A Post-Christmas to-do list

Not sure what to do between Christmas and the New Year ... here's a list (via the Chicago Tribune) of things to do before the end of the year.

1 Get unplugged. Take a deep breath and have some fun.

2 Get inspired.

3 Get focused. Play a game with me. It is Dec. 22, 2010. You've brushed your teeth, turned off the lights and are almost asleep. You think back over 2010 and feel a sense of excitement, accomplishment and happiness. Answer this question, "What happened in 2010 for me to feel this way?" Now you know what to focus on next year.

4 Get gratitude. "What's next?" I know I find myself asking this a lot. But in your quest for new and more, take a step back and consider everything you have to be thankful for. Are there problems in your life? Of course. But I guarantee there are some gems. I bet that if you thought about it for 30 seconds, you'd have a list that would surprise you. Try it.

5 Get generous. This doesn't mean you should buy a bunch of stuff. It means you give something of yourself. That could be your ideas or a shoulder. Who has had the greatest impact on you this year? Call them and say thank you.

Finally - don't worry about 2010 -- it will come without your help. Spend the next few days enjoying what's left of 2009.

not sharing...

Interesting to read this piece (SMH) about the sharing of Christmas news - and there's defnintely something in sharing the ups and downs of our year -- though I wonder how likely we are to write openly then, if it seems we find it hard to share what's happening at other times too. How to write 'mass communication' is something to think about - in terms of how much detail to share, and the authenticity of what we share. And maybe there's something about readers only wanting to see the 'good news'.

Friendship and a few bonuses...

One of the trends of 2009 was the growth of social-networking sites - this atricle is a great read about the changing nature of friendship. Another Christmas article, this one's about the 'christmas' songs we could do away with -- (via New York Times)

A final one - about the impact of MySpace - which is a great way to introduce yourself to music (as they often have songs streaming on their pages).

The Child in the Manger (the King on the Cross)

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. (Rev 1:12-19, ESV)

Christmas

A couple of Christmas pieces from the herald today..


Did Jesus come to make us fat and greedy... (on the prosperity gospel).

And  John Dickson's piece on the Christmas narrative.

Music for 2009...

As the year winds its way down, I thought I write about a few of the artists I've encountered during 2009.

Amy Dickson - A classically trained Saxaphonist now based in the UK. Her latest album includes recordings of recordings of Tavener, Nyman and Glass. Really enjoyed it.

Sara Groves - Christian singer-songwriter. A really enjoyed her lyrics (which are so honest, and real).

Gemma Hayes / Lisa Hannigan - Two awesome Irish singer-songwriters. Lisa until recently sang with the awesome Damien Rice. I'm almost ready to admit that the best musicians come from Ireland (or maybe the UK and Ireland :-).

Noah and the Whale - Another British group, kind of folkish, I love the name :-)

World Cup - Draw.

The groups have been set: New Zealand will face, Italy, Slovakia and Paraguay; Australia has games against Germany, Ghana and Serbia. The full details are here.

Dates for the diary:
Tuesday, June 15, 9.30pm, AEST, NZ v Slovakia, at Rustenburg
Monday, June 21, Midnight, AEST, NZ v Italy, at Nelspruit
Friday, June 25, Midnight, AEST, NZ v Paraguay, at Johannesburg

2010 -- World Cup Draw

Tonight, we find out the Groups for the World Cup, perhaps unfortunately Australia and New Zealand can not be in the same group. The way the draw will work is that the 32 countries participanting in the cup are divided into 4 pots of 8 teams.

Pot A (seeded teams): South Africa (hosts), Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina, England.
Pot B (Asia, Oceania, Concacaf): Australia, Japan, Korea DPR, Korea Republic, Honduras, Mexico, USA, New Zealand.
Pot C (Africa, South America): Algeria, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay.
Pot D (Europe): Denmark, France, Greece, Portugal, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland,

Can you imagine the headlines if Italy or England are drawn into the Australia's group. As for NZ, I don't really mind :-)

revolving doors...

Its amazing to realise, but NSW has had five four Premiers in 5 years, and with a inevitable cabinet reshuffle, I think it will be six treasurers in five years. The best comment I've seen was that:

"a Party that [clearly] cannot govern itself, cannot govern a state".

I'm not sure if its constitutional valid, but it would have been wonderful if as well as making the speech he made yesterday, Rees went to the Governor and forced an election.

Given the last 6 months, its no certainity that Kennelly will be there on election day.

The Andrew Ollie Lecture '09

I recently read the Andrew Ollie Lecture, this year given by Julian Morrow (of The Chaser) . It was a fascinating to see him speak candidly about comedy and its audience (including the Chaser show earlier in the year).

The key argument was that "independence of mind also by definition means independence from the audience and "the inevitable corollary to freedom of speech is that there is no such thing as a general right to not be offended".

time taken...

When everything is settled, when everyone has gone their seperate ways and finally stop long enough one day to glance back, one day when slowness is upon us and time allows the view, the question we ask is the question that will nags again and again and again: did we hear the music of the years? Did we see the fiddler's hand, bowing it higher and higher through days emblazoned with wonder, or were we looking away?

(The Time We Have Taken - Steven Carroll)

50 most important recordings... (NPR)

Here are the 50 most important recordings of the last decade, put together by NPR's All Songs Considered. The list is alphabetised. Anyway, a list like this is probably as notable for what it leaves out, as well as what it includes.

01. John Adams: On The Transmigration Of Souls
02. Animal Collective: Merriweather Post Pavilion
03. The Arcade Fire: Funeral
04. The Bad Plus: These Are The Vistas
05. Beyonce: Dangerously In Love
06. Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago
07. Bright Eyes: I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning
08. Burial: Untrue
09. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah: S/T
10. Kelly Clarkson: Breakaway
11. Coldplay: A Rush Of Blood To The Head
12. Danger Mouse: The Grey Album
13. Death Cab For Cutie: Transatlanticism
14. The Decemberists: The Crane Wife
15. Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP
16. The Flaming Lips: Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots
17. Osvaldo Golijov: La Pasión Segun San Marcos (Saint Mark's Passion)
18. Green Day: American Idiot
19. Iron And Wine: Our Endless Numbered Days
20. Jay-Z: The Blueprint
21. Norah Jones: Come Away With Me
22. Juanes: Fijate Bien
23. LCD Soundsystem: Sound Of Silver
24. Lil’ Wayne: Tha Carter III
25. Little Brother: The Listening
26. M.I.A.: Kala
27. Yo-Yo Ma: Silk Road Journeys: When Strangers Meet
28. Mastodon: Leviathan
29. Jason Moran: Black Stars
30. OutKast: Stankonia
31. Brad Paisley: 5th Gear
32. Panda Bear: Person Pitch
33. Robert Plant & Alison Krauss: Raising Sand
34. The Postal Service: Give Up
35. Radiohead: In Rainbows
36. Radiohead: Kid A
37. Shakira: Fijación Oral, Vol. 1
38. Sigur Ros: ( )
39. Britney Spears: In The Zone
40. Sufjan Stevens: Illinois
41. The Strokes: Is This It
42. The Swell Season: Once Soundtrack
43. Ali Farka Toure & Toumani Diabate: In The Heart Of The Moon
44. TV On The Radio: Return To Cookie Mountain
45. Various: Garden State Soundtrack
46. Various: O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack
47. Kanye West: The College Dropout
48. The White Stripes: White Blood Cells
49. Wilco: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot
50. Amy Winehouse: Back To Black

God and the state ..

Last Monday night my new local member; Joe Hockey gave a fascinating address (at the Sydney Institute, http://www.thesydneyinstitute.com.au/ ) Describing his view on how faith and politcs relate. Read it here.

One of the things he said which intrigued me was that the "Christian pie is not getting bigger; rather how it is sliced up is changing". I am intrigued why some the churches that are growing - what characteristics do they have.. The two reasons which quite often come to my mind are the community aspect; maybe tied to community is belonging. (and I'm always wondering how much church growth is believers "shopping around", and how many 'believers' chose not to identify as part of "a church" ). I have read somewhere (but can't recall where) that the Evangelical churchs are growing.

