Year in review - Music and Reading

Time to recap the year in music and books.  I didn't watch any films though I'm hoping to see the new Star Wars film The Last Jedi.

Books
I didn't read much this year - the standout was Prophetic Lament by Soong-Chan Rah.As I mentioned here the book is about the place of lament in the life of the church. The book focuses on the United States, but I feel pretty confident in saying that lament doesn't have much of a role in the Australian church. My goal was to read 43 books, I've currently read seven, so next year's goal will be a little less ambitious.

Music
It has been a different story with music.  I've listened to quite a bit of music and I'd say it's been a good year.

The memorable releases during the year for me:

• U2 - Songs of Experience
• Julien Baker - Turn on the Lights
• December - 33
• Pearl Jam - Let's Play Two
• Amanda Held Opelt - Embers
• Nichole Nordeman - Every Mile Mattered
• The Likes of Us - Roots and Wings
• Taylor Leonhardt - River House
• Lara Landon - The Never Again

As always, I exclude cover albums and live albums from my best of list. Although during the year I've enjoyed listening to Pearl Jam's 'Let's Play Two' which features songs recorded during the two concerts the band played at Wrigley Field (home ground of the Chicago Cubs), and December's album 33, featuring covers of U2 songs.

So onto the rest of the albums, the three that stand out are Nichole Nordeman's Every Mile Mattered; U2's Songs of Experience and Juilen Baker's Turn on the Lights; an honorable mention goes to Amanda Held Opelt's Embers. These albums are tied together by the personal nature and authenticity of the lyrics. The albums resonated with where I am at he moment in my life but particularly Nichole Nordeman and U2. Songs of Experience and Every Mile Mattered are probably my joint album of the year. I've found it really hard to separate them given their emotional impact on me. 

Both albums are really deep lyrically, and with Songs of Experience, I certainly notice different lyrics or notes each time.

In terms of live music, I saw three shows this year - Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band; Fleet Foxes and Lisa Hannigan.  Of these, I think my favourite was Bruce Springsteen - He's just an amazing performer, with some really powerful and moving songs.  Lisa Hannigan was brilliant too, she has a beautiful voice and it was lovely seeing how delighted she was to be playing in the Sydney Opera House. 

Next year is looking great too.  I'm looking forward to the new albums by Glen Hansard, Katie Herzig, Christa Wells and Sarah Blasko, and we'll see what else comes along. 

On the touring front, on my wish list are tour announcements from U2, Radiohead, Pearl Jam and Bon Jovi, but who knows :). 

Year in review - Sport

The year is winding down so its time for a few reflections in the year, beginning with Sport.

Without a doubt the highlights of the year were the BlackFerns winning the Rugby World Cup, seeing the All Blacks play the Lions in Wellington, NZ winning the America's Cup and the men's and women's final of the Australian Open.

The Women's Final was won by Serena Williams against her sister Venus Williams (it was Serena's 22nd Grand Slam title, making her one of the greatest tennis players in history).

The Men's Final was between the 17th and 9th Seeds - Federer and Nadal - it was memorable because I doubted we'd see the two play in a Grand Slam final again. The final was also a really great match with an exceptional standard of tennis.

Other memorable moments:

Cricket: David Warner's 100 in the first session of the Sydney test against Pakistan; Bangladesh winning their first ever test against Australia. Steve O'Keefe's 12/70 in the first test  against India)

The Men of the Series in the Ashes this year has to be the Selectors - who picked Shaun Marsh (who scored a century in the Adelaide test) and Mitchell Marsh (who's century in the Perth test was a vital cog in winning that test).

Though perhaps a little more seriously, its hard not to be blown away by Steve Smith's figures - during 2017 he has scored 1127 test runs at 70.43; currently the second highest number of runs and the second best average (with a qualification of more than 500 runs).

Rugby League: Fiji and Tonga winning Rugby League games against New Zealand. Cameron Smith proved he is one of the greats of the game, leading Melbourne to the Premiership; Queensland to the State of Origin Series win and Australia the World Cup. During the season he broke records that possibly won't be matched.

Rugby Union:  One of my highlights of the year was seeing the Lions play the All Blacks in Wellington.  Sure the All Blacks lost, but it was just amazing being part of it. The atmosphere in the stadium and city was unforgettable. On the whole the All Blacks had  a pretty rusty year, but hopefully its just part of the plan to peak in a World Cup year (2019).

AFL: The Swans making the finals after a 0-6 start. (though their performance against Geelong was disappointing). The inaugural Women's Competition (won by Adelaide).

Football: Sam Kerr and the Matildas were a breath of fresh air.  The Matildas won their first tournament (and beat the US for the first time).  On the back of this (and wins against China and Brazil the Matlidas are now ranked fourth in the World).

I shouldn't forget the New England Patriots winning the SuperBowl after trailing 3-28.

Songs of Experience - a review

Just over a week ago, U2 released their fourteenth album, (and companion album to 2014s Songs of Innocence) Songs of Experience. It's been on fairly regularly since then. I'm not going to tell you where it fits in their cannon. It's too soon for that, and to be honest I am not sure I really want to do that, given the emotional reaction I had to the album.

I wasn't really prepared for the album to hit me as much as it did. Listening to You're the Best Thing about Me; The Blackout, Get Out of Your Own Way and American Soul didn't give me a clue it would have such an impact.

Listening to the album the whole way through changed all of that. From 'Love is All We Have Left' to 'Thirteen (There is a Light)' what struck me is how the album impacted me emotionally.

The album has been billed as a series of letters to Bono, to Ali and his kids, to America and to us as fans. The songs are among the most personal Bono has written. Another theme about the album is living in light of your mortality.

Three songs also deal with the refugee crisis - American Soul, Summer of Love and Red Flag Day.  Each of these highlights it from different angle - American Soul calls the US to be a sanctuary for those fleeing conflict. Summer of Love tells how Bono is thinking about the West Coast (not in California) but the West Coast of Syria. Red Flag Day focuses on deaths at Sea.  That three track section packs so emotional punch.  (Love this post from atU2's Sherry Lawrence about those songs).

Given where I am in life, the album is in many ways exactly what I needed to hear, spoke to my concerns for the refugee as mentioned above, and just how I feel.  Last year, I was diagnosed with cancer, and am more acutely aware of my own mortality, and trying to focus on what really matters, including the legacy I will leave. Love is All We Have Left grabs me because that's certainly how I feel

Musically it touches all the buttons - there is shimmering soundscapes which build and fall, and there is also grungy guitar and powerful basslines.  I also really love how the album has used musical and lyrical elements from Songs of Innocence. The most notable are Lights of Home and Iris (Hold Me Close); American Soul and Volcano; and 13 (There is a Light) and Song for Someone.  I highly recommend listening to both albums back-to-back, each album adds depth to the other. Much like Blake's collection of poems did. 

There's a lot I love about the lyrics of the album, to me they're among the more personal Bono has written.  The real standout is 'The Little Things that Give You Away' - I could post a lot of the lyrics, but this bit as the music builds packs a powerful punch

Sometimes i wake at four in the morning / where all the darkness is swarming / and it covers me in fear /// Sometimes I'm full of anger and grieving / So far away from believing / That any sun will reappear / Sometimes / The end is not coming / It’s not coming / The end is here / Sometimes

They played The Little Things a few times on their tour for the Joshua Tree, but to me, this version is much better than the live version they played then.

Thinking about the album as a whole, that songs that stand out are 'Love is All We Have Left', 'Get Out of Your Own Way'; 'The Little Things that Give You Away', Landlady, Thirteen (There is A Light).

Get Out of Your Own Way, was written as a message to his kids, but in a recent interview Bono also highlighted it as a message he needed to hear. Likewise there is a message in it which I needed to be reminded of.

Landlady is a beautiful love song to Ali (though, I'm not so keen on the title).

Thirteen (There is a light) is a perfect ending to the album. I have the version with the bonus tracks, but I often stop listening here. I doubt they will close their Experience and Innocence shows with this song, but it would be so fitting.  

