TO THE WONDER OF WINTER AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR
Much happiness, and may your dreams and wishes for the coming year be fulfilled.
It is a pleasure to speak to you through my art and writings. Thank you for following my blog, purchasing my art, and reading my books. Your comments are wonderful to read. I feel blessed and wish the best for you.
Marilynne
HEAVEN AND BEYOND
We have reached the season of cold, long nights in a cycle luring us to slow down and conserve energy for the lengthening days ahead. The Solstice arrives with regularity, marking the change from fall to winter and ushering in the new year. The weather during the coming months will be less predictable than it was in past winters. Homeowners are planning for increased power outages, floods, mudslides, and trees falling on their houses and cars.
From childhood, I remember the good part of winter: the soft glow of the painted stars twinkling on my bedroom ceiling. I’d lie awake, waiting in the early darkness before sleeping. During snowy days, I’d sled on the hill by my house and make a snowman on the lawn. The nights I enjoyed most were the moonless nights, when the air was crisp, and the stars beckoned me outside.
When I married and moved to Lansing Michigan,I was especially awed by the occasional displays of northern lights casting their spell over the renovated farmhouse I moved to after my fifth child was born. With the snow was deep and my son soundly asleep, I’d cross-country ski through the of cut corn stalks left standing in a neighbor’s field. As I sped down the aisles, their bent shadows added mystery to the journey.
Though the earth appeared peaceful, covered with snow, the night was never silent. The hoot of owls and the chirp of crickets created a cacophony of sounds that kept me alert. Frogs in the nearby wetland joined in their symphony with croaking harmony. As I continued skiing on deserted country roads, I'd be surprised by a field mouse scuttling by my feet or a bat flying too close for comfort. I froze in place the evening four luminous eyes watched me in the darkness. They belonged to a mother and faun that took off when I skied too close.
I knew there were predators to watch out for, but I wasn't scared, for they hid when I went by. But, after the house lights turned off, they weren't afraid to climb the steps to our porch. I'd awaked to squawks from the cage protecting my daughter's pet doves. I thought the birds were safe until the morning its door was unlatched, with one missing and the other dismembered in a pile of feathers. It could have been a raccoon, for they're clever at opening simple latches with remarkable dexterity. It might have been a fox, for they eat birds whole but can't digest the feathers. Perhaps it was a coyote, for an entire carcass was missing. These animals were known to live nearby.
The house borders on forty miles of trails through forested parkland. With coyotes and owls in great abundance, I'm often awakened to hoots, howls, and local dogs barking their response. The coyotes appear fearless when they prance with their young ones down the street. The neighborhood was surprised five years ago when deer appeared in our yards. Due to their abundance since then, we've had to give up our vegetable gardens. A multiplying rabbit population doesn't help. A deer ate my tomato plant and slept in my flower garden last summer, flattening the plants to the ground. Four elk were spotted exiting the trail by my house for the first time.
During cold weather, my husband sets mouse traps to prevent mice from running between two-by-fours behind the drywall. Like the squirrels that find their way in, the mice can cause havoc by chewing on household wires. My husband catches at least one mouse daily trows in the woods for the coyotes. The Downey Woodpecker drilling holes in our siding is difficult to chase away. We left a stump tree in the yard for it to peck on.
Flying squirrels by night and grey squirrels by day empty the firs of pine cones. Hundreds of them land with a thud on our porch, leaving dobs of pitch that stick to shoes when we refill the hanging bird feeders. The pine cones weren't a problem until the trees grew so tall that branches one hundred feet above spread over the deck. We've had to adapt to how these trees reproduce and to the squirrel's need to collect pine cones, supplying food for the winter ahead.
Though surrounded by nature, I'm only fifteen minutes from Portland's cultural center. I enjoy exploring its museums and the relish the holiday spirit while in its restaurants. The night sounds of the woods and the chatter of people on holiday-lit sidewalks remind me that I share the planet with others. Winter's Solstice is a time to honor the coming season and remember to pay attention to the plants and animals that share the earth.
References:
Website. (2024) Common Predators that Kill Chickens. Strombergs. Retrieved from https://www.strombergschickens.com/blog/the-common-predators-that-kill-chickens/?
