Suggestions

Love wins

2011-04-01T04:03:00.000-07:00

Bet you never come for any of my other blog posts!

Just sayin'

The absent friend

2011-03-26T02:48:00.001-07:00

God is a good Friend
Whom I rarely see
He faithfully writes me letters
Which only arrive
When I seek them
Heaven is an infinite pile of unread post
In Hell they burn it in front of you

God turns up uninvited on my doorstep
At the most inconvenient times
If I’m playing my music loudly I cannot hear Him knocking
I like music to be loud
I turn it down and hear His sweeping
Footsteps shuffling down the hall
And His weeping

He says He misses me
Why do I never answer His letters?
Or His knocking?
“If you want music”, He says, “I will sing to you”

“You are the one
Who left me down here” I say
You sent Jesus to save me
And at His ascension
He didn’t take me with Him

The Curse

2010-11-12T10:41:00.001-08:00

My God speaks from Heaven, and the Devil from Hell
And Their legions tell
How humanity fell
Many since have told it, of this race Eve told it first
To understand blessing, we must be cursed

Long ago in the Garden when of the fruit she had eaten
By The serpent's words it was sweetened
And she had been beaten
God took His light from Creation, on which He no longer looked well
He withdrew His blessing, but remember this, we cursed ourselves

The Devil proclaims it a victory still
That atop Eden's hill
We bowed to his will
But God, long before he'd created the Earth
Had ordained the Blessing that would counter the curse

Noah, a sinner, could not understand
Why God had saved him from His plan
For the cleansing of Man
It rains all the time now, but that rain was the first
For us it's a blessing, for them it was a curse

Joseph was carried to Egypt, his bronze shackles chafed him
He thought Reuben had saved him
But they had resolved to enslave him
From the dark-bottomed cistern it always seems worse
It's hard to search for the blessing, when you're living the curse

Job was reduced to his natural state
With sherds of a plate
That were sharpened like blades
He drew blood
God, in the whirlwind, heard him softly confessing
The rule is the curse, the exception is blessing

The Joy of the mountaintop
The Peace of the night
The heavenly host
Scatters flocks with its light
Empyreal choirs frighten the shepherds alert
Proclaiming the Blessing, Whom we were to curse

But the curse would not fold Him
Death could not hold Him
This King who claimed Glory after three days, three years, three decades of hiding
This King, whose heavenly Kingdom was rising
He lifted the boulder like a handful of earth
The God-offered blessing Who neutered the curse

Rejoice at the abundance of Grace in this world
Let the streamers be hurled
Let the flags be unfurled
Dwell not on the curse, in all this confusion
It's just the absence of blessing, just a Devil's illusion

If You are omniscient, if Your hand conquers all
If You are sovereign, we must have been destined to fall
It will be true for the last man as it was true for the first
To understand blessing, we must be cursed

Reflection

2010-10-28T01:14:00.001-07:00

I am a broken mirror

Prophecy

2010-10-26T14:46:00.001-07:00

Prophecies can be more like shapes in the clouds than writings on the wall

Portrait and The First Prayer of Adam

2010-10-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

My good friend Jonny Solari from the awesome 1930s recorded a few of my songs on his Mac last week and here are a couple of the results.

The first is "Portrait", which connects nicely to this poem of the same name that I posted a while ago.

The next is "The first prayer of Adam", which I wrote when I thought I should try to put this poem into music

Enjoy!

Psalm 67

2010-10-04T09:32:00.000-07:00

May God grant us mercy and shower blessings in His Name
May He cause His face to shine on us again
That He may allow His fame to be known on the earth
That throughout all the nations, salvation might be heard

Let the peoples praise You, let all the peoples bring You praise
Let the nations sing for joy, let their downcast hearts be raised
For You will judge the people by the righteousness of Your throne
And all the nations of the earth shall have one King alone

Let the peoples praise You, let all the peoples bring You praise
That we may gather in the fruit of the vineyard and the grain

God, our God, will bless us, He will bless us in His Name
And the men who are at the planets end shall fear Him
And bring Him praise

The Steppe

2010-09-30T15:37:00.000-07:00

When I was a younger man
My eyes were pure, like snow
That falls upon the Russian plain
Only innocence I knew

I looked my companions in the eye
And spoke to them the truth
And hatred was Siberia away
From the Moscow of my youth

When I was a younger man
Who hadn’t travelled far
I fell in love with everyone
From the serf to the Tsar

The River- Reprise

2010-09-10T07:06:00.002-07:00

You are the source of everything that is good about the world
And You cleanse that which is evil

You are at once the River, its Wellspring and its Delta
You are the Ocean, the Clouds and the Rain
How can I be where You are not?
What can I hold from You that is not your own?

You are the source of everything that is good about the world
And You cleanse that which is evil

The River V- Faith

2010-09-10T07:06:00.001-07:00

You are the source of everything that is good about the world
And You cleanse that which is evil

Your flood plain is everlasting
Your cities, civilisations and kingdoms
Do not end
Nor does Your Faithfulness to me
How can I imitate it?
As a cistern whose floodgates are opened
That takes its reserves from You
And returns them to You
Even my Faith in You is not my own
I could offer You nothing
From the drought of my inconsistency

The River IV- Beauty

2010-09-10T07:05:00.000-07:00

You are the source of everything that is good about the world
And You cleanse that which is evil

You fashioned Beauty herself from Chaos
We can create only shadows of Her
All our Music is Your composition
All our Poetry
An imperfect variation on Your theme
A mountainous landscape
Reflected in the Your surface

The River III- Love

2010-09-10T07:04:00.000-07:00

You are the source of everything that is good about the world
And You cleanse that which is evil

Drowned in Your Love
And only the drowning man truly understands water
He rises above the static mountains that do not comprehend You
Because as he sinks to the bottom of You
He is reflected in the sky
Still, even there, although there is but an image of him on the clouds, his lungs are filled by that, which surrounds him
And the torrent of his breath irrigates the parched land

He understands the hatred and fear that he had for You
While he was standing on Your shore
He could not see them when he was
Filling his lungs with the foulness of the world
He took good things from You without gratitude
He loved the nourishment that was in You
But he hated Your cleansing water

The River II- Morality and Justice

2010-09-10T07:03:00.000-07:00

You are the source of everything that is good about the world
And You cleanse that which is evil

You created the tree from which we chose to eat
That we would know Good from Evil
That we would make ourselves Gods
It planted its roots deep into Your banks
In disobedience we took Conscience from You
She belongs to You
Our knowledge of Justice was unjustly gained
It is improperly used
And all too seldom
But Your current is eternally set against the oppressor
You will not carry him
You wash him up

How do I know what is righteous?
As I deal with my neighbour
Should I do the same with my enemy?
Do I turn my back on the treacherous man
As he dines at my table?
Can a woman share a bed with the philanderer
When she is shivering?
Feed the hungry Shelter the Homeless Clothe the Naked
Eat and be satisfied Sleep and be rested Dress your shivering body
I can only counterfeit morality
From Your shore
After all, I ate from the tree
I can hold a mirror to Your eddying façade
And watch the infinite imperfect reflections
Like parody upon parody
Or I can baptise my head
Be swept away in Your rapids
And drown in Your Love

The River I- Life and Death

2010-09-10T07:01:00.000-07:00

You are the source of everything that is good about the world
And You cleanse that which is evil

You give us Life
And you have defeated Death
You teach us to forgive
And the record of our wrongdoing
You have burned on the fires of Hell

The River- Overture

2010-09-10T06:53:00.000-07:00

I think of You as a great river
Which journeys for miles
Between static mountains that do not comprehend You
From wellspring to delta
You attract the architects of cities
You are the cornerstone of kingdoms
You wash up the filth of the land
You spill it into the sea
You are the source of everything that is good about the world
And You cleanse that which is evil

The Kingdom of God

2010-09-08T02:40:00.000-07:00

The Kingdom of God
Is woven, like a golden thread, into the musty fabric of the world
She is set apart because she reflects the Light

The people are God
Are chosen, not by works, but by Grace instead, from out of the dusty desert of the world
They are cleansed because they remove their sandals
And wash their feet in the Jordan

The children of God
Are born, and by the spirit bred, so that their hearts, souls, minds and bodies can be refreshed from the tiredness of the world
Their sins are forgiven because they have repented and been baptised

The Glory of God
Like a thousand suns, is shining, hot and red,
She can honestly still be seen behind the veil of the brokenness of the world
But we cannot see her, because we must close our eyes before her

For to look upon her is to die
Unless through the lens of the One
Who shares His Glory

The Son of God
Is risen from His earthen bed
That was made in the deep places of the world
He died so that the river of his blood might become like the Jordan

The children of God to Jesus were given, from out of the dusty desert of the world
And being crowned as saints in heaven they became a Kingdom

That is woven like a golden thread into the musty fabric of the world
She is set apart, because she reflects the Light

Knowing the names of stuff

2010-08-30T15:07:00.001-07:00

Being a writer of any kind; Songs, poems, short stories or novels, is something that has to be worked at. And when one disocvers something that makes him a better writer he would be advised to remember it. So here is something that I have discovered is important about writing. Knowing what stuff is called.

