Here is a piece by Finnish Poet Risto Rasa
For more of his work visit his Finnish Poets page
| Koira tulee illalla kotiin. Kun se kiertyy paikalleen ja nukahtaa, alkaa sen sydänlämpö levitä huoneisiin - Risto Rasa - |
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In the evening, the dog comes Home. When he curls up in his spot And falls asleep, His heart’s-warmth starts spreading Into the rooms. - Risto Rasa - |
Today marks the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin. There is even a website devoted to the 200th anniversary marking the birth of this distinguished naturalist: Darwin Day.org
Fox News mentions Gallup and Pew polls which show that fewer than 4 in 10 Americans believe that evolution is factual (Fox News article). The Gallup poll found a significant link between understanding of evolution and education, ”Just 21 percent of respondents who had up to a high school level of education believe in evolution, compared with 74 percent of those with postgraduate degrees.” It is a little surprisingly that only 74% of those holding post grad degrees accept evolution as fact. ”Among weekly churchgoers, only 24 percent said they believe in evolution, while 41 percent do not and 35 percent have no opinion.” Fox News also offers several links to evolutionary articles and hosts it’s own online center.
Fox News Evolutionary and Paleontology Center
Celebrations today in Britain include exhibitions of artifacts, tours, and, at the Bristol Zoo if you visit wearing a real or fake beard (certainly non sexist), you get in for free (Bristol Zoo). Quoted from an article on the Bristol Zoo site, ”Simon Garrett, Head of Learning at Bristol Zoo Gardens, said: “Darwin is now a household name and, over the last 150 years, his ideas have revolutionised our understanding of nature and our place within it. Bristol Zoo’s ‘beard day’ is a fun way of commemorating Darwin’s life and work while allowing visitors to find out more about his theories.” ” ”Among the biggest celebrations is at the Natural History Museum in London which is putting on films, talks and pea soup, cooked to the recipe of Darwin’s wife, Emma.” And, at 5:45 pm today there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at Darwin’s grave in Westminster Abbey.
I came across this enews snippet announcing a new medieval manuscripts network.
”Somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 rare and precious medieval manuscripts have been scanned over the past decade into formats that could be studied over the Internet.”
Definitely interesting for even casual readers. Perusing the English manuscripts for example I came across 15th century recipes for wild game as well as cures and treatments for the plague. In times like these one can never be sure when she might need both!
Gail Renard was 16 when she heard that John Lennon was going to be staying over in Montreal. She crashed his party with a friend via a fire escape at Montreal’s Queen Elizabeth Hotel. Ringing the doorbell during a change of security, Yoko answered the door and let her in for an interview.
Gail stayed for the week of the famous bed in and the recording of ”Give Peace a Chance.” Lennon is recalled as speaking with Gail’s mother on the telephone and gaining her approval; every night Gail went to her own home and bed to sleep. During the day she acted as Lennon’s liaison to the press, played with Kyoko Lennon in the nearby park, made arrangements for tambourines for the recording session, and hobnobbed with the celebs including Tommy Smothers, Timothy Leary, and Allan Ginsberg.
She felt secure in her surroundings and recalls how when an amorous member of the press attempted to kiss her, John intervened and chased him off. Among the several mementos that he gave her was the song board to Give Peace a Chance which was recently, almost 40 years later, auctioned off at Christies for almost $850,000. He’d told her, ”hang on to it, it will be worth something one day.” They had originally guessed that the piece would fetch between 200 and 300,00 pounds. Renard, an award winning radio and TV writer, commented, saying, ”It’s all monopoly money to me.”
Ozzy was recently awarded an undisclosed sum in a judgment against the Daily Star. The Star had published an article suggesting that Ozzy was too ill to present awards at a recent, British awards ceremony, and said that he had collapsed twice prior to the ceremony, and relied on an electric buggy to get around the set. In addition to the financial award which was donated to Sharon Osbourne’s favorite charity, Ozzy received a profuse apology from the newspaper declaring the allegations untrue and admitting that they never should have been published.
