Advent Resource for Ministry with Young People [or others]

In other media spaces I've shared a resource I've written while at home recovering from recent surgery and it's available for download from a dropbox here or if that doesn't work for you http://goo.gl/HPrhj3

Thanks Darren Wright as blogspot doesn't hold PDFs and although I have dropbox I don't know it's ins and outs

Pics for the reflection that week...

"Signal Strength" NYC wifi orchestra

Very cool!!

"Every Breaking Wave" U2 MTV EMA's 2014

U2  - Every Breaking Wave - MTV EMA - 09.11.2014 by U2_Vision

I love the melancholy of this song!!

"All Your Friends" Coldplay

   It's a difficult few months for those who know war to be the worst option in resolving human conflict [of which there are endless futile examples] but there is something beyond the politics of WW1 and the foot soldiers who each volunteered for their own reasons and sought to fight for something of value to them... something we will focus on over the next 12 months courtesy of ceramic poppies, Gallipoli etc...

"Thinking Out Loud" Ed Sheeran

Looking fwd to a 'modern' dance routine of this at the annual concert this year!!

Movies I've seen in 2014

I think it's fair to say 2014 has been a pretty ordinary year for great films but there has been plenty of entertaining rubbish... I'm going in early with my list while on leave at home...

NEW EDITED LIST.....

2014

Mandela Long Walk to Freedom here in Oz

The LEGO Movie outstanding

The Monuments Men great story

Cuban Fury Nick Frost humour

Anchorman 2 most of it anyhow

The Muppets Most Wanted good story

Divergent disappointing

Noah fascinating with a few standout scenes/questions

Rio 2 yeah OK

The Amazing Spiderman 2 hmm, it was Ok

Bad Neighbours funny idea, didn't work for me, one funny scene... the De Niro's

Blended classic Sandler creeps up on you

The Fault in Our Stars a fav. from 2014

Jersey Boys Clint tells a story

Transformers Age of Extinction not as bad as could have been

Captain America Winter Soldier good twist

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes really like this series

Lucy a mixed bag of great idea they didn't know how to finish

Her I thought I'd hate it and turn it off, it was great

A Most Wanted Man the great Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Guardians of the Galaxy was very funny

Calvary stunning storytelling

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles yeah, dunno, funny, Ok story

Expendables 3 hilariously pointless escapism

The Maze Runner disappointing

The Box Trolls great

The Judge outstanding work

Mr Peabody and Sherman disappointing for a story I grew up with

Veronica Mars formulaic but entertaining

Grace of Monaco not as bad as critics said and I enjoyed the history lesson

The Hundred Foot Journey great story
John Wick if only Tarantino had done it, great escapism for 2 hrs, quirky idea

Hunger Games: Mockingjay Pt 1 like it says, 1/2 a film, enjoyed it, was sad about Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Exodus interesting despite 2.5hrs, more to say later

Haven't seen for Various Reasons But will

Charlie’s Country
Teenage

Will See When I Can

Whiplash

Pride

Dumb and Dumber 2

Hobbit

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb

The Water Diviner

Stunning tributes for Gough Whitlam

Amongst others...

"From Little Things Big Things Grow" Paul Kelly Kev Carmody and friends

“Vincent Lingiari, I solemnly hand to you these deeds as proof, in Australian law, that these lands belong to the Gurindji people and I put into your hands this piece of the earth itself as a sign that we restore them to you and your children forever.”

