Qlogged

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Nage No Waza

Monday, February 2, 2009

First, wash that bitter taste out of your mouth that the mere mention of that word seems to instill in everyone.

Not only are we ALREADY doing it, we've been doing it for thousands of years with arranged marriages, culling unwanted or undesirable children and parents, and imprisoning people we don't want to breed anymore because they are criminals.

Sure we haven't called it eugenics, but it has had the same effect. Countless numbers of daughters, sons unfit to work hard, mentally damaged children, physically undesirable children, or simply unwanted children have been terminated as infants over the last few thousand years. At the most basic level we are all participating in eugenics if we are able to choose our own mate. Consciously or subconsciously choices are being made that will affect the genetic disposition of any offspring.

In more modern times, however, we have more advanced techniques available. Clearly there is a certain point where almost everyone will draw a philosophical line and say, "That's not right." Where is that line?

Just for curiosity, consider a few scenarios listed below and see what you think.

1. Jill and Bob discover that Jill is infertile but they still want to have a baby and they have plenty of money and access to medical facilities. They put out several advertisements that they are seeking an egg donor, including,

"Seeking egg donor, must be at least 5'10", athletic, attractive, and have at least a 1400 score on SAT."

They're happy to pay for anyone who meets these qualifications to obtain the egg they want. Is this acceptable? Would it be acceptable to request the same sort of qualifications if it was a sperm donor?

Is it also okay for them to also request that the donor be blonde and white skinned?

2. Dan and Liz discover that Dan is infertile and still wanting to have children decide to use a sperm donor. Dan and Liz are African American and would very much prefer to have a black sperm donor over any other ethnicity. Is this preference acceptable?

3. Another infertile couple, Lucy and Bill are in need of a sperm donor. Both Lucy and Bill are deaf and they are proud of it and don't see it as a disability. Is it okay for them to request a deaf donor and then choose from amongst the donated genetic material to guarantee that they have a deaf offspring?

4. Lily and Gene both have achondroplasia, both are under 4 feet in height. They are both fertile and will have no problem producing children, but there is no guarantee that their children will share a similar stature. They are proud of their culture and do not feel that their height is in any way a disability and want to share this with any children they have. With medical selection of donated genetic material from each of them, they can choose to create an embryo that will share their stature. Should we use medical technology to make this possible?

5. Niobh and Jeff really want to have a boy, clearly we have the technology to make this happen, we don't even have to sort through embryos, sperm can simply be sorted into X and Y batches by weight avoiding the entire issue of choosing one embryo and discarding others. Is it appropriate to allow this sort of selection?

6. Judith is married to Dan and they want to have a baby. Judith's brother has Down Syndrome and growing up with her brother she felt was one of the sweetest and most enriching experiences of her life. She also felt that raising a special needs child really helped her parents to grow as people and she had run it by Dan and they both think it would be a great experience to raise a special needs child of their own. Should they be allowed to intentionally have a Down Syndrome child?

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Clearly some people will find these scenarios bizarre or even offensive, I have submitted them to be thought provoking, not to cause offense to anyone. However, if you are offended, tough shit, get a thicker skin, I'm more interested in philosophy than in pandering to peoples' tender sensibilities, just keep in mind that my goal was never to intentionally offend anyone.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Newest Greatest Thing Ever

This doll is the meaning of "Shock and Awe". Now we need a few terrorist dolls for Obama to carve up with his lightsaber.

Think of the possibilities if you had one of these! You could dress it up as Jesus for a nativity scene, put it all in green for Saint Patrick's Day and bill him as O'bama the Irish president, or even turn him into secret agent 001 ObamaBond!

Needless to say, if this isn't the toy of election year 2009, it should be.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Alaska's Vote!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

I liked this

So much, that I'm linking it here, even though it isn't my work, just stolen off the internet.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

The NATO Alphabet

I was thinking that someone surely must already have made a NATO Alphabet poster with correlated pictures, and I would just grab it from the internet and print it out for entertainment.

Strangely, I couldn't immediately find one on the internet, and thus thought to myself, this sounds like a good topic for another weird blog post!

So...here is my attempt at a NATO Alphabet poster. This was for the most part generated by simply typing in the word in question into google and choosing the most interesting or ironic image that came up.

If you want a somewhat sharper image, click the poster to expand it to full size.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

The Genius of Günther

I feel that the genius of the swedish artist Günther isn't fully appreciated by many, and thusly I will propose for your consideration, the following Günther videos.
I want you to listen very closely to the lyrics contained therein for his secret wisdom and observe the environs in which he constantly finds himself.

The man must be doing something right (with the possible exception of the xmas special). The xmas special I really only post for Toki, and likely, if she weren't already unspeakably revolted by the content of my blog it would reduce her opinion of it.

Just as a first warning, it isn't always prudent to try to assimilate all of the wisdom of Günther in one sitting, it might be best to enjoy one of his videos, sit back, digest its deeper meaning, and then return later when you are ready to add a fresh pearl of wisdom to your necklace.

His most famous video, is probably this one, and it has spawned an entire generation of internet imitators and thieves:

While I wasn't sure the of the perfection of this next one at first, since the tagline is ola ola, rata rata ra, which simply didn't seem catchy enough to me, it clearly is a pearl of sacred wisdom after watching it:

Anyone who can get Samantha Fox to sing along with them has to be doing something right, the original is remastered here with Günther in what may be the apotheosis of his career, only time will tell.

This next one is pretty special, I think it really captures the modern xmas spirit and will be a particular favorite of Toki, if she hasn't already closed this browser window and deleted my blog from her list:

I like this one because it is about fruit, and fruit is good, it keeps you healthy and tastes nice.

Finally, this video is a masterpiece of synchronized, choreographic dancing accompanied by the usual deep and powerful lyrics that really bring meaning to our lives.

That's it for this Günther roundup, maybe I'll stylize myself as Günther for Halloween this year!

I feel as if I have somehow cheated people on this post, since I'm mostly just linking stuff that is already out there and available instead of creating something that is my own work, but I felt the need to share the incredible phenomenon that is Günther with everyone.

P.S. Covering your face with vaseline is excellent weather protection in addition to making you look startlingly attractive and Günther-like!