UNGoogle

The zoom link is:  https://bigbend.zoom.us/my/rhondak
Also on Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/bbcclibrary/  

QUESTIONS 

"artificial intelligence" art ethics

Best roads between yellow springs OH and Wilmington De

Which countries are facing the greatest famine

Wikipedia
List of search engines, their specialty, languages used, and provenance.

Wikipedia
Comparison of Search engines using tables using independent crawlers, owner, questions, digital rights, privacy. tracking, surveillance and more. 

THE THREE BIGS

Google
83% more people use Google than any other search engine. 

Bing
Microsoft affiliated. Has natural language ability. More visual. 

DuckDuckGo
Touts privacy. 

The 8 Best Search Engines of 2024: While you could use Google to find other search engines, here are the ones we think are arguably better
A well organized comparison article with excellent highlights.
 

• Privacy oriented i Alternatives

  • DuckDuckGo

  • Startpage - It provides Google search results without tracking, combining Google's search power with enhanced privacy. /Netherlands

  • Brave Search - privacy and speed. Has it's own index. It isn't impacted by search history. 

  • Qwant - France. Uses Bing  to deliver results but uses its own independent systems. Close partner of Microsoft and has Bin adds. “the search engine that doesn't know anything about you.” 

  • SwissCows - Anonymous search engine that is family friendly. Switzerland. “technology is built in such a way that the storage of user data is not even possible.” However, it has Microsoft ads embedded in search results. 
    Charity Project This is the number of your SwissCows searches. On average, 50 search queries finance a children's meal.

  • Giburu - does not track IP addresses, record searches or place cookies for advertisers. Delivers search results that doesn't always show on Google.
     

• Eco-Friendly and Socially Responsible Options

  • Ecosia - plants TREES! 

  • Yep - gives 90% of ad revenue to content creators. 

• International Search Engines

  • Yandex

  • Baidu

• Niche Search Engines: Specialized Tools for Specific Needs

  • CC Search

  • Boardreader

  • WolframAlpha

• Metasearch Engines: Aggregating Results from Multiple Sources

  • Dogpiel

  • Startpage

  • SearX

  •  

• Decentalized
  • Presearch. It's decentralized and it has a nice UI where you can select alternative search engines to you can instantly check another search engine (or site) with the same query.

AI Based Search Engine

You.com - has AI assistant. Does have a private mode and personal. Relies on Bing, Imagine for AI image generation, and YouWrite text generation. 

Perplexity.ai - Just doesn't list web page and cites sources. It has a smart assistant named Copilot. Natural language ability

Komo - speed and privacy, interactive with follow up question (though...don't they all?) Google Search Generative Experience (SGE). (not rolled out yet in the Labs part of Google)  SGE is available visible on mobile

Notes in progress

1. SearX: This one's unique from the previous two, in that it's actually a "meta-search" engine that combines/ amalgamates the results of Google and Bing's web crawlers, then re-prioritizes them accordingly.

2. Brave: Kind of an outlier here, Bing is a relative newcomer to the scene, being only a few years old. They have both a browser and a search engine. What separates them from the competition, is apparently they're crafting their own independent web results/ crawler, completely separate from Google or Bing. Not sure if they've fully accomplished this by now. They and Duckduckgo are the names I hear come up the most when jt comes to un-censored search results and privacy/ tracking-free.

   1. Like Brave?  

MOJEEK?

How to keep up?

Teachcrunch.com

The zoom link is:  https://bigbend.zoom.us/my/rhondak
Also on Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/bbcclibrary/  

Researching The Research 

Source evaluation in research is not a passive activity.  It also requires research and critical thinking. This three lens of information evaluation require that you look at research critically - with research.

SUGGESTED RESEARCH FOR ACADEMIC ARTICLES

Google Search  - Search for information on authors, researchers and/or organization. Search titles of journals, newspapers, and magazines. Read their about statements and mission. Do you find a scandal, retractions, or fact checks related to the authors, publishers, or title of source?

Look at this Google basic search:

"Prenatal Cocaine Exposure Upregulates BDNF-TrkB Signaling" AND retraction.

Google Scholar - Use a title search to find how many times a scholarly article has been cited. Look at the works that cited your source. Do you see a pattern or anything interesting? 

For the retracted article in Google Scholar despite the easy to find retraction it has been cited 20x since 2016.

If we look at all 12 versions of it, we see it lives on Academia.edu. Gale, CUNY's Academic Works, Harvard, and EBSCO. Two of those are library databases. Two of those are well known university's academic repositories.

Google Scholar Metrics . - Use to search the ratings of a scholarly journal.  A scholarly article in a journal with higher metrics is considered to have more authority.

PLOS ONE statistics and details on Google Metrics.

• • h5-index:212
  • h5-median:294

• • #7 Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (general)
  • #8 Health & Medical Sciences (general)
  • #10 Life Sciences & Earth Sciences
  • #10 Health & Medical Sciences

Retraction Watch. - If research or a scholarly article has been found to be wrong, that information is not found in the article you may have found. Check the title, author(s), and title of scholarly article in this database to see if the paper was retracted. Search their database here. 