I love how given all the crap that's going on in the world (and in my life) the note the band want to highlight is Love, Joy, and Light, the album is about fighting and believing, not grieving.

+++

A couple of asides - on the bonus tracks; I love the St Peters String Mix of Lights of Home - I almost prefer it to the version on the album. Book of Your Heart is a great song, but there's nothing on the album I'd sub out for it. The remixes of You're the Best Thing About Me and Ordinary Love are good but not great, I prefer the acoustic version of You're the Best Thing About Me. 

The second aside is that with this album reaching number one in the US, U2 have become the first band to have a number one album in the 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, an amazing testament to the band.

I'm looking forward to hearing what this collection of songs sounds like live - and what songs they are paired with from the back catalogue.

Christmas music

Inspired by the Folk Carols at Barneys tonight, I thought I'd post on my favourite Christmas music (both Carols and Songs).

First on my list is O Little Town of Bethlehem. I particularly recommend the version by JJ Heller (Unto Us). The love the line: 'The hopes and fears of all the years, Are met in thee tonight'.

Matthew Perryman Jones sings another of my favourite carols O Come O Come Emmanuel. I love the passion and intensity he brings to it. There's also something in his arrangement of the song being slowed down.

Another of my favourites is In The Bleak Midwinter, particularly the last verse, focusing on our response to the coming king.

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him... give my heart.

Here's a beautiful version by Christa Wells. (I also recommend the version by Jars of Clay)

Speaking of Jars of Clay, their version of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day (on Christmas Songs) is great. Particularly given the broken and divided in world in which we live.

The last verse highlights the answer from heaven that Peace will come and Christ will prevail:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men."

The next one is O Holy Night (Third Day, Christmas Offerings). One of my favourite lines is 'A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices', a subtle reminder of the significance of the coming King.

Now, onto Christmas songs. So, so many chose from.  The three I will chose are Happy Christmas (War is Over); It's Christmas, Baby Please Come Home and I Believe in Father Christmas.

I love Sleeping at Last's cover of Lennon and Ono's Happy X'Mas (War is Over). It's a beautiful arrangement.

U2 have recorded both Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) and I Believe in Father Christmas. Christmas Baby Please Come Home is quite a fun song. I Believe in Father Christmas was originally written to protest the commercialisation of Christmas. I can only echo the sentiment here

'I wish you a hopeful Christmas
I wish you a brave new year
All anguish, pain and sadness
Leave your heart and let your road be clear.' 

What I'm in to - November

Another month has come and gone, and we're now in December.  So its time to share what captured my attention during November. 

It was a pretty quiet month reading wise.  I didn't start or finish any books, and I'm no where near my goal of 40 books for the year.

A different story so far as music goes - I spent a bit of time listening to the Anniversary Edition of R.E.M.'s Automatic for the People, which came with a recording of a show they did after the albums release. They didn't widely tour the album, so I'm glad they included that. There's also a CD of Demos which I haven't explored.

Other than R.E.M.'s reissue, I listened to Amanda Held Opelt's Embers. Really lovely folk album with really great lyrics. You can read more about the album here.

I also heard new songs from Sarah Blasko and Glen Hansard. Sarah Blasko's album is also due to be released next year.

U2's new album has now been released, I'll write more about that next month.

TV
Been enjoying 800 Words lately, working my way through season 2. Really easy to watch with characters that you grow to know and care about.

What I've Been in to - October

Hard to believe that another year is almost gone. It's November 6 today, so it is time to look back at what I've been into the past month.

Reading:
I finally finished Tim Keller's book on Prayer. It was certainly a book worthwhile reading. A great reminder that prayer is about an encounter with God, and as much about listening as speaking.  I was challenged to pray, even when I didn't feel like it.  I found the section looking at how Augustine, Luther and Calvin approached prayer quite helpful too. I've got lots of books on my 'to read' list, but I didn't start anything else this month.

Music:
Here's the another songs on high rotation this month.

• When I First Met You - Amanda Opelt (Embers)
• Centre of the Universe - Amanda Opelt (Embers)
• Appointments - Julien Baker (Turn Out the Lights)
• Feel Alive - Katie Herzig (Single, album coming out next year)
• You're the Best Thing About Me (Acoustic) - U2 (Single, Songs of Experience due out December 1)
• Time Will Be the Healer - Glen Hansard (Between Two Shores, Album due out January 2018)
• Strangers - Katie Herzig (Single)
• You're the Best Thing About Me - U2 (Single)
• Viva La Vida - Katie Herzig (Single)
• One Day - Christa Wells (Album coming out next year)
• One - Sleeping at Last (Atlas: Ennogramm)

Of these, Julien Baker's and Amanda Opelt's album came out in the past few weeks, U2 will release theirs in December, Glen Hansard, Katie Herzig and Christa Wells are all scheduled for 2018 releases. Of these, I think I'm almost most excited about new music from Glen Hansard.

Thinking back on the year, the albums which are lingering in the memory are Julien Baker's Turn Out the Lights and Nichole Nordeman's Every Mile Mattered. Both are awesome honest and authentic song writers sharing their personal stories with us, whether the stories be positive or negative. In these album Bakers reveals her battle with depression and resolving her faith and sexual orientation. 

The songs which have really been speaking to me are Christa Well's One Day and Katie Herzig's Feel Alive. I thought I'd post the some lyrics from both.  One Day was written when Wells was going through a particular tough time.

Oh, I see you laughing on the other side

Where the walls have tumbled and the flowers grow wild

Oh, I see you laughing on the other side

With your broken heart under open sky.

Herzig wrote Feel Alive for a grieving friend. 

I know that you are healing

I know that you are feeling every fear inside, without a place to run and hide

If I could show you one thing-

It’d be the light that’s on the other side

Holding out for the best of us

TV

Haven't been watching too much on TV, aside from sport. I spent the best part of Monday afternoon and today watching games 5 and 6 from the World Series. Its been really awesome to watch; the two teams are really well matched and the series been quite close with so many momentum swings. One of Houston or LA Dodgers will win in tomorrow's decider. 

The other sport I've been enjoying has been the European Champions League. We're just over half way through the Groups stage so it is about to get more interesting. 

Sporting shorts: October 15

So, I didn't know what to do with this post after the Football (read NRL or AFL) seasons have finished.  But last week was a pretty big week, with the start of the Baseball Playoffs and a big week in World Cup Qualifiers.

The AFL and NRL will stay in the news with the International Rules Series and World Cup coming up.

Baseball:
So it looked like quite an even post season with quite a number of teams with rosters capable of winning the World Series, and it was hard to pick of favourite. The Wild Card games were won by the Yankees and Arizona Diamondbacks. The Divisional Series were won by the Houston Astros, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs. With the league playoffs being between the Yankees and Astros; and the Dodgers and Cubs. I'm picking Houston and Los Angeles to meet in the World Series, but anything can, and usually does happen.

World Cup Qualifiers
In the Asian playoff, Australia survived a tense 2-1 win on Tuesday and 3-2 aggregate win to advance to the Intercontinental Playoff, where they will meet Honduras.

The surprise of Wednesday morning was that Panama would qualify for their first World Cup, and the USA being eliminated by a 1-2 loss to Trinidad and Tobago.

In Europe, Iceland qualified for their first World Cup, and surprisingly the Netherlands missed out. Iceland are Quarter finalists from the last European Championships so perhaps we shouldn't be surprised.

The South American Qualifiers were equally tense with Peru advancing to the playoff against New Zealand. Have to say I'll be surprised if NZ make it, but anything can happen.

So now the qualified teams are:

Africa: Egypt, Nigeria, three more will qualify. Most groups are quite tight, but I favour Tunisia, Cote D'Iviore (Ivory Coast) and Senegal.
Asia: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia
Europe: Belgium, France, England, Germany, Spain, Iceland, Serbia, Poland, Portugal, Russia (Hosts)
North, Central America and the Caribbean: Mexico, Costa Rica and Panama
South America:  Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and Uruguay.