Seriously.

I remember Don Miller wrote a blog once about how it is more effective to use verbs to describe a scene than adjectives as they are often even more effective at communicating emotion/atmosphere/abstractions of any kind. Compare "Graeme was excited to be buying a new car" to "Graeme could hardly keep the smile from his face as he drove his brand new car out of the showroom."

The point was that as a writer develops he learns how to become less reliant on adjectives and more articulate with verbs.

Well I think I could make a similar argument woth nouns. A few things have brought this to my mind recently. My fiancee
and have recently been shopping around for various wedding decorations and our travels brought us to Craftswoman Fabrics in Carrickfergus and I was struck by how each design and each weave had a separate name that collectively made up the jargon of the textile world. Gabardine. Rayon. Pinstripe. An entire world of beautiful vocabulary that made me realise the richness and variety there is in language.

Remember that Simon and Garfunkel song? "She said the mn in the Gabardine suit was a spy". That painted a better picture of the scene for the listener than any amount of "grey cotton jacket with matching trousers" could have done. Just by saying one word. And a lovely word. Gabardine.

For those who don't know Gabardine is a tightly woven cotton or cotton/polyester blend that is effectively semi-waterproof.

Nouns are more important than adjectives. We have been searching for flowers recently and both Fi and I were dissappointed with how little we knew about botanical terminology. But here is a simple example.

Graeme bought Fi a beautiful bunch of daffodils
Graeme bought Fi a beautiful bunch of yellow flowers

The point I suppose that is important here is that it would take an A4 page full of adjectives to give an even 10% adequate picture of what a daffodil is. But just by using the noun you know it instantly. I might say "yellow daffodils" to emphasise that these ones were particularly yellow, but otherwise the use of the adjective is tautological (another noun I learnt recently. It means unnecessary use of words like "yellow ripe banana" or something of the sort.)

Now there is always the possibility that a reader/listener will not know what the noun is. I didn't know what Gaberdine was when I first heard "America". That's ok, cos you know what? I went and I looked it up! Thus expanding my vocabulary.

If I want to write better it would serve me well to learn the names of stuff. You can call it trivia if you like, but to me it seems anything but trivial.

PS. It's probably good not to rely on internet sources for these things but instead learn the name of a new commonly used flower everyday. Or a fabric or a breed of dog or a particular kind of sauce. Anything of the sort will enrich descriptiveness in verse.

Being in a band

2010-08-30T14:14:00.001-07:00

Over the last while I have had very little time to write a blog post in the old prose style that I grew fond of and I have had a few ideas for posts that have just never got done. I tend to scribble down my ideas in my phone though and I'm trying to use the bank holiday to do a little catching up.

A few months back I played electric guitar for Timmy Dunn's band at a Youth Rally in Ringsend and I was mighty impressed by the guy he had playing piano for him. Steven Lucas. There was also a drummer, who had originally referred the Timmy Dunn band to me as we used t play together up at Stranmillis CU. Glenn Sloan.

I got together with Glenn and Steven at about the start of June and we started to jam a few songs I have. I thought I'd share a couple of things that have struck me about being in a band that are probably important.

- Although I am responsible for writing the song (most of the time, although Steven is working on it and has one of his own), the entire band contributes to its completion and ultimately to how well it will be received/perceived by an audience. For example. Steven brought a raw song that he had written called "Tetelestai" and played it to us one night and I was able to add a solo guitar intro that would add to the mood, then Steven will probably put some keyboard sounds into that to complete the mood, Glenn did some great dynamic work on the drums and it started to become the kid of thing you hear a live band doing together.

The striking thing about this is that it actually requires humility and self-assurance. It is insecurity that causes a person to want to keep a song the way they hve written it and not let anyone else get involved. It also ultimately make you an irrelevant artist because you are not willing to listen to what people want. Then it becomes that seemingly noble and virtuous, but in reality self-centred " I make art for me" kind of attitude or "NO, IT'S MY SONG!". We have been working on my song "Portrait" for some time and the rhythm has been bothering me. I don't like how it sounded on the original recording and I've been messing it around. Now Glenn is a drummer. He knows much more about rhythm than me and I think that in the end he will be the one to help us come up with a sound for the song that is more interesting and results in a more entertaining finished product (It's important to remember that entertainment is what music is and not to ascribe higher purposes to it unnecessarily, regardless of subject matter etc.) The thing is the rhythm that it ends up with is unlikely to be very similar to anything I had inside my head and it will not be the one that comes naturally to me as I have too long been in my room playing rhythms with only myself to check that I'm doing it right. I will have to work at paying it and sicking to it, but this will make us a tighter band.

I have some good friends with a photography business. Navyblur. They have this great feature called the Navyblur booth, which you can book for events (most often weddings.) The interesting thing about the Navyblur booth is that the photographers of Navyblur have very little involvement. Guests are given a little button/remote in front of a camera and allowed to do pretty much whatever. they. want. Naked photos are discouraged, but not forbidden in principle. It takes confidence for a photographer to pass over so much creative control to the photographee (??). As a result the Navyblur booth has been an absolute hit! I compared it to a child in that both of them were involved in creating it, but it now hs an identity all of its own. The analogy is apt as Navyblur are a couple :) Although they won't be having children just yet :p

How would it be if we thought of the things we create as our children rather than our possessions?

We started a group in church that runs along the same lines (But I'm not allowed to say too much about that just yet!)

- Having said all that the second thing that is important about a band dynamic is to be confident enough to assert yourself when you know something is not working or if someone is doing something wrong. The porn groove rhythm we tried for Portrait was not going to happen guys! Ha. I guess this confidence comes with building a stable relationship with the band members, SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE and generally being adults. Not letting your insecurites get in the way of making the best possible song you can. I guess it's the same confidence that is important in my first point.

So writing songs is not about owning your song, but about making it as good as it can be. Sometimes that means accepting help and sometimes it means reigning stuff in.

ThankYou Glenn and Steven for helping me in my music :)

Psalm

2010-08-17T08:01:00.001-07:00

Jesus, why did you leave us down here?

Prayer

2010-08-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

Is there fear? For there should be
Each time we bow down or bend the knee
To the One with whom Abram pleaded
That he might rescue his kin from the coming wrath
And he succeeded

What supplication by him was shown?
Though he dared to rest his hand on the Holy throne
He did not do so flippantly
He lowered his eyes to wash unholy feet
With his tears

He approached his Master tentatively
Asking forgiveness, rather than permission, to speak

His heart was seen and was heeded
And although the census of the righteous in Sodom fell short of the required quota
By three angels Lot's salvation was completed
Every tittle on every iota

He chose to live among the transgressors
He was saved by Grace alone
That was given in response to the righteous requests
Of the man who touched the Throne

We are the Lot of Jesus Christ
To him we have been given
And although we brought no sacrifice
By Grace we’ve been forgiven

He, who makes requests for us
Does not bow before the most high
But, like Abraham, was glorified
And looks Him in the eye

There need not be fear as there was before
We can look upon Him thus
He will hear all that we ask for
And in the same way God will save us

The River- Overture

2010-07-26T07:26:00.001-07:00

I am the Serpent

2010-07-02T02:29:00.000-07:00

I asked God to exorcise the demons
To purge this house of any evil presence
And restore it to its former freedom

"There are no demons here" He replied
"Only you
Who have been cursed with the same pride

That inspired the serpent in the beginning
Against my Name to spread lies
To teach rejection of my bidding"

"If that be true then You must purge it from me,
Until I am empty and you're Spirit can fill me
Who knows then what He could do
In the space where I had once been?"

