STEVE FIELDING: Look I think to get around any ambiguousness about the whole issue, principals shouldn’t be feeling under threat and they obviously, it is a concern and frankly it should be deleted from any condition.

via The World Today – Government accused of gagging schools over school computers 16/07/2009.

Well Steve, I think one thing that could cut out ambiguity it if we started using real words in public discourse. (Apologies to Mr Fielding for mis-remembering the quote last night and claiming that he said “ambiguiness”. That would be just plain ridiculous)

But naturally that didn’t mean it all went to waste. In fact in the days, weeks, months and years that followed, I (very) slowly came to a realisation: I am naturally a marketer. Not in a useful, make lots of money kind of way, but rather in the way that I attempt to control the perception that others have of me. When I’ve struggled with identity, I’ve tended to look to the perception that others have of who I am, rather than in something more central.

Sometimes the blog is a part of that. I’ve even caught myself having internal dialogue about how I “brand” myself on the internet. For quite a while I was very careful about who knew my blog address, and which circle of friends that related to. Some of that was around managing who I was vulnerable with, but for the majority of the time it centred on being a very deliberate marketer: knowing exactly what image I wanted to present to which person.

Gradually though, as I (hopefully) mature and grow as a person; I’m starting to be able to change that. Sometimes the blog has helped with that: there’s plenty of stories up here that could almost have constituted blackmail material a few years ago, and I’ve been partly using the blog as a way of breaking down some barriers I’d been putting up. I gave up being anonymous on here a fair while ago, but for the past little while I’ve made it easier and easier for people who know me to find my thoughts: regardless of where I know them from.

But more than that, it feels like God’s been taking opportunities to wake me up with bouts of losing face. The pattern goes pretty much like this: I’ll do something stupid, or act poorly, or just throw a good old fashioned 3 year old tantrum – inevitably in front of people I respect and want to respect me. And there’s obviously something really bad about that situation. But at the same time, I’m starting to see these moments of madness actually picking away at my carefully marketed image. When I lose face, when people find out that I’m not always the way I’d like to portray, I’m forced to re-evaluate whether that picture was worth painting in the first place. And even better, with some very accepting, forgiving (and fortunately equally vulnerable and broken) people around me:  I can see that there is still something people can respect underneath the carefully positioned masks. Somewhere in there, somehow, I’m worth loving.

Wow.

Screenshot of the new theme for the lazy RSS readers out there.

There are a few things you might want to be aware of, and possibly might need to let me know if they become an issue for you, oh devoted readers:

1. Like the pretentious snobby geek that I am, I’ve selfishly ignored the fact that if you’re using IE6 then chances are the picture above, and what you see on your screen don’t come close to resembling one another. This is because a) I’m lazy and b) IE6 is stupid. Or for a more technical reason: IE6 doesn’t support transparent PNG images. If you are one of the people who does use IE6, consider this a cordial invitation into the world of using a nicer browser. Update your computer. Please.
2. I’m also aware that the header image is pretty big. In fact, I’ve probably got too many images that are too big in size. I’m actually interested to hear if that does become an issue for people, and I plan on doing what I can to “optimize” those images. No promises.

I actually started the “look and feel” part of this theme with the idea of going for a Communist propaganda look: thus the color scheme. But after some nasty words from my wife about how what I was trying looked crap, I eventually came up with this. Now that I’ve done it once, I feel like I could probably do it again pretty easily. So, feel free to let me know what you think.

That’s far too many words for a non-theology GeoffRe(y)port post. My apologies.

PS. There’s not a good reason the theme is called New Broom. But it is.

PPS. The whole theme works a lot better if you have a font called “American Typewriter”. I realise most people don’t, but it really does make it look much prettier.

Asked what went wrong, he (Barrichello) said: “I guess the strategy… it was a good show from the team on how to lose a race today.

“I’m terribly upset with the way things went. I did all I had to do.

“I went first on the first corner and then they made me lose the race. If it is really what’s going on (favouring Button), we’re going to end up losing both championships.

“I feel sorry for myself, the team. To be very honest, I wish I could get on the plane and go home.