Playoffs: 
The below teams have qualified for the playoffs

• Australia who play Honduras (they play on Nov 10 and Nov 15)
• New Zealand who play Peru (they play on Nov 11 and Nov 16)
• In Europe, four will qualify from Denmark, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Croatia, Northern Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland. The match ups, and dates, are decided on Oct 17.

My final thought is that I love the 32 team World Cup, and am not really a fan of expanding it. If that's the decision that's made so be it, we'll see how it ends up. 

What I've been in to - August / September

It's a little late, but I thought I'd take the t I me to write about what I've been doing recently.

Reading
It's been a quiet month for reading. I have read a little more of Timothy Keller´s book on prayer, but not much else. So far I have found it a really interesting and helpful read. But more on that when I've finished.

Music
I've been listening to quite a bit over the past few months. I'm addicted to Nichole Nordeman´s Every Mile Mattered. Just a beautiful collection of songs about when life heads south or you are not in the season you want to be. The album has a great cover of U2's Beautiful Day.

Speaking of U2, the other album I've been listening to now is December´s 33, which I reviewed earlier. It's a great selection of U2 covers reimagined with love and care.

To top it off I've been listening to U2´s new song You're the Best Thing About Me. I really love it, and can't wait for the album whenever it comes.

The other album which came out is Pearl Jam´s recording from their Wrigley Field shows. Just a great band, and the recording is awesome.

Watching
I haven't been watching much. Well mostly sport, American sport that is.  I found their commentary so superior to what we cope with. I enjoy having women commentate. The biggest thing was it seemed the goal wasn't entertainment, rather describing the game, and talking about the sport.

Sporting shorts - October 1 #Finals four.

So with that the football season is over.

AFL

• While the Crows were the best team all year. Richmond were better on the day and deserved Premiers. Their first since 1980.

NRL

• Congrats to Melbourne, deserved Premiers. I have to say that Bellemy deserves great credit for continuing to find great players. 
• The Rugby League World Cup starts this month, so there's more Rugby League before the seasons over. I expect the Australian teams to dominate the men's and women's tournaments.

Other

• One thing I have appreciated in the coverage of the Baseball I've been watching was the place of women in calling the game. In Australia we have women providing comments or as hosts. I think we could do better. There are women who could be part of the commentary team and call the game. The game would be better for it. 

Hard to know what to do with this series now the football season is over. While I do love cricket, it's just not the same. I will try to get into the A-League this year. I expect Sydney has to be a good chance to go back to back.

The other big story is Australia´s World Cup qualification. Australia are playing Syria. The tie is level at 1-1. I expect Australia to win, but it would be an awesome story if Syria was able to win the tie. 

Sports Shorts - September 24 - Finals #3

AFL

• So we've got a Crows-Tigers final.  For me the two best teams this year have made it. I'm leaning towards Adelaide as they are the more balanced team, but I feel if Richmond get a good start (and Adelaide start slowly), it could be a different story. 
• If the Cotchin incident had happened in the Home&Away season, I feel he would have got at least a fine. That said, I'm glad he's playing in the Grand Final. 
• On the Brownlow. I want the journo's to ask the 'WAGs' more than just what they're wearing. I think Dustin Martin will win, and poll more votes than Dangerfield. 

NRL

• It's the Cowboys and Storm. The Storm are raging favourites, being the best team all year.  But you do have to admire the Cowboys, knocking out the Sharks, Eels and Roosters just to make the Grand Final (and doing it all without Thurston). I think they'll be saying a big thank you to the Bulldogs, who's last round win against the Dragons got them into the eight. 
• I think the Storm will win, but won't mind of the Cowboys win, They'll be the first, first grade premiers who have won a grand final after finishing eight. 

Other

• The Matildas had another win against Brazil.There is just something awesome about how they approach the game, and the joy they play with. They're certainly my favourite Australian sports team at the moment. 

Sporting shorts - 17 September - Finals #2

AFL

• Tough end to the season. I thought Geelong were more of a chance than most people. But I feel the Sydney didn't really offer a shot. I guess after playing over month of elimination finals the players were heading for an off night. 
• GWS were ruthless in dispatching West Coast. Hard to tell whether the result was more about West Coast running out of puff or GWS. 
• Was disappointing to see the number at the GWS-West Coast game - a touch over 14,000 in a 21,000 seat stadium. 
• Was sad both games were over by half time, hoping next weekend's games are closer. 
• Our Preliminary Finals are Adelaide v Geelong and Richmond v GWS.  We'll know the effect of the pre-final bye this weekend.  
• Both games are fairly even, but I'm hoping for a Adelaide v Richmond final. But I'd be equally happy if Geelong wins (just as long as Adelaide or Geelong win the Grand Final). 

NRL

• Well, for this neutral, there's nobody left to support. If I have to pick anyone to cheer for it will be the Cowboys. 
• Brisbane played well, especially seeing they suffered a few injuries, 
• I can't help but feel Parramatta felt the effects of their close loss to Melbourne. 
• Our Preliminary Finals are Melbourne v Brisbane and Sydney v North Queensland. I suspect we'll see a Storm - Roosters Grand Final, but we'll see. 

Rugby

• Convincing win by the All Blacks against the Springboks this weekend. The 57-0 win was a record margin for a test between the two nations. 
• The Wallabies won the first test in this Championship with a 45-20 win against Argentina in Canberra. 
• I'm getting hungrier for a test between England and New Zealand. England are the best placed challenger to New Zealand at the moment. It's a shame we have to wait so long to see them play. 

Other

• The other highlight from the weekend, was the 15,000 strong crowd who watched the Matilda's 2-1 win over Brazil. The crowd was larger than the Giants - West Coast crowd, Very impressive. The two teams play another game in front of a sell-out crowd in Newcastle on Wednesday.

December - 33

One of the albums I've been excited about hearing all year, finally arrived in my email box yesterday.  It's due for release on September 30. I gave it the old school treatment, while I don't yet have a CD book to finger through. I put earphones on, turned off the lights and let the music speak to me.

The album in question is December's '33'.  The album is a collection of U2 songs. They're more than covers,  they've been given a breath of freshnes.  I just love Ails voice, she brings the earnestness and passion you know from Bono. There's a refreshing thing about hearing these songs, sung by a female vocalist and stripped back a little.

The album doesn't contain the band's biggest hits, but rather a collection of deeper cuts from their catalogue, including God Part II (R&H), Surrender (War),  and a couple of my favourites Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (Achtung Baby) and Bad (The Unforgettable Fire).  Along with those there's the beautiful Promenade, the powerful Surrender, and the fan favourite Where the Streets Have No Name. The album also includes A Sort of Homecoming, Invisible, I Fall Down and Ultra Violet (Light My Way).

It's a collection made by a group of people who clearly both know and love the band with songs from throughout the bands history. I'm excited to hear their own new music shortly, and hopefully a volume 2 of U2 covers down the track. The album is out on September 30 and you can order it from here.

Sporting shorts - September 10 (Finals 1)

NRL

• The talk of the weekend for me is the coaches criticism of the referees. I think we have to be harsh on coaches public criticism of the referee.  No, the referee didn't cost you to the game. I certainly think that we need be mindful of the impact criticism from coaches influences players in junior sport.  We need referees, It's a tough gig. Read this piece here from Richard Hinds, makes some great points. I'm glad both coaches have been fined. 
• On an old hobby horse, but a couple of decisions made me think we should just remove technology from the game, a decision gets sent to the bunker, who then rule "Referees Call". A Goal-line review in the AFL is declared Umpire's Call. Let's keep the theatre of sport and let the on field referees make the call. Yep, I'm sure they'll get some wrong, but I can live with that. Just like I have to live with it when my team gives up a 16 point lead.
• On the field wins to Melbourne (in a tough one against Parramatta), Sydney City, Penrith and North Queensland.  Next week sees Brisbane host Penrith, and Parramatta host North Queensland). I'm expecting Brisbane and Parramatta to win those games. Though my heart would love to see Penrith win (sorry Andrew). 

