Monday, December 20, 2010

Ode to the Cream Bun


Oh lightly browned crust
That just doesn't crumble
All over my shirt
From just one small bumble

Soft white fluffy bun
How thy insides do please
Thy texture is light
Could be caught on a breeze

A diagonal cut 'cross the top
Doth thy rift
Yet were it left empty
T'would cause more than a fit

Thy filling is quite
A delight to mine eyes
Not too much or too little
The right, exact size

White, fluffy and creamy
Only moderately sweet
Causing both sides of the bun
Together to meet

A dollop of jam
On top doth create
The right harmonization
For the discerning palate

I gently prize thee apart
And spread all of thy filling
Evenly betwixt both thy sides
Preventing the possibility of pilling

The first bite, what delight!
A smile spreads over my face
Yet fades all too quick
How often the case

Too quickly consumeth
The cream bun doest I
But savoring the moment
Till another I doest buy

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Style


Is there such a thing as a wrong style?

Everything seems to have it's own style nowadays, not just fashion.
If something or someone does things differently, they're said to have their own style and in this post-modern culture of tolerance, everything and anything is acceptable. The 'right' and 'wrong' boundaries have disappeared and everyone is left to figure it out for themselves.

Teachers are not supposed to say something is definitely wrong – which makes giving anything a grade rather difficult; but then giving a person a grade is no longer acceptable. Telling someone they failed is wrong; or saying that something can’t be done, shouldn’t be mentioned!

The ‘pop’ psychologists of the 1960’s have a lot to answer for. The introduction of this false notion of ‘self-esteem’ in child psychology meant that parents were no longer allowed to discipline their children, because of the negative impact it may have on the child’s self esteem. Yet, for a child to have a good self WORTH, (which is more important than self esteem) understanding your own weaknesses as well as strengths is important! Understanding that there is a right and a wrong way of behaving and treating others is important just as understanding your place in your family structure and being held accountable in the structure is important. This removal of ‘finites’ and the acceptance of ‘tolerance’ has done a lot of damage in how we view ourselves, others, the world and God.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Girl & Dog

That day finally happened. The day when parental consent was finally given.
The silly thing is that parental consent was even needed. It's amazing how parents continue to affect and impact the choices you make, long after you leave home. I guess actually moving out of home doesn't stop them from being your parents.
Well, as a result of the aforementioned consent, I now have a dog!

IMG_0197P.S. – The only reason consent was given, is because their disapproval and fears were ignored on another level. 

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Pet Peeve

Do you have a pet peeve? I sure do. In fact, I think I have several… But when it comes down to it, I think the one that is at the top of the list is Perth drivers.

Nothing gets me more frustrated, worked up, annoyed and angry than dealing with Perth traffic.

The way no one can STICK to the speed limit. Everyone seems to do 5-10 km over or a standard 20km under, especially on the Freeway.

Did you know that people on the freeways travel at different speeds, no matter what the traffic is like at different times of the day? For instance, traffic is slower between 3 – 4 pm, no matter what day of the week it is, than it is between 4 – 5 pm.

Have you realized that Perth drives prefer travelling in straight lines and on a level surface. Any slight curve or rise in the road causes everyone to slow down.

Now I know that safe driving means being careful on corners and hills, but Perth doesn’t have any hills! Especially not ones we drive up! A slight rise for a railway bridge means drop 10km/hour; a slight bend in the road, even on the freeway when you can see what’s ahead, means drop 10km/hour; if someone is pulled over on the side of the road, drop 10 – 20km/hour so you can have a good stickybeak on the way past; and then there’s the merging (which we really can not do at all) – Taking Turns???  no way! I need to be first! The other day driving back up to Perth from Mandurah, people were slowing down, in both lanes, every time we passed an exit and entry, even though there didn’t appear to be any major problems. 

