and at the brothel
took Kate's measure.

For 200 yards
she held the cards
unwinding
at her leisure.

Nugget Nick
gave up his pick--
He could not
take the pressure.

© Bruce Herbert Fader 05-18-2006 13:28
-Klondike Kate was a real person, who lived and "worked" in Dawson City, Yukon at the turn of the 20th century. Her act included 200 yards of chiffon that she would slowly unravel, exposing herself to her audience.

Dancing with the stars

It is sooooo easy to be critical of the football player while I am sitting in the armchair, but I have to give that guy credit; he don't say die, and continues to pour it on. Don't get me wrong, I am not about to vote for him, but I give the guy A+ when it comes to bounce back and attitude.

Now to the real stuff.

Stacy Keibler. Long, leggy, just the right height lol She took her bashing by the judges tonight with grace. Not every dance is meant to be fast. Stately form still has some bearing in ballroom (I think lol). Okay, so I am no expert, but I thought that her athleticism alone was worth watching it for.

Now for the real sensation. Cheryl Burke. Holy Hot Tamales! Can that woman dance. I think that if footy guy had scored her for his partner, he would DEFINITELY be a contender. This is a woman that takes such genuine joy in her job that it just shines off of her. And My God, what man wouldn't want her riding bronco! *grinz

Canadian Ice Dancers take note, 'cuz she just did the winning combo for 2010! Love it, loove it, loooooove it. This gal is just awesome. Wouldn't you agree?

Brucefur

Chippy much?

Make no mistake about it; this is a rant!

Every little thing lately seems to irritate me beyond measure. Okay, granted, some of them are bigger things, but still, it seems just a little bit silly to me what is going on inside my own head. Too much being allowed to build up without expression I guess. For instance...

My business is back to being operational and I am poised to make this the best year ever, business wise, and yet I have self imposed obstacles that are getting in my way. I like the work as a delivery driver, and honestly speaking I need the money to cover my basic monthly expenses. I even make a decent enough wage at it. Prior to expenses it is close to $20 an hour, after gas and dispatch fees it is closer to $10, but I should get a lot of that back as business expenses, so I am not hurting, but...

They never let me end on time, because I am one of their best drivers, both quick and reliable, so I am trying to hold together three jobs that sometimes impact one on the others and I have to ask myself, is it worth working an extra hour a day at $10 per hour (Net), when it very well might be costing me $10,000 in lost security work? Should I take the risk and cut my days of work and put all my efforts into my own company now, rather than when it is already established?

Then there is the pain in the butt trying to determine the most effective form of advertising for my company. Do I go with the main paper in town, at $450 for a one day ad, or TV at $149 per week, or radio at $66 per week on two stations, or the weekly rag at $30 per week, or do I wait a month for the Chamber of Commerce news at $85 -knowing it is my target base, or do I try and do a combonation of those? Tomorrow I meet with the radio guy. I have already met the tv guy and spoken with the big paper lady, as well as my Chamber of Commerce liason and I have pretty much decided on going with the Free Press (weekly rag) and the Radio stations. I have rewritten my newspaper ad, I don't even know how many times; each new draft bleeding off more verbosity and negative phrasing, until it sits at three lines: Professional Image, Competitive Pricing, and Decades of Experience, so I am finally happy with it, but it is all moot if I choose wrong and miss my target audience. My funds are lower than I would like, because of the $15,000 loss from the bankrupted festivals last summer, so I don't have too many chances to get this right. Likewise with the wording on the radio infomercial. Do I choose to simply make it a goodwill ad, letting people know ways in which they can better secure their properties, as brought to them by Hearth Stone Security, or do I actively target contracts held by other security companies and hope to garner new ones as well? Blah, blah, blah.

Just noticed yesterday that I had let my Legion membership lapse. Do I rush to renew, or wait to get into the Rangers so that I can become a full member? Seaforth lost my records when my CO retired. Not surprising because I wasn't exactly part of the regular unit, but it meant taking a lessor role in Legion events. *Sigh.

Home life...

Wendy has come down with pneumonia and so is feeling peckish, picking fights with her husband. Dave is responding by being surly back and both are placing me in the middle somewhat. Wendy wants a new dog, so Dave and her are talking about getting a purebred husky; which annoys me on several levels. When we first got Taboo, we all agreed that we would let him choose his owner in the event that we all went our separate ways. Taboo chose me; even Dave and Wendy agree with that, but when it came to the crunch they reneged on the agreement. They didn't discuss getting Meeshy with me, so I guess that asking me about Jinx and now this new Husky is something, but I am still peeved. Despite paying my share of all the dog food and medical bills, I didn't even get my name on Taboo's birth certificate, so the one thing that I did NOT do was pitch in for his cremation. The talk about the new dog irritates me on another level. I have stated several times that the next dog to enter the house was to be mine if I was to be paying for their dogs food still, but they are still going ahead with this Husky purchase. I am, in a word, vexed, because they can hardly afford to pay for Meesha and Jinx as it is. More and more, food is becoming an issue and not just with the dogs. I start work in the early evening and end late. On the nights when I am not cooking, they keep either making dinner too late for me to eat prior to work, or will decide to skip cooking and go out, only informing me when it is too late for me to do anything other that waste money on fast food. The medication that Wendy is on for Diabetes has warped her tastebuds, so now she complains about almost all the cooking, to the point where I just want to throw in the towel and split the food bill. It would be cheaper for me that way anyway, because I am not adverse to eating left-overs.

I have the feeling that I will do better when the olympics are over. At least then I won't be up till 3 am each night and then up with the dawn.

One thing is for sure. I need to work harder on my business. Once I do, I think that all else will fall back into place and my mountains will become molehills again.

Brucefur