loving art, science and creative kids
2/22/2025 4:03:41 PM
TWIN STARS
"The sky is falling, the sky is falling," said Chicken Little
Alive in Interesting Times
On the PBS television show The Newshour with Jim Lehrer, he spoke to Dr. Ho Young about the phrase, May you live in interesting times. Young explained that "interesting," rather than suggesting good times, refers to dangerous, war-mongering, political, and turbulent times. It is more of a curse than a good wish, making the recipient crave a simpler, more peaceful life. The most fascinating periods in history were filled with tumult and upheaval. Amazon has over 70,000 nonfiction books about World War II and at least 20,000 on the Holocaust Interesting times.
I was told the phrase was an ancient Chinese proverb. Chinese scholar Torrey Whitman says it is likely an English saying spread by Lord Chamberlain in the late 1930s. Though it may not be Chinese, much can be learned from studying China's thirteen dynastic periods that start with the Xia Dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BC). The Quig dynasty (1644-1912) was the last imperial dynasty, though some consider the Communist party ruling today, its latest.
A political theory about the Dynastic Periods in Chinese history says the public was initially favorable to new dynasties. They often initiated a political, cultural, and economic revival, bringing peace and prosperity after an era of conflict. Regime collapse follows in future generations due to corrupt government officials, economic declines, and poorly handled natural disasters like famine and floods. It reaches a breaking point when the peasants decide the monarch no longer has a "Mandate from Heaven" to rule. Revolt follows, and a new regime takes over.
In China, it was the ordinary person, the common man or woman, who initiated change. Not all people have the courage to do that. When times are bad, some cultures take a different path than action; they retreat, fearing the end of days. They become insular, divest themselves of belongings, and lose hope for their future. Like ostriches, they appear to bury their heads in the sand rather than overthrow an evil regime. We see this today when people follow toxic leaders rather than rise against those who take our rights away, spread falsehoods, act immorally, poorly manage national disasters, support evil regimes, and show little compassion.
Websites like the one put up after Hurricane Katrina abound. It was a pulpit espousing that God sent the hurricane because New Orleans was a wicked city and was sending a warning to the rest of the nation. Octogenarian Harold Camping's nightly bible show tormented its doomsday listeners into believing that in 2011, waves from a gigantic earthquake would roll over the earth, killing all in its path. Many followers gave up their friends, homes, and life savings. When the world didn't end, and no one rose to heaven, rather than feel like fools, they clung together with a changed date and a different narrative about God's intention. The many who felt embarrassed usually altered their belief in God.
"A Brief History of the Apocalypse ( https://www.abhota.info/end1.htm) gives a timeline of end-time predictions. An Assyrian clay tablet unearthed dating to approximately 2800 BC is one of the earliest examples of the perception of moral decay being interpreted as a sign of the imminent end. It bears the words, "Our earth is degenerate in these latter days. There are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end. Bribery and corruption are common."
The apocalypse list continues to grow, with politics and environment added to the list of reasons for the earth's demise. False prophets continue to spread untruths to gullible people through the internet. But the sky is not falling in, and end times are far from here.
Scientists predict that the sun will swell into a red giant star, swallowing Mercury, Venus, Earth, and perhaps Mars in 4,400,000,000 AD, and that this will be the actual end of the world.
Earth's creatures will undoubtedly suffer if we humans don't care for the water, air, and land that nurtures us. We will die in wars if we don't find ways to get along. Falling prey to corrupt and greedy politicians brings hardships, but not the end of the world. There will be survivors, though it may not be you or me if we don't have the resources to withstand "interesting times."
This is why ordinary people like you and me have to take action. We can no longer sit in easy chairs, praying and hoping for better days. It is incumbent on everyone to get involved and install a regime that works for the common good. You have more power than you might think.
I look forward to your comments below.
Twin Stars is a 16" by 20" framed acrylic painting. It is available and shipped free in the continental U.S. for $ 395. Purchase on my website at https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/1662376/twin-stars#/ Questions? Contact me at [email protected].
