Twilight Ponderings

Great Aussie Firewall claims first victim...

2009-03-19T09:32:00.001+11:00

Anti-abortion website placed on blacklist

And Whirlpool is fined $11,000 dollars a day for posting the link on its website.

Welcome to censorship 101!

Disconcerting: American Evangelical Christianity

2009-02-27T19:08:00.000+11:00

The Exile's Saga: Update 1

2008-12-11T08:34:00.003+11:00

Notes: 50 pages, 17,754 words
Book 1: 10 pages, 4,655 words

This is going to be a pretty epic fantasy series. I initially decided to call the series 'The Exile's Saga', but then after a bit of Googling discovered that there's already a series out there with a similar name. So now I'll have to think of something a little different. Oh well.

Anyway, I originally started the basic story to this quite a few years ago, just writing whatever came to my head. Then I put it aside for quite a while (we're talking 7-8 years here), but I've now decided to return to it and flesh it out. It's been really good as ideas have been flowing freely and I now have a basic plot outline for the entire series, plus a more in-depth outline of the first half of book 1.

How many books will it be? I'm not sure, as I'm following several plot threads and many characters. Initially I've split it into nine parts, although it may be more or less depending on how things pan out and how much attention to detail I put in there.

I'm going to update this blog as I progress through writing. At the moment I really want to keep focusing on the notes, putting the rest of book 1 together and drafting together a history of the land our heroes find themselves in. Either way it's exciting times!

Prostitutes go in before priests

2008-12-11T08:12:00.001+11:00

Another gem from John Piper

I went and saw 'Australia'...

2008-12-09T15:56:00.004+11:00

Terrible. Absolutely awful.

Too long, too boring, bad acting, full of mistakes, unrealistic CGI...

(WARNING: spoilers follow)

But the worst part was the end of the droving. It's decided with two groups of cows racing down the docks trying to be the first onto a ship.

I'll say that again. One of the 'highlights' of the film is watching two cattle herds race down a wharf and onto a boat.

Honestly, I'm pretty sure that the ending of Homeward Bound was more exciting. How are we supposed to get excited and worked up about a freakin' cow race?!?!

The only half decent part of the film, after you've numbed your butt through an hour and a half of the cow sub-plot, is the bombing of Pearl Harbour and subsequent rescuing of the orphanages. Even so, it follows all the standard movie cliches, with the self-sacrificing friend of the hero, the last-minute reuniting of hero and heroine, and a final threat that is foiled by the deus ex machina. Yes, the ending of this film is so absurd, and the worst part is this: they believe someone has been shot. But the trigger was never pulled because the bad guy got speared. So where did the sound of the gunshot come from??? Why did the fall to the ground and lie prone?

(END SPOILERS)

Now I'm just making myself annoyed. Plenty of people liked it. It's my recommendation that you wait for the rental, because there is no reason to pay big bucks to see it on the big screen. Our party ended up paying over $70 combined for cinema tickets only to decide that a $7 rental would have been a much better option... but the film still would have sucked.

2008-12-08T08:26:00.000+11:00

Clive Peachy, a bricklayer, who saw two-year-old Abigail Rae walking down the road after she had escaped from her nursery school in Warwickshire, he did not stop and help her because he thought people would think he was trying to abduct her. The result? She drowned in a pond.

Have we become too afraid of touch?

Lack of Joy IV: You are free

2008-11-24T11:17:00.003+11:00

When Satan tempts me to despair,
and tells me of the guilt within,
upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end to all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
my sinful soul is counted free;
For God, the Just, is satisfied
to look on him and pardon me.
to look on him and pardon me.

If you are in Christ, you are freed from your sin. Sometimes a lack of joy is Satan tempting you to despair with feelings of guilt over past sin. But you are free. Christ has died for those sins. They now have no power over you. They now cannot separate you from God. This struck me on the weekend when we sang this song at a wedding. Unbidden, tears spring to my eyes. I've struggled so much with guilt, but God, the Just, is satisfied to look on Christ and pardon me.

I'm not one of those 'Love Thy Neighbour' Christians...

2008-11-21T10:42:00.002+11:00

Classic from the Onion...

Lack of Joy III: Rejuvenation

2008-11-20T08:15:00.002+11:00

I think that sometimes one thing we need in order to recapture true Christian joy is a little rejuvenation. Have you noticed how you feel after going to a Christian conference or camp for the weekend. I know that whenever I go to MTS Challenge or the Tasmanian Leadership Conference, I come back keen, eager, and joyful.

Why is this? Well I think it's putting aside some time to really focus on Christian issues, surrounded by other serious Christians who also want to learn. These kind of conferences tend to weed out the semi-committed who are only doing as much as is convenient for them. What's there instead are lots of people who want to glorify God, and it's being surrounded by those people that is a real encouragement.

Also, I think that it's great to be challenged every now and then. The speakers at a conference can be relatively sure that their audience is a Christian one, and so they seem to be prepared to be much more interested in challenging preconceived notions and really pushing you to live for Christ's glory, more so than you might get away with in church. I know if I said some of the stuff I've heard at a conference talk in front of church on a Sunday, people might get angry because they don't want to be challenged like that. I know that shouldn't stop us as preachers, but we need to be able to guide lovingly as well without driving people away.

So there's one solution anyway. It would be great if we could come away from church and growth group feeling like this every week. I think that's probably how we should be coming away from church and growth group. But unfortunately that's not always happening (maybe because of a lack of the above).

Lack of Joy II: A False Solution

2008-11-13T11:41:00.004+11:00

At this point the logical step for Christians tends to be a statement like:

"This is because people aren't living in relationship with God the way that they are created to. Once they come to know God through Jesus, they will find true joy."

However, I don't think that this is totally convincing. It makes a mockery of those who truly believe and strive for a relationship with God, but don't feel joy. Some people then tack on:

"As God changes you to be more like Jesus, you'll be living the way he wants and then you will find true joy."

However, this also doesn't gel completely. Our sinful nature constantly strives for what is evil. A person who is trying to lead a righteous life can still not be happy when they see something sinful and think "I want a part of that." People who have been living good lives can still fall away because they get trapped into a life of sin (even Paul's two companions mentioned in 2 Timothy) while looking for happiness.

I think the answer is something deeper.

Lack of Joy I: A problem

2008-11-13T11:35:00.002+11:00

I was thinking about Christian joy this morning, and why people seem to struggle sometimes to be joyful. It's quite easy to say "Rejoice in the Lord always", but quite another thing to actually live it out day by day, particularly when circumstances are against us.

A lot of the time unhappiness comes from two things: not-having, and having. Let me explain:

Not-having tends to bring unhappiness. It's when someone isn't happy because they don't have something, like money, power, influence, sex, boyfriend/girlfriend, etc. People in this situation are unhappy until they get what they want, which unfortunately tends to lead to phase two:

Having tends to bring unhappiness. We put so much stock in a thing making us happy that when we finally get it we realize that it doesn't really give us any lasting happiness. So we look for more (e.g. sex), or move on to something else that we think that will make us happy. And so the vicious cycle starts again.

Wouldn't it be great if there was something that could make us perpetually happy?

Getting fit

2008-11-12T15:06:00.002+11:00

Went for a forty minute run last night around the streets of Kingston, starting with tackling Hutchins Street once again. I'm getting quite pleased with my fitness levels, and seeing my body fat levels drop at the same down (now <13%) is a great motivator. Of course, lugging around a few less kilos means that my legs are loving it too.

When I was running down Maranoa Road there was quite a bit of police activity. Soon I found out why when one of them approached me and asked if I'd seen someone running away in blue overalls and a white cap. Apparently they had robbed the Woolworths service station just a few minutes beforehand: unfortunately I was unable to help, as I hadn't seen them. The rest of my run was completed with police cars roaming the streets obviously looking for the guy. I don't know if they found him, but strangely there's nothing on The Mercury's website about the whole thing. Hopefully they got him.

Just got back from gym and looking forward to grabbing a late lunch. A footlong Subway Melt would go down great right about now... see ya!

Missionary Work...

2008-11-07T08:09:00.000+11:00

Rain rain go away

2008-11-06T14:40:00.002+11:00

Guess I won't be going for a run tonight.

Creativity

2008-11-05T21:23:00.002+11:00

A week or so ago I made the decision to cut TV shows out of my daily schedule. Apart from news shows (luckily this includes The Daily Show and The Colbert Report), I'm determined to instead spend my time following other pursuits.

Fortunately this has really seen my creative side come out, something that I haven't seen in a long time. Right now I'm working on a writing project, which I'll reveal more about when it's a little bit more complete. For now I'm doing lots of reading, to inspire me and learn from other great writers. Ideas have been coming thick and fast and I'm excited about where it's heading... for now.

So feel like being creative? Try giving up on the TV for a few weeks... you'll be surprised how much spare time you actually have.

The silliest thing I have read all day...

2008-11-05T16:00:00.001+11:00

The election results really saddens me. Nonetheless, I'm reminded of the words in 1 Kings 19:18: "Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel — all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him."

We are part of that remnant.

Who writes this stuff?

US Election

2008-11-05T08:33:00.002+11:00

I've been following a few conservative blogs over the course of the election. One of the weird things that I've seen have been Christians saying that George W Bush has been a fantastic president, in part because of his party's stance on abortion (Dan J Phillips goes so far as to call him "brilliant and visionary"). The overwhelming issue for these people seems to be that abortion must be made illegal at all costs, because it's killing LIFE.