AFL

• The buzz is about the Richmond Tigers, who won the first final in ages, and qualified for the Preliminary Final. It does seem they gained an advantage with the game being at the MCG. I know its an economic decision, but I'd love to see Geelong play their finals in Geelong. Yep even their final against Sydney next week. They earned a home field advantage, but I don't think they got it.
• The Port Adelaide - West Coast final was something else, extra time, then a goal after the siren to steal the game.  Who knows what West Coast can do, now they've won a final.  I'll be cheering for them against GWS. 
• The two games next weekend, Geelong - Sydney and GWS - West Coast.  I'd put the chances of a Sydney - GWS Grand Final at about 20%, but we'll see. 
• Next week, I'm expecting GWS to win and hoping Sydney wins. 
• I was one of the 46,000 people at the Swans-Bombers. A record crowd at the ground (in it's current configuration). Was a great atmosphere, though I did hope for a closer game. About quarter time I noticed everyone standing at taking pictures of the crowd. When I looked closer, it was because our Prime Minister - Malcolm Turnbull was there.

Football

• New Zealand have qualified for the Intercontinental play-off, where they will play the fifth ranked South American team, currently Argentina (eek). 
• Australia also qualified for the playoff in Asia, where they will play Syria. If they win that game they will play the fourth ranked team from the North America and Caribbean, currently USA - but I expect that will change - and either Honduras or Panama will await. 
• The qualified countries now number eight. Hosts Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Belgium, Iran, South Korea, Japan and Saudi Arabia. 
• I'm looking forward for the start of the Champions League this week. Hoping the tournament throws up a few surprises and we have a new winner. 

Cricket

• Australia won the second test, and drew the series with Bangladesh. Lyon was super impressive with the ball, and Warner with the bat.
• The other notable fact is James Anderson taking his 500th Test Wicket. He had a shaky start to his career, but has improved out of sight. Read this piece here. 

Sporting shorts - September 3

AFL

• This week is the bye, so on field action was limited to Women's State of Origin football, with the Allies and Victoria battling it out. The game itself wasn't really a contest - Victoria winning the game by 97 points - and Daisy Pearce best on ground. 
• In the Men's competition, the biggest news was Dustin Martin re-signing with Richmond. Have to say I'm pleased by that.  
• Looking forward to next week, not with any degree of confidence I'm picking: Adelaide, Richmond, Sydney and Port Adelaide to win.

NRL

• North Queensland survive, and claim eight spot, mainly due to St George's loss to the Bulldogs. 
• The first round of the finals sees: Melbourne play Parramatta, the Roosters tackle Brisbane.  Manly and Penrith resume hostilities after playing this week, and Cronulla play North Queensland. If there's any upsets among those, I suspect it will be Parramatta beating Melbourne. Parramatta at the moment are seeming to play better against the teams above them.
• So, I'm picking Melbourne, Sydney City, Penrith and Cronulla to win next weekend. 
• The Warriors abysmal season finished with their ninth straight loss - 16-28 against the Tigers. Honestly, the less said about their season the better. 

Cricket

• The main news this week was the West Indies beating England; and Australia losing to Bangladesh. 
• I'm not seeing Australia's loss as an upset, the Tigers are on the way up, beating both England and Sri Lanka in the past twelve months. Australia didn't really do the preparation and paid the penalty. These results are both great for Test Cricket. 

Football

• World Cup qualifiers have recommenced, with four nations in addition to the hosts Russia now qualified (Iran, Japan, Mexico and Brazil)
• The All Whites beat the Solomon Islands 6-1 in the first leg of their final.  The winner has the task of playing the fifth ranked South American team, currently Argentina, but it could also be Chile, Peru or Ecuador. 
• Australia's path is slightly more complicated after their 0-2 loss to Japan. Australia needs to beat Thailand and hope that either Japan beats Saudi Arabia or they beat Thailand by a greater margin than Saudi Arabia beat Japan. Australia will otherwise finish third and then need to qualify by beating the other third ranked Asian team (currently Syria, but it could be Uzbekistan) then beating the fourth ranked team from the North America and Caribbean confederation (currently Honduras, but there's an outside chance it could be the USA). 
• In terms of Europe and Africa, it is still to early in the qualifiers to determine the group winners. 

US Open

• At the middle weekend of the tournament, the Mens draws looks a little top heavy with Federer and Nadal in the top half of the draw, and its really anyone's guess who the other two semi-finalists are.  The Women's Draw is quite open. I don't know enough to pick a winner, though I'd love to see Venus Williams win the tournament.
• I'm not really sure how I feel about Sharapova being in the tournament.  Yes she has had a positive doping violation, and was granted a wild-card, but do we, if we do, move on? 

Other

• Have to admit, I'm looking forward to the start of the NFL Season, which begins Friday morning with the reigning champions (New England Patriots) taking on the Kansas City Chiefs. 

Sports shorts - August 27

AFL

• That was some round, with every game having meaning, and the results making a mockery of my predictions :)  
• Feel for Melbourne, whose loss coupled with a West Coast win meant they missed the finals on percentage (something like 0.5). That along with Geelong's win against GWS mean the first week of the finals looks like this:  Adelaide v GWS (Thursday week); Geelong v Richmond (Friday week); Sydney v Essendon (Saturday week); Port Adelaide v West Coast (Saturday week)

NRL

• After watching an average Parramatta beat the Tigers, I didn't think much of Parramatta.  After their win on Thursday night they sit fourth and are one of the form teams of the competition (along with Melbourne) winning eight from their last ten.
• Next week's round is intriguing. the two ones to watch are Brisbane v North Queensland and Manly v Penrith.  St George will make the eight if they beat the Bulldogs. 

General - AFL, NRL

• I like the idea of starting all of the final round matches at the same time. They do this in English Soccer on the final day of the season.  Given the order of matches this weekend (in the AFL), Adelaide knew that irrespective of the results they would finish first. It would have been different perhaps if Adelaide didn't know the result of the Geelong-GWS game. 
• I'm not sure where I heard or read it, but I also like the idea of playing a full round of matches at one ground. The ground could rotate between country areas and grounds like Suncorp Stadium. 

Other

• I doubt I'm ever going to understand a sport, especially given what we're learning about concussion, where the goal is to knock out an opponent. 
• The UEFA Champions League had their main draws over the past few days. The groups for the Champions League are: 
• Group A: Benfica (POR), Manchester United (ENG), Basel (SUI), CSKA Moskva (RUS)
• Group B: Bayern München (GER), Paris Saint-Germain (FRA), Anderlecht (BEL), Celtic (SCO)
• Group C: Chelsea (ENG), Atlético Madrid (ESP), Roma (ITA), Qarabağ (AZE)
• Group D: Juventus (ITA), Barcelona (ESP), Olympiacos (GRE), Sporting CP (POR)
• Group E: Spartak Moskva (RUS), Sevilla (ESP), Liverpool (ENG), Maribor (SVN)
• Group F: Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR), Manchester City (ENG), Napoli (ITA), Feyenoord (NED)
• Group G: Monaco (FRA), Porto (POR), Beşiktaş (TUR), RB Leipzig (GER)
• Group H: Real Madrid (ESP, holders), Borussia Dortmund (GER), Tottenham Hotspur (ENG), APOEL (CYP)
• There's some tough groups there, but I think Group H might be the toughest. Can't wait for the competition to start. 
• Australia started their series against Bangladesh, at stumps on day one, Australia were 3/18 in reply to Bangladesh's 260. 

Sport shorts - 20 August

So, two rounds left before the finals for the NRL, and one round left before the AFL finals. Although the bye in the AFL means the finals will start on the same weekend.

Not much left to do except make a few crazy predictions on how the top eight will finish.

AFL

• Top eight: Adelaide, Geelong, GWS, Richmond, Port Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne, Essendon. Meaning, Adelaide play Richmond, Geelong host GWS, Sydney play Melbourne and Port Adelaide host Essendon. 
• Sydney could finish as high as fourth, but I don't see it happening. More possible is Geelong losing to GWS meaning Adelaide play Geelong and GWS host Richmond.