Resources:
Yong, H.,(2025) May you Live in Interesting Times? China Sprout, Chinese Cultural Education Products. Retrieved from https://www.chinasprout.com/community/guestcolumns/21
Website (2025) What were the 13 Major dynasties of China? Encyclopedia BritannicaRetrieved from https://www.britannica.com/video/learn-about-Chinas-six-ruling-dynasties/-259717
Website (2011) A Brief History of the Apocalypse https://www.abhota.info/end1.htm
Huus, K. (2005) Apocalypse, now? NBC New. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna9731623#.UjBbjNKsiSo
Website (2025) Here's how our Universe will (probably) End. Science Focus. Retrieved from https://www.abhota.info/end1.htm
Lipman-BLumen, J. (2005) The Allure of Toxic Leaders: Why Followers Rarely Escape Their Clutches. Ivey Business Journal. Retrieved from https://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/the-allure-of-toxic-leaders-why-followers-rarely-escape-their-clutches/
Bartlett, T. (2012) A year after the non-Aapocalpse: where are they now? Religion Dispatches. Retrieved from https://religiondispatches.org/a-year-after-the-non-apocalypse-where-are-they-now/
2/14/2025 6:58:57 PM
CITY SCAPER
Millions of trees were destroyed to make room for the apartment buildings lining city blocks. It is easy to forget that the inside dwellers are a part of the natural world. The drive for power and wealth is out of balance with protecting the environment.
Small Beginnings, Unimaginable Consequences
Friends seem surprised by the Trump administration’s move toward a Fascist regime. I remember a college history professor saying that when our country goes, it will embrace socialism for the wealthy—Fascism, not Communism. He lectured that an oligarchy of capitalists would manage the country, receiving the benefits of your tax dollars. This was never so clear as when I read that 400 million dollars on the Government Procurement list was for armored Teslas—the ugly cyber ones no one wants to buy. Because of public uproar, the item on the list was renamed armored electric vehicles, making it easier to pass unnoticed.
After years of preparation, the coup attempt on January 6th, 2021, continues today. It began during the Civil Rights movement in the ‘60s. What we see today is a result of intense planning. Though I rarely discuss books, there are two that explain the direction our country is going in. Whether you are right or left leaning, these books are informative. Both are worthy of Book Club discussions. The following are Amazon descriptions of the book. I guarantee you will look at the political changes of today in a new light. During Trump’s first election, I heard him say, “Don’t you just love the uneducated.” Don’t be one of them. Please read the books before they, too, are banned.
Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right’s Stealth Plan for America by Nancy MacLean
The movement started as a little-known program at the University of Virginia. It expanded to think tanks designed to take over the education system, the presidency, Congress, the Supreme Court, and the media. Because there aren’t enough people in the top tier, they lured the religious right and uneducated to be their voting block. The book came out in 2018 but was recently updated with a foreword.
ABOUT DEMOCRACY IN CHAINS
Winner of the Lillian Smith Book Award
Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize
Finalist for the National Book Award
The Nation‘s “Most Valuable Book”
“[A] vibrant intellectual history of the radical right.”—The Atlantic
“This sixty-year campaign to make libertarianism mainstream and eventually take the government itself is at the heart of Democracy in Chains. . . . If you’re worried about what all this means for America’s future, you should be.”—NPR
An explosive exposé of the right’s relentless campaign to eliminate unions, suppress voting, privatize public education, stop action on climate change, and alter the Constitution.
“Behind today’s headlines of billionaires taking over our government is a secretive political establishment with long, deep, and troubling roots. The capitalist radical right has been working not simply to change who rules but to fundamentally alter the rules of democratic governance. However, billionaires did not launch this movement; a white intellectual in the embattled Jim Crow South did. Democracy in Chains names its true architect—the Nobel Prize-winning political economist James McGill Buchanan—and dissects the operation he and his colleagues designed over six decades to alter every branch of government to disempower the majority.
