Waiting On The World To Change

I'm extremely excited about the new John Mayer CD `Continuum' although I'm not sure we have a release date here yet. In the States it's due out in 11 days.
I checked out the video to the single `Waiting on The World To Change' which shows a new look and a hint of a new sound. Perhaps a slight leaning to the jazz stylings of the Try! live CD of last year, which I didn't particularly like although I admit to only listening to it once.
Apparently the new song relates to young people's attitudes to politics.
Some comments below from John Mayer's website regarding the new album and, interestingly, it's place alongside Room For Squares and Heavier Things: "With any trilogy," says John Mayer, "the third in the series blows it open."
Mayer points to one song in particular as the turning point for Continuum. "I wrote 'Gravity' last summer, and it changed everything," he says. "You talk less when you trust that people understand you. 'Gravity' had to be sparse. And when I listened to it - for the first time, holding back - then it was a whole new game. That might be the most important song I ever wrote."
Bring it on.

Extraction

I had a tooth removed this afternoon and at the time of writing it hasn't quite stopped bleeding. There's not pain just the annoying red stuff.
Apparently the tooth was decaying and scratching the inside of my cheek so I'm glad it's a gonner. The dentist recommended further extractions, but based on today (it's now more than four hours since it was taken out yet I'm still spitting blood) I won't be doing it quickly.
I also went to have my six monthly jab yesterday (that's a blood test!) in preparation for a return to my specialist next week. The best I tend to hope for is for nothing to change.

2:37

I've seen some heavy movies over the years, the likes of last year's Mysterious Skin spring to mind, but the new Aussie film 2:37 is something else.
Set in an average school and focusing on six central characters it tells the story of a teenage suicide in a very graphic and disturbing manner, something even I wasn't prepared for despite having read a few reviews.
The six characters: Luke, Sarah, Steven, Melody, Marcus and Sean all show reason why it could be them whose life ends at the start of the film. I'm not going to tell you who it is. That would spoil it and I think spoil one of the main points of the film.
It was harrowing, the teenagers lives were laid out for you to see and at times it is difficult to watch. At one point I was almost moved to tears. I will admit it took a little while for the film to grab me but the way it slowly built the tension, largely derived from what the six are going through individually and as interesting and sometimes surprising pairs, to a point that the end was so shocking.
There has been a lot of criticism of 2:37 for its graphic nature, a nature that earned it an R (18+) rating. I can see why. However, let me jump on the soapbox and say that by giving it such a rating it is shutting out the people who must see this film.
The cast of relative unknowns do a great job, and Gary Sweet has a minor role, and I was drawn into their world, probably to my own detriment.
(Some people have said that 2:37 is very similar to a film called Elephant made by Gus Van Sant, I can't comment on this having not seen that film.)
Should you see this film? I'd say yes, absolutely, but if you do be wary that you are in for a challenging, confronting, graphic and shocking experience. Do you still want to see it?
I certainly didn't expect to be saying this, but this is one of the films of the year. A 9 out of 10.
A quote from the film is worth repeating here because I think it somewhat transcends teenage life, there's a truth there that I think we should all remember:
`Sometimes you get so caught up in your own stuff you don't notice anyone else.'

Are you ready?

What if Jesus returned tonight? Would you be ready?
In his second hard-hitting sermon in succession, DS poses these questions (and many more) from Luke 12:35-59 and I don't think there was a person in the house who wasn't affected by what he said.
We are told that Jesus will come like a thief in the night, when you least expect it, and that we must be ready now. Who do you have to talk to to get things right, who deserves an apology, is my heart right, is there sin I am hanging onto?
A lot of soul searching happened tonight and, I suspect, will continue to happen in the coming weel.
I feel challenged to make sure I am right with God and that I continue to be. The way I live should be above reproach and it clearly isn't. Now, I'm no saint. Unfortunately we live in the world and can often become `of' the world despite efforts to avoid it. As Homer so eloquently said when he was a missionary charged with building a church but allowed the people to engage in gambling and addiction `You're all terrible sinners'.
OK so that's a bit strong. But it is also true.
Anyway, to digress, we learned that those who are well aware of Jesus but do not act will be treated more harshly than those who do not know Jesus. Does that sound fair?
Actually I think it's very fair. We have fair warning, others prefer ignorance.
The last couple of weeks have been very tough, we've found out that Jesus isn't `cuddly' as DS put it but he is the divider. Which side do you want to be on?

