Monday, April 14, 2008

Warning: a little more controversial than usual

Being a huge fan of tattoos and piercings, I've been reading the BMEZine blog (modblog.bmezine.com) and I read an article that was really interesting to me.

There's been a new(-ish) trend of scarification tattoos-cutting out skin and letting it heal to make a nice pattern/image. This practice is controversial in itself, as some people can't seem to differentiate it from cutting oneself. Anyways, the article. It's about a scarification tattoo to cover up self-injury scars. I think this is a beautiful way to reclaim your body in a positive way, although I'd prefer people to get tattoos over them because that doesn't involve more cutting. I'm going to post the link, but another thing I've learned from reading up on this is that some people are "triggered" by images of self-injury, so be warned: clicking on this link/looking at this blog will result in images of self-injury. For serious.

http://modblog.bmezine.com/2008/03/14/self-injury-cover-up/. There's a link to another similar article, but I thought this one was prettier, so I posted this one.

And here's where I differ from this blog: cutting yourself, while it is a way to let out emotions, it is not a healthy way to release emotions. If there's nobody else you think you can talk to, call 1-800-784-233. Love to you all.

Edit: I just wanted to add/clarify something: scarification is in no way "new" or a "trend". People have been ritually scaring themselves as part of traditional rites of passage for a very long time. What I meant to say is that the practice had caught on in mainstream society to form new art and images in addition to traditional designs and patterns.

May I introduce His Royal Highness...

The Duke of York!


This is one awesome cat, because he saved my mom's life. My mom was rudely awakened after much persistence by Duke. As soon as she woke up, she discovered that her blood sugar (she's diabetic) was dangerously low and would have dropped to coma-inducing levels were it not for the meeps of this adorably cute cat. Now, I don't care what you say about biological this-lady-gives-me-food reactions, this was one heroic kitty who cares for his momma a lot, and deserves quite a bit of tuna, or turkey, his favorite dish. I've heard stories like this about pets for awhile, and I honestly thought they were B.S., but I have never been so credulous or appreciative. Thanks Duke!

Thursday, April 3, 2008

World Autism Awareness Day

Was yesterday, but the post still works, right? To commerorate the first ever World Autism Day, major news networks were broadcasting specials all day about Autism, including one called
"Finding Amanda", a "low-functioning" Autistic woman who lives by herself and seems to communicate rather well via a computer. (check out her YouTube page at http://www.youtube.com/user/silentmiaow).

Also mentioned was the startingly increasing rate of children with Autism, although it's worth mentioning that the definition of Autism was expanded recently which can account for some of the increase in numbers. Symptoms can include repetitive and "purposeless" behavior, interests limited in focus, impaired social interaction, etc. (Pulled shamelessly off of Wikipedia.)

Autism is a disease that covers such a broad range of people from low- to high-functioning. Another similar disease is Asperger sydrome, in which a person can usually function very well in society save some autistic-like behaviors. This leads to another theory of mine: what we call Autism is simply a more extreme manifestation of behaviors inherent in all human beings. Indeed, the interaction with one's environment as described by people such as Amanda seems to be a description of the oneness with the universe many people are looking for.

So here's what I want you all to do:

For people reading this on my blog, please respond by commenting. Then, if you like, copy and paste into the social networking site/blog of your choice (linking to my blog definately welcome). Sound cool? Ok, here we go:
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The first ever World Autism Awareness Day was on April 2nd, 2008. People all over the world have been trying to raise awareness of this condition, and those with autism are trying to close the gap between them and "normal" people.

The question is, how abnormal are these behaviors: lack of social interaction, extreme focus on one subject or sensation, repetative or "purposeless behaviors"? I'm certain that everyone has something that would be classified as "autistic", and to help close the gap, I'm going to say one of mine:

Over my life, I have spent countless hours letting my hand rest lightly on water, marvelling at how it feels right before the tension breaks.

Please, help close the gap and help people realize that Autistic people are not freaks or retards, but people just like any of us. Repost this with one of your "little quirks".

For more information, please visit www.autism-society.org