In a brilliant and engrossing narrative, Nancy MacLean shows how Buchanan forged his ideas about government in a last-gasp attempt to preserve the white elite’s power in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education. In response to the widening of American democracy, he developed a brilliant, if diabolical, plan to undermine the ability of the majority to use its numbers to level the playing field between the rich and powerful and the rest of us.
Corporate donors and their right-wing foundations were only too eager to support Buchanan’s work in teaching others how to divide America into “makers” and “takers.” And when a multibillionaire on a messianic mission to rewrite the social contract of the modern world, Charles Koch, discovered Buchanan, he created a vast, relentless, and multi-armed machine to carry out Buchanan’s strategy.
Without Buchanan's ideas and Koch's money, the libertarian right would not have succeeded in its stealth takeover of the Republican Party as a delivery mechanism. With Mike Pence as Vice President, the cause has a longtime loyalist in the White House, not to mention a phalanx of Republicans in the House, the Senate, a majority of state governments, and the courts, all carrying out the plan. That plan includes harsher laws to undermine unions, privatizing everything from schools to health care and Social Security, and keeping as many of us as possible from voting. Based on ten years of unique research, Democracy in Chains tells a chilling story of right-wing academics and big money run amok. This revelatory work of scholarship is also a call to arms to protect the achievements of twentieth-century American self-government.”
The second recommendation is The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power by journalist Jeff Sharlet. It was published in 2008. It inspired a NETFLIX documentary, though it doesn’t tell the whole story. I met members of The Family whose college children worked for them as waiters, housekeepers, and groundkeepers to gain access to power. The group teaches autocratic leaders that their power and wealth are proof of being anointed by God and that they are free from worry about following God’s commandments. They are guaranteed access to heaven no matter what they do.
“Of all the important studies of the American right, The Family is undoubtedly the most eloquent. It is also quite possibly the most terrifying.” — Thomas Frank, New York Times bestselling author of What's the Matter with Kansas?
“The book investigates the political power of The Family or The Fellowship, a secretive fundamentalist Christian association led by Douglas Coe. Sharlet says that Coe preaches a leadership model and a personal commitment to Jesus Christ comparable to the blind devotion that Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong, and Pol Pot demanded from their followers.
One year after the book's initial publication, the sex scandals of prominent members of the Family, Nevada Senator John Ensign and South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, as well as accusations that the Family was illegally subsidizing the rent of members of Congress and involved in the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which would have imposed the death penalty for homosexuality in Uganda, thrust the notoriously secretive organization into the national spotlight.
They insist they're just a group of friends, yet they funnel millions of dollars through tax-free corporations. They claim to disdain politics, but congressmen of both parties describe them as the most influential religious organization in Washington. They say they're not Christians but simply believers.
Behind the scenes at every National Prayer Breakfast since 1953 has been the Family, an elite network dedicated to a religion of power for the powerful. Their goal is "Jesus plus nothing." Their method is backroom diplomacy. The Family is the startling story of how their faith—part free-market fundamentalism, part imperial ambition—has come to be interwoven with the affairs of nations around the world .________________________________________________________________________________________________
City-Scaper is a 24 by 20 framed acrylic painting on canvas. It is available for $780, shipped free in the continental U.S. You can purchase online at https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/1353405/city-scaper#/
Questions? Contact me at [email protected]
Please comment on this blog. I know it is long. But your thoughts are important to share.
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The Water Factor has several themes besides the corporate takeover of water. It also explores what it takes to make an activist. It is an International Firebird Book Award winner for best dystopian novel and a Literary Titan Gold Award recipient for best thriller. The novel is available in ebook, paperback, and audio formats. It can be purchased on AMAZON, Barnes and Noble, Annie Bloom Books, and Powell Books Online at and as an audiobook on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. Ask your bookstore to order a copy from Ingram. Please leave a review.
Mark your calendar
Location: Annie Bloom's Books
Date: Thursday, March 13th - 7 pm
Address: 7834 SW Capital Hwy, Portland, Oregon 97219
Annie Bloom's Books welcomes Portland author Marilynne Eichinger for a reading from The Water Factor: A Rightfully Mine Novel.
