Graduation speeches ..

I'm not sure if I've linked to these before, but here's two 'great graduation speeches', from Bono and JK  Rowling. (Along with the "anti-U2" stuff in the comments, which I don't get, there's a few other speeches to read as well).

On Failure and a comic's approach to death

I caught this commencement address, given by JK Rowling - the CASE email. Rowling spoke about failure and its benefits, and a lot of this rings true for me, in fact, behind most successes are many failed attempts

I quite like the below excerpt:

However, the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure. You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success. Indeed, your conception of failure might not be too far from the average person's idea of success, so high have you already flown academically. [...]  Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun. That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy tale resolution. I had no idea how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality. [...]  So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

When a humorist receives a dire prognosis, there's nothing left to do but make God laugh  [PJ O'Rourke via Search]

Graduation Address

I saw a link to an address given by the late David Foster Wallace, its well worth having a look over (I've never really heard a memorable address at a graduation ceremony). I really liked this passage here:

In the day-to-day trenches of adult life, there is actually no such thing as atheism. There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And an outstanding reason for choosing some sort of God or spiritual-type thing to worship -- be it J.C. or Allah, be it Yahweh or the Wiccan mother-goddess or the Four Noble Truths or some infrangible set of ethical principles -- is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive. If you worship money and things -- if they are where you tap real meaning in life -- then you will never have enough. Never feel you have enough. It's the truth. Worship your own body and beauty and sexual allure and you will always feel ugly, and when time and age start showing, you will die a million deaths before they finally plant you. On one level, we all know this stuff already -- it's been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, bromides, epigrams, parables: the skeleton of every great story. The trick is keeping the truth up-front in daily consciousness. Worship power -- you will feel weak and afraid, and you will need ever more power over others to keep the fear at bay. Worship your intellect, being seen as smart -- you will end up feeling stupid, a fraud, always on the verge of being found out. And so on. [..read the full address here]

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Update: I have to admit that I am not too familiar with the writing of David Foster Wallace - but here's a piece he wrote about the 'dying for the American idea' arguing that "a democratic republic cannot 100-percent protect itself from without subverting the very principles that make it worth protecting?", from the Atlantic Monthly.

Couple of shorts..

:: Here's some of the speeches from the Convention last week. [via NPR]

:: Found this piece about the athletes behind the salute in 1968 quite interesting; I am keen to see the film Salute, which was released recently. [via NYT]

:: A review of Sunday mornings, Staying home -how American evangelicals are quitting churches...

She reports, among other things: a lack of a feeling of community among church members, inducing loneliness and boredom; church teaching that fails to go beyond the basics of the faith or to reach members grappling with suffering or unanswered prayer; pastors who are either out of touch with their parishioners or themselves unhappy, or who fail to shepherd their flocks, or who are caught up in scandal, or who try to control the lives of church members in a high-handed way. She claims that many churches have "inefficient leadership models" and that many, preoccupied with the care of families, neglect single people. [via Wall Street Journal]

I also thought this quote, made a great point -- should we really be concerned with numbers anyway?

From a theological perspective, there is no guarantee that churches will prosper as they attempt to make disciples -- if we judge prosperity by church membership alone. A church might conscientiously carry out its biblical tasks and yet, by measures of popularity, do poorly in this world. Such a church would not be doing right if it adjusted its mission for the sake of higher attendance records. Note that by the end of his ministry the number of disciples with Jesus was down to 12. Now there was a decent church, one might say, if a small one.

:: An interesting piece on young American evangelicals and purity. [via The Chicago Tribune]

:: There's a the "gene's made me do it" excuse for everything... "a genetic variation may be responsible for weakening some men's ability to be monogamous" via NPR.

Fixing our Broken Society

Here's an excerpt from the leader of the opposition in Britain, and the key thrust of his speech is responsibility, and responsibility isn't a one-way street.

We as a society have been far too sensitive. In order to avoid injury to people's feelings, in order to avoid appearing judgemental, we have failed to say what needs to be said. We have seen a decades-long erosion of responsibility, of social virtue, of self-discipline, respect for others, deferring gratification instead of instant gratification.

Instead we prefer moral neutrality, a refusal to make judgments about what is good and bad behaviour, right and wrong behaviour. Bad. Good. Right. Wrong. These are words that our political system and our public sector scarcely dare use any more.

Of course as soon as a politician says this there is a clamour - "but what about all of you?" And let me say now, yes, we are human, flawed and frequently screw up.