Can anyone explain to me why the approximately 90,000 Iraqi civilians killed since the start of the war don't count as LIFE? Please, if you consider yourself to be pro-life (as I do), spare a thought for those who have died.

Calorie cycling (shifting)

2008-10-29T10:48:00.002+11:00

What is calorie cycling? It's a way of changing how many calories you take in over the course of the week in order to trick your body into keeping its metabolism going. This means your body doesn't go into starvation mode on a weight loss program, which causes plateaus.

I'm trying one right now. Currently the caloric breakdown is:

My maintenance level: 2500
My weight loss level: 2000

Mon: 2000
Tue: 1900
Wed: 2600
Thu: 2000
Fri: 1900
Sat: 1800
Sun: 2600

This plan takes into account exercise as well, so for example on Monday if I'm burning 500cal at the gym, I'll take in 2500 calories over the course of the day (mostly this is the extra pre- and post-workout nutrition).

In other news, last night I tackled Hutchins Street again on my run, which I'm quite happy with. I managed the hill and then another 25 minutes of running around the streets afterwards. It's funny to think that a month ago I couldn't even make it to the top of Hutchins St without needing to stop for a break...

Hating people

2008-10-25T18:14:00.002+11:00

I caught the tail end of United 93 while flicking away from the international rules game last night. It was the part where they storm the cockpit just before the crash. I found that my emotions were very raw watching it.

Above every other emotion was an intense loathing and hatred for the hijackers. I found myself hoping that they had suffered as they died, and found satisfaction in the fact that one day they will realise that they had it wrong all along, and instead of their 'reward' they will be separated from God for eternity.

I know that I shouldn't feel like that. I know that despite what they have done, anyone deserves a chance at salvation and needs to know what God has done for them through Christ. And yet it's hard for me when I have such an extreme hatred of them for wanting to kill so many others.

Twisting scripture

2008-10-24T09:51:00.002+11:00

One of the things that really annoys me is when people take a passage from scripture and twist it to fit their meaning. For example, I got an email from an American friend with an article where one Christians describes why they wouldn't vote for Obama. Within the article was this quote:

In the past when the Lord brought someone with the beliefs of Obama to lead a nation it meant one thing - judgment.

Read 1 Samuel 8 when Israel asked for a king. First God says in 1 Samuel 1:9 "Now listen to them; but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will do."

Then God says

1 Samuel 1:18 " When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day." 19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles." 21 When Samuel heard all that the people said, he repeated it before the LORD. 22 The LORD answered, "Listen to them and give them a king."

The problem with this is that the passage is not addressing the type of king that is chosen over Israel. Rather, God is condemning them for wanting a king, when he was supposed to be the one ruling over them! But Israel instead decided that they wanted to be like the nations around them, and so God gives them a king but warns them of what life will be like under a king. Note that this applies to Saul, David, Solomon and thereafter.

Add this to the fact that this passage, in context, it about the leadership of God's people, and you should be able to see that God's people are not a nation anymore (not America!), but people from all nations who are a part of God's worldwide church.

All in all, we should pray for our leaders, whoever they might be. But twisting a passage of scripture in this way is not on in my mind.

Two other favourites:

1. "Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit" used to argue why smoking and tattoos are a sin.
2. My parents suggested that the "mark of the beast" passage from Revelation means that a one-world currency will hail the coming of the antichrist. We had a great discussion about that.

Any other twisting of scripture passages that you hear frequently?

Finally!!!

2008-10-22T20:27:00.002+11:00

5/2	TBA	Brisbane, Australia
5/6-7	TBA (with Symphony)	Sydney, Australia
5/9-10	TBA	Perth, Australia

http://www.airsupplymusic.com/tour.html

Hopefully it doesn't get cancelled this time...

Pro-what?

2008-10-20T15:43:00.002+11:00

I wish that some people would do some research on the difference between pro-choice and pro-abortion.

ISP-level filtering

2008-10-20T13:29:00.001+11:00

Mark Newton from Internode gives a fantastic argument why the government's proposed internet filter is such a bad idea here.

Supplements: Whey Protein

2008-10-17T16:19:00.002+11:00

I thought I'd start on a few posts talking about gym supplements, misunderstandings, and what each supplement does. I thought I'd start with protein powders because they seem to be the ones that most people have misconceptions about. In particular I'll talking about whey proteins here, and slower-acting protein blends and casein later.

So what's whey protein about? In short, protein powder is all about delivering to your body the protein that it needs. This is particularly necessary for bodybuilders, who need the extra protein, but it can be applicable to all people, especially those who are looking for a meal replacement while trying to lose weight.

Is protein powder necessary for bodybuilding? No. Someone once asked me if they would build muscle by drinking lots of shakes but not working out. The answer is purely no. There's plenty of protein in chicken or beef, but eating lots of chicken wings and burgers is not going to give you muscle... it's going to make you fat! It's the same with protein powders: any excess calories you take in are going to be processed by your body and stored as fat.

Whey protein is really all about convenience, particularly when your body needs a quickly-absorbed protein. This is important post-workout when your body is seeking nutrients it needs in order to repair your muscles. Protein powders are loaded with BCAAs which are the building blocks of muscle tissue.

Of course, you could get your protein from whole food, but who has time to cook up some chicken breast after going to the gym? It's quick and easy to mix together a shake along with some carbs that are going to help your body recover quickly and easily.

There are two main types of whey protein powder: whey protein isolate (WPI) and whey protein concentrate (WPC). Basically WPI is better refined, meaning it has a higher concentration of protein (normally 27-28g of protein per 30g of powder) with less carbs and fat. It's also absorbed quicker. Unfortunately all the extra refining also means that it is normally more expensive.

WPC is lower in protein (usually 23-24g per 30g of powder) and contains some carbs and fat. It's often known as a "medium-absorbed protein" because it's not absorbed by the body quite as quickly.

So which one is better? WPI is, nominally, but for most people who go to the gym it probably isn't going to matter too much. WPI tends to be more expensive so it's up to the individual to decide if they want to pay a lot extra for the small benefit that they may gain.

All in all, I would suggest that whey protein is an essential part of any serious bodybuilder's supplement shopping list. It's well worth shopping around and finding a brand that both tastes good and has a good reputation. I've tried Musashi WPC for a while, but am going to switch to Redbak WPI because I like the taste and Redbak have a good reputation. Once you find a brand that you like it turns out to be much easier to buy in bulk, and most good brands will offer 2-6kg buckets for a good discount rate.

So if you're serious about building some great muscle, drink up the whey and gain. :-)

Back again

2008-10-17T16:11:00.002+11:00

Well it's been a busy few weeks but things are starting to quiet down finally. Yesterday I flew to Melbourne for the day (left home at 6:30am, got back at 9:45pm), to visit the Microsoft Productivity Centre. It was a great time, particularly talking with guys from Microsoft about SharePoint and some of the capabilities. I know I'm being nerdy but it was great fun to speak "computer-talk" for a few hours with the guys who know a lot.

I've been working on a new running program around my gym schedule while I'm working to lose body fat. I'll give an update on that later, but the schedule is:

Monday: Gym
Tuesday: Long run
Wednesday: Gym
Thursday: Speed work run
Friday: Gym
Saturday: Sprints
Sunday: Rest

So far it seems to be going okay, although obviously I missed out on a run yesterday. For running my route has been from my house up the Hutchins Street hill (this week I did it for the first time without having to stop and catch my breath), around the top of Baynton street, down the back of Lucas Street and a couple of laps of Calvin oval before getting home. Takes about half an hour and I calculated an average speed of about 9.6kph (which I'm pretty happy with considering I'm running up that hill).

So what else is news? Not much. I'll share some random thoughts over the next few days.

Nice little break

2008-10-02T14:27:00.002+10:00

So I've spent a bit of time off ranting... mostly because I was sick last week which left me behind at work and theology study, plus I'm preaching next weekend and still need to write it *eep*.

Anyway, I've started this whole diet thing, which means lots of exercise as well. Good fun but I'm sore all over at the moment. Can't wait for the weekend.

Stay tuned as I've got more to come soon...

I read the blog "pyromaniacs"

2008-09-23T19:31:00.003+10:00

I find them a bit arrogant

Honestly, while they are very keen to complain about just about every evangelistic movement, they don't seem very keen to suggest exactly how to go about evangelism.

"Socialism"

2008-09-23T10:36:00.002+10:00

Why are Christians nowadays so against the redistribution of wealth? Why are they so quick to label it as socialism? Isn't it an inherently Christian concept?

"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.

Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.

Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

What's wrong with drunkenness?

2008-09-22T11:10:00.001+10:00

The Sola Panel has a good summary

The bulk is over...

2008-09-19T12:57:00.002+10:00

... and not in the way I was expecting. I noticed that the thermogenics I've stocked up on for my cut have an expiry listed of 11/08. I figure in order to finish them by then I'd better start the cut immediately. I'm pretty bummed but at the same time my body will welcome some time off (expect for plenty of cardio, of course). Bring on the diet!!!

Phew

2008-09-18T15:49:00.002+10:00

Well it's almost at the end of six weeks of hardcore training and I am beginning to feel the effects of overtraining. I've been taking NO-Xplode before my workouts, which really helps me push my body much more than I ever have before, but for the first time in a long time I'm actually waking up the next morning with my body aching all over.