Is fear keeping you single?

A feature in the Body & Soul section of the Telegraph caught my eye in the light of what I wrote about a couple of days ago - Is fear keeping you single? - and I think is worth a read.
On one level it appears the article is your usual trash aimed at women, but does it hold within it a truth that us guys don't want to admit?
Fear of rejection, commitment, unworthiness, hurt, failure are all very real, if in some cases unrealistic, fears held by men, including myself (though some more than others) and I know of a few others who have one or more of those fears.
Do they make you less of a man?
A week earlier the same section of the paper held an article on men and depression and how it is becoming more acceptable to admit that you do or have suffered from it.

A secondary issue for me is the issue of fear, not relating to relationships. Many areas of life are currently driven by fear and are therefore having a negative impact. The circumstances are real but the fear is not backed up by rational, hard evidence.

Melbourne Cup Challenge

As a racing nerd it's great to see a computer (or in my case console) game coming out that features Australian racing.
Melbourne Cup Challenge is being released soon and I have been in some contact with the developers about it. Hopefully it is a better game and more playable and interactive than the G1 Jockey series and the Gallop Racer series. G1 Jockey (the original) is the game I play the most at home. Despite its shortcomings it is far superior to the others because the others spend more time trying to look awesome while the playablility suffers.
I can't wait to play (and hopefully preview) the new game soon. Apparently it will feature races from all over the world to compete in and as this screen shot shows, it includes Australian racing, in this case Caulfield in Melbourne.
There is a high bar here as far as I'm concerned so I hope they get it right.

Song Sequels

Everyone hates it when Hollywood ruins a perfectly good film by allowing, and in some cases insisting a sequel be made.
See: The Matrix.
It doesn't happen that often in music but occasionally a band will follow up one of their massive hits with a sequel. I can think of a couple of examples.
Britney Spears did it twice: Oops, I Did It Again was a direct rip off of Baby One More Time, but the sequel to that debut hit of hers came when she recorded a song called Stronger, with lyrics like `My loneliness ain't killing me no more'.
Metallica did it with Unforgiven II, which was a follow up to, in my view, one of their best songs `The Unforgiven'. The sequel in that case was a good song in itself and retained the feel of the original but wasn't as good.
Anyway, this topic came up when I picked up a CD by a band called The Rasmus, who you may recall had a big hit a few years back called `In The Shadows'.
It's lyrics included: `No sleep no sleep until I am done with finding the answer, Won't stop won't stop before I find a cure for this cancer, Sometimes I feel I'm going down and so disconnected, Somehow I know that I am haunted to be wanted, I been watching I been waiting in the shadows all my time I been searching I been living for tomorrows all my life.'' Good song.
The sequel is a song called Night After Night (Out Of The Shadows), with lyrics including: `Still disconnected, and unprotected, still I'm haunted but unwanted...''
So the question is, are musicians running out of ideas - or did they have such a big idea it had to be two songs - or did they feel the need to either back up or rebuff an earlier song?

Finally finished...

This week I finished reading `Man And Boy' by Tony Parsons and I've got to say it was a great read. Very easy to get into, it was written in a way that made the characters both accessible and somewhat likeable. It was worth the time. It wasn't really hard work to read either and that made me want to keep reading.

On the other hand, I'm about two thirds of the way through Roaring Lambs and it is a bit more hard work. Mainly because it was written for a chiefly American audience, though it's principles can be applied to any Christian. I don't disagree with where Bob Briner is going with it and the points he makes about speaking up for God in the workplace.
It's a good read but it's not particularly earth shattering. So far...

What Love is.....?

It's something I've been thinking about for a while. Searching, I guess, or the pursuit of what I perceive to be love has been a costly pastime.
Not financially, of course, but coming to an understanding of the role of love in life has caused a lot of soul searching, heartache, heartbreak and worry.
No-one wants to be alone, though ultimately we all are alone in some way. How do we fill the gaps? Am I over-analyzing something that is inherently simple but often in reality very complicated.
By my estimation there are a few types of love on Earth, aside from the love of God.
There's intimate, romantic love; love for one's family; love for friends. I think the latter two are easier to define yet they still cause me troubles.
I wonder if I have what it takes to truly devote myself to someone, as DS says to present them blameless before God. I wonder whether the `one' for me has come and gone and I missed it, or whether they are in my life now but I haven't taken the chance.
It's a big chance to take. My last experience, which is now a few years ago, of even coming close to asking someone out didn't end well. Once bitten....
What seems to cause more of a worry, and it really shouldn't, is the relationships I have with friends. From my perspective they seem different, though I am kept at a distance; or even is it me subconsiously keeping distance. I crave contact with people yet I often feel removed.
Or am I thinking too much and acting too little.....

