Birthday Boy

Well, today I turn a ripe ol' 33.

I like birthdays. I also like that I was born on the last day of Winter. It's like this sweet turning point in the year: my birthday, then Spring the next day, and then lots of goodness to look forward to, like Summer and Christmas, and holidays.

Good times!

E made me a big brekky this morning (bacon, eggs, hashies, mushrooms, tomatoes) and she and the girls gave me some nice prezzies. Here's the spoils:

I love my 'Invisible Man' mug. Catching up with a mate for lunch, and then me and the girls are having dumplings for dinner. Looking forward to it.

The Forecast

So, I thought I'd let you know what's on the cards here for the next little while.

On Friday I'll be finishing work for a week, as I'm taking off a bit of time for the big move. We get the keys next Monday, and move in on the Wednesday.

As for blogging, I will finish up this Friday, have next week off, and then be back the following week, God willing.

Here Come The Tigers

My mate and I went to see the Tige's take down the Storm 26-14 at a sold-out Leichhardt Oval yesterday arvo.

It was absolutely great.

The Quiz

1. What year did you get your first mobile phone?
2. I feel out of the loop when..
3. A song you like the lyrics to
4. Something you won't miss about Winter
5. Something you will miss about it

Disease Afflicted, or Just Selfish?

Miranda Devine nails it again.

Finally I'll Be A Real Man

Can I just say how excited I am about the prospect of buying a lawn mower?

Hmm. I wonder how long it will be until the lawn mowing novelty wears off? I give it about three square metres, max.

Nathan's College Day

I love this graph that Nathan's wife Robyn made about how he spent his day yesterday-


Ouch! Wives have a way of telling it like it is.

Happiness..

Ali has tagged me for a meme, where you have to list ten things that make you happy. Thanks Ali, this is just what I needed -- my posts have been a bit angsty this week.

So, here you go. Ten Things That Make Me Happy-

* The sound and smell of someone mowing their lawn

* Being alone in the kitchen while I cut up a roast lamb fresh out of the oven. One piece for the plate, four pieces for me..

* The first smell of jasmine exploding at the start of Spring

* Thinking about our new house, and starting a new chapter in our life

* The way Little e says 'byooftee' instead of 'beauty'. She's grown out of a lot of endearing mispronunciations, so I'm enjoying this one while it still lasts. Try saying it, it's great: 'Dad, can I watch Sleeping Byooftee?'

* Jatz with butter and Vegemite

* The way my wife spells 'yeah' as 'yerh' for no apparent reason

* Time to kill in a comic/2nd hand book shop

* The guitar solo in 'Don't Stop Me Now' by Queen

* The way life brings constant reminders of God's amazing provision.

Now, I tag Nathan, Pedro, Kim, Izaac, Al and Davina.

Song Of The Week

'Crazy'

Gnarls Barkley (2006)

Listen~

Some Exciting News

Well, we got a rental place!

It has turned out so well too. we were pretty much resigned to accepting this other offer, for a house that was kinda dark and dingy, and right beside the train tracks. Then at the last minute, we snagged the one that was our first choice. It is really great, and I feel so grateful of God's provision and plan for my family.

It's a big place, with a gigantic, rambling yard, and in a nice quiet little suburb near the bush and the water. So, we are stoked. I actually haven't been inside, but E checked it out. I am bit-champing to have a squiz.

We get the keys Monday week, and move in that Wednesday. Yay!

Thursday Peanuts

Men

I don't want to be simplistic, but there are men, and there are men.

Reading these two stories side by side this morning made me think about this, and about the different legacies these two guys leave.

And the two different impressions left on these two grieving wives.

Rehab

'It makes you wonder if the whole rehab experience is nothing more than a nice little public relations exercise to repair what is left of his reputation.

It gives.. [insert any 'troubled' celeb] ..a crutch. Rehab makes it look like he has gone off for treatment so when he returns, no doubt amid great fanfare, we will have to stand and cheer his courage to beat the demons that nearly destroyed him.

I would rather vomit.'

From here.

I find opinion pieces in newspapers kinda trashy, but I think this makes a fair point. The whole rehab thing has become the biggest celebrity cliche of the past ten years. It so often seems to be a ploy to safe face in the public eye, to pass off bad behaviour as an illness.

It also seems like a stalling tactic. Everyone is out for blood, so you go to ground, and become untouchable for a little while. Stringing up someone in rehab is kicking someone while they are down. And then by the time they are out, and have supposedly turned over a new leaf, the public temper has cooled, and people have lost interest a bit.

