Eye on Faith: February 2022

Monday, February 28, 2022

Simply Incredulous

WWII Holocaust in Ukraine (Map by Dennis Nilsson)

Jews have historically had a real tough time within the Russian empire. And that’s putting it mildly.

So when the Jewish president of Ukraine recently inspired the world by standing up to Russian aggression, truth was indeed stranger than fiction.

As British journalist Ben Judah wrote, “If you’d told many of our great-grandparents in the Pale [ghetto] that a Jewish man would be a Ukrainian war leader against a Russian invasion they would have blinked incredulously.”

Yet President Zelensky is not one to blink first. Not even when he is number one on the enemy’s hit list.

Resources

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59667938

Sunday, February 27, 2022

Too much of a good thing

Better alive... (Photo by Tomukatsusu)

There are lots of good things in this world, air and water being two of them. Too much of either, however, can cause you to hyperventilate or drown.

Protein is another one of those good things that you don’t want too much of. Kidney stones can increase, and damaged kidneys can weaken. Plus, it’s kind of unpleasant (and expensive) to stuff the equivalent of “20 ounces of grilled chicken breast a day” down your hatch.

So how much is about right? With an average intake of approximately 2500 daily calories, Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends “between 63 and 219 grams per day.” This translates to “between 10 and 35 percent” of total calories from protein.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/yes-theres-thing-too-much-212800449.html

Saturday, February 26, 2022

If today were your last

(Photo by karamveer singh)

If today were your very last day here on Earth, how would you live it?

Actress Mia Thornton has been actively sitting with that question since her doctor called last week. He told Thornton that she needed to get to the Johns Hopkins Cancer Center as soon as possible.

No one relishes news of that sort, and Thornton was no exception. What has been exceptional, however, is her overall response. She’s been experiencing “an extreme amount of peace and energy" that allows her to focus upon a spiritual perspective.

Thornton therefore writes: “I know God has a plan and I know we are often challenged to remain humbled that tomorrow is not promised and that our days on this earth are numbered. She concludes with “A gentle reminder to Live, Love & Forgive as if today was your last.”

Resources

https://www.msn.com/en-us/tv/celebrity/rhops-mia-thornton-shares-cancer-diagnosis-tomorrow-is-not-promised/ar-AAUjOuO?ocid=uxbndlbing

Friday, February 25, 2022

Three More Bears

Uh oh! (Illustration by Leonard Leslie Brooke)

Although “The Three Bears” is a beloved tale for humans, bears have been trying to right such wrongs ever since.

Reversing the trend of breaking into a bear lair, three hungry bruins have been recently invading human dwellings at Lake Tahoe. After helping themselves to treats that were neither too hot nor too cold, the ursine visitors up and left.

These “severely food habituated” raiders are as big as they are bold, thus presenting a challenge to humans bent on changing their habits. Whereas Goldilocks went quietly into that good night, these three bears put up quite a fuss.

Resources

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/25/very-hungry-bear-hank-the-tank-is-in-fact-three-bears-dna-shows

Thursday, February 24, 2022

Koufax 2.0

Koufax in 1965 (Public Domain)

Back in 1965, star pitcher Sandy Koufax refused to play in Game One of the World Series because it was scheduled for Yom Kippur, a High Holy Day of his Jewish faith.

His Catholic boss, Walter O’Malley, was very understanding. He approved Koufax’s decision, but added that he would “ask the Pope what he could do about rain on that day.”

Did this decision hurt the Dodgers’ chance of winning that series? Apparently not. Although there were some initial struggles, the team managed to prevail, and Koufax became that year’s MVP.

History tends to repeat, albeit with different people and places. Recently, a Seventh-Day Adventist basketball team was scheduled to play a crucial semifinals game on a Saturday. Since Saturday is their Sabbath, the players asked for this game to be played just a few hours later, when sunset would conclude the holy period.

That request was allegedly denied by the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA). Governor Kay Ivey is now lending her support to the team’s decision and seeking answers from the AHSAA.

