Eye on Faith

Wednesday, June 27, 2018

Probing Ryugu

Autumn Side of Ryugu (Public Domain)

Ryugu-jo is the underwater palace in which the Japanese Shinto dragon, Ryujin, resides. Ryujin is a kami, loosely translated as “nature spirit.”

The Japanese recently landed a spacecraft on an asteroid named Ryugu (in honor of this kami). Ryugu is approximately “3,000 feet in diameter,” and is somewhat “cube shaped.” It is marked with “a number of large craters.”

The spacecraft, Hayabusa2, will blast an additional hole into Ryugu’s surface, searching for clues as to how life evolved. Because asteroids are “among the oldest objects in the solar systems,” they might help reveal how Earth itself was formed.

Resources

https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/japan-space-explorer-arrives-asteroid-retrieve-samples-56188276

Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Charm not always charming

You too can be Kissproof! (Museo del Objeto)

The word “charm” can be either a noun or a verb. When a noun, it means “the power or quality of giving delight or arousing admiration.” When a verb, it can imply "control," as in charming a snake.

China is currently leaning toward the control end of the charm spectrum. The All-China Women’s Federation is partnering with Zhenjiang College to teach women “how to dress, pour tea and sit just so...”

In this so-called “new era” of President Xi Jinping, old notions of female oppression are being recycled. Whereas men shall be “breadwinners,” women shall be “first and foremost, wives and mothers.” If maltreated by their husbands, women are taught to grin (with painted lips) and bear (bare?) it.

Resources

https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/chinese-uni-teaches-women-to-be-perfect-in-era-of-president-xi-20180626-p4znpb.html

Monday, June 25, 2018

Righteous Rage

Rage of Achilles (by Giovanni Batista Tiepolo)

There’s the kind of anger that sets the world on fire literally, and then there’s the kind of anger that sets the world on fire figuratively.

The latter has recently ignited a series of mass donations to worthy causes. People feeling enraged by political policies have been channeling their zeal in positive directions.

Dahlia Adler Fisch, a New York City writer, makes a point of donating hundreds to organizations that assist children. Her “armchair resistance” helps to offset feelings of helplessness in the face of tragedy.

Such “rage giving” has been catching on like wildfire. It recently amounted to more than “$20 million in donations for immigrant families swept up in the border crisis.”

Resources

https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/06/20/rage-giving-fuels-record-fundraising-immigrant-children/718272002/