Greenbelt Festival 2011 looks great

It took me just over 20 years to get to the Greenbelt Festival [now at Cheltenham Racecourse] when I made it in 2008. It was a bittersweet experience because it was everything I expected and more and so I've watched and read about it each year since and seen our exploration groups and wished I was joining them. For the trip to London? The visits to interesting communities engaging in contextual mission? Well, that's part of it.... but it's actually because it's a space and a community of people 'who get it' and whose creativity, experimentation, faithfulness, humanity and story are just so inspirational and challenging at the same time!!
The Festival and each of the groups we've visited in recent years are part of those 'thin places' where our awareness of God and our lives touch and where the artificial gap between the secular and the sacred is challenged and breaks.

My trip was full on for a number of reasons and 2008 was an eventful year besides...
It's August bank holiday weekend and a bunch of aussies from Victoria are there experiencing the wonder that is Greenbelt and you can check out the action here and here.

This is an aweful year [energy sapping, boring, de-energising, uncertain etc] counting down to the end of my current role and thoughts and memories of that 2008 trip and al the amazing things I saw and heard about still fuels my thinking and energy for mission, creative endeavour and 'shaping the future.'

Wonder whose playing mainstage in 2012?

I'm also aware that I'm writing these thoughts in a public forum... so trust me it's edited and restrained... but mostly [for me] blogging is one aspect of me processing thoughts and happenings and moving forward [some might call it venting, I think I'm more varied than that] anyhow... no need to respond because I really write for me and anyone finding this in anyway interesting. well that's a bonus... tomorrow is another day!! I will get my camera out tomorrow and express my own creative side and that'll be a nice break!!

'Scmap' for London Tourists

So when I was in London in 2008 I took a few photos and one of them ended up on a touist map and info site [with permission] as it came to light on flickr. The site is here and my pic turns up here where they seem to have recently revamped things and let me know I was still featured!!

I'm only a little jealous that lots of people I know and whose blogs I read are heading off to the very same Greenbelt Festival and exploration trip for this weekend!! Leartn lots on that tour in 2008 and do hope to return soon!!

"Chaperone Dad" in 2012

When 'Hamish & Andy' met Taylor Swift on their 'Gap Year' TV show a couple of weeks ago they encouraged her to write a song on the spot, about those Dad's who accompany their daughters to Taylor's concerts... a huge number of them given Swift's fanbase... and I laughed knowing that I had promised Lucy I'd take her the next time Taylor Swift toured here in Oz...

That's be March next year and we're doing what we've done for years and ignored whether a Newcastle gig will be added later [at the local tin shed called an Entertainment Centre, which even cruelled an 'Oils' show and sent Silverchair into fits with the echo and muddy sound... but I'll save that for a rant another day] and signed up for Acer Arena in Sydney on March 9th!!

I wonder how many more boys will have cruched her heart by then... by all reports we're talking five guitars/ukele and piano, nine different dresses and various stages across the venue to bring her closer to the fans!!

Dad's first live concert with daughter Lucy [who is now 10]!! If you don't count the Wiggles!! I suspect Ellie will be more a Pearl Jam fan!!

The New Spare Room

We've been dealing with, trying to fix and now finally restoring a room after water leaks in the downstairs study.... the half without my desk etc!! It's looking good thanks to Simone's design skills!!

Photographic Idea takes a step forward

Having decided to invest in a new camera I've done the whole compact v interchangeable lenses v 3/4 camera exploration and with a hat tip to Justin I have decided to start with a Canon Powershot SX230 HS [a good competitor for the Panasonic Lumix TZ20] and maybe next year if I'm still exploring projects and need lenses and effects I might go the Panasonic G3 for those specific ideas [if I'm employed that is].

For now we are talking 12MP, big zoom wide angle lens and good for low light but it'll still fit in a pocket for family snaps and my NZ trip in October. Best part is they started at $490, were in the US as low as $309 [but not posting to Oz] so the best I could do was $366 in Sydney next week. At JB it was $449 last week, $396 this week and they matched and did it for $360 for me today!! The Panasonic would have cost me $450-500!!

Sure if money were no object I've have bought this and a Canon EOS or probably the G3 and used them for specific tasks with extra zooms but... and it'd be set on auto for some time to come until I had headspace to do some learning!!

Anyhow stay tuned for some snaps and my 'Where is God?' project unfolding on a weekend before years end somewhere near you!! I like the vivid, super vivid and fish eye menu for a small digital it just may do the trick!!

