Aww, shucks

Yes, Jen. I will always be your girl

The circumcision debates

It's a little hard for me, as a Jew, to say it, but I completely agree with this. Along with some other comments on the thread, it effectively demolishes all of the arguments for circumcision except for one - and I can sum that one up in one word: Tradition.

I'm pretty sure my future son's grandparents are going to disagree, probably vehemently.

My friend Jen wants to get "microdermal piercings".

This is what she envisions

This is how it will actually be

Congrats, Jen. You know Kung-Fu

Insomnia and existentialism don't mix

So here I am, at 2:50 am, reading me some internets because I can't sleep, when I stumble across this new Abstruse Goose. The implications are pretty frightening, and have left me feeling like a prisoner inside my own head.

Now I'll never get to sleep.

In other news, I recently discovered that Allie Bosch, the brilliant author and cartoonist behind Hyperbole and a Half, is EXTREMELY ATTRACTIVE. I have been struck in the face by a speeding train of ineluctable joy.

Infamy

10 and 70 years ago, terror rained down on from the skies, and both times, we fought back. From Guadalcanal to Kabul, heroes were made as we confronted evil head on. But from California internment camps to Guantanamo Bay, we sometimes infamously took out our fear and our anger on the wrong people, abandoning the very fundamental ideals we strove to project. Here's to the men and women doing their best to navigate the murky field of battle between good and evil.

How I feel about religion today

Today, I was inspired by this, which sums up a substantial portion of my hopes, fears, beliefs, and ambitions. But I need to refine the last point.

If by "religion" you mean a sense of purpose that transcends the mundane, that instills in you a compelling desire to alleviate the suffering of your fellow man, and that binds you to your communities and families, then I support you.

If by "religion" you mean a rigid adherence to principles that have no foundation in reality, a dogma you use to justify the expression of your prejudices and fears, and a conduit for your thanatic impulses, then I do not support you.

We have the incredible gift of perception: we have senses that teach us the wonders of the universe, and brains that let us begin to make sense of the dizzying mystery of it all. I say we have these things, but perhaps we have been given them. If that's the case, then to shut our eyes and close our minds is the worst kind of ingratitude.

Stunning aurora

Yes, this is real life