The other point made by Hockey which resonated with me, was his view leaders who are fake; will be shown to be without values.


While I wasn't in agreement with all of his views, it was interesting hearing another one of our politicians talk about 'their faith'.

Update: Interesting to read this article by the Dean of Sydney about Hockey's speech.

South Africa here we come...

So, after a break of 27 years, the All Whites are back in the World Cup. 

Last night, in front of a sellout crowd in Wellington the All Whites held on for a deserved 1-0 win. Here's the match report from the NZ Herald , BBC, and the NYT.

The next key date is Dec 4, when the draw from group stage will be made. Wouldn't it be funny if the Socceroos and All Whites ended up in the same group.
 

Notes from the Decade

Given that its almost the end of 2009, I thought that I'd put my list of my top 5 albums for 2000-2010. Perhaps lists like these are becoming more pointless, as the way we listen to music has changed. More often than not we listen to music shuffled. I'm old fashioned in that I like listening to albums from start to finish. Before I get on to my list, here's a discussion piece about the trends which have defined this decade in music (via NPR). NPR will have a list of the most influencial albums of the decade online on Monday (I think), I'll post the link once I find/hear it.

With the provisio that they may change from time to time here's my top five albums from the decade. My honorable mentions are: No Line on the Horizon and I'm Wide Awake it's Morning.

5. Limbs and Branches - Jon Foreman
During 2008, Jon Foreman the lead singer of the Calfornian band Switchfoot released a series of EPs titled Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer. The album Limbs and Branches is a compliation of songs from these EPs. The most striking thing about these albums, are the faithful yet not preachy lyrics.The album gives Foreman the opportunity to display his craft with music.

4: Good Monsters - Jars of Clay
Jars of Clay were the first Christian band. I'm not sure whether Good Monsters Jars of Clay's best work, especially given the release earlier this year of The Long Fall Back to Earth. Both albums are perhaps more complete works than the their earlier albums. Good Monsters provides an account for our capacity as humans to be equally good and depraved.

3: Albertine - Brooke Fraser
I remember when I first heard the title track. The words and music blended together to create an athmosphere of urgency -"Now that I have seen - I am responsible, faith without deeds is dead". Quite a challenge. I'm impressed with Brooke's honest and thoughtful lyric's which quite easily cross to the mainstream. At the moment Brooke is posting articles on songwriting on her blog, which are worth a read too. Brooke Fraser isn't on this list just because she is a Kiwi, but it sure helps. Aside: Brooke is in the process of writing her third album.

2: Kid A - Radiohead
I wasn't so sure of this one when I first heard it, but it has really grown on me. It was quite a change following the critically acclaimed OK Computer, but now its one best enjoyed through earphones, and perhaps from start-to-finish. "How to Dissapear.." is such a hauntingly beautiful song.

1: The Swell Season - The Swell Season
The Swell Season is a collaboration between the lead singer of the amazing Irish band the Frames - Glen Hansard, and Marketa Irglova (a pianist from the Czech Republic). The highlight of this album to me is the harmony between the voices of Marketa and Glen and how well they compliment each other. In some ways the story has been part of their (broad) appeal, Glen Hansard with the band The Frames were searching for success, and then through the film 'Once' made for less than $200k, they were thrust into the spotlight. Hansard since then has had fun dealing with how the "whole word" has turned and noticed them. more here. As I wrote earlier their 2nd album 'Strict Joy' is not suprisingly almost as beautiful - you can read the poem that inspired the title.

First listen...

For those who don't know, NPR's website offers an exclusive first listen to some albums prior to their release date. Last week, they began streaming The Swell Season's second album 'Strict Joy' in full.

Strict Joy is a follow-up to their self-titled debut release in 2006. It is sad that none of the press around the new album mentions this cd, focusing on the soundtrack to Once instead (which features a number of the same songs). I would encourage anyone who liked Once or intends to buy Strict Joy, to buy The Swell Season too. You won't regret it.

My first impression of the record was that I had been reacquanited with an old friend, (or I was sitting with two people as they sang about their experience of life) The lyric of the album are so genuine. As in their debut record, the lyrics are laid on a foundation of acoustic guitar, strings (mostly).

Glen Hansard has a beautful way of communicating emotion and connecting to experience. The tracks Fantasy Man and I Have Loved You Wrong, give Marketa opportunity to sing the lead vocal. The album is a sparkling gem and has grown on each listen. The album is released on October 23rd. (via Spunk Records).

One more on the World Cup - Qualifiers

According to FIFA's website there's just about 240 days to the next Football World Cup. Thursday morning is one of the key days. Thursday will see most of the qualifers finalised Here's an overview of the possibilities, (and more helpfully probabilities).(from the BBC). The full list of teams will be determined after the playoffs end on the 18th. (Then the real build-up can begin).

Update: Here are the qualifers at October 14.

90 minutes (or so) to go

While Australia has qualified for the next world cup already, New Zealand faces a two legged play off against Bahrain to get there. The first leg was played in Bahrain in the early hours of this morning, it seems NZ acquitted themselves well (the game finished 0-0). On Nov 14, in Wellington, the All Whites play their most significant football match since 1982.

If they win this match, they will join Australia (and others) at South Africa 2010, and if they lose the road starts again in 2012 (and maybe with Australia in the Asian confederation).

Stop worrying.. and love the internet

This piece from 1999 is a great ..

"Because the Internet is so new we still don't really understand what it is. We mistake it for a type of publishing or broadcasting, because that's what we're used to. So people complain that there's a lot of rubbish online, or that it's dominated by Americans, or that you can't necessarily trust what you read on the web. Imagine trying to apply any of those criticisms to what you hear on the telephone. Of course you can't  'trust' what people tell you on the web anymore than you can 'trust' what people tell you on megaphones, postcards or in restaurants. Working out the social politics of who you can trust and why is, quite literally, what a very large part of our brain has evolved to do. For some batty reason we turn off this natural scepticism when we see things in any medium which require a lot of work or resources to work in, or in which we can't easily answer back – like newspapers, television or granite. Hence 'carved in stone.' What should concern us is not that we can't take what we read on the internet on trust – of course you can't, it's just people talking – but that we ever got into the dangerous habit of believing what we read in the newspapers or saw on the TV – a mistake that no one who has met an actual journalist would ever make. One of the most important things you learn from the internet is that there is no 'them' out there. It's just an awful lot of 'us'."

[Read more here]

Tread Softly ... [A Random Poem]

A classic poem from WB Yeats

Had I the heavens' embroidered cloths,
Enwrought with golden and silver light,
The blue and the dim and the dark cloths
Of night and light and the half-light,
I would spread the cloths under your feet:
But I, being poor, have only my dreams;
I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

[WB Yeats, 1888]

More on technology...

A couple of interesting pieces about the use (and mis-use of the internet), from the New York Times.

:: On the use of twitter, apparently its not the young who are using it.

:: On the model and the blogger, (freedom to speak, and license to offend?)

:: On the (over) use of email. [The Independant],

And, via the BBC, ten lessons from losing...

Tomorrow's too late ...

A really sad story, and a reminder to reach out to your friends ... today ... because tomorrow it may be too late.

Strict Joy..

I was stoked to visit the NPR Website, and watch a Tiny Desk Concert - featuring Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova performing six songs from their new album (to be released in October this year). Some of these songs were played during their tour at the beginning of the year.

The only problem with watching it, is that it has made me hungry to hear the album now.

Facebook [undermines] Friendship

It saddens me when I read things like this comment about Facebook and virtual community. I am sure that there is a grain of truth it what he is saying, but I'd love to hear more positive comments perhaps embracing it as something that the church can use.

neuro-music...