The positive thing is the amount of growth that I've seen, even in six weeks. I can't wait to get rid of some body fat and have it show through. I was probably too high in body fat when I started, but I was sick of restricting calories and wanted to try something else. Funny how six weeks later I'm sick of food and looking forward to actually eating less, just because the training won't put so much of a toll on my body. Seriously, even the afternoon after training day, my body's had 26 hours to recover and my muscles are still feeling deeply fatigued. I can't wait for the weekend.

So what's to come? I'm tempted to call my bulking phase short at 7 weeks, just because it's taking so much out of me. I'd probably be stopping this week if not for the fact that I'm updating this blog on progress. It's called High Intensity Training for a good reason, as I'm discovering. Thankfully I haven't had any injuries as some other people who have followed the same program have reported.

So after the end of week 8 I will be starting a HST program for the cutting phase. I'm looking forward to it, not least because of the fact that the program begins with ~2 weeks completely off working out. That should give me time to up my cardio and bring my calories down to maintenance level. Once the two week period is over, the calorie restrictions will begin.

Doubtless after a few weeks of that I'll be craving for some more food, but right now my main thought is getting through the last two weeks of HIT without dying.

2008-09-17T09:55:00.001+10:00

1 minute, 6 seconds

Created by Bunk Beds Pedia

Many of you are afraid of the Holy Spirit

2008-09-11T21:09:00.003+10:00

For those who haven't seen Driscoll's 18 theses, number 8 appears to have stireed up some controversy over on The Sola Panel. Considering the absolute frustration I normally get from reading Christian blogs, this was just infuriating.

The interesting thing is that I completely agree with Driscoll. In so many cases it seems the we make the mistake of compartmentalizing the Holy Spirit to 'the guy who gives some gifts but mostly helps us interpret the Bible.' We forget that in Acts 1:8, Jesus is referring to the Holy Spirit when he says "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

The trouble is that the charismatics have come along and spoiled it, imagining that the Holy Spirit gives us 'powers' more akin to Gandalf than the power to preach the gospel with boldness. But the fact remains that many people are afraid to give their lives fully over to the working of the Spirit. Tonight when the topic came up Brian put it best: we have our fleshly selves and God's Spirit working within us. We choose to either give our decisions over to our earthly natures, or the Spirit.

How different would it be if we stopped treating the Christian life as merely an intellectual exercise, but also a spiritual one where the Holy Spirit works in power to transform and change us into a people belonging to Christ who proclaim his gospel to the world!

God and pro-choice

2008-09-11T20:58:00.002+10:00

No, not in that sense. But it's interesting how it is the Christian-conservative view to try and not give people the option to choose to not obey God's law. From teaching abstinence only to rallying against euthenasia and gay rights, if it is against God's law it should be illegal, or at least discouraged.

Interestingly enough, however, this doesn't seem to be God's view. Indeed, he gives us free choice in the greatest choice at all - the choice between salvation or eternal separation from him. God has given us all free will, in both the good things and the smaller things - and we have to deal with the consequences.

Maybe this is why I disagree with such legislation. We can't force Christianity through legislation, but rather by the loving and urgent sharing of God's word with a world that needs to hear it so importantly.

Content

2008-09-10T15:57:00.002+10:00

This blog has been light on content lately. I plan to change that, battling the busy-ness of life and the addictiveness of The West Wing. I hope to have some decent content soon, as there's plenty of stuff I want to share.

Now that song is stuck in my head...

2008-09-10T08:38:00.003+10:00

Source

If this is the way you draw attention to your church, you're doing it wrong. Ever wonder why people think that Christians are so judgmental?

Sarah Palin: Iraq War is "a task that is from God"

2008-09-09T18:08:00.002+10:00

"Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right.
Also, for this country, that our leaders, our national leaders, are sending
[U.S. soldiers] out on a task that is from God. That's what we have to make sure
that we're praying for, that there is a plan and that plan is God's will."

Source

These people really, really scare me.

I'm in a melancholy mood today

2008-09-08T10:46:00.002+10:00

http://community.livejournal.com/scans_daily/5408800.html

I miss Calvin & Hobbes

2008-09-08T10:44:00.002+10:00

Gym progress

2008-09-02T14:49:00.003+10:00

Well it's week 4, I'm just back from gym, my biceps feel tight and I'm only going to workout twice this week as I'm feeling slightly overtrained. Thankfully I had a great workout today and feeling good, so I thought I'd report on my progress halfway through the bulk. Weights do not include bar weight.

Squats (Smith machine): 60kg -> 70kg*
Leg Extensions (machine): 80kg -> 91kg
Leg Curls (machine): 70kg -> 75kg
Dumbbell Pullovers: 25kg -> 35kg
Shoulder Press: switched to machine, 77kg
Seated Rows: 65kg -> 72.5kg
Bench Press (machine): 73kg -> 79kg
Bicep Curls: 35kg -> 40kg
Tricep Extensions: 75kg -> 84kg
Weighted Pull-ups: 68kg -> 79kg
Tricep Dips (weight of plates on lap): 20kg -> 35kg
Calf Raises: 20kg -> 25kg
Abs (Incline crunches): 7kg -> 20kg

* Why are squats less than I originally had? Because I have switched from partial to full squats, and my knee seems to be holding out OK.

Repo Man

2008-09-01T08:28:00.001+10:00

2008-08-28T15:38:00.002+10:00

While browsing through the markdowns section of Koorong today I spotted this book, "War on Terror" by Grant R Jeffrey. Looking for a chuckle, I picked it up and checked out the back cover. I was not disappointed. According to the jacket, 'key features' (yes, that's how it was described) include:

·Compelling evidence Iraq is behind Bin Laden’s attacks on America
·The war on terror against Iraq was prophesied by Jeremiah 2500 years ago
·The nations that support Islamic terror
·Why Islamic terrorists hate America, Israel, and Arab governments

blah blah blah. To read the rest of it check out the book's page on Amazon.

Unfortunately, despite Grant R Jeffrey styling himself as a "prophecy expert", it seems he is more of a Republican policy expert, and with the "compelling evidence" of Iraq being behind 9/11 now thoroughly debunked, I think his prophecies might be slightly off.

For those of you who wish to know more of Grant R Jeffrey's amazing powers of prophecy, I decided to do a little more checking and found he had previously written another prophecy book, "Millennium Meltdown: The 2000 Computer Crisis". The best bits from the official description:

"Grant Jeffrey's new prophecy blockbuster explores the potential of the disastrous Year 2000 computer meltdown that will set the stage for the rise of the world government of the Antichrist.
...
At midnight on December 31, 1999, millions of computers throughout the world will begin to crash.
...
This crisis may set the stage for the coming world government that was prophesied to arise in the last days. The Millennium Meltdown will document the extent of the computer collapse and how dramatically this will impact your life.
This book will outline practical strategies to protect your family from the greatest technological crisis in our lifetime."

It's quite amusing to read the Amazon reviews from before and after January 1, 2000. Strangely enough, the book is no longer for sale on Grant R Jeffrey's official site.

Although I considered laying down the $10 to take the War on Terror book home for a good laugh, I thought it really wasn't worth the cash.

Modern art

2008-08-26T15:46:00.002+10:00

Full-on weekend

2008-08-25T16:02:00.002+10:00

On Friday Ness & I drove up to the MTS Challenge conference in Ulverstone. It all went well, although the sound gear didn't make it that evening due to a car break-down. I was running visuals for the conference and got a nice little card to say thanks. Mikey and Dave both did an excellent series of talks. Didn't get much sleep though, as Ness didn't deal with the cold nights all that well and ended up getting a cold.

We left pretty much straight away on Sunday thanks to the fact that I was preaching at Kingston for the evening service. Left there at 1, was home by 4:30. I got to practice my sermon on the way down, and again in the church office right up until the service started. I was pretty happy with my delivery, and got some positive feedback. I wasn't 100% happy with the content though, but I guess that's what happens when you're pressed for time and still writing it while driving back down from Ulverstone.

Common fat loss myths: part 1!

2008-08-20T09:39:00.005+10:00

1. If I exercise I can eat whatever I want.
This seems to be the most common one floating around there, and the reason why many overweight people sign up for the gym, go for a quick workout followed by consuming three chocolate bars, wonder why the don't lose weight, and then quit. The honest truth is that you aren't burning nearly as many calories as you think during an hour on the treadmill. Fat loss is 80% diet and 20% calories.

If you really want to lose weight then track your calories (use a site like Calorie King) and eat accordingly.

2. To lose weight I should do cardio only
Unless you are doing some form of high-intensity interval training (and you'd know if you were, trust me), the problem with cardio exercise is that you only burn calories while you do it. Once you finish, your heart rate returns to normal and you are back to the way you were before exercising.

Not so with weight training. Because you are working in intervals, lifting a weight then a short rest before another lift, your anaerobic system is worked harder. Your body's metabolism is then raised in order to supply enough oxygen to your body. This continues long after you work out, thanks to a process called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. Any serious trainer will recommend that a combination of both is the best way to lose weight.

3. To lose weight I should just eat smaller portions of what I eat now
Although it's true that you need to eat smaller portions, you need to also change what you're eating if you're serious about losing weight. For example, if you only eat 1500 calories worth of corn chips, you're going to feel hungry pretty often because corn chips are calorie-dense and it doesn't take many of them to get you to 1500 calories.

