Eye on Faith: June 2021

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Pizza on the Run

A similar machine in Capri, Italy (Photo by Holapaco77)

There once was a saying that goes like this: “Don’t wait for your ship to come in, row out and meet it.”

It’s like that with pizza, too. Why twiddle your thumbs until a delivery arrives when you could be hoofing it down to the nearest vending machine?

You heard that right: Pizza vending machine. And of all places, on the gourmet streets of Rome, Italy. The handy-dandy device is called “Mr. Go Pizza” and offers four different types of pies.

Some wince at the very thought of such a fast-food alternative. Hunger, however, is a tasty topping for even the flimsiest of facsimiles.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/fresh-pizza-vending-machine-prompts-174240717.html

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Where the Bison Roam

American Bison (Photo by Jack Dykinga)

It might not be wise to put your bodily home where the bison roam. Although deer and antelope might play, humans might pay – with their lives.

In other words, more people have been injured by bison then by any other Yellowstone National Park animals. These two-ton beasts are nothing to fool with. They might seem to lumber, but many can run “three times faster than humans.”

They don’t like people invading their space. So keep your distance, meaning 25 yards’ worth at all times. And remember: No picture is worth a thousand regrets.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/bison-injures-hiker-yellowstone-national-175300355.html

Monday, June 28, 2021

Jacob's Ladder 2.0

(from the Luther Bible of 1534)

Genesis 28:12 tells us about a dream that the patriarch Jacob had. He dreamed of a ladder that reached the heavens.

Back in 1895, rocket scientist Konstantin Tsiolkovsky came up with a plan to make this happen. He proposed the building of a “space elevator” that would reach down to Earth from an orbiting station.

It’s now 2021 and a long enough, strong enough cable has not yet been devised. But rest assured that the Chinese are working on their "carbon nanotubes" version of a “sky ladder.” Success could mean that the cost of space travel is reduced “by over 99 percent.”

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/china-reveals-plans-colonise-space-121517208.html

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Plague after Plague

One Hungry Hopper (Photo by Shree Krishna Dhital)

Anyone who doubts the possibility of biblical plagues might want to consider these current ones: mice in Australia, grasshoppers in Montana and Oregon.

Turns out that grasshoppers thrive within drought conditions. Since that’s what going on in the American West, that’s where they’re heading. There are lots of them, "at least 15... per square yard," and they’re hungry. Hungry enough to chew through “thousands of acres” of plants. These are the same plants that cattle normally eat.

The human response is to spray lands with poisonous chemicals. Some kill mainly grasshoppers. Others kill bees, as well.

Resources

https://www.iheart.com/content/2021-06-24-grasshoppers-invading-western-states-due-to-historic-drought/?mid=652733&rid=98364581&sc=email&pname=newsletter&cid=NATIONAL&keyid=National%20iHeart%20Daily%20NewsTalk&campid=headline6_readmore

Saturday, June 26, 2021

Spider Man on the Fly

(Fair Use)

Spider Man really gets around. When he isn’t attending to hospitalized children throughout Italy, he’s meeting with Pope Francis.

Beneath the superhero costume beats a heart of pure gold. Mattia Villardita makes it a point to cheer young patients up with his repertoire of comic characterizations.

Because of all this, he was granted a special audience with the Pope, as well as with the Italian President. And what did he hand to the pontiff? You guessed it: “a Spider-Man mask.”

Resources

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/57594145

Friday, June 25, 2021

When laws hand you lemons

Entrepreneurs in 1960 (Photo by BeenAroundAWhile)

Kids can still run traditional lemonade stands in Pennsylvania, thanks to a bill that was recently passed by the State Senate.

They need not apply for “permits and licenses” as long as they set up temporarily. This holds true even within residential neighborhoods.

If you’re hankering for a good old-fashioned glass of lemonade on a hot summer’s day, you now know where to find it.

Resources

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/pa-senate-unanimously-passes-free-the-lemonade-stands-bill/ar-AALovoJ?ocid=uxbndlbing

Thursday, June 24, 2021

If at first it doesn't sell...

