Easter Week

See the land, her Easter keeping, 
Rises as her Maker rose. 
Seeds, so long in darkness sleeping, 
Burst at last from winter snows. 
Earth with heaven above rejoices; 
Fields and gardens hail the spring; 
Shaughs and woodlands ring with voices, 
While the wild birds build and sing. 


You, to whom your Maker granted 
Powers to those sweet birds unknown, 
Use the craft by God implanted; 
Use the reason not your own. 
Here, while heaven and earth rejoices, 
Each his Easter tribute bring- 
Work of fingers, chant of voices, 
Like the birds who build and sing.

by: Joyce Kilmer

The Absurdity Of Human Kind.

Keep away from children and animals .

Matt Gone, an American, poses during the recent international tattoo conference in Venezuela.  Now beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, and beauty may be only skin deep, but ugly is ugly to the bone, and Matt is f**king ugly by anyone's measure.  

Easter Day by Oscar Wilde

The silver trumpets rang across the Dome:
The people knelt upon the ground with awe:
And borne upon the necks of men I saw,
Like some great God, the Holy Lord of Rome.
Priest-like, he wore a robe more white than foam,
And, king-like, swathed himself in royal red,
Three crowns of gold rose high upon his head:
In splendour and in light the Pope passed home.
My heart stole back across wide wastes of years
To One who wandered by a lonely sea,
And sought in vain for any place of rest:
'Foxes have holes, and every bird its nest.
I, only I, must wander wearily,
And bruise my feet, and drink wine salt with tears.'


jpr: This is a redo but one of Oscar's best!

New Evidence

Shroud of Turin studies general date the cloth to between 1250 and 1390, in support of the idea that it is within the range of a LEONARDO hoax (1400-1500).  But recent tests in Italy, using update technology, argue that the cloth is much older than previous carbon dating suggests.  Recent studies hold for a date about the time of Jesus, with an error rate of 250 years either way.   Details have not yet been published. Nonetheless, its origin remains one of our great mysteries.

More Famous Quotes

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."

- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."

- Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

"Any man who is under 30, and is not a liberal, has no heart; and any man who is over 30, and is not a conservative, has no brains."

- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

Lady Astor: "Mr. Churchill, you're drunk!" Winston Churchill: "Yes, and you, Madam, are ugly. But tomorrow, I shall be sober."

- Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

A wise man washes his hands after he pees. A wiser man doesn't pee on his hands.

- unknown

more on wisedom

But where can wisdom be found?
    Where does understanding dwell?
¹³ No mortal comprehends its worth;
    it cannot be found in the land of the living.
.....
Where then does wisdom come from?
    Where does understanding dwell?
²¹ It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
    concealed even from the birds in the sky.
.....
“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
    and to shun evil is understanding.”

~scripture

jpr: one of my favorite topics since my divorce!

pre Billyianistic stuff

Sacred prostitution, temple prostitution, or religious prostitution is a sexual ritual consisting of sexual intercourse or other sexual activity performed in the context of religious worship.

In the Ancient Near East along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers there were many shrines and temples or "houses of heaven" dedicated to various deities documented by the Ancient Greek historian Herodotus. He was the first to state that the ancient Mesopotamians practiced temple prostitution.

The bible tells of cult-prostitution, both male and female as common among religious sites, pagan as well as the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. The righteous were always cleaning house as far back as Moses and Aaron.

No doubt the same call will come again as the problem will always be contemporary!

An Editorial

Forgive me.  The church of my mother is in trouble, and I am deeply saddened and embarrassed.  The world wide sexual abuse of children, the conspiracy to hide and protect the criminal clergy, the all too often open and public homosexuality, the financial scandals, the demands for adherence to rigid man- made dogma at the expense of Christ’s message of love and service threatens Catholicism.  The Church of Rome has become the church of the clergy.  Its purpose, to serve and protect its priests, bishops, and cardinals.  As a result,  many devout Catholics have become devout Anglicans, Lutherans, and Evangelicals.   And if not for my mother, so go I.

But despite my cynicism, I see hope in the pope who has no need for handmade slippers, gold crosses, papal estates, limousines; a pope who has no interest in writing esoteric treatise on abstract theological principles;  a pope who remembers the  message of Jesus. 

Francis, I, like millions of others, want to be a Catholic.   We want our church to be the moral compass of humanity.  But it isn't. Instead it looks more like the church of Martin Luther.