2/8/2025 3:37:29 PM
SEE ALL
What does this painting say to you? Show it to friends and see what they say. Do some look at the details, others the shapes? Are there people who don’t want to look at it? Do they prefer the tactile feel of sculpture? After reading this article, consider what intelligence skills they bring to art.
Frames of Mind
The theory of multiple intelligences drove how I educated my children, developed science exhibits, and ran my company. Howard Gardner’s comprehensive approach to education empowers teachers to create joyful and engaging classrooms. The crux of his teaching is that humans' intellectual competencies vary based on genetic factors and experiences. He claimed there are nine, perhaps more, ways people across the globe access and process information. Like most, we’re a mixture of the nine intelligences, with some a great deal more potent than others.
- Verbal-linguistic intelligence (well-developed verbal skills and sensitivity to the sounds, meanings, and rhythms of words) career possibilities: lawyer, speaker, host, author, journalist, curator.
- Spatial-visual intelligence (capacity to think in images and pictures, to visualize accurately and abstractly) career possibilities: Pilot, Surgeon, Architect, Graphic Artist, Interior Decorator, Painter.
- Bodily-kinesthetic intelligence (ability to control one’s body movements and to handle objects skillfully) Career Possibilities: Dancer, Athlete, Surgeon, Mechanic, Carpenter, Physical Therapist, Veterinarian.
- Musical intelligence (ability to produce sound and appreciate rhythm, pitch, and timber) Career Possibilities: Singer, Composer, DJ, Musician, Linguist
- Interpersonal intelligence (capacity to detect and respond appropriately to the moods, motivations, and desires of others) Career possibilities: Teacher, Psychologist, Manager, Salesperson Public Relations, Physician,
- Intrapersonal intelligence (capacity to be self-aware and in tune with inner feelings, values, beliefs, and thinking processes) Career Possibilities: Therapist, Psychologist,
- Naturalist intelligence (ability to recognize and categorize plants, animals, and other objects in nature) Career Possibilities: Botanist, Gardener, Animal Care, Landscaper, Forestry, Zoology, Veterinarian.
- Existential intelligence (Critical Evaluation) Sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence such as, “What is the meaning of life? Why do we die? Where did we come from? How did we get here?” Career Possibilities: Religious leader, Philosopher, Teacher, Historian, Anthropologist.
These intelligences make sense to me, as I’m a tactile and visual person who likes to read. I’m not musical or mathematical and am more in tune with interpersonal feelings and values than intrapersonal ones. The challenge for parents, teachers, and trainers is understanding the individual’s learning style and designing programs that take advantage of that skill.
I befriended a young man whose school tests showed him to have a low IQ. The test didn’t distinguish among the nine intelligences. He struggled to get through school and had difficulty keeping a job. One afternoon, I took him to the Portland Art Museum, where we toured the displays and discussed the paintings in detail. I was surprised at the depth of his interpretations. His insights added to my understanding of the art. Later that summer, my husband and I took him to an art fair. We had to pull him away from the booths when it was time to leave. He spent hours talking to the vendors about their art. Unfortunately, his strength was not understood or integrated into his education. Instead of thriving, he became a drug addict who couldn’t hold a job. If his visual abilities had been better understood, he would have been an excellent museum guard and helpful to visitors. Though not a good reader or artist, he absorbs what museum guides and artists say about their work. He would have been proud to come to work wearing a guard’s uniform and have stayed a loyal worker until death.
After leaving my job at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, I founded the Museum Tour Catalog with the help of 27 museums. The company supplied interactive educational toys, books, and materials to over a million households annually for eighteen years. Catalog pages were named after museums, art, science, history, and exhibit halls, such as engineering, symphony, nature center, etc. Gardener’s frames of mind theory influenced what we carried. Engineering and technology pages featured more than material and electronic devices to assemble. They contained science fiction and how-to books, computer programs, design projects, and historical devices like those devised by Da Vinci. The goal of the catalog was to sell products that piqued the recipient’s interest so they’d want to know more. It was to help parents better understand the way their children think.