At that point you get the celeb back in to the public eye, on commercials, talk shows etc, and show what a great bloke they are. Look how much he gives to charity. Look how much he loves his Granny. Aww, and did you see him holding that little puppy? Adorable. Give the guy a break, everyone deserves a second chance.

Eyeborg

I rate this as 50% eugh and 50% awesome.

Book Review Wednesday by Andrew

Rumpole and The Penge Bungalow Murders
By John Mortimer (2004)

Review by Andrew

Horrace Rumpole is perhaps the most lovable and best-known fictional criminal defence barrister. His career and stories have spanned many decades and all manner and types of criminal offences. But as any Rumpole fan would know, his finest hour came in only his second case at the bar, when, without a leader, he defended Simon Jerold in Rumpole’s most often referred to case: the Penge Bungalow Murders.

At the end of a long line of both stories and cases, Rumpole (that is, Mortimor) recounts the plight of young Jerold who is accused of murdering both his father and a family friend with a pistol taken from a dead German pilot. In what appears to be a seemingly overwhelming prosecution case, Rumpole has to battle against a legal fraternity who has turned his back on Jerold and thus Rumpole, a Detective Superintendent who was “the sort of straight-backed, poker-up-the-backside, pursed-lipped policeman” who had no time for Rumpole and his shenanigans, all while dealing with the “usual courtroom terrors of a white wig (junior barrister): sweaty hands, dry mouth and a strong temptation to run out of the door and take up work as a quietly unostentatious bus conductor or lavatory attendant”.

While it was this trial and its outcome that set Rumpole up for his life at the criminal bar, it also lovingly recounts Rumpole’s unintended courtship of his future wife Hilda (who is subsequently and perhaps inappropriately referred to as “She who must be obeyed). Reflecting on life, love and the law, Rumpole, at one point, almost directly speaks to the reader: “I don't know what you think about being young. To me, it's a time for growing used to disappointment.”. Whether young or old, this book is definitely no disappointment, as Rumpole, the eccentric defender of justice and reciter of poetry, in my view, is near his best.

Thanks, Andrew! Go check out Andrew's blog, Daily Vowel Movements.

Church and Community Group

One of the hardest things about moving is going to be leaving our church behind. We will miss people a lot. It's takes a while to feel part of things and build relationships at a church.

It can be a hard slog at first, and you have to put in some hard yards. After six years, it feels like home to me, and it'll be hard to leave it.

For me, the distillation of church has been our community group which has met at our place one night a week for two and a half years. We had our final night last night, and it was really quite emotional. It hit home that we were going, and I felt pretty sad about it all. It's been an awesome group, and we've all established a really close bond.

We had a good night though. We ate, we drank, we laughed, we cried, we prayed, we bashed out a few songs. 'Never Alone' was the last song we sang together, and it felt appropriate and right. It all came to a close on a really good note.

Don't Forget To Eat Some Fruit Today

He Rises Again

..for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again,
but the wicked are brought down by calamity.

~Proverbs 24:16

Ho Hum

Well, if I wasn't sick enough of the election by last Saturday night, the prospect of it dragging on for another week or two is enough to make me want to not read the paper or turn on the tele for a month.

Just flip a coin already.

Time To Get The Jersey Out

Happy days for the Wests Tigers. Had a great win over Parra on the weekend, and though the ending was scarily close, the Tige's definitely dominated, and played the best I've seen them play in a while. Looking good to secure a top four position coming in to the finals!

Seems I was right a couple of months back when I was packing away clothes for moving, and nearly packed my jersey, but then thought, 'well, maybe, just maybe they'll get up there this year.'

Anyways, me and my mate are going to see them play the last home game (Leichhardt Oval)for the season on Sunday arvo. I'm pumped. Go Tige's!

The Quiz

1. Are you a private person, or a bit of an open book?
2. How much money would it take to get you to shave your head?
3. Your longest hospital stay
4. A reality show you'd like to go on
5. If you could be the best in the world at something, what would it be?

Scouring The Shire

We blitzed the Sutherland Shire on Saturday, for several hours racing here, there and everywhere checking out open houses, madly filling in applications. Exhausting.

Praying hard that one will fall in to place in the next day or two.

The Curious Lives of Teenagers

I'm a bit of an observer. Not in a creepy 'I like to watch' way, but more in a David Attenborough behavioural observation way.

I see a fair few high school kids every day, and I am constantly fascinated by their behaviour. While still being(pretty much) the same species as me, they are at the same time curiously odd creatures that I don't understand. Bit by bit I glean and compile information about them, to store away for future reference. You never know when you might have to actually interact with one of these beings, and it's helpful to know what your dealing with.

Anyway, one of these curious tidbits of knowledge that I have pieced together recently is to do with their strange means of greeting. For the girls, this means a heck of a lot of hugging. With the fellas, this means a lot of silly handshakes.

After long being baffled at the frequency of these activities (you saw each other at the end of school yesterday- is a hug really necessary?), my breakthrough came this morning when I considered my own distant childhood. Remember when you were a kid, and the days seemed so long? You'd just play and play and play all afternoon, and it seemed to go forever. You'd go to three friends' house, catch yabbies down at the creek, go to the shops for some red frogs, ride your bike.... all in a couple of hours.

Following this thinking, I have discovered that child hours are in fact different to adult ones. After several detailed scientific experiments and complicated trigonometry-ish mathsy calculations I found that one adult hour is the equivalent to roughly eleven kid ones.

So, is the penny dropping? You see, this is amazing stuff. It all makes things fall in to place. No wonder these girls give each other a massive hug after a long weekend- to them it's actually been practically an entire winter. No wonder the boys need to give each other another handshake after a free period- it's like they've not seen each other for a week.

The Great Hunt

If things are a bit light on from time to time, that'll be because I'm preoccupied researching and applying for a rental place. We have to be out of our place in four weeks, so the pressures on to find somewhere.

It's not quite as simple as I thought it would be. There are a gazillion other people applying as well, so we've missed out on a few gooduns already. Hopefully this weekend will bring the goods.

Worst comes to worst it'll be a family size tent from K Mart out on the nature strip. Gypsy life wouldn't be so bad.

Thursday Peanuts

Just The Two Of Us?

Sarah and Izaac have written two wonderfully open and honest posts about a subject that really doesn't get spoken enough about.

Blugspot

Okay, I have a few more blugs for you--

JellyJam. You might know Pedro as a regular commenter here. He and I tend to get into heated arguments gentlemanly discussions about Christianity on my blog, but he's actually one of my best mates. We worked together for several years in animation, and he's a top bloke. He's started blogging recently, go and have a squiz.

Quaint and Curious. This is kind of a girlblog with a pink background, so I have to look at it surreptitiously in order to save face around my peers! But it's a good blog, I like it. Davina writes short, interesting posts, and gets my stamp of approval for being a Kate Bush fan, and for being on Team Bronte, rather than Team Austen.

The Fountainside. Soph is back blogging after taking a bit of a breather when Nathan was born. Which is great, because I kept checking every morning for yonks, to no avail. That'll learn me to get on that Google Reader thingo. I like Soph, and she writes nicely and honestly about her life. Now she's gotta try and persuade Sam to post again..

Kirrabilli Kim. Kim wrote last week's book review. She's an American living in Australia, and her blog seems to be about her trying to make sense of us weird Aussies. Her posts are short and sweet, and also nice and regular. She's really funny too.

Awww, Cute Lil' Penguins

These posters up at stations at the moment kind of annoy me. I find them patronising. Are we pre-schoolers? what's with the penguins?

Do you think we are all huddled because we love being around each other and are wanting a bit of stranger to stranger interaction? We are huddled because there's nowhere else to stand on the over-crowded platforms and trains.

Book Review Wednesday by Sarah

Memoirs Of An Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson
by D.A. Carson (2008)

Review by Sarah

Biographies are usually written about notable people who are successful, vibrant and memorable. After reading of such gifted individuals, we can be left feeling discouraged (because of our own pride) rather than edified. However, the main goal of Don Carson’s biography of his father, Tom, is to bring to light the life and ministry of a man who was not particularly gifted, nor were his achievements especially great, but a man who was faithful to the Lord who had called him. It is a celebration of the ordinary.

Through an interesting mix of Don’s own reflections of the life and ministry of his father and a selection of Tom’s own personal journals, we are given a unique perspective on his pioneering work in French-speaking Canada, and given insight into how he overcame many barriers, both inside and outside of himself.

I was reminded of the biblical perspective about what matters in pastoral ministry – faithfulness, and have been spurred on to keep submitted myself to God and allowing him to change me to reflect his humble, obedient and trusting Son.

This book will equally challenge all Christians, both those in vocational ministry, and those who are not. The power of this biography is not in Tom Carson’s great personal achievements, but in fact how ordinary he was; he laboured long and he laboured faithfully. Something which we are all called to do.

Thanks for the great review, Sarah. Go check out Sarah's blog, Laleo.

Fun On The Campaign Trail

h/t dvm for the pic.

Things That Get My Goat #3

- When people say 'thanking you'. Please don't do this anymore.

- Mark Latham. Time to find a new hobby, champ. I hear cross stitch is fun.

- The term 'boho'. I think you've gotten the B and the H the wrong way around there.

- People who get cross when you say (gasp!) 'soccer' instead of 'football'.

- The hairstyles of all males in the 15-25 age bracket. Where's a high-powered hose when you need one?

Grr, sayeth The Goat.

500 Days Of Summer- A Review

I have mixed feelings about this movie, so it'll be a mixed review. I'd heard lots of good things about it, so I went in with fairly high expectations. I liked it okay, but was a bit underwhelmed. And I found myself cynically rolling my eyes a fair bit.

I love music pop culture references in movies. I liked Garden State a lot, and loved the little references to The Shins in that movie. But that was several years ago, so now when I saw the characters in 500 Days name-dropping The Smiths, it felt a bit, 'yeah, yeah, you are very hip and indie and we like you so much because of how cool and interesting you are'.

Come to think of it, I felt a bit like this with Juno as well. I think the whole cool indie thing has become a bit trite and lame.

Also, the character of Summer. Grr. She annoyed me a lot. I actually hadn't seen Zooey Deschanel in anything else, but I wanted to like her because I knew she was named after a J.D. Salinger character, which frankly, is pretty awesome. But she kinda grated on me- both the actress and the character. I found the character pretty unlikable.

The bloke, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, was pretty good. I thought he did an okay job, and portrayed the heart-broken earnest young fella fairly accurately.

I dunno. I'll give it another watch, and maybe it'll grow on me a bit. But for the moment, I'm a bit wishy-washy about this one. 3/5

Bedknobs and Broomsticks- A Review

Last year when I re-watched Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for the first time since childhood, I got about an hour in, and was thinking 'man, when on earth are we gonna get to the flying car?!' And when I watched Bedknobs last Friday I got an hour in and was going 'man, where are the animated bits?'

Film making has changed a lot, and children's movies were a lot different back in 1971. They were very looooong, with a lot of slowish build up. Watching through the eyes of my three year old, I kept wanting Bedknobs to get to the point already (just like you are thinking about this review).

I did enjoy it, and there was a lot of likable stuff. Angela Lansbury was great, so was the fella. Funnily, if this movie was remade today, those characters would be a good two decades younger, I reckon. The animation looked great, and worked well mixed with the live action. My favourite sequence was the under the sea bit. Good stuff. The soccer game was cool too, but went on too long.

Overall, I just thought it was a bit too long, and it took too long to get properly underway. And I would have liked more animation scattered throughout, rather than just condensed in a couple of sequences. When Little e re-watched it, she just wanted to skip ahead to the middle.

Me too. 3/5

Generation Meh

Frankly, my friends, I'm a trifle concerned about you all.

When I asked whether you knew how you were going to vote in the upcoming election, this is what you had to say--

'There is nothing to vote for'

'I don't particularly want to'

'The debate is who I want to put last the most.'

'Very despondent about the prospect of voting'

'Not much of a choice really, is it?'

'Trying to decide which of Labor & LNP to put last'

Now, I'm not going to get cross at you, or give you a lecture. Instead I'm going to quote some wise words that I once heard in a dream.

If it comes as an encouragement, take it as such. If it comes as a timely rebuke, open your heart to accept it. It is what it is, I am merely the messenger.

Absorb:

I believe the children are our future
Teach them well and let them lead the way
Show them all the beauty they possess inside
Give them a sense of pride to make it easier
Let the children's laughter remind us how we used to be...

The Big Afternoon Off

As birthday things this year, E and I gave each other a whole Sunday arvo off, to go and do whatever tickled our fancies, to go on a bit of a spree. E had hers last week, and I had mine yesterday. To be honest, I build these things up too much, and so felt a bit deflated last night. But still, it was a fun arvo.

This is what I did, in a nutshell--

Caught a bus to Broadway, and spent about an hour in a 2nd hand bookshop. Came out with four pretty rare comics from the 1980's. Then another hour in Utopia records (a heavy metal shop). Bought a great metal album I've wanted for a while, and also a Hole album.