What day is it again?

It's been a pretty hectic week so far, and technically for me it's only Wednesday night not Thursday night because I work Saturday.
Unofrtunately I have been too immersed in work and have missed several outings that would have been great to be at, ranging from meetings to social opportunities, book launches, bible study and even a movie (although I still choose not to see Miami Vice).
I don't like it but I didn't really have a choice.
Hopefully the occurrence of those sort of days can be reduced in the near future.

Spring starts early

In the horse racing world, spring starts this weekend with a crackerjack meeting at Randwick.
In fact, in the racing media we've been talking like it's already spring for the last week or two because all the horses that are likely to be stars during the spring carnival are returning to racing.
This weekend is no exception and, as I said, marks the unofficial start of spring. For example, in the Warwick Stakes (run over 1400m) at Randwick on Saturday both the Cox Plate favourite (a horse called Eremein) and the Melbourne Cup favourite (a horse called Headturner) have their first runs for the spring.
Now, it's more than likely that neither horse will win the Warwick Stakes but they will probably finish strongly at the end of the race and do enough to maintain favouritism for their respective races.
Spring is always an exciting time and, really, once we hit October everything becomes a blur. You've got the run-up to the Cox Plate, which in my view is the best race in Australia, then when that's over you have Derby Day and the Melbourne Cup. Unfortunately, this years Cup risks being a bit of an anti-climax because there's no way it's going to top last year's historic occasion. But, you never know a good story always comes out of it.
The problem is, no horse will EVER win 3 Cups again.

Church Music - part 2

OK, so I've been on music for a while now, I'll have to think of something else to write about. But to finish my thoughts on church music, I thought I'd mention a few `secular songs' that I find are offering praise to God and that inspire me.
Again, these won't ever be sung at church but I don't believe they were meant to.

1. Everything - Lifehouse
I've written a few times about this song, but I believe it is this one that offers ultimate praise to God. In the last week I've listened to it at least 20 times in the car, a couple of times on the way to and from church and on other drives. `You are the strength that keeps me walking, you are the hope that keeps me trusting, you are the light into my soul, you are my purpose, you're everything'.
2. My Saving Grace - Mariah Carey
Mariah is an interesting topic because I've seen her talk about her faith in interviews yet she dresses, let's just say, in an unflattering manner and not one befitting a Christian. That said she has a few songs that stand out for their pointing to God. `And the bountiful things that you do Lord thank you, for delivering me and giving me peace, giving me strength, giving me hope when I'd almost lost it all, catching my every fall, I still exist because you keep me safe, always my saving grace pulls me through.' I saw her perform this one on Oprah one day and it brought the house down. It still does for me.
3. Walk On - U2
Probably indirectly in the recorded version but on their last tour, the Elevation tour, they eneded their concerts with this one and an extra chorus of `Hallelujah'. You all know the words.
4. Fly Like A Bird - Mariah Carey.
On the liner notes to her `Emancipation' CD, Mariah quotes Psalm 30:5 `Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning'. This song seems to be talking about longing for heaven. `Fly like a bird, take to the sky, I need you now Lord, carry me high, don't let the world break me tonight, I need the strength of you by my side, sometimes this life can be so cold, I pray you'll come and carry me home.'

Homer and God

Thanks to JSmiddy, I got thinking about some classic quotes from HS about God. Why is it that all the religious references in The Simpsons are the funniest?

Dear Lord: The gods have been good to me. For the first time in my life, everything is absolutely perfect just the way it is. So here's the deal: You freeze everything the way it is, and I won't ask for anything more. If that is OK, please give me absolutely no sign. (pause) OK, deal. In gratitude, I present you this offering of cookies and milk. If you want me to eat them for you, give me no sign. (pause) Thy will be done.

