Anthony G. Payne Dr. Dennis is a professor of bioengineering at the University of North Carolina (UNC) and worked for NASA as a research scientist. I actually have been evaluating the efficacy of his unique M1 PEMF technology to remediate pain & stimulate cartilage and bone regeneration in volunteers. We seem to share a passion for equipping people with the know-how to help themselves. Check out this this <5 minute video in which Dr. Dennis explains how to make-a ventilator-at-home.
Category Archives: ENJOY YOURSELF
You probably know your IQ and EQ scores (respectively). What about your AS?
https://www.simplypsychology.org/attachment-styles.html – A rundown of the various attachment styles (Simply Psychology website)
What is your attachment style? This interactive survey takes about 5 minutes to complete. The questionnaire is designed to measure your ‘attachment style’–the way you relate to others in the context of intimate relationships. When completed, the site will reveal your attachment style, and provide a brief summary of what is known about your attachment style on the basis of contemporary scientific research.
No country for old men
If you are getting older (or “on up in years”) — say, well into your 50s or beyond — then I suspect you have developed a special appreciation of the perceptiveness that informs William Yeats’s poem “Sailing to Byzantium” (Video reading below). If you are fairly young and age is a distant concern, then make sure to download the videos below and return to them once you cross into seniorhood.
Yeats wrote:
That is no country for old men. The young
In one another’s arms, birds in the trees,
—Those dying generations—at their song,
The salmon-falls, the mackerel-crowded seas,
Fish, flesh, or fowl, commend all summer long
Whatever is begotten, born, and dies.
Caught in that sensual music all neglect
Monuments of unageing intellect.
II
An aged man is but a paltry thing,
A tattered coat upon a stick,…
Now, being West Texas-born & bred, I tend to see aged men like myself not in terms of being a “tattered coat upon a stick”, but as tumbleweeds. Yes, tumbleweeds. We start out green and full of life and over time dry up, uproot from the good earth, and begin being blown hither & yon by the winds of memory, nostalgia, and our own unique spirituality.
If this sounds sad or even morose, it shouldn’t be. It’s part of the cycle of life; the journey from the temporal to the eternal and what lies beyond. The only thing incumbent on us is to be prepared for it.
Not surprisingly, I have wholeheartedly embraced Yeats’s “Sailing from Byzantium”, but also….
Sailing to Byzantium – W. B. Yeats (Powerful Life Poetry) – YouTube
A Short Analysis of W. B. Yeats’s ‘Sailing to Byzantium’ – Interesting Literature
And what of you?
Orange and healing
Orange in psychology is associated with healing though this was not the why behind my own affection for orange — particularly orange calcite (See photo on the right). As an amateur geologist since boyhood stones and fossils have always “spoken to me” in both the objective empirical & scientific sense and in the artistic/aesthetic sense. Laying aside the New Age world’s obsession with specific stones and correcting or realigning “out of balance chakras”, I believe the color and texture of specific stones can trigger neurocognitive circuitry in the human brain that is associated with healing & our sense of wellness (So far as I know hard scientific evidence for this is lacking at present though I suspect it will emerge in the future). Orange and red-orange help encourage this IMO. I also can’t help but think that holding a rough stone in some way links us to ancestral hominins such as Homo erectus populations in Africa (and beyond) who fashioned crude choppers and such from rocks (Oldowan technology). They can also serve as a focus for releasing faith (To this end I pray the Shema Israel & Lord’s prayer three times daily while holding 2 or more orange calcite stones. Nature’s rosary as it were).
Shaul of Tarsus (St. Paul) had “handkerchiefs” he prayed over and distributed to believers in need of healing, deliverance, and such, I have my orange calcite stones which I freely gift to those who express a desire to use them to help facilitate or release their faith.
From the journal Nature (31 March 2021): Innovative Homo sapiens 105,000 years ago collected calcite crystals: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03419-0
© April 2021 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne. All rights reserved.
A UFO/UAP story for you
What do you believe is the origin of most UFOs/UAPs which have been reported down through the years? And what of those captured on film and then digital technology? (I have a UFO/UAP story for you, but I will not delve right into it. First some background and then the account).