Here's a link to a great interview with Oscar Sachs - the author of Musicophillia - about the neuroscience of music. He made an interesting point about - given "we are now able to listen to anything we like on our iPods, we
have less motivation to go to concerts or churches or synagogues, less occasion to sing together", and how this is unfortunate, "because music-making engages much more of our brains than simply listening".

The full interview is worth the read.

Guidance from Culture..

Loved this article from the Herald earlier in the week about getting guidance from Albus Dumbledore, and the premise of a the book Slack is working on called What Would Dumbledore Do? - a self-help guide to living in the world according to the tenets of Albus Dumbledore.

It reminded me of a book that I read some time ago now called "I learned Everything I know from Watching Star Trek". There is some fun in this book but not sure there's any more than that.

It's a strange world

It was quite intriguing over the past few weeks to read how the British backpacker may well have "faked" his survival story. The Herald yesterday had a great piece by Richard Glover about cynicism in the Specturm. Perhaps unsurpsingly I find it quite easy to agree with him, I think its really sad that its so easy to be cynical, and perhaps there is a price we pay for this.

"And cynicism exacts a terrible cost- in terms of cruelty towards the people we accuse; in terms of our own sense of the world and its possibilities [...] But bleakness pessimism and cynicism create a worldview just as limited, just as one-note, as the naive optimism they were said to challenge... Its just flipside Disney ... How do you change the world for the better if you assume the worst about everything and everybody? And why are trust and optimism the worst crimes of them all."

As for me, I know which way I'd rather fall: I'm a naive optimist.

New music from The Swell Season

I am excited by news that The Swell Season, are putting the finishing touches on ‘Strict Joy,’ (Sept 29/Anti- Records), the tracklisting is below, and the album includes some of the songs played on their tour earlier this year, and a few new ones.

1. Low Rising
2. Feeling the Pull
3. In These Arms
4. The Rain
5. Fantasy Man
6. Paper Cup
7. High Horses
8. The Verb
9. I Have Loved You Wrong
10. Love That Conquers
11. Two Tongues
12. Back Broke

Bad...

Bad (from The Unforgettable Fire) is one of my favourite U2 songs, and this performance, from their Vertigo tour, was one of the highlights of the two shows I saw in the US.

search for a new Messiah

There is something in the article here, the hunger we have for something, or someone bigger than us.In the article Howard talks about the outpouring of emotion for Michael Jackon and more broadly celebrities.

Some decent, humane sorrowing over that – a life gone nowhere, for all the fame; a life lived in desperate confusion – would not be inappropriate. And a little soul-searching, as well, on the part of those who must idolise before they know they are alive. This, too, has been gone over and over all week – the hellish compact between a star and those who worship him. We destroy those we inordinately admire. That is the cliche. I would put it differently. Those we inordinately admire destroy us.

It has been said that Michael Jackson changed the lives of millions of his fans. But I have yet to read an account of what he changed them to. Yes, he gave them songs to sing. Few of them remarkable. And he gave them a dance to dance. I can see with my own eyes that he moved unusually. So let's say he taught others to move unusually too. Perhaps we can say he liberated them into a bodily vitality they hadn't known before. That's not nothing, if it's true. But if it is true, you wonder where all that bequeathed vitality has gone to. After you've done your moonwalk, then what?

And there is certainly a lesson from his final line..

We should revere less and forgive more. There are no gods among us, and few devils. If we must do huge, let's do benign scepticism, hugely.

Cocoon of Silence

A fascinating and challenging read about the impact we all can have in diminishing the impact of hateful beliefs.

The authorities won't be able to stop every "lone wolf" with a gun and a gripe. But we, as a society, can do a much better job of creating an environment where hateful beliefs are never ignored and suspicious behavior never goes unreported.

In 1963, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in a letter from a Birmingham jail, "We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people." That's still true. Hateful people are loud — to disguise their cowardice and shame. But good, decent people are by far the majority, and we dare not be silent. There can be no family too close and no friend too dear for hatred to go unchecked. Allowing it to do so diminishes the better, more noble parts of ourselves. These confrontations won't be easy, but doing the right thing rarely is. There is someone reading this column who knows someone who could be the next shooter. What will that reader do?

On Michael Jackson

I don't thnik that Michael Jackson's impact on music can be understated, and I can't say it better than these words from Andrew Sullivan below.

"There are two things to say about him. He was a musical genius; and he was an abused child. By abuse, I do not mean sexual abuse; I mean he was used brutally and callously for money, and clearly imprisoned by a tyrannical father. He had no real childhood and spent much of his later life struggling to get one. He was spiritually and psychologically raped at a very early age - and never recovered. Watching him change his race, his age, and almost his gender, you saw a tortured soul seeking what the rest of us take for granted: a normal
life.

But he had no compass to find one; no real friends to support and advise him; and money and fame imprisoned him in the delusions of narcissism and self-indulgence. Of course, he bears responsibility for
his bizarre life. But the damage done to him by his own family and then by all those motivated more by money and power than by faith and love was irreparable in the end. He died a while ago. He remained for
so long a walking human shell.

