Hey Hey It's Saturday

I suddenly remember why I loved 'Hey Hey It's Saturday' as a kid. (I've been watching 'Hey Hey by request')

Maybe you guys didn't watch it, but growing up, it was like an institution in my house :-)

*And it took me 19.75 years to work out that Dicky Knee was a play on words......hahahaha!! :-)*

Hmmm

I was about to do this big post about Mr Darcy.

And then I realised how utterly 'obsessed with Mr Darcy' I would sound.

So I'm not doing one.

Except now I've done a post about not doing one, so it sort of is one about him anyway.

I can't believe someone who doesn't even exist can cause such dilemmas :-p

Sheer intelligence

Red Light
Take turns making turns.
Whenever you come to a red light, one of you must say whether to turn left or right. You alternate after each light. (If there’s a one-way street, our strong advice is to go the direction the traffic is going.) The fun part happens when you land in a (safe) part of town you’ve never been in. Then you have to find your way home! (Be smart. Always carry a map in the car!)

(A suggestion in a Christian magazine about something new and interesting to do on a date. Sounds more like "New and Interesting Ways to Waste Petrol, Get Lost and Cause an Accident")

Blessed are those who do not yell at passing cars, for they shall not be embarrassed later on......

Tonight on the way home from Nightlife, the group of us in Lisa's car found Nat and Ness stranded on the side of the road.

We waited around, hazard lights on, bonnet up, waiting for the RACQ man to come.

As we were waiting, people would drive past us, some slowing down to look, some just moving along.

And then around the corner, at an almighty speed, came a little grey Ford laser with 2 guys in it. The driver was swerving around a bit, and they were staring out the window as they drove past. This annoyed me somewhat.

"Learn to drive!" I yelled as they sped past.

Kylie proceeded to give me a lesson in proper roadside ettiquette: i.e. do not yell at passing cars, as they may suddenly stop, reverse and speed back and get out of the car. (Well, that's not exactly what she said, but her aim was to encourage general politeness). After protesting up and down that they couldn't possibly hear me because I'd waited until they'd gone past, we got back to talking and discussing the car problem.

5 minutes later, up pulls a car. "Do you need a hand?" asks the guy in it, looking concerned. Everyone else says "No thanks, we're right - waiting for RACQ etc etc". Everyone except me.

That's because I recognise that guy in that car.

It was the little grey Ford laser.

Suddenly I felt like a real idiot. And really rude. Those guys had probably driven an entire block - probably had to get back on the freeway and get back off to make sure we were okay.

Blessed are those who do not yell out at passing cars, for they will not later be ashamed of their behaviour.

(They don't call me Noof for nothing ;-)

Movies

I'm just taking a break from an assignment - a music composition. Since everyone here is mad about minimalism, I thought I'd give it a go (and I must admit, I do enjoy some of it)

Anyway, I've been making a list of movies to see during the summer holidays, and it's getting pretty long! I would love some recommendations - what are your favourite comedy/romance/ fun movies? (I'm not a big fan of violence - gives me crazy dreams where lots of people die :-s )

Here is my 'to watch' list:

Napoleon Dynamite
Hating Alison Ashley (I loved the book)
The Gods Must be Crazy
Lost in Translation
Hitch
Monsters Inc
Madagascar
Good Burger
Robin Hood: Men in Tights
Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
The Notebook

What else, guys?

Oh, and something else....

I saw Pride and Prejudice (the one with Keira Knightley) on the weekend.

I liked it more than the BBC version. :-)

Mr Darcy was even better this time.

Yes I did cry.

No, I'm not telling you why :-p

The weekend

Note that I am trying to post a little bit less than I have been.

The exam on Friday morning went well - sorry Pat, I can't translate my study notes into English because that was English :-s

Then deposited money for schoolies and went to the chap, where I ate a lot of chocolate, sight-read a lot of older songs (Mathieu is a lot better at sight reading than I am), decided to go shopping, decided not to, then later on decided to and went.

Went to Cold Rock. Then went to Suncorp Piazza with gang. Rolled a coin down a grate (we were having this coin-rolling competition) and the boys tore up a palm frond and actually managed to fish it out! Well done, guys.

Almost went for a swim at Breaka beach :-s Would have pushed Trev in, but remembered he is a lot stronger and bigger than me. (Hey, it's not the size of the person in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the person, right? Well, I played it safe anyway ;-)

Pete had a bright idea - Mt Coot-tha! So after a scenic detour (and pretending Lisa and I were in the Amazing Race, using our American accents) we arrived there. And then time to go home.

