http://ericback.com/wp "You were silly like us; your gift survived it all..." Auden in memory of Yeats Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:34:53 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I came across this story via "Finland Live." This new trail winds for 35 km through the boreal forests of northern Finland and Norway.  A complete description of this trail and others can be found in English at "Outdoors.fi"  http://www.luontoon.fi/news.asp?Section=5715&Item=17766  One fascinating aspect of hiking in Finland is "everyman's right," ... http://ericback.com/wp/archives/2009/07/21/new-hiking-trail-in-finland-piilola-trail/ Here is a piece by Finnish Poet Risto Rasa For more of his work visit his Finnish Poets page You may also find contemporary Finnish poetry with translations into multiple languages at Electric Verses Koira tulee illalla kotiin. Kun se kiertyy paikalleen ja nukahtaa, alkaa sen sydänlämpö levitä huoneisiin - Risto Rasa - In the evening, the dog comes Home. When he ... http://ericback.com/wp/archives/2009/07/11/finnish-poetry-with-english-translations/ Demonstrating an amazing facility for doublespeak, Sarah Palin resigned as Governor of Alaska late Friday afternoon.  Citing the mounting expenses and divided focus that has come from constantly defending her honor and family, she did not want to finish her term as a lame duck, she said.   Her rambling speech ... http://ericback.com/wp/archives/2009/07/06/sarah-palin-moves-on/ I've been working part time on an MBA through Colorado State University and finally graduated yesterday. The program is a part time program that integrates evening students in Fort Collins with distance students via a web interface. Distance students receive lectures via DVD within a week after the onsite lecture. ... http://ericback.com/wp/archives/2009/05/16/mba-complete/ A poster named drummerac may be on to something. On the Finland-Live site he posted evidence of a possible conspiracy for world domination.  Be forewarned! http://www.finlandlive.info/finns-finnish-culture/1076-finns-bent-world-domination.html The Finns have: attacked Russia twice, Germany once, themselves once,Are the Finns bent on world domination? They export, ships, elevators, mobile phone technology, and networking solutions, and once every year ... http://ericback.com/wp/archives/2009/05/11/are-the-finns-bent-on-world-domination/ 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). ... http://ericback.com/wp/archives/2009/02/12/february-12th-happy-darwin-day/ I came across this enews snippet announcing a new medieval manuscripts network. "Researchers create vast virtual library of medieval manuscripts" "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 ... http://ericback.com/wp/archives/2009/02/12/researchers-create-vast-virtual-library-of-medieval-manuscripts/ YLE reports that despite the economic downturn in Finland, those who retain their jobs can expect to see an increase in real income of 4.6% this year.  By contrast, last year's increase was 1.5%. Quoting the Taxpayer' Association, YLE notes that "The group attributes the improvement to slowing inflation and tax ... http://ericback.com/wp/archives/2009/01/12/wage-earners-purchasing-power-set-to-rise-in-2009-in-finland/ Former Finnish president (1994) Martti Ahtisaari was recognized by the Nobel Committee for his success in brokering deals as a United Nations envoy.  He was cited for his work in helping Namibia achieve independence from South Africa, for ending the 3 decade long conflict between the Aceh movement and Indonesia, ... http://ericback.com/wp/archives/2008/10/13/congratulations-to-martti-ahtisaari-nobel-laureate/ Over 1400 people attended the first "Alaska Women Reject Palin," rally outside the Anchorage library making it the largest political rally in Alaskan history according to the "mudflats" blogger. http://ericback.com/wp/archives/2008/09/14/palins-unreported-welcome-home/