I loved his music. His young voice was almost a miracle, his poise in retrospect eery, his joy, tempered by pain, often unbearably uplifting. He made the greatest music video of all time; and he made some of the greatest records of all time. He was everything our culture worships; and yet he was obviously desperately unhappy, tortured, afraid and alone.I grieve for him; but I also grieve for the culture that created and destroyed him. That culture is ours' and it is a lethal and brutal one: with fame and celebrity as its core values, with money as its sole motive, it chewed this child up and spat him out.I hope he has the peace now he never had in his life. And I pray that such genius will not be so abused again. "

~~~~

Confederations Cup..

So, New Zealand's time in the Confederations Cup is over. They played three with 2 (heavy) losses and a scoreless draw against Iraq, and it tonight was the only night they looked like scoring, but fluffed so
many chances. The man of the match would have to be Glen Moss (their goalkeeper), who made a couple of miracolous saves. But to be honest, given what we saw over the last week, I'm not sure that we'll see the All Whites in the World Cup. They play a challenging two legged play-off against Bahrain or Saudia Arabia, but we'll see.

On the upside, the New Zealand women's T-20 cricket team play England in the final tonight.

Silencing your inner critic

I really identify with the article, I'm quite likely to give myself reason to doubt what I've done or doing. The article also outlines some steps to assist in dealing with your "internal critic".

The holiday feeling..

I enjoyed reading this article offering some tips about extending the holiday feeling. I know reentry can be difficult, but here's a few tips to help.

1. Start with a virtual vacation.
Explore the place you are going to online, and build some anticipation.

2. Wash the dishes before you leave. Make the bed. Close the drawers and closet.
You'll be more able to hold onto the holiday feeling if you come hope to a, moderately, clean home.

3. Leave your bad habits behind.
4. Leave your bad habits behind, part two.
Or basically, a vacation isn't just an escape from a place, it's a chance to escape from your routine.

5. Try something new on vacation. Or something old that feels new.

6. Sleep.

7. When you and your dirty clothes get home, hang on to your best
vacation habits for at least a day or two.
This is one that I think I should work on, while you are holiday you are often on a different rountine, and you're able to do different things. One of the things that I was keen to do after we got back from
Japan last year, was to spend more time reading, and I've more or less done that (so far).

8. Be wary of souvenirs.

9. Don't forget that the place you live is also a vacation destination.
I like the idea of being a tourist in your own city. Explore parts you have't been to, or haven't been too for a while

10. Resume your virtual vacation.
Great idea to go back to the website, and rekindle the holiday buzz.

the fixture super-computer

I found this article "Secrets of the fixture computer" (via the BBC) about how the fixtures for the premier league are set to be quite fascinating - I never realised that by changing one - you could impact as many as 48.

For those who are interested the fixture list for the 2009/2010 Season come out this Thursday (our time).

On the Football

It's great to see Australia has qualified for the Football World Cup in South Afrca next year, but in November this year, the New Zealand All Whites have a chance to join the Socceroos.

Currently standing between the All Whites and the World Cup, is the winner of a two legged play off between the two third place teams - likely between Bahrain (or Uzsbekistan)  and Iran (DPR Korea or Saudi Arabia). The teams involved in the playoff are determined on Thursday morning, and the play off held during September, before the tie with New Zealand in November. (See here for the dates).

But before all that the All Whites are playing in the Confederations Cup in South Africa with guaranteed matches agains European champions Spain (tomorrow morning), Iraq, and South Africa, we'll see how they go..  but given their performace against Italy (they lost 3-4) they should give a great account of themselves.  It was sad to see the All Blacks lose over the weekend. At least it doesn't look like they'll peak before the Rugby World Cup in 2011. 

The New Zealand Women's T-20 team are undefeated after beating the West Indies and Australia in the Women's T-20 World Cup (the Kiwi men got thumped by Pakistan overnight too...)

Great Expectations?

I found the piece in answering the question do we expect to much from our leaders a great reminder about why how we act matters. 

If the people who govern us set a fine example then it must help the rest of us. If we see and hear examples of our leaders behaving well despite temptations to do otherwise then it should encourage us all. We'll never have a society free of crime and dishonesty and petty cheating, but we can have one in which the norm is truthful and honest, and in which most ordinary people feel that they are letting themselves and everyone else down if they avoid a train fare, leave out some earnings on their tax return, or exaggerate their insurance claims. Such a society would be much better than one in which everyone is trying to get round the rules when they can and seek maximum personal gain at every opportunity.

This motivates whom I vote for. I want the chance to vote for people who will provide that moral leadership, who will work for a country in which honesty prevails over cheating and will not only govern the rest of us, but will infect us with the idea that behaving honestly is the norm and we should all be doing it. Will there be any such people to vote for next time around? I hope so.

In our growth group at church we've just started reading Paul's leter to Titus where he tells Titus to look for character in those who we lead, as its in actions that words are given context.

++

I also like this piece - Sad? Watch TV

Human off the field

A really interesting article from the Australian yesterday placing this weeks stories of Andrew Symonds and Chrs O'Brien together. Symonds whose international cricket career has probably come to an end
(due to his reckless actions), O'Brien whose life was tragically cut short.

The article makes the point that Australia should resolve to end a "mindless obsession with sportsmen as moral leaders and recognise that their principal role in life is to enjoy and entertain." It is a sad indictment on Australia if it is true that while "we have punched above its weight in terms of scientific innovation, these achievements are still a mystery to most of our countryfolk".

I think Penberthy makes a valuable point that we should keep national recognition (through Awards such as Australian of the Year) was "kept sacrosanct for those who have made a material contribution to the
wellbeing of others, rather than giving us the odd feeling of exuberance or joy while we sit in front of the plasma with a tinnie in our hand" (our sportsmen and sportswomen).

I'd also agree that if ever there was a argument for a posthumous Australian of the Year, O'Brien could be it.

A Year to go..

In 2005, when John Aloisi sent his penalty kick into the net Australia was the final team to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. After the Finals, Australia moved to the Asian Confederation, and with a scoreless draw this morning against Qatar, Australia was one of the first teams to qualify for the 2010 World Cup (in South Africa), and the first time Australia has qualified for two consecutive tournaments.

During the qualifiers this morning, the hosts South Africa were joined by Japan, South Korea, Australia, and the Netherlands. Hard to believe that the next World Cup is only 53 weeks away.

The Romance of Sport

Here is two lovely things about sport... the first being Federer making the final of the French Open and having the opportunity to equal Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles, the second being that there is another man on the court - another man who will plays a role in the story. As the Netherlands proved last night, in sport anything is possible. In their match against England in the Hit and Hope World Cup, the Dutch needed two runs off the last ball, and they got the winning run off an overthrow. Here's the reason why its hit, hope (and giggle), New Zealand's match with Scotland has been reduced from a 20 over game to a 7 Over match.

Couple of Random Shorts..

I just finished reading Chris Abani's "Song For Night" last night. I linked to an excerpt from his address at the Brisbane Writers Festival last year. The address, along with this book is well worth a read. The story is the journey through a warzone from the perspective of a child soldier.

"Every star is a soul, every soul is a destiny meant to be lived out. They fill the night sky, revealing like a diviner's spread the destiny of those gifted in reading their drift, their endless shift, like a desert, revealing and burying the way alternatively.

I have killed many people during the last three year. Half of those were innocent, half of those were unarmed -- and some of those killings have been a pleasure. But event with all of this, even with the knowledge that there are some sins too big even for God to forgive, every night my sky is still full of stars; a wonderful son
for night." [page 59]

~~~~

On my travels through the papers was this piece by Richard Glover about how lives are governed by a web of rules, and this interesting article about research addressing a couple of paradoxes puzzling social scientists.

The first paradox is the widespread perception among Americans that the US is a politically polarized country, when in fact ... research shows that most Americans are neither consistently "liberal" nor "conservative." In fact, among self-declared Republicans, 85% take a non-conservative stance on abortion, affirmative action, or government support for health insurance. Similar counter-intuitive results can be found among self-declared Democrats.The second paradox is that people also tend to think that their friends' beliefs are more similar to their own than they actually are—suggesting that people don't know their friends as well as they think they do. [from Friend Sense]

The Beautiful Game

A word about the Champions League final. Football as it was meant to be played. Barcelona were worthy winners. It was great to see that sylsih, attacking football can win trophies. I love how they pay to have UNICEF on their jumpers. The feast of football concludes with the FA Cup Final early on Sunday morning. This year Chelsea take on Everton  and although it pains me to say, it will most likely be a close, tight, and probably boring game. We'll see though.

Music Matters...

I couldn't help but notice this post on Falling Down and I so totally agree with the speech - and it is well worth reading, sharing and rereading. Here's two quotes

"Music is a basic need of human survival. Music is one of the ways we make sense of our lives, one of the ways in which we express feelings when we have no words, a way for us to understand things with our hearts when we can't with our minds."

"Well, my friends, someday at 8 PM someone is going to walk into your concert hall and bring you a mind that is confused, a heart that is overwhelmed, a soul that is weary. Whether they go out whole again will depend partly on how well you do your craft."

The speech was given by Karl Paulnack to the to parents of incoming students at The Boston Conservatory.

Religion and Doubt

The religions I know are about nothing but doubt and dissent, and the struggles of faith, the dark night of the soul, feelings of unworthiness, serial backsliding, the abyss of despair. Whether it is the book of Job, the Confessions of St. Augustine, Calvin’s Institutes, Bunyan’s “Grace Abounding to The Chief of Sinners,” Kierkegaard’s “Fear and Trembling” and a thousand other texts, the religious life is depicted as one of aspiration within the conviction of frailty.

[via Stanley Fish, NYT]

In Praise of Silence

I read and loved this article - In Praise of Silence - from the Atlantic Monthly.

But among the many things that life has taught me over the years is that my first thought isn't always my best thought. And that truly understanding anything ... an issue, an event, or even the emotions swirling around within myself ... requires not just time, but enough space, solitude, and silence to allow some clear tones to emerge from the noise.

On one level, people have understood the power and importance of silence for a long time. It's why we go to the woods, or the ocean, or up on mountainsides to renew ourselves. And why we take up meditation, or spend time in quiet cathedrals. But even the most majestic mountainside loses a large piece of its power to inspire if it has to compete with a cell phone, text reply, or other efforts to stay connected elsewhere at the same time. Or even to record the moment, instead of simply being in it.

On Barneys...

It is hard to believe, but a little over three years ago St Barnabas Broadway burned down. Since then the church has been working towards our plans for the site, and last week we were told that the development application for the new building was approved by Sydney Council (read the SMH Report here).

I have to say that whenever I think about the rebuilding of the building, my mind goes to how well are we building our people (the church) (and I think of the warnings in the of Haggai). Though I also believe that the new building will be a great servant to the Church of St Barnabas.

Left.. Right..