Last night - Ali's farewell dinner at Pancake Manor! And it was good :-) She was suprised. Thanks everyone who turned up :-)

Church this morning. Church meeting this afternoon. I was the microphone girl (i.e. run around and give the microphone to whoever is speaking). AND I actually SUGGESTED something at this meeting!!!! :-0
*people under 30 do not usually speak in our church meetings - it's not a rule, it's just that not many under 30 come! and when we do, we quietly play noughts and crosses. Well, I think those days are over - I may have graduated to productive membership!*

Went to pick my brother up from a party. Met a little kid there. Asked him how old he was.
"Five," he said.
"How old do you think I am?"
He frowned, looked me up and down, and then pulled out his best estimate. "Eight?"
I grinned. "No, I'm 19." (Actually, today I am 19 and 3/4.)
He smiled. "I think I like you."
"I think I like you too!"
Little kids are so wonderful :-)

Your friendly neighbourhood study buddy part 2

Once again, feel free to ignore this.

TEXTURE

Monophony - a single line of melody without accompaniment (single strand)
Polyphony - two or more independent lines that interweave (multiple strand - eg counterpoint. Don't even get me STARTED on counterpoint!!)
Homophony - two or more parts moving together (parallel strand). These are hierarchically structured (don't ask why, I don't know, they just are): melody and accompaniment, melody and drone or block chords.
Heterophony - several different versions of the same melody played simultaneously

Split aural focus - call and response (alternating strands)

Homogenous textures - textures that rely on a centralised or agreed concept of time or musical gesture (pretty much anything with a time signature, then)

Heterogenous textures - no definition, so I made one up. Ready? A texture without a centralised or agreed concept of time or musical gesture (so just whatever, whenever - pretty random. Edgar Varese, Poem Electronique??)

CHANGING A MUSICAL TRADITION (this should be under syncretism, fixed and mobile tradtions - sorry. See previous study buddy post)
1) Provide a new context/recontextualisation - placing a recognised sound in a new environment.
2) Change the role of the instrument, extend or introduce a new instrumental technique. (Eg Stravinsky, Rite of Spring opening - bassoon in the top of its register. Like, who does that? :-p)
3) Changing the instrument's traditional mode of performance (see John Cage and his wacky prepared piano. This guy put lots of junk in his piano - pieces of fabric around the hammers, nails in the strings. We did it at school once to an old piano - it never worked properly again after that. And boy does it make a hideous noise!!!!)

DYNAMICS
They indicate loudness or softness in the music. They're relative - you can't say "Well, this many decibels equals mf."

ff - fortissimo (very loudly)
f - forte (loudly)
mf - mezzo forte (moderately loudly)
mp - mezzo piano (moderately softly)
p - piano (softly)
pp - pianissimo (very softly)

One dude (Tchaikovsky??) used SIX p's in one of his pieces!

pppppp - pianissississississimo. (just pack up and go home, cos no one'll be able to hear you anyway it's that quiet)

(no, I'm not making it up - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamics_%28music%29)

crescendo, diminuendo, decrescendo - yeah yeah yeah.
Dynamics add colour and interest. Canned music (music played at a constant mf) is boring. If you can't play dynamics, why are you playing, is the general idea. (Guess I'd better work on mine)

Cool, I think I'm done. Yay :-)

P.S. If you read this, you deserve a medal. Or I could shout you a drink??? (heh, now let's see how many ppl read and comment ;-)

Obey the rules!

This has intrigued me ever since I was little.

Imagine if you were talking to someone one day (someone in authority), and you were talking about what the rules were (for whatever situation you are in - work, uni, whatever). And they said this:

"The rules are: obey the rules."

And you say, "But what are the rules?"
And they say, "I've just told you. The rules are, obey the rules."
"So what rules am I obeying?"
"Obey the rules."
"But how can I obey them if I don't know what they are?"
"But I've told you what they are."
"So I have to obey the rules."
"Yes."
"What rules were they, again?"

And on and on. It frustrates me occasionally. But then it makes sense - one of the rules is implicitly that you have to obey the rules, or there would be no point in them, would there?

Sometimes I find the same thing with God. Only He's not so frustrating :-)
"If you love me, you will obey what I command."
Okay God, what do You command?
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength."
And how do I love you?
"Obey what I command." So what do You command? (see above) And you know the ongoing cycle.

But there are other commands as well. So we can actually be practical and DO something (like loving people, forgiving them, doing stuff for them), instead of sitting around stuck in a permanent catch-22.
This is because God gives much clearer directions than the boofhead who says, "The rules are, obey the rules."

Your friendly neighbourhood study buddy...

Just tune this one out if it bores you - this is me studying. What better way to remember than by writing it on my blog!

SYNCRETISM
Syncretism is the process of old meanings being ascribed to new elements or by which new values change the cultural significance of old forms.

In music terms - the combining of elements from different types of music to create new styles of music.