I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me, Superman!

I've come to hate my own creation! Now I know how God feels!

Lisa, if the Bible has taught us nothing else, and it hasn't, it's that girls should stick to girls' sports, such as hot oil wrestling and foxy boxing and such and such.

The lesson is: Our God is vengeful! (shouting to Heaven) Oh spiteful one, show me who to smite and they shall be smoten.

I'm not a bad guy! I work hard, and I love my kids. So why should I spend half my Sunday hearing about how I'm going to Hell?

God appeared before me in a dream and I knew that was special because I usually dream about naked....Marge.

(and thanks to Joe): Bart: Wow, God is so in your face!
Homer: Yeah, he's my favourite fictional character.

The old and the new

I was browsing at a music shop this morning, looking for a CD for my sister's birthday this week and I came across a classic CD that I just had to have.
But first, I picked up quite randomly the debut album by a band called The Fray, whom I had never heard of before. After a listen at one of the listen stations I bought it. The CD is called `How To Save A Life' and is easily the surprise of 2006. (Admittedly that wouldn't be a hard title to claim because this year has been average for music. That is, until the new John Mayer CD is released but that's another story).
The Fray are apparently a soft rock band from the USA and the entire CD is excellent. The single which, now that I've had a listen or two, I have heard once or twice on the radio, is called `Over My Head' and it's a great song, though not the best on the album.
I'd be interested to find out what Pandora has to say about The Fray!
On the classic CD front, I filled a gaping hole in my collection by finally buying Icehouse's Primitive Man album of1982.
That's the one that contains the timeless Great Southern Land (some of you may recall I listed it among my 13 significant songs of a while back. If you don't recall, check back through my archives). I listened to the song with the sound up quite loud while I was washing up this morning and it sent chills up my spine. It does that every time I hear it. I don't know what it is but it strikes the right chord, I guess. I also bought Icehouse's Man Of Colours CD, they were both only 10 bucks so I thought why not.

Church Music - part 1

The topic of church music is a very touchy one. You don't want to offend people but everyone's going to have a different opinion on what constitutes a good, or suitable, song for singing at church.
I have very strong opinions on this front. As someone who likes to get caught up and moved by music I'm quite particular and if a song isn't grabbing me then I get bored quickly. Unfortunately this happens quite a lot (sorry guys and gals).
I'm sure there are great biblical truths behind the songs we sing at church but it feels like hard work with most of them.
There would be probably five or so songs that get regular plays at church that inspire me, move me or affect me and make me want to worship the Lord. They are: Amazing Grace (I think everyone would agree this is timeless), None Can Compare, In Christ Alone, Jesus Your Blood And Righteousness, and there was a newish one that I can't recall the name of. Oh, well I'll think of it some time. That's not a long list is it?
Fortunately, I don't get all my Christian music from church, I have a collection of my own. Admittedly there's a bit of Hillsong in there but even they can produce ordinary music.
My favourite P&W songs are as follows, in no particular order. I'm not sure that they are all suitable for performance in church but I'm already living with that now.
Indescribable - Chris Tomlin
Walk By Faith - Jeremy Camp
Shout To The Lord - Hillsong/Darlene Zschech
In The Light - DC Talk
Learning To Trust - David Meece
Holy Is The Lord - Chris Tomlin
More Than Life - Hillsong
In Your Presence - Jeremy Camp
I Could Sing Of Your Love Forever - Sonicflood (the version I have)
I Want To Know You - Sonicflood (ditto)
Everyday - Hillsong
In Your Presence - Jeremy Camp
You're The One - Chris Tomlin
How Great Is Our God - Chris Tomlin
Nothing Else I Need - Jeremy Camp
There Is Nothing Like - Hillsong
Hallelujah - Hillsong

Like I said, there's a bit of Hillsong in there, and a bit of Tomlin and Camp, but as I have said previously I feel they are the benchmark for P&W music as far as I am concerned.
By listing this, I don't assume for a second that any of these songs will appear on our playlist, although I think it is a huge shame that Shout To The Lord is no longer sung.