I've been reacquainting myself with Viva La Vida, and I'm really enjoying it. Through my google reader I discovered that you can download a live album recorded during their current tour. I haven't heard it just yet but hope to soon, (see here).

I also found this interesting reflection on the lyircs of the track Viva La Vida.

Song for the weekend: We Rest on Thee

I meant to post this earlier in the week. We sang this at church Sunday night, and I was really struck by the song. (I think it is sung to the tune of Finlandia?). Maybe I'm a little odd but I love the thee's :-)

We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender!
We go not forth alone against the foe;
Strong in Thy strength, safe in Thy keeping tender,
We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.

Yes, in Thy Name, O Captain of salvation!
In Thy dear Name, all other names above;
Jesus our Righteousness, our sure Foundation,
Our Prince of glory and our King of love.

We go in faith, our own great weakness feeling,
And needing more each day Thy grace to know:
Yet from our hearts a song of triumph pealing,
“We rest on Thee, and in Thy Name we go.”

We rest on Thee, our Shield and our Defender!
Thine is the battle, Thine shall be the praise;
When passing through the gates of pearly splendor,
Victors, we rest with Thee, through endless days.

As Day Follows Night

I have to admit that I'm also excited by the news that Sarah Blasko has a new CD (As Day Follow Night) due out in July. Sarah also has a blog (which will talk about the making of her new album). Her new song (All I Want) has been airred on triple J, and you can listen to it on her myspace page. I'm thinking of going to hear her talk with Bernard Zuel (from the SMH) as part of the Sydney Writers Festival [more info here].

The Long Fall..

I think I first heard Jars of Clay on Wide World of Sports (I think it was Liquid) while channel surfing and have loved them since then. Their last two albums Good Monsters and their most recent release The Long Fall Back to Earth have shown them to continually grow as song-writers and explore new sounds. I had been eagerly anticipating this album since I bought their EP Closer last year. Closer featured new versions of Flood, and Love Song For a Saviour along with new songs Safe to Land, Closer and Prisoner of Hope (I do find it a shame that it didn't make the album).

The Long Fall Back to Earth broadly speaking deals with human relationships. The themes are dealt with in beautiful metaphors (the image of landing attached to reconcilation, Safe to Land), the desire to remain disconnected with others (in Headphones - featuring Katie Herzig). The strength of the album is how it touches on the everyday. Another song which reasonated was Boys (Lesson One), which seems like a letter from a father to his son.

I can't recommend this album highly enough, it is a grower, and in time may be Jars of Clay's best album. At the very least I'll be judging albums from 2009 against The Long Fall Back to Earth.

Classical music

I saw this on the news tonight, at the Classical Brits ceremony, album of the year was won by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, who were based in Basra when they recorded the album - Spirit of the Glen: Journey, the story is here. It honestly brought to my mind images of Brassed Off (seeing the crowds reaction at the awards). Don't be surprised if there's a movie.

Also on music, Neil McCormick wonders whether we might be overwhelmed by music. Funnily enough I sometimes inspite of all the songs I have to chose between, can't find music I want to list too. 
 

On losing

I watched the NRLgame last night between the Bulldogs and Dragons. It was quite a good game to watch, it ebbed and flowed nicely, but in the end the Dragons (who probably should have had the game sown up at halftime) just held on - with a try disallowed on full-time to the Bulldogs which would have reversed the result. It was interesting comparing the players reaction on the field with that of the Chelsea players at the end of their Champions League semi final (I can't imagine keeping my composure to the same degree as the Bulldog player).

The bizzare decision last night (since declared incorrect), reinforces the thought to me that we don't need video referees. We can just leave those on the ground to make the call, and live with the human element of sport, that people can make mistakes.

Perhaps its not suprising that the most common reason given for losing on the weekend is "it was the ref / umpire's fault". I know, I've used it, or screamed at the television. For this reason it was refreshing to see that the Bulldogs player just said he was baffled by the call and didn't go into a tirade like Drogba after Chelsea's loss. It recalled to my mind the oft made comment of players being heroes-come-role models. Kids often model themsevles on, or seek to imitate their heroes. They may not call them role models but there certainly is a degree of influence. It seems to me that a role-model is something you are made by someone else, not something you can chose to, or chose not to be. For this reason outbursts like Drogba and Ballack's during Chesleas loss (regardless of whether they are justifiably agreived) are to be dealt with harshly. Because who would want to umpire junior football and be subjected to that sort of disrespect from the kids (and perhaps the parents). And without umpires at this level, we don't really have a game.

I want it all ... and I want it now

"Fast food. Express post. Movies on demand. Overnight success. Twitter. Instant replay. Instant messaging. Instant gratification! Want to frustrate an Australian? Make them wait for something. Want to drive them insane? Make them wait without mobile coverage so they can't text or email or tweet."

[Read the rest over here].

Newsprint...

So, one of the things I was thinking about over the Christmas break (hard to believe that is now five months ago) was trying to spend time reading more. Recently I've spendind time reading a collection of articles by Matt Price (Top Price). Matt Price's column was one of the highlights of the Australian. Unfortunately not all of them are available online (See here). Sadly he passed away in November 2007, the column covered a range of ground from the fortunes of his beloved AFL team (the Fremantle Dockers), to music and the political life in Canberra. Its a great book, because theres articles about everything...  one which reasonated with me was about Matt Price's love of the physical CDs (as opposed to a small mental device with 10,000 or so songs, and were random means going to the shelf, and picking up 5 CDs). It really would have been interesting hearing Matt's take on Rudd as PM.


A few other Australian columinsts I like. I really enjoy reading is Richard Glover in the SMH. Again, Glover writes about a range of topics, and the one this weekend was about the 'guilt industry'.  Another classic was this one about his listeners who would call back to correct his grammar.


On the sports pages Richard Hinds and Peter Fitzsimons are often great reading, and I enjoyed both on Saturday. Hinds writing about the war of the football codes for love in Western Sydney. Fitzsimons wrote about the ANZAC Day AFL clash between Essendon and Collingwood (thankfully won by the Bombers - there's some of a sports fans apparently irrational hatred).

Thank You Susan

I'm sure many, many people have seen Susan Boyle's perfromance. I really liked this video on YouTube. Watching reactions of individuals in a crowd, is almost as exicting as watching the game. There are more reactions to Susan Boyle's performance at this site.

Clutter...

So, there are a few people looking forward to the new digital age, so their houses filled with clutter can be ordered. By ordered the meaning is remove the books and CDs off your shelves, Tim Bray was quoted in this piece as "feeling crowded by the media artifacts", and longing for the day when "the chief furnishings would be a few well-loved faces and voices". There's something in this comment which resonates with me, and perhaps
explains why I'm not so keen on movement to the e-books. 

[The assumption that a] book remains a book when its words are transferred from printed pages to a screen. A change in form is always, as well, a change in content. That is unavoidable, as history tells us over and over again. One reads an electronic book differently than one reads a printed book - just as one reads a printed book differently than one reads a scribal book and one reads a scribal book differently than one reads a scroll and one reads a scroll differently than one reads a clay tablet.

I know that I won't find it easy to experience the same escapism in reading a book from an electronic device than I do as I read a book curled up in bed. As it is I read online information differently to how I read the printed page. My mind wanders a little too easily when I'm reading a piece online. (Here's another piece about the changing way we read and write)

..the final edition

I found  this piece very interesting reading, its in praise of the obituary (as a form of writing).

...obituaries aren't interesting because of what they say about death. They're interesting because of the funny and pathetic way they purport to deal with the unfathomable. Obituaries are little fairytales we tell ourselves, while imagining our own lives as one day complete enough to write about. An obituary, any obituary, transforms lives into stories, with interesting characters, a cohesive plot, and most importantly, a good ending. This is what we've got as humans — not the ability to understand or be at one with death, but the ability to generate lots of stupid crap to fill in the empty space of the unknown. Obituaries can do that as much as anything, and maybe we can think of them both in the Franklinian and Aristotelian sense: They might not complete life nor make it eternal, but they can make us feel better about living in the constant and terrifying presence of death.