Fixed traditions: A fixed tradition is a musical convention or language that never changes. Eg: Organum (what the heck is that?), Japanese court music, 12 bar blues.

Mobile traditions: A mobile tradition is a musical convention or language that is continually searching for new forms of expression through sound, context or something else......oh yeah, ways of playing. Eg: Jazz, classical music, minimalism.

MINIMALISM
Composers: Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Phillip Glass, Mark whathisname - Pollard, and Matthew Hindson.

Characteristics of minimalism: repetition, phase shifting and polyrhythms. (Phase shifting is lining up tape loops and playing them in unison, then letting them get out of phase with each other)

And it began in the USA in the 1960's, associated with the minimalist art movement, and was a reaction against modernism. Minimalism is tonal and has rhythmic regularity (modernism is atonal and rhythmically irregular). And it's all about reduction to the essential elements.

PROGRAMMATIC MUSIC

Meaning can be ascribed to music.
1) Meaning through association. (Gamelan music uses the pentatonic scale. Therefore the pentatonic scale can be associated with exotic/foreign music)
2) Meaning through characteristic resemblance or similarity with a physical object or reality
(I'm not sure what they mean by this. An example of this is the 'Great White Shark Theme' from Jaws - I assume they mean that it sounds like a great white shark???? meh)
3) Meaning through relationship with a physical experience or gesture (eg: an increase or decrease in pulse correlates with a change in heart rate and emotional state. Also, some melodies or rhythms can be representative of physical states such as running, jumping, falling.)
4) Meaning through correlation with a process or shape (eg music that expands/contracts in texture, register, range or speed can be equated with growth or decay. Dynamics can create spatial relationships - a quiet sound may be associated with an object that is far away - a sound increasing in loudness may be associated with an object that is coming closer)

Programmatic composers:
Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique
Debussy - La Mer, the Sunken Cathedral
Smetana - the Moldau (I am so OVER it)
Stravinsky - the Rite of Spring

SOUND MASS
A sonic event where so much is happening that all sounds blur into a massive wall of timbre - detail is lost and we experience a sense of mass.

Achieved through 1) Fusing - blending the sounds 2) Multiplicity - multiplying the sounds to form a large scale mass or 3) micropolyphony - so much polyphony that the sounds is blurred.

Sound mass can occur in homogenous or heterogenous textures (we'll get to that in a minute - next post!). Edgar Varese is associated with 'sound mass'. What a good place to start talking about......

MUSIQUE CONCRETE
(Concrete music)

Electronic composition - editing natural and industrial sounds together to form a soundscape. 1940s- 50s.

Composers:
Edgar Varese
Milton Babbitt
John Cage
Stockhausen (1960s)
Pierre Schafer

Right, I'm off to learn about texture, extended instrumental technique, dynamics, timbre, pacing and harmony. (Maybe some other stuff too.)

Hope this helps if you have a music exam :-p

Since we're telling jokes....

Once there was a guy looking for work, so he went round to his neighbours and asked if he could do any jobs for them.
"Actually," said his next door neighbour, "I do need to paint my porch, but I need to go out." The guy agreed to take on the job (for a reasonable rate), so the next door neighbour handed the guy the paintbrush and paint, then said goodbye and left.

He came home four hours later to find the porch exactly the same as he'd found it - unpainted. The guy came up to him. "I finished!" he said proudly.
"What?" asked the stunned next door neighbour.
"I finished," repeated the guy. "Oh, and by the way, your car's not a Porsche, it's a Ferrari."

What the heck....

I was on yr 11 camp (survival camp - it was rough. And I was in the 'low' group - i.e. low adventure.) They gave us chicken to cook that night for tea. How they expected us to carry this chicken through the heat of the day without refrigeration, I will never know.

Anyway, they made us do this obstacle course (which was probably for team-building purposes, looking back - but I think it just made most of our team more annoyed, as we wanted to get on the road asap.) And we had to put the chicken down on the ground (it was sealed in plastic bags).

Well, maybe not sealed enough. We came back to discover ants all through it.

"It's okay," I said, "we'll just wash the chicken before we cook it."

We arrived at our campsite, and were encouraged to take 10 mins to just sit quietly and think.

Seven minutes later I realised I was sitting in an ants nest.

(Don't remember how I managed to move without distracting everyone else - probably with great difficulty :-)

Then it got dark. So we couldn't see the chicken to wash it all piece by piece until the ants were gone.

So we just cooked the lot and ate it. (After managing to set the oil in the pan on fire - courtesy of yours truly)

An alarming incident....

This morning when I woke up, I found a leg of a cockroach in my bed (near my head).

I wondered all day long whether or not I had actually eaten one in my sleep.