Now the possibility that advanced lifeforms on a faraway world had developed spacecraft capable of interstellar travel seemed possible to me as a young man, but (I had to ask myself) was it probable that one of these civilizations had not only achieved this but also located earth and was visiting it? What bothered me about a lot of UFO accounts was the fact the occupants of these advanced spacecraft behaved, well, kinda strangely. By this I mean they did not seem to do a good job of hiding their presence or even at times their intentions (i.e., to gather data or samples from earth and sometimes its people), and yet they seemingly had made no attempt to communicate with any of the pilots or law enforcement people who encountered them or with any military or civilian ground communications facilities. Surely aliens capable of constructing and flying spacecraft which had been observed violating/circumventing the known laws of physics would have no problem figuring out how best to communicate with humans and who best to send some kind of message to.
I was around when Sputnik was launched and never failed to be fascinated by newspaper and TV stories on all the satellites, spacecraft, and robot landers that followed. The same could be said of all the UFO stories and photos I came across in the media.
But what did I know? I was just a kid with a lot of unanswered questions who might have missed something somewhere. This however didn’t deter me from reading material and watching TV news stories which showcased what both skeptics and those convinced UFOs were alien contraptions had to say.
Read the rest of this entryUniversity of Birmingham scientists introduce a carrageenan-based nasal spray for COVID-19 eleven (11) months after I showed my readers how to make their own spray at-home (Fancy that!)
The spray is a combination of an antiviral agent called carrageenan, commonly used in foods as a thickening agent, and a solution called gellan a gelling agent selected for its ability to stick to cells inside the nose.
The photo is one of the many bottles of saline/iota carrageenan/polysorbate 20 (antivirus) nasal spray I processed on 3-17-2020 in my lab. Giveaways, yes, to family, friends & volunteers.
Here is my step-by-step guide to making up the spray at home:
Comment: I began seeing a large number of downloads of my nasal spray creation guidelines from people in the UK beginning shortly after March 22, 2020.
Familiar pattern perhaps?
Ependyma & CSF & stem cells & ALS: Connect the dots | For Seekers & Other Heretics (wordpress.com)
Getting stem cells to target using magnetic means | For Seekers & Other Heretics (wordpress.com)
There are many other similar “coincidences” down through the years but in the final analysis, what counts is folks get the help they need to combat acute & chronic diseases & conditions.
Copyright 2021 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne. All rights reserved.
Reaching people: a better way of doing PR, marketing & advocacy
https://biotheorist.files.wordpress.com/2021/01/a-better-way-of-doing-public-relations5ej-marketing-5e0-advocacy-by-dr.-anthony-g.-payne-2021.pdf
Unholy Hype: Many churches & religious organizations are following the playbook of Madison Avenue & Dr. Goebbels | For Seekers & Other Heretics (wordpress.com)
A false prophet calls out the master purveyor of falsehoods (File this under “Talk about the pot calling the kettle black”)
This is simply too good to pass up:
Read the rest of this entryYou know, with all his talent and the ability to be able to raise money and grow large crowds, the president still lives in an alternate reality,” Robertson said [Bolded emphasis mine]. “He really does. People say, ‘Well, he lies about this, that, and the other.’ But no, he isn’t lying; to him, that’s the truth.” He said Trump has “done a marvelous job for the economy, but at the same time he is very erratic, and he’s fired people and he’s fought people and he’s insulted people and he keeps going down the line.” With Trump, “it’s a mixed bag,” Robertson said, “and I think it would be well to say, ‘You’ve had your day and it’s time to move on.'”
Volvox or paramecium: which are you?
Are you a Volvox or a paramecium? Drop down and you’ll see pictures and a description of each below. Put simply, a Volvox is a colony of green algae. A paramecium is a unicellular organism. If you are a Volvox then you tend to be more social than a loner. If you are a paramecium, then you tend to thrive on your own (Not necessarily isolated though you do quite well as a loner) I’m oversimplifying things I know but my biology-based dichotomy makes about as much sense as some personality tests and the neat categories it sorts people into (e.g., extrovert, introvert, ambivert, etc.)
I appreciate and celebrate both the Volvox and the paramecium including their human “incarnations”. A world filled with only Volvoxes or paramecia would be impoverished and very likely dystopian IMO.
If you are a Volvox then you already know how well received you typically are. You are showcased and applauded in books, movies, games, plays, and so much more. Volvoxes tend to be the protagonists or heroes and heroines.
The paramecium — the loner — well, they tend to be portrayed as dysfunctional or at least not enviable. How many sci-fi movies can you name in which a lone wolf mad scientist or inventor is the antagonist or anti-social anti-hero? Nuff said.