   I don't quite know why I am so emotional today watching on ABC TV the Memorial Service for Gough Whitlam at Sydney Town Hall and various live sites across Australia.
   At home recovering from surgery with some good outcomes, unable to do much more than rest, but thinking I guess about the way in which EG Whitlam's story and time in history frames my own political consciousness or some thing much simpler like my growing up.
   On one level I think as a community of people we just do so well at celebrating life, through sense of occasion, music and vivid story telling. There's something too about a persons opportunity to have a say in shaping their own service.
   More fundamentally I guess I still remember Bruce Humphreys, our Year Master at Maitland Boys' High, coming around on the 11th November 1975 to our Maths lesson and interrupting to let us know the Governor General had dismissed the Federal Labor Government and installed Malcolm Fraser as caretaker... in some ways my other memories of that revolve around the sublime work of Norman Gunston on the steps of Parliament House in Canberra. Only as I became more politically minded in the years that followed and only as I studied Economics in Year 11/12 and onwards at University did I come to understand the social revolution of Medicare, free University education, aboriginal issues, social change and the many reforms prospered in that all too short era.
   I also studied the advent of 'stagflation' or the coincidence of high unemployment and inflation which ruined world economies and challenged all conventional monetary and fiscal policy so that Labor would be judged unfairly over the country's interest rates, slowing development and the less than wise steps taken to re finance our economic growth.
   Still, social reform and a change of outlook that also saw Paul Keating and others take the reins of the economy to float the dollar and open us up to Asia, are irreversible aspects on todays Australia.
   Many years later, meeting Freda Whitlam, Gough's sister, a female 'Moderator' of the Uniting Church in Australia, I understood those indefinables of a heart for people, for western Sydney, for justice and opportunity, with humour, grace and disarming grace and humour.
   As a young politically 'liberal' person growing up in the 1970s my worldview changed. I have most certainly moved to the left in my leanings and while I still value the ethic of people 'having a go' and taking opportunities, I am committed to the idea that not everyone gets those chances and we must all work as a community to care for each other, whether that's free national health care, or values of justice an service.
   My faith and my vocation are informed, shaped and fuelled by an indescribable feeling for people, those I am comfortable around and those who are not my natural group but in whom I see pain, loss, disadvantage, struggle, doubt and life waiting to break out... my following is about participation in the world to reconcile and renew the whole of the creation, even if only in my little corner. I guess in some way my emotions today are for those Gough Whitlam seemed to know, understand and stand up for... a vision of opportunity and hope in fundamental human endeavour... lived by a man who described himself as a 'fellow traveller.'
   The story that drives this is the story of one who came to testify to the idea that God is love, that grace and compassion are the building blocks of salvation [of saving from all that life throws up at us, from ourselves and from disappearing up our own fundamentalist ideals in some cases] and that it isn't about me but us... my call is to take seriously who Jesus stood with, favoured and spoke for... in building a community of inclusion and gospel values... in some circumstances this is particularly about voiceless young people, but not always... unreliable memories and thoughts indeed...
 

An Update of Sorts

So friends, it's Sunday evening at my place and an opportunity to let folks know how I'm doing...
I had a major surgery on October 17th and a hernia repair at the same time and have now been home since Friday week... so just over 2 weeks now since that op...
   I anticipate a minimum further two weeks recovery and am still waiting for the incision to fully settle... I have no idea how this'll progress...
   I can't lift anything much and continue to rest up... the surgery should be what's needed and all my tests are good!! Next will come regular testing and check ups for future years but I dodged the biggest potential complications from this time around... It's a slow recovery and I get tired, so despite goals of reading and writing a few things, that's a 'not yet'...
   I'm doing pretty well though, from getting up to walk the day after surgery, through to now. I have caught a few movies, TV series, magazines and plenty of my usual newspapers and some awful TV alongside sundry laps from room to room and up and down our hall. I do look forward to the afternoon nap!!
   I suppose it's good I've now lost some weight over recent weeks/months as that was part of the plan... maybe just over 20kgs... but that was from a bad start and I guess another 24 or so would be great... but unlike 2008 I might just need to keep it off!! I have no idea when I will return to the swimming pool... hopefully by 1st December but I won't be rushing...
 

The Late Late Show Dublin

Rocktober the rest...

I wish I had time over the coming weeks to keep up my daily countdown but I don't...
No doubt you can surf Youtube yourselves to find...

#16 "With or Without You" U2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhU24xxbnsU
#17 "In the Air Tonight" Phil Collins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=manxPVTLth8
#18 "I Love Rock n Roll" Joan Jett
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3T_xeoGES8
#19 "Road to Nowhere" Talking Heads
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKqzayNo4Dk
#20 "Billy Jean" Michael Jackson
#21 "Betterman" Peal Jam
#22 "Hand in My Pocket" Alanis Morissette
#23 "Losing My Religion" REM
#24 "Private Universe" Crowded House
#25 "Holy Grail" Hunters and Collectors
#26 "Material Girl" Madonna
#27 "Treaty" Yothu Yindi
warning that indigenous people since deceased will appear in the film clip
#28 "Better" Screaming Jets
#29 "a" Regurgitator
#30 "Across the Night" Silverchair live in Newcastle
#31 "Beds are Burning" Midnight Oil

Rocktober #15 "Pleasure and Pain" Divinyls

   A standout in a busy time for pub rock and places like Newcastle Workers Club I saw Chrissy Amphlett and the Divinyls once live... great theatre, don't take it too seriously... great voice!!