So I surrendered my venom
And crawled
On my belly to the Cross

There I asked that God would kill me

Twenty :)

2010-02-01T02:41:00.000-08:00

Today is my most beautiful Fiance's 20th birthday! So happy birthday sweety, I love you so much!

Together

If we had been divided by the widest ocean
Our hearts would be together
Beating, alive inside the chest
Of our Love

Jonah's whale,
Which in a day
Can cross the ocean
And bring us together

If we had been sundered by the most innavigable of continents
Our souls would be together
Singing, fighting, feeling inside the heart
Of our Love

A wild horse
Which in a day
Can traverse the steppe
And bring us together

If we sat on different stars; separated by galaxies
Our lives would be together
For our Love fills the void that divides us
And brings worlds together

Portrait

2010-01-25T13:16:00.000-08:00

I have a friend from when I was in Uni, I don't see him much now, who tries to hide his sinfulness from those who are closest to him. He thinks that the best way to be a Christian is to try to hide all his faults from his friends and pretend he has it made. The problem was it's impossible not to have faults, it's impossible to keep them from your closest friends and the best way of dealing with your own sinfulness is to share it with other people. Particularly your close friends or your partner.. Because you will soon realise we all have these cracks aswell. My friends method didn't work and he fell into deeper and deeper sin..

I wrote a poem for him..

Portrait

Your father handed me your portrait today
He had painted sweat pouring like drops of blood from your forehead
And it fell upon your face
Which melted until it became my own

So I handed it to you
And as it had been initialled by your father
You claimed it

But the portrait continued melting until there was nothing
Nothing but your father's hand
Then it was a picture of God
So I handed it back to Him

This theme is explored in a book I read called "Samson and the Pirate Monks" by Nate Larkin.. Check it out.. Only if you're a bloke though..

SmallTown Poets

2009-12-12T15:43:00.000-08:00

I rediscovered this band after a poem I was writing reminded me of one of their songs.. Probably one the first bands I could actually call myself a fan of back when I was 13/14 and unusually I have not gone off them.. Great songs

Congratulations Drew and Kathryn

2009-12-09T13:43:00.000-08:00

XanderPhoto

Last week two of my best friends got married to each other, which was a happy and strange experience for me since they were both two of my best friends before they started dating or met.. Anyway.. This poem sums it up.. I read it at their afterParty. It's based in the words of the daughters of Zion in the Song of Solomon and just jiggled round to include some personal sentiments. Let me know what you think.

Children of Zion

The daughters of Zion spoke to the bridegroom
We will follow you
Fleet-footed and light

Now one of our number has come to where you are
To abide
And in her we will rejoice

The daughters of Zion spoke to the bride
We will augment your beauty
With ornaments of gold
And with studs of silver
We will pierce your heart

The daughters of Zion spoke to the young lovers
We will celebrate your love
With sweet wine
And with dancing
Forever

What is your Beloved
Above any other?
Answer only in your heart on this day
When you are the fairest of the daughters
And on your last
When all the beauty of your countenance
Has turned in on itself

Of that day, do not be afraid
For your heart will be better equipped to answer

You will have lain with no other
Neither will you have pursued false loves
And we who remain
Will call you blessed

Where is your beloved?
Has he turned aside?
We will follow him
And return him to you
We will not let him stray

We will celebrate your love
With sweet wine
And with dancing
Forever
Amen

The changes that the union of K and D will bring about will, I think, be for the better and I haven't yet told them all the things that I have to tell them about it. But we look forward to being hosted at the Dickson household soon.. A new setting.. And the beginning of adulthood..

Anime

2009-11-30T10:09:00.001-08:00

Anime freaks me out.. It's official. Like I have a real phobia of it.. I think that a really smiley unusually pale-faced Japanese girl is gonna jump out on me when I least expect it, knife me then do that freaky smile where she closes her eyes and does the peace sign! And she's gonna say "Domo Arigato" in a really squeaky musical voice and then do a "Hilary Banks" laugh. You all know you know what I mean!

*SHUDDER*

Atticus Finch

2009-11-29T13:08:00.000-08:00

I am sometimes torn when trying to decide on my favourite character in literature. Right now it's this guy.. Atticus Finch.. Ironically I've never read this book as my mum lost it.. So I'm trusting that the point of it was faithfully translated into the movie.

Why do I love Atticus Finch? Because he presents a model of masculinity that I feel apt to imitate. It's not a boyish alpha male masculinity, much to his son Jem's disappointment at times ("I'm not coming out of the tree until you join the football team"), but neither is he weak-willed, in one other scene he defends Tom Robinson from a lynch mob.. Totally non-violently of course.. But bravely nonetheless. I wasn't able to find that scene or I would have put it up aswell. He does kill a rabid dog in the film, the scene where he proves to Jem he is not the coward the boy had assumed. Scout, his daughter, of course, always knew. Atticus Finch is gentle, he is slow to amger and he is wise. If you want a good model of what it looks like to be Christlike, look to Atticus Finch. I know I could be criticised as technically we could look to Jesus more effectively. But characters are created to clarify certain concepts. Characters make a certain point and present a certain world view. Characters are not the same as people. Jesus was a person, and of course he was much more complex than AF. That's what makes AF useful.

In the church there are movements that attempt to define masculinity that I think have grown up rather reactionarily to feminism within society. It is important to know what it means to be a man, but I think our masculinity should be more like that of Atticus Finch.

Oh. The other character that contends to be my favourite is John Proctor from the Crucible. :)

I was not there

2009-10-23T14:16:00.001-07:00

I was not there on that day
When the first man, who was a man
Stopped
Looked down at his hands
Extended his neck to heaven
And screamed
"What am I?!"
But it was on that day
That I became a God

Francis Collins on Prayer..

2009-09-05T04:31:00.000-07:00

"Prayer is not, as some seem to suggest, an opportunity to manipulate God into doing what you want him to do. Prayer is instead our way of seeking fellowship with God, laerning about him and attempting to perceive his perspective on the many issues around us that cause puzzlement, wonder or distress."

I think I would like to elaborate on FC's thoughts here. I agree entirely with the first sentence and think of it this way. Prayer is not an attempt to bend the will of God to our own, but rather to seek his will that He may merge it with our own. Prayer is not about changing God, but seeking the presence of the Spirit so that we may be changed ourselves.

I'll write more about "The Language of God" when I have some more time.

On FilipKa's Name Day

2009-08-22T18:15:00.000-07:00

Ere I heard your name
It was a memory
An impression of what may come
If I let it be

And if I had not would you still be mine?
O silent one
Who waited for my words with little breaths
That blew up their dust
My dynasty stands or falls
Upon your answer

In this way I know that you are mine
That you heed my voice above the winds
And I am yours
For I am disarmed by your touch
Which remains pure
And delicate

I could dive into that caress
And remain in apnoeic sleep in its depths

Ere your name was on my lips
It was empty as a vessel yet unused
Now your name has been filled by my own
And she will sink into the centre of our world
Sleeping. Breathless. Silent.

I can't decide if this is funny or whether it just makes me really angry..

2009-08-13T01:38:00.000-07:00

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I found this during the course of browsing for something else that I may post about soon, but it reminded me of one thing that has been on my mind for a long time and have mentioned to a few people, but have not yet posted about. This video gives me a bit of a laugh, but at the same time it makes me really angry that unscrupulous people will have the audacity to twist and distort scripture this way for their own weird and disgusting political ends. I made a comment to that effect on the video on you tube, but it's waiting to be approved and may not be. I also said that the maker of the video would be judged for it. There's a passage in the sermon on the mount where Jesus tells his disciples that they should not swear, but let their yes be yes and their no be no. I remember very vividly asking myself (or possibly asking the Spirit who is able to reveal things) why Jesus had said that and what he meant by it. And I think it was because people can use the name of God/Jesus/Heaven to give authority to what they are saying (which is why I very tentatively suggested that the Spirit revelaed this to me, that doesn't mean you aren't free to disagree) and the thigns that they themselves believe in. I'm not going to mince my words; I find this nothing short of blasphemy and it actually permeates the church as well as socirty at large. We all in Northern Ireland are familiar with the famous "For God and Ulster" phrase used by the loyalist paramilitaries.. Guys who fund themselves with drug dealing and crime rackets.. Most of us would agree to the blasphemy behind these words. But thinking this through has also made me very suspicious of anyone who says something along the lines of "I believe this is God's will for our church". How many times have you heard that? Have you ever used such a line yourself? I hope you really meant it!

Well, no-one reads this blog anyway so that should about do me.. Oh, I nearly forgot to post the video link..

Late nights in the lab

2009-08-07T02:03:00.001-07:00

Ok. So I don't know what it has been recently, but I've been working late in the lab a lot.. Here is a chronicle of last nights laboratory antics..

I began work at 10pm.. and to prove that it isn't just a photo at 10 in the morning..

Here is a photo of my empty lab.. Those bright lights that you can see in the background are above my bench.. After a couple of hours of heavy science it was..

12am and time for a coffee break.. A couple more hours and..

..it was 2am and about time to go home!

That was my late night laboratory experience.. The last time I did something like that it looked like this..

But there was no kick last night.. Just a large cup of coffee, some toast (with stolen butter from the technicians.. but that's ok, cos they pure drink my coffee all the time).. and loud music..

It was fun :):)

One time in Venice

2009-08-03T14:59:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd upload a few of my favourite pictures from mine and Fi's recent trip to Venice..

We were flying over the Alps for about a half hour..

We found this uber-cool wall and got a few pictures there.. here are the ones with Fi in..

And this is the where Fi is being a beautiful model

St. Marks Square through the window of St. Peter's Basilica

Enjoy!

Leonard Cohen, The Odyssey, July 26th 2009

2009-08-03T09:08:00.000-07:00

Ok, so as you will have read.. a few months back I got tickets at a hugely extortionate price to see LC in the Odyssey. So, last Sunday I sailed down to Belfast with my best friend Jim and my beautiful Fiancee FilipKa (neither of whom attended the concert) and took my seat in a packed out Odyssey arena.

I like to think that there were more reasons for LC to have done these last couple of tours than building up a nest egg for his retirement, but sadly that may be the case.. for those who don't know the background here, LC was in a Buddhist monastery for the past 15 years and after coming out he discovereds that his former manager had made off with practically all his money! I also like to think that it was for this reason that Simon Cowell chose his song for the X-Factor one, so that he would get a bit of what he deserved.. Perhaps he is a nice man after all.. He's just doing business the way producers always have!

Now. Rationale aside, the old man put on a hell of a show! The thing is that the voice of Leonard Cohen has always sounded like an old man, so now that he actually is an old man it almost suits him more appropriately, almost like one of those sharp Armanis he was wearing (I'm convinced he must have changed more than once during the night). Here's the setlist.. first of all for act one..

Dance me to the End of Love
The Future
Ain't No Cure for Love
Bird on the Wire
Everybody Knows
In My Secret Life
Who by Fire
That Don't Make it Junk
Waiting For The Miracle
Anthem

This first set almost played like a mini-concert of it's own with Dance me and Anthem being brilliant opening and closing tracks in their own right.. although it was clear at the point of imtermission that he was just warming up. Highlights of this set for me included Javeir Mas beautiful tremolo picked opening to "Who by Fire", which is in itself a wise consideration of all the emotions that go through a man's heart when faced with death.. "Who shall I say is calling".. That's how I understand it anyway.. The cartwheeling from the Webb Sisters was fun aswell.. "On vocals and gymnastics.. the sublime Webb Sisters". Some of his best work lyrically also went into this set.. OK.. people know about Hallelujah (although few understand it.. myself included sometimes). Look up his fantastic "The Future" off the album of the same name and also from that album, the spine-tingling "Anthem".

Set 2

Tower of Song
Suzanne
Sisters of Mercy
The Partisan
Boogie Street
Hallelujah
I'm Your Man
Thousand Kisses Deep - poem
Take This Waltz

This set included a couple of things I was looking forward to in the concert. The song "Take this Waltz" from LC's 1988 album "I'm your man" is one that I'd never paid all that much attention to until I'd seen it on his DVD.. More on that later. The song, of course, has some of Cohen's more overtly sexual lyrics (he's never been shy of those), presented in the Cohenesque fashoin of poetic life-affirming despair. The song is wonderfully crafted musically and lyrically and may go down in my book as one of his finest hours.. Except that I think it took the guts of 30 years to perfect.. One song from this set that was not included on the DVD was "The Partisan", which I was delighted he played. I'm gonna get technical now.. The picking on this song is so finger-numbingly fast that I was astounded that the 75 year-old actually picked up the pace of this one in comparison to his (1969!) original recording. But I was glad he did, as it made for a more frantic and desparate sound, appropriate to the subject I think.. And a bit of French language is always appreciated from the Montreal native! The sound was wonderfully morose..

Encore 1

So Long Marianne
First We Take Manhattan

Ok, so I'm sorry to say that "So Long Marianne" was the first time I felt the crowd were very involved in this show.. Singing along beautifully to the chorus. It struck me during the night that many of the folks at this concert were probably very young when they first heard LC and looking around made me think that they may have neglected a lot of what is most important in the messages of his songs.. giving in to Middle-Class isolationism.. Which perhaps I should blog about.. Reacquainting themselves with these songs may have been good for soem folks. But on the other hand, maybe I'm being judgemental.. I just wasn't expecting such conservatism from LC fans. First we take Manhattan.. Great fun!! Really picked up the mood.. Perhaps he should have played it earlier?!

Encore 2

Famous Blue Raincoat
If it Be Your Will
Closing Time

OK. This is what the LC shows of 08/09 will really be remembered for.. something in which Cohen himself was barely involved (Oh, aside from his authorship of the song).. An absolute heart-stopping rendition of "If it be your will" performed by the Webb sisters on Harp and Guitar as well as some backing from Neil Larsen on Organ gave this song a wonderfully religious atmosphere, which of course it should have.. Given the content.. The most striking thing may have been the interweaving female vocal harmonies creating an Odyssey were a dove could have been heard dying.. I found this link on YouTube that actually does the sound justice..

Famous Blue Raincoat.. I'm so glad he played this one.. I'd almost forgotten about it and it's an important song..

When he jived of stage at the end of "Closing Time" I knew he wasn't done..

I Tried to Leave You
Whither Thou Goest

A fantastic ending with the biblical "Whither Thou Goest" performed by all those involved even backsatge in the evening's proceedings. This song Echo's Ruth's vow to Naomi..

I enjoyed the poetic benediction.

Cohen's choice of musicians and singers was shrewd.. appealing to both younger and older fans and introducing unfamiliar names to the music scene in the form of the Webb sisters.. Who I hope to see more of.. Hoping that their own offerings are as good as their takes on LC's work. I read one review which criticises the tightness of the band and some of the "showboating", but LC has done raw music in the past.. this time he wanted to give a proper showband professionality to the proceedings and I'm glad he did it. The only thing that I may have myself to blame for is spoiling it slightly as the setlist didn't vary much from the aforementioned DVD.. down to some of the songs' introductions. Which gave the show an artificial sort of feeling.. kinda like when you go to the same sermon twice on a Sunday.. You know?

All in all, I'm glad I got the opportunity to see one of the most unique songwriters of our century. A man who has defined so much of the way we view the world and put it into words that all can listen to and not get tired of exploring their beautiful metaphor.

Cohen thanked us for our kind welcome.. I felt like shouting "We'll welcome you back".. But sadly I think the last boat has left the Haven's for LC..

The Bands I want to see before I die..

2009-04-06T07:47:00.000-07:00

I figured since I kinda mentioned this in the last post I would dedicate a blog entry to it.

The thing about me is that I am not really all that into going to gigs and checking out new talent etc. This may be because I'm lazy, unmotivated or unadventurous, but I think the real reason is that I don't have any money. When I fork out money for a gig I want to be of a pretty decent standard. Which is why the list of bands I have been to see could be fitted on a small tesco's receipt.. maybe for a coke and a packet of crisps or something..

I digress..

Another thing is the bands that have made it to this list may not necessarily be the bands I chose to listen to. See; I can't drive. This leaves me with only the bedroom in which ti listen to music.. And quite frankly I don't want to listen to heavy music in my bedroom.. I don't want to associate that place of relaxation with that kind of agitated atmosphere.. which is why my tastes are a little more mellow I think.. However, at a gig I may want something different.. Don't get me wrong.. I would go to see the mellow bands at a gig.. It's just that I can add to that..

For this reason my gig archive has included such bands as Iron Maiden, Nightwish, Funeral for a Friend and Muse.. As well as Patty Smith, Snow Patrol and Duke Special.