We look to you, save us, restore us.

the mid mid-east

today

time of the old testament

Burial Place of Job

 Yaqut al-H amawi  (1179-—1229, Arab geographer) recorded that Job  was located in Nawa, Syria. Job is a prophet in Islam.  In Druzism Job's burial place is in Chouf District, Lebanon. Traditiona locates it at Salalah, Oma.


jpr: No wonder boundaries have little meaning in the mid east!

quote

Man born of woman
is short of days and full of trouble.
² He blossoms like a flower, then withers;
he flees like a shadow and does not last.

scripture

Irish sayings on men

An Irishman has an abiding sense of tragedy which sustains him through temporary periods of joy.

The Irish forgive their great men when they are safely buried.

Men are like bagpipes: no sound comes from them until they're full.

A man is a man when his woman is a woman.

Superman T V

Lois lane and Jimmy Olsen 

Jack Edward Larson was born on February 8th, 1928. He is a well established American actor, librettist, screenwriter and producer; he is best remembered for his performance as Jimmy Olsen on the '50s TV show Adventures of Superman. 

Noel Neill, actress and singer  is best known for playing Lois Lane in the TV series.

Palms yourself

 from The Palm Tree  by J G Whittier
........

To him the palm is a gift divine,
Wherein all uses of man combine,--
House, and raiment, and food, and wine!

And, in the hour of his great release,
His need of the palm shall only cease
With the shroud wherein he lieth in peace.

"Allah il Allah!" he sings his psalm,
On the Indian Sea, by the isles of balm;
"Thanks to Allah who gives the palm!"

The Hunters

There were but two beneath the sky

The thing I came to kill, and I. 

I, under covert, quietly 

Watched him sense eternity 

From quivering brush to pointed nose 

My gun to shoulder level rose 

And then I felt (I could not see) 

Far off a hunter watching me. 

I slowly put my rifle by, 

For there were two who had to die 

The thing I wished to kill, and I. 

...........Native American Prayer

Beefalo

Beefalo is a species cross between Bison (buffalo) and domestic cattle of any breed. Many individuals have tried to cross the Bison and bovine but it was not until the 1960s that a major breakthrough took place.

jpr: Not just for sport anymore.

Famous Quote Series

"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."      Mark Twain

"My definition of an intellectual is someone who can listen to the William Tell Overture without thinking of the Lone Ranger."                                           Billy Connolly 

"My theory is that all of Scottish cuisine is based on a dare."        Mike Myers


"

More Heroes.

 

Born in a Jewish family Romania in 1930, Liviu Librescu was interned as a boy in a concentration labor camp in by Nazis.  He survived the holocaust to return to Communist Romania, where he earned masters and doctorate degrees in engineering and mechanics.  In the 70’s, Librescu’s refused to swear allegiance to the Romanian Communist Party and to condemn Israel.  He was subsequently forced out of academia and after a long struggle immigrated to Israel.  In his 70’s he was invited to lecture at Virginia Tech.  A prominent scholar, he served on the boards of 7 main stream research journals.  

On April 16, 2007, Librescu, 76 years old, was teaching a mechanics class at Virginia Tech as Seung-Hui Cho rampaged through the campus killing everyone in sight (he killed 32 people and wounded many others).  Librescu, on hearing the shooting, ordered his students out through the windows while he held the door of his classroom shut.  Cho fired through the door, striking Librescu five times, ending his life.  Of the 23 students in his class, 22 escaped without injury.  Coincidentally, April 16 is National Holocaust Day.  Lord, may each of us, in our hour of need, demonstrate the love and courage of Professor Librescu. RIP

Martina McBride & Chieftains

singing I'll Be All Smiles Tonight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOOlKBwhIHA

jpr Its a gud'en

Ring Around The Rosey

ring around the rosey
a pocket full of posey 
ashes ashes 
we all fall down

The words to the Ring around the rosy children's ring game have their origin in English history. The historical period dates back to the Great Plague of London in 1665 (bubonic plague) or even before when the first outbreak of the Plague hit England in the 1300's. The symptoms of the plague included a rosy red rash in the shape of a ring on the skin (Ring around the rosy). Pockets and pouches were filled with sweet smelling herbs ( or posies) which were carried due to the belief that the disease was transmitted by bad smells. The term "Ashes Ashes" refers to the cremation of the dead bodies! The death rate was over 60% and the plague was only halted by the Great Fire of London in 1666 which killed the rats which carried the disease which was transmitting via water sources. The English version of "Ring around the rosy" replaces Ashes with (A-tishoo, A-tishoo) as violent sneezing was another symptom of the disease. 

