What I've been into October

Wow, I’m back to writing other post on what I’ve been into this month. Given that I spent two full weeks in hospital I have been able to get a little more reading done than usual.

The highlight for the month was Leigh Sales ‘Any Ordinary Day’ it certainly gave me a lot to think about around the topic of resilience and dealing with adversity.

Other books I’ve read – Carly Gelsinger on her Christian upbringing and how toxic Christianity can be; Boys will be Boys by Clementine Ford – really thought provoking book about raising boys. I also finished Gillian Triggs memoir. Both Carly and Clementine's books left me unsettled in how both revealed so much about me that I don't (and didn't) like. I'm certainly not the fundamentalist teenager I was, and I'm so thankful to God for that. I know as a father of two children I'm playing such a significant role in shaping how they understand themselves, their identity and the world in which they live. I think I want to equip them to ask questions, not to have down-pat answers. 

I’m now working my way through Geraint Thomas book - The World of Cycling According to G. Geraint is a cyclist – I don’t know much about either Geraint or cycling as a sport (though I certainly understand its appeal) – so it has been making for interesting reading.

Onto the music front. During my last stay in hospital, I decided to work on a few playlists. The first was focused around some of the music I listened to while I was in high school (excluding U2 and R.E.M.) I was inspired seeing a list of nominees for entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Def Leppard was up so I decided to start the playlist with them, and other rock bands I was introduced to while I was at school, which aren't necessarily household names like Mr Big, Living Colour, Extreme and Dream Theatre, so I labelled the list Rediscoveries. 

I expanded it out to included other bands I was listening to in 1991-92 like Genesis (We Can't Dance), Scorpions (Crazy World), Metallica (Metallica), Phil Collins (Both Sides of the Story) and some of the one hit wonders from the year like Ugly Kid Joe. Funnily enough a few of these bands, Def Leppard, Scorpions, Bon Jovi and Phil Collins are all due to tour our shores over the next few months.

The other playlist I decided to try my hand at creating featured Australia and New Zealand music. I do have to admit I was a little less happy with it because it is a little light on the New Zealand front and I’m not happy with the female artist representation, so will work on fixing that. Maybe with Australia claiming a lot of successful Kiwi’s as theirs I have more New Zealand representation than I think.

Under the Radar have updated their playlist on Spotify so I will check out that too as its been a great way of finding new Christian music.

I'm a great fan of Spotify. It made it easy to compile the playlists and listen to them while I'm on the go. 

Onto TV. Not a lot here  I’ve been watching a little bit more of Suits, and have been appreciating it as I go. 

I generally spend a more time watching kids TV mostly Lego – Ninjago and True and the Rainbow Kingdom,  Both shows are fascinating and frustrating at the same time. Particularly in the light of the messages they send young boys and girls.

I've just started trying to rewatch News Room as well.