My Breakup

Yesterday I broke up with my girlfriend.

Well, according to Facebook we broke up. I've found Facebook to be pretty fascinating, and amusing. And recently I've noticed how much attention people are paying to the newsfeed on Facebook, and the subtleties of 'status changes'. Like last week when my sister listed ‘is wrecked’ as her status. I immediately sent her a message asking 'sick or tired'. 'Both' was the response I got. And when a friend removed the line 'In a relationship' (not changed it to otherwise, just removed it) I got curious. And when my girl listed that she was 'sick of stuffing up' our friends asked he what she'd done. I got curious about the power of these little changes, and of the significance of that one little line in the Facebook News feed, and decided to conduct an experiment. And it worked, not only with friends on Facebook, but also those that aren't.

So yesterday we broke up. I dropped down that menu and changed my status from 'in a relationship with...' to 'single' and for good measure, I checked the box to indicate I was looking for something new. About half an hour after I did, my younger sister sent me a message “Are you okay? Is there anything I can do?” That’s more communication and care shown than when we lived-in the same house and saw each other face to face. “Sorry to worry you. Just a social experiment.” When my mother got home from work, she asked me concerned “is there anything I can do” My younger sister (Facebook user) called my older sister (non-user) who called my mother. Who then took about ten minutes of convincing that I really hadn’t been dumped, that it was just a fake break-up. My girlfriend (or ex-girlfriend) experienced similar – her brother, concerned , rushed downstairs to tell her mother (smart girl, though had had the foresight to tell her mum about it).

On the phone to a non Facebook mate later that night, he broached the subject “there's no easy way to say this – I heard you guys broke up.” He then offered to come round once he got off work, if I needed to talk, vent, play some football. About an hour later another mate called up – also non Facebook. He'd heard as well. A little later an email from a Facebook mate – “You want to catch up? I've got the week free if you need someone to spend time with.”

It was strange in a way. I expected her friends would rally around her in that time, but it seemed the boys were better at looking after me than the girls were for her. It was nice though, to know how much my friends and family actually cared. In the eight hours that we were split the word spread quickly, not just across the world of Facebook and my 219 friends, but spilled out into the real world too. With no clear word from her or myself, just a change of information in a little box and one line of text with blue highlights. Welcome to the social network that is Facebook.

Powderfinger gives 'the man' the finger

I bought the new Powderfinger album two weeks ago. Despite what I wrote a little before that about the censorship= of the song ‘Black Tears’ it appears to not have happened. I came home, and put the album on and was loving my way through it. And when track ten came on, sure enough, I heard the words that supposedly were to be removed. 'Island watchhouse bed, a black man lying dead'. Bravo Powderfinger for sticking by it. Incidentally, the court case in question was last week. The officer charged with the murder finally conceded that he may have ‘accidentally’ injured the prisoner, but was still found not guilty.

Great Album though, with that touch of powderfinger politicalness, and some good rocking songs. Head in the clouds leads us in to it nice and gently, the guitar riding over the top of Don't Remember has a really memorable riff, as we look back ona relationship. Lost and running seems to be a bit deeper. Not lyrically deeper. Just the singing. I'll need to listen more (or check the liner notes) and see if it is Bernard Fanning singing. Who really cares (featuring the sound of insanity): well, forget about the song - it has a guiatr effect they call the sound o insanity - does it say something that I like the sound?. Okay, let's not forget the song. It's good. Great lyrics, nice piano, cool guitar effect. Long way to go is a great song, and the final track, drifting further away is a sweet finish, the closest thing on this album t a ballad. Long, drawn out vocals, the guitar singing. It reminds me of Powderfinger 3 or 4 years ago.

Dream Days at the Hotel Existence is definitely a great Finger album. Fanninf has come back from his solo work with an album that sist alongside Internationalist as a great album to sit back in the shade on a Summer Aussie afternoon, drink a few beers and chill out to.

Gotta go back in time

I love Back to the future. I bought the box-set the other day. Cruising around in the 50’s? a blast. So the other night, I asked my girlfriend to dress ‘like Sandy from Grease’, got out my Jeans, jacket and loafers, and we took a night back in time. It was so much fun, starting out at the 50’s diner Soda Rock in South Yarra. Burgers, Fries and sodas were tasty, the music was in even better taste. We were playing songs from the jukebox which had a cool little thing on the table that let us choose the songs from there. We then headed to an AMF for a little Bowling action. She nearly beat me. I still suspect she let me win. I didn’t even break 100. Close, but not there. We finished off the night at the Drive in, in Coburg, where we got to see the end of one movie, the whole of another, and then an awesome lightning storm come in across Melbourne.

It was pretty cool fun, doing the whole ‘theme date’. I did borrow the idea from a mate (Thanks Jim), but yeah, dressing up, listening to the music, and getting into something not so conventional – a pretty nice night out.

Mac Beats PC: Die Hard 4.0

Last (Thursday) night I pleasure of Die Hard 4.0 (Which should still have been called Live Free or Die Hard, like it was in America).

John McLain was back at his best, the NYPD detective who never gives up. In this 4th instalment of the Die Hard series, they have cleaned up his image a little – he was neither hung over or on suspension. Just a senior detective for the NYPD out harassing his daughter’s boyfriend.

The basics. Cyber terrorist Gabriel wants to tear down the US social structure and send it into the Dark Angel era (and, just like :with a vengeance, rob a bank or two while everyone is distracted) . He hires hackers to do the codewriting, then has them all killed off. He shuts down U.S. computer networks: transport, finance, power. A ‘fire sale’.

Mclain is called in by the FBI to transport one of the hackers to Washington. Now here’s the fun – the hacker, Farrell, is played by Justin Long, who we know from Ed, Dodgeball, and of course, he’s the laid back and cool ‘Mac’ from the Mac and PC ads. When the FBI snub their noses at Farrell, it stirs something deep inside McLain’s heart. Actually, it just stirs his disdain for authority, and he makes it his mission to protect Farrell from further assassinations, teach him a thing or two about being a hero, and kill as many henchman as he can with his usual style and wit.