NRL

• Found it a little tougher topic, but final eight for me are: Melbourne, Brisbane, Roosters, Sharks, Panthers, Eels, Cowboys, Sea Eagles. 
• I don't see either the Raiders or Dragons sneaking in, might be wrong though ;) 
• So first week of the finales, Melbourne v Sharks; Brisbane v Roosters; Panthers v Sea Eagles and Eels v Cowboys. 

Union

• I guess it was  games of two halves, with the All Blacks winning the first half 40-6, before conceding four tries in the second (14-28) meaning the All Blacks won the test 54-34.
• There's motivation for Hansen to work with for the return test next week in Dunedin.  Hard to believe but the All Blacks have now lost three second halves in a row for the first time since 1996.

Sport shorts - 13 August

AFL

• Sydney has their biggest win of the season - a 104 point win over Fremantle.  I'm looking forward to this Fridays game against Adelaide (who are currently top of the table.
• The other big tests during the weekend were Melbourne who played St Kilda and Richmond tackling Geelong. Melbourne and Geelong were the winners, I still think Richmond are a dark horse to win the tournament but I am fairly convinced the Grand Final winner will be one of GWS, Adelaide or Sydney.
• I'm not a fan of the momentum sapping bye. I would rather take my chances with team selections. 

NRL

• I think the Grand Final winner will come from Melbourne and Brisbane.  They seem to be the most consistent and the best at winning ugly.  The Roosters might be the dark horse. 
• Congrats to Newcastle, winning their third game in a row. 
• At the foot of the eight - North Queensland looks the most vulnerable. 

Bledisloe Cup

• As always I'm looking forward to the Bledisloe Cup.  I'm as nervous as hell so we'll see how they go. 

EPL

• The English Premier League started this weekend.  Arsenal did something they haven't done for years, and won their first game of the season. 

Sport Shorts - 6 August

The business end of the season is nearly upon us with some really intriguing match ups in both the NRL and AFL.

AFL

• The Swans bounced back to form with a good win over Geelong. Win their next three games and they may scrape into the top four. 
• Its great that in August we're talking of Richmond and Melbourne as potential top four and eight teams respectively
• The Giants looked really great over the weekend and maybe starting to click, but their game against the Western Bulldogs will show more about them. 
• Adelaide were awesome in the showdown, absolutely demolishing Port. If the Swans don't win it, I'll be cheering for the Crows. 
• For me, its great the Tigers are playing Richmond in Geelong.  There's a reason teams have home grounds, and the Cats should have the first option on where their home games are played.
• The other talking point this weekend was the tackle. I don't think a tackle, or tackling style, which leaves a player suffering from concussion can be called perfect. 

NRL

• Brisbane roared back to form with a record win against the Titans.  I'd put them second behind Melbourne to win the title. Parramatta with 5 wins in a row now are starting to find form at the right end of the season. 
• Congrats to the Knights, beating the Warriors and winning two consecutive games for the first time in a few years.  The Warriors have been disappointing again, I wish I knew what was going on. They look awesome on paper, but just don't deliver on the field. 
• The Raiders looked good against the Sharks so if the Dragons and Panthers don't keep winning they may sneak into the eight. 
• Seriously disappointed in the latest trend of coaches criticising the referees. First it was Ricky Stuart (I'm still stunned he didn't get a fine) then Paul McGregor and now Paul Green.  To me, if there is a problem called the referees boss and have a phone conversation. Don't question the integrity of the officials publicly. 

Other

• It is now 100 days to the Rugby League World Cup. Both the Men's and Women's tournaments will take place in Australia this year. I expect Australia will win both, but you never know. 
• The Womens' Rugby World Cup starts this week.  Will be an interesting tournament.  Wish it was on free-to-air TV to see though. 

What I'm in to - July 2017

Can't believe that another month is gone and its now the beginning of August. So its time for another, What I'm in too post.

Reading:
Pretty ordinary month for reading.  I haven't read anything. Something to work on in August :)

Music:
The highlight of July was the release of Nichole Nordeman's album Every Mile Mattered.  Nichole is one of my all time favourite singer songwriters. The album certainly highlights that with some really powerful songs. Dear Me a song written to herself, and its certainly caused me to reflect on my faith now and where I've come from. The album also has a wonderful cover of U2's Beautiful Day. The song is slowed down and it really works.

Watching
Quiet month of TV. Most Mondays to Wednesdays I begin the day by watching the Baseball from the US. The catch on this video is one of the reasons I keep watching.  The game is amazing. I think I've said it elsewhere but the walk off hit or home run is unique in sport (and this game had them both, see the game highlights here).

I've also been enjoying watching Shark Tank. Really interesting pitches, the investors are really great people too.

Sport shorts - 30 July

AFL

• Getting to the business end of the season and hard to think of a more open season. There are now questions over GWS, Adelaide, and even Geelong. Adelaide snatched a draw after trailing by 50 points at one stage of the game. so their slow starts are a concern. GWS' from is patchy though maybe if their full list was healthy they might be doing better. 
• Credit to Alistair Clarkson and the Hawks, they might not sneak into the finals but they've had an impressive turnaround to their season. It just wasn't the Swans night, hopefully we'll see a better performance and upset win against Geelong ;)
• I'm happy with the draw to remain, and don't think we need a result for every game during the regular season.
• Feel there's a bit of misplaced sympathy for Patrick Dangerfield. He's now ineligible for the Brownlow Medal after receiving a deserved suspension for a tackle in Geelong's game against Carlton. Read more here.
• Congrats to Nick Riewoldt on a great career with the St Kilda.  

NRL

• Great to see the Knights back in the winners list with a tense 21-14 win over the Dragons.  Given they're playing the Warriors next week they might get back to back wins. 
• Impressed to see Cam Smith on the field this week - and with an awesome game too.  
• Think the eight is almost settled, with either St George or Penrith taking the final spot - there game in round 27 will almost settle it. I'll be cheering for the Panthers.

Super Rugby

• The Hurricanes are out after blowing a 22-3 lead. And the killer is that it means the Crusaders will travel to South Africa for the Final.  I hope I'm wrong, but I suspect the Lions will win. Then we have a two week break before the Rugby Championship starts with Australia playing New Zealand in Sydney. 

Other

• I've shared this elsewhere, but I was saddened to hear of the death of Les Murray. I spent countless hours listening to him talk football with Johnny Warren, Damien Lovelock and most recently Craig Foster. The passion he has for the game is infectious. He was more than an ambassador for Football, he is great Australian who fought for a more compassionate Australia. 
• More on soccer - congrats to the Matildas who have beaten the United States for the first time in 30 years (27 games). 
• I've been enjoying the baseball (perhaps not the Blue Jays form) and one of the things I really love is the walk-off hit, home run or Grand Slam.  And there was a great moment in this morning's game where Kyle Farmer in his first MLB at bat achieved a walk off two run hit.  
• Finally, this article about concussion in sport is a must-read.

Sport Shorts - 23 July

AFL

• Ok, hands up who thought that Sydney would be in the mix for a top four finish after their 0-6 start. I certainly didn't. Mind you, they've still got three tough games before the finals (Hawthorn, Geelong and Adelaide). 
• Hard to read GWS at the moment, they're not playing particularly well, but they've still got players to come back. 

NRL

• I saw my first live game for the year on the weekend, and went to ANZ Stadium and saw the Wests Tigers tackle the Parramatta Eels. In summary it was a fun (and close) game, but not the best advert for the game. I'd be surprised if the Eels did much damage in the finals. 
• I guess it was another honorable loss for the Warriors - losing 12-24 to the North Queensland Cowboys. 
• The other story from the weekend was Sia Soliola not being sent off in the Canberra v Melbourne game. Coupled with Ricky Stuart's bizarre press conference spray about the referees. This article about the issue is interesting reading.