Lest we forget

While we were watching the Dawn service from Gaollopli a few things struck me. The first was the difference between the Kiwi's and Aussies who attend the service, as the camera panned across the crowd the Australian's were quite easy to pick, and perhaps flowing from that I wondered about the difference in how the ANZAC legacy is seen in New Zealand and Australia. I think if I recall correctly the message when Howard spoke was about patriotism and nationalism while yesterday the theme was more around the links forged between the Turks, Kiwi's and Australians.

I've been working my way through Top Price, which is a collection of articles written by the late Matt Price (a journalist from the The Australian, who passed away in 2007). One of the pieces was a included a story about General Gerard Muirhead-Gould, who ordered that Japanese be creamated with full military honours, and in explaining why he came up with the following:

I have been criticized for having accorded these men military honours at their cremation, such honours as we hope may be accorded to our own comrades who have died in enemy hands; but, I ask you, should we not accord full honours to such brave men as these? It must take courage of the very highest order to go out in a thing like that steel coffin. . . . Theirs was a courage which is not the property or the tradition or the heritage of any one nation. It is the courage shared by the brave men of our own countries as well as of the enemy and, however horrible war and its results may be, it is courage which is recognized and universally admired. These men were patriots of the highest order. How many of us are really prepared to make one thousandth of the sacrifices that these men made?

 This afternoon I enjoyed reading this piece in which Alexander McCall-Smith writes about his characters and books, and readers reactions to the characters lives.

Classical Music...

I was thinking about the virtual-chatter about Susan Boyle (and Paul Potts) on Britain's Got Talent. The songs which generated the response were the classical songs Nessun dorma and I Dream A Dream. The goose-bumps I got when I heard Potts sing it (and Time to Say Goodbye) were similar to the goosebumps I get when I hear that song. I don't know if someone singing any current "chart-topping hits" such as "So What", "Sweet About Me", or a U2 song would get the same reaction.There's just something magical about those songs.

I Dreamed a Dream ...

Just saw this clip from the Britain's Got Talent show on YouTube. All I can say is wow~!  Go on, watch it, you won't be disappointed. Its as much the song choice, as song performance, its like she's singing her story.

Susan Boyle - Britian's Got Talent

Update: I liked this piece:, The Dream She Dreamed: Cheers for a Voice to Silence the Cynics

The World As 100

I quite liked these pictures which display the information in quite a clear, helpful way.  For more of these pictures, and details visit the website here.

the religious in politics

I often wonder about the role of the religious in politics, and with the election of Obama in the US, some now see the influence as good as gone - as detailed in an article in the Washington Post. It seems to me that there are lessons we can learn too from this here.

The article comments that the heart of Christianity is the family unit, the home, and it is in and through these units the church influences society, and not in the "shrill and nagging manner" we often seem to do.

I also like this quote that if we do want to see influence in our culture and society, then we should start following the commands of Jesus and people will be so amazed that they will be attracted to Him".

Ancient Art..

Really liked this piece by Phillip Adams in the Australian today, about perserving art and ancient artifacts, and a suggestion so that they could be seen by a maximum number of people and well preserved. A snippet below.

