The Hobbit - An Unexpected Journey

One of the books I loved growing up was Tolkein's The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. I really enjoyed seeing LOTR come to life and was delighted when the disputes were settled and it was clear that Peter Jackson was going to direct The Hobbit.

I initially had reservations about the Hobbit being done as three movies, but after seeing Part 1, those doubts have been put to bed.  As I watched the story unfold, it was just so rich, and brought beautifully across to the big screen (I am sure people will discover The Hobbit because of this film).

Jackson for me has got the characters spot-on.  Watching Gandalf appear and respond to Biblo wishing him a good morning was perfect. I am really looking forward to seeing the story be built and developed through the next two films.

Complimenting the film perfectly is Howard Shore's score; and NZ is exactly how you imagined Middle Earth to be.

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As an aside, I'm pretty excited for Before Midnight, which concludes the story begun by  Before Sunrise and continued by Before Sunset. Definitely worth making an effort to see.

Review of Les Miserables (Spoilers)

Last night I went and saw the film adaption of the musical Les Miserables. I thought that I'd take the time now to write down some of my reflections.

Les Miserables is the first musical that I loved. During driving trips with our family, it wouldn't matter which one of family had the choice, 'Les Miz' would almost always be chosen. I'd often hear my brother sing Stars, or Javert's part in The Confrontation. We'd often talk about the characters, the songs, and the stories, which had grabbed all of us.  I loved it when we saw some brilliant amateur productions in Wollongong, (some of which outshone the production I saw in London). When I finally read the book I grew to love the characters more (and I think it is almost time to read it again).

So I was delighted to hear that the musical would be adapted for the 'big' screen.  The advantage of the film format in translating the story is that the director is not limited by a stage, and enabling the audience to have both close-ups of the actors, and wide shots. Sure, the film does remove certain things from your imagination, but enriches the experience in doing so. The best examples were seeing Fantine sing I Dreamed a Dream, after watching her life fall apart, and Eponine On My Own  which have always been highlights for me.

Onto to the film. My overall impression was how true the film was to the spirit of Hugo's book, and Boubil and Schonberg's musical.  It was great to see the continuing evolution of the story.  The film adds a song, Suddenly. Valjean sings as he takes Cosette away from Thenardier, and adds detail to the story by showing how Valjean is approaching fatherhood. The words of the song are taken from Hugo's book. I also quite liked Sacha Baron Cohen and Helen Boneham Carter as the Thenardier's

It was also intriguing to see how the order of songs were changed, and lines which seemed to have been added (or moved around).  Most of these changes worked to strengthen the impact of the film. Though I was sad to see Grantaire's part (below) of Drink with Me cut:

Drink with me to days gone by,
Can it be you fear to die?
Will the world remember you when you fall?
Could it be your death means nothing at all?
Is your life just one more lie?

As it added a depth to the revolutionaries which wasn't really present in the film. I would find it interesting to listen to the director talk about his approach to making the film.


The biggest let downs for me were Russell Crowe (Javert) and Eddie Redmayne (Marius), who in terms of both their acting and singing just didn't quite carry their roles.  On the flip side, the standouts were Anne Hathaway and Samantha Banks (as Fantine & Eponine).  I was also impressed with how authentic  Hugh Jackman was as Valjean. It was a nice touch for Colm Wilkinson (who was Valjean in the Original London & Broadway casts) to play the Bishop.

In sum, the film did a beaut job of bringing the story of grace, mercy and redemption to the big screen, and hopefully a large number of people will come to appreciate the story for the first time.  I definitely would like to see it again, as I'm sure I'd be struck by different things the second time around.

2012 Music ..

On the Noisetrade website I saw this post were Lisa listed her fav five Noisetrade artists and albums for 2012. 

 

Here's my list - the top album based on my plays during the year is Matthew Perryman Jones' Land of the Living. It is just a wonderfully rich album, both in terms of the words and music. This post; goes through the album a touch better than I could. My favourite songs are O, Theo, Sleeping With A Stranger and the title track Land of the Living.

Other artists which I discovered through Noisetrade this year were Kyler England, Cassie, Chasing Summer, Derek Webb (of Caedman's Call), JJ Heller, Eine Blaume. Not to mention the great new music from Sleeping at Last, Lara Landon, All Sons and Daughters and Jenny & Tyler.

But the top five of these along with Matthew Perryman Jones, would be - Eine Blaume, JJ Heller, Cassie, and Kyler England.