After this, lunch at Oporto's. Then a bus into town where I was a bit devvo'ed to find Comic Kingdom closed. Went to Kings Comics instead, and bought a few Hellboy related comics that I collect. Went briefly to a clothes shop, feeling like that was something I 'should' do. Then realised how dumb this was, and what a waste of my precious free time. Then spent half an hour in public toilet, crook from aforementioned Oporto's. Then to Kinokuniya bookshop for the rest of the time, browsing at painting books and stuff.

All in all, a fun arvo. As you can see, it's pretty much about metal, comics and painting with me. But maybe not so much about Oporto's.

Hello, Play-Offs!

Go, you mighty Tigers. Smashed the Panthers yesterday to ensure our first spot in the finals since we won the grand final in 2005.

As Phil Gould said, "the Tigers at their best make you feel good. There's no other way to describe them."

Buzz Foot

Sometimes kids have a way of describing things very aptly. Last night when Little e had pins and needles in her foot, she said 'my foot is buzzing.'

E was about to tell her the proper term, but then didn't, because we liked Little e's description better.

The Quiz

1. Have you decided which way you'll vote next weekend?
2. What do you see yourself doing when you retire?
3. Your top 3 genres of music
4. If you had to decide between doing a bungee jump, or eating five cockroaches, what'd you choose? And you can't say 'neither'.
5. Describe your morning routine, from waking, to being 'ready'.

Song Of The Week

'Superstar'

The Carpenters (1971)

Listen~

Yesterday

Yesterday was really nice. Stayed home for E's birthday, and it was a fun, relaxing day.

Cooked up some crepes for breakfast, with strawberries, boysenberry ice cream and maple syrup. Strictly for the hardcore.

Then E's sister came over and kindly minded the kids while we went to Newtown for a browse and for some lunch at a cafe.

Then in the arvo we took the kids to the shops, then stopped off at Ashfield for some take away dumplings. Yum.

Then E and I chilled in front of a couple of episodes of How I Met Your Mother, which I used to hate, but which I now like.

A good day.

Today, Tonight

Got megawads of work to get through today. It's going to be a challenge, but at least it'll make the day go quick.

Then tonight, home for Little e's favourite night of the week: Friday Movie Night. This involves a lot of cushions on the lounge room floor, popcorn, and something that we all watch together. Up tonight is an old Disney movie I borrowed from the library, Bedknobs and Broomsticks.

Then after the kids go down, E and I are hopefully going to watch a DVD E got for her birthday, 500 Days of Summer.

For She's A Jolly Good Fellow

Happy Birthday, E!

Book Review Wednesday by Kim

The Time Traveler's Wife
by Audrey Niffenegger (2003)

Review by Kim

Hang on, don't judge me too fast. I know the movie is bad and the premise is girly. The book itself, though, is addicting in that painful I-want-to-read-the-ending-but-I-don't-want-it-to-end sort of way.

The basic idea is that Henry is an unwilling time-traveler -- he is forced to pop in and out of time at utterly random moments. He generally ends up in other parts of his own life, frequently including his future wife's childhood. Thus, when they "meet" for his first time in linear life, she has known him for ages yet is a stranger to him.

It's a smidge confusing at the beginning, but keep reading and it'll all click. And, if you're anything like me, you'll utterly fall for the characters. Clare and Henry are some of the roundest, realest characters I've encountered, and I've rarely felt so fully for fictional people.

The Time-Traveler's Wife is Chicago-based Audrey Niffenegger's first (and, so far, best) novel. It clips along and is modern without being trite. Narrated by both Clare and Henry, it is easy to pick up at any point, yet extremely hard to put down.

A slight word of caution: it is a PG-13 sort of a book -- not quite as graphic as John Irving, but a step or two up from Song of Songs.

So have at it. Knock yourselves out. And if you can't stand it -- you read this on Ben's blog, not mine!

Thanks Kim for a great review! Kim writes this blog, you should check it out.

Day Off Tomoz

I'm taking the day off work tomorrow to hang out with E on her birthday.

I'm looking forward to it- E's sister is taking the kids for a few hours so the Inner West is our oyster. It's gonna be good.

3 Months Clean- Confessions of a Nail Biter

Well, I haven't bitten my nails for three months. This is not only a new world record, but completely smashes any other previous attempt. I'm like the Usain Bolt of not nail biting.

The trouble is, I'm still nail obsessed. My nails are constantly near my mouth. It's so habitual, and inescapable. I'm always fidgeting and playing with them. Craving a nibble.

Apologies if this is in poor taste, but say I was an alcho, trying to go cold turkey. Well imagine how much harder that would be if I had to carry around a six pack all the time. This is my pain.