Oh and then the dreaded speed cameras! I can be travelling along at a safe distance from the car in front of me, cruise control on at the correct speed limit; and then for no apparent reason, everyone slows down to almost a crawl! I’m wondering what the problem could possibly be while braking heavily… no, there is no bend in the road, there is no incline, there’s no one broken down on the side of the road, no road works, no merging required and then.. oh its a speed camera! “Quick slow down now because if I was speeding before, if I drive very slowly by, they wont have noticed!”

Have you ever come across a Phantom Breaker? You know, those people who like to brake for no reason what-so-ever… Do they get bored with going slow and have to go slower for a bit to make them feel like they’re going fast when they return, eventually, to their previous pace? Do they have twitchy feet that need to press things just for the sake of it? (I have a brother who just loves to push buttons. Every new car he jumps in, he automatically starts pushing the buttons, rather randomly, not to find out what they do, but just for the sake of it)

Phantom Traffic Jams  Break Reaction

There’s more things that Perth drivers do, but I think I’ll save that for another time.

What’s your pet peeve?

Sunday, February 21, 2010

What’s At Stake in the Creation Evolution debate?

Creation_smThis was the first of the 10 talks you’ve never heard in 10 years at CCC – part of the lead up to our 10th birthday as a Church.

Even amongst Christians this is still a hot topic.

Some things Cam St Clair said on Sunday:

  • Genesis 1 is not a scientific account as to HOW God created the universe, rather it describes WHO and WHY (for what purpose) God created the universe.
  • Genesis 1 is different in structure and style from the rest of Genesis. Genesis 1-11 is one part, which tells the early history of the entire world, Genesis 12-50 tells how God singled out a nation for His own. Genesis 1 is poetic, and tells of God’s perfection throughout the whole. It is full of 7’s and it’s multiples… 7, 14, 21, 35 etc… It is complete and perfect in and of itself.
  • God is a planned, logical God who methodically created the world and all things in it, for the chief purpose of creating man.
  • On the first day God created light, but He didn’t create the sun, moon and stars until the fourth day, so I don’t see how you can have light without the sun.
  •  Seven Years of Starlight and Time

There are a lot of things I wanted to comment on, but I was waiting for the talk to be podcasted, or at least Cam’s notes to be published, but neither happened.

The thing that bugged me the most however, wasn’t in the talk, but was listening to people afterwards. Many of our congregation have moved across from Sydney, and are mainly Sydney Evangelical Anglicans. Apparently in Sydney, it has become accepted belief that God did not create the world in 6 days, but rather used the evolutionary process, and they view us Westerners as backwards and in the dark because we haven’t widely accepted this as they have and because we didn’t want daylight saving.

Not everything that comes from the east is a good thing, and not everything you value and believe fits for us Westerners.

How about looking at the implications of not having a 6 day creation and then tell me what you think.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Bright Star

BrightStarMoviePoster

I went and saw Bright Star on Saturday night with some friends. It is a Jane Campion film, she also did The Piano.
I haven’t seen all of The Piano yet, but now I intend to. However, I would recommend seeing this film if you want to see something different than Avatar; like period films; have an inkling as to who John Keats was (I only had a brief inkling thanks to Bridget Jones - ‘Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”’); enjoy good acting or like art-house films.
I didn’t know anything about the history of Keats or his poetry, but having seen the film, it has inspired me to read his works.
The film was really well done in that it faced life straight on, not through rose-coloured glasses. It was raw emotionally and yet intelligently done.
Bright Star
Bright star, would I were steadfast as thou art -
Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night
And watching, with eternal lids apart,
Like nature’s patient, sleepless Eremite,
The moving waters at their priest-like task
Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores,
Or grazing on the new soft-fallen mask
Of snow upon the mountains and the moors -
No-yet still steadfast, still unchangeable,
Pillowed upon my fair love’s ripening breast,
To feel forever its soft fall and swell,
Awake forever in a sweet unrest,
Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,
And so live forever-or else swoon to death.
John Keats, 1819-1820