All in all, it was great. Not a shred believable. That’s not what Die Hard is about. One slightly gruff hero. A ‘I shouldn’t be here’ sidekick. And lot’s of unbelievable shootings and explosions. He kills a guy with a fire extinguisher. And with a fire hydrant. A helicopter with a car. He drives a car though a computer lab at a power plant. And then down an elevator shaft. He outruns an F-35 jet with Semi (and its not Optimus Prime). There’s at least ten explosions. Mclain kills at least ten bad guys. And he makes at least ten wisecracks.

Oh, and it’s the beast Kevin Smith appearance since Silent Bob threw a guy off a train. Warlock, an overweight, Star Wars loving geek who has a fortress in his basement? Life imitates art.

It is also great watching Mac learning to be a hero. And proving for once and for all, that he can beat PC.

If you like big explosions, ridiculous overkill (emphasis on the kill), see this movie.

Mitcham Raiders 2007 Part I

Well, we are a few weeks into the soccer season now, and the Mitcham Raiders are back again. As always, we seem to have the same core of defence, and once again a newish midfield and forward line. Lazy as we are, we kind of didn’t bother about training. Or a pre-season. Most of us met at our first practice game. Some guys joined the team two weeks into the season. Our first few weeks we just couldn’t quite pull all of it together. Four games, three 1 goal losses and a draw. Funnily, it was in a big part due to our ‘trusty’ old defence, making a few silly mistakes (although our starting keeper is traipsing around Europe idolising Billy Corgan). We scored goals in all of our games, however, and things have balanced out. Sure, we lost to fellow Mitcham team Benitiez by a bit, but since then, we’ve pulled ourselves together. We’re two wins in a row now, and starting to look tidy. Our keeper, the Red Bull will be back, and hopefully the next two thirds of the season leave me plenty to boast about.

Insured.

So this week I was reading my insurance contract. RACV has an 80 page book that explains in fine detail what they do and don’t cover. I started flicking through it, but actually found it to be an amusing read.

Apparently, they will not cover loss or damage:
Caused intentionally by you, or a person acting with your express or implied consent. (Fair enough)
If a person legally seizes your vehicle or contents (understandable)
Caused by, or arising from any hostilities, rebellion, riot, civil commotion or war – whether war has been formally declared or not (err, what?)
Caused by, or arising from the use, existence, or escape of any nuclear or radioactive material (err, what what?!?)
Caused by or arising from any act of terrorism that involves biological, chemical or nuclear pollution or contamination. (yeah, sure)
Arising from failure to secure your vehicle, or leave it safe after it broke down, suffered accidental damage or was stolen and then found. (so somewhere between purposeful damage, and not locking my car, is war, nuclear meltdown and biological terrorism?

And come on, what is an undeclared war? How long could you drop bombs on someone before the lights flicked on in their brains that it was an act of war, rather than friendly neighbourhood shelling. What would constitute an undeclared war? Or a declared war, at that? Is it war if we get into a fight with Berwick mid soccer game? Or is it only war when shooting starts? I’m confused, somebody please help me.

Rockin' the suburbs (Just like Mike and Brian did)

So last night I was treading the sticky carpet, as I have been quite a bit lately (i.e., going to gigs in pubs!) I headed out to the Tote in Fitzroy to see Silence Dead Silence. These guys are old school, it was great. I was feeling shades of Smashing Pumpkins and loving it. It was also pretty cool to hear Stevee pull out some old Rogue Two music. I knew it was worth keeping that stuff on my iTunes for seven years, to finally hear it live last night. Last week I caught Artinem with Jess at the Laundry and Aerobleu with the gang at the Brunswick Hotel. Artinem were great - a quieter gig than usual - no mad fans on their feet, just a bunch of us on couches loving the funky bass, the smiling happy drummer, and Sam's amazing guitar work. I do prefer them when they've got a crowd that are into it, but these guys love performing so much that it doesnt change the intensity of their work. It was still notched up. Aeroblue - well, they were pretty darn fun, especially with some trumpet and keys. But points off for a shameless but unfulfilling Pink Floyd take off. A good gig, and I hope it's not the only time we see them in Melbourne. So while I was there last night I was checking out the Street Press, and found this review of an old Christian favourite.

Relient K
Must have done something right
College Rock Didnt used to mean this - this Fountains of Smashmouth pop-punk bubble music ready made for the next Shrek soundtrack. It's cute, it is. But REM were actually on about something. Also, these guys are Christians and they won a Grammy in 2003 for best Rock Gospel album. Now I'm not saying you should dismiss Relient K because they believe in the tooth fairy, but surely their fickle abandonment of the gospel genre does not speak well of their moral fibre. guess the church music wasn't getting them laid.

Now keep in mind I havent heard their new album so can't personally comment (please feel free to inform, folks) I found this review quite funny. First time Ive heard God likened to the tooth fairy - and as far as I know they havent abandoned Gospel. I'm pretty sure the only difference between the two is where the record sales come from. As soon as you start selling in stores other than Koorong (and whatever the seps have instead of it, you are mainstream. I assumed that Relient K have pulled out an album comparable to the old standards of Two Lefts, but it just hasnt managed to make an impression on the mainstream because of it's Christian leaning. Of course, I could be wrong and the new album could suck.