How to use the Retraction Watch database to search titles and also authors:

Paperity - Useful for finding news, reviews, letters to the editor, and other information about author(s), journals, organizations, and articles. 

Semantic Scholar.- This is an AI powered research tool for scientific literature. It has a more detailed citation analysis than Google Scholar. It shows hidden connections between research. 

NON-ACADEMIC SOURCES

Does the article cite information from other sources? If so, look them up using Google. 

Search for article, author, and title if available. 
Check the context of the information when you find it. 
Does that author cite other information? Review links or search for that information.
Find where the original information exists. Sometimes information and facts may shift when handled by multiple entities. 
Read laterally, that is, search for other sources of the same information. Look for higher quality platforms and outlets. 

This fast practical Buzzfeed fact checker video shows some of these methods.

Media Bias Check Sources. - This is an article describing different ways to find bias in newspapers, magazine articles, and other platforms. 

Search Politifact, home of the Truth-O-Meter. 

Look at Snopes.  In their 20 years, they have become a well regarded go to source for all types of internet truths and untruths. They also show their work. 

Factcheck.org works on statements make in the political sphere. One of their main ways of tracking down information besides transcripts and videos is to contact people. They rely on primary sources. 

RAND has a detailed list of fact verifications including video tools. 

Poetry in the Quad
is a diverse, encouraging, inspiring, supportive,
joyful outside event where we all come together to
CREATE as a vibrant community.
Students, Staff, & Faculty Invited!!

Poetry in the Quad Table Signs (800 x 800 px) by rhondakwrites

Questions?  Ask Rhonda the Librarian 

Poetry in the Quad MAIN Poetry Event Poster by rhondakwrites

You are working through a health challenge that affects about 255,000 women a year and 2,300 men.  Did being a research-oriented academic and role model affect your approach to your diagnosis?  Have you shifted any priorities that might be evident in your work?

Like most patients at the time of diagnosis, panic sets in and you do the thing you should not do: Google. Seriously, I should know better.  But down the rabbit hole I went, and everything I encountered caused me serious anxiety. But after that brief lapse of judgment, being a research-oriented academic greatly impacted my approach to fighting breast cancer.  That, and my husband is a cell molecular biologist who is basically a walking encyclopedia.  There are years of research that have advanced our understanding of the disease and how to most effectively treat it, so information-gathering became a daily ritual.  Researching brought me great comfort.  I felt empowered and it helped me stay positive and centered. 

During treatment, you become a bit of a shell of yourself, bare and a little heartbroken. I told myself when this started that I was going to be as positive as possible, to be vulnerable, and authentic. It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I tried to just focus on each little step because thinking about the full path to healing overwhelmed me. And I didn’t want to miss the gift of growth and evolution by wishing the cancer away or feeling negative and angry all the time. Thus, I wanted to continue working during treatment to keep my mind occupied. In a weird and unexpected way, I was secretly thankful for our Covid bubble because it kept me cocooned from the scary outside and normalized teaching online. I also learned to let go – at least partially - of perfectionism, something I’ve struggled with all my life.  Cancer puts things into perspective.  I just couldn’t create the perfect Canvas site or recorded lecture because I didn’t have the physical or mental capacity to dedicate all that energy to a single thing. Now that I’m cancer-free and back in the classroom, I am enjoying myself more because I have less stress and burnout.  I truly feel closer to my authentic self than ever before, both as a human and an educator.  That’s a gift for which I am very grateful.

Jody Quitadamo Quote. 

Do you remember the precise moment, book, or class that history captivated you?  Or was it more of a path?

My journey was more of a path with unexpected turns. And it was very much tied to my passion for teaching, which was also a winding road of discovery. I was largely indifferent to history growing up. It seemed to consist of memorizing “one damned thing after another,” as the saying goes. Like most young people, I was too focused on the future so the past mattered little to me. When I enrolled in college as a single mother with a two-year-old daughter, I would not have considered majoring in history for a second!  But one day, in a British literature course, my professor walked in with a Kodak carousel projector to display images set in Victorian England and provide us with historical context for assigned readings.  And it dawned on me: what I found more interesting was the historical context in which the books were set more than the fictional stories themselves. The next quarter I enrolled in my first college history course, 20^th century China of all things.  My professor was amazing. He made history relevant to my life and taught me that historical knowledge is a powerful currency. We’ve now been good friends for 20 years.  