Let the Cairo Museum, the Uffizi and others rent their spare treasures to the world’s museums. Egypt, for example, has multiples of major pieces and no room to display them. And make it a condition that rented works are given necessary restoration by the host museum. The world shares its history and heritage. Everyone – except the looters and the profiteers – wins.

~~~

National Folk Festival...

We headed down to Canberra for the Easter weekend to spend some time with Fi's parents, and on our agenda yesterday was to go spend the evening at the National Folk Festival. I guess though I do listen to some music which would be classified by i-tunes as folk, it was a great experience to hear some folk music live - including Eric Bogle and John Munro of 'And the Band Played Waltzing Malitda' fame, that I was not really familar with.

There was something in Bogles's lyrics which is getting harder and harder to find in contemporary music. Bogle's songs are more than just protest songs, they are social commentries. Of the songs we heard last night, one was about the colour of dreams (touching on MLK, Nelson Mandela), one was around the obscene amount of money our government seems to spend on sport, another on the casualties of war coming home The ones which really struck me - one was a call and response song around the death of an elderly women, who lay in her home for a year unnoticed, and "And the Band Played.." really reasonated with me, even though I've probably heard it before.

On top of the lyrics, the harmonies of John and Eric's voices and guitars was wonderful too. It wasn't all serious though, there was great banter between Eric and John, and they played a song reminding us that the greatest endangered speices - is the male.

I know I've said this before, and I know that there's more protest songs out that that I can recall, but these  songs were powerful statements, and I can't think of many bands to let their music talk in the same way as folk-singers such as Eric. I know that both Gen-Y and Gen-X are not as apathetic as they're are often made out to be, and perhaps they protest in a different sort of way.

While we were there last night we also saw the April Vietch Band - a Canadian group out to Austalia for the first time, and one of the highlights of their performace was watching their fidller / tap-dancer duel with the drummer, and then play the fiddle while tap-dancing... very great entertaining stuff. Was well worth the trip.

Of these things we are witnesses

For the record, April is Genocide Prevention Month. Genocide Prevention Month is organised by the Genocide Prevention Project. The stated aim is to build the public will to call on the international community to take action when indicators signal possible onset of mass-scale atrocity crimes.

More U2 Wordles

I recently posted a Wordle of U2's latest CD. This site here has 'wordles' of
all of their albums. Quite enjoyed having a look at it.

Myspace ... myDanger

Herald columnist, Miranda Devine adds her voice to those asking questions about how the internet, and the virtual community are transforming how people think. Devine quotes Mubarak Ali who believes that by 2012 internet addiction will be "classified as a mental disorder in Australia, akin to gambling addiction, only more widespread".

It may be true that we are changing, but it seems to me that there are both positive and negative effects from these changes. Perhaps a point which is often lost in articles such as these is, does anyone really substitute real friendship, with a virtual friendships? For example its true to say that a growing number of people are building real friendships from an "online connection".

The other point made in Devine's piece is around the lack of empathy in today's teenagers, but sadly, there's nothing new in her account of a traffic accident "where onlookers were said to have watched, laughed, chatted and taken photographs, ignoring the pleas for help from one man as he died, treating the scene as if it were entertainment." Stories of onlookers failing to assist in these situations is not new and perhaps could be put down to the bystander effect.

Literary Matchplay..

I was quite intrigued by this website - tournament of books - bringing the theatre of sport to as library near you - 16 of the best titles from 2008 compete in the tournament - literary critics judge which title deserves to win the ties through to
the final.

Working out judging criteria, is perhaps no more subjective than gymnastic and dancing (for example), but people may resent adding the sporting-contest to literary prize. As for me, it just seems like a bit of fun.

g-ball ....

I caught this via Google Australia this morning - apparently Google has come up with a new technology and created the gBall - more information is available here.

In other exciting news this morning was the development that Shane Warne was being flown to South Africa to join the Australia Cricket team. He is said to be thrilled to have received the SOS from Ricky Ponting. [I heard it via NOVA].

~~
Update: Pranksters out in force today... [via The Age]. And here [SMH]. Apparently the Guardian was going to the birds. [Tweet Tweet]. Anyone get any other ones?

The Daily Me

I'm quite a fan of Nicholas Kristof, and really liked his op-ed talking about how we read the newspaper - how when we go online we often act as 'our own editor, our own gatekeeper. We select the kind of news and opinions that we care most about', and conversely we don't read much that we don't agree with.

Its easy to do too, as with my Google Reader, I can bring all of my favourite columnists to one place and just read them. I also liked his solution: no not the Tax breaks for liberals who watch Bill O’Reilly or conservatives who watch Keith Olbermann? ;-) But rather, "the struggle on our own to work out intellectually with sparring partners whose views we deplore".  Sounds like good advice to act on, to try to learn from people we disagree with.

Updated - here's another linik to his blog on the op-ed above.. interesting to look through the comments..

Mothers of invention

So recently England's Women Cricket team beat New Zealand in the final of the world cup, something which their men have failed to do in nine attempts. I enjoyed reading this article which looked at 11 occasions "where the women beat the men to the tape". For example Belinda Clark's double hundred is still the only double-century in International One Day Cricket.

A New Page

This article more or less explains how I feel at the start of each footy season. Here's a quote:

For many fans this is their favourite time of the year. The culmination of months of anticipation. When the umpire holds the ball up for the first bounce the excitement is intense. “I love that moment”, one fan told me, “it feels like anything could happen, anything is possible, and the collective energy is great, far greater than the sum of the parts”. [...] For the next five months - hopefully six - our lives will be governed by the comforting weekly cycle of our club battling 15 others for the right to hold the premiership cup aloft. But this will be no easy time. For Aussie Rules footy frequently drives fans to the edge. To the edge of sanity. To the edge of reason. To what often feels like the edge of life. It produces great suffering and joy, and an almost insatiable hunger for more. It’s evident in the roar of the crowd, the thunders of triumph, the cries of distress, and the howls of frustration. In the continual cycle of pleas, curses and cheers. In the bodies that ride the game with the players, fists clenching, legs trembling, guts churning, eyes that sometimes long to look away but cannot. And it’s the return of this gripping drama - with all its glory and heartbreak - that we gather to celebrate yet again at grounds around the country.

Influences..

I enjoyed reading this post by [What's with today?], and while my Facebook page has the Album's which have lived in my CD player, I thought that I would list the 5 books which have been my favourites or the most influential to me. I excluded the Bible because it is the light by which I see everything else.

1] Knowing God [J.I. Packer]
It is a great book about the character of God, there is a lot in it, but its well worth the read.

2] The Little Prince [Antoine de Saint-Exupery]
One of the books I reread every so often, I can't quite put my finger on what it is, but I just love the story.

3] Les Miserables [Victor Hugo]
I encountered the story, in the musical before I read the book - but I deeply love the characters and the them of mercy and redemption which run throughout the book.

4] Ender's Game [Orson Scott Card]
I really love the series, and can just reread it.

5] The Sum of All Fears [Tom Clancy]
While its not a book I can read every year (It a book I can just pick up, and read) When i read it I thought it was almost too plausible.. Though if I want to pick a book that was trashed by Hollywood, this would be one of the first I'd pick.

T+19 Years

So, today, my family celebrates 19 years in Australia. We moved here when Dad got a job at ANSTO in March of 1990. It is hard to believe it has been nineteen years since we left New Zealand. I must say though, that I do support New Zealand in all sporting matters  :-)

Goodbye to Childish Things..

Quite an interesting read [listen], the article did not really go in the direction I expected. But the question I was left with, before I thought about the content of the article was, can you really say Lord of the Rings is a 'childish thing'?.

"Let me say, from the experience of years, that I'm not sure this is good for us. Real people — maybe you've heard this — are slightly more difficult to handle than imaginary people. Even more than Balrogs; and Balrogs, as everybody knows, are a pain. I'm raising children now — a challenge, by the way, on which J.R.R. Tolkien sheds no light at all — and I see them drawn to the flickering, dimly lit holes leading from our house to the other worlds — the TVs and movies and computer games — and I can understand the almost overwhelming urge to crawl through. But I also wonder if, like me, when they grow up and have to say farewell to childish things, they'll have nothing real to let go of."

He makes an interesting point about real people (and by extension issues) are harder to deal with in real life, than the online-game prepares you for. Maybe there is scope for research into the skills people learn from an online-community - because in some ways games like these are akin to team sports.

I also wonder if the new generation of books made for the e-readers will be enabled with multiple tangents defined by the interests of, or interaction with the reader. Maybe they will be harder to write, but possible rewarding in a different way.

As for me, and my reading habits though, I have to admit, I'm old fashioned and definitely prefer the paperback.

Gender in Religion

The article here, outlined some interesting gender differences in religious behaviour.

Most striking among the findings are that women are far more apt to believe with absolute certainty in a God or universal spirit, as well as to believe that this supreme being is a personal one. More American women than men are affiliated with a religion. Two-thirds of women say religion is a very important factor in their lives, as opposed to roughly half of men — percentages that are about the same for those who say they pray on a daily basis. Forty-four percent of women attend weekly religious services, as opposed to just a third of men.

The article goes on to make a point about leadership, and these above numbers don't translate in being leadership or 'advancement'. Thought this was interesting reading but I wasn't really sure what to make of the conclusions. [Links: Article, Findings]

*Did anyone else know that March is Women's History Month in the US, and does Australia have one too?

On the World Cup...

Here's a couple of pieces about the Women's World Cup which finished this week. To fill in the gaps, NZ lost to England in the final.

Here's two differing takes on the media coverage. Dominic Lawson - whose point could be summed up as, don't ask me to watch it,. Lawson wrote his article in response to the Minister for Sport [Andy Burnham] who argued that Women's sport is treated more or less as a sideshow and this needing to change.

I have to admit, my sympathy lies more with Burnham. There was a great deal of theatre throughout the cup (and I did enjoy the bits of it I heard).

No Line - Wordle

[via U2 Sermons]

I have to admit that this is a great picture of what No Line is about.

"hug the spaces in between"

I read a fascinating article today about how society deals with death (by Johann Hari - The Independent), detailing how we insulate ourselves and are weaker for it. The article quoted from Being Dead (a 1999 novel by Jim Crace), were one of the characters upon identifying family senselessly killed the daughter says - "There is no remedy for death – or birth – except to hug the spaces in between. Live loud. Live wide. Live tall.",  which reminded me of the counterpoint in the hope provided by Christ - because in Him, we know the one who conquered death; who makes how we spend this space meaningful. Once we understand our life is eternal, rather than wasting our life, we are challenged to spend it wisely, because we are accountable to our Maker.

Glimpses..

:: breaking up with technology.
A new diagnosis coming your way - e-fatigue.

:: how we write about young people (from the UK, but I'm sure its true of Australia too). The quote below is scary, because perception can become reality.

The vast majority of stories about teenage boys centred on crime and drugs. Sport and entertainment barely got a look-in and, even more depressingly, when they did, the majority of the coverage was neutral or negative. [Horowitz]

 

On the Horizon

Given that I've had U2's new CD playing for a while my impressions have settled and I thought I'd post my thoughts. I have to admit, that after hearing the lead off single, I was not so optimistic or enthusiastic about the album. I shared these thoughts with the sales assistant, who slightly improved my mood by saying it wasn't all that bad, and sometimes people want to tear down bands like U2.

Onto the album, overall, I think No Line On the Horizon is a reaction away from 'How to Dismantle', and 'All that...' in the same way that All that was a reaction away from Pop. The album is perhaps a little bit more uneven than most, one of the highlights being Bono's character sketches in White as Snow and Cedars of Lebanon, while perhaps equally disappointing was Bono's impersonation of the Office IT guy as he earnestly implores us to "restart and reboot ourselves'

Even after two weeks or so, I have to admit that I don't get "Get On Your Boots" (perhaps Vertigo II), perhaps a fun, joyous piece, but its filler on the album. The tracks that stood out on my first listen are Crazy Tonight (the worst bit of the song is the title), White as Snow, Cedars of Lebanon. In spite of its lyrics I do have a soft spot of for Unknown Caller (reminiscent of Walk On). I do look forward to hearing the translation of some of these songs as they begin their tour in June.

All in all, I would say its growing on me but not their best. For me, Pop, Achtung Baby and The Unforgettable Fire have held that title. 

~~~

I really found this post interesting, made up of lyrics from the album, in the order they appear. [h/t U2 Sermons]. Also from U2 sermons, was this post about contradictory comments about the album (and No-Line does seem to have created more diverse responses than other U2 albums).