Rocktober #14 "Heaven [Must Be There]" Eurogliders

Classic pop with Grace Knight's vocals and come great clips like this MTV Hit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdQH9ULWD5k

Rocktober #13 Little River Band medley

   What do you do when you simply can't escape the music of this band who really were huge on radio and across the USA, who are great songwriters but to whose music you could easily fall asleep anytime... such is musical taste... I understand why people like these tunes... poor man's Eagles is a bit harsh... just not my fav.... but good at what they do!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMkRpmRXMW8

Rocktober #12 "Listen Like Thieves" INXS

How many times can one flatmate come home from work, ask for this to be the vinyl record on the lounge room player, retreat to their room to change and get roady to go out and leave within 15mins... as you stumble across the room and change it back... such is my memory of this song... I don't remember any other song off the record!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq9moPpTFZE

Rocktober #11 "Back in Black" AC/DC Brian Johnson

   Not everyone's cup of tea and certainly capable of some classic over the top stage shows AC/DC are a great success story, because of their talent as musicians and songwriters... their different sounds and styles tap the rock scene at each stage of their long careers. They are one band I wish I had seen live at their peak... but they fitted my 'one tour too late' measure and I never got to go there...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQywr-PBR_o&list=PLx1MDbsLNfVSSPAtSnfc7FR9A9M3mJQHt

"God Only Knows" BBC Music

Thoughts and Stuff

   I'm about to take a social media break for a while folks, the culmination of a long and busy sporting winter on TV and in person... and the advent of warmth, sun and outdoor hours BUT also the need for rest ahead of coming events...a trip to hospital!!
   Mostly though, being involved in Rugby as a volunteer reminds me how exhausting it is and when I coached and played I rarely did much any October Long Weekend. When I played cricket, if we were in Rugby Finals as captain/Coach I usually needed that first month off just to get some mental rest!!
   I think my Rocktober list will either be short-lived or batched for you to drop by daily... I'm taking some time off, so I switch off the resource finding and sharing, ideas and 'work' button for a while...
This just seems to be the song I want to post today...

Rocktober #10 "Rock and Roll All Night" KISS

   Our neighbour across the street was a member of 'the KISS Army'... dress up parties, disco sound tracks, school band concerts featured music, costume and make up or at least a poster or action figure and let's face it we loved it, they were this mysterious phenomenon with the full R&R legend of luxury tours, girls, alcohol and parties, oh and money!! Even I attended [1] mates birthday party dressed as Peter Criss. This is another band with song after song in the charts, pyrotechnics and huge stage presence... unmasked, what a let down... geriatric reunion tours... well only the three fans would be enthralled I suspect... the less said about Gene Simmons reality TV show the better... rock legends, absolutely!! KISS rounds out my 70s Rocktober list
   I am looking to take a break from social media despite having had this crazy idea so what I am going to do is work days ahead until done and leave you the reader to return as you wish for the rest of the month!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1sJhRuAahk

Rocktober #09 "Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again" The Angels

   This is 'The Angels' flying at their best... in this clip from LaTrobe Uni... pre cultural expletive added to this song MUCH later...