I said that when I pay money for a gig I want it to be of a good standard.. So another thing is that I don't necessarily look for particular genres of music, but quality of musicianship and of composition are what attract me. Someone asked me recently whether I'm into guitar music.. I don't think instrumentation changes at all how good a song is.. Imagine a talented guitar player doing.. say John Lennon's "Imagine" for the sake of argument.. Could he not make it every bit as sweet as the original? I think you can gather from that that I think he/she could..

So. The list. I could probably add to this as I think of more, but for now..

Incubus:- Possibly one of the best live acts of their kind.. I don't want to miss them next time theyre around.

Metallica:- The shows are so intense and while I wouldn't choose to listen to them anywhere else.. They would be awesome

Leonard Cohen:- This will be remedied in July :-)

Peter Gabriel:- Does a good fun show with a good group of session musicians

Simon and Garfunkel:- I can always hope..

Jars of Clay:- Quality is so difficult to find in Christian music, but these guys have it..

Iona:- Ditto

Add to this the obvious fact that if Genesis were to reform as the original five.. WILD DOGS WITH RABIES COULD NOT KEEP ME AWAY! :-)

Any thoughts on this from my three followers??!

Leonard Cohen

2009-04-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

I have a short list of artists I definitely want to see.. before I die as they say.. In the case of this artist I'm lucky to have got the opportunity to see him before he dies! I know he would appreciate this kind of humour :-p

Today I puuuurrrr-chased tickets to see Canada's leading prophet of doom in the Odyssey in Belfast!!

Ring the Bells!!

The Dragon Fire Trilogy

2009-03-26T07:15:00.000-07:00

I first came across this series of books in our school library when I was about 14. I read the third part of the Trilogy "The Shining Bridge" first simply because it was the first one I came across. I guess I want to blog about them for 2 reasons.. 1. I love them and 2. I think they deserve more attention and as one of my three readers is a school teacher maybe he could recommend them to his Kids :)

The two main characters of the book are Sparrow and Kittel. Sparrow is given magical gifts by an old man who he helped out of a fix.. Kittel comes from a world where they don't believe in magic.. Namely our own world.

I have said it on several occasions that Charles Ashton is my favourite author. Although he writes children's books and so the literary style is very dialogue-based with some child-like metaphors, the content is at times Nightmarishly dark and comes very much from an adult mind. If I was recommending you the most rewarding reading in the fantasy genre then it would of course have to be LOTR, but these books will take you on just as interesting a journey in just as short a time. Think of it as the difference between taking a holiday somewhere foreign and going for a weekend away :)

The adult in me sees in the trilogy a metaphor for how we can ensure that the dream-like wonder we have for all the magical things around us can be preserved in the days of Televisions, Cars and endless noise and how the two worlds can be bridged..

The image I have included in this blog entry is my favourite of the three books in the trilogy. You often find with trilogies that the middle book ends up being the most well written.. I suppose there isn't the tiresome need to introduce the characters/setting etc. and also that wrapping the story into some kind of coherent conclusiveness can be reserved for the final book. Regardless, Ashton peppers this book with some wonderful images of sorcery that reveal his beautifully coloured mind. For example..

"Sparrow was immediately seized by a giddy feeling of being hurled backward very fast; yet nothing moved. The bluish, translucent walls became like clouds that seemed to shift slightly, so that he could see through them glimpses of the way he had come, the stony gully. The lasy was changing in front of his eyes, withering, drooping, her hair falling away from the front of her head, leaving her a big bald dome of forehead, and something strange was happening to her arms. Sparrow went on clutching the stone, gritting his teeth against the awful feeling of falling backwards. He still seemed to be clutching the skewer of meat too, but when he glanced down, he saw it was the Crow he was holding.

And now the lady became a shadowy figure in a straggly grey cloak, an ungainly humped thing that shuffled along over stony ground. The feeling of violent movement lessened, and Sparrow saw a second, then a third, figure exactly like her: deep shaded humps of grey cloak, no faces visible. They were shuffling slowly, and now Sparrow could see they were on the shore of a still water, where swirls of deep mist made it difficult to make out anything clearly. They were moving away from him and paid him no attention. If it were really the lady he was seeing, she seemed to have lost all interest in him."

Sparrow's first encounter with the dangerous Polymorphs.. Masters of the Dragon's dreaming. I hope I have whetted your appetites for more..

The Colour Purple

2009-03-25T14:31:00.000-07:00

I finally read this book.. mainly because it was the only one of interest that I could find in the Coleraine library. Being an emotional kind of reader the bok started badly with a pretty graphic description of a rape. Celie is brought up by a man who she thinks is her father after her mother becomes ill and is attacked by him repeatedly, particularly after her mother's death.

Subsequently, Celie is given in Marriage to a man who does not love her and, suffice to say, has a lot of issues. Her life consists of looking after this man's children, house and farm while he idles on the porch and drinks beer.

Celie is understandably demoralised, but her spiritual self is reawakened by her husband's lover, with whom Celie herself eventually falls in love; her sister who had been writing her letters from Africa, where she was a missionary, that her husband had been hiding until his lover persuaded him to be nice and God "itself".

I was skeptical before I read this book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was worried it may have been a little racist/sexist, but aside from seeming a little pushy like it was trying to convince you of something that doesn't quite hold water, it was wonderfully well written.

Hviezdoslavovo Namestie

2009-03-25T07:55:00.000-07:00

Today is "Struggle for Human Rights Day" in Slovakia. On the 25th of March 1988 a group of several thousand Roman Catholic believers gethered on "Hviezdoslavovo Namestie (Hviezdoslav Square.. He was some bloke.. Interestingly the name means something like "Starman". Lol!)" in Bratislava to demonstrate for religious freedom and human rights.

The Square was surrounded by the Secret Police and the protesters were doused with water cannons and attacked with batons.. News of the incident reached the free world and it seems to have been an important event preceding the upcoming Velvet revolution that would see Czechoslovakia (as it still was then) become a democracy. It may also go some way towards expliaining the fact that the Czech republic became a secular country while Slovakia became Catholic after the Velvet divorce.. Interesting anyhow.

Here's some footage from that day. Protesters did not shout slogans of wave banners.. they simply lit candles, prayed and sang hymns.. If only they were addressed as peacefully by the authorities.

Happy Struggle for Human Rights Day everyone..

Strangers on a Train

2009-03-24T03:59:00.000-07:00

I started watching this film again on YouTube last night just before I left work.. It's one of my favourites by Alf Hitchcock.. Possibly because I think he was at his best when he created the character of Bruno Anthony.. I think he came close to doing it again with the Norman Bates character in Psycho, but fear he fell into too much sensationalism and the character ended up being almost amusing.. which spoiled the effect..

I haven't yet blogged about how much I love Alf Hitchcock.. I have tried to convert some of my friends, and managed it with Jim, although he says it wasn't me, but the film really that did it! I did practically force him to watch the film though.. Apologies Jim!

Here is my favourite scence from the Movie.. "Senator, can you imagine being able to smell a flower on the planet Mars??"..

My Beautiful Fiancee

2009-02-22T03:12:00.000-08:00

There comes a time in every blogger's blogging career when he must write some more personal things about himself and not just about his theological musings or movies he's seen. If you are a reader of this blog you are probably well aware of the story of how I met my Fiancee FilipKa.. I'm going to recount the story to you all anyway as it makes me smile :)

Nearly a year ago I visited Slovakia to attend Janci's wedding. His father had been studying in Belfast Bible College nigh on 15 years ago and he and the rest of the Mahrik family were attending High Kirk church. Janci and I were not in constant contact for the 15 years we were apart and, to be honest, I wasn't his closest friend when he was here for that year, I merely shared a Sunday School class with him. My renewed friendship with Janci and his brother, Timon, came when they visited, along with the rest of their band, to play some gigs in Ireland. I was excited to cultivate a relationship with these guys.. I think because I felt that something in their church, and in their Faith in general, was more real than anything I had experienced in Ireland, with all the American influences that Christianity in this country can display. I was leading the YF at the time and considering setting up some kind of program whereby the relationship High Kirk used to have with the Cirkev Bratska in Slovakia would be renewed.