The sermon I needed to hear

It was one of those sermons with the potential to rock your world and tonight it certainly rocked mine.
And I needed rocking. I worked myself into this vicious circle and needed a shot of perspective.
Tonight, Dominic delivered a talk on Luke 12:1-34, entitled Do not be Afraid, Trust Jesus. As someone who battles with anxiety, worry and depression I needed to hear this.
22`Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear....25 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? 26 Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?
I've got to say that I have wasted, by one way of thinking, the best part of a year because I'm frightened of getting sick again.
I've wasted a lot of energy worrying about little things and, occasionally big things, but rarely did I hand it over to God and feel release from the burden of worry. I still do it, although I am more aware of it now than then, even though I realised I was playing it far too safe.
Isn't hindsight wonderful?
I've had a very can't-do attitude to a lot of things and as a result made the smallest molehill into Everest. I'm a bit more relaxed on that front but I still do it probably once a day at least. I think about what I can't do and despise the fact that, in my head, I can't do it. It doesn't usually occur to me that I can do it, even if I have to make an adjustment.
I have to say that, despite everything that has happened I can do many things: I can work, drive, walk and run, in fact I can pretty much do anything. So why have I been feeling sorry for myself? Because things changed and I wasn't prepared to change with them. I look around and see people in wheelchairs, people who have lost mobility and can't do the things we take for granted. I can still do these things. I should feel lucky. All I can think is how unlucky I have been.
How does this relate to tonight's sermon? Simple, I need to learn to live a life not ruled by worry, fear and anxiety. What have I got to lose?
(If anyone wants to hear the sermon, go to Christians In The Media and go to the downloads page, the sermon will be listed under the Luke series.)

My side of the story

It occurred to me today that I have yet to publish my testimony or, as I will call it, my side of the story.

The road to now has been very winding. I think everybody will say that. They call it life and it tends to happen to you, whether you like it or not.
When I was a teenager I was a aware of God, having had a mainly Catholic background, but didn't know who he really was, or is. It wasn't until I was 17 that I was exposed to any kind of notion that there was something more than what I knew at the time. I spent the next two years involved in a youth group at my local Anglican church. Was I a Christian then? I'd like to say yes but I can't.
When I finished high school, after a year of doing not much at all, I went to university and quickly became involved with the Christian group there (despite a presentation from them in the first week that involved a dead rat that was quite disconcerting). I met a lot of great people, some of whom I am still in contact with now. I was also exposed to several other things that open your eyes at university and as a result have a few regrets.
I was involved in bible study and had some great people around me but I still didn't get it. I still wanted control. I probably called myself a Christian at that point but I wasn't quite there yet.
Once university finished I went to a small town for my first job. A town with around a tenth of the population of where I grew up and in such places everyone knows everyone else and what they are up to. You can't get away with anything there. Again I met some good people, and one such lady, the local postie, made quite an impact. She was in her 50s or 60s and was one of those classic country town characters who called a spade a spade. I hung out with people who I guess I wouldn't have normally, not that they were bad people, and didn't go to church.
Then after a year I moved to a nearby town, more like the place I grew up, and while I was only there three months so much happened when I left I think my head was spinning.
I lived with two people that, although they were nice enough were not really my type. I just needed somewhere to live with not much time to be picky.
I did meet a couple of interesting people and spent a lot of time out at the pub or local niteclubs. I remain a shade haunted by what happened there and there are definitely regrets. Again I didn't go to church.
When I moved to Sydney a short time later I moved in with a university friend and things went well for a while. Again, several things happened that I would later regret and I ended up moving out and really feeling like something big was missing.
It was then that I feel God was calling me. He was probably always calling, I guess I just wasn't listening. I felt a strong need to go back to church and start to sort things out.
Clearly that was the best thing I ever did.
I made a conscious decision to give over control of my life and, while I sometimes fight for it a bit, finally feel like I'm moving in the right direction.
But I'm moving slowly. That was 1999 and as you'll be aware it is now the second half of 2006. What are you doing? I bet that's what you're thinking.
I very much need positive influences in my life and I'm happy to say that I have some. I'm guilty of tearing myself down so it makes sense that there be people to build me up. It doesn't seem like a fair exchange, I know. I am fortunate to have several Godly people around me although I don't always acknowledge it.
Most of the time I feel a bit lost, but perhaps that's the old self trying to regain control.
God carried me a lot in 2005, especially when I didn't think I'd get through it with any semblance of a life remaining. I know that sounds horribly negative but honestly that is how it felt. He has given me amazing strength.
It is true that I came to trust, properly, in God through a kind of desperate need. I don't think it matters how you get there, though.
Baggage does remain. I'm not sure how to offload it but I'm working on it, and working hard.
So there you have it, a bit cryptic in parts I know, but I think we're all a work in progress.