Kudos to Apple

I had a major disaster today with my iPad with which I am normally very careful!! I picked up a paper, book and the iPad from the car seat [i don't think I even knew I had the iPad... it slipped in my fingers, detached from the 'smart cover' and fell onto the concrete face down... the whole screen was cracked, smashed and shattered AND Apple replaced it as a courtesy for free [I do have Apple care that would normally make it a $450 purchase!!] so now it's 'restored' and running.
Just this week I ordered a shell that works with the smart cover [though it would not have prevented this] and just yesterday was talking with Lindsay who had a similar experience just a few weeks ago!!
THANKS APPLE...

'Unfiltered Youth Ministry" # 02 Andrew Root in Canberra

It was a great weekend last weekend, exploring the writings and presentations of Andrew Root, at the Chapel of the Centre for Christianity & Culture in Canberra!! It was a weekend of mixed feelings for me... I welcome learning and really enjoy the gymnastics of figuring out how something affirms or challenges my views, teaches me something new and/or relates to my understanding of God, practice of ministry and or who I am... The fractures, apathy or missed opportunities in our networks makes this a rare occasion and that's a shame. Darren, Duncan and Matt are to be congratulated for pulling it together...
As I had written before, Andrew's re-emphasis on authentic relationships for their own sake, drew me back to my beginnings and the things I hold dear... more recently expressed as the notion that 'every person has a story and every persons story is worth hearing.' The Day Two focus on 'children of divorce' was something we were privileged to be participating in... deep sharing and a dose of reality around an issue that has nothing whatsoever to do with the 'naval gazing' of a church struggling for survival and all the ridiculous distractions this provides... Instead it highlighted what a significant thing 'engaging in God's activity in the world' is when our desire to share compassion and grace with others coincides with a burning need and while feeling 'at home' in the conversations I am convinced of it's wider relevance and my ability to 'transition' my gifts/skills/knowledge/self into a different setting, bringing the same 'above and beyond' energy!!
Alongside this, the girls came with me for the weekend, enjoying Cockington Green, a six hour visit to Questacon and the National Space Museum/NASA. I skipped Saturday night for a family dinner in Manuka and so we enjoyed the space and time together. I'll get them to the National Museum eventually.
Trying to sort out my future before or after December this year, I found myself fitting what we were talking about 'like a glove' but unable to picture where or how it will be applied.

It brought an edge to the fact I know I'm entering a time of change and the very real possibility of needing to find employment elsewhere... while I jest about the door greeter role at Bunnings [stay tuned]
I cannot commit my hopes, frustration, anger, willingnesses and recent reminders that the church does not get 'youth ministry' as anything other than playing in the sandpit, to cyber space because it comes without context or conversation...
Anyhow... it's that conundrum...

Every so often the 'wheel turns' in this crazy flawed thing called the church... and you're reminded of how vulnerable you, you're self image and your passions are... amidst mixed messages and very human fallibility... while those you know and trust happily re-affirm you!!
I've been re-reading Andrew's book 'Unfiltered Relationships' and was reminded of a film clip which fitted the weekends themes really well. It's the story of teacher Erin Gruwell as told in 'Freedom Writers.' Erin sets an assignment but notes one student who is struggling with setbacks as his brother receives a jail [US film/US spelling] sentence and he has given himself an 'F' in the self assessment task. Erin invited the students to fill in journals which she offered to read to learn about their stories and he had written about feeling 'invisible.'

"I see you... do you hear me, I see you... and you are not failing!!"

U2 360 Live at ANZ Olympic Stadium Sydney 14th December

"Wow... wow!!" said Bono part way through tonights second Sydney 360 concert which is really hard for me to compare to last night! They were just such different experiences!!
Last night Rah, Andrew, Ros and I [and many familiar faces I saw trooping in to the Stadium] enjoyed the concert from the stands where tonight [or more correctly today] it was Darren and I lining up with GA Standing Arena tickets. I again did some laps at Homebush Aquatic Centre in the middle of the day and met Darren around 3pm to wait in the shade until the line filled out a little. At 5.30pm we speed walked down through the stadium and onto the playing surface, to the right of the 'Claw' stage and around and under the outer circle so we were in the pit between the outer and inner circles with our backs to the rail and able to see the band side on in full view, a matter of metres away... briliant and yet surreal under such a spectacular electronic extravaganza!!