   Just four days earlier on 8th September 1979 'The Angels' played to 10,000 in the epic free Newcastle Mattara Festival Rock Concert in Civic Park and you get the picture of that day from the middle of this Newcastle Herald article [the internet is an amazing thing]. Mick DeBono drove us to the concert in his impressive HR and we listened to 'No Exit' on cassette all the way there...
   It was genuinely mayhem as so many people turned up... I went to two and they blur in the memory but this day I recall...
1. A bloke drinking Bundy Rum who climbed a flag pole and whose mates threw bottles up to, until he was so drunk he fell the 10m to the grass below mid afternoon.
2. We stood near the cenotaph and at one point a dozen bikers in front of us stood in a circle urinating on the grass, we laughed until on 'go' they all turned outwards to the crowd gathered around them
3. There was a girl featured in the Herald a day later who was right up the front and stood up wearing a Bali styled singlet top and leopard skin patterned skimpy bikini... at the height of the concert she was dancing and swinging her arms above her head and of course someone behind her pulled down the bikini bottoms
4. Between 2 years of this concert 'Flowers' with Iva Davies, became 'Icehouse' and I recall the same arvo DJ sharing my view in year two after they played their stunning single, that he had been a little skeptical 12 months earlier as Iva took the stage for sone one and screamed into the mic for a full 30sec as the opening lyric. The keyboard players black leather pants were way too shiny as well.
5. I recall 'Heroes', Jeff St John in his wheel chair doing wheelies on stage singing and Doc Neeson climbing the speaker stack to the top [he didn't fall this time as we would at the ISC in 1989

   The Herald article talks of damage to the gardens... the main flower beds were rich with giant yellow sunflowers each flower 30cm across with solid stalks. I noticed that when the bikers pulled one up out of the ground it had a football sized clod of dirt attached to the roots and we watched as the first few were thrown metres into the air by the flower, righted themselves by the weight of the dirt and then plummeted to land on unsuspecting punters below... there was talk of $20,000 worth of plants destroyed that day [it was after all, Newcastle's School Holiday Spring Festival.

   We were there though, to see 'The Angels' and this introverted young methodist boy had his first experience of the rock n roll culture of the 1970s. I stood sipping my Coca Cola, laughing, shouting, enjoying the music and the derelict behaviour of Newcastle's finest 'goof' all around!! I understood rock music and stage presence that day... all wrapped up in these unique Aussie talents, one band after another...
   This was a few days before Police overreacted at the closing concert for the nearby 'Star Hotel' and shut down 'The Heroes' set with seconds remaining and caused a celebratory mob to sprawl onto the streets where a few idiots upturned and set on fire a Police vehicle to create the scenes of the folkloric 'Star Hotel' riot!! 2 months later I started work as an accountancy trainee at the Steelworks under the initial tutoring of the previous years intake, including my chaperone at the No1 Bloom Mill who was outside the Star when a mate next to him stole a Policeman's gun and handed it to him to hide... he spent the first few weeks 'showing me the ropes at work' but just waiting for a call from the Police who were publicising media footage of the riot in which he had clearly seen himself and his mate... the call never came...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6Aix-DSsdA

Rocktober #08 "Superstar" Colleen Hewitt

Well this is certainly keeping my mind busy with the possibilities but sometime in the next week I will take a break from social media... something I planned to do post Rugby Season and then got this silly idea!! Colleen Hewitt is another great Aussie female performer from this era, who crossed pop, rock, anthems and jazz and beyond...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3pNR4NEUQ_U

Rocktober #07 "Stares and Whispers" Renee Geyer

   What a voice? and still going strong... this might be on the radio during the day or to contrast a 'block of rock' or a 'lunchbox' whole album side from Radio Birdman... Renee crosses genres, still sings at the Basement etc and must have some great stories about the rock circuit...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tlnz95SZwBk

Rocktober #06 "Cool World" Mondo Rock

   I don't really like "Eagle Rock" as a song, I get that the band were a huge breakout and talented and reflected the values of the age, but if I need a song to connect me with Australia, that isn't it... This always kind of effected my view of Ross Wilson so I had a struggle with Mondo Rock. A couple of their tunes were those songs you kept singing or hearing yet at the same time I relate them to lots of awkward parties and social occasions with friends where 'Come Said the Boy' would be on high rotation and everyone else would seemingly 'get the girl.' It was a quietly disappointing and lonely few years where these records seemed to be on at every house you went to... In that context 'Cool World' wasn't too bad.... Ross wrote pop that anyone could do and this song for me always sounded like a song 'Dragon' would have brought a better edge to... it was a ling time ago though so what would I know...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WRozCdiR6U

Rocktober #05 "Horror Movie" Skyhooks

They definitely weren't one of my favourite bands but I got that they did interesting things and were some fine musicians. Shirley Strachan had that 'something' and the look was very 70s!! Catch it on youtube for download here