Books and art make great holiday gifts. Go to
https://www.secretsofamuseumjunkie.com for a selection. For questions, contact me at [email protected]
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STATIC INTERMISSION
MOTOROLA' S DYNATAC IBM's SIMON
MOBILE ADDICTION
Seeing how my nine and thirteen-year-old grandchildren are attached to their cell phones has me concerned. The sophisticated miniature computers they text with have taken over their lives. They spend hours playing games and communicating with friends they've never met. The phone keeps them up until the early morning hours and affects their school work and my interaction with them since they sleep till one or two in the afternoon. I wish Vancouver schools would ban their use during classes like districts are doing nationwide.
Mobile phones were invented in the early 1940s by AT&T engineers as two-way radios that allowed taxi drivers and emergency services to communicate. William Rae Young at Bell Labs was the first to suggest the concept behind the cellular mobile phone system through cell towers. By 1947, there was cell phone service between New York and Boston, but it was a failure due to interference. The first mass-produced handheld phone was sold in 1973, but it wasn't until the Motorola DynaTac in 1985, known as "the brick," ushered in a new era of handheld communication devices. Their invention was exciting.
Nine years later, engineers and administrators from eleven European countries gathered to consider whether a digital cellular phone system was technically and politically possible. Their conference laid the foundation for an international standard. IBM's Simon Personal Communicator hit the market in 1994 with a touchscreen that allowed consumers to call and receive faxes and emails. With a price tag of $1,099, it sold 50,000 units in its first six months. But it wasn't until 1997 that the term smartphone was coined, and mobile gaming was introduced with a game called Snake. Today's gaming industry is worth over $152 billion.
The ringtone, launched in 1998 in Finland, was the first downloadable content sold to mobile phone users. Emojis were invented in Japan a year later, the same year the Blackberry was unveiled. Blackberry was famous for its easy-to-use e-mail service. That's when I got into the market, feeling a need to have it for my business. It kept me connected to the office and my employees like never before. The Blackberry may have instigated the addiction to mobile phones today.
Technological changes evolved rapidly. By 2000, the Nokia 3310 had sold 126 million units. In 1999, the first commercially available camera phone was launched in Japan, with restrictions that it was only used in the country. Sharp introduced one in 2000, but the images could have been clearer. The phone and camera were two separate devices in the same housing. When the first 3G network appeared in 2001, mobile phones connected to the internet, it might surprise you to hea Nepal was one of the early Asian countries to launch 3G services in 2003.
When Apple's iPhone debuted 2007 for $499, Nokia executives said it wouldn't dent its market share. But it was revolutionary with its touch screen, ability to download apps, GPS, camera, iPod, and internet access and became a turning point for the smartphone industry. T-Mobile, the first Android phone with Google's operating system, hit the market the following year. Android systems were cheaper than iPhones, opening the market to more customers. These innovations were followed by WhatsApp in 2009, which allowed customers to send and receive calls and messages over the internet. Today's WhatsApp messaging system has 1.2 billion users sending over 10 billion messages daily.
Progress continued. 4G was introduced in 2009, and a year later, Samsung's Galaxy S smartphone usurped former Android giants. Though text messages arrived in 2012, using them took a while. Then, the Pokemon Go app launched worldwide, a game that used a smartphone camera to show Pokemon characters in the real world. The totem pole beside my house became a site for frequent visitors.
In 2017, the Nokia 331 was equipped with basic web browsing, a colorful screen, and a camera. Its super-long battery life made it one of the year's biggest hits. That same year, Apple eliminated the physical home button. The first 5G phones and fifth-generation network debuted in 2019, allowing smartphones to have 198MP cameras.
Nowadays, people are glued to their phones wherever they go. They put them on the table while dining in restaurants. They surf the web researching products and services, read the news, and purchase gifts with their phone. To exist in the world requires you to be mobile savvy. The question in my mind is, at what price? Over three billion people worldwide use cell phones. What do they give up by becoming addicted, and how do you know if you are one of them?
When a person uses their cell phone most of the time and cannot cut back on its use, it's a problem. The cause is often an indication of boredom, anxiety, or depression. National Institute of Health studies show that when the phones of addicted people are out of reach, their behavior becomes stressful. This is especially true with adolescents, where it is associated with sleep deprivation and has many of the same results as alcohol addiction. The Surgeon General says teens who spend more than three hours a day on social media double the risk to their mental health. Dysfunctional usage of cell phones is associated with low emotional stability, chronic stress, anger, and depression. Communication suffers. Texting short replies doesn't promote deep discussions or tell you the emotional condition of the messenger.