Tonight was different because of:
- different song order and choices
- watching from under the massive screen
- standing as close as I would on a good night at Newcastle Workers
- able to see band members walking the circle behind us so they are basically 1 metre away

Again the 'good news' was front and centre in this show with standards sung full of emotion and those pauses listening to the audience chime in were brief and appreciative rather than a sign the band were sick of repeating the song. Indeed I watched Adam Clayton playing tonight and he was loving it...
'New Years Day' replaced 'I Will Follow' in the running order [in fact I liked the flow of last night better] But 'Love Rescue Me' sung as an old time gospel song was a great companion to 'Amazing Grace.' Bono didn't get as many lyrics mixed up tonight and 'With or Without You' was hauntingly moving.
U2s great gift is to take old songs and reinvent them for current times. Great examples include: Bullet the Blue Sky; Sunday Bloody Sunday; and in New Zealand the offering of 'One Tree Hill' and 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' as lament and a chance to sing out your grief at the Pike River Mine disaster.
'One' has had that focus at this and the last tour, with Desmond Tutu's taped intro and invitation to join the list of those who have tried to make the world a better place.
What I love about a live U2 show is how it connects me with my past stories and experiences and also calls me to act differently in the future. They are inspiring and timely reminders. I thought tonight about the brilliant 'Lovetown' concert in 1989 at he Ent Cent, Zoo TV, PopMart and more... as Bono relived those times and even joked about the night Adam missed a show after drinking too much... I fondly recalled a simpler less busy time...
I know U2 are recording [and working on their 'Spiderman' Broadway musical but I am not at all sure they'll return to Australia... I hope so, but if not 'Wow!!'

U2 360 was an amazing 2 nights in Sydney

In a few days I will have time to download some photos and write about my experience of 2 nights at ANZ Stadium at Homebush in Sydney enjoying the extravaganza that is U2 in 360 degrees!! I spent one night sitting in the 600s and the next standing in between the circular stage and the next ring which forms a runway for the band members to play to all areas of the arena.... In all my years of fandom I have never been only 2 metres from the band as they play!! Anyhow, lots to reflect on and share asap!!

U2 finally here!!

It's been so distractingly busy that my week has snuck up on me!! Last time U2 played Sydney the first night sound was #$%^& and our seats weren't great when it rained despite my contacts!! On the third night I had bought a standing GA ticket which redeemed things a little but as someone 189cm tall I struggled to see over people in front of me which indicated a. a sloping field and b. that the stage was too low!! I enjoyed some moments and some standard tunes BUT on the whole felt like spectator at someone else's experience!! Either that or I was not willing to just let go and enjoy myself without feeling a little self conscious?
I have 'nosebleed' seats for tomorrow night [Monday] and a standing GA ticket for Tuesday... with [3] friends Monday and colleague and friend Darren W on Tuesday so we will be getting in early and attempting to be as close to the stage as possible... something I have always reserved for 'the Oils' and sometimes then not even...
I'm babbling... because of last time I have not got my hopes up... I only expect to hear some of my fav all time U2 tracks, to cry, to laugh, to be transported, to be invited on a journey... and I hope to see four mates enjoying being in a band and stripping back the pompous self indulgence to just 'be' with us in the intimacy of ANZ Stadium [what?]
Come back for the Review!!

Australian Open Golf 2010

Mates Geoff and Graham weren't able to come but at least the rain held off after last years postponement due to high winds and I got to follow both Greg Norman and John Daly half way around the Lakes course in Sydney's East... a welcome distraction from the goings on with our work merger and the pain and sadness being experienced amongst my colleagues!!

Oh and of course NO cameras allowed!!

BOE and BOM Merger Outcomes

For those wondering what happened about the future of the Board I work for and the Youth Unit and my own role at work you can read the plan here

I knew my current role would be winding up by December 2011 and I have a timeline now for exploring new possibilities including at least three of the new roles...

There's good and bad in it, issues dodged and decisions avoided but there are also new possibilities and it's strength is the Team approach... but public social media is not the place for that discourse!! Happy to email and share with anyone wondering!!