Instead you need to do a few things. Eat lots of vegetables, because they are low in calories and you can have large servings without taking in many calories. Take in fruit and a fibre supplement to keep your digestive system working. Also increase the amount of protein you take in, because protein is great at making you feel satiated. Finally, instead of eating three larger meals a day, divide your daily food into six smaller meals. This will keep your metabolism going throughout the day and help you avoid snacking.

Strewth!

2008-08-18T13:59:00.003+10:00

What happened to the word strewth? Why is it only used by people over 40? With a proud Australian heritage, I think we should push to bring this word back into common usage. Maybe they could start writing it into the scripts of Neighbours and All Saints. That could work.

Quote of the week

2008-08-18T08:37:00.002+10:00

"In the 21st century, nations don’t invade other nations."

- John McCain, Republican presidential presumptive nominee and long-time supporter of the Iraq war, speaking about the Russian-Georgian conflict.

Source

Why is it...

2008-08-18T08:34:00.001+10:00

...that some people eat off the back of their forks? It's shaped that way for a reason, folks.

Russia and Georgia

2008-08-14T11:15:00.002+10:00

For some interesting reading on the two points of view:

"The War in Georgia is a War for the West" (by Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili)

"Why Russia's response to Georgia was right" (by Russian foreign affairs minister Sergei Lavrov)

After reading the background on Wikipedia as well I am worried about two things:

a) John McCain's immediate support for Georgia. His top foreign policy advisor is a former lobbyist for Georgia. Also, he is friends with the Georgian president. How is this man impartial in the conflict?

b) The media's heavy anti-Russian bias in the west, particularly in the United States.

It's very difficult to get an unbiased account of what's going on, but I'll keep searching...

In other news...

2008-08-13T16:30:00.001+10:00

My running preparations have taken a hit due to the rain (and snow). Hard to train in this sort of weather, and I can't standing running on a treadmill (not that I have one)...

Should we try to legislate the Bible in today's society?

2008-08-13T16:19:00.002+10:00

Following on from yesterday's post on rebuking, John Piper was clever enough to make a very relevant Podcast a week before I posted. Although not specifically on rebuking, I think he sums up things really nicely.

Source

-

Should we try to legislate the Bible in today's society?

It's not inappropriate to seek to apply the Bible, provided that we apply it wisely. And the wisdom lies in realizing that—since coerced faith and coerced obedience are unbiblical—the Bible itself provides the guidance and the ground for making space for a culture in which people have the right to choose which moral elements they will or will not obey. It sound almost contradictory. In other words, the Bible insists that there must not be coercion for every single moral command that it contains.

For example, "Thou shalt not covet." Are you going to make that into a law? No, because coerced non-coveting won't work. It's a self-contradiction. It's the same thing with belief in Jesus. The Bible clearly commands, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." Should we turn that moral religious command into a moral law? No, because a law-constrained faith in Jesus is unbiblical and has no validity. Therefore, in a sense, the Bible shows that we should not turn all of its commands into law.

So your question boils down to, Well, which ones then?

Don't kill? - We all agree on that one. Make that a law.
Don't steal? - We all agree on that one. Make that a law.
Don't commit adultery? - Hmm. Now what about that one?
Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy? - We used to have laws about that.

The way it works practically is that for the laws where we can get overwhelming consensus in the culture we're going to use coercion. The irony is that we believe in using coercion as a culture for the things that don't seem to matter very much. For example, I've got to get all the dog poop out of my back yard or I'm going to get cited, and coercion will be used to make me cut my grass or clean my yard. And yet, we can't use coercion legally to save a baby's life if he is still in the womb.

What we need to do is find those things in the Bible that we believe should be lived by, and then try as Christians—through preaching, teaching, and prayer—to bring about as much consensus as we can. And yet we will not press for the legislating of things where there is massive unwillingness to do it, because we would wind up making coercion the ground of our morality.

Rebuking

2008-08-12T21:26:00.002+10:00

At growth group we are going through the course "Six Steps to Encouragement" by Gordon Cheng. Last night we looked at the topic of rebuking.

One of the most interesting conversations to come up was whether we should rebuke non-Christians. Our conclusion was that while non-Christians need to be made aware of the fact that they are in rebellion against God, that message always needs to go hand in hand with the Gospel. We cannot rebuke a non-Christian for their sin against God because it means nothing to them without a) the Holy Spirit's conviction, and b) a belief that they are answerable to a higher power.

Why, then, are evangelicals with any power (thinking of the big US evangelical Christian lobbies) so keen to spread a brand of Christian moralism? One of the examples I used last night was abstinance education in the US. The evangelicals insist that schools need to teach abstinance instead of safe sex practices and the availability of birth control, thereby leading to the US having one of the highest teen pregnancy (and abortion) rates in the world.

And is it really that surprising? Why are these young people going to abstain without any reasons if they don't believe in God in the first place? Why do those people who are doing this lobbying think that they are doing Christ's work, when they could be proclaiming the Gospel instead?

I don't deny that we need to be sensitive of social issues. But surely teaching a brand of moralism does not endear these lobbyists, and now we see the confusion of non-Christians who have been mistakenly lead to believe that a) Christianity is all about trying to be good, and b) Christian try to tell others how to live their lives.

Isn't it much greater to be telling others about Jesus Christ?

Running

2008-08-11T10:56:00.001+10:00

Never being one to shy away from a challenge, I'm going to train for the Burnie 10 too. Starting tomorrow I'll be running 3 times a week (provided that the weather holds out). The added benefit is that to continue bulking I'll need to eat even more food!!!

Bulking

2008-08-07T15:36:00.002+10:00

It's time to get into a bulking phase again. Starting from next week I'll be doing a full body workout, three days a week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). I've also raised my caloric intake a bit - not by too much, to about 2,500 calories a day, to make sure that I begin growing. I'll probably raise that a bit more next week, maybe to 2,750 calories. Enough to feed the muscle without gaining too much fat.

I'm posting this here in the hope that it will keep me motivated. I'm shooting for about 8 weeks of bulking. For added motivation here are some maximum weights at the start of the program:

Squats - 40kg each side
Chest press - 27.5kg dumbells
Overhead shoulder press - 20kg dumbells
Bicep curls - 17.5kg each side
Tricep extensions - 73kg on the cable
Pull-downs - 68kg on cable

I'll compare numbers in 4 weeks and see if there's any progress!

Signs that won't make you want to go to church

2008-08-07T09:57:00.001+10:00

Find them here

My favourite: "Go Bush Go, Praise the Lord, Pass the Ammo"!

WALL-E

2008-08-05T15:46:00.001+10:00

I am really looking forward to this film.

Like?

2008-08-05T15:38:00.003+10:00

Source

Democracy: Phillip Jensen

2008-08-01T15:37:00.003+10:00

Just after I post about government, I notice the dean has a post up about democracy...

http://www.cathedral.sydney.anglican.asn.au/pages/posts/democracy209.php

Censorship

2008-08-01T15:26:00.003+10:00

http://www.misaustralia.com/viewer.aspx?EDP://1217209400637

I think that as a good Christian I am supposed to be all for this kind of censorship. But I'm not.

1) It's unrealistic, because there is no way that all porn can be blocked. It's only ever going to be "good enough"
2) It doesn't fix the base problem (most kids don't "accidentally" stumble onto bad sites). It's a nanny state reaction rather than letting people make their own choices, and taking responsibility for those choices.
3) It's a way for the government to look like doing something about a problem without actually doing anything specific. Educate, don't censor.
4) I don't trust censorship like this, because there is always an option to take it further. Like if some national security issue comes up the government might decide to block anti-government content "for our protection", and so on. I guess I just don't trust government.

Yes porn is not good for Christians to be looking at. No this censorship will not solve the problem. Educate your children, make sure that them (and you) are not placed in a situation where you might compromise, and don't give such power to government. See also: China.

Relationships...

2008-07-31T15:20:00.003+10:00

I laughed at this one.

Radical Reformission

2008-07-31T14:47:00.003+10:00

I'm currently reading this book. It's by Mark Driscoll, and I love his writing style. I've already read his "Confessions" book, and this one is great for putting the stuff from Confessions into practice.

I've long felt that we need to find a way to engage with the culture that we find ourselves in, and Mark Driscoll seems to have a heart for these people. For those who haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it.

Why is that?

2008-07-31T14:42:00.002+10:00

Why is it that kids of dutch parents will often use a short dutch phrase (like saying 'enjoy your food' or 'thanks' in dutch), and then act like you should be impressed that they know some dutch words?

I've always wondered why that it. Maybe I just notice it now I'm married into a big dutch family. :-)

2007-11-09T14:57:00.000+11:00

Classic comment from This story

Latham: "I expect a Labor administration to be even more timid, more conservative."

Howard: "... Mark Latham says that we all expect, we all hope, that it will be a lot more, he uses the word 'progressive', I use the word 'radical', a lot more radical if the Labor Party gets in."

So conservative = progressive = radical. There's that whole damn semantic thing again.

I'm sorry I read this article (but I don't apologise for it).

Protect your privacy on Facebook

2007-11-09T13:04:00.000+11:00

Check it out here

OK I'm going back to analyzing the latest election news...

Would Jesus Mosh?

2007-10-15T14:51:00.000+11:00

http://www.ransomfellowship.org/articledetail.asp?AID=249&B=David%20John%20Seel,%20Jr.&TID=4

A few quick responses off the top of my head (I'll write something a bit more substantive later)...

Mostly the arguments seem to be as follows:

1.The music itself is considered to be “Christian” – this is an incorrect argument often used. The music is not an attempt to praise God (like Church songs) – instead a “Christian” band is usually just that – a band made up of Christians. The reason why people listen is because they can listen to the music that they like without being exposed to the swearing and other bad themes that come out of mainstream bands (in many other genres of music)
2. “The musical emphasis is on volume, power, and intensity. Melody and harmony are virtually absent. It’s a cacophony of rhythm, screaming electric guitars and angry voices. Vulgarity is made public and is celebrated. It is a defiant rejection of all moral demands.” Huh? Wasn’t this said about The Beatles 40 years ago? There is plenty of both melody and harmony in heavy metal. Sure some bands use it to reject authority and push their own world view – just as Janis Joplin used the blues genre (is that considered evil as well?)
3. Moshing is bad – I’m not sure where this comes from. According to his arguments, “Raw physicality and self-inflicted pain are dominate themes. The testosterone level is palpable… Bruised and bloodied bodies leave concerts high on animal carnality and social disregard.” The same argument could be used to say that rugby would make Jesus cry.

By the way - the guitarist from Korn is now a Christian, and no longer with the group.

Plenty to think about here:

2007-10-12T09:57:00.000+11:00

http://www.alternet.org/module/printversion/64873/?type=blog

How do we reach out to a world like this? Yes, this isn't just limited to America.

From the article...

"There's a surprisingly unified sense between young adults, both inside and outside the faith, that the divisive, judgmental authoritarianism that's dominated Evangelical Christianity for the past 30 years has run its course. Furthermore: the "insiders" (as Barna terms Christians) see the same issues and agree with many of the criticisms as those on the outside -- and are openly talking about taking their theology in some new directions. There's an emerging sense that it's time to let go of the harsh legalism that's defined American Protestantism for the past three decades, and return to something more like the Social Gospel that demanded more of Christians than merely passing judgment on the details of other people's lives."

Chirp Chirp

2007-09-06T16:04:00.001+10:00

With this wedding thing happening it's going to get pretty quiet here. Be good kids, and see you when I get back!!!

My mate pt 2

2007-08-27T08:44:00.000+10:00

For anyone wondering about my mate... they killed him on a Cross, circa 2000 years ago.

The purpose of my post is the frustration that I see in the way that some people judge relationships. In particular I have been struggling with the opinions of people who believe that we should not associate with who would be considered "morally beneath us."

I had an excellent chat with Mikey Lynch at MTS Challenge (will make another post on that later) about loving all people, no matter what their beliefs, background, or occupation. We are called to love people, and share our lives with people. You should keep doing this, despite the judgment you might face from some people who think of themselves as "better" people (Pharisees, anyone).

And yes, I know that you require wisdom, and falling in with the wrong crowd and all that.

Thoughts?

PS: I also want to blog about Christian brotherhood, so if I haven't done it in the next few days, remind me.

My mate

2007-08-21T15:37:00.000+10:00

A little while ago we found out that my mate had gone out and had dinner with a group of his friends. Among the people he had gone out with, one was a prostitute, and none of them were Christians. When his church leadership questioned him about the issue, he said that they were being hypocritical and that he was being a witness to them.

Do you reckon he is showing appropriate behaviour?

Feminine men

2007-08-17T12:24:00.001+10:00

Time for a rant.

What is the deal with girls going for guys who look like women? A few years ago what women wanted was a "manly" man. Chest hair and well toned muscles were great.

Now, apparently the hottest bachelor is Orlando Bloom. Just take a look at him:

Honestly, when I saw the picture the first time I thought it was a topless woman. What is it with the way that women now expect men to be clean-shaven, have their chests and legs waxed, and their hair long? Nowadays it seems like men are supposed to look like women. It's even got to the worrying stage where women are finding guys with chest hair "disgusting".

It's even getting to the stage where men's perfumes and make-up is being promoted - this is a massive concern.

Is it really any wonder that we are seeing more and more girls experimenting with bisexuality - when both sexes look the same no wonder they don't care!

This is a worrying trend because we're taking away the pride of being a certain gender - just as we're telling women they can be proud to be women, we're telling guys that it's not OK to be REAL MEN - they have to be women as well. It's sickening.

If you're a woman, you can fight against this trend by talking to any feminine guys you know and showing them an example of a manly man - I'm happy to be that example as necessary.

And if you're a man, please, start acting like one.

(Obviously Pipi, as a real woman's woman, is excluded from said rant).

Worship

2007-08-08T18:41:00.000+10:00

I was perusing Brittany's blog the other day (linked off Josh and Geo's blog), and found her post on worship: http://alwaysdaretohope.blogspot.com/2007/05/when-worship-was-still-safe.html

I thought I'd add my own musings about worship and why I think so many of us miss the point of what worship really is.

1. What is worship?

How does the New Testament define worship. It may come as a surprise to some that it's not defined as singing and praising God. In fact, worship and praise are actually defined as very separate things. Paul speaks specifically of worship in Romans chapter 12 - a wonderful chapter about serving others. In it he says:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

So we see that, far from being about music and singing, Paul is actually saying that worship is the act of "offering our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God." He goes on to describe what this means: no longer doing what the world wants us to do, but instead choosing to do what God wants us to do. Obedience to God!

He also doesn't limit it to a specific time and place. Rather, we are called to worship God through our obedience to His will at all times, not just in church! We become living sacrifices, giving up of ourselves in order to serve God.

And it's not just God that we serve either. When we think of the word "sacrifice", we are reminded of Jesus, sacrificing himself. This is Christ's act of worship: obedience to His Father, even unto death on a Cross. And you know what? He made that sacrifice for you, and for me.

2. How that changes our attitudes towards each other

Once we realise this, it changes us. We're no longer called to serve ourselves, but we're called to serve God and each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. Look to Jesus as the ultimate example - he offered up his kingship, and ultimately his life, for us! Once we start to realise this, we can't help but follow that example - worship is also about serving each other. Paul continues in Romans 12 to explain how worship works itself out in practical examples:

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 12:10-12

3. How that changes our attitudes at church

Once we realise that we're supposed to be serving each other as Christians, at changes the way we act at church. Brittany describes that in the church, the pastor said that everyone should "worship" the way that they wanted to. She ends by saying "Worship is something between you and God. It doesn't matter what you do or how you do it. Just make it heartfelt and true."

But is this really what our Church services should be about?

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25

The purpose of Christians meeting together in church isn't about some kind of experience between yourself and God. Rather, it's about the encouragement, and building up, of others in the church. Once you realise this, you see that church isn't about you - it's not about what you can get out of church. Rather, it's about what you can give to the people at the church. Wouldn't it be great if everyone at church served each other as acts of worship to God!

4. Worship is about offering my body to God

…offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

In the days before Christ came, God called his people to bring animal sacrifices to him. These were given to the Jewish people as a symbol of Christ’s perfect sacrifice, that would once and for all take away all the world’s sins.

Christ’s sacrifice makes sinful human beings who trust in him, totally pure in God’s sight. We don’t need to offer animal sacrifices anymore – and let’s face it, that’s a relief!

But there’s still one sacrifice that we are called to make – the sacrifice of you and I. In a way, Paul is actually saying “don’t bring a sacrifice – be one.” In response to what God has done, sacrificing his Son, offer your body, your being to Him. That’s the kind of sacrifice that God wants.

But when the passage talks about spiritual worship, it’s not talking about some sort of out-of-body experience. Some churches would have us think that worship is about getting that ‘spiritual high’ – instead of thinking they want energy, and worship is about feelings rather than mind.

But actually, the Greek word translated as spiritual in the passage is actually logikos, from which we get our word logic. Worship is something rational – in begins with the mind.

Worship requires thinking because we need to understand what God has done for us through Christ. If I switch my mind off, I stop thinking about that truth, and true worship can’t then happen.

But it’s not just about the mind. Paul uses the word ‘body’ because worship isn’t just something that happens in our mind. It’s about what I do with my body as I offer it to God – not to myself for my own gratification, but to God for his service.

Have you begun to worship God? I’m not talking about some experience of God’s presence. I’m asking whether you’ve offered your body as a living sacrifice to God. Have you consciously done that? This is worship: the offering of our whole lives to God.

5. Worship is about obedience to God

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

If we are to worship God properly, we must be prepared to stand out and be different. Anyone can sing with great gusto on Sunday, “all that I am, I give to you.” But does it really happen on Monday morning when you’re surrounded by your friends or colleagues who have no desire to worship God.

The test of your worship life isn’t to observe you in Church. It’s how you live throughout the rest of the week. Are you a conformist who fits in with the world? Or are you a true worshipper who obeys God?

How’s your relationship with yourself? Are you full of yourself? Or do you recognise that all of your gifts and abilities come from God?

How’s your relationship with other Christians? Do you make church a priority, or something to go to when nothing else is on? Are you willing to put others first, before yourself, even at times when you don’t feel like it?

How’s your relationship with your enemies? Do you forgive quickly? Or do you nurse those grudges until they become hate? Do you realise how God has forgiven you?

How’s your relationship with authority? Do you obey the law, even when no one else is watching your car speedo? Do you obey your teachers, or your boss?

How’s your relationship with God’s standards? Do you go along with the way of the world, or do you worship God?

To say I’m going to church to worship is as ridiculous as saying I’m going to bed to breathe for a bit. Worship should define the whole of my life. And how different would our church community look if we took this to heart. Worship is about obedience to God in all parts of my life.

So it's true. Worship is something that you do. And everyone does show their worship in a different way. But worship isn't just limited to an hour on a Sunday morning - rather worship is a choice that you make. It's a choice to no longer be conformed to this world, in every area of my life, and instead choosing to follow Christ.

So, am I worshipping God? Do you understand exactly what God has done throughout history, so that I can escape the punishment that I deserve? Have I responded by offering my body, my life to Him? Have I responded by obedience to Him to life, even when it might be difficult? Am I a Jane, who controls her emotions, and a John, who lives for Christ even when the pressure’s on?

No one said that true worship is meant to be easy. I fail every day to offer my life as a living sacrifice. But the wonderful thing is that God is a God of love. He offers His forgiveness.

Jesus has changed everything. There are no holy places anymore. Instead, we’re called to worship throughout our entire lives.

I adapted parts of the above from a talk I did at youth group on the book "True Worship" by Vaughan Roberts. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about what worship is really about - there is a lot more in-depth stuff there.

Top 6 Classic Albums

2007-08-03T09:47:00.000+10:00

In lieu of getting some time to actually write another theology essay, I've decided to list what I think are the top 6 classic albums of all time. They may not necessarily have my favourite songs on them, but rather they are my top 6 because of:

The way that work together as albums. You couldn't take a song away, or add another song, and get the same effect
Consistency. Most albums have a few awesome songs and a few not-so-good ones. I think that a classic album is consistently good through all it's songs
Talent and listenability. The band must be good and create songs that are enjoyable to actually listen to.

And without any further ado, here are my top 6, in no particular order:

Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon (1973)

The quintessential album for any collection, there are not enough words to do this album justice. Poignant, insightful, experimental, and still wonderful to listen to today, this one has really stood the test of time (yes I know it's a cliche, but it's true).

Most memorable tracks: Where to begin. I don't think I can pick any favourites.

Best listened to: Apparently in 1990, Australian radio listeners voted it the best album to make love to. These might be a recommendation if you are married, but if not I would recommend listening with headphones (great walking music) or in the shower. It doesn't really make great ambient background music (it requires attention).

The Who - Quadrophenia (1973)

Probably the greatest rock opera of all time, this one pushed sound technology to the limit upon it's first release, and even today sounds brilliant. Telling the story of Jimmy, a British teenager with four distinct personalities, the music gets you swept up in the world of 1970's England. What's more, it's easy to identify with Jimmy's struggles as a teenager, just as relevant today as it was back then.

Most memorable tracks: The Real Me, Quadrophenia, Is It In My Head, The Rock, Love Reign O'er Me.

Best listened to: With an awesome sound system, preferably with a big subwoofer to enjoy John Entwhistle's superb drumming.

The Beatles - Revolver (1966)

I struggled long and hard as to whether I should put Revolver or Abbey Road on this list, but in the end I made it the top 6 albums just so I could have both. One of the Beatles' most experimental albums, I don't think that I've ever heard songs quite like some of the tunes on this record. I could quite easily put this album on repeat and listen to it over and over throughout the day without ever getting close to tiring of it.

Most memorable songs: Eleanor Rigby (possibly the greatest song ever recorded), Yellow Submarine, She Said She Said, Tomorrow Never Knows.

Best listened to: In the background while working or with dinner guests. It's the perfect ambient album, and one of the few albums that doesn't get better the louder it's played.

Jeff Wayne - Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds (1978)

I remember sitting in the dark room with my brother and listening to this album from start to finish the first time I got it. Featuring a line-up of the biggest names from the 1970's (David Essex, Justin Hayward, Richard Burton, and more), the album retells H.G. Well's classic tale of a war between humans and martians. And yes, it's far, far better then Tom Cruise's rubbish attempt at telling the story.

Most memorable tracks: Forever Autumn, The Spirit of Man, Brave New World, Epilogue Pt 2 (great ending)

Best listened to: in the dark, up loud, where it can really freak you out.

The Who - Who's Next (1971)

Back in the days when this was the hardest that hard rock got, this was the best hard rock album ever. Little has changed today. Everyone knows at least some of the tracks on this album, and not just thanks to CSI. No, this album is powerful enough to blow you speakers, and so rebellious it just might (just kidding). The ultimate teen album of the last generation, it rocks all over the teen albums of this generation.

Most memorable tracks: Baba O'Riley, The Song is Over, Behind Blue Eyes, Won't Get Fooled Again

Best listened to: in the car on a long drive. Particularly for the song "Going Mobile" :-)

The Beatles - Abbey Road (1969)

Although maybe not quite as experimental as Revolver, the Beatles' final recorded album shows the maturity they achieved as a band. Featuring some of the Beatles' most memorable songs (Here Comes the Sun being an example), the album makes us sad that there were no albums after this one - if the Beatles had recorded another one, how much better could it have been?

Most memorable songs: Come Together, Something, Oh! Darling, I Want You, Here Comes the Sun, Carry That Weight

Best listened to: Again, it makes great ambient/mood music.

(Special mention)
Radiohead - OK Computer

Maybe I will be considered a heretic for not having this album in my top lost, but IMHO as great as the album may be, it's just not in the league of the albums above. That's not to say that I don't love the album, but please stop calling it the greatest album ever, because it's not.

Most Over-rated album ever award
Elton John - Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Seriously, why do people think that this is up there as one of the best albums ever? It's got a few memorable tunes, a few boring tunes, and seems an uneven album at best. I bought this album based on the few songs that I liked (because thanks to the RIAA and ARIA you cannot now legally listen to the album before buying unless you can spend an hour in the record store using those stupid headphones), and even then was very disappointed with it. It is now relegated to sitting in my CD cabinet gathering dust.

So there's my list! Controversial? Maybe! I'd be interested to see what other people think, so let me know - what would you put on your list of the greatest classic albums?

Books I've been reading...

2007-08-01T09:05:00.001+10:00

Long awaited, and possibly one of the most hyped books to come out in the past 100 years, I sat down and read this book. Without spoiling anything (I'm sure there's someone out there who hasn't read it), I enjoyed it, although it took such a long time to get going. Once stuff actually happened it was pretty good though.

Unfortunately, I guess some people are going to read Harry Potter over and over without realizing that there is much better fantasy out there. I'd recommend The Belgariad by David Eddings if you enjoyed HP... it's a bit more mature and (IMO) a better series of books.

I'd be interested to see how they are going to make this one into a movie too... bet the screenwriter has a headache already!!!

Apparently this book has inspired every horror film for the last 50 years, and it's not hard to see why. The books deals with the "last survivor" of a plague that has left most humans converted into vampires that can only come out at night. The book deals with his loneliness, his struggles to stay alive, and his seeking a way to cure the plague.

Absolutely loved this book... it's very original, and so relevant it's hard to believe that it was written quite so long ago. As a horror book it's probably not scary, but you certainly feel at times like you are there and going through the same struggles that the main character is. So don't be put off by that cover (the book really isn't like that at all) and have a read.

He also made me fast...

2007-07-29T20:57:00.000+10:00

I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure. -Eric Liddell (Chariots of Fire)

Yesterday I ran a distance of 6K's for the first time ever, beating my previous distance record by about 1.5K. Although it certainly wasn't fast, nor that impressive as distance running goes, it made me remember that God makes us all for a purpose. He's given me the ability to run, and for too long I squandered his gift by getting fat and lazy. But if it gives him pleasure to make me able to run, then I'm going to keep running.

It happens tomorrow!

2007-07-25T16:28:00.001+10:00

I have my tickets for opening night.

I'm glad I don't live in the U.S.A.

2007-07-23T08:43:00.000+10:00

Philosophical question

2007-07-14T21:26:00.000+10:00

What is the graver crime: stealing 10 dollars from a blind beggar's cup, or stealing 10,000 dollars from a billionaire?

No matter how much money you may personally have, you certainly won't want to bet it on* Tasmanian road safety now that I am off my P plates as of today.

*Winner of the Anna Coren Segue of the Week award.

Run-down

2007-07-12T08:46:00.000+10:00

Well it's already almost the end of the week. What a bummer. Normally people would be looking forward to the weekend, but for me I don't think it will really feel all that different from the week.

Yeah, sorry, it seems that I'm feeling a bit run-down at the moment. It's been a heck of a week, with it's good and bad points.

We had state camp on the weekend, which was pretty good. The age range was 15-22, so I ended up feeling so much older than just about anyone else there. It seems like the age limit pushed out everyone who I used to hang around with, and there were only 5-6 people actually in that 22 range. I'd say the majority of guys there were 17-19, which was good but makes mingling that little bit harder.

I was supposed to be co-leading a small group, but my co-leader was sick and couldn't make it, so I ended up with the only small group that had one leader. Most groups had a guy/girl combination, but I was left leading a mixed group by myself, which was interesting. Although in the end it actually worked out quite well - the intro night was a bit quiet, but in the first group study they started opening up, and by the second group study they were actually talking and arguing with each other, which was great. When I finally started looking forward to the final study, it got canceled due to time restraints, a great disappointment. So I felt very happy about that.

It managed to rain for most of the weekend, but the group games did go ahead on the Sunday. I was in charge of a checkpoint so didn't really get to see the other games, but from what I saw the guys had quite a bit of fun. My checkpoint involved people standing in a line from the dam to a bucket and using a sponge to fill up the bucket with water from the dam. The highlight was watching Shaun jump into the dam to retrieve the sponge that had been dropped in, clothes and all. Good times.

The final piece of fun was some joker (I know who you are!) deciding to play "Paradise City" very loudly just after 2am Sunday morning. This meant I went into Sunday with about 4 hours of sleep, which is where everything started going downhill.

Sunday night I had service leading, and everything was going fine until I managed to totally stuff up the closing. I had a nice little closing written down, but decided instead to go more personal and quote the lyrics to a song that I have used as a prayer. But once I got up there I completely forgot the words, stumbled over them, and completely made a fool of myself. Yes, it doesn't seem quite so embarrassing writing it here, but at the time it put me into a deep blue funk for the rest of the evening.

Things didn't improve when I started feeling sick on Monday. I took Tuesday off, and missed out on 2o3. I had to get up at 4am on Wednesday morning to take Ness to the airport, and started feeling much better, so returned to work. That evening I started feeling worse than before, but still had to go pick her up from the airport. By the time I got to bed last night (11pm) I was feeling really crappola, and still do. I'm feeling very much over today.

So right now, I really need sleep. But I'm still soldiering on. Have an interesting post that I want to share here, so will do so when I'm feeling a bit healthier.

Went wedding suit shopping yesterday...

2007-07-04T15:00:00.001+10:00

Jesus or Judgment?

2007-07-02T13:55:00.000+10:00

The other day I was browsing through news.com.au and reading the blog posts in response to an article titled "Australia a nation losing its faith". It was an article about how the 2006 census has revealed that more and more people are straying away from religion.

The comments can be found here: http://www.news.com.au/comments/0,23600,21976369-2,00.html

One comment in particular stood out for me...

Christians have failed to attract people to the church as in Australia it is led be the extreme right. The catholic church never ex communicated Hitler, the SS was started in a Catholic church, and now it is lead by someone who was in the Hitler youth well after the war finished. Further I cannot stand the Church's attack on people who are gay and lesbian, and Jews and anything they disagree on. The Church line is simple, if you are not with us, you are evil. They then go on to attack anyone who does not follow them. There are many good people who are not Christians and do not want Christians telling them what to do in there life.

Although it might be easy to dismiss the posting out of hand, for me it brought up some interesting things to think about. Chief among them is something that has been bugging me for quite a while: when a non-Christian comes to Church, what do they get - Jesus, or judgment?

Judgment is definitely a part of God's ultimately plan for humanity. God is definitely about punishing sin and rebellion. After all, God is perfect in all things, including justice. This means that no sins will go unpunished.

And yet is it the Church's responsibility to be God's "justice machine" in the world?

1. Internal accountability

In a sense we are meant to keep each other accountable, as explained in Galatians 6:1-2:

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

In this way we should gently remind those who are going astray to look toward Christ for redemption (after first making sure that there is nothing in our life that we need to look at, of course!). However, I know that I personally can feel that some people in church miss the word 'gently' - it's incredible sometimes how whispers can spread about the unmarried girl getting pregnant, or even the old people who we avoid talking in front of about going shopping on a Sunday lest we get slapped down.

The other week our growth group watched a film together called "Saved!" The film - a critical look at the pentecostal church culture in the U.S.", in part deals with the trials of a young Christian who becomes pregnant to her boyfriend. Alone and afraid, she feels like there are no Christians in whom she can confide due to their judgmentalism, and instead reaches out to non-Christians for support, people who don't judge her and show understanding.

It made me wonder - how would a young woman coming along to our church feel to find out she has become pregnant? It doesn't just have to apply to pregnancy either - what about the young boy caught stealing from the offering bag, or the middle-aged man who had an affair?

Yes, we have to deal with the consequences of our sins. But wouldn't it be awesome if these people could come to church knowing that they can confess these problems and receive guidance and support? I feel if I were any of the above people I would want to keep my sins hidden from Church people, just because I know that I would have to deal with the judgment and criticism that would come.

Even wearing my Demon Hunter t-shirt to church has been enough to get some dirty looks shot at me from people who believe that I am "violating God's holy place" or some such.

2. External attitude

If I feel uncomfortable by the reactions of Church-goers, as a Christian and a part of that Church, how much worse must it feel to be a non-Christian and face that kind of judgmental attitude?

I am not being exclusive here: I fall into the very same trap. It's very easy for me to look at someone who doesn't have their life all together and think "Well, it's their sin that got them there." Or I look at a rich person and think "Well they're so self-centred and don't give their money away, therefore they're a terrible person."

Why? Well I think it's because we fail to remember that without God's grace, we are exactly the same as them. There are many Christians who struggle through life, does that mean that it is the consequence of their sins? Maybe. Or it could be that they aren't getting the support that they need from their church community.

As for being rich and self-centred... well, I'm afraid that I am rich and self-centred too. I certainly have more money than I need to survive, plus a house to live in. And yet I still find the need to go out and buy a DVD or a new phone for myself. Just because I don't give away millions of dollars doesn't make me any better.

And yet the way that I can act towards sinners sometimes, it's no wonder that they don't feel any desire to come along to Church. I forget Romans 14:11-13

It is written:
" 'As surely as I live,' says the Lord,
'every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will confess to God.' "

So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.

It's not up to me to judge other people. It's up to me to show Christ's love to them, and indeed to all people in the world. I have to realise that without God's grace, I am no different from Joe Atheist on the streets. For too long, I think, church has been a place of judgment rather than Jesus. And yet, if we were about pointing people to Jesus, wouldn't Church be a far more attractive place?

Endnote: I know that people are going to say "You can't go light on the judgment parts of the Bible in order to pull people in!" But I'm not suggesting such behaviour at all. I'm looking at the attitude that we are Christians display toward each other - are we about accepting each other as sinners in needs of God's grace, or are we a 'holiness clique' where all members must meet certain criteria?

Getting to know you 2007

2007-06-26T08:57:00.000+10:00

1. What time did you get up this morning? Stupid o'clock (also known as 7am)

2. Diamonds or pearls? I don't care, but when choosing a gift I would probably go pearls

3.What was the last film you saw at the movies? Pirates of the Carribean 3 (stupid film)
4. What is your favourite TV show? At the moment? Probably Supernatural
5. What did you have for breakfast? 3 Vita Brits with warm milk and a glass of OJ
6. What is your middle name(s)? Murray
7.What is your favourite cuisine? Italian (especially Lasagna!)
8. What is your favourite crisp flavour? BBQ
9. What is your favourite CD at the moment? Norma Jean - Redeemer (metal forever!)
10. What type of car do you drive? Ford Mondeo
11. What characteristics do you despise? Pride, betrayal
12. Favourite item of clothing? My smaller jeans that I can actually fit into now!
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Back to Canada or to Ireland/Great Britain (or anywhere with similar beautiful countryside views)

14. Favourite time of the day? Bedtime

15. What was your most memorable birthday? 21st, that was one big party!

16. Where were you born? Hobart
17. Favourite sport to watch? Cricket, AFL (go the Cats!)
18. Who do you least expect to send this back to you? No one considering it's on a blog...
19. Who do you expect to send it back first? See previous answer
20. Coke or Pepsi? Neither at the moment
21. Are you a morning person or a night owl? Night owl
22. What is your shoe size? 10
23. Do you have any pets? Oscar the cat
24. What did you want to be when you were little? A pilot
25. When is your birthday? March 27
26. Shampoo? Conditioner?

27. Soap? Soup?

28.Summer/Winter? Summer

29. Favourite Advertisement? I really hate all ads
30. Thinking about? Going to the gym

31. Listening to: Anberlin's "Blue for the Black Market"

********** IN THE LAST 24 HOURS ... HAVE YOU **************
Cried? No
Met someone new? No
Cleaned your room? No

Drove a car? Yes, to the gym
How many hours sleep? 8 hours

************* DO YOU BELIEVE IN **************
God? Yep

Yourself? Yep
Santa Claus? Um... no
Destiny / Fate: God's will, sure
Ghosts? A spiritual realm, yes.

********* FRIENDS AND LIFE **********
Who have you known the longest of your friends? Dan
Who do you go to for advice? For small advice, lots of people. For big issues I tend to keep them to myself
When do you cry the most? I don't really cry, but injustice makes me mad

Do you want your friends to do this and send it back to you? No, but they can leave a comment!

Hot Fuzz

2007-06-25T13:15:00.001+10:00

If you haven't seen "Shaun of the Dead" then get off your computer, go down to you local DVD rental or shop, grab "Shaun of the Dead", sit down and watch it, and then come back here.

Welcome back.

Now that you've seen it (or, for those who are reading straight on because they had already seen it), there is little left to do except sit on your hands waiting for the 18th of July. Yes, that it when Hot Fuzz comes out on DVD.

For those who were in the hospital ward throughout the cinema run of this film (because surely that is the only excuse acceptable for missing this film), Hot Fuzz is Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright's follow-up to their insane "romantic comedy with zombies." This time, it's police films that are in their sights, so think "Lethal Weapon", "Bad Boys", or any other cop film that Hollywood has dished out in the last 20 years.