Rocktober #04 "[Saturday] Night Fever" The Bee Gees

   In an effort to recreate the experience at the time, here we are only four entries into 'Rocktober' and along come the Bee Gees who definitely did their bit to inspire the 'Death to/before Disco" t-shirt craze... a sometimes maligned genre Robert Stigwood and the Bee Gees certainly hit the jackpot with John Travolta and their "Saturday Night Fever" movie.
   Here I need to 'own up' to wearing flares and a body shirt to the 'Disco' at Largs School of Arts, mentioned here in the middle of this article... but not only did I wear the correct attire, we took out the Dance competition one Saturday night at the monthly disco!! Same night I was almost in a punch up over my partner!! That was a long time ago...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ihs-vT9T3Q

Rocktober #03 "Don't Bring Me Down" Electric Light Orchestra

   Some bands become a phenomenon in a certain era and this is true of 'ELO' and their staging, videos and sheer weight of hit songs... no wonder 'they' have returned to touring in recent years as 1960s/70s kids have time and money to reminisce... This wasn't their biggest hot but my favourite tune with echoes of Quo... You have to remember that the big screens and backdrops were pretty new then and radio played ELO on what was called 'high rotation, so you could hear songs like this every 3-4 hours some days!! They sold a lot of singles.... maybe 15-20 Top 20 singles in the US!! Jeff Lynne put out another album after their array from the 1970s and 80s, in 2001!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RJPaj97H24

Eric Simms

  Eric Simms... hands down my favourite Rabbitohs rugby league player ever.. born/growing up in childhood at the mission in Karuah, NSW. Eric moved to La Perouse in Sydney and was picked up by Souths as a 19 year old.

   He was a spectacular FULLBACK for the bunnies who represented Australia in the late 1960s and early 70s scoring 50 points in a 'world' cup tournament. He is part of the clubs long history of representing Australia's indigenous community. He was a field goal legend at a time in the game when that was a critical tactic... I think he kicked 5 field goals in a game once... this was most certainly a golden era for the club...

   I'm hopeful another Rabbitohs fullback, Greg Inglis, plays a huge role in a Bunnies win this Sunday... his knee and hip seem OK, hope he can grab a couple of Reynolds kicks and a Keary pass or two to score... I would not be disappointed if Simms was there to ring the Souths bell on the sideline... in fact a guard of honour of Souths living legends would be a great idea!! Three days to go, my non sporting friends...

Rocktober #02 "April Sun in Cuba"

   Synonymous for me with Year 11 and 12 at High School... 'Dragon' made one or more stunning appearances at Newcastle' "Mattara" Festival free public rock concert in Civic Park... I later saw them at Newcastle Workers a couple of times, including with Tommy Emmanuel on guitar [it was never gonna last] Sadly Marc Hunter passed away and while Mark Williams is great on recordings, they are very much a product of their era... drunk onstage, cranking out their hits and becoming a rock festival and touring circuit staple...

Rocktober #01: Is that a thing?

   When I was growing up the rock radio stations here in Oz started 'Rocktober' and it's perhaps most synonymous with Sydney's 2SM... later we've had Australian music month on JJJ so I'm not sure I'll get everyday but here goes...

Let's kick off Rocktober with "Glad All Over" by HUSH

Photo of the Week: The Postie

    Our dog Max is a maltese cross white ball of pride and protection, who 'wouldn't hurt a fly' unless you got between him and his food or tried to pick him up off the end of a bed at night after he's settled... Max launches at the blinds when the AVON lady, a trade or the parcel delivery man arrives on our stairs and front door... until few pats and some acknowledgement...
   He as a good memory as evidenced by the day it emerged the parcel van pulled up out front only so the regular local delivery contractor could stop and have his sandwich... Max was meanwhile going ballistic, launching himself at the blinds and window in the bedroom... the door of which we now close before answering the front door so max is 'snookered' in that room... as friends have observed, don't think the parcel van stopped there by accident, fully aware of the demonstration that would be unfolding inside while he gently munched on his 'cornmeat on white.'
   Max is in the pic below, sunning himself and keeping the backyard bird free!! But the photo of the week is from a traffic queue when I was taking him to 'Dog Overboard' and he climbed to the window and started barking and growling at the postie who was around the corner of that fence changing bags at one of their green spare bag boxes... all Max saw was the top of his helmet and the yellow workplace safety flag and he was off.... well spotted Max!!