Super Rugby

• The winners of the semi finals were the Hurricanes, Lions, Crusaders and Chiefs.  So in next weeks finals we'll see the Hurricanes travel to South Africa to play the Lions and the Crusaders play the Chiefs.  
• I'm thinking the final will be between the Hurricanes and Crusaders, but we'll see. 

The Cricket World Cup

• The Women's World Cup was great viewing. England are the deserved winners. The two moments of the tournament for me were Chamari Atapattu's unbeaten 178 and Harmanpreet Kaur's 171* in the semi final.  There's a great read about the World Cup here.  While I was disappointed to see NZ get knocked out early, it was great to see South Africa do well. 

Sport Shorts - 16 July

AFL

• Another win to the Swans this weekend. They have now won nine from their last ten and sit in the top eight.  They'll need to keep winning to stay there, but its been an impressive run. 
• Awesome performance from Dangerfield on the weekend, injured early in the game against Hawthorn, and came back on and kicked five goals. The game had a great finish, sad for Isaac Smith who for the second time had a chance on the siren to kick a goal to win the game for Hawthorn. 
• So, seventeen rounds in, the joint favourites for me are GWS and Adelaide. GWS might just jump ahead when they get some of their key injured players back. Sydney will be the team no one wants to play should they make the finals, but they have to make the finals first. With games against Hawthorn, Geelong and Adelaide left, its by no means safe to assume they will make the finals. 

NRL

• Perhaps not surprising by Queensland won this years State of Origin, making it ten of the last eleven.  Seems to me NSW were just out of ideas. It was great to see Cameron Smith bring Jonathan Thurston up on stage.  It won't be too long before Thurston is inducted into the Hall of Fame.
• Think the season is now over for the Warriors - they won't make the playoffs, especially with Johnson's season ending injury. 
• Melbourne look like the team to beat this year. 
• I'm glad for the bye rounds to be over, it certainly feels like a different competition during State of Origin. 

Super Rugby

• The regular season finished, and the Australian teams went 0-25 against New Zealand.  There's at least one more match-up with the Brumbies hosting the Hurricanes in one of the finals.  It is certainly one of the anomalies of Super Rugby that the Hurricanes are playing the Brumbies away. The other semi finals are : Crusaders v Highlanders; Lions v Sharks and Stormers v Chiefs. 
• I suspect the Hurricanes, Crusaders, Lions and Chiefs will win the semi-finals. If the Lions win, then they will host the final (should they qualify).  
• Perhaps the other anomaly is that the Lions made the final, without playing a New Zealand team

Football

• It was great to see both of Arsenal's two Sydney games.  Really impressed with the attendance (over 160,000 people attended the games)  The gulf in class between the clubs was evident with Arsenal winning both; 2-0 (v Sydney FC) and 3-1 (v the Wanderers).  
• I enjoyed the game against the Wanderers more - felt they played better than Sydney, and the atmosphere was certainly better, mostly due to the Wanderers fans who sang and chanted the whole way through the game. 
• In terms of Arsenal I was impressed with Alexandre Lacazette.  We do need to hold on to Alexis Sanchez. Shame he didn't make the trip over. 

Wimbledon

• Part of me was sad that Venus Williams didn't win the Ladies Final. It was a impressive run from her, but it was a super performance from Garbine Muguruza to win her second title. The final made her the only Women to beat both Serena and Venus Williams in Grand Slam Finals. 
• Super impressive performance from Federer to win his 8th Wimbledon and 19th Grand Slam title.  It was the second time he's won a Grand Slam tournament without dropping a set. To my mind, he is one of the greatest sportsman or women of all time. 

A little update..

If you have been following my blog, you'd know that we were in Wellington for the rugby. We also had a great chance to see the city.  One of the must-see attractions in Wellington is the Te Papa Museum, and one of the main exhibits they have on at the moment focuses on Gallipoli. The exhibit tells the story of the Gallipoli campaign in World War I through the eyes and words of eight ordinary New Zealanders who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances. The exhibit has eight large figures (made by Weta Workshops, who worked on the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings). You couldn't help but be moved by each story.

It was quite eye-opening to hear the story of Gallipoli from the New Zealand perspective (the campaigns they were involved in).

On our final day in Wellington we went up the cable car and visited the Cable car museum. It was interesting to see the history of the cable car, but also fascinating to watch a video about the houses in Wellington which had installed cable cars for access.

It was just lovely being in the city with thousands of Lions fans. Our plane from Sydney was filled with them. It just created such an awesome atmosphere in the city (and at the rugby). It was interesting how drowned out the All Blacks chants were at the ground, it almost felt like a home game for the Lions.

Wellington is such a beautiful city, in lot of ways its coffee culture reminds me of Melbourne.

After Wellington it was back to reality pretty quickly. Last Tuesday morning I started radiotherapy so I now have had nine sessions, almost half way through. I'll have twenty in total, then a short break before restarting Chemo.

I find radiotherapy very different to chemotherapy, during my chemo sessions I sat in a chair for four hours while the drugs were pumped into my veins. For radiotherapy I lie on a bed and the machine moves around me three times in ten minutes, and I'm done.  While I'm doing radiotherapy, I'm also having oral chemotherapy.

So far I haven't t felt too bad, the worst side effects are psychological. I'm finding that I'm far more irritable and moody than before, and I need to get better at knowing how I'm feeling and communicating it, I also need to get better at managing my mood.

What I'm in to - June

Reading:

Another quiet month for reading this time, I've managed two books. I finished Susan Carland's 'Fighting Hislam' and 'Radical Remission' by Kelly Turner.

Susan Carland's book was a really eye opening read, talking about woman seeking to change Islam from within.

'Radical Remission' is about people who have survived cancer against the odds. The book explores nine key factors shared by these individuals (often they stop using conventional treatments, like surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy).

The nine factors mentioned in the book are: Radically changing your diet; taking control of your health; following your intuition; using herbs and supplements; releasing suppressed emotions; increasing positive emotions; embracing social support; deepening your spiritual connection; and having strong reasons for living.

It was a helpful read, I'm certainly not thinking about stopping the treatments I'm doing at the moment, but some of the factors are worthwhile thinking more about, and trying to apply them.

Watching
The highlight of my TV viewing  during June was The Voice. Even if none of the contestants really jumped out  at me this year, it was still enjoyable to watch. I really like Delta as a coach so it was great that Judah won. The dynamic between Kelly and Delta was great.

I've been enjoying watching Masterchef too.  I enjoyed the episodes filmed in Japan; probably because I love Japanese food.  The really frustrating thing about cooking shows is that you never get to taste the food which has been made.

Listening
I spent a lot of June listening to Radiohead's OK Computer, R.E.M's Automatic for the People and Coldplay's  A Head Full of Dreams. I'm looking forward to the new album from Nichole Nordeman. It was a very nice surprise when I found out she had a new album coming out.  She's one of my favourite singer-songwriters. One of the reasons I'm looking forward to hearing the album is how she describes it:

These songs have given me permission, and I hope you too, to silence the voices of regret. To recognize that every part your journey, every broken place, have all been part of the story God is writing in your life. Lessons we had to learn. Tears that had to fall. Chapters that had to be written and then closed, to find ourselves in a bigger, more beautiful story.
It all mattered. Every single mile.

Sport shorts - 9 July

Rugby

• So, the All Blacks - Lions series was drawn, with the final test ending in a 15 all draw.  It surprises me the the All Blacks didn't go for a drop goal in the final few minutes.  That said, think the Lions played quite well, and a drawn series is probably a fair result. To me, no there shouldn't be extra time to determine a result.
• Possible the biggest shock of the weekend was the Jaguar's 40-27 win over the Waratahs. It is the Jaguars first visit to Sydney, and despite how the Waratahs have been travelling I stlll expected them to win. 

AFL

• The Giants became the first team to draw two games in a row for 96 years. The two draws are probably are four points lost. They led by two goals with not long left against Hawthorn and possibly should have been able to hold on. 
• Sydney are in the eight for the first time this year with a good win against the Suns. Still with a few tough games there's still work to do. 
• I didn't see the St Kilda-Richmond result coming, it was like the Tigers didn't show up. 