Cubicle Art

Lately I’ve been investigating Toilet Cubicle Graffiti – it’s such a fascination, when sitting and wanting to pass the time, to observe the rantings of the anonymous pen wielders who use the toilet cubicles and walls as a canvas. From political messages, to the arrangements of assignations, it’s a little phenomenon of life I’ve watched ever since visiting the public toilets in Benalla as a kid to see above the urinal ‘If you can pee this high, you should be a fireman’ beside a long lack line. Closer to the ceiling it read ‘if you can pee this high, you should be the chief’. While the Greeks had common public spaces for their philosophers to meet, it seems that some of the best thinkers of our age spend their time, sharpie in hand wasting their days in our public toilets.

God is dead – Neitchze – Neitchze is dead – God
I love cats, they taste like chicken
Pull here for an arts degree
Log on to the network
Veni, Vidi, Velcro – I came, I saw, I got stuck
Why don’t mathematicians get constipated? – cos they work hard things out with a pencil
Push for a message from the PM
Your mission should you choose to accept it
Shouldn’t it be spelt fonetic
Beware of limbo dancers
An al-turd state of reality
Why do they call it a building when it’s already built
I like monkeys
They paint the walls to cover my pen, but the toilet poet strikes again

The great new lot of movies coming out?

Cinema this year is strange to me. It seems that most of the movies that I am anticipating are the ‘franchise’ movies. There are so many sequels, trilogy conclusions, and movies being launched of TV series’ this year, that I can barely think of a NEW movie to see. Sure, there are a few things that pique my curiosity, but not enough to be like the old days (i.e. the days of little social life) where I knocked back 104 cinema trips in a year. Back then, if it was out, I’d seen it. Now I’d be lucky to go to 12 movies in a year. Of course, this year I’ve seen Hot Fuzz and absolutely loved it, but other than that, the list of the movies I’d like to see reads:
Live free or Die Hard, The Simpsons Movie, Harry Potter 5, Transformers, Sin City 2, Shrek the third, Oceans 13, Evan almighty, License to wed, I now pronounce you Chuck and Larry, Romulus my father, The Bourne Ultimatum, Pirates: at worlds end.
Only three movies in that are actually something new. So does this mean that once again, we are going through a cinematic era of ‘the franchise’, or is it just that my taste is getting really narrow? Worrying. This week I bought myself the latest ‘Empire’ but just didn’t see too many new movies getting good ratings. I used to aim to see new movies if they managed at 4 or 5 in empire, and that worked for me, but there just doesn’t seem to be much inspiration on the horizon.

Sunday Supper n Scrubs.

Lately after church on Sundays a small but growing (and hopefully still growing) group of us have been hanging after church, getting people to do munchie runs, and watching a couple of episodes of scrubs. I’ve really been enjoying it, as we can extend our usual social time after church, mix it up, muck around with youtube, and it’s open to anyone. I guessed we’ve experimented with al kinds of after church activities for cool social stuff to do. This week due to a lack of scrubs DVD a bunch of us went back to Whiteline, put on some music, talked sermon, ate food, and enjoyed listening to the ‘Clap on Clap off’ Stereo (nice work by Josh). It was a smaller group, a different vibe, but still a whole lot of fun.

And a few weeks ago a large group of us ended up at Ringwood Lake, playing on the playground, having chats around the lake, and burning boxes of matches for warmth, watching kids who think they are cool graffitiing. It was also a pretty nice time.

I still like Sunday Supper n Scrubs because it is more inclusive – people don’t need to wait for an invitation, you can continue to catch up with a bunch of different people or just sit back and enjoy JD go to war with the Janitor, Turk avoid offending Carla, Bob Kelso be self-centred, Elliot do something dumb, and Dr Cox try to be nasty but reveal somewhere inside, he is a nice loving guy.

State Youth Games

Is coming up! This Queens birthday weekend, the MASH army is once again invading Lardner Park. It’s gong to be our fifth year there, from our beginning as AJAX, to our current outfit name, MASH, and I hope our best yet. Well, maybe not out best points wise, but our best in other ways. The first year was miserable, I’ll pay that. We didn’t know what we were doing, we arrived in the dark and wet to find campsite on a slant and did our best to set up. We endured through that year, and came back better prepared. For year 2 we built a campsite almost bright enough at night to be seen from the highway (I’m not kidding) and we had an amazing year, with a big team, high scores and a top five (4th) finish. Year 3 and 4 we tried slightly different things – bigger numbers, more mixed sports allocations, more focus on teams and community than winning individual sports. And it’s all been good. This year, we’re looking at something new. Year 2 of MASH will see us take in a combined group of 6 churches, and once again, community is the focus. A team of us will be going down two days in advance to prepare the campsite, setting up an army outpost and taking a tilt at the prestigious ‘Spinning Cheese’ award, bringing along a team of parents and helpers as well.. Re-forming into two units, MASH Red and MASH Blue, we’re giving p the pursuit of outright points, and aiming to be a huge presence in the SYG community.

The General, and Colonels and Major that support are going to have their work cut out for them, but this year should be a real blast. If you’re not already going, talk to me – we always are happy to take on more conscripts

Lucky You – Drew Barrymore, Eric Bana, Curtis Hanson.

Yes, that’s right, Greg saw a date movie. Say what you will, but I took my beautiful girlfriend (actually, she took me because my care decided to eat itself) to see a romantic movie. Of course, luckily for me, it had a lot of card playing,, and even some golf in it. Phew.

Once I got over Eric Bana’s accent – (convincing, but still twinging of his old Ray Martin impersonations somehow) He actually portrayed a really great character, Huck Cheever – professional gambler and smooth talker. To see the way his gambling addiction played out was really quite amazing, and it was incredible enough to make me want to shout at his love interest “GIVE UP HE’S ONLY GOING TO ROB YOU AND BREAK YOUR HEART”. Drew Barrymore was in her “Julia Gulia” mode as the sweet, believe the best in everyone wide eyed beauty. And she’s good at it, too.

Yes, predictable plotline. Actually, not entirely. I didn’t think Huck was going to be quite as much of a mongrel to her as he was. I thought there wold e a petty fight over little differences, but the two things he did to her should have been enough o end any relationship. But she was kind hearted, understanding, and in the end she saw that he was willing to make changes, not just to win him back, but because he realised he needed to be a better person.

But that wasn’t why I enjoyed the movie – the card play! The didn’t only stick to Texas Holdem, either. The movie was set around the 2003 World Series of Poker, and we got to see a bunch of the different games that feature in a proper poker tournament. Guts, 7 Card Stud, 5 card draw, and something new to me, and quite interesting – Omaha Hold’em, a 9 card game. Heads up boys, we’ll be playing this tonight at the Pub. Plus, some great Cameo’s – Doyle Brunson, Daniel Negraunu, Johnny Chan. It was great to see the way some of the game play unfolded.

Who do we say God is?

This began in my reply to Tim on his blog and a few of the questions he asked. Actually, it began before that. It focused itself for me on two events last week. Actually getting yself motivated enough to read a Christian book again (Provocative Faith by Matt Turner) and a great converation in the early hours of last Sunday morning. The topic: Who is God to me?

Over the last year and a half in our church we have kept looking at the question "who do you say Jesus is?" but I think in all this different reflection & interperetation of Jesus, we haven;t spent nearly enough time looking at the Father & Holy Spirit aspects of God. After all, Jesus didn't come to the Earth to be worshipped, but to bring us closer to God. If we just focus on the Jesus side of God, the loving, understanding, human side, I think we lose out on a lot of what God is.

I've really been thinking that as Christians we need to temember that God of the New Testament is still God of the Old Testament. He's still jealous, angry, vengeful and feared, just as he is also understanding, loving, forgiving and comforting.

God didn't suddenly go "whoops, Ive stuffed up mankind, I better send my Son down to die and then become an easy way out for all people from now on...".
God knew in the beginning what he was going to do. Jesus was there in the beginning when god planned it. Jesus' coming was simply another step in the God's overarching plan to bring humankind to him. And just as there were many who didnt fear, worship and follow God in the old testament who he turned away, there will still be many who are turned away. Even Jesus didn't entirely preach a "it's ok, you can keep coming back to God" message. He overturned tables, he called people vipers, he said "Go away and sin NO MORE", he said "Away from me, I never knew you".

People will argue that God is forgiveness. I agree, but that is when the repentance is genuine. Is our repentance genuine when we continue to go and commit the same sins? Is our commitment honest when we can't be bothered following God's commandments? Is our faith true when we don't trust God with ALL of our lives, just the small bits we are willing to hand over?

Why don't Christians feel and hear the spirit any longer?

Why is our world so full of God's traditional signs of anger (drought, famine, disease, war, unrest) in a world turned away from God yet we continue to ignore these signs?

Praying for Rain.

In mid April, John Howard called for national prayer for rain. We were told that unless there was a certain amount of rain in the worst drought affected areas, like the Mallee, in the next ten days, then irrigation would have to be cut off. Many farming operations would be closed down, and the threat of us subsisting on canned or frozen fruit and veg motivated many to pray. Well, perhaps it was the fact that our county's leader was asking his people to pray - either way, many many Christians prayed

And the rain came down, too. We must of course admit that this is part of the traitional wet season in southern Australia. The last ten years though, we've been faced with a pretty severe drought. Yes, drought happens in Australia. It always has, and is part of our national identity

"I love a sunburnt country,
a land of sweeping plains,
of rugged mountain ranges,
of droughts and flooding rains"

http://www.imagesaustralia.com/mycountry.htm

This one has done some hugh harm to our agriculture and our water supplies aren't doing really well either. At some stage in the cycle of things, drought will ease. We should be encouraged - through March and april we have acheived average rain - not drought average, proper average.
So weather this was just the time for rain, or our prayers have made a difference, well God only knows.

Partly as a respone to John Howard's call, Tuesday was declared by some to be 'National Rain Day'.
National Rain Day founder John McCallum said it was not about praying for rain, but about visualising the rain itself. He said he was responding to Prime Minister John Howard's calls last month for Australians to pray for rain. "Just imagining the experience of rain, that attracts the rain," he said. "If we can get more than 1 per cent of Australians doing that then outcomes will be very positive."

Well I watched the news that night to see small groups of people gathering in the nation's capitals to 'positively think' for rain. They even brought yellow plastic raincoats and umbrellas, as they gathere, held hands and visualised the rain. If our prayers for rain really made a difference, we can't be sure. At least it rained then, as much as we needed and where we needed it. Since Tuesday - not a drop.

Taking the politics out of music?

I remember a time when music was a voice of free speech. When politics might be blackbarred at awards ceremonies, protest songs were always allowed. Now music has become so corporatised that musicians can’t make a meaningful statement without being threatened with legal action. Sure, they can sing about sex & drugs, but now there's no politics in Rock and Roll.

Powderfinger’s new song "Black tears" referred to the death of an indigenous Australian in custody, on Palm Island, in Queensland. This week, it’s been in the news because the Queensland Police Force were threatening to sue. Why though? Please, "an island watch-house bed" where "a black man's lying dead" isn't exactly specific, but it does make a point. Or did, until this week when Bernard Fanning, the lead singer announced that they would re-record the song with different lytics in place before the album is released.

Where would that have put the music produced by Bob Dylan, Midnight Oil, and even U2. Heck, even in the 'land of the free' Green day are still allowed to use mainstream media to make political statements. Surely the rights of Powderfinger to have free speech should be greater than the rights of a corrupt police force to only have nice things said about them. Sure, there hasn't yet been a conviction recorded in the case, but heck, is a conviction ever needed to put an aboriginal behind bars?

Personally i love songs with a point. Songs that give us lyrics that we can sing, and mean as we do it. Is this just one more step towards mass produced "Australian Idol" music in this country. Because the majority of the sanitised pop market is built on pointless songs. Please, don't take away music with integrity, passion and meaning.

Sunday, June 18 2006 St John’s Lutheran Church, Southbank

It was strange, walking through a shopping complex to reach a church, but on this night, that’s what I was doing. A web search for “7pm service” had shown me St Johns Lutheran church, nestled in the middle of Southbank. It was a wet night, and as I walked across the forecourt near the church, I was amazed at how beautiful it was. Sitting amongst corporate headquarters and millions of dollars of high priced shopping precinct was a traditional looking church, a round building with a 2 storey ceiling, a balcony around the edge housing the organ and extra seating overlooking the sanctuary.
I thought about Jesus, and the way he took his ministry with the poor, the prostitutes – the outsiders, and he took it to the temple, to the Pharisees, the tax collectors. This church was sitting here, and that night, quite literally, as a shining light amongst a world of greed. But also, amongst a collection of modern architecture, the forecourt leading up to the church still looked like a church. The new world versus the old.
Walking in, the place was packed, barely a spare seat, which I soon found out was because of a visiting school group from Concordia College in South Australia – they’d brought 3 choirs and a string orchestra group – but more about that later.
Somehow in my travels I seemed to keep finding myself in churches for Baptisms – which is great by me because I love getting to hear peoples stories. It was a person who had come to faith through St Johns involvement in Uni Campus ministries, and a great way to hear about the effectiveness of the church. It was also a communion service, and I was able to witness for my first time, a particular older church tradition, singing as the Eucharist is taken. It was very cool to be a part of, and the pastor made it clear that all who believed in Jesus were welcome to take part. The sermon was quite good, short and relevant, and the hymns sung were quite traditional.
But interspersed throughout the service, Concordia College had a hand in really making this visit an interesting experience. Two of the choirs performed gospel songs – as seems tradition these days for any gospel group, we had ‘Joyful, Joyful’ as rendered in Sister Act, and also a song called ‘He never failed me yet’. Both were uplifting, hand clapping foot stomping moments, a great experience of joy in worship to God that the whole congregation got into. And to conclude the service, the 16 piece string orchestra performed for us. The song was instantly recognisable to me – but not one I’d ever heard in church before – stairway to heaven, and gosh was it well played.

After the service I took a walk through the CBD to reflect – I’d been really amazed by the way this church had taken tradition and thrown in modernity. Their worship was a seamless mix of the two, giving respect to their past, but living in the now, and that seemed to fit perfectly with who they are and where they were located. I reflected in my own life that there are parts of my faith and my service that I should never let go of, and ways to do things that should stay the same – always – but that there should also be room to alter my ideas, and incorporate new ways of thinking about God.

The Departed, re-reviewed

Today, 'The Departed' won four Oscars, including best picture. I thought I'd take the opportunity to pay tribute to it by re-posting an old review. Once again, a new movie, but one that has pushed it's way into my top 5 all time movies. Its a damn fine watch.

Last night I saw The Departed. Wow what a movie. Scorcese has gathered a top line cast - Matt Damon, Leo Dicaprio, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin, and Jack Nicholson. And this was some of the best acting I have ever seen from some of these. Defintely the best I've seen from Dicaprio, as the Police officer undercover in the Irish Mob. I thought he's done a good job in the past, but tends to come across as a petulant child. Actually, I haven't thought he has been convincing as an actor since Gilbert Grape. He does a fine job here as a man truly conflicted by his sense of duty, his honour, and his greed. Jack Nicholson, as the brutal and conniving Mob underboss was in fine semi-evil form as maniacal as any of his Oscar winning roles were. Alec Baldwin, a ranking police officer was simply great, egotistical, arroant, and barking mad. Matt Damon, the mob mole slowly climbing the police ranks, is brilliantly opportunist, obviosuly looking after himself foremost and mentally sticking two fingers up at anyone willing to come between him and a comfortable kind of survival. The set up of the movie was great with a twisted plot where you are never entirely sure about who is good and who is bad. The camera and editing, brilliant, and the soundtrack was really enjoyable.

The movie is set in gritty, Irish dominated Boston, and we see the tension of those growing up in the almost-slums of South Bostson, an area shadowed by organised crime. The gangs are simple, loyal, and hard-nosed. The cops are high-tech, dedicated, and honest (?). The basic premise - the cops want to bring down the Irish mafia. The Irish mafia want to control the cops. At thge same time, each group sends a man undercover into the other, and it is the corssing of these paths theat builds the wholemovie. It keeps you enthralled and thinking throught he whole movie - I kept finding myself secretly cheering for the bad guys. It is pretty visually brutal, and the language is off the scale, so probably not a movie for meek, sheltered Christian types; but to do this movie justice, I think it needed to be exactly this full on. Certain scenes had the mostly make audience cheering, but its the tension portrayed by the two respective 'undercover' agents, what they will do to avoid suspicion and getting aught, and just how close they keep comign to each other, that drives this fantastic movie.

Definitely a good way to waste two hours!