Out of interest, how often are you meant to clip? I have become acute(ical)ly aware (oh man, how good was that pun) of other people's nails now. I look at how much white they have at the end, and how rounded they are. To be honest, I am mostly repulsed by what I see. Males with this horrid, white three millimetre overhang. Repugnant. Buy some clippers already.

So far, I have been unable to go more then a week without clipping. Anymore than that, and I just feel like a freakshow. I may as well just put on a dress, some leggings and 'ballet flats' and be done with it.

So, what about you? I'm not talking about long girly nails, but say a regular man-nail-- what is the appropriate amount of white, and the appropriate time before clippings?

Post Script

Speaking of atheist PM's, Nathan linked to a really interesting interview with Peter Jensen, where he discusses the upcoming election, as well as the religious (or not) persuasions of Abbott and Gillard.

Listen to the interview.

Things That Get My Goat #2

- People who stop dead when they step off an escalator. What are you waiting for, a map and compass?

- When people call second-hand clothes Vintage Pieces. Puh-Leaze.

- Jazz music, post 1940.

- The phrase 'at the end of the day'. If you're a sportsperson, unacceptable. If you are in the chorus line of Les Miserables, acceptable.

- Squished credits at the end of TV shows, while they advertise what's coming up next in the rest of the screen. I'm talking to you, Channel 10. Yes, unfortunately you're legally bound to show who actually made the program, but it defeats the purpose when you play them at double speed, at a font size that you need a telescope to read.

This, friends, is why my goat is got.

On Having An Atheist PM

Last night E and I watched Julia Gillard answer a bunch of questions last night on Q&A. I thought it was a good show, with some good questions, and also thought Gillard did a good job of answering them.

You know, it kind of grates on me, all the hoo hah about her being an atheist. I was trying to work out why there has been such a big deal made about it, and I think I've got it- It's because 'the general public' find any extreme very distasteful.

So long as you're in the murky, fence-sitting, non-specific, non-committed,middle ground, you'll be okay. You'll go under the radar because you don't rustle any feathers.

Just appear 'tolerant' and 'respectful', and maybe drop in the word 'spiritual' or 'prayer' very occasionally, and you will go well.

But if you have a conviction, either saying there is one God, or on the other hand that there is no God, then you will get into hot water. That's what unsettles people, having a clearly defined belief that you are convicted and vocal about.

So, call me crazy, but I for one would prefer a prime minister who is definitely atheist, than one who is indefinitely nothing in particular.

Seeking Reviewers

Anyone want to do a little book review for this Book Review Wednesday?

Go on. You won't get addicted the first time.

Send a couple of paragraphs to bmclaughlin AT sstar DOT COM DOT AU and save yourselves from me bleating on again about one of the four books I've read in my life.

No pressure, but if you love me you will do this for me.

Cranford

I might have liked the show more if it weren't for the five annoying old ladies..

The Quiz

1. Fiction or non-fiction
2. I admire people who..
3. I feel self conscious when..
4. The person that knows you the best
5. Did you cry in Titanic?

The Auction We Didn't Have To Have

Well, after a crazy few weeks, we sold our place on Friday, the day before the auction.

Yay!!!!!!!!!!!

We got an offer we were really happy with, and went for it. Though a little anti-climactic to not go to the much dreaded auction, it was a real relief, and probably kept a few years on my life, and postponed a few grey hairs.

So, we gotta be out of there in six weeks, so now begins The Great Hunt!

Heady days.

How To Make Me Never Ever Read Your Blog

I recently got a comment from a stranger, that said 'you are invited to follow my blog'. I noticed the same person had sent this comment to a few other blogs I read too.

I struggle to pinpoint exactly why, but for some reason this grated on me a lot.

I received this generous offer about the same way as I would if I found a note in my letterbox from a neighbour saying 'you are invited to clean out the muck and hair from my shower drain'.

I know, I'm mean aren't I. But don't you think that's just so spammy and presumptuous? Why do you want me to read? You don't know anything about me, so it must just be to make up some big numbers in your 'followers' list.

Now, let's face it, everyone who writes a blog wants more people to read it, more people to follow it, more people to comment. I know I certainly do. But blogging is still about community and relationships, not just recruiting people for numbers' sake.

Do it the proper way, or your going to shoot yourself in the foot and send potential readers packing. Want me to read your blog? Then make yourself known by starting to comment (not just one 'you should read my blog' comment), and then as I get to know you I'll be curious and look at your profile and your blog. That's how it works.