Our relationships crack up, our marriages break down, we fail as parents and as citizens just like everyone else. But if the result of this is a stultifying silence about things that really matter, we re-double the failure. Refusing to use these words - right and wrong - means a denial of personal responsibility and the concept of a moral choice.

We talk about people being "at risk of obesity" instead of talking about people who eat too much and take too little exercise. We talk about people being at risk of poverty, or social exclusion: it's as if these things - obesity, alcohol abuse, drug addiction - are purely external events like a plague or bad weather.

Of course, circumstances - where you are born, your neighbourhood, your school, and the choices your parents make - have a huge impact. But social problems are often the consequence of the choices that people make.

There is a danger of becoming quite literally a de-moralised society, where nobody will tell the truth anymore about what is good and bad, right and wrong. That is why children are growing up without boundaries, thinking they can do as they please, and why no adult will intervene to stop them - including, often, their parents. If we are going to get any where near solving some of these problems, that has to stop.

And why would a different government be any different? Not least because we understand that the causes of our broken society lie not just in government policies but in our national culture.

Changing our culture is not easy or quick. You cannot pull a lever. You cannot do it top-down. But you can give a lead. You can give a nudge. You can make a difference if you are clear where you stand.

Imagine if there was a Government that understood, really understood, that encouraging personal and social responsibility must be the cornerstone of everything that it did and that every move it took re-inforced that view.

Saying to parents, your responsibility and your commitment matters, so we will give a tax break for marriage and end the couple penalty. Saying to head teachers you are responsible and if you want enforceable home school contracts and the freedom to exclude you can have it and we will judge you on your results. Saying to police officers you are responsible and the targets and bureaucracy are going but you must account to an elected individual who will want answers if you fail. Saying to business, if you take responsibility you can help change culture and we will help you with deregulation and tax cuts … but in the long run they depend on the steps you take to help tackle the costs of social failure that have driven your costs up and up.

It is the responsibility agenda and it will be the defining thread of any government I lead. [..]

Above all, I believe that this cultural change needs to start at home. The values we need to repair our broken society and to build a strong society are values that should be taught in the home, in the family.

That is why I have put the family right at the heart of my programme. Action on knife crime. Better policing and criminal justice reform. Reforming schools. Reforming welfare. These are all vital components of the social reform we need so urgently.

But in the end, the state cannot do it all. In the end, the best regulation is self-regulation, not state regulation. That's why the family comes first. That's where we can really turn things around and start to repair our broken society.
[Full speech]

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Obama on Fatherhood...

This is for me, one of the more significant speeches he will give. A couple of quotes..

...Of all the rocks upon which we build our lives, we are reminded today that family is the most important. And we are called to recognize and honor how critical every father is to that foundation. They are teachers and coaches. They are mentors and role models. They are examples of success and the men who constantly push us toward it.

But if we are honest with ourselves, we’ll admit that what too many fathers also are is missing – missing from too many lives and too many homes. They have abandoned their responsibilities, acting like boys instead of men. And the foundations of our families are weaker because of it. [...] We need fathers to realize that responsibility does not end at conception. We need them to realize that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child – it’s the courage to raise one.

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And here's a link to the full text, as prepared for delivery.

On the US Primaries

:: Hillary's concession speech, is well worth the read. Here's another few pieces about the significance of Hilary's campaign, and what her concession means to some. And Clinton's response:

"To those who are disappointed that we couldn't go all of the way, especially the young people who put so much into this campaign, it would break my heart if, in falling short of my goal, I in any way discouraged any of you from pursuing yours. [...]

Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it..."

:: Obama's speech after clinching the nomination. Its the language of optimism, idealism, and hope that Obama represents which is so attractive to many in the US, and abroad.

# One piece on the polls, suggesting Clinton beats McCain; and McCain beats Obama although here's another one suggesting that Obama might win.

One things for sure it is going to fun to watch.

ANZAC Day

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables at home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

Laurence Binyon (1869–1943)

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I actually may have linked to this before, but this is a great speech, delivered by the then Prime Minister the Hon. Paul Keating.

Early morning April Four ….

"Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord. [MLK]"

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Links to more of Martin Luther King’s speeches, and sermons, which make for great reading,

…Sleep, sleep tonight and may your dreams be realised… [MLK - U2]

Sorry

While words are not enough on their own; they are a powerful first step. If today we honour and express remorse, then tomorrow a united parliament must act to reduce the gap. Below is the text of our parliaments' apology:

"Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human history.

We reflect on their past mistreatment.

We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations – this blemished chapter in our nation’s history.

The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future.

We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians.

We apologise especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities and their country.

For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.