Mt Buffalo September 22-23 2006

I cruised down the mountain, stopping to enjoy the view and appreciate what I’d just done a couple of times and headed into Bright for a coke. As I drove into the Buckland Valley, it was beginning to get dark. There were two parks marked on my maps as having toilets and Barbecues, but as I drove up to each, I spotted very clear ‘no camping’ signs. My last resort was a place marked as a picnic ground, just near where the road fords the river – otherwise, it was going to be tent next to the car on the roadside. I needn’t have worried. As I rounded the corner, the picnic site turned out to be several acres divided into six campsites, with lots of beautiful green grass, a fireplace in the centre of each, and a toilet block. Fresh water from the river at the ford, and plenty of firewood. I set up the tent, gathered some wood and lit a huge fire. I sat up for a while, reading and listening to music, before grabbing a very relaxed night’s sleep.
I woke up feeling very fresh, and realising that it would be far easier to stay the night in the same place, I planned a loop walk, along the river, up over a firebreak, and looping back onto a four wheel drive trail. I packed everything either into the pack (A nice dummy pack – lunch and water, a few odds and ends, at about 15kg) or back into the car, leaving just my firewood pile, the tent, and my sleeping gear. I began walking but soon realised that the firebreak was far too overgrown to be able to walk safely, so instead decided to take a lazy walk through the valley, with the road following the riverbed most of the way. There was a nice dam where I stopped and reloaded my water bottles and took a small break, and then crossed the bridge and headed along the road.
It just became a flat haul, all day. It was nice, just following the road through forest and farmland. There was fairly frequent traffic, most of whom I saw twice in the day for a friendly was, and some chit-chat with local farmers. It was sunny, in he low 20’s scale of things, and the sun spattered through the leafy cover of the trees that lined the road. I somehow still had power in the iPod, so spent the morning listening to stand up comedy and U2 live. My occasional glimpses of the river tempted me to climb down and take a swim, but although I was never more than 100 metres from it, it was just a touch too hard to get down there – or back. By 2 oclock, I had reached the 20 k mark from where I began, and so I had lunch, and then turned and walked back. I made good time, up until I reached the Dam. I stopped to get a drink, and suddenly my nose was bleeding. I sat there for about ½ an hour while it bled out, and by the time I resumed my walk, with 5 kilometres to go, I was decided. I reached the campsite, took a toilet stop and freshened up, then loaded my sleeping gear, and tent, into the car whole, and got driving. I was in radio reception just in time for the kick off in the rugby league semi final, and spent the drive home listening to the Storm win in style. I returned home, tired, but satisfied – a mountain climbed 80 kilometres hiked, and a new sense of my relationship with God. Anything I dream, I can do. I just have to face the challenges that will come bravely. I need to find my rhythm and keep walking, with trust that my God will walk with me to the end.

The Simpsons Movie

Well, The Simpsons movie trailer has finally been revealed. It looks great! The visuals are very involved, much finer details and more background than we have seen before, but still looks like the classic animation that we love. A role call tells us that most of our favourite characters are in - Lenny & Karl, Burns and Smithers, Grandpa and Ralph. Actually, the crowd shots reveal many one off characters we've seen before as well - Don Brodka, Gabbo & Arthur Crandall, The crazy Texan, Mr teeny. Barney appears to be a drunk again, I wonder what they’re doing there – I certainly think he’s been boring since he went sober.

We see a scene of Bart skateboarding naked through Springfield. It also looks as though they are revisiting the storyline where Burns blacks out Springfield with a giant disc (in a homage to Independence day). At the very least, Burns is at his maniacal best. Homer has done something that angers the entire town, with a very angry mob [Dr Hibbert "I'll Kill you you soon of a bitch"] trashing the Simpson house. We see Marge become angry a him (but that’s not all that unusual), and it hints he may leave Springfield.

We do see Homer off on adventures around the world, so it does point the possibility of him being chased out of town. We also see Bart and Flanders bonding - possibly little Barteroony is seeking a father figure? I wonder how Homer will take the news that Bart wants to be a Flanders? Im looking forward to more news, and to July 27.

Melbourne Victory vs Adelaide United February 18, Telstra Dome

What a game! One of the best football experiences I have had recently, and there have been a few good experiences. I have a book, Fever Pitch, which states the seven things that make for a really enjoyable games, and it ticked 6 of those categories.
(1) Lots of Goals 6-0. It can seem lopsided, but when it your own team, at home, you don’t care too much. The first, by Archie, was the thing that tense football is made of, as he stepped forward and awkwardly slotted the ball toward the far post, we all stood from our seats to cheer, only to drop instantly when Valkanis stretched his foot on the line to clear the ball. The commentator stirred us from our disappointment “The linesman is signalling it was in. Goal to Melbourne Victory – another roar, and we were dancing on the spot. A brilliant individual effort - Five goals by Archie Thompson, a wonderful individual effort, but we all know without the passing of Brebner, Fred and Muscat, they wouldn’t have happened. After being subbed on at 89 minutes though, the best goal in my opinion goes to Kristian Sarkies, who ran the ball down the left side, pulled back around one defender,, and then from outside the penalty area curved a ball, past two defenders, and beat the keeper to ricochet the ball of the top of the far post and into the back of the net.
(2) A noisy crowd. The several supporters groups from Melbourne have been great all season, bringing the terraces alive. They keep the chants going throughout the whole match, providing massive entertainment and support.
(3) A terrible refereeing decision – usually best when not in your favour, but boy did it stir up trouble when three Melbourne players were offside and Archie received the ball to run on and score his fourth
(4) A Red Card, in this case a second yellow to Adelaide captain Ross Aloisi, the first for a bad tackle, this one was for a blatant hip and shoulder around the head of Grant Brebner who had already released the ball. There was no doubt in the validity of the card, and Adelaide were down to ten men.
(5) Rain, a greasy surface. The rain that began to fall late in the first half slicked up the right side of the pitch beautifully, with the ball sliding cleanly over the grass, and when a boot was applied properly, it was magic
(6) Unpleasantness or silliness: Nothing could have been more silly than the behaviour of the Adelaide squad. Not particularly gracious in defeat, Veart calling the refs 3 blind mice, Coach John Kosmina (already banned from the pitch for abusing referees) claiming that ‘Dark forces of the universe conspired against them’. Basically no-one was willing to own up that they were played off the park before the first 20 minutes was up, letting alone a full 90.

One of the most enjoyable games I've ever watched, and it was a great way to cap off a season of record-breakers - average crowd of 30 000, two games with 50 000 spectators, Archie getting player of the year and player of the grand final. Oh, and final mention of respect goes to Sarkies for kissing John Howard on the forehead in celebration.