:-S

Fortunately my sister tells me she killed one the night before, and it was on the blinds above my bed.

(I've eaten ants before, but that's another story.....and if I tell it, my sister will probably hit me, becaus she's sick of it)

Nightlife was so good tonight

Tonight at Nightlife we had prayer and praise night :-) And it was so good, for so many reasons, but I'll put down the most important ones.

First of all, Trevor MC'd (did a great job). He talked to us about a particular model of prayer, based on the Tabernacle in the Old Testament. (If that makes no sense, don't tune out, it's simple) There were 6 stages to it.

1) Confessing all sin. (In the Old Testament, the people had to sacrifice an animal to pay for the bad stuff they did - they'd put their hands on the animal, confess their sins, and then it would be sacrificed. I know it sounds gross, but just think - that's the price for our sin) The good news is, once it's confessed, IT'S GONE. God doesn't remember it anymore.

Then we went into another room, where one of the guys was standing, holding a teddy bear on a table, with a knife above it, as though he was about to kill it. Okay, it was a teddy bear, but here came realisation #1 - that was the price that needed to be paid for my sin - death.
And Jesus paid it.

Realisation #2 - because Jesus paid it, when I confess my sin, it is forgiven and forgotten because it is gone. And I suddenly realised how scared I'd been of confessing my sin, because I was frightened of what God might do after I confessed it.

Do you know what He does with our confession? He forgives. On the other side of repentance lies forgiveness. I don't need to dread telling God the things I've done wrong. Confession and repentance will bring joy.

Later on, we took communion. And that was great too. I hadn't taken it in awhile as I felt that I wasn't where I should be with God - but tonight I decided I would. And realisation #3 - God doesn't want me to live under a cloud of guilt. This idea began creeping into my mind: He cares.

There was a lot of good stuff, but the songs were great - I really felt like I connected with God. And then I knew I had to get away for a little while, so I spent some time out in the girls toilets (great place to sneak away to ;-), knowing that God cared. Knowing that I wasn't facing all my difficulties and the sometimes-painful things that happen on my own. Knowing that God didn't want me to just fix them up instantly and get everything right - that He cared about the things that were hurting.

It's not just me - do you have pain? Is there something that you look back on, and it just hurts to think about? Or are there emotions left over from an event long past that sneak up on you while you're alone?

God cares about your pain. Please tell Him about it. He is very gentle. He won't break your will or crush your spirit. (I am preaching to myself here too :-) If it hurts you, it hurts Him, because He loves you so much.

Thank You God, for caring.

For those who find the going tough.......

But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:3

He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for He is faithful to do what He says and He has invited you into partnership with His Son, Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 1:8,9

To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy - to the only God our Saviour be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen. Jude 24,25

God is faithful. He's going to keep us from falling. He's going to make us strong and protect us from the evil one. He's going to get us there - with great joy.

Late nights and cats

No one is on MSN at the moment. But I'm sure there's a good reason for that - I'm sure it's not me ;-)

Two cats are having a really good caterwauling competition outside. If I had a hose........

Just finished an assignment, so I may be getting some sleep after all. Hooray :-)

Then again, if Garfield keeps it up, perhaps not :-s
Let's see how we go :-)

Comments

You guys can comment, you know. On anything on this blog. I notice that no one comments on the sad or serious ones. And that's okay. But don't feel like you shouldn't. Cos I'd like it if you did.

Selecting a name for a band

And no matter how you feel
It's what you do that matters
This is your moment to be strong
Today's your day - it's on. ~superchic[k]~

(Yes, I am quoting them a bit, aren't I)

"We're Mystic Spiral. But we're thinking of changing our name." Trent (from Daria)

If you're in a band, it's funny how much time name-choosing takes up.

"Right, we've got the drummer, the guitarist, the bass, the keys and the singer. We've got our amps and mixing gear and sound dude. Now all we need is a name."
"What's your set like?"
"Oh, we don't have one yet, we'll make it up as we go along. Welcome to the world of professional musicianship."

Beauty from Pain

After all this has passed
I still will remain
After I've cried my last
There'll be beauty from pain
Though it won't be today
Someday I'll hope again
And You'll bring beauty from pain
You will bring beauty from my pain ~superchic[k]~

in life it takes a lotta manure to grow a beautiful rose bush ~eLi~

and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purposes....... ~Paul~

If you looked deep into my soul
Would you like what you saw?
Would you be shocked at the
Sins I have committed?
Would you understand the conflict
Between my heart, my will and my emotions?
Would you know the pain, insecurity and heartbreak
Hidden there?
Or could you see beyond that?
Could you see, deeper still,
The desire to leave my sins behind, at the cross,
Where they belong?
Could you see the convictions and opinions that have been
Shaped from the many angry, raging battles between my heart and will?
Could you ever see the strength, the hope and the security that
Come from experiencing pain, insecurity and heartbreak?
Do you see who I am?
More importantly, do you see who I will be
And can you help me be that person?

