Why do I like Solar Cookers International?

 Graphic showing UN sustainable development goals:

Solar Cookers work towards all of these goals

Examples of positive results of solar cookers:

• reduce indoor air pollution and childhood asthma
• reduce production of greenhouse gasses
• preserve trees and bushes
• give people more free time -- because they don't have to gather wood -- allows people more time for cash producing activities and education
• can pasteurize water
• reduce rapes -- as women aren't out gathering wood
• basic solar cookers are very cheap and easy to transport 
• people can often build their own solar cookers (reflector plus black pot)
• reduce cost -- pays for itself, if people are buying fuel

link to the website of Solar Cookers International 

Guest speaker, who is working on pollution in Cameroon, at the webinar July 17, 2025

School in Nepal with solar cookers on the roof

https://solarcooking.fandom.com/wiki/Vajra_Foundation

Artwork & Animation

For the most part, my art is a hobby.  I have sold a few directly and given them as gifts, but more commonly I have donated them to charities for fundraising.

If you want a still art piece, I ask that you make a donation to Solar Cookers International as payment https://www.solarcookers.org/  I'll send you the item, if I still have it. I will ask to see your receipt.  Why I like Solar Cookers Internationa

Links to salient creative works

Animation Studies & other courses Blog

My storefront on Tee Public 

Still Art Examples

Here's an example of my doodling style:

Musings about getting into art

*Primary* Ongoing Log of Updates

I aspire to be a natural appearance performer

Divorced Billionaire Heiress

A lot of my friends and acquaintances are telling me that they've seen me in this vertical drama, where I play the powerful billionaire gramma.  Here's my blog about it Blog link

Performance Reels

Dramatic/Comedic reel

Commercial Reel

Villain/Angry reel

Legit Soprano music video (Sound of Music)

Alto belt example

links:

Some of my ads in full

List of my online profiles

Audio reel examples

Miscellaneous other media

Summary Resume

Animation: see Blog 

I am 10x vaccinated against COVID!

I am a USA/DE dual national

News from 2025 

Acting related

• Jan 14 Actors Connection class with Dani Markowitz
• April 18 first draft of proposed Villain/Angry reelhttps://youtu.be/Sy_o12onZy4

CLE

• Navigating Japanese Patent & Trademark Law 5/28/25 (IIPS)
• JPPCLE, June 6, 2025
• Hot Topics in Trademark & Copyright Law June 26, 2025 (NYIPLA)

Other

• Solar Cookers International (SCI) Webinar 7/18/25
• Movies seen in theaters: Superman, Snow White, Moana 2, Thunderbolts, Captain America: Brave New World
• Live Theater: Boop The Musical (so sad that it closed)
• New Music: Lucia Micarelli "Anthropology"

News from 2024

Performance (click on links to see videos)

• December 6 filming "Family Affair"
• Sept 13, filming Woobles Ad
• July 12, discovered an ad for Divorced Billionaire Heiress with extended clip 
• June 13 release of FOGO (Fear of Getting Old) https://vimeo.com/957504849
• June 4 filming  ad in Chicago retina specialists ad
• May 21 release of Count of Monte Cristo  more info on blog
• May 6-9 filming "The Divorced Billionaire Heiress"  Blog
• May 5: I discovered that the "Secret Trillionaire" was renamed "Mystic Tycoon" and a clip is on FB.  blog with clip
• May 2 "The Substitute Bride" starts streaming on Short Max Blog about The Substitute Bride
• Feb 26 Filming  "Secret Trillionaire" (later called "Mystic Tycoon")  d Amy Omar.  
• Jan 28 & Feb 5 Filming "The Substitute Bride" d Ying Xiao

CLE

• 241107 NYIPLA fall one day program
• 241020 State of the Law: Transgender Rights Lawline
• 241018 Artificial Intelligence & Chat GPT: Uses, Abuses, and Ethical standards Lawline
• October 2024 Poll Observer Training NYDLC
• September 10 JPPCLE
• July 23 NYDLC Supreme court Ethics
• Feb 16, "Protections of Geographical Indications in the EU and Beyond" IIPS

Media consumed

• Movies seen in Theatres:"Moana 2", "Wicked", "Venom: Last Dance", "DeadPool & Wolverine", "American Fiction", "Aquaman 2"
• Audio purchased (Yeah, I haven't joined a streaming service yet) : "Impossible Dream" by Aaron Lazar, Everything I could find by Tony Ann, "Hell Together" by David Archuleta, "Fraggle Rock" with Adam Lambert, "Musical Priest" by Lucia Micarelli
• Live theater & Music: Find your Light Benefit Appel Room; "Cabaret" at the Weathervane Theater in NH; "Cabaret" featuring Adam Lambert; Concert by Dave & Kat Foster in Staten Island

Other

• Foliage Pix
  
• Participated in bicentennial of Randolph NH
• Attended NYYM summer sessions virtually
• Car camping trip to Chicago & back through Ontario blog link
• found a mention of me in letters to the editor of Science News.  More here https://annebarschall.blogspot.com/2024/03/my-name-in-letters-to-editor.html
• Flower pictures I took this spring flower blog
• Snowshoeing pix
  
• Eclipse pix
  

Earlier updates, deleted from this blog and moved to separate blogs:

2023 updates

2022 Updates

2021 Updates

2020 Updates

2019 Updates

2018 updates
2017 Updates
2016 updates
2015 updates
2014 updates

More historical info

Fantasy referendum for 2026 election

This is a draft. I may change it in response to comments or afterthoughts. 