“I don’t want to talk to anyone in the team. It will be all ‘blah, blah, blah,’ and I don’t want to hear that.”

via ABC Sport – Ecstatic Webber finally breaks F1 duck.

“The government does not support the creation of the .xxx TLD,” the spokeswoman said. She did not elaborate.

At the time, the plan faced criticism from churches and the adult entertainment industry who found themselves in a rare alliance on the issue.

Christian lobbies objected on grounds that the TLD would make pornography easier for children to access.

Adult entertainment groups were concerned that their constituents would be forced into a ghettoised sector of the internet that would be easy for governments to block.

via Government opposes .xxx domains | Australian IT.

OK, so at face-value, the church’s stand makes sense. Anti-porn, so should be anti anything that helps porn out, right? But what if I go out on a limb and actually suggest we think this one through. For starters, Christian lobbies are worries that it would make pornography “easier for children to access”. Are they serious? There is no way that pornography could possibly be easier to access on the internet: if you can spell “boobs” and get to Google, it’s all over.

If only there was some way that you could tell that the site was porn before you got there – through perhaps the domain name, and could automagically block access to that domain. Surely that has a much higher likelihood of helping parents, schools, etc to restrict access to pornography. Will this allow people to completely block porn? No, of course not – but in this case the Adult industry is correct: this would absolutely increase the “ghetto” mentality of pornography and make efforts to restrict porn much more effective.

Can we please start being smarter about which fights we pick?

I won’t follow anybody who can’t admit a mistake. I led a college group at a church once, and as part of a series I created I asked all the pastors at the church to address the college group regarding mistakes they made when they were the age of my students. The pastors agreed, save one, who, as humbly as he could, explained he hadn’t made any mistakes. As the years went on, I noticed something about this pastor, I noticed he never admitted he was wrong, about anything, and I also noticed a trail of bodies behind him. He literally fired or marginalized anybody who did not agree with him.”

“Christian leaders who can’t admit their mistakes place a wall between their congregation and God, rather than a window. They paint an image of Christ on themselves, as they feel this is their job. People like the painting of Jesus they see on the wall, but in the end, the painting isn’t the real thing, and so Jesus just gets distorted.”
Don Miller Blog – Lessons in Leadership, Robert McNamara teaches the most important lesson

One of the things I’m loving about the church communities we’re a part of at the moment is that by taking a much more collaborative approach to how church works together, it becomes a lot harder for the wall between the congregation and the leadership to get built up. But regardless of whether you’re a mega-church leader or just hanging out with a small group of friends to try to get something started: there’s something vitally important about being upfront when you mess up.

“We no longer have authority automatically, by right of being the only game in town.”

After 40 years of the ABC’s PM, does radio current affairs have a future?

The issue of authority is central to the struggle of church and Christianity to adapt to the shifts in western culture in the last couple of decades (wow, what a pretentious sentence). But it’s an interesting correlation: as radio has moved from being the only game in town, to something of a relic of an earlier age; the only way that it can maintain authority is to be reliable and consistent.

Do have a read of the post – I’ll leave you to make any conclusions about what the implications might be for church.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.  Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.   In the same way, let your light shine before men

These are my favourite bible verses from the book of Matthew 5:14-16. These words hold great meaning to me and my desire is to live my life in this way.

via “You are the light of the world – Official AFL website of the Collingwood Football Club”

O’Brien shares his family dealing with the suicide of his father. Don’t want to say any more, but I recommend you read it.

(If you can’t handle having to visit the Collingwood site to read it, it has been re-posted on the Age website). Found via Jessica Halloran’s twitter.

This is one of the great cultural touchstone slogans of our era. A culture where there’s so much to eat we need to try to find a food that we can eat even if we’re stuffed.

via Seth’s Blog: There’s always room for Jello.

Realise I’ve been posting a lot of these “here’s a quote with little commentary” lately. Sorry if that doesn’t suit you.

The Walkman - now takes double sided tapes!

… but this review from a 13 year old on the BBC site confirms it. Scott Campbell was handed a Walkman to review, and compared it to his iPod. As soon as I read this line, I felt like a senior citizen:

“It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape.”

BBC News | UK | Magazine | Giving up my iPod for a Walkman

Just thought I should share.