Through Nosietrade, I have developed a love of Nashville, which is not just the home of country music but also now the home of indie music in the US. So, if you're keen to get some new music, I'f recommend the Nashville Indie Spotlight album now available on i-tunes. Some of the artists included are Matthew Perryman Jones, Lara Landon, Katie Herzig and The Vespers.

So, on to the top five albums for 2012 ... It has been harder in most years to seperate these five out. Each stand out for different reasons, and each have been on heavy rotation through out the year. In terms of yrics then the Jenny & Tyler and Lara Landon albums would be slightly ahead. In terms of the music, I would pick Andrew Osenga, Matthew Perryman Jones or Glen Hansard.  

 

But, combining these, and needing to make a pick a number 1 - I'd give the album of the year to Matthew Perryman Jones. (by a nose from - Lara Landon (2),  Glen Hansard (3), Andrew Osenga (4) and Jenny & Tyler (5).

I'm intending to write another year in review type post shortly..

2012 Music ...

Now we are almost in December, thought that I'd take the time to write about my favourite music from 2012.    The shortlist for my album of the year is

• Overcome (Lara Landon), 
• Open Your Doors (Jenny & Tyler),  
• Land of the Living (Matthew Perryman Jones), 
• Light for the Lost Boy (Andrew Peterson),  
• Leonard, the Lonely Astronaut (Andrew Osenga),  
• Baby et Lulu (self titled), 
• Rhythm and Repose (Glen Hansard). 
• Blah Blah Love and War (The Rescues)

Looking at the list closely; its clear music in 2012 has been brought to you by the letters L and O.

Earlier in the year I tweeted that the best of these were Overcome, Open Your Doors and Leonard, the Lonely Astronaut, the other albums banging on the door are Glen Hansard's Rhythm and Repose and Matthew Perryman Jones' Land of the Living.  I'll post an order shortly, but those five records are ones which I will hear as fresh in five years as I do now.

As I usually do in my end of year lists I've excluded EPs - otherwise The Longing would be quite high up my list; and as Season One contains music from 2011 this is also excluded from my list.  But all of All Sons and Daughters music is worth buying.  I have also excluded Heavyweight (Rachael Yamagata) which is worth a listen - you can download a sampler of Rachael's music from Noisetrade.

Another album which I have downloaded but haven't listened too properly yet is Derek Webb's CTRL (an acoustic version), which sounds like it will also be pretty good.

Reading..

Been a while since I have posted, so here is a list of the books I have read recently.

• Disordered World: Setting a course for the Twenty First Century - Amin Maalouf
• The Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey (Probably my favourite novel of the year). 
• A Love Letter from a Stray Moon - Jay Griffiths - thanks to Rose Powell.  A pleasure to read.
• The Hunger Games - Trilogy - Suzanne Collins - quite an easy & fun read. Haven't seen the film yet, but the book was a good read. 
• March Was Made of Yarn: Writers Respond to Japan's Earthquake and Tsunami - Various - A collection of stories inspired by the Tsunami in Japan (March 2010).
• Lives Other Than My Own - Emmanuel Carrere
• On Writing - Stephen King - great look at how Stephen King approached writing, and there is some great advice for writing here too. 
• Think - Lisa Bloom - A book specifically for women - but the focus is on getting people to start to 'think' for themselves'

On the go now:
Why TV is Good for Kids - Catharine Lumby & Duncan Fine
Provides a balanced look at the impact TV has, and the moral panic and comes with all of the latest technology.
Never a Gentleman's Game - Malcolm Knox - highlighting the early history of cricket (and how some things have not changed)
Every Good Endeavor - Tim Keller. - On the place of work in the Christian life.

Top TV Shows of the last 25 years

I blogged about this a while ago, but when I caught this article in yesterday's SMH about the top shows of the last 25 years I thought I would look over the list and update it.  Its fairly tough, but I think I'd settle on these. The only one that I think won't change is The West Wing. For me it is miles ahead of the rest.. 

5. Homeland

I really liked the premise of the show (perhaps believable).  The second season will be the real test. However Season Two goes, I'm very intrigued to see the Israeli show it was based on.

4.  Downton Abbey

A great period drama, and I have really got into the characters. The producers haven't been too ambitious with each series (around 7 episodes long). Season Three looks like it could be interesting.