Thankfully, there is an antidote. No, not to being a paramecium but rather to being misjudged and even vilified for being one: a book titled “Party of One: The Loner’s Manifesto” (2003) by Annelia Rufus.
Above all, be ye Volvox or paramecium…. or even a hybrid (Volmecium?)….you belong.
| Description | English: volvox aureus colony (green algae) photographed at 400 magnification under the optical microscope in the dark field. SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES |
| Date | 25 January 2015, 16:43:41 |
| Source | Own work |
| Author | Massimo brizzi |
| Description | .English: Paramecium aurelia. Optical microscope. Paramecium aurelia, the best known of all ciliates. The bubbles throughout the cell are vacuoles. The entire surface is covered in cilia, which are blurred by their rapid movement. |
| Date | 10 October 2003 |
| Source | Originally uploaded to the English Wikipedia, where it was made by Barfooz. |
| Author | Barfooz at the English Wikipedia. |
| Other versions | Transparent |
The American experiment: recovery, revolution or resignation (to decline & fall)?
As I put fingers to keyboard (August 2020) it is very evident that America is in very deep trouble. Our chickens have come home to roost. While debates rage about the exact nature and extend of the sins, unredressed wrongs, bad policies, corruption, inequality, racism and xenophobia and such that landed us in such dire straits, and how to address or remedy them, I for one am convinced that neither a left or right wing sociopolitical revolution will have a good outcome. Nor will scraping everything up to and including the Constitution and starting over “from scratch” (The French Committee of Public Safety dictatorship tried their hand at radically reinventing France’s social, economic & political order including introducing a secular Republican calendar and dechristianizing France. These extreme reforms paved the way for the Reign of Terror).
And, mind you, I am a democratic socialist. I’ve been one since 1986. But I also know how often revolutions meant to liberate “the people” – especially those that took place in the last century – wound up suppressing dissent and even eliminating dissenters (and other “undesirables”) by often cruel, inhuman means.
In light of human nature as reflected in history, it is difficult to imagine that any revolution-spawned modern day government, no matter how benign its intentions, will be able to resist relying on sophisticated surveillance, cyber warfare and AI technologies to “manage” its people and fend off its enemies (Real or imagined/contrived).
Read the rest of this entryA COVID-19 break: America’s 1st circulated coin contains an admonition for our times
The photos are of replica Fugio cents (I have about 15 of them in perfect condition). This colonial era coin was designed by Benjamin Franklin and was actually the first official US coin put into circulation. Authentic 1787 Fugio cents in fair to good condition online and in coin shops often run $500 USD ++. I posted these photos mainly because I suspect some of you might enjoy a break from all the COVID-19 news. So why not share something beautiful to behold and historic in nature to boot? BTW, the words “Mind Your Business” on the Fugio cent did not mean “stay to yourself and stay out of my business” This phrase/motto/credo meant “tend to your work related activities and interests”. Note the “We Are One” inscription & 13 interlocked rings (13 colonies) on the coin. Words of wisdom from Colonial times to ours. A memento mori carpe diem pause from moi to y’all.
COVID-19: Don’t let fear get the best of you
“Here’s what matters most in the Covid-19 pandemic”
© March 2020 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne (Summer Cloud). All rights reserved.
COVID-19: Lots of easy to access posts on my FACEBOOK page
I post many news articles & such on COVID-19 (and much more) along with my comments in many instances on my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/DrAGPayne.choctawdoc
My posts are almost always accessible by the public (This way you do not need to become a “Facebook Friend” of mine to access and read them).
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MAKE A VENTILATOR AT HOME
https://www.youtube.com/watch…
youtube.com
Anthony G. Payne PS I sincerely hope you NEVER have to make & use this homemade ventilator on a COVID-19 stricken spouse, relative, friend, or such!
Antivirus nasal spray you can make at home (Git-R-Done)
The fish tank cleaner contains the same active ingredient as the drug, but in a different form that can poison people.
washingtonpost.com
The fish tank cleaner contains the same active ingredient as the drug, but in a different form that can poison people.
Anthony G. Payne The toxicity of even the right drug – chloroquine — as well as hydroxychloroquinine — and the lack of substantive evidence that they actually produce benefits outweighing the risks — are prompting many scientists and docs to hit the pause button on them. However, back in the mid 1980s while dealing with a handful of AIDs sufferers (Dallas) I had them try a specific compound that was nontoxic — showed activity against certain parasites and viruses — and which actually had an positive impact of their condition. This whole chloroquinine discussion got to me to reflecting on this. Now I am arranging to obtain my old chemical friend and combine it with the other nontoxic antiviral compounds to see if it will make a dent in COVID-19 in the lab (I do not work with the actual virus but have a pipeline to researchers who are and who are seeking novel solutions to test against this insidious virus). Ever forward….