"Cold Cold Change" Midnight Oil

"Cold Cold Change" Midnight Oil 1979

Cold cold change, we were so excited
But you came and went so soon
Cold cold change, we were not invited
We smiled all the while we were taken in

Cold cold change, bringing in the winter
Freezing up the water, closing up the mind
One more danger, gonna have to deal with
One last moment fading all the time

But no lasting change, well we were turned around
We jumped in the air to see over the wall
No master plan, it's a bad design
Significant time in spite of us all

Cold cold change, we were so excited
Waiting on the outside, waiting to begin
Left us all angry and bewildered
Laughing at the way we were taken in

You better lock the door, turn it off (the light)
We'll leave the nights alone, better keep me hoping
That the change is over, the ice is gone
And when the weather's warmer you can hear me shouting yeah
(hirst/moginie)

This song was released in my final year at High School when I thought the 'the Oils' were that endless noise my surfie mates listened to... then came '10,9,8....1'!! Amazing!

This clip was the JJJ Youth Refuge fundraiser at Wanda Beach!!

The era is different yet some of the themes still describe the interesting times in which we live!!

Macbook Fun!!

Well, as they say 'back up your computer!'
So I had a 1TB My Book at home with everything up to a few months ago on it from my PC and Windows Laptop BUT I had been dithering about what hard drive to buy so I could use it exclusively for the Macbook Pro...
Away working I must have bumped a key so the cursor disappeared and when I clicked the spot I was up to it began to 'think' and 10mins later was still doing that... One forced shutdown later it wouldn't reboot... hard drive issues!!
Turns out the 'geniuses' at Apple replaced several components including the hard drive, only to discover it was a flex cable fault... which means my data has been migrated to the new drive and appears to be OK... I will know when I pick it up tomorrow and run some files!! Phew!!
I will also not leave the Apple Store without aformentioned external drive for backing up the entire machine!!
Normal transmission will soon resume!!

The Power of Images

I was reminded again this morning of how much of a story can be contained within one still image!! I made it to the Fairfax Media World Photo Exhibit 2010 at the Mitchell State Library and saw some amazing images!! I had assumed you wouldn't be able to take pics so I only had the iphone with me.

There's so much emotion, action, back story and imagination captured in the various snaps from these Australian pictures and no doubt they'll bob up elsewhere on display!! Here are some examples...

I wish I remembered to clip these pics or order a copy and I will try to remember the value and power of a photo essay, reflections, card sets etc

A Brief Break

I am still exhausted from the 2 weeks effort needed to be ready for and then carry out my role of 'Input Facilitator' at Winter Camp this year... in coming days I will post about our theme and some stuff we did... I think most things worked well... though we used way too much time and need to overhaul our program... which we will do so that's cool!

"Authenticity, Relationships and Context" My Three Youth Ministry Drivers

I need to take up a conversation with a few Youth Worker colleagues but I will also be developing some 'thinking out loud' here about what I believe drives me and drives me in ministry with young people.

I think it's a sensible, scriptural and appreciated approach to focus on 'authenticity, relationships [incarnational ones] and context. I'm sure some of my preferred focus is borne out of being an 'idealist' by nature whose natural leadership style includes trying to make space for the gifts and passions of others, listening, encouragement and serving where I am able.

While some people's judgement, resistence and short sighted critique causes me to occasionally 'second guess' I think nearly 30 years of experience means I know something about what I'm doing and the fact some people offer me genuine respect, encouragement and appreciation gives me the energy to pursue what I intuitively believe to be my best efforts!!

Anyhow... more thoughts as they develop!!

Aaaarrrggghhh!! Allergies

I made it to today the 29th before I had another allergy reaction!! So I reckon my allergies are real but seem to be made worse by the inhaler and in the last week I've deliberately eaten salicylate laden foods so the next strategy is to ease back on those and see if I can fly under that radar!! Damn... I was beginning to think I had it sorted [while not convinced]!! Oh well!!

Powderfinger Tix Sorted

So, despite the typical presale hiccups today I've sorted our Powderfinger tix for their farewell tour in September/October here in Oz!! There was a time I thought 'The Finger' might have been able to partly fill the gap left in my live music recreation time by the end of 'The Oils' BUT they always toured medium sized venues which sold out too fast and were too infrequent to 'fill the shoes'!! Despite 500 CDs there aren't a lot of bands where I genuinely have ALL their CDs but Bernard and the boys make the cut!!

Great Aussie music, about stuff that matters, with guts!! Looking forward to Sydney Ent Centre in September with good friends!!

No Allergic Reactions

OK so it's been 10 days since my 'allergy' reactions have come up... that's when I stopped using my seretide inhaler but I have steadily eaten foods on the moderate salicylates list since and so far so good... I think if I go another week and have included some tomato paste, salads etc then I'll know it was fluticasone and not foods!!