3. Criminal Minds

Criminal Minds is probably my favourite crime show.  One that really does highlight the depths of our potential depravity, it scares me every now and then, but the way the profilers are able to piece together the story amazes me.

2 Picket Fences

I have included this, but I have not been able to locate a copy of the series to buy on DVD. Would love to though, again it dealt with real meaty issues well.

1. The West Wing

Hands down the best written show I have watched on television.  One of the few shows which has regularly dealt with meaty issues. Their episode relating with 9/11 dealt with a touchy topic sensitively. The show is one of the more even shows I have seen across all seven seasons. I do regularly wonder where these characters have got to.  Very easy to watch again & again.

On the articles list, I haven't seen Mad Men. Anyone who has seen it - would you put it at number 1? 

Cassie - Sing about me

Another musical discovery for 2012 is the Finnish band Cassie.  The band is probably classified as ambient rock.  Cassie's debut album is Sing about me.

To my mind there are some similarities to Sigur Ros in the ambient nature of their songs, they also bring Portishead to mind.

What I love about the Cassie at the moment is the purity and expressiveness of their singer's voice, against the expansive nature of the music.

If you're looking for some new music, Cassie is definitely one to listen to. Again, you can download the album via Noisetrade.

This is September ...

September, means the beginning of spring, and September means Footy Finals.  I am quite happy with how the Swans have been going this year.  Given that most suggested that they would make up the numbers in the eight to finish third and secure a double chance is a great effort for the year. 

The reward for finishing third, is a trip to Adelaide to play the Crows. Where the equation is quite simple - win, and they reach the preliminary final; lose and they will host the Cats (in Sydney).  Hopefully, whether its the Prelim Final, or Qualifying Final, someone remembers 2005 - and they play at the SCG.

Even with the last few losses, the Swan's still have the best defense in the competition.  Hopefully, we will see that on display next weekend.  Geelong could well become the first team from outside the top four to win the flag, but I think the favourites would probably be Hawthorn or Adelaide.  (The Hawthorn v Collingwood game is likely to be a cracker..)

Onto the NRL, sadly, the Warriors won't be there this year.  Their season, can be summarised as erratic.  Hopefully 2013 will be a better year. At this point, I suspect one of Manly, Canterbury or Melbourne to win, with Manly probably being the favourites.

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In brief.  
Congrats to Andy Roddick on a fantastic career - I will miss you, I always enjoyed watching you play, the heart you poured out on the court. Who could forget that 21-19 set you played at the Australian 

Open.  Would love to see him win the tournament this year.

Sad to see Ratten sacked. Thought he handled it with loads of class expressed through humility and grace.  I'm also feeling a little bit for Deans too..   (via the SMH)

Congrats to the All Blacks, still rusty, but it did the job. One thing which saddens me, is that after the All Blacks play (win or lose), there seems to be an increase in domestic violence.    

Feel Inside - Flight of the Conchords..

Really love this video and song ...  (for a good cause too..)

Heath McNease - The Weight of Glory

I recently downloaded Heath McNease's new album, The Weight of Glory. If the title rings bells with you, you have heard it before. Heath's new album is his reflections on CS Lewis best know books including:

• The Great Divorce, 
• A Grief Observed, 
• Mere Christianity (focusing on the Liar, Lunatic or Lord quote)
• The Problem Of Pain, 
• The Four Loves - poetically he sums up the four loves as the love that made him grow; the love that made him bold, the love that made him whole, the love that saved his soul.
• Screwtape Letters, 
• Edmund (centred on the betrayal of Edmund in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), 
• Perelandra, 
• Till We Have Faces, 
• Surprised By Joy, 
• The World's Last Night, and 
• Weight Of Glory.

His lyrics beautifully capture the essence of these books (and is a great intro to his writings.  The music covers a broad range of genre's mostly folk, rock and blues, with some spoken word or rap in Mere Christianity. 

Mostly because of the intelligent lyrics and how easy it is to listen to I definitely recommend the album.

Hear the Sound - All Sons & Daughters

Quite like this new song - and am looking forward to the new EP due out later this year.

Back to New York

We had decided to finish our trip where we started, and spend the last four nights in New York.  I think breaking it up worked nicely for us, as we had a better gauge of how to get around, and what to expect while we were there. On the list the second time where, walking across the Brooklyn Bridge, visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, doing the High Line Walk and wondering around the city. 

Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty

Given that we'd picked Memorial Day for this, I was a little bit nervous that we'd be able to get on the boats. I needn't have worried, we pre-booked the tickets, and virtually walked right through security and onto the boat without much waiting time.  It was a great day to be out on the river, and the Statue of Liberty is such an impressive sight. The crown was closed, so we didn't get up to the top.  I also quite liked visiting Ellis Island, where the first immigrants to the US were processed.  

Brooklyn Bridge

Really enjoyed this, we caught the subway out to Brooklyn, and then had a leisurely stroll back to Manhattan. Given it was a really nice day, we had a fair bit of company. You do get quite an impressive view of the Manhattan Skyline along the way which is quite nice.  If I went back to New York, I would like to explore Brooklyn a little bit more.

Highline Walk

One of the things we'd seen a little bit about before we left was the High-Line Park. The High Line is a public park built on an historic freight rail line elevated above the streets on Manhattan’s West Side.  There are some classic street stalls, and contemporary art along the way. Its quite impressive to walk along.

We went and saw another Broadway show. After 25 years Phantom is the longest running show on Broadway, so we thought that we'd take the opportunity to see it, I had seen it before, but it was such a long time ago, and it was great  to see it again.  

We enjoyed walking around the city, and did do a little bit of shopping. We visited FAO Schwarz,.  Such an amazing store - really enjoyed looking around. One of the highlights on the way home, was flying on the A380. I really liked the tail camera, so you could watch the plane leave LA, and land in Sydney. You did have a little bit more room, which is always nice.   In summary, we had an amazing time away, and I could definitely go back to the US in a heartbeat..

View from inside the Time Warner Building

Mid year music thoughts

Now that we've entered the second half 2012, here is a list of the albums which have stood out so far this year.

>> Glen Hansard - Rhythm and Repose
Beautifully written and performed songs.  Glen has an amazing voice, and it is such a shame more people don't get to hear it.

>> Lara Landon - Overcome
Chrisitan singer-songwriter, whose songs reflect the reality of the Christian experience, through trial to glory.

>> Jenny & Tyler - Open Your Doors
I've posted enough on this duo.  But just love this duo and this album.

>> Paul Baloche - The Same Love  
Great worship CD.  Features a  variety of other artists. He includes Oh Our Lord (written by All Sons & Daughters, and another track with Kari Jobe. The words point you to Christ (the King of Heaven), which is what you the songs to do.

>> for KING and COUNTRY - Crave
The first full-length album from Luke & Joel (who are Rebecca St James brothers). One of my favourite tracks Love's to Blame was also co-written by RSJ.

>> Andrew Osenga - Leonard the Lonely Space Astronaut
Really love this concept album. Andrew describes the record as telling the story of a man named Leonard Belle.

He lives 300 years from now and loses his wife in a sudden accident while their divorce is being finalized. In his rage and grief he takes a gig driving a long-distance space freighter for a year. (Due to relativity, by the time he returns to Earth everyone he knows will be old or dead.) He decides to bring along some antique instruments and recording equipment (just like the stuff I have!) and will make a record.

Here's a review; which says it better than I can. 

>> Sigur Ros - Valtari
Really stunning atmospheric music. Yes, you are never sure what he is singing, but just stunning. 

>> Once: A new Musical
I really loved the film, so when in New York, it made sense to try and see the musical.  The songs are pretty well the same, but it is just a beaut story, and the performers (who sang, and played the music) were great. I really hope it comes to Australia, but don't really see it happening.

>> U2 - U22 (Songs from the U2360 Tour)

I didn't actually see any concert of the last tour live, so this is an excellent document from the tour. 

The book has Adam talk through the tracklisting and some pretty awesome photos.  On the track-list side of things, while it is a little light on the songs from the No Line.. album, it more than makes up for this by including some of the surprises from the tour Love Rescue Me, One Tree Hill, 'The Unforgettable Fire', and Zooropa.  The version of 'I Still Haven't Found' with a flugelhorn is beautiful. I can't wait for the next album, and maybe I'll try and see them again. Stay tuned for a post about my 15 favourite U2 songs.

Toronto - Canada

After our time in Boston, we flew up to Toronto, mostly to catch up with our friend Alida, who had been in Australia for a couple of years. It was really wonderful to catch up and be shown around Toronto.  It was definitely a highlight of our trip.