Resources

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/oakwood-adventist-academy-s-basketball-team-say-they-had-to-forfeit-a-game-over-religious-beliefs-the-governor-wants-answers/ar-AAUdVLZ?ocid=uxbndlbin

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

Team Magpie

Heckle and Jeckle (Fair Use)

One magpie can be frustrating enough, but when they work together, look out now!

And work together they do. When Australian researchers affixed tracking devices onto a group of these tricksters, guess what happened?

The magpies outsmarted the humans by helping one another to “remove the trackers.” They did so by snapping each other’s “harness at the only weak point.”

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/birds-outsmarted-us-magpies-together-043124559.html

Dietary Pruning

Have at 'em! (Photo by Emoke Denes)

While pruning unhealthy foods from your diet, it might be wise to fill some gaps with prunes themselves.

Although usually associated with “being regular,” prunes have a lot more going for them. They are rich in antioxidants, vitamins A and K, plus some essential minerals. Their anti-inflammatory aspects might even help to offset bone loss in older women.

Resources

https://www.eatingwell.com/article/7948093/prunes-anti-inflammatory-bone-health/

Life Reviews

Gamma Waves (Image by Hugo Gambo)

While it could be worthwhile to review your life periodically, the ultimate chance to do so might come while dying.

Firsthand reports of life reviews during near death experiences have been recently corroborated by an EEG of a dying patient. The results showed an increase in gamma brain waves immediately before and after the heart stopped beating.

Gamma oscillations are associated with “memory retrieval and conscious perception.” That these intensified around the time of death indicates the possibility of a concurrent life-review process.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/true-life-may-well-flash-133512236.html

Sunday, February 20, 2022

Figure in Skating

(Fair Use)

When it comes to figure skating, there is entirely too much emphasis on the figure.

Body shaming has become rampant, which has led to anorexic responses. Because thin is in, petite younger contestants tend to have an advantage over physically mature ones.

Certain techniques, such as jumping and rotating, are facilitated by childlike physiques. There also tends to be quite a bit of subjectivity within the judging process. Critics have even negatively commented on such natural phenomena as teenage growth spurts.

Raising the minimum age of contestants “from 15 to 17” has been proposed. “A more concise metric” for judging performances may also help to offset the current “culture of dieting and diuretics.”

Resources

https://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/Figure-skating-age-debate-also-exposes-body-image-16933038.php?IPID=Times-Union-HP-nation-world-package

Feedback is Golden

Levinson in 2018 (Photo by Gage Skidmore)

Sometimes you just have to speak up in order to be truly heard. Silence is only golden when it’s not harboring frustration and resentment.

To her credit, Minka Kelly expressed discomfort with a requested nude scene during her very first day on the Euphoria set. She did not feel it was integral to the story line and said so to Sam Levinson, creator of the show.

To his credit, Levinson readily agreed. Kelly kept her dress on, and the scene turned out great. A win-win all around!

Resources

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/minka-kelly-recalls-not-feeling-175056979.html

Friday, February 18, 2022

No Place Like Home

Teleworking (USMC photo)

As the pandemic subsides, the majority of remote workers are hoping to stay put.

They are not longing for crowded commutes, expensive lunches, rebooted wardrobes, office politics and the like. They’ve gotten used to a better work/life balance, which is facilitated by working where their life is based.

Unfortunately, many do not have that choice. Lower-income jobs must often be done in person, whereas upper-income ones can often be done from afar.

Resources

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/remote-workers-dont-want-return-office

Thursday, February 17, 2022

Despicable, dangerous, and just plain bad

(Fair Use)

“Cremains” is a term for cremated remains, and might soon be a term for creative remains. But it’s one thing to morph corpses into jewelry, and quite another to turn them into food.

It’s now 2022, the year that Soylent Green warned about. In that movie’s dystopian society, human corpses were routinely ground into “a staple food source.”

Lest we even consider such a solution to the world’s hunger problem, it’s wise to contemplate the following: human-to-human diseases can easily spread, more so than animal-to-human ones, and way more so than plant-to-human ones.