In other news, the Osbournes will be hosting a six episode variety series that will be launched on the Fox network at Christmas.
So how are we doing as a nation at the close of the Bush presidency. Take a look at these statistics reflecting the USA’s place in the world according to a number of vital parameters for an established and developed nation. All of these scores were culled from another site that had compiled them throughout the Bush years, some of them have worsened over the past few years.
What will it take to make America truthfully, ”the greatest nation on the earth?”
1) Adult Literacy:
USA #9, Sweden #1, Norway #2
2) Healthcare Quality Index:
USA #37, #1 France, #2 Italy
3) Student Reading Ability:
USA #12, Finland #1, South Korea #2
4) Student Problem Solving Ability:
USA #26, South Korea #1, Finland #2
5) Student Ranking on Mathematics Ability:
USA #24, Hong Kong #1, Finland #2
6) Student Ranking on Science Ability:
USA #19, Finland #1, Japan #2
7) USA Ranking on Life Expectancy:
USA #29, Japan #1, Hong Kong #2
USA Ranking on Political Corruption Index:
USA #17, Iceland #1, Finland #2
9) USA Ranking on Environmental Sustainability Index:
USA #45, Finland #1, Norway #2
10) USA Ranking on Infant Mortality:
USA #32, Sweden #1, Finland #2
Wondering what to do with all those leftover party balloons?
Don’t miss the video of Oregonion, Kent Couch’s launch for a 200 mile journey across the Oregon desert! He made it successfully, unlike the tragic flight of Brazilian Priest, Adelir de Carli whose body was recently found 100 km off the Brazilian coast after his helium balloon powered lawnchair was caught by high winds.
President Yahya Jammeh has vowed to cut off the heads of those who practice homosexuality in Gambia. He maintains that Gambia is a nation of believers, a Muslim country, and homosexuality will not be tolerated. As of today he has given homosexuals ”24 hours to get out of Gambia” and has ordered all landlords to evict all homosexuals. Those giving homosexuals lodging will be punished and commercial establishments will be closed down. Afrol News notes that many gays had already moved to Mauritania after a previous crackdown.
Some members of his government are reportedly, albeit quietly, wondering whether he is insane. Even quiet wondering is a bold move in a nation whose despotic star is just beginning to ascend, and where the press has uniformly (and safely) praised him for his medical marvels such as the time last year when he had declared that he had devised a cure for aids (Read ”The Quack in Gambia”).
What are we to make of this man’s approach? Some might feel that while extreme, Jammeh’s approach is typical of religion, inflexible, intolerant, and tyrannical. I would argue that not all ”people of the book,” share his view and that most would soundly condemn his viewpoint. A Christian approach for example, must always begin its address to a serious issue with the good news.
One of Canada’s best kept secrets is a folk singer/country singer named Stompin’ Tom Connors. Fiercely Canadian, he returned a number of Juno awards one year in protest of those artists who had shifted their emphasis to the ”south of the border market.” Stompin’ Tom earned his name for the way that he kept his beat by rythymically stomping his foot as he played. After receiving complaints about wearing down stage floors he began to bring his own sheet of plywood to stomp on. Generally ignored by pop radio, Stompin’ Tom nevertheless acquired a huge, inter-generational following and along with Don Messer, Tommy Hunter, Hank Snow, and others, has become an icon and source of national pride.
Here’s a recent snow sculpture of Stompin’ Tom that was an entry in a snow sculpture contest and below it is Stompin’ Tom’s response.
”To Abram, Asher and Ben Waterman, and Team Prince Edward Island. All I can say is WOW! And Congratulations on the great job you guys did on the Snow Sculpture ”Stompin’ Tom & the Hockey Song”. Your theme could not be more ”Canadian” and I hope you win the competition. It’s awsome!”