Reread or Recycle! (Photo by Johannes Jansen)

Try, try again. And if that doesn’t work, give, give away.

But that’s not necessarily what Amazon is doing. An undercover investigation of its Scotland warehouse revealed that “millions of unsold products” are being destroyed each year. These include such educational items as books and laptops. And such lifesaving ones as thousands of Covid masks.

This is taking our throwaway society to new depths. It’s a vulgar extension of the well-worn adage: If I can’t have it, then nobody can. But hope may be on the horizon. A company spokesperson was quoted as saying, “We are working toward a goal of zero product disposal…” And we reply, “The sooner the better.”

Resources

https://nypost.com/2021/06/22/amazon-warehouse-destroys-130k-unsold-items-per-week-report/

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

All That a Beet Can Be

Can't beat 'em! (Photo by BriannaWalther)

“Be all that you can be” is often said of military recruits. You hardly ever hear it proclaimed about beets.

Nevertheless, there are some who think that beets could be better. These same folks are bent on making them so. How so? By a process called genetic modification.

Enter the Badger Flame beet, praised for its lack of so-called earthiness. Never mind that beets owe their very existence to Planet Earth. That becomes irrelevant in a world where markets rule.

If it were only beets, that might be manageable. But market fever has spread to pretty much every fruit and vegetable. Cherries need to ditch those pits. Kale needs to taste more like lettuce. And tomatoes need to be thick-skinned so that thin-skinned people will buy them.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/farmers-scientists-strive-more-flavour-231432515.html

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Dusty Betelgeuse

Betelgeuse on the Upper Left (Photo by Rogelio Bernal Andreo)

Stardust is not as romantic as it sounds. Betelgeuse, the name of which is derived from the Arabic phrase “armpit of Orion,” is proof of that.

When astronomers noticed a dimming of this usually bright star, they theorized that it might soon explode into a supernova. No such drama was actually impending. Instead, the star has been somewhat choking in its own dusty exhalations.

Humans tend to do this also. They dim their own Light with emotional ejections that could smother if left unchecked.

Resources

https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/16/world/betelgeuse-great-dimming-scn/index.html

Monday, June 21, 2021

Devil's in the Details

Beware the Devil (Photo by Peter Shanks)

The trouble with playing God is that humans are far from omniscient. They often miss significant details while envisioning a broad outcome.

Scientists in Australia were convinced that the Tasmanian Devil was going extinct. That’s because many of these marsupials were suffering from “a raging facial tumor disease.”

In their finite wisdom, researchers relocated an “insurance population” of the carnivores to a nearby island. The critters multiplied fast, gobbling up the native bird population.

Pretty soon there was nary a penguin left. Their thriving colony went from “3,000 breeding pairs” to a big round zero. And guess what? The disease that had been ravaging devils began to abate on its own.

Had humans left well enough alone, there might still be plenty of both species. The trouble with playing God is that devils then often win out.

Resources

https://www.rt.com/news/527159-tasmanian-devils-little-penguins

Sunday, June 20, 2021

All that Glitters

One In the Rough (USGS photo)

Nope, it’s not gold. But that’s just as well, since it’s thought to be the “third-largest diamond” ever found.

The “1098-carat” sparkler would impress even Elizabeth Taylor. Recently discovered in a Botswana mine. President Mokgweetsi Masisi said that its proceeds will be utilized for his country’s “national development.

This sounds a whole lot better than lingering on the finger of some Taylor wannabe.

Resources

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2021/06/17/Botswana-diamond/7031623950811/

Saturday, June 19, 2021

Uncuffed for Better or Worse

Free at last! (Photo by Klaus with K)

A Ukrainian couple took to handcuffs in order to strengthen their bond.

This was not as exciting as it may sound to some. In fact, it spelled the end of their roller-coaster ride together. After repeated highs and lows, the mechanically-joined pair decided to ditch the cuffs and one another. Too much togetherness was the overriding battle cry.

Even while chained to one another, Victoria felt that her boyfriend did not seem to notice her. That’s a problem when you spend “123 days” at the short end of each other’s leash. It sort of makes you wonder about life, love and all kinds of other things.