See The Morning

Awesome news for fans of top class Christian music is the release next month of Chris Tomlin's new CD `See The Morning'.
I only discovered Chris Tomlin last year when FM103.2 kept playing his song Indescribable and I just had to find out who was singing. I immediately bought the Arriving CD that contained it and play songs from it at least once a week to this day.
It's hard to get much of a guide as to how good the new album is going to be but from the samples on his website I'm sure it will be up to his usual standard.
On that wesite, Tomlin says his aim for the CD is to be ``a record of hope''. ``No matter how dark it gets, the morning will come. And the morning often brings freshness, hope and clarity,'' he says.
The first radio single is a song called `Made To Worship' but my attention was immediately drawn to the song `Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)', which is a reworking of the absolute classic hymn. According to the website, Tomlin was apparently reluctant to `mess with the most recognised hymn ever', so it will be very interesting.
Personally, I find Chris Tomlin to be the benchmark for praise and worship music, closely followed by Jeremy Camp, who also produces some excellent P&W as well as Christian pop-rock. I don't see their songs being sung much in churches, certainly in Australia, and that's a shame.

United 93

Let me start by saying I think this is compulsory viewing.
Based on the events of United flight 93 on September 11, 2001, this film is a documentary style retelling of the doomed flight's journey and that of the passengers, all of whom perished in the eventual crash.
There are no stars in the film, which I think is excellent because when there is a well-known actor in a movie your attention is often directed at them.
We start by seeing a pair of men preparing of their journey and they are obviously planning to cause trouble. I'll leave that to your imagination as I'm sure you know what I mean.
We watch the passengers board and get little glimpses into their lives and those of the flight attendants and pilots.
The other centres of focus are the flight monitoring stations in several american cities including one in New York with what can only be described as a spectacular view of the skyline and one that would come in very handy with what was about to unfold.
It's strange watching a movie that you already know the ending of. But United 93 loses nothing in that department.
Admittedly for a while I was wondering where they were going with the storyline but once the flight monitors start tracking American flight 11 things get interesting. From then on you can't look away.
It's very unsettling watching the attack on the World Trade Centre again. Everyone remembers where they were at the time. The WTC is not the focus of this story but it's impact is felt throughout the movie, obviously.
I can't recommend United 93 enough. It's riveting, unsettling, emotional and thought provoking. For me, it certainly put life into a bit of perspective.
Don't miss it. An 8.5 out of 10.
(By the way, apologies to Craig, it was a last minute decision last night to go.)

Break time

I've been working at home for the last couple of hours (with another hour or so to go) and I decided I needed a break.
If it wasn't bad enough having to miss bible study to clear everything I had to get done tonight, I looked up and it was 9.30pm and the end isn't in sight.
I'm looking forward to a reasonably normal weekend after last week's fiasco with an extra day's work and heaps more responsibility for a few days. I'm also looking forward to possibly seeing a movie. The choices are:
United 93 (very high hopes)
2:37 (could be far too intense but looks good); and
Brick (awesome reviews and looks like a film I will like).
Anyway, back to work.....

Four Brothers

It should have been a good film but somehow it wasn't.
After having high hopes for the movie Four Brothers, directed by John Singleton and starring Mark Wahlberg, I was quite disappointed to be let down. I selected it to watch with a friend (in hindsight we should have gone with Wedding Crashers) based on what I'd heard about it.
What unfolded was entirely predictable and cliched.
The film is about four foster brothers who are reunited after their mother is murdered and they decided to find who did it and sort them out. Fair enough.
It was just the way they did it that, well sucked. You knew exactly what was going to happen next or you weren't surprised by what happened. It's a shame because it was a good story just poorly executed (pardon the pun).
And that's one of the biggest crimes against film that there is.

Feel The Silence

Now that I have listened to my recent purchase of the new Goo Goo Dolls CD I may have to retract an earlier statement regarding there being no standout or headline song.
It appears I was wrong because the track Feel The Silence has blown me away this week.