No shortcuts.

Song Of The Week

'Some Things Last A Long Time'

Daniel Johnston (1990)

Daniel Johnston is an American singer/songwriter who struggles with bipolar disorder.

I find this song very moving- his disarming, child-like voice against the simple home-recorded instrumentation.

Listen~

Don't Worry

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

~Jesus (Matt 6:25-27)

Elections, Elections, Elections

What's one to do?

Tick Tick Tick

Two days until auction day.

Trying very hard to work at not freaking out, and trusting in God's plan.

Breathe in

Breathe out.

Thursday Peanuts

A High Price

Miranda Devine makes some interesting points about the David Jones scandal.

'He lost his job, got a comparatively paltry pay-off, became a national joke and had to leave the country in disgrace. DJs has taken a hit to its reputation, and its share price. It is now the butt of jokes. So why the need for a $37 million lawsuit, even if Fraser-Kirk plans to give any punitive damages to charity? Enormous lawsuits are the bane of our lives, feathering the slick corporate nests of the burgeoning law firms in this city, increasing costs of insurance, ruining community activities..

..Hysterical legal hyperbole does not help women of any age. Greedy lawsuits only damage women in the workplace by making male colleagues resentful and wary. In the real world, this is a severe handicap for women making their way on their own merits.'

Yep, That'll Do It Alright

Wikipedia is probably my favourite, most visited website. It's here that I find pretty much everything I'm looking for.

But occasionally you see a chink in the armour, and realise that, hmm, well, there's something a bit plebby about a lot of the articles. Looking up Dirt Music just now I found this little note:

'A film adaptation is currently in production for Dirt Music, directed by Phillip Noyce. Rachel Weisz and Colin Farrell are expected to portray Georgie Jutland and Luther Fox. Heath Ledger was expected to play the role of Luther Fox, but due to scheduling conflicts with The Dark Knight and the fact that he died, Ledger withdrew.'

Yep, death will generally make you decide to pull out of a commitment or two.

Book Review Wednesday

Dirt Music
by Tim Winton (2001)

I went through a stage of really loving Tim Winton, and while I still think he's great, it's been a while since I read one of his books. Dirt Music was my last, I think, and I really enjoyed it. A well-rounded, uniquely Australian, beautifully written story.

Set on the coast of Western Australia, like most of Winton's stories, Dirt Music follows Luther Fox, a tragic figure mourning his family while poaching lobster traps, and Georgie Jutland a retired nurse, as their paths meet and they become 'inextricably linked', as they say.

A powerful story about nostalgia and family, and buried memories, that unravels at increasing speed towards an exciting finale. Well worth reading, especially as an introduction to the author.

So what did you play?
Guitar.
I mean, what kind of music?
Oh, I dunno. All kinds, I spose. Anything you could play on a verandah. You know, without electricity. Dirt music.

Ahhh

What a great day.

The sky is so blue and clear, I can see all the way down to Kurnell from my window.

I Believe In A Higher Force But..

..I don't know if you can know who or what that is. You might label it God or Jesus, but to me it's a spiritual connection that I feel with this force.

I have had this conversation a lot of times, and it's one that infuriates me. If somebody criticised my wife to my face, it might be a similar feeling to the one which rises in me when I hear that term, 'higher force' bandied around.

Let's say you have two friends. One is kind of helpless and needy, the sort of person that always seems to need propping up. They call you five times a week, they unload all their problems. You love them, but they feel like a burden a lot of the time.

The other friend is kind of the opposite- never in need, never burdening other people. But he is super-generous and humble. He is always giving to other people, and putting other people's needs before his own. You know this from personal experience, because you have been in need a lot of times, and this friend has just rushed to your side at the drop of a hat, every time. He's never once made you feel like a burden though.

Imagine this second friend meets your first friend, and just showers them with love and generosity. They had nowhere to stay so he took them in, gave them his bed while he slept on the floor. He found them work, cooked them meals, sat up late and talked and listened with them. He was there day in, day out, seemingly unceasingly loving and kind and compassionate.

You meet up with the first friend a while later. They are back on their feet, living pretty comfortably. You say to them how good they look, how happy they seem, what a difference you can see in them. You ask what has brought about all this change.

They say there was someone or something helping them out, they don't know who, and they don't really care or need to know who. They just know they are happy now, and they are grateful to be in such a good place. Grateful to that unknown benefactor. They don't think too much about all this, they just want to get on with living their life.

This is as ridiculous as calling God 'some higher force.'