Here's the official description of the film:

Top Police Constable, Nicholas Angel (Simon Pegg) is good at his job, so good in fact, he makes everyone else look bad. As a result, his superiors at the Met have decided to sweep him under the carpet. So it is that London’s top cop finds himself in the sleepy West Country village of Sandford.

With garden fetes and neighbourhood watch meetings replacing the action of the city, Angel struggles to adapt to the situation and finds himself partnered with Danny Butterman (Nick Frost), an oafish but well meaning young Constable. Just as all seems lost, a series of grisly accidents motivates Angel into action.

Convinced of foul play, Angel realises that Sandford may not be as idyllic as it seems. With his faithful new partner in tow, Angel fights to prove his instincts are correct and uncover the truth about Sandford. Is Angel simply losing his mind in the safest, sweetest village in Britain? Or is something far more sinister at work? Whatever the truth, Sandford is about to get a lot less sleepy.

Does that sound awesome or what?

Hot Fuzz very rarely slows down for breath, keeping interest throughout the entire experience. Acting is top-notch (especially Timothy Dalton as an is-he-bad-or-not convenience store owner), and there are of course plenty of references to some of the great cop films.

The bad? Hot Fuzz is pretty violent, and when I went to see it in a two-guy, two-girl group, us guys really enjoyed it, whereas the girls didn't appreciate the more grisly scenes. It's also hampered by a false ending that makes the film a bit longer than strictly necessary.

Overall, however, it's a brilliant movie and I had loads of fun. Definitely worth the cost of a rental, and if you like it I'm sure you'll be able to grab it cheap from Big W in a month or so.

Four stars

Here's how it's happening...

2007-06-21T11:20:00.000+10:00

OK my blog is making a return, and here's my plan for how things will be in the future...

Theological thoughts - I've been putting together some papers that I will put up here for reading and discussion. Some of the topics I've been looking at include Dealing with Loneliness (sprang out of work with a prisoner), The Sovereignty of God (thoughts on JI Packer's book and questions that spring from it), and Biblical Manliness (what Wild at Heart got right, wrong, and what being a man is all about).
Movies - I hope to get on here and share thoughts about some films that I watch. I'd say that I'll do it once a week, except I don't think I'll ever scrape together enough time to watch an entire movie every week. Either way, I'll do my best and put together something interesting for you all.
Random shtuff - classic blog, will post stuff that I find interesting just in case someone else finds it interesting too.

So be on the lookout for the changes!

Things that have happened since I last posted here...

2007-06-19T14:07:00.000+10:00

* Another year has come and is almost half gone.
* I have counted down to less than three months before marriage.
* I have preached a sermon and given two talks at our 2o3 youth group.
* Kevin Thompson resigned over the Tony Mokbel issue
* 8 Months and 6 days; or 248 days, or approximately 5952 hours
* The Playstation 3 is released to overwhelming non-concern
* Eddie McGuire got boned
* I travelled to Melbourne with Ness over the Easter weekend
* The Flinders St shooting
* Anna Nicole Smith died
* The iPhone was revealed
* The Qinghe Special Steel Corporation disaster
* Microsoft released Internet Explorer 7
* Ted Haggard resigned in disgrace
* Sydney, Australia, turned off its lights for 1 hour between 7:30pm and 8:30pm as a political statement for Global Climate Change.
* Pirates of the Carribean 3 is released
* Hitachi broke the one-terabyte barrier for hard drive capacity.
* Two screenshots from Duke Nukem Forever were released
* The Departed won Best Picture (I should watch it)
* The Australian flag is banned from the Big Day Out 2007 (and the ban is ignored)
* The War in Somalia began
* David Hicks pleads guilty and returns to Australia
* The Australian government unveils its broadband strategy
* The second season of The Chaser's War on Everything continues making brilliant TV
* Easter 2007
* James Brown dies
* The Virginia Tech Massacre
* The Great Digg revolt
* Eurovision 2007 was won (and not by Iceland... shame!!!)
* James Kim died
* Geelong have rocked in the 2007 AFL season
* Britney Spears & K-Fed divorced
* I got placed on higher duties at work
* The third season of Doctor Who began in the UK
* Snow Patrol became the first British band to get to the Top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 in 13 years
* Tony Blair resigns
* Heroes season 1 finished
* Alexander Litvinenko was killed
* Windows Vista was released
* Spider-Man 3 was released
* Opeth lose their guitarist
* The Nintendo Wii was released
* I bought a Wii
* Saddam Hussein was executed
* The entire summer cricket series
* Chinese Democracy was given a release date (which was missed)
* The 75th anniversary of the Sydney Harbour Bridge
* Shane Warne retires
* The cricket world cup
* Christmas 2006

How was your eight months? :-)

What's the Christian response?

2006-10-13T14:33:00.000+11:00

Art Teacher Loses Job after Kids see Nude Sculpture

From a Christian point of view, should this incident have taken place? Should nudity in art be acceptable? If so, where should the boundaries be drawn? Is nudity harmful for children? Was the Janet Jackson Superbowl incident blown out of proportion by America's conservitive Christians, or should we be protected from seeing a woman's breast at all costs?

Thoughts, anyone?

Engagement

2006-10-13T14:24:00.000+11:00

Well, on Wednesday the 4th of October 2006, Vanessa and I officially got engaged. It's still kind of strange to think about how much of a whirlwind courtship it was, but we're very sure about what we want so all is good.

Her engagement ring is a yellow gold band topped with eleven diamonds. I've got a matching wedding ring as well, so we're all set!

So Vanessa has been occupying my time lately, but in other news my sermon didn't go ahead because there weren't enough volunteers for Introducing God. This is good for me because I didn't really have time to finish it anyway. Now I have another month!

I've also been listening to a lot of good music lately. I've popped in Pillar's "Where Do We Go From Here" album, which always seems to remind me of the hot days two summers ago when I lived half an hour's walk from the bus stop. I would walk up the Summerleas Road hill while listening to the album in the 35 degree heat. So now whenever I hear the album they bring back strong memories of those walks.

Does anyone else have any particular songs or albums that have strong memories attached to them?

I'm back!

2006-10-04T11:43:00.000+11:00

Yes it's been a long time but I've finally made it back after much prompting and name-calling by Crom...

So what's news? Well I spent a week and a half in Melbourne for an aunt's wedding, and went shopping around Melbourne: Chadstone, central Melbourne, Dandenong, and Highpoint. As well as about twenty CDs and ten DVDs, I picked up a copy of "Faith and Duty", the biography of John Anderson. It should be a good read, I'll post a review once I've got around to reading it. I also got Vanessa a friendship ring, will post a photo when I get one.

I'm preaching at preacher's workshop this weekend, but haven't actually started working on the sermon yet. Things have been crazy busy. I'm putting aside tonight to get a good chunk of it done, so we'll see how we go. Hopefully the parents won't be too much of a distraction.

More to come...

Busy!

2006-08-29T14:54:00.000+10:00

I am no longer single. Therefore I haven't been on here. I'll get around to it once I come down from the clouds.

2006-08-22T09:15:00.000+10:00

Work are sending me to Sydney until Friday night, so I'll see you all when I get back if I don't get a chance to get here until then!

Opens this Thursday...

2006-08-21T16:37:00.000+10:00

I've been waiting six months to see this film! Sounds like campy fun, just like what I enjoy. There's been a heap of hype about this movie, and it's currently got an average of 8.3/10 on IMDB. :-)

Punk party last night...

2006-08-19T11:54:00.000+10:00

Ant had a punk party last night, so I decided to really do something different. Any opinions? :)

While on the music theme...

2006-08-17T16:52:00.000+10:00

Social Theorist are playing at the Trout tonight, at 10pm.

Head over there if you read this in time. They rock! Here's a photo from their set at my 21st:

This is Air Supply

2006-08-17T15:10:00.000+10:00

In April '06 I travelled to Canada to fulfil my dream of going to see an Air Supply concert. Thanks to Air Supply Now & Forever, for my first ever concert I had front row tickets sitting right in front of lead singer Russell Hitchcock.

It was an absolutely brilliant show, during which the band discovered that I had travelled from Australia and I was invited to the stage to shake hands and have a quick chat with them during the show.

My second show was in New York City (Staten Island) the next night and was just as good if not better. Here's a photo of me with the guys in the dressing room before the show:

I'm a great believer that, just as there's a Simpsons quote suitable for any occasion, there is also an Air Supply song suitable for any feeling. Mine right now is "Chances", so have a listen if you can.

Oh dear

2006-08-11T12:03:00.000+10:00

After all the time saying that I wouldn't do it, I've finally bit the bullet and joined the blogosphere. I'll blame Mr Jolly for having such an awesome blog that I took a look and said "I want one!"

Anyway, who am I that you would read my blog? Well, no one really. I'm 21, single, male, and most importantly a Christian. I go to a Reformed church but wouldn't necessarily say that I subscribe to all of the theology that goes with it. I have my own thoughts on predestination, Calvinism, infant baptism etc that I'm not going to get into now. There's plenty of time for that.

Like plenty of my friends, I am going to MTS Challenge this weekend. Should be an interesting time, although I'm bemoaning the fact that I've been pulled into the Powerpoint team. I hope it doesn't cut into my conference time too much. At least it's a chance to show off the laptop. :-)