Resources

/https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/ukraines-inseparable-couple-ditches-handcuffs-parts-ways-2021-06-18

Friday, June 18, 2021

When a strawberry is not just a strawberry

(Photo by Ivar Leidus)

Perhaps you pick strawberries from supermarket shelves. Or perhaps you round up the kids for a fun day of plucking their own at a local farm.

It’s not quite like that in the migrant fields of California. Laborers are compelled to plant berries in overnight shifts, sometimes lasting through wee hours of the morning. It doesn’t matter if their bones ache, or if bugs are chomping at their skin. The backbreaking show must go on.

So next time you fill your cart with juicy items, at least remember that they didn’t just fall from the sky. Manna from heaven is one thing. Migrant drudgery quite another.

Resources

https://www.news9.com/story/60cabb12e7f3970bd90c309a/college-graduate-honors-her-parents-with-photos-in-fields-where-they-worked

Thursday, June 17, 2021

If you can't beat 'em

17-Year Cicada (1930 image by Robert Evans Snodgrass)

You can view cicadas as a nuisance, or you can view them as fellow musicians. Professor David Rothenberg of the New Jersey Institute of Technology prefers the latter.

Rothenberg grabbed his clarinet as the buggers swarmed a nature preserve in Princeton. Joining them were percussion and sax players. Band members took their musical cues from the cicadas’ "loud buzzing calls.”

At best, such "trills" have been called “white noise.” At worst, a migraine headache. Yet Rothenberg was able to detect “several distinct sounds” within the cacophony, which he and his crew incorporated into their jazzy jam.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/jamming-cicadas-jersey-once-17-151331482.html

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Plagues a Plenty

The Plague of Flies (Painting by James Tissot)

The Gippsland region of Australia has been suffering from plagues of somewhat biblical proportions.

Due to massive flooding, mice and rats have been seeking higher ground. This has resulted in destructive invasions of human houses, cars, crops and power lines. One woman even awoke to find a “mouse chewing on her EYEBALL.”

Spiders have also been fleeing the floods. They do so by spinning webs that hoist them upwards. These blanket the countryside with “cloudlike” goop, ” looking like something out of a horror film.

To make it even worse, insurance companies often refuse to cover such calamities unless they are officially categorized as natural disasters.

Resources

https://www.the-sun.com/news/us-news/3085332/spider-apocalypse-australia-countryside-cobwebs-biblical-mouse-plague/

Tuesday, June 15, 2021

No Longer Boxed In

(Photo by Nasir36)

In these times of higher prices and uncertain supply chains, it’s good to have some extras on hand.

This bodes well for the expansion of “wholesale grocery retailer Boxed,” which is “set to go public” real soon. Boxed will make “bulk consumables” widely available without the added expanse of a membership fee.

Boxed also has a software partnership with the Aeon Group, which affords the company many e-commerce opportunities.

Resources

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/wholesale-grocery-retailer-boxed-is-set-to-go-public-in-dollar900-million-spac-deal/ar-AAL1TUW

Monday, June 14, 2021

Expanding the Crash

White Rhinos in Kenya (Photo by Byrdyak)

Although most crashes need minimizing, this particular crash is happily expanding.

A rare white rhino was born in the Tampa Zoo recently. Her birth will expand the existing crash, “or group of rhinos” that are currently there. This is important because white rhinos are still an endangered species.

There is much hope, however, due to decades of careful protection. Although the species was nearly wiped out completely during the “early 20^th century,” its numbers have now increased dramatically.

Which just goes to show: A little bit of love can go a real long way.

Resources

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/florida-zoo-announces-birth-southern-white-rhino-78253846

Sunday, June 13, 2021

Taking the Fifth

Antarctic Circumpolar Current (NASA image)

Although Earth’s fifth ocean has long been taken for granted, it is now officially being acknowledged by National Geographic.

This Southern Ocean is down by Antarctica. It now joins the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic Oceans in being categorized as such.