The first encounter I had with FilipKa was at the wedding party. We were introduced by Janci's sister, Nad'Ka. I was immediately compelled by her because she came to me in the middle of Slovakia and began to talk with a broad American accent in perfect fluent English.. and I wished to know more about where she had come from and who she was. Being in another country where you don't speak the language can be a very disorienting experience and FilipKa was a breath of air for me. I think it may have been the case that God was ensuring I notice her.. and I did. FilipKa wil tell you the story differently, she claims I follwed her around that night "like a puppy".. this is a tissue of lies!!

The first few months of our relationship were worked out entirely online. We talked late into the night about the things that mattered to us, I told her how I felt about things, what I thought about things and about some of the mistakes I have made and the regrets that I have. I have never been more honest with a person than I was with FilipKa for those first few months online. This has carried over into our relationship, and there is nothing I cannot tell my Fiancee or that she doesn't know about me. And I'm sure it is the same for her.

Similarly, FilipKa talked to me and I saw in her what I had never seen in a person before. Something about the way that she viewed the world that was so pure and uncorrupted.. like a vestige from paradise. And something about the Faith that she had towards God and the way she loved Him and the way she felt His Love for her.. resonated with me.

We agreed to meet in a rather serendipitous circumstance. FilipKa was coming to Dublin for BloomsDay.. she's a James Joyce fan.. I never understood why, but however.. I thought it was too good to miss the opportunity to see her again and we met under the Spire, I probably smelled bad and was carrying a backpack. That weekend in Dublin was when we realised that this relationship was worth pursuing..

I proposed to FilipKa on October 11th, 2008, on a small beach just around the cliff path from Portstewart and she said that, yes, she will devote her life to me.. I don't want anyone to underestimate how priveleged I feel that I will have this vision of purity by my side for my whole life.. FilipKa, you have made me the happiest man on this planet.. I love you.

Romans 1

2009-02-10T14:27:00.000-08:00

FilipKa and I decided last night in a very sleepy phonecall (from my side anyway) that we would go through the book of Romans together. We tried to do the whole "one devotional a day thing" but found that those devotional books seriously distract from reading the Bible! :-p And the content in the particular one we had was pretty shallow and at times untrue.. In both our opinions.. I think. Maybe I shouldn't be quoting FilipKa here, but maybe she will blog about it and you can reach her here

It's pretty ahrd to document all the thoughts I had this morning when I was reading Romans 1 as that was like 12 hours ago or more.. but one thing did remain on my mind.. What does it mean to live by Faith.

I think the word Faith ha been seriously misunderstood in our culture (or maybe just by me, in which case you may move on). It may be one of those cases where repeated use of a word in a certain context cauese it to lose all meaning, but however the origin of the phenomenon I believe the word "Faith" has come to mean "Something you believe in".

The Atheists of today would define a faith as something that one believes in despite evidence to the contrary.

In order to get to the roots of the word Faith here are some contexts in which it is used.. separate from Religious contexts..

"I am a FAITHFUL husband"

"I go to work FAITHFULLY every morning"

"Yours Faithfully"

Now, by the current understandilng of the word Faith in a Religious contexts these sentences would mean

"I am married to my wife even in the face of strong evidence that refutes her existence"

"I go to work in the hope that work will be there when I arrive.."

"Yours, because I believe that you read this letter"

Eeeem.. or something..

Of course we know that to be Faithful to your wife is to Love her unconditionally for the rest of your life, eschewing all others.. And to be Faithful to your work is to go there even when you may not feel like going.. I have no idea about the origins of my third example, but maybe Wikipedia can tell you. So, FAITH is a commitment to the promise that you have made. FAITH is having the strength of your convictions and FAITH is persevering in the lifestyle that you submitted to despite your outside circumstances.

So when Paul quotes Habbakuk 2v4 in his letter to the Romans.. "The righteous shall live by FAITH" he really means that they will live by an unconitional devotion to the God to whom they have surrendered their lives.

Do you?

Seven Pounds

2009-02-07T16:45:00.000-08:00

This evening we took in a movie starring Will Smith as "Tim Thomas", a troubled Widower who blames himself for the death of his wife and Seven passengers of a minibus in a Road Traffic Accident. And I have to say, I liked the movie.

SPOILER ALERT

Firstly, I should explain the storyline. Following the accident Tim embarks on an elaborate quest to "give life" to those who deserve it. In most cases this takes the form of a donated organ (a lung to his brother, part of his liver to a social worker named "Holly", a kidney to an aging hockey coach who donates large amounts of money to put kids through college, bone marrow to a young child with leukaemia, his corneas to a blind pianist named Ezra and finally his heart to a woman named Emily Posa.. All of these people are of the same rare blood type as Tim) In one case, Tim gave his house to an immigrant woman who was being abused by her Boyfriend. The story climaxes when Tim kills himself with a Box Jellyfish in order that his heart might be given to Emily, with whom he had fallen in love.

The Tim Thomas character is an interesting one. He ultimately seeks two things I think.. Justice.. for he people who he feels have had a bad deal from life.. "I needed to know that you were a good person; slow to anger" is what he said to Ezra, by way of an apology for an earlier verbal abuse. I think there is a certain transferance going on here in that what Thomas also means is "I need to know I am a good person".. This brings me to the second objective he sought.. redemption; or freedom from his own sense of guilt and loss. These two things set up a tension as Thomas can only be further tortured in the back of his mind by the thought that his motives for this quest are not purely selfless and that he is not a good person after all. The film I think resolves in the only way possible in such a case.. Thomas commits the ultimate selfless act.. he sacrifices his life to save another. Significantly, I think it is worth pointing out that Thomas had earler described the Box Jellyfish as "The most beautiful creature he had ever seen" whereas his father had concentrated on it being the most deadly. And there was beauty in Thomas' ultimate death.

The one thing that kept this film from being utterly tragic was, I think, the fact that Thomas came to forgive himself and pull himself out of the spiral of self-loathing by allowing himself to fall in Love with someone. I don't know if this was entirely believeable.. It may have made the film superficially more beautiful (I say superficially).. But methodologically it just didn't sit with me. It may be worth saying at this point that I could have done without the sex scene with Emily.. who was 4 weeks away from death with a congenital heart failure and was hardly in any condition for such exertions. For Thomas, would taking advantage of this woman's vulnerable position in such a way really have improved his love for himself.. I doubt it.. But I guess Hollywood and all that..

Other criticisms I have are mostly medical.. would a heart from a man who had died from jellyfish sting really have been viable for transplant? I'm guessing that the
poison from a box jellyfish is a potent neurotoxin.. Wikipedia also seems to think so.. "venom has multiple effects attacking the nervous system, heart and skin at the same time." Also he ran pretty well for a man with one lung.. and he looked pretty healthy considering his bad diet and 50% kidney function :-p But OK OK.. this misses the point of the film, I know.

So what was the point of the film? I guess in short it was to show that injustice is all around us.. Unscrupulous people take advantage of the elderly and abuse those closest to them.. and, well, sometimes life is just a bitch. "You're blind Ezra, I actually feel sorry for you because I have all thes ebeautiful things around me and you can't see any of them.. Is that fair Ezra? What colour is the ocean, Ezra?". Resolving injustice is never an easy task and can involve sacrifices. I suppose the question for us as Human Beings and as Christians is "Are we prepared to make those sacrifices in the name of Justice". God desires it ("He has shown you what is good and what is required of you.. to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God" Micah 6v8). And so should we.. so why don't we?

I viewed the film with a young man, he shall remain nameless and I will only say he was not from here, who had some rather scathing criticisms for the church in Northern Ireland. Suffice to say that we have a serious lack of community. Jim suggested this rises from the individualistic nature of the style in which we present the Gospel. "YOU must ask the Lord Jesus Christ into YOUR heart and YOU will be saved" is what we tell our kids. Actually, I had considered this a lot in the past and I'm glad Jim brought it back to my attention.. Is this even biblical? I think it actually shows a very shallow understanding of biblical doctrines that is allowed to persist into adulthood. Consequently the church has become very comfortable with their individual faiths and ignored their responsibilty for social action and even for culturing a sense of community. The man with whom I saw the film had been attending church here and actually participating in the services (by singing in the choir) and he said that he may aswell have been invisible. "The church is the place where you should run to if you need help, but if I look at any of our band members in the eye they just turn their faces away".. I don't know about you, but that sounds to me like a serious situation we have. With regard to social action he had this to say "There are people on the streets who are drunkards, where is the church in these people's lives? It's not right." I think it may be because people are not willing to make the sacrifices that are necessary to obtain justice.. and I inlude myself in this.