Whether you are a parent, friend, reporter, politician, or teacher, if you want to be a better communicator, it helps to put your audience through the sieve of Gardner’s categories. Friends and students often nod and pretend they understand what you are saying when they don’t. You might need a different way to get your point across. My husband can watch a YouTube video before repairing equipment and know what to do. I prefer reading instructions when they’re outlined 1,2,3… I get confused and bored watching the footage, zone out, and can’t remember what to do first.
It is essential to understand that biological, psychological, and experiential factors play a role in problem-solving and creating products of cultural value. Awareness of the differences in intelligence skills can make one more curious and less critical.
I look forward to your comments below..
Art is always for sale. See All is a 48" by 24" acrylic painting on deep canvas. Available for $895, shipping included. Purchase through my website at https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/5558644/see-all#/
For further information, contact me at [email protected]
References:
Website (2024) Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences.Northern Illinois University Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Retrieved from https://www.niu.edu/citl/resources/guides/instructional-guide/gardners-theory-of-multiple-intelligences.shtml
Website. (2025) Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Overview and Theory. Study.com. Retrieved from https://study.com/buy/academy/lesson/multiple-intelligences.html?
Marenus,< (2024) Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences. |Simply Psychology. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/multiple-intelligences.html
Mark your calendar
Location: Annie Bloom's Books
Date: Thursday, March 13th - 7 pm
Address: 7834 SW Capital Hwy, Portland, Oregon 97219
Annie Bloom's Books welcomes Portland author Marilynne Eichinger for a reading from The Water Factor: A Rightfully Mine Novel
The Water Factor has several themes besides the corporate takeover of water. It explores what will turn a young person into an activist. When you read the novel, consider Howard Gardner’s Frames of Mind and see where the characters in the book fit into his theory.
The Water Factor is an International Firebird Book Award winner for best dystopian novel and a Literary Titan Gold Award recipient for best thriller. The novel is available in ebook, paperback, and audio formats. It can be purchased on AMAZON, Barnes and Noble, Annie Bloom Books, and Powell Books Online atand as an audiobook on Amazon, Audible, and iTunes. Ask your bookstore to order a copy from Ingram. Please leave a review.
2/1/2025 10:52:39 AM
HOPE EXPLODING
Beyond Revenge
According to a 2023 Gallup poll, about three in four Americans identify with a specific religious faith; twenty-two percent say they have no religious preference. When asked if they believe in their religious teachings, forty-seven percent say yes, and thirty-three percent say they are spiritual.
From people's actions, not their words, I question their religion's impact on daily life. Americans continue to elect officials to high offices who have predatory sexual pasts, who don't pay their taxes, underpay employees, lie under oath, spread false information, support ruthless dictators, and seek revenge and retribution at the slightest snub. It's easy to talk about being a good, upright person, but following through is difficult. It's their behavior that counts.
The way people act is hypocritical to the beliefs they espouse. Why do religious people hold the Bible and Ten Commandments in high esteem yet commit adultery, kill, steal, support the death penalty, and ignore their parents? Are their circumstances pacifists will fight in a war? Why do good people seek revenge when they are wronged? Australian social psychologist researcher Ian McKee says people motivated by power, authority, and the desire for status tend to be more vengeful. They will lie and cheat for fear of losing face.
In a society with a weak rule of law, revenge is a way to keep order. Power-seekers use revenge to remind others not to trifle with them. Some people use revenge as a cathartic measure, though studies show it doesn't make them feel better. Rather than helping the person move on with life, it causes them to dwell on the situation and keeps them unhappy.
University of Maryland psychology professor Dr. Michele Gelfand studied 150 students, finding that those who showed a deference to authority and a respect for traditions and social dominance were more favorable toward revenge and retribution. The more students focused on universal connectedness values, the less likely they were to seek revenge.
Cultural differences also play a role. Americans become offended when their rights are violated. They might seek revenge if someone infringes on their right to voice opinions. Koreans are offended if their sense of duty and obligation is threatened. Public criticism that's embarrassing can trigger a desire for revenge.