From that point on, my intention was to pursue a doctorate in Chinese history.  I participated in the McNair Scholars program as a first-generation college student, traveled abroad for research purposes, and participated in whatever experience would help me reach my goals. But I was also a single parent and concluded that pursuing such a lofty degree was a selfish endeavor.  I pivoted and chose, albeit reluctantly, to go into high school education.  I spent the next year working on my secondary social studies teaching certification, only half excited about my career choice. That all changed on my first day of student teaching.  It was like magic! I discovered that I loved teaching and that I was pretty good at it. I poured a lot of love and energy into those 10 years in the high school classroom. That was a very special time for me.  But after a decade, it was time to move on.  Now that I’m at the community college level, I find I have the best of both worlds.  I get to continue teaching and building relationships with students while diving deeper into history in a more scholarly way.   

What journals, listservs, groups, or other sources do you use to keep up with your discipline? 

I consider myself a history educator first, historian second, so most of the groups and sources I rely on focus on pedagogy and outreach in my discipline.  I’m a member of the OPSI Social Studies Cadre, made up of about 35 K-12 and post-secondary educators who serve as a social studies teaching and advisory team for the state. We strive to improve social studies and civics education through curriculum development and outreach.  It’s very exciting work.   I also volunteer annually as a judge for National History Day. For me, it’s an opportunity to support middle- and high-school students who spend months conducting original research on historical topics.  It’s a very formal but supportive competition and the students produce truly remarkable research projects.  I really love the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, which includes its own journal, History Now, and provides high-quality educational programs and resources that have been a game-changer in my classroom. I also subscribe to Teaching History: A Journal of Methods, which has become an invaluable resource for the newest ideas in social studies pedagogy. In terms of my disciplinary knowledge, I subscribe to a few journals, like The Journal of American History.  But I mostly rely on monographs and well-researched historical accounts with large scope.  I’m currently reading the book Women of the Republic: Intellect and Ideology in Revolutionary America ( Online and Find at Library:  GENERAL HQ 1418 K47 1980), an older publication but a groundbreaking work on American women’s history.

What book, poem, or study have you read that engaged you so deeply you were changed?

There have been so many, and currently Brene Brown is my superhero. As a teenager, I remember reading Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale (  Find at Libary PR 9199.3 A8 H3 1998) It was my first encounter with a dystopian novel and themes like misogyny and oppression.  I found the story extremely terrifying yet prophetic. It awakened an early awareness of the power of a woman’s voice as a social justice weapon.  Perhaps without realizing it, that book planted a seed for my future as an educator.

Jody Quitadamo with daughter Lark. 

You have had a varied and interesting life.  Could you give a sort of summary of your pre-BBCC life?​

I'm not sure how far back you want me to go, but here are some of the highlights. I was a percussionist in the US Army band, which gave me the opportunity to live in Germany and play in about 20 countries. I was also a drummer for Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm in California. As a performer, I have run a number of my own bands, recording with various musicians, toured with an OC Punk Rock Band, and was a street drummer in Washington DC for a few years. When I lived in Germany a friend asked me to help with his drummers and at that moment, I knew I loved teaching. Since then, I taught music at St Augustine HS, Page HS, Coconino Community College, Kent State University, and Lake Michigan College. In addition, I served as the music expert for the Department of Defence Education Activity and consultant for the non-profit Little Kids Rock. ​I earned my Ph.D. and Masters in Music from Kent State University. I have also written a number of articles (published internationally), two books, and I am currently completing a book titled Street Beats: The People, History, & Grooves. 

When I first met you, we talked a little bit about the instruments you discovered in the music department. Could you describe one? Have any been brought back into use?
 

There are a few crazy instruments that we have at BBCC, such as an old Fender Rhodes, some cool tube amps, and Mariachi instruments. We have started using some of these instruments, as the tube amps have been used by the BBCC Viking Percussion and there are plans to add Mariachi back into our offerings soon. 

One of your assignments gives students a chance to look at the richness of music history.  Have you ever discovered something amazing in your research? What types of journals, groups, organizations, professionals, or media to you follow to keep up with your work?
 

Interesting question. So, I would say that I discover amazing things all the time. Probably a few times a week. For example, working on my current book Street Beats: The People History, & Grooves, I found a number of historical connections between modern street drumming and musicians in ancient Persian markets and Greek street performers. Likewise, I love ethnography and case study research; so, I am constantly engaging in interviews and observations of musicians in my areas of interest. 

There are a number of academic journals that I find essential to my field and research. In fact, I was an editorial assistant for Contributions to Music Education (music education research journal) when working on my Ph.D., which gave me some insight intothe peer review and editorial processes. Anyways, the journals I use on a regular basis in my research and lecture preparation include The Journal for Research in Music Education; Journal of Musicology; Percussive Notes; Action, Criticism, & Theory for Music Education. ​In addition, I focus a lot of my research source material; so, reading the journals and writings of musicians and scholars is a big part of my research. For example, Beethoven's Heiligenstadt Testament or Plato's Republic, as both provide insights into their views on music and life. 

You have been sharing music out in the community at the farmer's market and you've been hosting events in nontraditional spaces like the library.  How does this fit your mission? What more do you have planned?  