Mobile phones emit low radiation levels, though whether it causes cancer or promote accelerated growth of existing tumors remains questionable. When held against your ear, it heats a localized area of your face and brain, though not by much of a problem if its use isn't extensive. If you are concerned about radiation, keep mobile phone calls short, use a hands-free kit, don't carry the phone close to your body when switched on, use a landline when possible, and choose a model with a low absorption rate. Driving while using a mobile device, however, significantly increases the risk of a traffic accident.
More research is needed on cell phone use and its effect on society. Since it's known that obsessive use can cause physical and psychological damage, be cautious, especially with children. Cell phones should never be used as a substitute for a babysitter, physical activity, or face-to-face communication.
Are cell phones a problem in your home? Are they allowed at the dining room table? Share your experience on my blog site.
Art is always for sale. For information about Static Interference contact me at [email protected].
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Murder, deceit, kidnappings, robberies. Read what happens when corporate greed sets bad things in motion, and it takes a hero to set things right. Available online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powells Books, and locally at Annie Blooms Bookstore in Multnomah Village.
Ponersosa Pines - Will you be decorating a pine tree this Christmas?
Bah Humbug
Love it or hate it? The winter holidays have always been joyful for me, though less so now that my family is dispersed throughout the country. I used to look forward to decorating a tree and watching children tear into their gifts on Christmas day. When I talk to older friends, more of them say these memories of happier times make them sad, so they avoid holiday celebrations. Humbugs have different reasons for not liking Christmas. Some don't like being forced to listen to the same chipper songs repeated or see red, green, and gold everywhere they travel. Others think children become greedy during the holidays and that people are insincere in their expressions of love. They empathize with poor families whose children expect Santa to reward them for good behavior.
Younger acquaintances say they're exhausted by having to interact with their dysfunctional families and despise the pressure to act happy when they're with them. Gift-giving poses a special burden. With five children, eight grandchildren, and two adopted families, it's a problem I relate to. Not only is the holiday expensive, but giving gifts during the holiday is less rewarding than gift-giving when your package is not among a pile that will make yours appear insignificant. Your gift is more likely to be appreciated when opened at an off time of the year.
But then again, there is much to like about the holidays. I look forward to celebrating the Winter Solstice on December 21st and joining friends for drinks. I like lighting Hanukkah candles for eight consecutive nights. The first night this year is on Christmas Day, December 25th. I'm uplifted by the festive food, treats, and decorated homes lighting our city during the darkest nights of the year. I anticipate snowfalls and look forward to sledding on the hill by my house and having a good snowball fight. There's nothing better than getting warm by the fire afterward. I admit that finding the perfect gift for a relative does make me feel good. And, though I erected smaller Christmas trees than I used to, they are still fun to decorate.
So, I embrace the spirit of the season. Why feel down instead of joyful? There is enough bad news in the world to make me pleased to have a diversion. The parties I attend that ask guests to bring white elephant gifts, I find fun, especially when it is a book. Giving presents that connect my kids to me after I am gone feel like the right thing to do.
Last week, I took my two adopted granddaughters to see Beauty and the Beast on stage. Today, I helped them make gingerbread houses. I will participate in a book sale on Sunday at the Historical Museums' annual Holiday Fair. I'll be among dozens of local authors sharing their latest novels, and I look forward to sharing my thriller, The Water Factor. Keeping busy makes me feel alive.
My smile is genuine, not pasted. It is good to have reason to think of others' needs rather than my own. There is much to look forward to in a season that is joyful for many. I find it rewarding to embrace traditional celebrations rather than be a humbug and fight them.
Christmas-love it or hate it? Please share what you will do during the holidays. Is it the solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanza that adds meaning to your life? or none of the above. Comment at www.eichingerfineart.com/blog
The last day of the 30% off sale for original paintings is Sunday, December 8th. 16" by 20" canvas prints are available for $99 delivered to your address. Order now to arrive for the holiday. Explore art at https://www.eichingerfineart.com/works
contact artist at [email protected]