I often like to ask myself this question:- If Paul was writing to the church in Northern Ireland, what would he say? I think he would have quite an extensive amount to say on this subject. How long can we be transfixed on spirituality and ignore the physical needs of our community?

It would seem we are able to do it indefinitely...

DVDs

2009-01-31T09:55:00.000-08:00

OK, I apologise to my extensive readership that it has been a few weeks since I wrote a blog entry and that this one will be short. There's just one thing on my mind that I feel is worthy of discussion right now.

I was in HMV the other day and was struck by a very curious thing.. Why is it that when a DVD has a cardbpard wrapping we automatically assume it is of higher quality.. I mean this doesn't make any sense! Think about the last time you were in HMV, they may have had two different versions of a particular film.. One in a regular box and the other witha cardboard sleeve around.. There may very well have been no other differences.

I would be willing to bet (were it not strictly forbidden by Deuteronomy 7 :-P) that people would be prepared to pay more money for a DVD with no other advantages other than a cardboard wrapping.. So, good readers.. Is the cardboard wrapping around DVDs the ultimate in marketing genius?

Discuss!

The French Cliff Richard

2008-12-29T04:25:00.000-08:00

This may begin to be called "Graeme's Cliff Richard Series".

Upon further inquiry as to who "The French Cliff Richard" may be, James' mum, Barbara, suggested Johnny Halliday.. and by some strange coincidence typing the words "The french cliff richard" into Google yields the same result! So here he is folks.. The French Cliff Richard.

Joyeux nouvelle an.. or something of that nature..

A country without a "Cliff Richard" is like a house without a TV

2008-12-28T13:00:00.000-08:00

James and I concocted this theory together.. originally I suggested it's like a house without a door, but, arguing that a "Cliff Richard" is not really necessary to a country, just that it is very normal to the point where it is hard to imagine a time without one. The best analogy to this is the TV.

Suggestions as to the "Cliff Richards" of various countries are welcome. Already we have the Croatian Cliff Richard- Ivan Drag... I mean Oliver Dragojevic. :-) I hope, reader, that you understand the definition of a Cliff Richard.. just what I said above.. someone who is not necessary to a country, but has become such a normal part of life there that its hard to imagine the country without him.

So we have Sir Cliff.
France anyone??

PS. I am aware that I may have one reader.. 2 tops!

Croatian Music

2008-12-27T15:09:00.000-08:00

FilipKa introduced me to some Croatian music a while ago.. before we were dating actually. The name of the song is "Tko sam ja da ti sudim" which, roughly translated, means "Who am I to judge you". The artist is Oliver Dragojevic.. who is a big name down there in good old Hravatska.. I showed this song to James and viewed a few others myself aswell as a few more bands. And I have a few comments.

I'm not sure I 100% agree agree with James that this is the Croatian Cliff Richard, he's much better. Another thing is that he's an Atheist, whereas The Cliff is famously Christian.. and not gay..

I really have to admit I love the way Croatian singers sound. Their voices are husky and dark, like a fine Whiskey.. and yet warm I think.. so we'll compare their voices to a nice warm Whiskey. So next time you have a cold, don't bother forking out on the Black Bush, just pop some of this into your ears. The closest voice to this I have heard has to be Eric Clapton's, except he sounds almost depressed, these guys are more uplifting.

Something I don't like about some of the music is the electric guitar.. On this song the electric guitar sounds dry and without emotion.. in sharp contrast to the apparent sincerity of the lyrics.. insofar as I can underatand them. The solo guitar on this song suffers from the same problem. I just don't think this type of electric guitar is compatible with the musical style.. I think it should be kept to colder, more metallic music. Having said that, the electric guitar here is tasty and much more fitting.

I had to agree with FilipKa, Croatian music does sound like summer. Sandy, warm and bright.. I hope in time I will grow to love it.. as I hope I will grow to love everything in her life.. and I'm sure I will.

Vesele Vianoce a St'astny Novy Rok

Running

2008-12-25T12:35:00.000-08:00

You know, sometimes when I get up in the morning I really don't feel like I want to go running, but when I do I feel way better afterwards.

Finding something new

2008-12-23T08:57:00.000-08:00

You know, I am very peculiar person when it comes to music. I find a band.. listen to all their stuff almost obsessivly.. and then find someone else. This has happened with Genesis and it has happened with Simon and Garfunkel. While I maintain a baseline level of interest in these bands at all times now, they just don't feel the same as when I first discovered them and I was excited by their fresh sound or their approach to writing lyrics. This effect is not even confined to music.. it's films aswell. The reason I'm writing this blog is because I watched an Alfred Hirchcock movie this morning and although I enjoyed every minute of it, I just wasn't as engrossed and involved in it as I was in the beginning when I watched "Strangers on a Train". Which I recommend to you all. I think this morning though it was just because "Dial M for Murder" is not one of his best.. aside from Grace Kelly who gave a great performance as Margot. I like GK in the couple of Hitch movies I've seen her in.. and I know FilipKa is also a fan. So my interest in Hitch movies has not yet faded, but no doubt it will.. and I'll find some new director to bet into.. maybe Leone.

Now, in contrast to this, I was thinking this morning that there are bands who, every time I listen to them, manage to grab my attention and make me realise anew just how good they are! And these bands' sounds just don't get old to me. Some examples include:-

Incubus.. every time I listen to them I just ask myself why I don't listen to them more

Jars of Clay.. maybe this is because its so unusual to find a Christian band that is so good, but I suspect not and that there is something about their sound that I find particularly appealing.

That's all I can think of right now, there are probably more. The thing is though, that none of these bands are any of those that my friends would tell you I'm a fan of. If you were to ask Drew or Austin who Graeme likes to listen to they would say Genesis, Leonard Cohen and Simon and Garfunkel top three. If you were to turn the question to the less open-ended "Does Graeme like Incubus?" or "Does Graeme like Jars of Clay" I'm sure they would say yes I do, but not as much as those other guys. And what's weird about that is I do like Incubus and Jars of Clay probably more than Genesis, S+G or LC.. so why don't I get obsessively into them? That's not a rhetorical question...

My official Apology for not Officially Apologising

2008-12-22T03:11:00.000-08:00

So, Andrew and Paul have completed their last Radio Cracker show.. probably ever.. cos the producers hate them. I suspect this might be to do with that fact that their show is GOOD! If you havent heard the story about Paul and Andrew's Radio Cracker ordeal. I will fill you in..

They are told that they talk too much, but not enough about money

The music they play is, apparently "a disgrace"

They use words that are in common use such as "Sainsbury's" and "Starbucks", which qualifies, apparently, as advertising.. in fairness, if tey were at regular radio station, it would probably be the case that they weren't allowed to use these words either, but the thing is. Sometimes complany or product names slip into everyday language.. I might buy a Coke that is actually a Pepsi.. or I might Hoover the house with a Nilfisk..

They don't have any listeners over 40.. but I don't it was ever a problem before that radio cracker didnt have any listeners under 40.

The icing on the cake though, has to be this one. Last week I sent in a rather abstract E-mail whereby I was locked in Pauls basement and wanted out cos I really needed to pee.. This went all the way to the "Ethics committee" to discuss whether it was "Ethical" to say "pee" on air. Oh. Dear. Goodness. Terry, Paul's dad, told me this and I have to admit I was waiting for a punchline, cos it must have been a joke. Then I told him that they should come to me and I would say some worse words to them. But, thinking about it a little longer, it annoyed me most that they should choose to use such a grandiose word as "Ethics" for such petty nitpicking.. like theyre some kind of Moral philosophers! Small Country, Small people.. one just has to tune into Stephen Nolan to see that. It surprised me though coming from a charity that does such a great work every Christmas. It's sad, because if they did have the courage to branch out and make what we might call "good radio" then they might have more listeners.. and they might make more money. Just a thought.

I realise that last paragraph was a little arrogant.. but I'm gonna admit something.. sometimes I am arrogant. It's something I'm gonna have to work on.. I blame the Academy. I will maybe write a separate blog entry about my arrogance :-)

Lastly, I was supposed to appear on Radio Cracker yesterday, but unfortunately I had to go get something for my good friend Naveen. I hope the guys read out my official apology. Sorry again.