Essay!!!!

Doesn't ANYONE have resources on indigenous epistemology? :-(

*And you thought drama kids didn't do any work!*

Stationery

*Apologies if you know this story already, it was just too good to not share with the general blog public*

My boss put a big Officeworks directory on my desk the other day - apparently you can now order stationery online. Anyway, this was cool, because when I'm bored, I can peruse this stationery directory till the cows come home.

I love stationery :-) (Well, not all of it. Staplers, scissors, glue, sticky-tape - they're boring. But pens, paper, coloured folders, stickers - they're cool :-)There's one particular Coles which has all the confectionary on one side of the aisle, and all the stationery on the other side. I really like that Coles.

Anyway, these Officeworks ppl must have worked really hard on their advertising slogan - I mean, really put in the hard yards, gone the extra mile. This is what they came up with:

"It's the differences that make the difference!"

It just makes you want to weep. (Why it makes you want to weep is up to you ;-)

Oh my goodness, I just about wrote 'fin' at the end of this blog! :-S You know you've been reading other people's blogs too much when you start accepting their conventions as your own. That, or you haven't been sleeping enough.

The schoolies series :-) Part 4

WILD RICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The schoolies series :-) Part 3

TEN EASY STEPS FOR UNPACKING AND WINDING DOWN FROM SCHOOLIES:

1) Get your stuff out of the car. Preferably when it isn’t raining.
2) Get your stuff in the house and unpacked as soon as possible, in order to avoid nagging from housemates, siblings or parents about “that great heap in the middle of the lounge room”.
3) Empty the sand out of your suitcase. In order to do this, firmly grasp the suitcase with one hand, hold the top open with the other and whack it a few times to dislodge sand (NOTE: do not whack suitcase with your head). Note to the reader: I'm not sure why I thought whacking the suitcase with my head was a good idea - I forgot about the metal bracing :-s
4) Put your things away. This includes sticking photos on your wall and adding everyone’s numbers to your phone and email addresses to your contacts
5) If the Hotmail contacts are out of order, do not yell at your computer screen. Wait until Hotmail has sorted itself out.
6) Write down the things you want to remember. Tell the funny stories. Cry about all the people you are missing. Review your training. “Be sure to follow up and make mature!” Obey my orders about inviting people to prep camp!
7) Get yourself to Nightlife lite if you are really feeling the withdrawal symptoms. Get yourself to Nightlife lite even if you aren’t.
8) Don’t play the photo CD incessantly or watch the video footage over and over. It will simply make you more upset.
9) Try to go to bed at a reasonable hour, not 1 am.
10) And for goodness’ sake, STOP emailing everyone stupid random quizzes and quirky ‘how to get over schoolies’ lists!

The schoolies series :-) Part 2

A bunch of random images from schoolies!

This was seriously, the first day. Come on! Wake up you guys! We haven't even stayed up all night yet!

This was the guys room. Just a little bit messy???

Training! There was so much training. You learn heaps. And then you get to go out that night and talk to people about what you just learned - instant application!

Yeah, you do get sleepy. I had to hit myself a few times to stay awake. Just slap yourself in the face, it's all good :-)

More training stuff

"No ministry teams are allowed to be involved in any ugly incident - they have to withdraw and phone relevant authorities." Schoolies manual, 2005

This is a our depiction of being on the streets at night

The schoolies series :-) Part 1

When we go on schoolies, we have to write a short little talk about ourselves - how life was before we became Christians, how and why we became Christians, and what life is like now we are Christians.

Here's my story:

I became a Christian at an early age, but as I got older there were other things that were just as important to me. In primary school I wanted all my teachers to think I was really smart, and so schoolwork was my priority. In high school I really wanted to fit in with the cool group, cos I was often called a nerd. I never forgot I was a Christian, and I thought I was doing pretty well because I went to church and I didn’t swear.

I had a couple of big weaknesses. The first was fear – I have a crazy imagination, can’t watch horror movies – and I often tried to keep busy so I could forget the scary things I thought about. The other weakness was spending a lot of time daydreaming about guys that I liked, because I felt safe and happy.

I started thinking about what I should do with my life when I was about 14 or 15. I wondered what God wanted me to do. I learned from church and from Christian friends that God was interested in and cared about every part of my life – not just work, but friends, family, homework, everything.

Soon after this I began going out with a guy, mostly because I liked the attention he gave me. He also needed my attention, but if he didn’t get it, he’d get upset with me and I’d feel guilty. But I didn’t break up with him right away, because I still wanted the attention.

I went on a camp in June when I was 15, along with this guy and some other school friends. The leaders were talking about how we should be making sure that Jesus was the most important person in our lives, and that began to make sense to me, since I was a Christian. The biggest struggle, though, was knowing that if I really wanted to put Jesus first, I would need to break off the relationship with the guy.

One night at one of the talks on camp, I prayed and told Jesus I was going to make sure He was the most important thing in my life. Then we were told to come to the front of the room if we’d prayed. I argued against it in my mind, until I heard God say to me, “Did you mean what you said?” So I went down the front, I prayed and cried, and I promised Jesus that I would live for Him. I broke up with the guy I’d been going out with and told him I wanted to put Jesus first.

I started reading my Bible regularly, and I suddenly couldn’t get enough of it. It has taught me so much and changed my attitudes, cos I saw that Jesus did things differently – He said things like love God more than anything else, love people, even love your enemies. He also helped me to deal with my fears so that they don’t constantly invade my mind anymore, and I think that slowly but surely He is teaching me how to keep the whole relationships with guys thing in balance.

Jesus has done so much for me – He died on the cross to pay for all the bad things I’ll ever do, think or say. He also forgives me for them. Jesus also came back to life after He died, so now I have a real relationship with Him where I talk to Him and He talks to me. His love is what sustains me through the hard times. One of the biggest things I’ve learnt this year is that God does not control me through guilt and fear – He wants to set me free from those things and motivate me through love instead.

If you're a Christian, this is you:

http://www.intouch.org/myintouch/exploring/promises/identity_94027.html

Country gone emo....or is it emo gone country?

It's really neither. But I heard this song in arranging class tonight. I've only found the lyrics - clever little song, go here:

http://malwebb.customer.netspace.net.au/cupnot.html

It's nearing the end of semester. I can't find my pen. I have to resort to pencil.

There's a piece of music I might be arranging. I think it was used in the church many many hundreds of years ago. At the top of it, describing how to play the piece, are the words 'largo religioso' (I assume that means 'very religiously'), followed by 40bpm. *This is a VERY slow speed*

Why does 40bpm = very religious?! I think I will try one day to write a very religious, very worshipful song. And it will pulse worshipfully at 220. :-D *I don't think God minds 220, in fact He probably enjoys it - why else would He create it? :-D*

Apologies to the person who I wrote about on my blog in a negative light (i.e. the 'cranky bogan' comment)
1) I should not be talking about people behind their backs. I should be talking to them.
2) This person sent me an awesome email today, and they did not intend to be rude, or hurt my feelings with that comment.

From now on, if there are any posts on this blog that talk about people in a negative light behind their back, feel free to comment and say "oi! Cut it out!"

Thank you.

An MSN conversation is quite nice with a fair few people. Nine's company - ten's a crowd though, so good thing we only had nine :-p Just kidding, ten would have been awesome too.

Good thing we saved the kitten! ;-)

Okay, this is me, over and out for tonight.

A song I started once.....

too many things going on
struggling to keep up with it
too many things going wrong
and there's no time to fix them

it's an avalanche
it's coming after you
and i didn't know what i could do
just wanted to turn and run away
away, away, away

it's an avalanche
it's crashing in on you
i need something to pull me through
just wanted to stay in bed all day

:-s

Looked at you today
Saw a stranger
Who are you?

Talked to you today
But couldn't say anything
Of any real importance

Listened to you
But I couldn't hear you

Ambushed once again
By those old friends
Pain
Jealousy
I can't breathe

Let go.......
Breathe.

Locked out
Disconnected
Isolated

Your interview!

When I was in year 12, I interviewed a lot of my classmates (I think it started out as character development for a drama assignment, but then I got so into it that I just kept interviewing people!)

I put the questions up here for you to look at. If you want to answer them, then email me. *Probably not a good idea to post them up here on my blog*
These are the questions:

Full name?
Date of birth?
Place of birth?
Earliest memory?
Childhood memories/events?
Places you have lived and what were they like?
Primary school/s and what it was like (memories from primary school)?
High school/s and what it was like (memories from high school)?
Uni (if you're there!) and what it's like?
What do you worry about/what kind of problems do you have?
When did you become a Christian (if you did) and why?
How's your relationship with God going?
What are the tough things about being a Christian?
What are the good things?
If you're not a Christian:
What's the first word that comes to mind when you hear the word 'Christian'?
Have you ever looked into Christianity seriously - explored the beliefs and the reasons behind the beliefs?
Is there anything you like about Christianity?
Anything that you don't like about it or don't get?
And then for everyone:
What do you want in life?

Something I said I'd post

This is a Smith chart. I don't know why it's called that. Doesn't it look interesting? Makes you feel a bit dizzy. This image is courtesy of Trevor, the friendly neighbourhood engineering student :-)

At last! The prank war is over!

I'm glad. You can have too much of a good thing, you know.

That has got to be a record: 7 days long.

Thanks to all who participated.

I take back what I said about daring someone to call me a bogan - someone did. They shall remain nameless.

Just a piece of advice - sending me a message calling me a "cranky bogan" when I have just woken up is NOT a good call. Like, on a scale of 1 to 10 for "um, I really wasn't thinking at the time" - that's about an 8.5

If I was going to give out awards for the prank war, they'd go something like this: (no, I'm not saying who gets which award, you get to figure that out. Nominate yourself for an award! Which one do you think you got?)

Fastest Prank
Slowest Prank
Most Obvious Prank
Most Frequent Prank
The "Were You Calling Or Just Pranking Me?" award
The Spoilsport Prank (aka "I've Pranked You and Now I'm Turning My Phone Off So You Get My Voicemail - Hee Hee" Prank). A fairly brutal tactic, only resorted to when one is truly sick to death of pranks, needs to sleep, or just doesn't want to get caught yet again.

So yeah, nominate yourself! :-) And I might tell you if you were right or not ;-)

Jael

Went to a concert tonight. Jael, Substance and Gatecrash the Sun. *No, I didn't know who they were - except Jael. But I went anyway, since some of my friends were going and it was to support a missions trip to Fiji*

Wore earplugs for the first time :-s Told I was 'old'. But it's okay, I'm using the excuse that I'm a music student and I don't want to munt up my ears, cos I need to preserve them to do all those assignments!

Yes, I did go and mosh at the front for awhile :-) Along with my sister, who is the loudest, craziest mosher ever. I think to be a successful mosher (in a big crowd, anyway), you have to be kind of aggressive, or else you'll just get squashed. I'm not a particularly aggressive person (usually), so I just get squashed.

Might go and see the Wallace and Gromit movie tomorrow. I thought at first it might be too scary *yeah, I know - W&G scary?! But my mind's a little crazy* - but I laughed all the way through the ads at 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' - so why not :-)

And if this is not truly ridiculous, I do not know what is.

At the start of this year, there was the iPod mini.

Followed a few months later by the iPod shuffle.

And now, just breaking into existence, is the iPod nano.....yes, even smaller than the mini!


We had internet. We had fridges.

Now we have fridges with the internet.

Pretty soon I'm going to be able to buy an iPod nano with a fridge and phone installed in it. That's if I don't invent it first, patent it and flog it.

All I'm saying is, isn't this a bit excessive? Is it good for us to have our every last wish, every tiny little want catered for, no matter how utterly unnecessary? I say: no!

"Back in my day".....*yes, we know, you had to walk five miles to school barefoot in the snow uphill both ways*

Ahem. Excuse the lapse into grandparent-ness. But I remember when I was a kid, living in a suburb of Logan ;-) *go on, say it. I dare you. The word that starts with b and rhymes with 'Logan'.* I don't remember getting a huge amount of new stuff. Although we did get new things, but when we did they lasted for ages. I still have my bike from when I was 7 (admittedly, it is past its use-by date, and there does come a point when you need to get rid of stuff you can't use). We'd wear our clothes until we couldn't wear them when we went out anymore - then they became clothes to wear in the sandpit :-) *Hmm, perhaps my childhood habits are still a part of me...this could explain my wardrobe of clothes that are 75% good for wearing around the house and 25% good for wearing outside the house ;-) Unfortunately I can't wear them to the sandpit anymore, as we don't have one :-(*

And you know what? We had a lot of fun :-) Don't think you need an iPod nano to have a good time. If all you have is your cassette player and radio, then you crank it up and dance!!!!! You'll feel just as good as if you were dancing to the latest and greatest in music technology.

Don't let your old, dodgy computer stop you from writing your masterpiece. I don't care if it still uses DOS! Write. And if you don't have DOS, then pen and paper will work just as well.

Ok, so some things are going to require stuff that maybe you don't have yet. That's okay. Wait for them. If you need them to accomplish your life's purpose, God will give them to you :-) And if He doesn't, then you don't really need it. Or you just need to wait awhile longer.

God has a purpose for your life. Don't let iPod nano stop you from accomplishing it ;-)

The Babel Fish

你好。这是企图讲许多不同的语言。一些语言更加成功地将翻译比其他人。一些不会有澳大利亚词' drongo 的' 等值。但是, 这应该招待:-)

Hello. Dit is een poging om vele verschillende talen te spreken. Sommige talen zullen meer met succes dan anderen vertalen. Wat zullen geen equivalent van het Australische woord ' drongo ' hebben. Nochtans, zou dit onderhoudend moeten zijn:-)

Bonjour. C'est une tentative de parler beaucoup de différentes langues. Quelques langues traduiront plus avec succès que d'autres. Certains n'auront pas un équivalent du mot australien 'drongo '. Cependant, ceci devrait amuser : -)

Hallo. Dieses ist ein Versuch, viele unterschiedliche Sprachen zu sprechen. Einige Sprachen übersetzen erfolgreich als andere. Einige haben nicht ein Äquivalent des australischen Wortes ' Drongo '. Jedoch sollte dieses unterhalten:-)

Γειάσου. Αυτό είναι μια προσπάθεια να μιληθούν πολλές διαφορετικές γλώσσες. Μερικές γλώσσες θα μεταφράσουν επιτυχέστερα από άλλες. Μερικοί δεν θα έχουν ένα αντίτιμο της αυστραλιανής λέξης "drongo". Εντούτοις, αυτό πρέπει να είναι διασκεδαστικό: -)

Ciao. Ciò è un tentativo di parlare molte lingue differenti. Alcune lingue tradurranno più con successo di altre. Alcuni non avranno un equivalente della parola australiana 'drongo '. Tuttavia, questo dovrebbe intrattenere: -)

こんにちは。これは多くの異なった言語を話す試みである。ある言語は他より首尾よく翻訳する。一部にオーストラリアの単語' drongo ' の等量がない。但し、これは心に抱くべきである: -)

여보세요. 많은 다른 언어를 말하는 이것은 시도 이다. 몇몇 언어는 다른 사람보다는 성공적으로 번역할 것이다. 어떤에는 오스트레일리아 낱말'drongo'의 동치가 있지 않을 것이다. 그런데, 이것은 대접했음 에:-)

Здравствулте!. Это будет попытка поговорить много по-разному языков. Некоторые языки переведут более успешно чем другие. Некоторые не будут иметь эквивалент австралийского слова ' drongo '. Однако, это должно развлекать:-)

p.s. that's what russian looks like?!

Freedom

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10

Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." John 8:34-36

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption. And by Him we cry "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Romans 8:15,16

"God's will comes from God's heart. It is not an impersonal thing, but a very personal matter with the Lord. He has a personal understanding of each of His children - their natures, their names, their needs - and He tailors His plans accordingly."
"God's will is not a duty - it is a delight. The Christian delights to discover the will of God and then obey from the heart. The will of God is his nourishment." Warren W. Wiersbe

God wants us to be free. He does not want to manipulate or control us through fear and guilt.

Yes, He wants us to follow Him completely, no matter what He asks. He wants to be first and He wants to be in charge. But why?

So He can bless us. So He can give us a full, abundant life - not one lived in fear, not one lived in constant doubt and worry, but one lived in freedom - freedom to love Him and to enjoy His blessings, to have our desires fulfilled in the best way possible.

Hey, that actually sounds good :-)


You raise me up
So I can walk on mountains
You raise me up
To walk on stormy seas
For I am strong
When I am on Your shoulders
You raise me up
To more than I can be. Josh Groban, "You Raise Me Up"

Signposts

The purpose of my life (or any Christian's life, I guess) is to be a "signpost". A sign that points to God. (see a book called 'The Fight' by John White)

It matters very little what the signpost looks like. As long as it can be clearly read and points in the right direction.

My job is to help other people realise how wonderful God is.

Lately I realise that I haven't been doing it all that well - I've been trying to help other people realise how wonderful I am.

Fortunately it hasn't really been working ;-)

Another paradox of the Christian life: when we are busy helping others realise how wonderful God is, I think that's when we are at our most wonderful too. But it's the icing on the cake - the big chocolate mud cake (or whatever your favourite cake is) that is glorifying God.

John 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

I've been complaining I have no life, for three reasons:
1) I blog
2) I spend too much time on MSN
3) I start prank wars on my mobile phone

So last night I went out and spent some time with some friends. Admittedly, I did start prank wars there, and got a little too addicted to it - you know it's a problem when you're trying to cut some Brie with one hand with your finger on the 'answer' key with the other :-p

And then one of my friends said I'd go home and write about it all on my blog.

Which I guess just goes to show I really do need a life :-p

However, I haven't been involved in a good prank war for awhile, and this one has been going for over 24 hours now. :-)

If they were going to make a movie about my uni life, it could go like this:

PRANK WARS

Episode 1: The Phantom Prank
Episode 2: Attack of the Pranks
Episode 3: Revenge of the Prank
Episode 4: A New Prank
Episode 5: The Friend Pranks Back
Episode 6: Return of the Prank

Okay, okay, I won't give up my day job.

Sayoonara.