He has a name, and you should know it.

The Day Love Came To Town

After asking that question yesterday about getting the cane, I was thinking back to the two times in primary school when I got it. I remembered one of the times pretty clearly (mainly because I remember crying a lot before I got it, trying to get out of it). I had been running at a demountable building sitting on bricks, trying to knock it over.

But I was struggling to remember the second time I got it, until it just came back to me this morning. Let me paint the picture.

I am in in year 5 or 6. It is the afternoon, and my teacher says he needs to pop out for a bit. He advises us to work quietly while he's gone. As soon as he leaves, maybe two people work quietly while the rest of the class decide against this sound advice.

The other kids have their fun for a bit, and then simmer down and get back to work, in time to be rediscovered 'quietly working'.

I however, am not quite so smart or self controlled, and when the teacher comes back, I am not really in the best possible position. I am standing on top of my desk, bellowing out "When Love Comes To Town" by U2 and BB King, with accompanying rockstar pose and air guitar.

In a better world, such a sound performance would have earned me applause, but this was not to be. Instead it earned me two thin red lines running horizontally across the backs of my thighs.

You Don't Know What You Got Til It's Gone

It's hard to go from this, to this--

Where's the love?

And this, from the same person too.

Things That Get My Goat #1

- Women with Harrod's shopping bags. You are walking down Pitt st, not Piccadilly.

- When people finish a statement with "no?" This is very annoying, no?

- Elevator small-talk. Yes it's cold. Yes it's Monday. Must I discuss this with you, Stranger?

- When you ask people 'how are you?' and they answer 'tired'. At least give me a bit of preamble first.

- Aldi checkout people. It's not a race. Stop sliding my stuff off the end of the counter.

The Quiz

1. The thing you're best at cooking
2. Did you ever get the cane at school?
3. I take great pride in the fact that I...
4. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I...
5. You have three hours and $30 to spend by yourself. What will you do?

Graves of Craving

I find it so easy to go down the route of longing for stuff that I don't have, while completely forgetting and overlooking all that I do have.

I was reading Numbers 11 the other day, and it really came as a timely rebuke for me. To cut a long story short, the Israelites are living in the desert, after God has brought them up out of slavery in Egypt. He has rescued them, protected them, guided them, provided for them, and promised them great things at the end of their journey.

Rather than showing gratitude, they are grumbling and complaining. They are sick of eating manna, and want meat. In some ways, you can sympathise with them and think, well, sure, who wouldn't be sick of eating the same thing for two years? But that is not seeing things in perspective.

They are in a harsh, barren desert where there should be no provisions for them at all. But instead, God gives them water, and every morning rains bread down on the ground for them to gather. Manna apparently was like coriander seed, and tasted a bit like honey and olive oil. Not bad for something you just pick up off the ground in a desert.

But they are not seeing God's provision in any kind of appreciative light, to the the point where they are looking back fondly on Egypt, where they were living in cruel slavery!

So they start asking for meat, and this is what God has to say-

The LORD heard you when you wailed, "If only we had meat to eat! We were better off in Egypt!" Now the LORD will give you meat, and you will eat it. You will not eat it for just one day, or two days, or five, ten or twenty days, but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and you loathe it—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, "Why did we ever leave Egypt?"

He then calls up a wind and floods the Israelites with quail. He gives them what they have craved and grumbled for. But He is very angry with them, and brings a plague. A lot of people die, while they are eating all this meat.

The place is then named Kibroth Hattaavah, which means Graves of Craving because ' there they buried the people who had craved other food'.

This really struck me. I know it's not a simple little moral tale, and in some ways it's easy to relate to the Israelites, and feel a bit like they are hardly done by. Why is God's reaction so harsh?

I don't think it's wrong to want stuff, and I don't think God would have expected these people not to want other food. But I reckon He is angry because they show so little trust, faith, or gratitude. He has said He's going to take them to a wonderful land of milk and honey, but they are not prepared to believe that and wait patiently for the better season. They want what they want NOW, and buck and curse and grumble and complain at all God's other provision in the meantime. They treat His love and kindness as rubbish, so He gives them over to what they are demanding, letting them go to their own ruin.

The rebuke here for me is to see God's provision, and remind myself of it, and be grateful, rather than constantly looking towards what I don't yet have, or what is around the corner in the future. God's provision for me and my family has been so rich, abundant, constant and generous, that it seems ridiculous to worry about what the future holds and to think I need to go and attain it all myself. Everything I have, everything is from God.