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Idiot pastor in Ohio holds Sunday service in his megachurch
In Warren County, Ohio, a state where the governor has issued a stay-at-home mandate to slow the spread of coronavirus, Solid Rock Church pastor Lawrence Bishop invited worshippers yesterday to his…
boingboing.net
In Warren County, Ohio, a state where the governor has issued a…
In Warren County, Ohio, a state where the governor has issued a stay-at-home mandate to slow the spread of coronavirus, Solid Rock Church pastor Lawrence Bishop invited worshippers yesterday to his…
Anthony G. Payne I suspect the pastor of this megachurch has trouble distinguishing presumption from faith. It is an intellectual defect I’ve seen at work in many congregations down through the years, sometimes with tragic consequences.
Anthony G. Payne Thankfully it appears most megachurch leaders have already wised up……https://slate.com/…/its-a-big-deal-that-megachurches…
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slate.comIt’s a Big Deal That Megachurches Are Canceling Live ServicesIt’s a Big Deal That Megachurches Are Canceling Live Services
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Some cautionary words about prosperity theology (The Prosperity Gospel)
For those of you who are believers and subscribe to prosperity theology aka “The Prosperity Gospel”: Please take some time and carefully read Rev. Bert M. Farias’s new Charisma article titled “8 Reasons to Flee From Carnal Prosperity Preachers“. As you will see, Rev. Farias marshalled some powerful scripture-centric reasoning in this insightful piece and, if I were a betting man, I’d wager the good Lord is going to have him write a book on this very topic (I know Dr. Michael Brown has written extensively about this topic but there is always room on the proverbial plate of life for another incisive tome on the subject).
If after reading Rev. Farias’s conclusions and cautionary warnings you are tempted to reject them, kindly check out the earliest known catechism for messianic non-Jews which is the Didache (Many scholars believe it was written and first circulated in 50 CE. Given that Yeshua HaMashiach was crucified by the imperial Roman government sometime between 30 and 33 CE, this means the Didache was penned perhaps as few as 17 years after his death, burial and resurrection). It has a few choice things to say about greed (The very first chapter of it includes instructions on “almsgiving”). Those who wish to read it in its entirety can do so online for free at http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/didache-lake.html
And for those good folks who appreciate authoritative and balanced commentaries, there is one on the Didache which IMO is top flight: The Way of Life (Didache: A New Translation and Messianic Jewish Commentary) by Toby Janicki (600 pages, Vine of David © 2017). I actually had a gift copy sent to Rev. Farias during early January of this year and have sent copies to many other people in my orbit as well since then.
My fellow Roman Catholic Charismatics are invited to read Why the Prosperity Gospel Is Bankrupt by “Catholic Answers” writer Trent Horn.
We are all explorimentalists by nature
On 6-16-2018 Rev. Bert M. Farias posted the request below on his very popular Facebook page. A number of replies followed including one comment from a Miss Alice. I responded to her comment, Rev. Farias to mine, and so it went back & forth between us. We did not exactly stay on topic but did kibitz on things that might, just might prove of interest to some of you.
Bert Farias
For those who have the time and interest:
I’d like some feedback on this comment to my recent article. I’m constantly searching my heart on these issues, never wanting to be high-minded about these things, but to remain teachable. I guess the core question I found myself asking after reading this comment is this: What are some indicators of preachers who teach the gain is godliness message, and that financial prosperity equates to spirituality? (the article is on my timeline as I didn’t want to repost it).
READER COMMENT: “There are some things worth considering in this article but it is hard to judge someone’s heart and steweardship (sic) based only on their wealth. I will say that it seems extreme to compare someone like Joyce Meyer 35 million in estimated net worth to Bill Gates 91 billion, (A 2600 times difference) If I followed this logic, a typical minister in the USA might have 200k in net worth, while many poor have only debt. This is worse than 2600 times. Should ministers be allowed to have two cars when much of the world does not have a bike? Using the same standard, such relativism could apply the label false teacher to any Western Christian that has a skilled occupation. No, fortunately, God looks on the heart. Are you ruled by money or are you ruled by God? There is no certain dollar standard, lest all Westerners be guilty. Never mind that it takes LARGE Christian donors to move policy to the right..such as what occurred in recognizing Jerusalem as the capital.”