...I don't know where I'm going, only know where I've been
But you move through my soul like a hurricance wind
We've been so lost for so long, I don't know how to get back again
And we're drowning in the water that flows under this bridge
When you're fighting the current you forget how to live
And I wanted to reach you but I don't know where to begin...

It's hard to capture a song by the lyrics but these ones struck me the most.

The One Hundredth

Well, this is my 100th post - woo-hoo!
Anyway I thought I'd use it to update what happened with my acupuncture yesterday. It was certainly different to the first time (I went to a new place). I had a needle between my eyes, which was weird, and several on my legs as well as one on each hand and a couple around the stomach area.
It might well be another day before I notice any difference although I do feel like I slept a bit better last night than previously. I've been looking into some Chinese Herbs as a treatment and have been recommended Jun Zi Tang as a good start point. Apparently my Qi is out of whack and I have a Phlegm obstruction causing some of my ailments as it were.
The good thing about all this is that unlike the first acupuncturist I went to the lady asked me about what the problem was, checked me out (including looking at the tongue which told her I don't sleep well) before suggesting a way forward.
I've been assured that the herbs won't clash with the other meds I take, but I'm thinking of double checking with my doctor before trying them.

Happy Endings

When a director makes a great film you always want to see the next one (see Jindabyne review). Such was the case with Happy Endings .
Written and directed by Don Roos, who made the excellent The Opposite Of Sex which also starred Lisa Kudrow (pictured).
Happy Endings isn't as instantly likeable but it does cover some of the same territory. It's also one of those movies with about six or seven major characters whose lives intertwine in various ways.
What was great about Happy Endings was the running commentary that happened, as a sidebar to the action in the film. It would tell you bits of the story, context, or even a future event related to what was happening from time to time. For example, at the start of the film Maime (Kudrow) is hurtling down the street, running away from someone for an unknown reason and she stumbles onto a road and is hit by a car. The sidebar immediately tells you she doesn't die and in fact no-one dies in the entire movie (on-screen). It then takes you back 20 years to where the events that led to this incident began.
It wasn't a great film, and it was a shade long, but there was an excellent cast (including Maggie Gyllenhaal, Tom Arnold and Jason Ritter) and some good performances. I won't go in to how the movie gets its name because, let's just say, it's not PG-rated.
Unfortunately a 7/10, just.

New Music

It's been a while between purchases for me as far as CDs go but on the weekend I bought two.
The first one is the latest by the Goo Goo Dolls called `Let Love In'. I must admit I didn't know this one existed but I happened to be looking in the rock/pop section and happened upon it. It's not like me to not know of the latest release from one of my favourite bands.
Anyone, this brief review is based on one listen. And on that one listen I definitely like it. The one thing missing is a headline song. The last CD `Gutterflower' had the awesome Here Is Gone; the previous `Dizzy Up The Girl' had both Iris and Slide; while `A Boy Named Goo' had Name, Long Way Down and Naked as standouts.
Having said all that it's still a typical Goo Goo Dolls album and is highly likeable. There's an interesting cover of `Give A Little Bit' which I believe was originally performed by Supertramp. They do a good job but very few covers are better than the original.
(While on the Goo Goo Dolls and covers, I am horrified that Ronan Keating has released a version of Iris. The classic ballad from the film City Of Angels is almost lifeless in the usually competent hands of Keating. Nothing of the emotion of John Rzeznik is left.)

The other purchase was the latest Diesel CD `Coathanger Antennae'. I must admit I thought Diesel had gone off the boil a bit and as yet I haven't bought his previous album. This new one isn't bad at all. The single Crazytown is excellent and the rest seems to be good. Again this is on first listen. Still, it doesn't reach the heights of earlier albums like Hepfidelity, The Lobbyist (I absolutely love `Brand New Song' from that one) and Solid State Rhyme but as far as good background music or even car music it stacks up fairly well.
The stand-out song for me is the second last song, Waits For Me.

Is it just me or is music not as good as it used to be?

A new season

The first week of our new office tipping competition is now complete and when I collate the results early next week I'll be in second place.
From the eight races I picked three winners, four seconds and a third. That's not a bad day all up but the four seconds make it a bit frustrating, especially since a couple of them were very close to winning.
Last season I led every week so on that score I'm a little disappointed. I never really considered myself to be a perfectionist but perhaps with this I am. A quote I read during the week said `it's not how you start it's how you finish', and that's very true.