Niagara  Falls

Niagara Falls

Falls Ave, Niagara

The other huge highlight was the day we spent driving to Niagara. The falls were absolutely beautiful. Once we looked at the falls we then walked up the main street of the town which was quite touristy & tacky. We drive along the river, stopping a the whirlpools and the floral clock, before heading to the township of Niagara by the Lake (which is less touristy, and similar to some of the towns you would find the the Australian Wine regions. 

We did some wine-tasting in the region which was really lovely; the pick of the wineries we went to was Colaneri (and we also tasted a bit of Ice Wine, which was quite enjoyable).  

Toronto

Toronto

I didn't know before I left that Toronto has an island just off the coast. Was lovely, to walk around a peaceful island, so close to the city.  After the left the island we went to see an episode of Strombo be filmed. Strombo is a show of interviews, while we were there  George Strombopolous interviewed Olympia Dukakis and Enrico Colantoni. He was an excellent interview, and following the show he did a Q&A, and said one of the key things about interviewing, is listening to the answers so you can ask meaningful follow-up questions.  One of the interviews I would have like to have seen live was this one with Nazanin Afshin-Jam - an Iranian, living in Canada

Museum Station,
Toronto

Rogers Centre,
Toronto

We then went up the CN Tower, and had some wonderful views over the city and surrounding region.  The Glass Elevator, and Glass floor were quite cool.  :)

On the following day, we flew back down to New York for the final few days of our trip.  Toronto Airport, has a terminal where the flights to the USA depart from, and you actually clear customs & enter the US before getting on the plane. Perhaps there is something here for flights between Australia & New Zealand. Not sure I'd hold my breath though. 

I really loved Canada, and hope to get back some-day soon. 

New Hampshire / Boston

Back to our trip. We said good bye to New York for a spell and had a great little train ride up to Boston. It was quite beautiful country, but quite built up in places. We were met at South Station and driven up into the beautiful New Hampshire countryside by one of my mother-in-law's school friends, and it was a nice change for us to have a tour guide taking us around there home. We had a good drive along the NH coastline, and one of the old settlements.

Harvard & MIT

MIT, from the Prudential Center.

On our last day with Ag & Paul, we went and explored Harvard, which was busy preparing for graduations. Paul showed us around Harvard (and as he is an Alum, we were able to go into the main library, and saw one of the first Gutenberg Bibles which was quite a treat). After that we walked around MIT, which has one of the more interesting buildings you will see. We also enjoyed having a walk around their Museum just before it closed.  Boston has a large number of Universities, and many of them had graduations while we were there. 

Another couple of random experiences we had, was going to the studio Click & Clack (a car radio show) is broadcast from at Cambridge and having a photo with Barack Obama (at least a cardboard cutout). We also had lunch in a Pizza restaurant in Portsmouth which has drawings from its guests in their menus. So, if you do go Portsmouth, and see a drawing from a Sydney-sider - that may be me.

Boston

Boston

We really loved Boston, it is just a beautiful city. Walking through the city, you walk through the history of America. Very different to New York, with all of its tall skyscrapers. Boston has so many smaller red brick buildings. We walked the freedom trail while we were there, learnt that the American's didn't win their independence because of their superior tactics, or because the British Soldiers wore Red Coats.  We walked past the balcony where MLK gave one of his key speeches and the balcony where the American Declaration of Independence was read out. Apparently Ho Chi Minh worked in one of Boston's hotels; wonder how different history would have been if he had stayed there.  We had an retired history teacher as a guide, which made me pause to think about what my next career could be.

Fenway Park

The other highlight was a visit to Fenway Park. While I couldn't do a tour (all booked out), it was worth walking around the ball-park. The slight error we made in planning the trip is that while we were in New York, the Yankees (and Mets) weren't, while we were in Boston, the Red Sox weren't, and yes, you guessed it, the Blue Jay's were in New York while we were in Toronto. 

One of the other tours you can do in Boston is in an old WWII amphibious landing vehicle, which travels on the road & on the river. The guide was seeking to bring the sixties back and filled his talk with dry humour. The brochure we got from Duck Tours is a hoot, they have an excellent range of guides all with really distinctive (quirky) personalities. 

Prudential Center

During our stay in Boston we went up the Prudential Center, which is the tallest building in Boston, which gave us opportunities to see the distinctive buildings from above, and it was also a great way to see the layout of the city. Boston is a strikingly beautiful town. The photo's of the city in this post, were taken from this building.