THOUGHTS ANYONE?
Alice: And one more comment: I once had a lady ask me why God didn’t let Christians win things like PCH millions of dollars prizes. My answer, without evening thinking about it, was that to many Christians can’t /won’t tithe on a $1,000, how can God trust them with millions. I believe God will bless obedience. It’s not just money, but in everything that concerns us. I don’t believe in all this “give $49.52 and God will multiply it 100 fold” stuff. That is just manipulation. But the Word does say that we are blessed with faithful Abraham. Again, that’s not JUST money.
Anthony G. Payne Right on, Miss Alice. I would add: If God rigged drawings & lotteries to favor specific Christians or others winning he would be guilty of engaging in a form of cheating (When chance is violated in such lotteries by people who profit from it or do so to profit others this is a crime. Of course, human law is not binding on God in instances in which it violates his articulated rules and ways, but he does respect these when they spring from or dovetail with his rules & ways, i.e., his prescribed laws/instructions & ethics).
Bert Farias Anthony G. Payne Dr. Payne! Nice of you to chime in. 😁
Anthony G. Payne I’ll be sending you something from my laboratory shortly, Herr Reverend (It took a while, yes, to process it). Oh vey! Oh, and here’s a link to my “What’s Up, Doc?” fill-in-the-blanks video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zdIRLuTTgU (Do I know how to have fun or what?!?!)
<p><a href=”https://vimeo.com/275281155″>Eh, what’s up doc?</a> from <a href=”https://vimeo.com/user86267628″>Dr. Anthony G. Payne</a> on <a href=”https://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>
Bert Farias Not only do you know how to have fun, but you are brilliant! To God be the glory! While you’re putting the finishing touches on your lab work, I’m gonna need about a gallon of that hair stuff! 😂
Bert Farias I’ll pay for it!
Bert Farias And if both of these things work for me I will spread the good cheer and joy and market it in my circles.
Anthony G. Payne As a boy I was smitten by astronomer Edwin Hubble’s writings including this beautiful, powerful gem….
“The scientist explores the world of phenomena by successive approximations. He knows that his data are not precise and that his theories must always be tested. It is quite natural that he tends to develop healthy skepticism, suspended judgment, and disciplined imagination.”
Later on, as an adult, I got into explor-i-menting and discovered firsthand how my own musings & handiwork are but “successive approximations”. Sometimes a hypothesis or idea or invention will pan out quickly, while at other times it needs retooling & retesting or, worst case scenario, proves an irredeemable dud (And, yes, sometimes an invention or product creation will work for some or a few and not the many). But above all I strive to question my own findings & conclusions. The alternative tends to birth dogma which is anathema for the theorist as well as the experimentalist.
Bert Farias Anthony G. Payne Our God of wonders and selection put this in your heart at a young age. You not only have to have an acute sense of fascination but incredible patience to explore such things.
Anthony G. Payne Most of us are natural born explor-i-mentalists, Herr Reverend. We are all engaged in testing this against that and weighing the preponderance of evidence & logic for and against things (albeit to varying degrees). The sad part if that so many folks have had their curiosity and willingness to question & test certain beliefs & such constrained or eroded by dogmatic teachers or preachers or family or others who prefer to dole out pat answers & solutions that are never to be questioned (The truth is these people should actually welcome such questioning and even argumentation as it might just compel them to closely examine, revise and even discard that which is unfruitful or useless). IMO we should all take to heart the approach of scientists and rabbis who question almost everything and take nothing as absolutely settled or final (Which is to say any claim, pet theory, finding or even law of nature can be overturned by sufficient contrary evidence).
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And now a word about failed extrabiblical prophecies
Like many of you reading this blog I have been following eschatologists, prophecy teachers and perusing bible-based prophecy books for what seems like an eternity (1960s on in my case). Along the way I have noted and sometimes jotted down prophecies that were precise as opposed to nonspecific, meaning specific timeframes and events such as a major quake in southern California were predicted in “thus says the Lord” fashion. None panned out.
Now, as you might expect my interest in eschatology and prophecy has not escaped the notice of close friends, family and others in my orbit. This leads to my getting emails containing prophetic words in oral or written form penned or spoken by various (mostly) evangelical preachers and self-proclaimed prophets. I typically retain those prophecies that bear a specific timeframe and later compare the predicted catastrophe, upheaval or what-have-you with what actually unfolded (The misses outnumber the hits by an almost astronomical margin).