Famous Quotes Series

My wife and I were happy for twenty years. Then we met                                                                                                             -  Rodney Dangerfield

More Heroes to Consider

British fossil collector and paleontologist Mary Anning (1799-1847) was only twelve years old, the child of a poor family, when she found the first dinosaur skeleton ever recorded in history.  Until her landmark discovery, animal extinction was believed to be impossible. Her gender and social class made it difficult for her to fully participate in the scientific community of 19th-century Britain  But she taught herself paleontology, and went on to become a renowned fossil-hunter and dealer.  Anning was “probably the most important unsung collecting force in the history of paleontology.“  Her work ignited a fundamental shift in scientific thinking about prehistoric life.

Anning made her living selling dinosaur bones and sea shells.  While she and her contribution are all but forgotten, as is the strange case with many heroes, children still honor her everyday.  For the tongue-twisting children’s poem “she sells seashells by the sea shore’ was written about her.

Nathan Fillion

Canadian actor age 41 ...remarkably photogenic and his looks often upstage those of his romantic costars.

Largest Bowl of Pasta

 Italian restaurant, Buca di Beppo filled a swimming pool reused as a pasta bowl measuring 15' in
 diameter by 3.5' high with more than 13,786 pounds of pasta and 120 gallons of sauce -setting the new world record. 

My Search for Heros Continues

One of the leading contenders for my hall of heroes, other than the Titanic band leader, is Jack Hawke, former prime minister of Australia.  Son of a minster, himself an agnostic, Rhodes scholar, and a card caring socialist, he rose from rural obscurity to lead the powerful Australian National Trade Union Association and served as Australia's third longest active prime minister. Among his many 'hero' qualifications is his former place in the Guinness Book of Records.  Jack held the 'fastest beer drinker' title longer than any other contender.  While at Oxford he drank a yard (2.5 pints) of beer in 11 seconds.   Am I talking heroes or what?

"rising of the moon" (1957) by john ford

                Noel Purcell with his  shelale

The Rising of the Moon is a 1957 Irish anthology film directed by John Ford  It consists of three episodes all set in Ireland:

jpr: you will hear the grand talk of the old Irish as spoke by me grand father and his brothers.

Lady of Knock

Golden Rose, Queen of Irelandall my cares and troubles ceaseas I kneel with love before youLady of Knock, my Queen of Peace
Though your message was unspokenstill the truth in silence liesas we gaze upon your vision,and the truth I try to find
jpr; With a bit of a tear    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_UZOt7ujFo

Happy St Patrick's Day

jpr: in gaelic ....La Fhéile Pádraig Shona Daoibh (to two or more people). (Lah Hay-luh Pawd-rig Hunn-uh Jeev)

St Patrick Trivia

March 17 is the feast day of St. Patrick and the probable date of his death.  Other details of his life are somewhat confusing.  Only two documents written by him survive, and almost nothing exists written about him at the time tradition says he was in Ireland.  In one work, he details his early life, kidnapping from Scotland, slavery in Ireland, calling to the priesthood, and eventual return as a missionary.  (But nothing is actually 'datable.')  Everything else we ‘know’ comes down to us from documents written much after his death and tradition.  

One common tradition holds that Patrick used the 3 leafed shamrock to teach the principle of the Trinity.  Makes sense as the ‘sacredness’ of the shamrock is an ancient Irish symbol of life and three Druid gods.  Historians suggest, with some proof, that two Patrick's share the responsibility for bringing Christianity to Ireland.  St. Palladus, a French missionary sent by Pope Clement the 1st, did minor work in a different part of Ireland (and died) just before St. Patrick. Tradition has confused the two.

And while Patrick appears on the official list of Saints, he was never canonized by a pope.  His ‘sainthood’ was granted by the people he served. How very Irish.

Saint Patrick's Grave

this memorial stone does not rest upon the Patrick's grave

Down Cathedral is a Church of Ireland cathedral. It stands on the site of a Benedictine Monastery, built in 1183. Saint Patrick's remains are buried in the graveyard. According to tradition the remains of Saint Patrick with those of Saint Brigid and Saint Columba who is also known as Columcille, were reinterred on this site by John De Courey in the 12th Century thus fulfilling the prophesy that the three Saints would be buried in the same place. 

Hero's violin

Almost everyone is familiar  with the heroic actions of the Titanic Orchestra that played on  while the passengers attempted to escape the sinking ship.  Survivors testified to the meaningfulness of the band’s sacrifice.  All 14 went down with the ship.  The leader, Wallace Hartley, played the violin and newspapers at the time reported it was found strapped to his body.  After seven years of extensive testing, a violin returned to his fiancee  in 1913 has been authenticated as the one Hartley played as he faced certain death.  Moving story and a testimony to bravery and compassion.

Irish Dancing with the Chieftains

                                             




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8VBDKfo2AI
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab_BjxJkm68

some irish humor in short videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=94QEPD_p384

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3IRtC75YH0

jpr: Please excuse any offense!