Melbourne Victory, A-league Premiers 2006-2007
Melbourne Victory, A-league Champions 2006-2007

Mt Buffalo September 21-22 2006

Finding the only campsite on the mountain closed for winter, I decided to head for the motel on the south end of the plateau, but that too was closed. I decided I could probably get away with another night of camping on the mountain, and eventually decided that the saddle next to one of the main climbs was best – the road cuts between the climb to the hump and another ridge, there was an area to park and a toilet block, and a large grassy area. I had something to eat and grabbed my iPod, sleeping bag and beanie, and found a nice soft clump of grass. It may have been down near 0 out there, but as long as I kept my sleeping bag pulled tight, and my face turned away from the wind, I was toasty warm. Lying under a cloudless sky, the heaven were open before me, and as I stared into the milky way counting shooting stars, I listened to Gustav Holsts ‘ the planets’ and spent some great time in prayer and reflection, peace found in the vast wilderness.

In the morning I got up earlyish and headed back to the park near the chalet to freshen up and have breakfast. I then drove back to the saddle, parked my car, and loading my pack began my ascent. With a random selection of songs that all focused on imagining and dreaming, “If you want to view paradise, simply look around and view it, anything you want to, do it, want to change the world – there’s nothing to it”. I climbed through the arched corridor of trees, around the base of the Cathedral, a stunning rock formation and I began the final haul up to the top of the mountain. Scrambling over boulders, I finally reached it, the top. With the wind buffeting me, I reached the top and shouted with exhilaration. I praised God, I mocked Satan. I had made it. I had climbed my mountain, both physically, and metaphorically. I took off my pack, and grabbed my bible and sat reading for a while, before taking some photos, enjoying a 360 degree view of Vittoria’s high country. I said a prayer, and then headed back down. In the afternoon, I went on some small day walk loops, around the underground river, down to Mackenzie falls, and to the sentinel. Driving back down the mountain, I felt satisfied, and after walking another 12 kilometres for the day, was looking forward to some rest

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Valentines Day 2007, Sidney Myer Music Bowl
Last night was the first of the MSO concerts for 2007, and the best thing was it was a free concert at the Sidney Myer Music bowl. Firstly, I must say its been a long time since I’ve been to see a Symphoy Orchestra. Yet let’s not forget that yesterday was a special day and I had someone special to spend it with. I knew I wanted to go on a picnic somewhere, but where? When I saw the MSO concert advertised, I knew it was a winner. The weather was dazzling, a nice, dry heat of 30ish degrees, there were a few wispy clous in the bright blue sky. We found a nice (but rare) green patch on the lawn on the hill overlooking the music bowl and settled in on the rug with the picnic. When we got there the seats at the front were filled, and there was a smattering of people across the hill.

By the time the orchestra was warming up, the sun was beginning to dip in the sky, clouds were rolling in between the buildings in the city, and the lawn was packed. Even the kid who had been wrapping himself in a picnic blanket and rolling down the hill had nowhere to move.

The orchestra played 3 pieces, a suite from Rimsky-Korsakov, a piano concerto by Rachmaninoff, and a symphony by Kalinnikov. The first piece was really nice, and we enjoyed watching the different sections of the orchestra do their thing. The timpani was fun, the double bass section looked all cool. The harps were really beautiful and stood out over the top of the rest, and I love seeing other instruments that you just can’t imagine on there own finding a perfect place within a piece, like the oboe. The Piano Concerto was amazing. There was a short interval, and then they began the final piece, the symphony by Kalinnikov. We noticed early on that several instruments had been removed from the stage – the Piano, obviously, was gone, but so was one of the harps, the trumpets, and most of the rest of the percussion section. Remaining in the back row was the woman playing the timpani, and one other gentleman, standing perfectly still, waiting.

Throughout the beautiful piece I wondered, what would be his role – the cymbals, perhaps? The triangle? While I enjoyed watching as some of the music moved in waves across the stage, from the bass section on the right to the high end on the left, I still kept a loose eye on the man. Only when we were distracted by the sky being lit up to the west by the flame towers at crown, did I really look away. (Well, other than staring into someone’s eyes on occasion) Half an hour into the piece, the music began to peak, as the elements of the orchestra rose in intensity. I finally saw movement form the gentleman in the back. He was warming up his hands, and as the music climzed, he brought out the triangle with floursih, and I'mpleased to say i could hear it over all the other instruments. Brilliant work, triangle man, brilliant.

The Conductor returned, and we were given a pleasant enore performance, probably another ten minutes of a piece that I didnt know. It finsihed, and as we began to applaud we heard a booming behind us, and turned to look over the hill to see a display of fireworks. It was a beautiful way to spend a beautiful evening.

Mt Buffalo September 20-21 2006

Hiking solo for 4 days? Sounded like more than I could handle. Not the hiking, the solo. I like people, I like interaction. But I felt God calling me to the wilderness, like you wouldn’t believe. In the middle of a church service he gave me a picture, of myself standing on a peak above many other mountains, his kingdom stretched before me, and he simply said ‘Go’. How could I not go?

So I planned my trip. Up and over Mount Buffalo from Thursday to Sunday. I drove up Wednesday night, met my parents and let them buy me lunch in Benalla, and then said goodbye to human interaction. I made it to the foot of Buffalo at around 4 so thought, ‘might as well get going’ and set out to see how far I could get up by sunset. Problem was, I’d looked at the map and seen that by the road, it was 24 k’s up the mountain – easily one day’s worth of walking. It didn’t occur to me that I would also be climbing the 1 ½ k’s from the park entrance. So I chucked on my overstuffed pack and began walking along the road. I had the camera out, so my travelling companion (a garden gnome) and I took a few nice photos along the way. By sunset I had hiked around ten k’s, but pushed on through the dark a little further til I reached a picnic ground, where I set up my tent near a fire place. I scrounged some wood and lit a fire, but after not too long, I retreated to my tent and went to sleep.