I participate in a lot of music outreach in area schools, as I have provided multiple music workshops at Moses Lake High School, Ephrata High School, Othello High School, Quincy High School, Soap Lake High School, and others. Of course, the BBCC Percussion Ensemble performed an original work in the BBCC Library. I do share music in the community, such as a drum circle I facilitate at the Moses Lake Museum and performances at local venues (Farmers Market, Pirate Regatta, Private Events, Community Events). 

Regarding my mission, I see the Moses Lake Area as a culturally and musically rich area. While there are some traditions that are established, my hope is to fill the gap and enhance what is already being offered, which will strengthen area music programs, musicians, and aspiring musicians. A good example of this was the master sessions we had the BBCC Viking Percussion performance of "Viking War Chant," which featured three musicians in the area. 

Regarding what I have planned, I would say I'm just getting started. I have seen BBCC Viking Percussion improve a lot since its inception; so, that group will continue to push musical boundaries. Likewise, I have plans to increase our offerings and musical activities at BBCC and in the community. 

​What book, poem, or study have you read that engaged you so deeply you were changed?

That is a tough one, as I read a lot and frequently refer to classic literature in my lectures, as music is informed by just about every aspect of society. On a personal level, the two books that I refer to a lot (too much according to my children) are Homer's Odyssey and Thoreau's Walden. Both works are filled with wisdom that I strive to live by. While there is a myriad of profound insights in each work, I personally endeavor to "simplify, simplify, simplify" as Thoreau advised and have the grit, determination, and stoic focus of Odysseus. 

For images, the.  is the most permissive license. Google images are often copyrighted. By deliberately choosing searches that are composed of public domain images, copyright infringement can be avoided.

CCO 1.0 Universal Copyright :  Public Domain Dedication

• The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of his or her rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

  You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. See Other Information.

But remember, in many cases, you will still need to cite it. Sometimes that is a caption below the image. Check your assignment directions, rubric, examples, or the guide of citation and documentation rules used for the work. 

Creative Commons Image Search

You have a rich background of cultures and languages. Could you share some of those places and experiences?

        I was born and raised as a missionary kid in Macau, China.  At that time, it was still a Portuguese colony.  It is right by Hong Kong, so there were some British influences as well.  In general, Macau is a unique blend of East meets West.  At the time, I did not realise that most places in the world probably don't have the juxtaposition of a 2,000-year-old Buddhist temple and a 400-year-old Catholic church being down the street from each other or walking on cobblestone roads seeing a pastel coloured government building next to the historical family home of Dr. Sun Yat Sen.  Culture and language are always intertwined and being a missionary kid in Macau gave me exposure to Portuguese, Chinese, British, Filipino, Korean, Brazilian, and North American (US and Canada) cultures and languages.  You learn to be quite comfortable hearing multiple languages, at once, whether you can understand them or not.  It gave a lot of opportunity to find similarities and differences between the cultures and blend them together into my own personal culture.  For me, it was mainly a blend of Chinese and American cultures, as these were the strongest two in my life growing up.  I could probably talk more about all of this, but let us move on for now.

Ruins of St. Paul's Cathedral in Macau. (2009). Wikimedia Commons. https://commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/File:20091003_Macau_Cathedral_of_Saint_Paul_6542.jpg

Almost all academics have personal research projects they sometimes work a lifetime on just as a matter of curiosity or passion.  Do have one or more?

        When I came to the US for university, I made sure to take my English 101 and 201 courses right away.  In these courses, I was given the opportunity to research my own topics much of the time.  I knew I wanted to be a math teacher.  I had experience going to international schools with kids from many different countries and had some idea that math was taught and organised differently around the world.  Pretty quickly I started to consistently research international math education.  Thankfully, at that time the second Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) had just been conducted, and new data and analyses were being published.  The results showed that many of the top-ranking countries for mathematics were in South East Asia.  This of course piqued my interest, having grown up in SE Asia!  Ever since then I have looked at studies and books that have tried to figure out why this is.
​

What do your read, listen to, watch, or do to keep up with your profession?

While there are a bunch of things teachers do to stay current (read books and articles on pedagogy or learning, follow #MathEd on Twitter, be part of National organisations like NCTM, go to conferences, etc.), I think what continually ends up being the most impactful in my teaching are times where I get to meet with my colleagues and discuss conferences or study a book together.  It is here where we get to analyse the research and figure out how to put into action in meaningful and feasible ways for our teaching and students.  Moreover, we continue to then analyse our implementation and work through the cycle of research – implement – analyse – adapt – re-implement to continually improve and grow.  

As a student, when did you know you were more math than English? 

​This is hard to determine.  I never thought of myself as being more math than English until high school.  It was then when studying and learning the two became more distinct.  I think it might be better said I started seeing a distinction between math and language arts.  What I mean is that we could switch to compare any other language besides English and Math and I think there would be similar distinctions.  English as a language in and of itself was not contrasted with math any more than Mandarin, Cantonese, or Portuguese.   