Olé, Olé, Francisco, Francisco!

On Wednesday, it was Argentina's turn, with crowds gathering at a Buenos Aires cathedral and chanting in celebration. T-shirts bearing the slogan "I come from the end of the earth" appeared almost immediately.

The Oldest Written Melody in History c.1400 BC!!!

Music inscribed in cuneiform on clay tablets excavated from the Hurrian city of Ugarit in Syria. One of these tablets contains the hymn to the goddess Nikkal (also known as simply h.6), making it the oldest surviving substantially complete work of notated music in the world.

Have a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=viMbnj_Ei2A

Little Robin Redbreast

Little Robin Redbreast

Came to visit me;

This is what he whistled,

Thank you for my tea.

Little Robin Redbreast

Sat upon a rail;

Niddle noble went his head,

Widdle waggle went his tail.

jpr: Heard'em before first light singing in a tree. Node they be here. Saw the first one today. Robin's be back!!!

newborn camel

The camel has a single hump; The dromedary two; Or else the other way around. I'm never sure. Are you? -- Ogden Nash

More on the Swiss Guard.

Swiss Guards are Swiss soldiers who historically served as mercenary bodyguards and place guards at foreign European courts since the late 15th century. Originally regular Swiss mercenary regiments organized by the German speaking canton of Switzerland, they served as line troops in various armies, including France, Spain, Naples, and the Vatican.  Known for bravery, loyalty, and discipline they were employed as the personal bodyguards of European royalty fearful of their own military and  population.  They were originally employed to protect the Pope as for any other ‘royal person’ of the time.

The Swiss guard of the Vatican are the last Swiss guard unit in the world.  No longer an element of the Swiss government, they are employees of the Vatican.  Applicants must be male, Catholic, of Swiss or German heritage, 5’9” in height and have completed basic Swiss military training. Many are active Swiss military men who volunteer for the service. They receive extensive training in executive protection, hold Italian military rank, and serve two year appointments.

Giant Mosquito Invasion:

As if the daily news ain’t depressing enough with war, debt, inflation, taxes. cannibal police officers, republicans, American idol, Honey Bo Bo, and such, now we need to be  concerned about an invasion of giant killer mosquitoes.  (actually I watched this movie on ScFy yesterday)  Scientists expect an explosion of shaggy-haired gallinippers (Psorophora ciliata), a type of giant mosquito, this year.

A sort of super bug, tropical storms dumped a load of ‘em in Florida. Eggs laid last year could produce a bumper crop of the blood-sucking devil bugs this summer.  As insects go, gallinippers are particularly formidable. Their eggs lay dormant for years. Even in their larval stage, gallinippers are so tough they'll eat tadpoles and other small aquatic prey.  As adults, the voracious pests feed day and night (unlike everyday mosquitoes which they eat for snacks). Strong enough to bite through clothing,  it's 20 times bigger than typical mosquitos … And it's mean, it goes after people, pets, wild animals, even fish, it bites and it hurts."  So painful it feels like you're being stabbed.  Well maybe there’s a positive side and they'll reduce the zombie population.

Little Robin Redbreast

Little Robin Redbreast

    Sat upon a tree;

Up went Pussy-cat,

    Down went he.

Down came Pussy-cat,

    And away Robin ran;

Says little Robin Redbreast

    “Catch me if you can.”

Little Robin Redbreast

    Hopped upon a wall;

Pussy-cat jumped after him,

    And almost got a fall.

Little Robin chirped and sang,

    And what did Pussy say?

Pussy-cat said “Mew,”

    and Robin flew away.

~~ANONYMOUS                        jpr: no robins sighted as yet!

College of Cardinals

The average age at death for a member is 83.
The average age of retirement is 77.

The average age of  those presently serving is 72.


Europe has 61 votes.
Latin America has 19 votes.
US & Canada  14 votes.
Africa has 12 votes.
Asia has 10 votes.
Oceania has 1 vote.

The Swiss Guard

Flag of the Swiss Guard 

 One hundred Swiss Guards have been the only armed corps at the Vatican since Pope Paul VI. Their hours are long-sixty or seventy a week. The pay is merely 1.8 million lire ($1,000) a month-far less than an Italian soldier would earn.

Switzerland is a secular state. Many of the  men coming to serve at the Vatican experience great conversion doing their time. Annually three former Swiss guards become priests.

Dumb Animals?

Milo, a 6 year old white terrier, regularly takes his blind friend Eddie for walks around Cardiff, Wales.  The dogs have been close friends for years, but since Eddie, 7, lost his sight, Milo has taken over guide dog duties and has become his friends eyes.  Milo provides extensive care for his friend in all their daily routines.