Christianity in the UK

Given a few events in the UK, including the suspension of a nurse who offered to pray with her patient and the disciplining of a foster mother because one of her children converted from Islam, the Guardian posed the question whether Christian's are being persecuted in the UK this week - these three responses were published. I found it interesting the pieces and the comments which could be summed up as:

No, its the Christians who are discriminating, Probably, but we should all be more tolerant, and perhaps the one I've got the most sympathy for, No, given what's happening in other places around the world.

32 Songs... in 8 minutes..

I loved this youtube clip..

Friday fun ..

Loved this story about Edgar Mueller's 3D art on the NineMSN website this afternoon.His drawings look so real. There are more photos here.

Panic-book

Here's a great piece about the hysteria around facebook and social-networking sites. [Mark Vernon, The Guardian].

 "So, as long as people seek to live, not merely log-on, the panic over social networking sites would seem to be just that, a panic."

Update: Here's a link to a BBC article on the risks of being online.

And another one, about politicians and Facebook. [also from the Guardian, UK]. I do wonder how many of our MP's are online...

"Most MPs don't seem to want connectivity with their electorate, avoiding useful channels such as Facebook, or even email."

"I give up on the movies.. I'd much rather TV"

Zoe Williams [from The Guardian] wrote an interesting piece on why she is giving up on movies because even
"a half-hour episode of The Simpson's has more reference, emotional complexity and political texture than probably the last decade of Eastwood's career. Nobody needs a lecture on how good The Wire is, or how hard you have to concentrate to watch The West Wing". Not only that but "even the worst of big-hitting US telly - Brothers and Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Sex and the City - has a maturity, a degree of courage, an iconoclasm, that equivalently mainstream [American] cinema would balk at."

I thought that this was an interesting point, I have felt that some TV shows often deal with issues more deeply and effectively than movies. For example I found The X Files and Simpsons' episodes on TV were richer and tighter than the movies.

Lists...

For some strange reason I've always liked listing things.. and courtesy of NPR here are 10 possible reasons why:

1. Lists bring order to chaos. "People are attracted to lists because we live in an era of overstimulation, especially in terms of information," says David Wallechinsky, a co-author of the fabulous Book of Lists, first published in 1977 and followed by subsequent editions. "And lists help us in organizing what is otherwise overwhelming."


2. Lists help us remember things — at the hardware store, for the vacation trip, Christmas presents. The One Planet Education Network, or OPEN, is a global online education content provider that counts Harvard and Columbia universities as clients. OPEN also swears by lists. "Checklists help you remember what you have done and what you have to do," the curriculum reminds the students.

3. Most lists are finite. They don't usually go on and on. And if they do, you can skip to the bottom of the list. The Internet Movie Database, for instance, lists its "bottom 100 movies as voted by users." The winner — er, loser — is Zaat, a 1975 sci-fi fiasco.

4. Lists can be meaningful. The Steven Spielberg classic Schindler's List is based on the true story of a German businessman who used a list of names to save more than 1,000 Jews from the concentration camps. It is ranked eighth on the American Film Institute's 2007 list of 100 top American films of the past 100 years.

5. Lists can be as long or as short as necessary. Jamie Frater, a New Zealand opera singer, maintains a list-keeping site called The List Universe. Recent posts include "20 Great Quotes from Ronald Reagan" and "Top 10 Codes You Aren't Meant to Know." A list, Frater says, should be "as long as is necessary. Some lists need be only a few lines an item, others a few paragraphs. I seldom write more than one
paragraph, but occasionally the need arises to do so." Frater adds, "This question is a bit like asking an artist: 'When is the painting finished?' It is when it is."

6. Making lists can help make you famous. Notable list makers include Thomas Jefferson, Peter Mark Roget, Martha Stewart and Benjamin Franklin. "A methodical and wry man," wrote Franklin biographer Walter Isaacson in Time magazine, "Franklin loved making lists. He made lists of rules for his tradesmen's club, of synonyms for being drunk, of maxims for matrimonial happiness and of reasons to choose an older woman as a mistress. Most famously, as a young man, he made a list of
personal virtues that he determined should define his life."


7. The word "list" can be tracked back to William Shakespeare, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. In Hamlet, the Bard refers to "a list of landlesse resolutes."


8. Lists relieve stress and focus the mind. "Lists," sociologist Scott Schaffer told The Oregonian newspaper, "really get to the heart of what it is we need to do to get through another day on this planet."


9. Lists can force people to say revealing things. In his 25 Random Things roster, former California Gov. Jerry Brown reveals that his favorite cereal is ... Flax Plus Multibran.

10. Lists can keep us from procrastinating. We put this one off until the end. Making a list enables us to get our heads around really big tasks — and helps us tackle the work one aspect at a time. But a list is only useful if it reveals a truth, solves a problem or leads to action. Making a list, for instance, does not necessarily help procrastinators. As DePaul University psychologist Joseph Ferrari told Psychology Today in 2008, people don't put off work they must do because they lack list-making skills. And, in turn, making a list does not get the job done.

On happiness in the e-world

So evidence that perhaps blogging does make us happier..

The researchers found support for deeper self-disclosure from bloggers resulting in a range of better social connections. These included things such as a sense of greater social integration, which is how connected we feel to society and our own community of friends and others; an increase in social bonding (our tightly knit, intimate relationships); and social bridging — increasing our connectedness with people who might be from outside of our typical social network.  [Read more here]

 But, then again points made in the comments valuable too - is there, and does there need to be, a control group of non-bloggers. The comment I made with the piece yesterday holds true here too - blogging will imapct some negatively, and some positively, why do we need to extraplolate to the whole population and think about casuality. Even though its perhaps makes the article more fun.

~~~

And in other news .. apparently its now 3 days to there is a line on the Horizon, and sadly, the U2 Conference has been postponed :-(

Oscars

So the Academy Awards are over for another year. Saw this piece 'Critics and the Crowd', which I think gets paraded out every year, that the films that win oscars are usually not the highest grossing films [US], unless its the catergories of sound editing or special effects. Looking at the winners this year, I think its held true again. (Heath Ledger may be an exception).

e-friendship..

I really enjoyed reading this article about social-networking sites and their impact on our health. I did find it hard to take the article too seriously given the tone it began with - "is an x as good as a kiss", its quite an assumption to say that trading messages doesn't equate a thriving social life". I have little doubt that there is capital in trading emails, and being a part of an online community. I do tend to agree that with the internet, we can communicate with more people, over greater distances, more often, but at the same time we get into trouble when we attribute
a universally positive or negative value to these conversations.

[.. happy birthday ... ]

I enjoyed this article about how Facebook impacted celebration of birthdays:

Birthdays used to be a measure of intimacy. Who remembered yours? Whose did you remember? The club was small, typically limited to family members, two high school pals, four college friends, two co-workers and one person you broke up with a long time ago.

The author goes on to remind us that -

Facebook is a giant non-stop birthday party. Every day, it reminds its members which of their "friends" are about to mark another year, which means that Facebook members are now likely to get more "Happy birthdays" in a single birthday than they've gotten in all their past years combined.

Facebook isn't the only prompt though ... how many people get automatic messages from mailing lists they are on, saying "Happy Birthday" or have an intranet which tells people at work. I guess there's perhaps something in this, but at the same time I do find it nice that people remember (and tell wish me a happy birthday via sms, email, card, or facebook message).

A book meme ...

It must have been ages ago now but Ali tagged me in a book meme. I did think about posting it, but then I thought about the books sitting on my table, I haven't really been a novel person recently, even though the last book I read was a novel. So my take on the meme, is to write about the books without including titles. The first was about a minister who perhaps fell from grace, the one before that about why many people are leaving church; but not faith..

In terms of what next, I have Boneheffer's Ethics; the former governor of HK's book about where 'we' are heading now; and memo to the new US President about the challenges the US (and perhaps us) will face. Then there's a book about refugees from an African war. I guess this is a start on my hope for 2009, to read more.