Recently, I was having dinner with one of Hollywood’s gifted cinematographers and directors. In the course of the conversation, he asked me what my newest book, Wide Awake, was about. At first, I simply said it is about finding a dream that fits your life. He looked interested, so I pressed ahead: “You know the narrative known as the Gospel? I think it has been demeaned. It has been reduced to this, ‘Come to Jesus so that your sins will be forgiven and you can go to heaven and not hell.’ For me this is the most narcissistic and self-preserving message I have ever heard. Wide Awake proposes that Jesus lived the ultimately heroic life by giving Himself as a sacrifice for all of humanity and that He now calls us to give ourselves away for the good of the world.”

As soon we left and began walking the streets of Hermosa Beach, he remarked after much thought, “The Gospel has never made sense to me. It is such a narcissistic narrative. But this idea that it is about provoking us to the heroic—this is intriguing to me.” Then he asked me a question I will never forget: “Is it possible that Christianity has rejected this Gospel because it demands too much of us?”

via Living Wide Awake : The Origins Project.

At the risk of sounding all “Bill and Ted”: woah!

This is what NT Wright hits on when he says that we are “saved for good works”. I like it a lot – the post does sound more and more American as it goes, but the heart of the quote above blew me away.

Voted in the Triple J Hottest 100 of all time tonight: which was quite an arduous task.

The 10 I ended up voting for are below, followed by my (not very short) shortlist:

(in no particular order)

1. U2 – One
2. Jeff Buckley – Last Goodbye
3. Jimi Hendrix – All Along The Watchtower
4. Beatles, The – While My Guitar Gently Weeps
5. Bob Dylan – Maggie’s Farm
6. Frank Sinatra – Mack The Knife
7. Paul Kelly – How To Make Gravy
8. Queen – Bohemain Rhapsody
9. U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday
10. Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl

Beatles, The – Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Beatles, The – While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Bob Dylan – All Along The Watchtower
Bob Dylan – Maggie’s Farm
Bob Dylan – The Story Of Hurricane
Bob Dylan – Tombstone Blues
Boomtown Rats, The – I Don’t Like Mondays
Cab Calloway – Minnie The Moocher
CAKE – Short Skirt Long Jacket
Crowded House – Don’t Dream Its Over
Damien Rice – The Blower’s Daughter
Flight of the Conchords – Business Time
Frank Sinatra – Mack The Knife
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu – Gurrumul History (i Was Born Blind)
Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová – Falling Slowly
Herd, The – I was only 19
Hilltop Hoods – Nosebleed Section
Huey Lewis & The News – Power Of Love
Ingrid Michaelson – The Way I Am
INXS – By My Side
Jackson 5 – Abc
James Brown – Get Up (sex Machine)
Jeff Buckley – Halleujah
Jeff Buckley – Last Goodbye
Jimi Hendrix – All Along The Watchtower
Johnny Cash & June Carter – Jackson
José González – Heartbeats
Kimya Dawson – Loose Lips
Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way
Living End, The – Second Solution
Living End, The – Tainted Love
Living End, The – West End Riot
Lou Reed – Walk On The Wild Side
Louis Armstrong – Summertime (feat. Ella Fitzgerald)
Michael Jackson – Billie Jean
Michael Jackson – Smooth Criminal
Midnight Oil – Beds Are Burning
Monty Python – Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life
My Friend the Chocolate Cake – It’s All In The Way
Nick Cave – Red Right Hand
Nick Cave – The Ship Song
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – The Weeping Song
Oasis – Wonderwall
Paul Kelly – How To Make Gravy
Paul Kelly – Love Never Runs On Time
Pink Floyd – Another Brick In The Wall
pink floyd – comfortably numb
Powderfinger – Already Gone
Queen – Bohemain Rhapsody
Queen – Fat Bottomed Girls
Queen – Somebody To Love
Queen – You’re My Best Friend
Queens of the Stone Age – Nobody Knows
R.E.M. – Losing My Religion
Ray Charles – Georgia On My Mind
Ray Charles – Shake A Tail Feather
Rolling Stones, The – Sympathy For The Devil
Roy Orbison – Crying
Run-D.M.C. – It’s Tricky
Salmon Hater – 6.66
Santana – Smooth
Sarah Blasko – Flame Trees
Scissor Sisters – Take Your Mama
Shins, The – Caring Is Creepy
Simon & Garfunkel – Scarborough Fair
Simon & Garfunkel – The Boxer
Simon & Garfunkel – The Sound Of Silence
Skyhooks – Ego (is Not A Dirty Word)
Skyhooks – Living In The 70s
Stevie Wonder – Superstition
U2 – I Still Havent Found What I’m Looking For
U2 – Magnificent
U2 – One
U2 – Pride (in The Name Of Love)
U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday
U2 – Windows In The Skies
U2 & Johnny Cash – The Wanderer
Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl
Verve, The – Bitter Sweet Symphony