To the mothers and the fathers, the brothers and the sisters, for the breaking up of families and communities, we say sorry.

And for the indignity and degradation thus inflicted on a proud people and a proud culture, we say sorry.

We the Parliament of Australia respectfully request that this apology be received in the spirit in which it is offered as part of the healing of the nation.

For the future we take heart; resolving that this new page in the history of our great continent can now be written.

We today take this first step by acknowledging the past and laying claim to a future that embraces all Australians.

A future where this Parliament resolves that the injustices of the past must never, never happen again.

A future where we harness the determination of all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, to close the gap that lies between us in life expectancy, educational achievement and economic opportunity.

A future where we embrace the possibility of new solutions to enduring problems where old approaches have failed.

A future based on mutual respect, mutual resolve and mutual responsibility.

A future where all Australians, whatever their origins, are truly equal partners, with equal opportunities and with an equal stake in shaping the next chapter in the history of this great country, Australia."

Speeches from this morning (APH):
The Hon Kevin Rudd, MP, Prime Minister
The Hon Brendon Nelson, MP, Leader of the Opposition.

Liberty

"America is not just a country. It’s an idea, isn’t it? It’s a great and powerful idea. The idea that all men are created equal. That “we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” These are great lyrics, Mr. Jefferson. Great opening riff. The Declaration of Independence has a great closing line too – “we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.” Well the men who made that, the men who signed that pledge, had a lot to lose by signing - like their lives. So what then about you and me? What are we ready to pledge? What are we ready to pledge ourselves to? Anything? Anything at all?

What about this idea of liberty? Not liberty for its own sake, but liberty for some larger end – not just freedom from oppression, but freedom of expression and worship. Freedom from want, and freedom from fear because when you are trapped by poverty, you are not free. When trade laws prevent you from selling the food you grow, you are not free. When you are dying of a mosquito bite for lack of a bed net, you are not free. When you are hungry in a world of plenty, you are not free. And when you are a monk in Burma this very week, barred from entering a temple because of your gospel of peace, it is an affront to the thug regime, well then none of us are truly free.

My other country, America, I know you’ll not stand for that. So, look I’m not going to stand here, a rock star who just stepped off a private plane, and tell you to put your lives on the line for people you’ve never met or your fortunes – I haven’t. But our sacred honor might just be at stake here. That and a whole lot else. So what, then, are we willing to pledge? How about our science, your technology, your creativity…America has so many great answers to offer. We can’t fix all the world’s problems. But the ones we can, we must.

Enough of my voice. Listen to the voice of young Africa. Good night."

Bono's Liberty Medal Acceptance Speech Transcript

Unforgettable Speeches..

I was glancing at the SMH page today, and noticed that Paul Keating's 1992 address on Aboriginal injustice is Australia's most unforgettable speech, behind "I have a Dream" (MLK) and the "Sermon on the Mount" (Jesus Christ).

This speech (also given by Paul Keating) at the funeral service of the Unknown Australian Soldier, 11 November 1993 is one of my favourites.

Update, The Age in an article on the survey laments that the art of oratory has transmuted into the routine of speechmaking.

The Twilight of Atheism

I went to the Smith Lecture tonight. The Smith lecture is put on by CBF (with CASE, and The Fifth Estate), and aims to provide an opportunity for a Christian public figure to present his or her perspective on a subject relevant to the life of the city.. Our speaker was Professor Alister McGrath (Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University), who spoke about the Twilight of Atheism. I quite enjoyed the lecture, so here are some my notes.

McGrath began by detailing three main objections to theistic faiths.

1. Religion leads to evil
2. God is a consoling delusion
3. Science has disproved God

1. Religion leads to Evil

There is a degree of truth to this statement, but question is this capacity different for other world views. It seems that intolerance has come from both theistic views (for example the Spanish Inquisition), and through atheism (Stalinism). So from the same stimulus both good and bad can come.

Freud calls religion a pathological disorder, but there is a (very complex) and tenuous link between religion and well-being. (Of 100 studies, 79 showed at least 1 positive correlation, only 1 showed a negative correlation, and the remaining 20 painted a complex picture).

2. God is just a delusion

Feuerbach (1804-72) argued that God is a projection of human longing – we invent God to fulfill a need, but this is not an argument against theistic views, as the argument works against both the theist and atheist – both the aspiration to believe (or disbelieve) is the fulfillment of a desire. (I found the comment that atheism could be a “wish to escape judgment for their deeds" (Milosz), interesting.

3. Science disproves God

Faith is blind trust, and cannot justify itself by evidence - Anything worth knowing can be proved from science (Dawkins)
Science cannot answer childlike questions of why we are here, and what does it all mean? (Medawar)

The world can be explained in both an theistic and atheistic way, nature doesn’t push either way. Science cannot answer the question of the existence of God. Darwinism is equally compatible with theism and atheism. Science it seems does not push towards atheism.

As there is no position of certainty; each individual looks for the explanation which explains the data best. For example; CS Lewis’ famous quote (paraphrased) that God is "the light by which I see all else" or Dawkins, who states that the world is exactly how we would expect if there was no good, no evil.

Post-modernity

In a sense religion is identity giving, as people begin to seek “spiritual” answers.

Some of the concluding comments, and answers to questions:

Evolution does not provide a basis for morality.
Secularism is position of faith; has no vision, suppresses the vision of others; accepts the fruit (social action, community involvement), but not the roots.
Reason can not take us all the way, we take hold of our “best fit explanation” by trust (faith).
Faith can engage with reality, and hold its own.

Perhaps not surprisingly McGrath did not provide a compelling argument to believe in the Christian God but rather argued that the position of atheism is as much a position of “faith” as Christianity.

All things considered it was quite an interesting lecture, and I’m quite looking forward to reading McGrath’s book. I’ve quite enjoyed the two lectures I’ve been to this week. I've quite enjoyed the intellectual stimulation.

King's dream lost in a violent culture

"I am going to keep on marching for justice, equality, peace and reconciliation of the human family until I am called home." -
Coretta Scott King
[from NYT, via The Age]

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Prayer Breakfast Washinngton DC: Bono

Couple of short points…

It was disturbing to read that the US seeks to send a man to walk on the moon by (or in) 2018. To me, we need to bring our gaze back to earth. What does it really matter if we walk on the moon, once we see the profound misery on earth?

Last Thursday was Police Remembrance Day, to commemorate police officers killed in the line of duty. In light of this I do wonder if it is worth making the murder of a police officer carry a stiffer penalty. In part I feel that is any one life is not worth more or less than another, but at the same time, these are men and women, who put themselves at risk day by day, surely we need to send stern messages to those who would willfully injure or kill those who perform in this valuable line of work.

We should regardless all pause to reflect on this day, and pray for those who are employed in these professions. Last year’s speech.

Two things from the newspaper: Found the Tribal Mind in today’s Herald interesting. David Dale mentioned movies that prepare ‘students for life’. For the record, David listed The Fellowship of the Ring, Rabbit-proof Fence, Contact, Billy Elliott, Memento and more. What films should be on the curriculum? What do you, my dear readers think?

Emily Maguire wrote an interesting article declaring the belief that a moral society depends on holy guidance has been contradicted.

... a dangerous idea, that almost makes sense ...

Thursday night, our netball game was halted with the news of multiple bombings in London, news which has dominated the newspapers and television since. Time to reflect on the issue I suspect. I have been reading a number of the editorial pieces and speeches following the bombing.

I was really struck by this piece spoken by the Mayor of London (Ken Livingstone).

This was not a terrorist attack against the mighty and the powerful. It was not aimed at Presidents or Prime Ministers. It was aimed at ordinary, working-class Londoners, black and white, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Jew, young and old. It was an indiscriminate attempt to slaughter, irrespective of any considerations for age, for class, for religion, or whatever …

[And to the terrorists]:

I know that you personally do not fear giving up your own life in order to take others - that is why you are so dangerous. But I know you fear that you may fail in your long-term objective to destroy our free society and I can show you why you will fail.

In the days that follow look at our airports, look at our sea ports and look at our railway stations and, even after your cowardly attack, you will see that people from the rest of Britain, people from around the world will arrive in London to become Londoners and to fulfill their dreams and achieve their potential.

They choose to come to London, as so many have come before because they come to be free, they come to live the life they choose, they come to be able to be themselves. They flee you because you tell them how they should live. They don't want that and nothing you do, however many of us you kill, will stop that flight to our city where freedom is strong and where people can live in harmony with one another. Whatever you do, however many you kill, you will fail."

The War against Terror is not a conventional war. The combatants are not nations, the victims are not solely the powerful; the desired outcome is the creation of fear amongst the public. Terrorism is a battle of hearts and minds, causalities increasing not decreasing resolve. It is not a war that can be won. It’s a blind love, and faith in their ideology that wills the combatants to fight, even to the point of giving their lives; a blind resolve compelling Westerners to return to work using the tube the following day.

But we do need to seek to understand the mind and motivation of the terrorist, what is causing them to pursue this course of action (not ever condoning their action).