And what about supply and demand? Currently, the human birth rate far exceeds the human death rate. Which brings us to the third, and just-plain-bad point: Killing fellow humans for food is morally even worse than morphing their corpses into meals.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/eating-people-solution-world-hunger-170956703.html

Through the Crystal Ball

Canadian Chickadee in December (Photo by Mdf)

Just as Alice’s world was turned inside out by going through the looking glass, predictions are that our world will seem backwards come spring.

In our hemisphere, the South generally warms up before the North. This year, however, things might be different. The Farmer’s Almanac is forecasting a “reverse spring,” meaning that northern folks will experience comfortable temperatures while their southern brethren are shivering.

Snowbirds take heed! Might as well stay put with the chickadees.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/farmers-almanac-predicting-cooler-normal-211753263.html

Cloudy Side Up

Cloudy Skies (Photo by Helloserenityhere)

“Sunny side up” has long been used as a metaphor for good times ahead. But what if the sun is hiding behind clouds?

When it comes to solar panels, that has not been ideal. They perform best when sunlight is direct. That is, until now.

Carvey Ehren Maigue of the Philippines invented a solar panel that relies upon ultraviolet rays which clouds don’t hamper. It contains particles from fruits and vegetables that can convert such rays into visible light. Better yet, these particles are embedded within a resin film that can be applied to windows. cars, and perhaps to clothing.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/revolutionary-solar-panels-don-t-014200003.html

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

How low do you go?

Self-Portrait of Van Gogh (Public Domain)

Tasteless jokes have been the subject of many a debate.

Some say that comedy should be able to include such references. Others are happiest when these jokes and jokesters are cancelled.

The controversy raged on when the UK’s “Courtauld Institute,” reportedly a key Art History site, marketed items that spoofed Van Gogh’s eccentricities. Critics felt that selling ear-shaped erasers made light of mental illness.

After a certain amount of public outcry, Courtauld removed such items. The question then becomes: When does sensitivity become oversensitivity, insofar as freedom of expression is concerned?

Resources

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/insensitive-van-gogh-souvenirs-removed-from-sale-amid-backlash/ar-AATSHq1

Sunday, February 13, 2022

Superb owl, indeed!

(circa 640 BCE from Greece)

Adjusting spatial dimensions can make a huge difference, especially when Super Bowl rolls around.

Long ago, someone pressed the “B” of “Bowl” up against the end of “Super,” which created the words “Superb owl.” Owls of all shapes and sizes then became Super Bowl memes.

Yet long before that, owls were regarded as spiritual messengers. Elevated way beyond football mascots, these mysterious creatures symbolized intuition, wisdom, transformation and trust. Their association with death was one of “new beginnings,” entailing “higher understanding” and an “evolved perspective.”

So if an owl crosses your path tonight, take heart! Perhaps your favorite team lost, but that too can be a lesson worth learning.

Resources

https://crystalclearintuition.com/owl-meaning/#:~:text=Owls%20represent%20wisdom%2C%20knowledge%2C%20change,to%20listen%20to%20your%20intuition.

Saturday, February 12, 2022

A living doll ain't what it's cracked up to be

Robbie in 2019 (Photo by Toglenn)

Calling someone a living doll used to be a compliment. But if Mattel’s original Barbie comes to life, that ain’t necessarily so.

First of all, she will hardly be able to stand. Top-heavy to the hilt, she will soon fall over. That’s if her figure at all resembles the doll’s.

Here are some specs according to Body Wars by Dr. Margo Maine: “If Barbie were an actual woman, she would be 5’9” tall, have a 39” bust, an 18” waist, 33” hips and a size 3 shoe… she’d have to walk on all fours due to her proportions.”

You’d think that society would have relegated Barbie to a “what not to emulate” list long ago. Instead, she remains a blueprint of womanhood for many a young girl.

Why she even stars in movies, one of which is currently in the works. Margot Robbie is set to play Barbie. Hopefully, her contract does not entail massive amounts of plastic surgery.