I got started early the next morning (partly because I wasn’t in a legit campsite and dint want to get in trouble) and got started again, moving off the road and onto the trail proper, to begin moving up the face of this mountain. A lot of the trail was granite boulder, but the views from certain points were amazing, down into the valleys. I had my iPod, which helped me pass the time, a soundtrack of live albums and musicals. At midday, after walking nine kilometres, and going up 1 kilometre, I was exhausted and on the last bunch of steps that I climbed to reach the plateau, my right knee was clicking in and out of place. Saying goodbye to my plans of ‘wilderness’ I threw my pack down at the door of the chalet, walked into the café and ordered a chicken salad, a coke and bought a newspaper. For the next hour I relaxed in the civility of the café, but realised I would need to do something about my accommodation for the night. I asked nicely if I could leave my pack behind, and in the next 3 hours with just a daypack, jogged the 12 k’s back down the mountain to my car. I picked up my pack, drove to the campsite on the mountain, only to find it was closed. Arggh what was I going to do?

Pub Trivia

Pub Trivia. It’s something that seems to be growing at the mo. Being a bunch of no social life- smart alecs, when we first saw our local pub advertising a new trivia competition two years ago, we got on board from the start. Trivia had always been the kind of thing we did once or twice a year to raise money for some good cause or another, but here was the option to appear highly intelligent each week.


Well, not that intelligent. If you can name four US states that start with M, know all the actors who played James Bond, or remember who lost the 1995 AFL Grand Final, then trivia is for you. Its casual and fun, you pick a ‘zany’ team name (A little inconsistent, No Trumps, Mount Dover Refugees, Urban Geezers) and have a few drinks (alcoholic or non, your choice), often a good pub meal (like a chicken parma), and spend the night answering those sorts of questions.

Pubs all over Melbourne are now doing this on weeknights to keep business up when its slow. First prize is usually a voucher to spend at that particular pub, there are always plenty of drink prizes. Some pubs have cash prizes for bonus jackpots as well, Every week each pub has its regulars, and casual team always drift in to give it a try. The Pub we currently go to, Father Flannagans hotel in Fitzroy, is great, the guys who work there are fun and easygoing ( and with kickin Irish accents). The teams we compete against aren’t too annoying. Anyway, if you’ve got a weeknight free sometime, and feel like you know some random bit of knowledge that could be handy, give pub trivia a try.

Gospel Chapel: Sunday April 30 2006

30 April 2006
An invitation to a friend’s church, and a reunion with my old coffee shop team took me to a gospel chapel, traditionally a brethren style church. Of course, it wasn’t to be a typical brethren service – there was a woman preaching. Walking in to any other church, at least for me at that time, was strange. I was the guy who was reliable at being at my own church morning and night every week. It was where I was meant to feel comfortable.

But I walked in, and recognised no-one. Spotting a good pew half way down the hall with no one else in it, I took a seat. It was typical of our old church buiding – low roof, yellow carpet, cream colored walls. A stage barely raised. A nice, comfortable little building. There was music on cd playing, and I spent a few minutes just relaxing. I didn’t have to greet anyone, I didn’t feel compelled to do a head count, or make sure there were attendants for the offering. After a few minutes, some friends came in and as the service started we engaged in a little small talk, the classic ‘Hey, how are you” chat.

The service wasn’t particularly special – the music was tame, the sermon wasn’t anything new to me, the bible reading was one that I know well. But there was something different in church that night, something very special to me. For the first in a longish time for me in church services, I worshipped – openly and wholeheartedly. When the service ended, the fellowship meant something to me. We all went out for dinner, and it felt good to be talking with these people. We shared, we prayed, and we mucked around a heck of a lot.

This had been a night like I hadn’t felt in my own church in a while – in my own quiet times, I still felt great ways of worship, I hadn’t actually felt God’s deliberate presence for a while. In our prayer meetings, I knew God was answering us, but in my own heart wondered if God was listening. I never doubted Gods presence, his authority, his majesty – but in my heart, I doubted his love. This night was different. This felt like church should. Unencumbered by the responsibilities of servant hood, I found interaction.

What am i doing?

Well, I’m sorry it’s been a while since I’ve posted on here. Urban Summer had me wiped out for a while, and since then I’ve just been flat out busy pulling together everything for this year.

What does this year hold for Greg?
Going back to college at Ridley and studying Chaplaincy and Old Testament
Been meaning to do this a while. I started my Btheol at Whitley four years ago, did about half a years worth of subjects part time, but got too busy with work and things around church to find time for it. I’ve pulled a venue switch and hope to charge on through to the end now.

Continuing work at Mullauna College
At the moment working as an Integration Aide, working with students with special needs, but also just keeping an eye on the youth group kids, helping out a bit with welfare, counselling, camps. And trying to turn Caleb Wade into the most popular guy in the school.

Running the High Schools Ministries at Mitcham Baptist Church
Heading up the whole of our high schools ministries – We are planning a big re-think of the way we do High School outreach, so there hopefully will be some big changes there. I’ll be looking after the organisation of High School age small groups, and caring for the leaders of them, running a small group myself, and organising the Youth Group activities.

Soccer
Playing and coaching the Mitcham Raiders, hopefully to as much or more glory than last year, playing Indoor every Saturday night, managing my premier league fantasy team (which is sucking a bit at the moment) and getting to as many international games and Melbourne Victory games as I can.

goofy ideas

When we were discussing ideas for our Costume night at Urban summer, it occured to me that the funnest possible costume would have to be the Grim Reaper.

Then I considered the idea of dressing as Death, grabbing a scythe and walking the halls of an old folks home.

Yep, i'm a sick individual.