NRL 

• Given the decider in the State of Origin this week, there were only four games this weekend.  
• The results were hardly surprising, even Parramatta beating a Melbourne side missing their spine was definitely not too much of a surprise. 
• Was gutted for Newcastle, losing after conceding two tries in the last few minutes, then being awarded a penalty on the siren which could have taken the game to golden point.  I did wonder why Hodginson didn't take the penalty?

Other

• I'm looking forward to a couple of things this week -  the All Star baseball game on Tuesday night and then on Thursday and Saturday night Arsenal play Western Sydney Wanderers and Sydney FC. Can't wait to see Arsenal play live again.
• Today is a rest day but I'm looking forward to see what the second week of Wimbledon throws up. 
• The Women's Cricket World Cup is now on.  The top four teams are Australia (4-0), India (4-1),  New Zealand (3-1,with 1 no result) and South Africa (3-1, with a no result).  Favour Australia to win the tournament.

Sport shorts - 2 July

Rugby

• The weekend saw the Second test between the All Blacks and Lions. I was lucky enough to attend the game in Wellington. The atmosphere was awesome, even if the All Blacks fans were a little quiet. In terms of the game, Sonny Bill Williams send off certainly made it difficult, as did Barrett's inaccuracy with the boot. The All Blacks attack was a little disappointing creating few chances. The Lions certainly made the most of their opportunities. On the send off - I don't think the referee had any choice. Bring on the third test. 

AFL

• The Swans are now 7-7 and in this incredible season while they sit ninth are only one game from 5th. If they keep winning being in the eight is a distinct possibility. 
• Looking forward to a few games this weekend.  The Hawthorn-GWS and St Kilda-Richmond games are the two I'm most looking forward to aside from the Swans-Suns. 

NRL

• Perhaps no surprise but with another big win, the Storm firm as competition favourites. 
• The Warriors let another lead slip - leading Manly 16-0 before losing 22-26. 
• Manly and St George are my surprise packets for the year both doing better than I expected. 

Other

• Wimbledon started this week and I'm looking forward to following the twists and turns of the tournament. 
• Confederations Cup - Germany was impressive through the tournament, and were deserved winners, 

Sport shorts - June 25

NRL

• Perhaps the game of the round was the Melbourne Roosters clash in Adelaide. The Roosters won 25-24 against an understrength Melbourne (who lead most of the night)
• The Warriors won again at home, which means they're still in touch with the bottom of the eight.  I still maintain they are most likely to finish ninth. 
• On Origin.  Impressive win from Queensland, especially with Thurston playing with basically one shoulder. That and the comeback from 6-16 says it all really.  To me, Thurston is the next immortal and one of the greatest to ever play the game.  Sad to see him out for the rest of the season. 
• Does it surprise anyone else that you get points for the bye rounds?  I'd love to see a change to the points system... 2 points for a win, 1 point for a golden point loss and bonus points for a loss by 6 or less and scoring more than 4 tries and of course remove the points for the bye.

AFL

• Still don't know how the Swans won on Friday.  They made almost all the right choices in the last two minutes, and also had a little bit of luck.  It was great to see Longmire's face at the siren, which almost said How did we do that?  It was impressive to hear him mention that luck played a role in the outcome. The Swans are now 6-7 and now one game outside the eight. Needless to say all of their games from here are pretty big.  They've got tough games against Melbourne, the Giants, Hawthorn, Geelong and Adelaide to come. If they keep winning they might just sneak into the eight. 
• We had some great finishes this week - Swans and Western Bulldogs won by a point, Geelong by two, Melbourne by three, certainly one of the better rounds with some great quality football played.
• Hats of to Melbourne, first time they have beaten West Coast in Perth since 2004, and coming from 16 points down in the final quarter. 
• The Giants are sitting a game clear on the top of the leader.

Rugby

• At the beginning of the weekend, the game the matter most to me was the All Blacks - Lions test. It didn't disappoint.  Thought the All Blacks were good but there's room for improvement. They certainly have a stronger bench than the Lions.  Sean O'Brien's try was impressive. Hoping the injuries are not too serious. Needless to say, I'm looking forward to seeing the game live next weekend. 
• Wallabies had another uneven performance against Italy. The 40-27 scoreline may have flattered a little. I'm not reading too much into it in terms of how they will go in the Bledisloe Cup later this year.

Other

• Confederation Cup: Not surprisingly NZ left the Confederation Cup without winning a game, Their first half against Mexico was impressive but not much else to celebrate, Australia was slightly better, aside from the first half against Germany they played reasonably well.  They were impressive last night against Chile, but didn't make the most of their opportunities. The semi finalists are Mexico, Portugal, Germany and Chile.
• Cricket: Stoked that Afghanistan and Ireland now have test status.  Here's a video on Afghanistan's journey from an Associate to Test Playing nation.
• Tennis: Hats of to Ash Barty, she played in two three set finals at the Birmingham International. She won the doubles with Casey Dellaqua, and lost to Petra Kvitova in the Singles. Kvitova winning is a great story too, its only 187 days since her hand was sliced in an attack. 
• I admire Ange Postecoglou and Michael Cheika, they're great coaches who have a great sense of their place in their sports and have a philosophy of how the game should be played.

OK Computer - Radiohead

It's hard to believe it but Radiohead's OK Computer just turned twenty. It was released on May 21 1997.  The first I heard of Radiohead was their 1993 song 'Creep' which I don't recall thinking much of at the time. I completely missed their second album 'The Bends', though looking back I recall 'Fake Plastic Trees' which was on the soundtrack to Clueless.

OK Computer came out at just the right time for me, I was at Uni and my classmates were introducing me to a range of artists I hadn't heard before and I was looking exploring new music.

I loved the album on my first listen, I remember it being an album that was best listened to with headphones as there was so much going on with both Thom's voice and the band playing behind. I loved Thom's voice which was so unique, and I loved how it changes within and between songs.

The highlights for me back in 97 were Paranoid Android, Exit Music (for a film) and Let Down. Radiohead still have a knack for putting out albums with bleak lyrics, and probably are one of the few bands I listen too were the sound gets me more than the lyrics.

It is an album that hasn't aged, each of those tunes sounding as fresh now as in 97. It was their 1998 live show which really cemented to me how great the band is.  I just remember being stilled by the music, the performance was almost note perfect.

Worth reading this Rolling Stone piece about the album ahead of Friday's release of the anniversary issue.

Sports shorts - 18 June

I've skipped a week, but bye weekends are not so much fun, I want more games not less.

NRL

• Anyway, Rugby League is dominated this week by the build up to State of Origin II.  Seems strange this year with NSW settled and Queensland having selecting dramas.  With the game in Sydney, NSW might not get a better chance to wrap up the series
• On the field this weekend wins for Souths, Melbourne (in a great game against the Cowboys) the Sharks and Eels. Maybe just maybe we'll see the Sharks and Storm face off in the Grand Final again this year.  If so, I'll be on the Storm. 

AFL

• Another win, and the Swans improve to 5-7. Hard to know if the win should be down to great effort from Sydney, or Richmond being 'Richmondy'. Just one win outside the eight. If they make the eight, they'll be the team noone wants to play. Next week will be another tough test against the Bombers. 
• Great to see Melbourne doing so well this year- just percentage outside the top four. 
• While its true the competition has been even this year, has it been good footy? I don't remember many standout games from the season so far.

Rugby

• The Lions tour is heating up, the Lions split their games this week losing to the Highlanders before a much better performance and win against the Maori.  The first test is next weekend and for me is shaping to be a good contest. 
• The All Blacks has a 78-0 win over Samoa. They looked good in patches, but have some improving to do still. 
• In other results, Scotland upset Australia 24-19. 
• The future of NZ Rugby looks good with the U20s All Blacks winning the final of the World Cup 64-17 against England. England's women team reversed that result beating the Black Ferns 29-21 in their four nations match. 