One pragmatic argument on which I have reflected is the value of memory. Kris and I have been married for thirty-five years. We grew up in the same community; our fathers coached together; we were boyfriend and girlfriend in grade school and junior high. We got serious as sophomores in high school and got married as sophomores in college. (Not what we recommended for our two kids.)

Here’s my point: nearly everything about each of our lives is known to the other. Furthermore, in our daily conversations, we draw on our collective memory of our thirty-five years of life together, and it is now rare that one of us says something about the past that the other one doesn’t already know. Our stories are reminders, not revelations, of our past together. They glue our stories into one story. Admittedly, that we grew up together gives our collective memory a dimension that most don’t know, but my point is not so much about marrying someone from your hometown as staying married.

Scot McKnight: The Story Called Us – Out of Ur

I’ve been thinking about the whole marriage thing a bit recently, partly because wifey has posted on it, and partly because I’ve been stressed lately with a few (good and bad) things going on – and as a result I’ve ended up acting like a jerk to my wife some of the time. And as a result of that I’ve made an effort to do some good things as well. But as the deep romantic that I am, I’m absolutely struck by the vision of life in the whole post. Obviously, having been married for the past 18 months, Rebecca and I are at a much earlier point in the journey than Scot and Kris, but the heart is still the same.

I am such a lucky man.

Off Air

Tony Eastley, Mark Colvin and Leigh Sales have started blogging at the ABC site on a blog called “Off Air”. It’s a relatively new blog, and at the moment it’s pretty much Tony Eastley commenting on a news story for the day, with Sales and Colvin pitching in with cameos. The trio are all journalists for the ABC: Tony Eastley hosts AM for ABC radio, Mark Colvin hosts PM, and Leigh Sales is the host of Lateline (3 days a week, anyway). If you’ve got any interest in news and current affairs in Australia, then “Off Air” is a worthwhile read. (Leigh Sales and Mark Colvin are both twitterers, and worth following – if you’re into that sort of thing).

Recent Gems:

• From the Desert to Docklands - Reflections on the AFL debut of Yuendemu “elder-in-training” Liam Jurrah.
• Peter Costello – Writ large and often – Thoughts on the closing career of Peter Costello
• Bloodshed a painful reminder of Iran that was – The Iranian protests cause Mark Colvin to reflect on the death of his translator in 1980.

measured words

"But I love my daughter's picture of autumn more"

This blog is a little more personally connected: my good friend, mentor, former youth pastor and mother to two of my favourite children has started blogging. Catherine has a beautiful writing voice, and is just delightful to read. She hasn’t been blogging at measured words for very long, and is not particularly prolific; but she is always worth reading. Even (or perhaps especially) when she writes a little post like: “I love autumn, but I love my daughter’s picture of autumn more”.

Recent gems:

• names – Discussing names and identity
• divine interconnectedness – creation, medicine and God
• gumboots – just good fun
  

Have a read: if one doesn’t suit you the other surely will. And if you’ve made a recent discovery in the world wide interweb, then comment below (it doesn’t bite) and share the wealth.

Tiananmen Square Tanks

China has become one of Australia’s most important trading partners, and are ultimately the biggest reason our economy hasn’t gone completely down the toilet. But at some stage, someone has to stand up and force China to face up to the harsh realities of their actions. Sadly, with our current leadership (or current opposition) it’s unlikely to get much help from Australia.

Some good resources from the ABC on the Tiananmen Square massacre anniversary: