Reading..

So one of the joys after having moved north is that I now have a 60 (or so) minute trip into work. Combinig this with the wonderful local library has done wonders for my reading. I've been trying to read a good mix of fiction and non-fiction books. So far in 2010 I've read:

:: Stephen Carroll - The Lost Life; The Time We Have Taken; The Art of the Engine Driver; The Gift of Speed and The Lover's Room.

:: Sam Harris - The End of Faith.

:: Tim Keller - The Reason for God

:: Tom Frame - Losing my Religion - Unbelief in Australia

:: Ted Kennedy - True Compass.

:: Alister McGrath - The Dawkins Delusion.

:: Jasper Fforde - The Eyre Affair.

:: Jacqueline Kent - The Making of Julia Gillard

:: Orson Scott Card - Magic Street

:: Currently: I'm reading Jonthan Freeman's Shrinking the world and Paul Kelly's The March of the Patriots.

I'm heading back to the library soon, so any suggestions of what to read next?

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briefly on the tennis. While I would stop short of calling Federer a hero, there is something in this artilcle.. (comparing him with other freakishley talented sports-people such as Warne and Tiger). There was something refreshing in the way he answered Jim Courier's questions following his quarter
final and semi final wins. I'm looking forward to the final on Sunday
night.

Another few articles

The first one, which may not surprise you Cricket Australia's research indicates that the team is not well liked it seems that there's more the public want than just winning.

And another article about how social networking sites are being used...

Favourites from 2009 ...

Hard to believe that we are now in January 2010.  Doesn't seem so long ago that I was pondering what 2009 would bring, and writing about the happenings of 2009. I think that the only music I was expecting was the new U2 record (and rumour has it 2010 may see their next one...)

On to my top five... the contenders are ...  Strict Joy (The Swell Season), Backspacer (Pearl Jam), Fireflies and songs (Sara Groves), Hello Hurricane (Switchfoot), Long Fall Back  to Earth (Jars of Clay), No Line on the Horizon (U2), Outer South (Conor Oberst), Glass, Tavener, Nyman (Amy Dickson). A couple that I need to listen to more - Golden Rule (Powderfinger), As Day Follows Night (Sarah Blasko).

Its thougher than I thought to pick between them this year. I had pretty high expectatons with both U2 and The Swell Season, and The Swell Season got closer to delivering than U2.

No Line on the Horizon - well while I still don't like Get on Your Boots, the album has grown on me quite a bit (not that its in my top three of their albums).

It was always going to be hard for The Swell Season to match their first record (which was pretty close to perfect). The highlights are Marketa's singing on Fantasy Man and I Have Loved You Wrong. The songs speak of the experience of break-up (and seem to ring true).

I had heard a lot about Sara Groves before, but hadn't listened to any songs. Last year she release Fireflies and Songs - filled with quite a number of personal reflections (I love the story behind 'It's Me" - which opens the lid a little on conflict in marriage. Jars of Clay new record, similarly focuses the eyes on relationships using the metaphor of planes landing in 'Safe to Land'.

Backspacer is one of Pearl Jam's stronger records (and better than their self-titled pervious record), tte stand out tracks for me are Unthought Known, and Just Breathe.


So the top five:
5 - Swtichfoot - Hello Hurricane
4 - Pearl Jam -  Backspacer
3 - Jars of Clay - The Long Fall Back to Earth
2 - Sara Groves - Fireflies and songs.
1 - The Swell Season - Strict Joy
--
The few that I'm looking forward to at the moment are Broken Bell, and the new Elbow and Arcade Fire records. I'd like to hear are Noah and the Whale and Mumford and Sons which were released last year.

Newsprint...

A few random bits a pieces, from the newspapers for 2010...

Tweeting... an interesting (and negative) take on twitter...

Kindle... I'm old fashioned, clearly...  it doesn't really matter how good the screen is, how many books you can get on it and how cheap it gets, I'm just not so keen on the kindle. I was tyrying to read something off my screen the other night, and realised I just wanted to print it out and read off the paper.

Avatar.. (though to me I can't be sure its not true for alot of movies.. like Star Wars, maybe even Lord of the Rings...). Still haven't seen the film, seems to get some mixed reviews. Will write more if/when I see it.

(and acting... - and the 'harder' roles).

A Post-Christmas to-do list

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

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

2 Get inspired.

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

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

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

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

not sharing...

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

Friendship and a few bonuses...

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

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

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

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

Christmas

A couple of Christmas pieces from the herald today..


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

And  John Dickson's piece on the Christmas narrative.

Music for 2009...

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

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

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

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

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

World Cup - Draw.

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

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

2010 -- World Cup Draw

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

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

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

revolving doors...

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

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

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

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

The Andrew Ollie Lecture '09

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

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

time taken...

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

(The Time We Have Taken - Steven Carroll)

50 most important recordings... (NPR)

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

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

God and the state ..

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

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

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


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

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

South Africa here we come...

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

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

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

Notes from the Decade

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

First listen...

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

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

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

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