Salem

"I am innocent, I am wronged"
Salem Witch Trial Memorial

Salem Witch Museum

We finished our time in Boston by taking the train up to Salem. The town originally one of the key ports of the state, but made (in)famous through the Witch Trials of 1692 (and in a few episodes of Bewitched I hear).  Really enjoyed our visit to the Salem Witch Museum. There are not too may papers from the trials so the "exhibits" are an audio account of the trial, and then a guide speaks about the history of witches since then. Making the point that witches are misunderstood. Additionally making the link between fear leading the scapegoating. A really worthwhile museum. The staff of the museum are planning to put on The Crucible later this year, which reminded me I definitely need to see it.

After Boston, we headed up to Toronto, but more about that later.

New York, New York

We recently returned from a three week break in the USA and Canada, spending time in New York, Boston, Toronto (with a couple of nights in New Hampshire). We'd broken the trip up, beginning and finishing in NY, and  hitting New Hamsphire, Boston, and Toronto in the middle. the first New York section is the subject of this post.

How much has airline travel and inflight entertainment changed. Gone are the days of one screen displaying movies on a cycle, now you can chose watch you watch, and can select from new releases; Oscar winners, old favourites and 'world-movies'. The stand out two on the flight over were Hugo and the new Australian film "Any Questions for Ben?". 

It really does hit you how far away Australia is; 14 hours to LA, then another 4 to NY. Can't fault the Qantas ground-staff in LA, they really made the process of making the connecting flight seamless. Sure it took two hours to get through immigration, deal with the luggage and get to the gate, but we would have had to tried pretty hard to miss the plane.

One thing I'd love Qantas to do, is give you the opportunity to listen to the pliots speak with the Control Towers (and other planes). Fascinating.  I enjoyed "SkyCam" on the flight home, but that's getting ahead of myself.

Overall impression.. 

Filming on 50th Street.

I have now been to New York three times, and each time I have enjoyed the visit more. The first impression you get is the size of the city, and it hits all your senses, the distinctive smells, noise of the traffic, and scale of the buildings. It is true that they are filming something in New York every day, and streets will be closed. While not doing any specific tour, we ate the Soba Nippon, which is apparently one of the characters in SITC had their first date.  

The MET

The Met, NY

The highlight of the first section was going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The scale of the Museum is stunning. You will see art & displays of art from almost every continent & period of history. Even if you spend a week there, I doubt you would see everything. We saw Arms & Armour from medieval Europe, Feudal Japan & the Islamic World, visited some American Houses, glimpsed more varieties of musical instruments than you can imagine. (I almost wanted to take the Pipe organ home for Barneys).

United Nations

I also went to the UN the last time I was there. We were both struck, by the disconnect between the ideals of the UN, the Declaration of Human Rights and the Millennium Development Goals and how you see them in the real world.  The UN displays gifts the member countries give them. The exhibit pictured, was from Colombia, where confiscated firearms have been modified into guitars.

Once

I am a huge fan of Glen Hansard, so the opportunity to see the musical version was too good to pass up.  The musical was held in the Jacobs Theatre. One of the highlights was the bar was on the stage (the bar is part of the set, but was operational too.. so yes, you did go up on stage to get your drinks).

What was really cool about the show was while people were getting their drinks, the cast came out on stage and started playing songs. All of the cast not only sang, but played an instrument.  It really captured the feel of busking. The musical captured the film quite well. If you have seen the film you'll know most of the songs. The cast do an a-capella version of  'Gold' which is beaut.  Cristin Milioti & Steve Kazee where great as the guy & the girl.  Once deserves to do well in the Tony Awards (held Sunday in the US). I do hope that Australia gets to see Once

Empire State Building

Looking Downtown from the ESB

I think to really see New York you have to get to the top of the Empire State Building. We went up a dusk, and basically went straight up to the top.  Such a magical view.

Greenwich 

Another of the highlights was doing one of the Food Tours (by Foods of NY), where we got the eat some of the real great NY food - original NY Pizza, a variety of cheeses, some beaut Arancini. We also got to taste some awesome Olive Oil. The tour guide also talked a little bit of the history of New York and the area which was great. Adding to the feeling that you were walking through a movie set, we saw the apartment building used for the external shots in FRIENDS.

That, I think, sums up the first few days in NY.

The Voice..