The war on terrorism will be won when our ideology overcomes theirs. It’s a trifle ironic that the day the bombs went off in London the G8 were discussing plans to increase aid to Africa. This is the ideology that we would seek to prevail.

Perhaps another thing that I’ve noticed this time is the number of Islamic voices condemning the terrorist bombings, and saying the ideology of hate has no place in either their religion or society. I hear too many Christian voices now saying that this is part of their religion (as it should be practiced). We need to understand each other, maintain a dialogue between the West, and the ideology. I find it a trifle ironic, that a nation that prides itself on being a democracy would seek to force other nations to be democratic.

I think there is a complex interplay of factors in the production of terrorists. I think it is clear that the War on Terror is producing terrorists, poverty, and also ‘lack of liberties’ have also been talked about as causes. I don’t think liberty and democracy are necessarily ‘inoculations’ against terrorism. But I would be interesting to read information speaking on the link between economic development, democratic ideology, and religion.

Because we can, we must

So my question I suppose is: What's the big idea? What's your big idea? What are you willing to spend your moral capital, your intellectual capital, your cash, your sweat equity in pursuing outside of the walls of the University of Pennsylvania?

There's a truly great Irish poet his name is Brendan Kennelly, and he has this epic poem called the Book of Judas, and there's a line in that poem that never leaves my mind, it says: "If you want to serve the age, betray it." What does that mean to betray the age?

Well to me betraying the age means exposing its conceits, it's foibles; it's phony moral certitudes. It means telling the secrets of the age and facing harsher truths.

Every age has its massive moral blind spots. We might not see them, but our children will.

Fast forward 50 years. May 17, 2004. What are the ideas right now worth betraying? What are the lies we tell ourselves now? What are the blind spots of our age? What's worth spending your post-Penn lives trying to do or undo? It might be something simple.

Excerpt from Because we can, we must, Commencement Address by Bono, co-founder of DATA (Debt AIDS Trade Africa), and lead singer of U2, May 17, 2004.

Back on D-Day

Read a bit on D-day over the week. Wanted to post an excerpt from Chirac's speech at the Franco-American Ceremony at Normandy.[Chirac's speech in Full]

But there is no end to this struggle of man against himself, in a dangerous world where violence and hatred too often stir up men, and even peoples. The message of these heroes, the heroes of the "longest day," the flame that our forefathers bore so proudly and have now bequeathed onto us are our common heritage, which implies a corresponding duty of remembrance for us -- a duty of remembrance, a duty to recall this still recent past when fanaticism, the rejection of those who are different from us, the rejection of others, cast men, women and children into the night, the fog of the death camps.

We must never forget that without a compass, without remaining faithful to the lessons of history, there can be no future. We have also a duty of vigilance, also a duty to fight ruthlessly all these upsurges and seedbeds of hatred that feed on ignorance on obscurantism and on intolerance. And we have a duty of remaining faithful to our values so that our generation may build and pass on to our children a world of progress and freedom, as is indeed their birthright -- to build that society which bears the hallmark of respect and dialogue, of tolerance and solidarity that was the very quintessence of the struggle we are commemorating today, to keep alive for all time the spirit of hope.

Here's a second exert from the International Ceremony.[Speech in Full]

On 6 June 1944, when the sun set on "the longest day" and night cloaked Bloody Omaha, Utah, Juno, Sword and Gold Beaches, when darkness descended over battered Caen, when night fell on France, maimed by years of war and occupation, they held on. They held on to a few acres of sand and soil. But hope was alive again, at last.

Today on the sixth of June 2004, it is that same hope, that same ideal that we owe to those men whom we shall never forget.

Faced with the dangers of a changing world, let us strive to remain loyal to the legacy, the sacrifice and the message of our fathers. Let us strive to give substance to the humanistic values of respect, justice, dialogue and tolerance, for which they gave their lives. Let us strive together to build a world of freedom and progress for our children, a world that respects the diversity of individuals and ideas, cultures and peoples.

It is that legacy, that duty, which we are commemorating today, for we are its custodians and tributaries. It is incumbent upon us to entrust it to new generations.

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I finished reading The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde) over the last week, and will post some thoughts over the weekend. In general though it was an interesting read, if in parts disturbing. I'm still thinking through what about it disturbed me, but these are reflections for another entry :)

Went to a trivia night last night, which was great fun. I have to admit that I'm quite keen on trivia nights. Trivia nights are great, a great way to mix with people, and great fun too.

Seperation of Church and State in Australia ...

Peter Costello's speech on the National Day of Thanksgiving

Thursday a reply was published by Helen Irving.