The Old Testament leaves revenge to God to dole out. Judaism forbids revenge and the harboring of grudges. The Torah teaches that God is the arbitrator of justice and that true faith in God eliminates the need for revenge.
- Yet in Exodus 21:23, the Bible instructs us to punish an offender by "Giving life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot."
- Leviticus 19:18 says: "Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord."
The New Testament also considers God the arbitrator of justice.
- Romans 12:19-21: "Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord."
- Matthew 5:38-39: "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also."
The Hindu Bhagavad Gita advises against revenge, promoting forgiveness and understanding. It teaches that actions should be based on duty and righteousness, not a personal vendetta. It emphasizes the importance of self-control and the harmful effects of anger and hatred.
The Quran says that revenge is not a solution. It only increases the problem.
- Quran 2:178: "If you choose to forgive, you will be rewarded by Allah, and if you go beyond the limits, you will be punished by Allah."
- As in the Old Testament, there is an out. Quaran 16:126: "If you want to retaliate, retaliate to the same degree as the injury done to you. But if you are patient, it is better to be so.
A Pacifist's thought about revenge.
"With regard to provocation situations, pacifists may pursue goals that run counter to revenge-seeking and, thereby, inhibit vengeful actions. This could include, for example, the goal of maintaining positive relationships and the goal of regulating emotional reactions when angry."
Buddhism teaches that revenge is wrong.
"Buddha said that those who harm others are not trainees in virtue. Revenge is giving in to anger and self-cherishing and is incompatible with practicing compassion."
Martin Luther King Jr. says, "The old law of 'an eye for an eye' leaves everybody blind.'
Building Bridges is a song sung by protesters in 1981
Building bridges between our divisions,
I reach out to you, won't you reach out to me?
With all our voices and all our visions,
Friends, we can make such sweet harmony.
From Greenham Common Peace Occupation1: 1981 protest to challenge the decision to site 96 Cruise nuclear missiles in Berkshire, England.
If my family or nation's safety were threatened, I would fight, but I doubt I would seek revenge when the event ended. I hope for peaceful solutions that come from understanding and communicating.
Though most philosophers and religious teachers warn against revenge and retribution, there are conflicts in their teachings. Where do you stand on the spectrum? Please comment on my blog site.
Art is always for sale. Hope Exploding is a 30" by 24" acrylic painting on deep canvas. Available for $695, shipping included. Purchase through my website at https://www.eichingerfineart.com/workszoom/4777122/hope-exploding#/
For further information, contact me at [email protected]
Resources:
Buckles, S. (2025) What does the Bhagavad Gita say about revenge? Wisdom Short. Retrieved from https://wisdomshort.com/books/bhagavad-gita/revenge
Website. What is Islam's view on Revenge? CPSInternational center for peace and spirituality. Retrieved from https://cpsglobal.org/books/the-seekers-guide/9-what-is-islams-view-on-revenge
Adolesc, J (2018). (2025) Pacifists and Revenge-Seekers in Response to Unambiguous Peer Provocation. National Library of Medicine.Retrieved from https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6053336/#:~:text
Zakilkowski, D. (2025)What Does Judaism Say About Taking Revenge?" Chabad, org. Retrieved from https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1842551/jewish/What-Does-Judaism-Say-About-Taking-Revenge.htm
Luke. (2015) Is Revenge ever allowed in Buddhism?Dharma Wheel. retrieved from https://www.dharmawheel.net/viewtopic.php?t=21450
Price, M. (20090) Revenge and the People Who Seek It. American Psychological Association/. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/06/revenge
Website (2024). How Are Religious Americans? Gallup. Retrieved from https://news.gallup.com/poll/358364/religious-americans.aspx
Though it might be surprising, a loyalty code of conduct exists among those without a home. This is especially true in youth who fled unsavory homes. They become friends, united in adversity. The Peanut fence is available in paperback and ebook on Amazon, Barnes and Nobel and in Powells City of Books.