The word president is deliberately not capitalized, out of disrespect

Whereas: a totalitarian has been elected president of the United States, who is demolishing our constitution and our civil rights;

Whereas: this president has vowed to discriminatorily enforce laws against our state, our cities, and our non-white immigrants (

Whereas: this president is incarcerating and deporting our innocent friends, neighbors, and workers out of racial hatred, thereby endangering our economy, our future, and our food supply;

Whereas: the president cultivates an atmosphere of lies in preference to the truth;

Whereas: Congress is dominated by allies of this president; 

Whereas: Congress and the president have been undermining necessary, social welfare programs for our state; 

Whereas: our state is paying disproportionately into the cost of the running of the federal government, while Congress and the president run the government in manners prejudicial to our state;

Whereas: the president is threatening to use our tax dollars to invade innocent allied countries;

Whereas: the president is abandoning our nation’s allies in favor of dangerous totalitarians abroad;

Whereas the president has pardoned dangerous insurrectionists and at least one paid illegal agent of a foreign country and loosed these criminals on the public;

Whereas the president and Congress are cutting taxes on the wealthiest and increasing spending in a way that is totally fiscally irresponsible;

Whereas the president is sending innocent people to concentration camps;

Whereas the president is threatening US citizens with loss of citizenship for exercising their rights to free speech

Now, therefore: Be it resolved that:

The Governor of the State of New York is directed to pursue all legal alternatives to secede peacefully from the United States and join Canada

This course of action is to be pursued with with all deliberate speed

Asking Grok about allegations of tax increases in 2015

 

I saw the above image on Facebook.  I asked Grok if it were true.  This is what Grok said

The image claims that on January 1, 2015, several tax increases were implemented through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, with changes to the Medicare tax, top income tax bracket, top income payroll tax, capital gains tax, dividend tax, and estate tax. It states these were passed solely with Democratic votes, without Republican support, and implies the public was unaware due to not reading the bill.

Let’s break this down based on my knowledge:

1. Medicare Tax Increase (1.45% to 2.35%): The ACA did introduce a Medicare tax increase, but the numbers here are misleading. The ACA added a 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax on earned income above certain thresholds (e.g., $200,000 for individuals) starting in 2013, not 2015. The base Medicare tax rate remained 1.45% for both employees and employers (2.9% total), but the additional tax brought the effective rate to 3.8% on high earners. The claim of 1.45% to 2.35% oversimplifies this and incorrectly suggests the base rate changed.
2. Top Income Tax Bracket (35% to 39.6%): This is partially true but not directly tied to the ACA. The top income tax bracket increased from 35% to 39.6% starting in 2013, not 2015, due to the expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts under the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA), signed into law on January 2, 2013. This was separate from the ACA, though the ACA did add a 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax (NIIT) on high earners, which could affect perceptions of overall tax burden.
3. Top Income Payroll Tax (37.4% to 52.2%): This claim is inaccurate and unclear. The "payroll tax" typically refers to Social Security and Medicare taxes. The Social Security tax rate in 2015 was 6.2% on income up to a cap ($118,500 in 2015), and Medicare was 1.45% (plus the additional 0.9% for high earners). Combining these with the top income tax rate (39.6%) and other taxes might get you a higher effective rate, but the jump to 52.2% is exaggerated and not a standard metric for payroll taxes. This appears to be a misrepresentation.
4. Capital Gains Tax (15% to 28%): This is incorrect. The ACA did increase the capital gains tax for high earners, but not to 28%. Starting in 2013, the top capital gains rate went from 15% to 20% due to ATRA, and the ACA added the 3.8% NIIT on investment income for high earners, making the effective rate 23.8%, not 28%.
5. Dividend Tax (15% to 39.6%): This is also incorrect. Qualified dividends were taxed at the capital gains rate, which, as mentioned, went to 20% in 2013, plus the 3.8% NIIT, totaling 23.8% for high earners. The 39.6% rate applies to ordinary income, not qualified dividends, though non-qualified dividends could be taxed at that rate.
6. Estate Tax (0% to 55%): This is a gross exaggeration. The estate tax rate in 2010 was 0% due to a temporary repeal, but it was reinstated in 2011 at 35%. Under ATRA in 2013, the top rate was set to 40%, not 55%, with an exemption of $5 million (adjusted for inflation). The ACA did not directly affect the estate tax.
7. Passed Solely with Democratic Votes: This is true for the ACA itself. The ACA was passed in 2010 (not 2015) with only Democratic votes in both the House and Senate, as Republicans unanimously opposed it. However, some tax changes mentioned (like the top income tax bracket and estate tax) were part of ATRA, which had bipartisan support.
8. Timing (January 1, 2015): Most of these tax changes took effect in 2013, not 2015, as part of the ACA or ATRA. The image incorrectly attributes them to 2015.
9. Public Awareness and "No One Read the Bill": The claim that "no one read the bill" is a common critique of the ACA, often attributed to its length and complexity (over 2,000 pages). While it’s true the bill was complex and some provisions weren’t widely understood, many of these tax changes were debated publicly, especially the NIIT and Additional Medicare Tax.

Conclusion

The image contains a mix of truths, exaggerations, and inaccuracies:

• Some tax increases (like the Additional Medicare Tax and NIIT) were part of the ACA and took effect in 2013, not 2015.
• Other changes (top income tax bracket, estate tax) were part of ATRA, not the ACA, and also started in 2013.
• The percentages cited (e.g., 28% capital gains, 55% estate tax, 52.2% payroll tax) are exaggerated or incorrect.
• The ACA was indeed passed with only Democratic votes, but the broader tax changes weren’t all tied to it.

The allegations are partially true but heavily distorted. I can search for more specific details if needed!