Meet my new nephew

Eric Craig Nyce
April 27, 2007

Total Chic Movie

What else could a WOMAN ask for. Hot, dirty, and sweaty men running around half naked. Yeah baby! I'm still having wet dreams! I give it 4 and a half stars.

The Second Coming

The Second Coming
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight; somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

W.B. Yeats
The Dial 1920

For what it's worth

A song from the movie sound track "Walk on Water". An excellent movie.

Just a thought!

Evil exists. I believe that.

It's very important to have a good sense of who you are and not be jerked around by other people and their opinions of you.

FireTunnel

Ok FireTunnel, I'm going to finally post again.

Hashy birthday to me,
Hashy birthday to me,
I look like a hasher,
And I smell like one too.
Drink it down, down, down . . .

Basque

"What is, then, this ancient people whose traditions celebrate unflagging valour and which, even in our times, has given so often proof of its heroism? Where do they come from? What is their relation to the other inhabitants of Europe and the rest of the world? These are impossible questions to answer.

The Basques are the mysterious race par excellence. They are alone among the multitude of the rest of mankind. They have no known family."

Elisée RECLUS
French writer and geographer (183O- 19O5)


Introduction to Basque History

Although the Basques were probably inhabiting the area they now do since the stone age, our oldest historical records come from the time of the Romans. Around 75 B.C., the Romans established the city of Pamplona as a regional centre. The Basques seem to have come down from the hills to trade with the Romans, but the Romans seem never to have extended actual control of the Basques living in the hills. The Basques living on the plain around Pamplona probably adapted to the Roman presence, but we don't know to what extent.

Around A.D. 830 century A.D., toward the end of the tumultuous period that followed the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Navarre (Nafarroa in Basque), centred in Pamplona, came into being. Originally this kingdom covered all of modern Navarre, plus the three Vascongadas (Gipuzkoa, Bizkaia, Araba), the modern French Basque country, and into neighbouring areas in modern Spain. Navarre was not conquered by the moors. Navarre was probably not a "Kingdom of the Basques", but it was a kingdom whose dominant ethnic group were the Basques.

Through the high and late middle ages Navarre gradually lost bits of its territory through various dynastic marriages and inheritances. Between 1200 and 1332, the three Vascongadas placed themselves in allegiance to the crown of Castille. By 1500 the Basques lived in three kingdoms: Navarre, Spain, and France. In 1515 Navarre was divided and absorbed into Spain and France along the current border (more or less).

In Spain, the Basques, especially those of the Vascongadas, retained special "fueros", privileges of self-governance and local assemblies for that purpose. The Basques were not individually subjects of the crown, but rather as a group subject to the crown (as long as they resided in the Vascongadas). In the 1800's a series of civil wars were fought in Spain (the "Carlist Wars") between factions who either sought to retain the medieval legal structure of Spain, or to reform it using the principles of the French Revolution. Rural Basques sided with the more conservative faction of King Carlos V in order to preserve the fueros. They lost. Many Basques fled Spain after these conflicts.

The loss of the fueros became more critical under Francisco Franco because he sought to take the integration of the different liguistic minorities in Spain one step further. He wanted total Castillianization. Catalan, Galician, and Basque were to be eradicated. After the death of Franco, King Juan Carlos and the Spanish Parliament established a system of autonomous regions that restored the fueros in spirit, if not in every detail.

During the time of the Carlist Wars, a "bertsolari" (wandering minstral) named Jose Mari Iparraguirre wrote a song about the famous oak tree that stands in Gernika. It is the traditional site of the gathering of the councils that goverened the Basques under the old system. That song, "Gernikako Arbola" has become the national anthem of the Basques. It is quite a long song, but here is the first verse with a rough translation:


Gernikako arbola
da bedeinkatua,
euskaldunen artean
guztiz maitatua.
Eman da zabal zazu
munduan frutua;
adoratzen zaitugu,
arbola santua.

The tree of Gernika
is a blessed symbol
loved by all the Basque people
with deep love.
Give to all the world
your fruit;
we adore you
sacred tree.

The rest of the song tells the story of the tree.

I am the new year

Life, I am the new year.
I am an unspoiled page in your book of time.
I am your next chance at the art of living.

I am your opportunity to practice
what you have learned about life
during the last twelve months.

All that you sought
and didn't find is hidden in me,
waiting for you to search it out
with more determination.

All the good that you tried for
and didn't achieve
is mine to grant
when you have fewer conflicting desires.

All that you dreamed but didn't dare to do,
all that you hoped but did not will,
all the faith that you claimed but did not have -
these slumber lightly,
waiting to be awakened
by the touch of a strong purpose.

I am your opportunity
to renew your allegiance to Him who said,
'behold, I make all things new.'

I am the new year.