To get to my point, it was in high school that I more clearly noticed how we studied math and language arts.  In math, we used the same foundational truths (axioms) and logical deductions for everything we did.  This meant we could follow each others’ reasonings and follow the math.  Using deductive reasoning it also gave use a logical guarantee and confidence to know what are studying is true and accurate (given the presuppositions).  

However, in language arts it seemed that outside of grammar it was never clear what our foundational truths were nor how to navigate.  Most of what we studied did not have an author’s guide to explain their thinking let alone purpose.  And yet, language arts expected us to figure this out.  Moreover, the strategy to do this mainly consisted of inductive reasoning, a fair amount of assumptions made, and very little explicit teaching of the hermeneutics used.  For me as a student at the time, it came across as we cannot know without a doubt what the author was originally intending but there is an expectation that I must come to the same conclusion as the teacher.  Again, this was my perception at the time.  How was the teacher supposed to be able to know and how could I trust that?  How was I supposed to be able to this independently without the expertise of the teacher?  I am a very literal person, so things like poetry or metaphor were much more difficult to understand, let alone justify.  

To put it simply, math was studied in a way that is universal regardless of my lack of cultural understandings and with quality logic while language arts was studied in a way that seemed sloppy and extremely biased, at the very least, with no guarantees.  So for me, I naturally gravitated and toward that which was accessible to me no matter who I was or where in the world I was learning it.

What book, poem, or study have you read that engaged you so deeply you were changed?​ 

The Bible is the clear and easy answer to this question.  I say this not only from a personal perspective because of the truths that change lives, but also from a more academic perspective.  From the last question, you might notice that studying language arts is not something that I have really enjoyed and have struggled with in my academic life.  As I have gotten older and learned more about determining and using quality hermeneutics, applying these to study the Bible has not only helped me better learn to read and understand it but also better connect to and use the skills of being a mathematician.  Both theology and mathematics are axiomatic systems and can be studied systematically. 

Explain the range and type of art you create and show. Do you have an artist's statement?

I am a painter. I paint in oils and mixed media drawings. I do paint on different surfaces such as canvas, paper, frosted Mylar, copper, and wood. I paint in realism mostly from nature. I do have an artist’s statement that I submit for competitions or grants that I apply for. Here’s an excerpt:

The Japanese aesthetic ideals of suggestion, irregularity, simplicity, and perishability are the underlying principles that guide my painting and drawing.  These four basic principles guide my efforts to explore the link between art and nature that ebbs and flows much like nature itself wanes, dies, then rejuvenates to live anew.

The integration of Japanese aesthetics into my art making is an expression of dealing with the dualities of my identities. My father was an Irish-American from West Virginia and my mother was from Okinawa.  The tension of being neither Japanese nor American and yet being both is symbolized in my artwork by the ambiguities in space of the image.  The images are tentatively floating in space creating an anti-gravitational buoyancy for the viewer.  The compression of space evokes a sense of not knowing whether the image is receding or advancing.  This feeling is a good analogy of wavering I have felt and continue to feel.  It is an unsettling feeling of never feeling a part of your environment.  

Because of that unsettledness, I focus on the flora and fauna of the area where I currently live. I am also a huge fan of gardening, so plants take up a good deal of my imagination. I do tend toward the sharp, prickly sorts of plants that look ambiguous and can be mistaken for bugs or animal life. It reminds of a common question I have heard, “What is your ethnicity or where are you from?”

What research informs your work? Have you ever done a great deal of background work on a piece or a show?

I am a voracious reader and feel that it all informs my artwork. I love to read the memoirs or journals of artists and writers for a view into process. For the last several years I have been heavily researching the Northern Renaissance artists like Jan van Eyck, Hugo van der Goes, Rogier van der Weyden, and Hans Memling. The Northern Renaissance painters focused on a hyper realism that is so beautiful and wonderful and showed the wondrous textures of fabric and fur, metal and glass, and so on. I can get caught up in that level of realism in my own work but like the addition of abstract elements, too. 

As a working artist are there magazines, books, creators, or events that fuel your work and/or engagement in the art community?

I have felt very isolated as an artist living here. We came from a close-knit artists’ community in New Mexico before we moved here. Everyone we knew was basically an artist of some kind. Getting feedback is an important part of making art for me and we had a wonderful group. We worked together and played together.  We are still close with many of those people and use social media for feedback and support. When we got to travel we met up every year or so to have some fun. One of my favorite memories involved some friends coming to visit. They are both painters and we set up four sheets of paper in the studio with materials, cranked the music loud, and played musical easels. We moved to each piece of paper and did our thing and moved on to the next after 15 minutes with no preset plans. The pieces are wild and colorful with energy. Such a great time! Later we sat around the fire pit and listened to our friend, Raul, read new poems he had written. All these kinds of events are not difficult but do involve action. It is too easy to get bogged down in theories without doing anything meaningful. But the meaningful does not have to be complicated. Art is not separate from life. It is such an integral part if we choose to acknowledge it. I read Homo Aestheticus Where Art Comes From and Why by Ellen Dissanayake some time ago. She posits the reflection that Art has been part of human life from the very beginning. Ancient humans painted on cave walls as well as found shelters and grouped in families. For some reason, Art was and is important and inherent in humans. 