On occasion, I will have someone pass along an email “imminent warning prophetic word” more often than not given by a well-known evangelist or teacher whose prophetic track record is not just abysmal but a literally train (of accuracy) wreck. Last night (9-4-2017) I got one such email in which great credence was given to a prophecy Jim Bakker reportedly shared concerning the recent flooding in Houston (and this well before Hurricane Harvey hit). Here are a few of the salient sentences from this email concerning Bakker’s prophetic predictions:
That prophecy was right about the flood here. Jim Bakker remarked a prophecy after that was for California. He predicted an earthquake. Since he was correct about the flood in Houston, I hope you take him serious for earthquake preparedness. Those products Bakker cover everything to get one through disaster.
To read the rest of my op-ed article go to http://summerclouds.weebly.com/summer-clouds-blog/and-now-a-word-about-failed-extrabiblical-prophecies
Matika Wilbur’s quest to photograph & document untold stories from citizens of every federally recognized American Indian tribe
Matika Wilbur’s quest to photograph & document untold stories from citizens of every federally recognized American Indian tribe
By
Dr. Anthony G. Payne *
(American Indian name, “Summer Cloud”)
When I was a boy (back in the Middle Ages – 1960s) we American Indians* were portrayed on TV and the movies as hopeless drunks, savages who spoke broken English at best, rapists, turncoats, and other equally unsavory characters. Newspapers and news shows did little better with most of the stories I read or saw focused on Native crimes or poverty, mostly in a “isn’t that too bad let’s move on now” vein. As though this weren’t enough I was surrounded by plenty of white adults and children who thought nothing of tossing out racist jokes and comments about American Indians (and African Americans and Hispanics as well) without batting an eyelash. Bigotry was acceptable and in some quarters applauded.
Of course, much has changed in the intervening years if only the fact overt racism has been replaced in many quarters by subtler versions. Gone are most of the Hollywood movie stereotypes but not the notion among many that American Indians are all steeped in poverty or stone-faced in the face of suffering, past and present.
Enter photographer Matika Wilbur, a member of both the Swinomish and Tulalip tribes, who decided to use her considerable artistic gifts & perspective to capture the faces of members of all the federally recognized American Indian tribes in an ambitious project she calls “562” (The number of federally recognized tribes when she began her odyssey in 2010, with more having been added since). In-a-word she wants to debunk the many false, hurtful images and stereotypes that surrounded Native American culture and society and to reassert the fact that Native peoples had not only survived centuries of marginalization, wanton cruelty and wholesale extermination but have held on to their own identities, heroes and sense of pride.
A November 23 2013 piece by NBC news had this to say about Wilbur’s mission:
One of those stereotypes is the image of Indians clad in feathers, nearly naked running across the prairie, whooping it up like what’s oft portrayed in western cinema. Also the caricature image of Indians as mascots.
With that in mind, Wilbur said the project is meant to drive conversations about the ubiquitous appropriation of Native American culture and to discuss how U.S. citizens can evolve beyond the co-opting of indigenous images and traditions.
“I hope to educate these audiences that it’s not OK to dress up like an Indian on Halloween,” she said. “I’m not a Halloween costume. I hope to encourage a new conversation of sharing and to help us move beyond the stereotypes.”
Wilbur added that she hopes her photos — her craft — will display the “beauty of (Native) people and to introduce some of our leaders to a massive audience.”
Wilbur is not, of course, the first photographer to focus on American Indians. In 1906, photographer and ethnologist Edward S. Curtis was commissioned by J.P. Morgan to go out and capture the “disappearing” race on film. Given the fact that over a century has passed since Curtis’s undertaking, Matika’s quest is not just welcome but long overdue.
Readers who’d like to invest in Matika Wilbur’s vision can do so by going to https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/matika/project-562-changing-the-way-we-see-native-america/description
* I am a member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
© 2014 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne. This update copyright 2017 by Dr. Anthony G. Payne. All rights reserved.
The Dark Charisma of Donald Trump
What follows below is a slightly truncated & edited email I sent to Rev. Bert M. Farias in response to a 5-4-16 article of his concerning the ever-growing embrace of Donald Trump by many Republicans, evangelical Christians and others.
Good Thursday (May 5, 2016), Rev. Farias!