Yet these are human distinctions. There is actually just one massive interconnected body of water on our planet. Nevertheless, we love to slice and dice reality into compartments that somehow seem more tame.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/earth-now-5th-ocean-according-100754534.html

Saturday, June 12, 2021

Jonah 2.0

Jonah and the Whale (1621 painting by Pieter Lastman)

The Book of Jonah has been called way too far-fetched. Yet this week’s headlines seem to echo its story line.

An experienced diver was searching for lobsters off the coast of Cape Cod when he was swallowed by a whale. Yes he was. For real.

His thrashing about within the cavernous mouth felt irritating enough for the beast to then spit him out. The diver had two things going for him: He was much bigger than the whale’s esophagus, and this baleen had no teeth.

But who would believe that such a thing could happen? Certainly not those who sit back and smugly say that it can’t.

Resources

https://www.capecodtimes.com/story/news/2021/06/11/humpback-whale-catches-michael-packard-lobster-driver-mouth-proviencetown-cape-cod/7653838002/

Friday, June 11, 2021

EnVisioning Venus

Red Hot Venus (Public Domain)

The ancient Roman goddess, Venus, was allegedly easy on the eyes. Her planetary namesake has been a lot tougher to envision.

Nevertheless, humans are making strides in this direction. An exploratory journey to Earth’s nearest world is on the European Space Agency’s agenda for 2030. The main goal is to determine how Venus came to be synonymous with Hades, and Earth with Creation.

In other words, why did these two neighbors develop so differently? And how can we prevent Earth from taking a hellish turn for the worse? Hopefully, some answers will be forthcoming…

Resources

https://scitechdaily.com/envision-revolutionary-venus-mission-promises-a-new-era-in-the-exploration-of-earths-evil-twin/

Thursday, June 10, 2021

Arsenic and Young Lace

Texas Rice Field, circa 1910 (Public Domain)

Mother’s milk should never be mixed with arsenic, so why should baby food?

Such was the thinking that propelled Beech-Nut to pull some products from the market. When its infant cereal was found to exceed “100 parts per billion of arsenic,” out it went. The company will now avoid selling any kind of baby rice cereals.

Arsenic naturally exists in water, and rice grows in that medium. After absorbing enough of this inorganic element, rice becomes somewhat toxic to humans. It can particularly impact “a developing baby’s brain,” but can also negatively affect the health of adults.

Resources

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/beech-nut-recalls-baby-rice-cereal-after-finding-high-arsenic-levels-and-leaves-market/ar-AAKS8Fr?ocid=uxbndlbing

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

Freedom Walk

A Hearty Greeting (Photo by jinterwas)

The human civil rights movement has long relied upon public marches and walks. Now a hardy herd of elephants is on the move for their own freedom.

Just as animals often take their cues from humans, people sometimes take their cues from animals. As China’s footloose herd makes its way through miles of terrain, the populace is somewhat inspired. One YouTube writer summed it up quite nicely: “We should be more like the elephant and be more family oriented, take family vacations and help and care for and protect each other,”

Elephants are highly evolved and exhibit a great degree of intelligence and compassion. Should they be treated as mere beasts of burden, or should they be granted rights that reflect their behavioral displays of advanced consciousness?

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/chinas-wandering-elephants-becoming-international-061215612.html

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Oregon, My Evolved Oregon

Crater Lake (Photo by Art Anderson)

Might makes right has never been the most merciful path. Whether we’re talking animals or people, that type of evolution has spawned a lot of collateral damage.

Oregon’s state song (yes, there is one) has historically reflected that damage. Such lines as “conquered and held by free men; fairest and the best,” hint at oppressive results for many others. “Blest by the blood of martyrs” is not a cuddly reference either.

So it was well past time for a rewrite. New and improved lyrics now proclaim “the beauties and the merits of the state.” They include nature’s bounty, as well as a “love of freedom” for all.

The song has been raised from near oblivion and can now be wholeheartedly sung by more than just a privileged few.

Resources

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/oregon-state-song-gets-new-lyrics-without-racist-language/ar-AAKNKxF?ocid=uxbndlbing