Is there an artist(s) or person(s) that have served as an inspiration to you?

That depends on the day! I dearly love the work of German artist Anselm Kiefer. We saw a solo exhibition of his in San Francisco a few years ago. I walked around the museum crying it was so beautiful. He took salvaged material from bombed out Dresden from World War II and made giant books with wings and shelves that look like they are from God’s waiting room. He referenced the constellations and ancient myths. His work is so opposite from what I do and yet I love it and am so inspired by it!

I also love the work of Japanese American artist Ruth Asawa. She made hanging wire sculptures that were woven in organic forms. When hung with spotlights they cast wonderful shapes on the walls that change as you walk around them. 

These artists work in entirely different ways from the way I work but serve to inspire and fire my imagination in huge ways. It is so good to look at a variety of things. You don’t want to eat the same food all the time but need to change it up.

​What book, poem, or study have you read that engaged you so deeply you were changed?

I started going to college when my children were small (ages 4, 6, 10) and I was 28 years old. The more I learned the more I wanted to learn. And the more I learn the more I know that there is so much out there. I read everything I could. I found the poem by Mary Oliver called The Journey. She has been my guide for so many years with other poets. Poetry is an ancient art, too, and very much a deep part of human nature. Other than the new friends I made at school I had no support at home. I had to dig down deep to who I was to continue my education. My determination to finish my education grew stronger each time I took a class. I remembered my father’s advice to get as much education as possible. And I am still in school.

Follow Rie on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/riepalkovic/

POEM:  The Journey by Mary Oliver
 

SELECTED SOLO AND GROUP EXHIBITION

August 2016 Between Shadow and Space, solo exhibit
Unsettled Gallery
Las Cruces, New Mexico

November 2015 Casting Indra’s Net, Six artists group show
Moses Lake Museum and Art Center(MAC)
Moses Lake, WA

May 2014, 2015, Featured Artist for Cellarbration!

BBCC Foundation fundraiser
2016

June 2013 Betwixt and Between, MAC
Solo exhibition
Moses Lake Museum 
Moses Lake, Washington

April 2011 Medicine Show invitational, SLAM
Soap Lake, Washington

January 2011 MAC juried show, Moses Lake Museum
1st Runner up People’s Choice
Moses Lake, Washington

December 2010 Winter Show, Soap Lake Art Guild
Best Painting Award
Soap Lake, Washington

December 2009 Holiday Show, Imbibe
Moses Lake, Washington

August 2009 solo exhibition
Soap Lake Art Museum
Soap Lake, Washington

July 2009 Yin/Yang
Garage Gallery
San Francisco, California

June 2009 Solo Exhibition, Imbibe Gallery
Moses Lake, Washington

April 2008 Shouts and Murmurs Solo Exhibition, Tilde 
Portland, Oregon

Oct 2007 Waterline, a group show about fish
Crossing Tracks Gallery
San Diego, California

Oct 2006 Solo Exhibition
Seven Muses Gallery
Tacoma, Washington

April 2006 New Work, solo exhibition
Soap Lake Art Museum
Soap Lake, Washington

April 2006- River of Memory: The Everlasting Columbia

Sep 2008 Curators: William Layman and Terri White
Traveling exhibition to Wenatchee, Tacoma, Spokane, WA; Nelson, Victoria, BC; Pendleton, OR

Jan 2006 MAC Annual juried exhibition, 3rd Place Award 
Juror: Scott Bailey, Art Dept. Chair at Wenatchee Valley College
Moses Lake Museum & Art Center
Moses Lake, Washington

Jan 2006 Ink and Clay 32, Kellogg University Art Gallery
Jurors: Marilyn Zeitlan and Peter Held
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, California

Feb 2005 Gallery 76, 21st National Juried Exhibition; 2nd Place Award
Jurors: Carol Hassen of Larsen Gallery and Robert Fisher of Yakima Valley Community College
Wenatchee Valley College, Wenatchee, Washington

Jan 2005 Moses Lake Museum & Art Center Juried Exhibition
Moses Lake, Washington

Sep 2004 Seven Muses Gallery, Dual Exhibition with Francis Palkovic
Tacoma, Washington

Apr 2004 Gallery 76 National Invitational, Gallery 76
Wenatchee Valley College, Wenatchee, Washington

Feb 2004 Art, Technology, & Culture, Gallery 76, Dual exhibition with Paul Stout, sculptor
Wenatchee Valley College, Wenatchee, Washington

Jan 2004 Columbia Basin Invitational,  Moses Lake Museum & Art Center Moses Lake, Washington. Award: Honorable Mention