I perused your 5-4-2016 Flaming Herald entry titled How Cruz’s Dropout Exposes the Corruption of the American Soul and thought you might welcome some feedback on it.
First off, I have no doubt but that some of your readers and even supporters (especially any diehard Trump supporters) will take exception with your article and make an exit, stage far right (of course). As you yourself stated, “I know I may lose followers, readers and even friends over this article, but that’s OK”.
I am not a Trump supporter or fellow traveler — quite the opposite actually (I’ve been a democratic socialist since 1986). But even if I were, I would not head for the door after reading your article. One of the things I discovered early on in my work as a theorist is that truth, not only in science but in most other areas of life, is arrived at haltingly in the form of what famed astronomer Edwin Hubble characterized as “successive approximations”.
Christian Rock Music Video Supporting Israel Is Rightfully (Righteously!) Going Viral!
As a Texan, a Country Western music fan, and a messianic monk, I found this music video tribute to Israel a joy and well worth sharing. Enjoy and then tell others!
Click to access CBN’s Cross Country radio
A critical look at bias among scientists
Scientists are not immune to bias as this insightful article lays out beautifully: http://nautil.us/issue/24/error/the-trouble-with-scientists [The timing is great too as “yours truly” is tentatively slated to begin doing bench research alongside a molecular biologist (PhD) and a stem cell biologist (PhD) starting during the fall of 2015]
You’ll never believe how I acquired a daughter!
How many times during the course of your life have you created a social or personal reality or embraced one created by others? By this, I am not referring to an imaginary playmate or fantasy job or such but, rather, to a reality or fact based on mutual agreement or assent.
Sound crazy? It isn’t. The imminent philosopher John Searle actually devoted part of a whole book to the thesis that there are 2 kinds of facts: Those that are facts no matter who observes them, and then there are those that only need people’s agreement or assent to them. A fossil ammonite, for instance, is a physical object that remains a fossil ammonite no matter who looks at it or holds it. A church group’s claim that an archangel hovered over their last meeting is a mental reality to those who perceived it but cannot be demonstrated to those who do not share this perception/belief-based perspective (The same can be said of some treatments and diagnostic techniques in the world of complementary-alternative medicine).
What will you let life do to you this year?
When you were a young lad or lassie how many times were you asked, “What will you do in life when you grow up?”
I have a different spin on this which is not peculiar youth or young people: What will you let life do to you?
“What do I mean?”, you ask. It’s really quite simple: Every person, influence, work of art and music, hobby, passion, group, tribe and such is writing paragraphs and chapters in the unique storybook which is your life. Your very being may even form a dynamic circuit with select others.
Picture your life as a huge whiteboard. Now walk along and read the entries on it — “the good, bad and ugly”, if you will. As you look around you see the various people in your life writing on your “lifeboard”. What kind of story has emerged? Are you happy with it? If not, how many “bad content writers” can and should be banned from writing on your lifeboard in 2015?
Dr. Anthony G. Payne
Some questions for you
SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU: 
►Which dominates your life: Competition or sharing & harmonization?
►Is what you’ve been doing with your life consistent with your core nature, or not? That is, are you faithful to your true or authentic self or not?
►Do you tend to think your own thoughts or those of Madison Avenue, Wall Street, etc.?
►Are you nurturing what is genuine & true in life or something else entirely?
►Which is better: To be whole or something else?
►Do you resist learning what closed doors have to teach you?
►Have you consciously embraced your limitations?
►Are the “ought’s” & “should have’s” that bedevil you reflect who you really are?
►Do you run from failure and “experiments gone bad” or learn the lessons they offer and revise your life course accordingly?
►Have the roles you play in life, its pleasures, indulgences, escapes, or obligations, or something else eclipsed or undermined the “you beneath & within”?
►Do the conflicts and paradoxes in your life demand resolution, or embrace & integration into all that you are?
►Is your trip through the valley preparing you to fulfill your unique purpose in life?
Virtual cloud watching for you
As a boy in Lubbock (Texas) I spent many lazy summer afternoons just lying prone on a bed of rich green grass and cloud watching (While, yes, looking for recognizable patterns or characters). I bet you did your fair share of childhood cloud watching too. If so, you’ll appreciate this video immensely: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf1P4WuQ8Lk
And here’s a perspective-expanding book to read while you cloud watch: Faces in the Clouds by Stewart Guthrie, Ph.D.
For Seekers & Other Heretics 