Flashback

In a good way, I had a bit of a flashback tonight.
While talking about university experiences, I recalled a friend who was very significant to me at the time but who also disappeared quite mysteriously.
On my first day at Uni I met a guy called Michael Peterson who was from Blayney, near Bathurst, and we really got on well from the start. He was one of those guys who was great to be around and who, despite having a cheeky streak, was very much a positive influence.
I distinctly remember several things about the year and a half or so (before he dropped out of Uni and kind of disappeared) of our friendship:
I recall a great weekend I spent at his place in Blayney (possibly the coldest place on Earth) where we drank at a pub then, miraculously, managed to walk home and I honestly don't know how we made it. In the middle of that night Michael had to get up and, well it wasn't pleasant. Another time he tapped, rather loudly, on my dorm window (I always seemed to get the bottom floor) at some ridiculous hour on Sunday morning, around 8am, and dragged me out of bed to spend the day in Cowra where we watched a football game and on the way home visited a relative in some small town between Cowra and Bathurst that I can't recall.
He always used to drive me to the shops when I was doing my food shopping to avoid me having to lug seveal heavy bags up the William Street hill.
I had a quick rifle through some of the correspondence I've kept from various people over the years (before email became prevalent) and I discovered a Christmas card from Mike which would have been from 1995. He told me in that card that he was ``jealous as hell'' that I was about to have a holiday in the USA and said he felt bad about relying on me at Uni (must have been work-wise) and that he wouldn't be so slack the next year.
It's amazing how someone like that can make such an impression and then just vanish. A few months after I left Uni I called his place in Blayney and spoke to his mother who, from memory, was very vague on details of what he was up to.
I really wish I knew what happened to him.
I hope it's all good because guys like him deserve it.

Tough night

While I enjoyed watching a film last night it was otherwise a difficult night.
Another bout of anxiety hit me and stayed for quite a while and as a result I didn't sleep well. I went to bed just on 11pm and was still awake at 12.30am. Some time after that I eventually went to sleep.
Last time, late last week, there was a clear reason for my anxiety but yesterday I couldn't find one. I'd had a fairly ordinary night's sleep on Monday night as well but other than that everything was fine. Again, I had symptoms of chest discomfort and was super-aware of my breathing, which is probably why I didn't go to sleep straight away. I just hate that sense of doom that surrounds me when it happens.
Aside from an occasional cold sensation there aren't any symptoms as I write this. It could be a result of only having a one-day weekend for which I am compensated with a three-day weekend starting on Saturday.
I think it is time I went back for my second go at acupuncture, perhaps it will help me relax. I also realise I need to get out and do some more exercise to get things moving properly.

Transamerica

Movies that are highly acclaimed can be hit and miss at the best of times. Last night I rented Transamerica, the film Felicity Huffman (from Desperate Housewives) was nominated for an Oscar for, and was pleasantly surprised.
The film isn't so much about how Huffman's character Bree goes about becoming a woman, rather it is about her coming to terms with herself and her past. That past is represented by the son she didn't know she had. From the time they meet (and Bree doesn't reveal her identity) it becomes somewhat of a road movie.
The performance by Huffman was outstanding and she thoroughly deserved her Oscar nomination. The big surprise was that the movie was quite funny in parts. There was also a very poignant scene after Bree has her operation when she breaks down.
It's obvious that Transamerica isn't for everyone but it was very well made, not too long (about 100 minutes) and simply a good film. I'd probably give it about 7.5/10, which is certainly above average.

Classic Futurama Quote

Fry: I don't regret this but I both rue and lament it.

Anatomy for beginners

Last night I stayed up to watch a show on SBS called `Anatomy For Beginners'.
Of particular interest was the topic of digestion, which as many of you know is an important topic for me. Perhaps it wasn't the best thing to do.
It's a very much hands on show, with a doctor (who sounds slightly crazy) literally cutting up bodies to show you how the body works.
On one hand it's fascinating but on the other it was unpleasant. And it wasn't really covering the topics that I thought it might. If you've got a morbid fascination with corpses being dissected then I'd recommend this series. But I don't think I'll be watching again.
The Discovery Health channel had quite a good show on the digestive system which I saw a while back. It wasn't so graphic but it was more informative.