Jan 2004 Greater Midwest International Exhibition XIX, Central Missouri State University Art Gallery, Warrensburg, Missouri, Juror: Douglass Freed, Director, Daum Museum of Contemporary Art

Jan 2004 Ink & Clay 30, Kellogg Art Gallery, California Polytechnic University

Pomona, California, Juror: Hollis Goodall, Curator of Japanese Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art

March 2003 Okinawan American Princess Diaries, Moses Lake Museum & Art Center, Moses Lake, Washington

Apr 2002 18th National Juried Exhibit, Gallery ‘76, Juror’s Award
Wenatchee, Washington

Jun-Jul 2001 Forms 4, Chase Gallery
City Hall, Spokane, Washington

Mar-Apr 2001 17th National Juried Exhibit, Gallery ‘76
Best of Show Award, People’s Choice Award
Wenatchee, Washington

May-Jun 2000 Conversations from the Garden, Moses Lake Museum & Art Center
Solo Exhibition
Moses Lake, Washington

Jan-Feb 2000 Two Central Washington Ladies, High Spirits Gallery
Wenatchee, Washington

Jan-Feb 2000 Baked, Mashed, & Fried, Moses Lake Museum & Art Center
3rd Place Award, Potato Commission Purchase Award
Moses Lake, Washington

June 1999 Columbia Basin Invitational, Adam East Museum & Art Center
Moses Lake, Washington

Mar-Apr 1999 Group Exhibition, High Spirits Gallery
Wenatchee, Washington

Dec 1998 Solo Exhibition
Wallenstien Theatre, Columbia Basin Allied Arts
Big Bend Community College, Moses Lake, Washington
 

Nov 1998 43rd Annual Central Washington Artists Exhibition
Larson Gallery 
Yakima Valley Community College, Yakima, Washington

Mar 1998 The Many Lives of Women, Kent Hall Museum
New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM

Feb 1998 Hanging Around, Faculty Exhibition
El Paso Community College

The People’s Gallery, El Paso City Hall, TX
Sep 1997- Arte Sin Limites: Exposicion Fronteriza

July 1998 (Invitational; one of twelve artists representing Las Cruces)
Traveling Exhibition to Four Cities:
Museo de Arte, Juarez, Mexico, Centro de Arte Contemporaneo de Chihuahua ,Chihuahua City, Mexico, the Las Cruces Museum of Art and Culture, Las Cruces, New Mexico, and the Chamizal Gallery, El Paso, Texas

Sep 1997 Contemporary Asian Artists in America
Smithtown Township Arts Council
Mill’s Pond House Gallery, St. James, NY

Mar 1997 At Random, Faculty Exhibition
El Paso Community College
The People’s Gallery, El Paso City Hall, TX

Dec 1996 December Group Show Invitational
Galeri Azul, Mesilla, NM

July 1996 Border Artists and Friends Invitational
Adobe Patio Gallery, Mesilla, NM

Nov 1995 Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition
Kent Hall Museum, New Mexico State University, NM

June 1995 Image and Icon Exhibition (Invitational)
University Art Gallery, New Mexico State University, NM

April 1995 Solo Exhibition, 
Galeri Azul, Mesilla, NM

Feb 1995 Annual Juried Student Exhibition
Juror’s Choice Award
College of Arts and Sciences Award
University Art Gallery, New Mexico State University, NM

Oct 1994 2 x 4 Faculty/Alumni Invitational
Todd Madigan Gallery, Cal State University, Bakersfield, CA

June 1994 Close to the Border, Bi-annual juried exhibition
University Art Gallery Award
University Art Gallery, New Mexico State University, NM

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eZine

Rhonda The Librarian's Reading & Research Review March Weather by rhondakwrites

Shakespeare’s representation of weather, climate and environment : The early modern “Fated Sky”.

"While ecocritical approaches to literary texts receive more and more attention, climate-related issues remain fairly neglected, particularly in the field of Shakespeare studies. This monograph explores the importance of weather and changing skies in early modern England while acknowledging the fact that traditional representations and religious beliefs still fashioned people's relations to meteorological phenomena" (Chiari, 2019).

Necroclimatism in a spectral world (dis)order? Rain petitioning, climate and weather engineering in 21st century Africa. 

"Deemed to constitute disposable bodies, disposable cultures, disposable polities, disposable societies, disposable epistemologies, disposable religions, disposable laws and disposable economies, the sacrificed are, in the age of climate catastrophism, once again reminded that they 'have duties to die', to become extinct in order to save the global spaceship that is sinking due to climate change and global warming." -- Project Muse

Variability of the sun and sun-like stars : from asteroseismology to space weather.

"However, we are still far from fully understanding what and how causes this variability. Why does the Sun continue to go on, on a rhythmic scale, the so-called solar cycle, without damping? How to better understand the complicated relationships between the Sun, the heliosphere and the many proxies of long-term solar activity?" - From Publisher

A hard rain: America in the 1960s, our decade of hope, possibility, and innocence lost.

"In the end, there is the disastrous Democratic National Convention of 1968, the driving from office of Lyndon Johnson, and the election of Richard Nixon. Gaillard quotes historian Todd Gitlin in commenting on the rise of violence and disenchantment as the decade dragged on: 'Rage was becoming the common coin of American culture (Esposito, 2018).
 

Rain shadow.

"Your heart traps mine as summits catch storms. Call this to calm the rain shadow. What will remain?" From poem The Same Mountain Twice.

A storm of witchcraft : The Salem trials and the American experience.

"Beginning in January 1692, Salem Village in colonial Massachusetts witnessed the largest and most lethal outbreak of witchcraft in early America. Villagers--mainly young women--suffered from unseen torments that caused them to writhe, shriek, and contort their bodies, complaining of pins stuck into their flesh and of being haunted by specters." Publisher

References 

Baker, E. (2015). A storm of witchcraft : The Salem trials and the American experience. Oxford University Press.

Read Online.

Bradley, N. (2018). Rain shadow. University of Alberta Press.

Read Online.

Chiari, S. (2019). Shakespeare’s representation of weather, climate and environment : the early modern “Fated Sky”. Edinburgh University Press.

Read Online.

Esposito, J. A. (2018, December 18). A hard rain: America in the 1960s, our decade of hope, possibility, and innocence lost [Book review]. Washington

     Independent Review of Books. 

Read Online.

Gaillard, F. (2018). A hard rain: America in the 1960s, our decade of hope, possibility, and innocence lost. NewSouth Books.

Read Online.

Mawere, M., & Nhemachena, A. (2019).Necroclimatism in a spectral world (dis)order? rain petitioning, climate and weather engineering in 21st century

     Africa. Project Muse.

Read Online.

Rozelot, J., & Babayev, E. (2018). Variability of the sun and sun-like stars : from asteroseismology to space weather. EDP Sciences.

Read Online.

Rhonda The Librarian's Random Reading & Research Review

February 2021

Text and References Below Images.

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Atomic habits: Tiny changes, remarkable results: An easy and proven way to build good habits & break bad ones. By Clear, J. 

"Meanwhile, improving by 1 percent isn’t particularly notable—sometimes it isn’t even noticeable—but it can be far more meaningful, especially in the long run. The difference a tiny improvement can make over time is astounding. Here’s how the math works out: if you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done." Clear

Modern food, moral food: Self-control, science and the rise of modern American eating in the early twentieth century. By Brody, A. S. 

As Veit suggests, nutritional literacy, refrigerators, changing shopping habits, all became markers of the middle class. She notes further, that “of all the changes in American food culture forged in the era of the Great War, perhaps the most extreme and lasting is in American’s attitudes towards their bodies” (186). In the political realm, foreign food aid would go on to become a hallmark of American foreign policy." Journal of Social History

Healthy habits suck : How to get off the couch and live a healthy life… even If you don’t want to. By Lee-Baggley, D. 

"Perhaps you’ve heard that it takes twenty-one days to build a habit. Unfortunately, there is no scientific evidence to back this up (Clear 2014). It actually takes more like two to three years to build a healthy habit." Lee-Bagley

The way of the woman writer. By Roseman, J.

Writing perfect prose effortlessly does not usually occur for most writers. Give yourself permission not to be perfect. Trust that your writing will evolve, and the more time that you spend in the habit of writing, the more comfortable you will be." Roseman

Of Habit. By Ravaisson, F.

"Félix Ravaisson's seminal philosophical essay, Of Habit, was first published in French in 1838. It traces the origins and development of habit and proposes the principle of habit as the foundation of human nature." Publisher

In the glass darkly. By Le Fanu, S. 

"Carmilla is an 1872 Gothic novella by Irish author Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu and one of the early works of vampire fiction, predating Bram Stoker's Dracula by 26 years." Wikipedia

References

Brody, A. S. (2015). Modern food, moral food: Self-control, science and the rise of modern American eating in the early twentieth

century [Book review]. Journal of Social History, 48(4), 958–959.

ONLINE

Clear, J. (2018). Atomic habits : Tiny changes, remarkable results : An easy & proven way to build good habits & break bad ones.

Avery Publishing.
Request Curbside Pickup

Lee-Baggley, D. (2019). Healthy habits suck : How to get off the couch and live a healthy life… even If you don’t want to. New

Harbinger Publications.

ONLINE

Le Fanu, J. S. (2009). In a Glass Darkly. The Floating Press."=

ONLINE

Ravaisson, F. (2008). Of Habit. Continuum.

ONLINE

Roseman, J. (2003). The way of the woman writer. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315785936

ONLINE

Veit, H. (2013). Modern food, moral food: Self-control, science, and the rise of modern American eating in the early twentieth

century. The University of North Carolina Press. https://doi.org/10.5149/9781469607719_veit

ONLINE