Other

• Forgot to mention last week, the Warriors won the NBA title with a super performance against Cleveland. 
• Watching the America's cup - NZ lead 3-0 but memories of losing after leading 8-1 last time are still fresh in my mind. 
• The Confederations Cup started, interested in it to see how the All Whites go, against Russia, Portugal and Mexico a point might be a stretch but we'll see.  Australia's group isn't much easier with a young German side, Chile and Cameron awaiting them. 

Sport shorts - June 4

AFL

• The Swans had a bye this weekend. I guess that is a good thing. They've got a tough game against the Bulldogs on Thursday night.  After the last up loss to the Hawks, they do need a win. 
• On the field, West Coast were disappointing in another away loss (this time to the Gold Coast).  The Giants are now on top of the ladder after an impressive win against the Bombers. 
• Unlike last year, I think we still may see movement in the top eight, though the top four are slowly becoming more fixed. I suspect Richmond will swap out for Port Adelaide, but GWS, Adelaide and Geelong look fairly settled. 

NRL

• Another week and another loss of the Warriors. The Warriors still have yet to win a game outside of New Zealand.  
• On the Origin, was surprised by the performance of New South Wales. Will be interesting to see how they go in Sydney in the few weeks, and it will be intrigued to see how Queensland approach selecting the team for game two. 

Super Rugby 

• Not much has changed in the playoff picture.  The Crusaders remain unbeaten and are probably favourites for the title now. 
• Australian teams are 0-23 against their NZ opponents this season. Not that I'd read anything into that, but its an interesting stat.
• The Lions have touched down in New Zealand and won their first match 13-7. Hard to read much into that seeing as they virtually went to the ground from the plane.  Tomorrow's game against the Blues will be more revealing in terms of how the Lions are travelling. 

Other

• The Stanley Cup final series is underway with Nashville taking on Pittsburgh.  Its now level at 2 games a piece.  Hoping to see Nashville win, but we'll see
• The NBA finals are also on with the Golden State Warriors 2-0 leaders at the moment in a best of seven series.  The Warriors are one impressive team, will be interesting to see if they close the deal this year. 

What I'm in to - May 2017

Its hard to believe another month has been and gone, and we've now hit winter.  So its time for a post about what I've been reading, watching and listening to the past month.

Reading: It has been a quiet month for reading.  I only managed to read one book. I finished off 'Finding lost words: the church’s right to lament'. I found it to be a really important book highlighting the place of lament in the both the church and individual believers life. There was a great resource about planning a lament service and a couple of great sermons on Psalm 13 and 88; a few of the lament Psalms in the bible. Really recommend getting a hold of the book and reading it.

The goal for June is to read more than one book.  I've just started Susan Carland's book: Fighting Hislam, talking about women in Islam. So far it's been a really interesting read. Telling the story of women fighting for equality in Islam from within.

Watching: Mostly I've been watching the Voice.  They are now into the battle rounds, and to me at least there's no one who is really standing out. I suspect its more taste than talent that is making me make that call.  The moments of the show for me were ones that didn't come with a chair spin.  Boy George paying for a country singer to go to Nashville, and a female duo Mercy and Mia who sung 'You Are My Sunshine'.

I've always thought that the best battle performances are the ones that seem like a duet. This one from season three between Annabelle Eve and Talia Gouge is still my favourite.

Other than The Voice I haven't been watching much, though I'm keen to start Nashville, Suits, 13 Reasons Why and House of Cards.

Listening: Here's a list of the songs that have been on heavy rotation during May. Fair to say some of these songs I'm listening to because of the U2 tour, others because of the season of life I'm walking through.

The Pogues - A Rainy Night in Soho

December - A Sort of Homecoming

Simon & Garfunkel - America (Live)

December - Where the Streets Have No Name

Charles Esten and Sarah Siskind - When Trouble Comes

Katie Herzig - I Want to Make You Proud

U2 - Miss Sarajevo (Live, from Milan 2005)

Casting Crowns - Oh My Soul

Lara Landon - Give me Jesus

Joe Grushecky & Bruce Springsteen - That's What Makes it Great

U2 -The Little Things that Give You Away

The Frames (w/ Holly Throsby) - New Partner (Live from Sydney 2007)

The other music adventures during May were catching the Vivid shows from the Fleet Foxes and Lisa Hannigan. The thing that struck me about both of the shows was how quiet the audience was during the shows. Lisa Hannigan just has one of the more beautiful voices you are ever likely to hear. Her absolute delight in playing the Opera House was infectious. 

The striking thing about the Fleet Foxes were the harmonies between the singers.  It was a different show as they performed a lot of material from their soon to be released album 'Crack Up' so I didn't know many of the songs. It was a relief they also played some of the better known songs from their earlier albums too.

I've also been following U2's tour of the Joshua Tree. It was really interesting to see what songs they chose to book-end the full performance of the Joshua Tree album, and also the snippets of songs they included. The two that stand out are Simon & Garfunkel's 'America' and the poem The New Colussus (by Emma Lazarus). Both snippets add to the narrative of the show of the two Americas.

In terms of the show, the highlights for me are Red Hill Mining Town, Exit, Miss Sarajevo and the new song The Little Things that Give You Away.

The shows from Lisa Hannigan and the Fleet Foxes are the last ones I have planned unless U2 surprise us all and announce a tour of Australia & New Zealand.

In terms of other music on the horizon it is a year of re-issues - along with U2's Joshua Tree 30th Anniversary reissue, REM are releasing a 25th Anniversary version of Automatic for the People and Radiohead are releasing a boxset for the 20th Anniversary of OK Computer.

Other

Another two highlights for the month of May were going to QandA and Vivid.  It was the first time that I had been to QandA. The one I went to was part of the Sydney Writer's Festival so while politics did enter the discussion it wasn't the centre of it.

The panel for the show was Niki Savva, Journalist and author; Lawrence Krauss, Theoretical Physicist & Cosmologist; Mikhail Zygar, Russian journalist and writer; Mona Chalabi, Data editor of The Guardian US; and Paul Beatty, Author, The Sellout.

Lawrence Krauss dislike of religion annoyed me, as did the 'ganging' up on Trump. I'm no fan of President Trump but you do have to wonder what purpose it serves (and whether or not its counter-productive).

Viivid was great.  I really enjoyed the installations at the Botanic Gardens, especially the sunflowers and Kiwis and the Zoo was spectacular as usual, I loved the Tigers, the Bilby and the Port Jackson shark you could walk through. 

Update

Time for a little update on how I've been travelling. The last scan I had showed slight growth in the tumors in my pelvis. As a result I will have Radiotherapy targeting these tumours specifically. The treatment is likely to start on the 4th July and run for four weeks. I will have treatment each week day during this period.

Please continue to pray for effectiveness in the treatment, that I manage the side-effects well, and for Fiona, the kids and I as we continue to live our lives. Thank God for the wonderful Doctors and nurses who look after me.

Sport shorts - 28 May

NRL

• Four games this weekend is too few. Can't complain about the results though, especially the Warriors. Though I was nervous at 16-0 and 22-10.
• On Origin, people seem to be talking NSW up, I'm not so convinced yet. 

AFL

• I didn't watch the Swans-Hawks, so I can't comment on that suffice to say we lost. We're still only two wins out of the eight, and three wins from 4th, so it is not time write off the season yet. 
• Adelaide would have to be the favourite for the flag at the moment, I have them slightly ahead of the Giants. 

Super Rugby

• The Hurricanes had another win, and are now sitting in fifth place 
• In other news the British and Irish Lions tour of NZ starts next month. I'm pretty excited as I will be going to the Second Test in Wellington. 

Other

• Glad I was wrong about the FA Cup. Congrats to Arsenal winners of the 2016/17 FA Cup. Still hopeful for a better performance in the league next season. I'm looking forward to seeing Arsenal play Sydney and WSW during their visit in July. 
• After some thought I decided to support the Toronto BlueJays baseball team. The team is now four games below a .500 record (23-27), sure there's work to do but they've put some good performances together. They were 10-20 when I decided to support them, not that I'm making a link here ;)