Resources

https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/simu-liu-is-joining-greta-gerwigs-ever-bizarre-sounding-barbie-movie/ar-AATM7of?ocid=uxbndlbing

Friday, February 11, 2022

Venus is Glowing

Venus (from Pompeii, 1st century BC)

‘Tis the season of love, so you might expect that the goddess of love would be glowing.

And her planetary namesake is glowing, as well. But not necessarily from love. Venus is literally hot, so hot that it shines like “iron pulled from a forge.”

How do we know? For the first time, NASA was able to photograph the actual surface, which is heavily enshrouded by clouds. This was accomplished by the Parker Solar Probe as it makes its way toward the Sun. Its WISPR camera was able to “see” through these cloudy layers.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/nasa-pics-show-venus-surface-230120320.html

Thursday, February 10, 2022

Some things hardly change

An Egyptian Ostracon (Public Domain)

Although outer circumstances can rapidly change, core human tendencies seem to remain quite constant.

Do you recall having to write “I will not kid around in class” 100 times as a punishment assignment? If not you, then perhaps that “class clown” in the next seat…

This discipline turns out to be as old as Ancient Egypt. Archaeologists recently discovered ostraca (the poor-person’s papyrus) that was covered with “repetitive writing exercises, thought to be a form of punishment for students who misbehaved.”

Shopping lists were also discovered, which implies that human memory has not greatly evolved within thousands of years.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/archaeologists-discovered-18-000-ancient-150927958.html

Ounce of Prevention

(Photo by Earth'sbuddy)

It was Ben Franklin who wisely pointed out that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” He said this in relation to dangerous fires, but it can also pertain to rat infestations.

Bobby Corrigan, “who has a Ph.D. in urban rat studies” (of all things), heartily agrees. Rather than relying heavily upon extermination, he prioritizes two preventive techniques.

The first is a matter of common sense. If you leave easily-accessible, food-laden garbage lying around, then you can expect rodents to appear. If you keep such containers “tightly closed,” then the rats will seek greener pastures.

As an additional preventive, Corrigan advises spraying trash cans and bags with a “10% bleach solution.” This will offend the sensitive sniffers of rats and will likely send them packing.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/urban-rat-expert-silver-bullet-112058284.html

Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Take two and call me next week

Banff National Park (Photo by Gorgo)

Usually, a doctor’s prescription refers to some kind of pill. But times they are a changing.

Canadian physicians have been prescribing two hours in nature per week, to be taken in no less than 20-minute doses. This could entail gardening, hiking, or simply soaking up some rays.

For encouragement, doctors have been handing out national-park passes to their patients. Dubbed PaRx, this initiative has been going strong since 2019.

Resources

https://news.yahoo.com/doctors-canada-now-prescribe-national-002120688.html

Monday, February 7, 2022

Is it love or simply good business sense?

Eilish in 2020 (Photo by Justin Higuchi)

So-called proof that Billie Eilish loves her fans is an action she took during a recent concert.

When a female in the “pit” looked to be “in distress,” Eilish stopped performing and offered this fan an inhaler. Billie then waited until things seemed okay before continuing with the show.

Granted, this was a kind and humane thing to do. Yet it was also really good business sense. Eilish would certainly not want a repeat of what occurred during an infamous Travis Scott concert, where 10 fans were suffocated “following a crowd surge.”

The word “love” is used within so many contexts that it has become undefinable. Not undefinable in the sense that it is truly beyond description, but undefinable in the sense that it has been stretched into more configurations than Play-Doh.

Resources

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/billie-eilish-halts-concert-help-151709614.html

Sunday, February 6, 2022

Sentinel of Peace

(Fair Use)

As the United National Security Council grapples with military threats, missile launches and a global pandemic, Guernica serves as a stark reminder of what to avoid.

The city itself was devastated by Nazis during the Spanish Civil War. Picasso therefore named his anti-war painting “Guernica.” Nelson Rockefeller later obtained the tapestry version of this painting and had it hung within New York City’s United Nations building.

That was back in 1984. After a long hiatus, the Rockefeller family returned it to the United Nations. "Guernica" once again stands guard over world peace.

Resources

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/guernica-tapestry-returns-united-nations/