New Year's Resolutions

1. Drop more pounds
2. Get in shape (Run more and use free weights)
3. Drink less alcohol and more water
4. Stay away from fried foods and sugar as much as possible
5. Get healthy by taking better care of myself
6. Make and keep doctor appointment's for myself and the family
7. Take a vitamin supplement
8. Read at least 5 books for pleasure
9. Hash more and socialize more
10. Work on personal relationships
11. Continue personal transformation
12. Work on professional relationships
13. Improve my career
14. Save more money
15. Buy a house

Juanes-Another one of my favorite bands

Sexy Juanes!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HwxdLKktq0




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55swlvN0kPA

MANA Concert-Feb. 24, 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gey9s_v_ryE



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_q6KD2O7iY

Pic

Finally, I found a decent picture of myself (look to the right) thanks to Pimp Doggie Dog. I just wish that the pic wasn’t so big. Can I make the frame smaller?

Charles Dickens

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

A Tale of Two Cities

18 years ago

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK4lyx3Y-Ws



I was a dork 18 years old. You tube rocks!!!

This takes me back when....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvi2eHNvrow



This takes me back when Steve and I went to the Monsters of Rock concert at Rice stadium.

Am I really too serious?

Ok, I can be a little too serious! Believe it or not, I used to be the life of the party, the driving force of the group I ran around with. What happen? Not sure. This blog sucks! Was that funny?

We all want to believe…Or do we?

How do you view the Devil? Do you think of him as a real person who tempts people to do wicked things, or does he merely represent the principle of evil? Is the Devil someone to be feared, or should he be dismissed as nothing more than a superstitious notion or a mythological unreality? Does the word “devil” refer to some abstract destructive force in the universe? Could the term simply be a symbol of the evil traits in humans, as many modern theologians claim?
It is not surprising that mankind is divided on the question of who the Devil is. Imagine how difficult it can be to discover the true identity of someone who is a master of disguise! Particularly is that so if he is determined to remain concealed behind a mask. The Bible describes the Devil as such a personality. Referring to him as Satan, it says: “Satan himself keeps transforming himself into an angel of light”. (2 Corinthians 11:14) Though he is evil, the Devil may present himself as good in order to misguide others. In addition, if he gets people to believe that he simply does not exist, that may suit his purpose even better.
Really, then, who is the Devil? When and how did he come into existence? How does he influence mankind today? What, if anything, can we do to resist that influence?

We all want to believe…Or do we?

Love....

"Love is unconditional acceptance. That quality is also our essential nature, who we really are. It is love of parents for child; also the non-possessive love of partners; also the caring love for all people that enables forgiveness. It is not the emotional lust of being 'in love' though that may well be in alignment with true love - or unaligned, as in jealousy. It's above energy, though it may be expressed energetically; it's Spirit itself, the nature of God, the quality we share with God; and it is the binding force of the Universe, necessary for all Creation."
—Peter Shepherd

Relationships

Pause and listen to your instincts and feelings about your relationship as you engage in activities together. If you are feeling unsafe, overly criticized, or very anxious, it is important to pay attention and not make excuses or justifications for your partner’s poor behavior. Are there behavior patterns that the two of you can discuss and change? Or is this behavior an entrenched pattern, and therefore, change is unlikely? Then you will need to consider ending the relationship.

Think about these key points:

•Falling in love makes it easy for judgment to be affected and to be blind to a partner's problems
•It takes at least 3 months to get to know someone and their deep-seated patterns, so it's best for relationships to slow down
•Knowing another person requires seeing him/her in action
•Mutual self-disclosure and intimacy require gradual building of trust and cannot be rushed
•Couples need to share many core values and life goals, as well as some personality qualities and lifestyle preferences
•Observe that you become a better person by being with your partner
•Be great friends
••There is significant mutual respect and a willingness to forgive
•Observe how your partner treats strangers
•Observe the types of friends your partner spends time with regularly
•Observe the behavior and communication patterns in your partner's family
•Ensure your partner has a highly developed conscience that guides his/her personal choices and ensures that he/she thinks of others instead of being self-centered
•Be able to effectively meet each other's needs
•Be capable of and willing to practice commitment

Transformation

Transformation:

Enhances:
Healing, Growth

Balances/Counters
Resistance to change

The spiritual practice of transformation holds within its wide embrace the personal renewals that come with a spiritual awakening, a conversion, a mystical epiphany, or an enlightenment. It covers the deepening that takes place when we get in touch with our Higher Self or Spirit.

Transformation usually involves the shedding of old ways, especially those that have become burdens. Therefore, no matter who we are, no matter what has already happened to us, no matter what we have done, it is still possible to be and do something new.

With transformation comes healing and wholeness.

"It is not the strongest of the species who survive, not the most intelligent, but those who are the most adaptive to change."
--Charles Darwin