Like a majority of Australia, I have been taken with the Australian version of The Voice.  The blind auditions were initially what really grabbed me. The singer would walk up onto stage, the music would play, they would start singing. Then the judges would turn around (or not), and the contestants would be faced with a choice of whose team they would be on.  There was something in the fact the the singer would solely be judged on their voice (and I guess whether they connected with the audience).

I suspect they also try and listen for a voice which they can work with. Would also be interesting to look at the number of male/female voices in the two teams, and the number of singers in different genres who get through

It then started to intrigue me; if you were to look through your music collection, and put you favorite bands singers into the context of the game show. Who would make the judges spin around. Putting it another way, when you listen to your i-Pod on random, what artists and songs make you stop what your are doing and pay attention.  

When I was listening to a CD this morning, the voice which made me stop was Andrew Bird (and the song Lusitania), you can watch him sing here.

On another note with i-tunes and i-pods it seems that the days of albums are numbered. Yet, Leonard, the Lonely Astronaut, is a classic concept album and tells a wonderful story through really great songs.  Read an interview with Andrew Osenga on the Rabbit Room Website.

A review of the album is here. Unfortunately, you now have to wait until our Spring to buy it.

the "church"

Recently I have been reading a number of posts on why they left the church (see these two - by Rachel Held Evans & Kim Van Brunt).

I have been struck by these posts, as my experience of church has been different. I suspect that it is the community which has made my experience different. A community of people who are walking the same journey, who are sharing life's joys and struggles, and who are willing to wrestle with you to understand what God's word means for us and our world. 

It is a shame but this is not everyone's experience and we need to listen to those who leave 'the church' and find out what we can learn from their experience, recognising that they are not necessarily going to walk back through the door, as the 'damage has been done'. 

I think there is also something in the claim that the church is more concerned about what happens in our bedrooms; than who is living on our streets. In the political sphere, there also appears to be an unwritten rule that Christians should vote Liberal, not Labour (and definitely not Green - which I do kind of understand). It has certainly given me pause to reconsider my politics. As an aside, I am also disappointed with Federal Labour. (Aside: I think we also need to learn how to disagree with each other & make our case to the world)

A few other good books to read to explore why people leave church (and some of the lessons we should take) are:

• A churchless faith: faith journeys beyond Evangelical, Pentecostal & charismatic churches - Alan Jamieson (mainly looks at NZ)
• The Market Driven Church - Udo Middelmann (on how the church is adapting some behaviours of the market & popular culture).
• Quitting church: why the faithful are fleeing and what to do about it - Julia Dunn (from the US).

And one I haven't read which sounds good is You Lost Me: Young Christians are leaving Church and Rethinking faith. There are some stats about Australia's churched and unchurched here. I am also excited by the prospect of reading some of Rachel's thoughts if she decides to write a book on this topic. 

March / April Readings

Here's a short list of what I have read during March/April.

• Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games - Found it an easy to read & well paced. Looking forward to the next two books.

• Teju Cole - Open City - Like Teju's style of writing. The story is around the reflections of an African man in New York. Its rally quite well done, I love the description of Maher's 9th Symphony, how he describes New York & her people.

• Rachel Held Evans - Evolving in Monkey town (reviewed in a separate post)

• Amin Maalouf - Disordered world - just started this - and a key point the author makes is - how both [the Arab world & the west] have both reached the limits of what they could achieve as separate civilisations ... what I resented most about the Arab world was its lack of moral conscience, and what I resented most about the west was its propensity to turn its moral conscience into an instrument of domination".

Sport in brief

Haven't written too much recently, but now that we are two rounds in the AFL Season, a few reflections:

• Round 1 was a fantastic advertisement for the game; and though I didn't see it, today's game also was a corker.
• It will be a tough year for GWS & Gold Coast. They both may win games, but it will be a few years more before they challenge for the Top 8. Comparing the game between Hawthorn and Geelong today & the games the Giants and Suns played yesterday highlights that point.
• I'm not changing my allegiances to GWS but I'm glad we have a second team in Sydney.  So I do hope they go alright this year & into the future. Sheedy is a great asset there.
• So far so good for the Swans, though I'm a little bit concerned they don't seem to be able to put teams away. 

Three other points:

• I'm enjoying the performances of the Hurricanes so far this year. They are an unpredictable team, but so far, so good. 
• And on the NRL, I'm not sure where last years Warrior's went, but hope they show up soon. 
• Good luck to the Breakers too, attempting to go back-to-back in the Basketball Finals.