James' cool theory about songs

2008-12-21T07:50:00.000-08:00

Not all complex songs are catchy
And not all catchy songs are complex
But some complex songs are catchy
And some catchy songs are complex

Hallelujah

2008-12-19T11:17:00.000-08:00

When will people realise this is not actually a Jeff Buckley song either! Not that I have anything against his version. I oscillate between preferring his and Cohen's. I think I like the original Cohen lyrics better. For those of you who don't know I'm gonna write them out in full.. or maybe just Copy-Paste them.. that's better..

"Hallelujah"

Now I've heard there was a secret chord
That David played, and it pleased the Lord
But you don't really care for music, do you?
It goes like this
The fourth, the fifth
The minor fall, the major lift
The baffled king composing Hallelujah

Your faith was strong but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you
She tied you
To a kitchen chair
She broke your throne, and she cut your hair
And from your lips she drew the Hallelujah

You say I took the name in vain
I don't even know the name
But if I did, well really, what's it to you?
There's a blaze of light
In every word
It doesn't matter which you heard
The holy or the broken Hallelujah

I did my best, it wasn't much
I couldn't feel, so I tried to touch
I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you
And even though
It all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah

I'm pretty sure Cohen wrote the lyrics of the verses that Buckley sings aswell, but I don't like the omission of that last line there.. very uplifting.. especially for a Cohen song.

Neil's Band

2008-12-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

I took in a show last night. It was, as you can see.. Neil McKeown and band.. put on to raise funds for Radio Cracker and for School Aid Romania. Just thought I'd blog about it.. Neil sang well and the band sounded good. Good variety of singers and musicians and the set design was well planned and very Christmassy. Just a shame I had to leave early.

I'm so happy to see young guys playing, singing in church and using their talents for God. The guys obviously put a lot of work into this and it showed on the night. I hope they keep it up.

One regret I have after attending last night is that me and the guys didn't put on shows like this when we were Neil's age.. opting instead for private gigs where we played our own music.. and as I am now considering returning to live music to supplement my income a bit and to have bit of craic along the way, it is humbling to see someone so young who is willing to cultivate his talent and work so hard for such a good cause.

Keep it up guys. Oh and Neil, you do have a fantastic voice.

Cheers!

Who do I live for?

2008-12-19T01:10:00.000-08:00

A friend recently congratulated me for my engagement on Facebook and told me that it's easy to work and make money and have friends, but it all seems pointless without that special someone. And the more I think about this, the more I come to realise that it's true.

Above my desk in work I have a sign that reads "Don't do anything without FilipKa". Now, originally this was meant to be a quirky joke because I am incompetent and can't book pane tickets online properly.. either I get the wring date, the wrong city, the wrong flight, WRITE IN THE WRONG PASSENGER NAME (FilipKa didn't know about that one, luckily I realised before I bought it, love you honey :-p) or I just end up in completely the wrong country (which I don't feel particularly apologetic about because some good times were had in Poland and on the train from Oswiecim-Bratislava.. maybe I should blog about that!). But the sign has come to mean more to me.. that in this competitive world where everyone seems to push themselves forward and alk over each other to get to the top of the pile, I have someone in my life who is worth fighting for that isn't just me. And I can't describe how great a feeling that is. :)

1859

2008-12-18T13:26:00.000-08:00

Many people would recognise this as the year when Charles Darwin published his Earth-Shattering "Origin of Species".. or more technically known as "On the Origin of Species through Natural Selection or The preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life". In Ireland though, it was the year of a huge revival in the church. I don't really have much to say about that, but I think it's an interesting contrast.

That is all.

The Large Hadron Collider at CERN

2008-12-18T04:23:00.000-08:00

I have composed a short dialogue between some scientists, young and old, and a governmental panel that has the power to grant funding to their projects..

*Scientists confer before the hearing.. somewhere in Oxford or Cambridge*

Chair of the meeting, Dr. Jim:- "Right fellows, we somehow need to convince these guys to give us money for this project!"

Dr. Dave:- "I vote we just be honest Dr. Jim.. just go in and tell them 'look, we're not sure what use this is going to be, but we thought it would be really cool if we just built a giant partic accelerator so that we could smash these protons to smithereens.. PAOOOOW, PFFFFFFCCHHHHH! That's really our primary motivation. If we have time, maybe we'll report some results aswell."

Dr. Jim:- "Hmm.. I'm not convinced that honesty would be the best policy in this case Dr. Dave. I mean, we should be economical with the truth a little. I like what you said about the results though, more emphasis should be put on that."

Dr. Dave:- "Yes, but everyone knows our results won't be valid outside of Academia as we live in a different Universe to everyone else"

*Disclaimer. Graeme would like to distance himself as far as possible from this joke*

Dr. Jim:- Yes, but we need something that we can sell to the outside world.. something that sounds good to the media and to that governmental panel."

Young Scientist sitting obsequiously in the corner, Mr. Andy:- How about "We believe it may hold clues to the origins of the universe."

Dr. Jim:- Silence

Dr. Dave:- Silence

Dr. Jim:- That's Brilliant!

*Press Release*

SCIENTISTS SECURE FUNDING FOR PROJECT AT CERN THAT THEY BELIEVE MAY HOLD CLUES TO THE ORIGINS OF THE UNIVERSE

*Later, at CERN*

PAOOOOW, PFFFFFFCCHHHHH!!!!!!!!

*The End*

Silence

2008-12-16T03:05:00.000-08:00

I was inspired recently to write about silence. I read a blod of Mark Driscoll's on the subject where he went through his typical day and basically showed that there was hardly a moment of silence! Now, I am assuming that Mark Driscoll belongs to what I am beginning to call the "iGeneration" (it has to be a small "i" of course, which causes problems on Word 2007, because it doesn't allow you to start words with a small letter followed by a capital.. I think they did it out of spite towards Apple to be honest.. anyway.. I digress). The iGeneration are the guys you see with MacBooks, iPods and TopMan clothes that walk down the street with wires hanging from their ears (Disclaimer:- any resemblances to real persons or events are entirely co-incidental!). I have never been a part of the iGeneration. Shocking as it may sound coming from a musician, as I have come to consider myself, I don't LIKE to have music in my ears all the time! In fact, that would be my idea of Hell! I don't know about anyone else, but I am both emotionally and mentally responsive to music.. To listen to it 24/7 would be extremely emotionally and mentally tiring for me.. this may have something to do with the fact that I only really listen to sad/dark music. Although, now that I think about it, having happy music in my ears 24/7 would be even worse! Also, I am a musician myself so am often listening to interesting modulations and chord progressions/harmonies.

But although I do not subscribe to the iGeneration ethos, there is a lot of noise in my life. Anyone who knows me knows I sing a lot.. someone who sings a lot always has a song in their head! So there is a lot of inner noise. Also, being a professional research scientist means I am always thinking about something.. and not just my research, but also the ethical implications of my research for me personally.. and for my Faith (being a Christian in science has it's own difficulties that are peculiar to being a Christian in science.. now, this isn't to say that being a Christian in other fields isn't difficult, just that the difficulties are different from those I face). So I end up being four people.. A musician, a scientist, a moral philosopher and a Christian (I put this last precisely because it is the most important).. Oh, I'm also learning another language, just a minor point! So the inner noise is quite deafening at times! As a result I have started blog.. as you can see! If it goes as I intend then everything that is on my mind will end up on these pages so that my friend Gary Marrs from IT will be able to build an artificial robot me (which would probably have a personality similar to that of the Robot from HitchHiker's guide.. not because I am an especially whiny person.. just because all of my whining is going to be done here!). Hence, I have named the blog "Mind on a screen" because that's what it is.. my mind.. on a screen!

Ok.. so. One part of Mark Driscoll's blog that I disagree with is that some part of the day should be set aside for silence AND prayer. I don't know about other Christians who are reading this blog, but to me prayer is the EXACT POLAR OPPOSITE of silence! My mind is very active and not at all relaxed or calm when I pray! Talking to God is not a walk in the park for me.. it is hard work.. so no doubt prayer and silence should be parts of any Christian man's day, but don't spend your silent time in prayer! Goodness.

I am lucky to live up here on the North Coast with beautiful beaches and scenery and I don't know why I do not avail more of them. To me, my silent and prayerful times would be very well spent here, soaking in God's creation, hearing his voice and refreshing my soul. And that, I believe, would empower me beyond anything I can imagine to be all the things that I a trying on my own to be!