How to be a true friend

Lately I have been looking through some old notepads and journals from my uni (that's college for those overseas) days. It's been interesting.
At the top of one page of a book I have written Luke 10: 25-37 `how to be a true friend'.
It is of course the parable of the good samaritan.
Friendship is something that is important but it is something that, in today's world, is seriously taken for granted.
We have email, sms, the telephone, internet chat lines, facebook all pretending to keep us connected with our friends. I think they do more bad than good sometimes.
We weren't made to have virtual relationships with people. Unfortunately, especially in a place like Sydney, life has become so busy and stressful we take the easy way out. Instead of catching up in person we phone, or email (phoning is preferable in my books) and we lose the human touch that we all need from time to time.
This is where I can't understand why some people I know shy away from the personal touch. It is like keeping a distance. You can't hug your phone, the computer can't put a reassuring hand on your shoulder and the internet won't offer you anything personal.
One thing I try hard to do when I see those friends who are highly valued is tell them so. One or two don't know how to react to that, and I think it is a guy thing, but I feel it is important that people you care about know.
One thing I have to improve is actually spending more time with certain people, and this hectic city doesn't help in that respect, but it is also up to me (and them) to come up with a workable solution. The result can only be good.
(By the way Adam, I wrote this partly because of what you wrote. Cheers.)

The Script

I really like it when you find something new that has flown under the radar. UK band The Script haven't been super hyped here just yet but if good taste prevails they will very soon.

Coming across this self-titled album reminded me of how I discovered The Fray a couple of years ago and, interestingly, these guys aren't far from that ball park.

They are fairly conventional pop/rock but there is something about them that has attracted me.

With the amount of crap music around these days and far too much R&B/rap junk it's refreshing to hear some real music.

On the negative side there are only 10 songs on the album which, I think, is pretty poor at a time when 13 or 14 is necessary.

But on the positive side they are a cracking 10 songs so I guess a song or two of filler wouldn't add anything (unless they were great as well).

On first listen (and I always do these reviews on first listen) it is easy to like, the lyrics are good from what I can gather as I haven't listened to it while reading them yet.

The single We Cry is excellent and I could pick out any of the 10 as stand-outs and I love it when I get a CD like that in my hands. Another standout is the last track I'm Yours. Reminds me of when I got The Fray, The Woodenelves, Rascal Flatts, Gavin DeGraw, John Mayer and Lifehouse's latest.

These guys are a welcome addition, and you could do a lot worse.

From Where You Are

Lifehouse, and Jason Wade in particular, seem to always hit the spot. Take this song, From Where You Are for example.
Jason Wade wrote the song for Allstate's Teen Driving Program. Despite having very little radio air-play and not being on any album, the song reached #40 on the Billboard charts. It was the first song that was written expressly for a commercial to make it onto the charts since 1972's "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (In Perfect Harmony). (from Wikipedia).
Broken is another great Lifehouse song worth checking out too.

28-0

And they said the Melbourne Storm couldn't win without Cameron Smith!
Funny thing, I said to a mate at work yesterday that I hoped the Storm would come out and bury Cronulla in tonight's game, kind of half serious because he is a Sharks supporter. And they did. 28-0.
The commentary was a bit annoying though, when you are up 22-0 with 16 minutes to go you're home and hosed yet they weren't declaring the result even then. Plus the commenatator, Gus, who kept saying Melbourne were gone and out on their feet with 25 minutes to go. He has to go.
The result will keep the nephew happy and now it will be interesting to see the result tomorrow night.

The In The Air Tonight myth

I always believed the classic Phil Collins song In The Air Tonight was based on a true story about an incident that was witnessed.
I learned today that is not the case and that Collins doesn't really know what it is about. Read about it here if you didn't already know.
It is a cracking song with amazing use of the drums in the middle, very distinctive.
These lyrics don't help the case of it not being based on an actual event....
`Well when you told me you were drowning
I would not lend a hand
I've seen your face before my friend
But I don't know if you know who I am
But I was there and I saw what you did
Saw it with my own two eyes
So you can wipe off that grin
I know where you've been
It's all been a pack of lies'.
True or not true, it's a great urban myth.

Wall-E

Number Five is well and truly alive and his name is Wall E .
The latest film by the geniuses at Pixar sees Earth deserted after mankind's waste overran it and the planet became unsustainable.
Wall E is one of many robots charged with cleaning up the mess, but he's the only one still functional. His best friend is a cockroach which, hilariously, he runs over from time to time.
Eve arrives to search the Earth for life and Wall E takes a liking to her. It's amazing how you can get caught up in a romance between two robots.
When she finds a plant she is taken back to the base ship, where all mankind is living, and our hero tags along.
The brilliance of Pixar is that they can make such strange characters so lovable, like Nemo, like the Little Chef in Ratatouille, like the Toy Story gang. Wall E is a robot yet he feels more than most of us do and that is where the message starts to get through.
We all take what we have for granted and we all can get too comfortable with convenience. It's a timely reminder.
As for the film, this is not Pixar's finest moment (though the animation is amazing) but it is an excellent film and well worth watching. The traditional short before the feature is outstanding and probably their best yet.
A 7.5 out of 10.

Old Friends

This morning on the way to work I started thinking about some of the people I've known over the years who have been important to me or had an impact.
When your mind goes down a rain of thought it is surprising what you can remember. So these are some of the people I thought about today.

Michael - this is a guy who I'd say had the greatest impact on me while I was at university. We met while in line to get our photo IDs and for about 18 months we were really good mates. Then he vanished, for all purposes, and I don't know what happened to him or what he is up to now. I remember spending a great weekend at his parents' house in the middle of winter, it was snowing, very cold, but it was a great time. He got a bit drunk at the pub and I still remember him getting up in the middle of the night to throw up! An awesome guy, I still have the Christmas card he sent me before my USA trip tell me he was `jealous as hell'. Everyone should have a mate like him.

Tim - when I was 15 I was a very different person in many ways, and some people still don't believe me. Anyway, Tim was one of a group of friends of mine in high school and over the years we developed a friendship and then his family moved away. Fortunately it was to a town my family has a connection with so we kept in touch. I last saw him about seven years ago, or thereabouts, and as far as I know he's still around in Sydney. I have only good memories of Tim.

Rachel - when I moved to Sydney and started my job I was told about this girl who also worked there but was on leave. We didn't meet for some time but when we did we got on like the proverbial house. She was intelligent, classy, fun, beautiful and cultural. I'm not sure what she's up to now, last I heart she was studying again. We were great friends and I hope she's doing well.

Iain - this is someone I don't talk about a lot. I met him in the course of my job one day and chatted for a while as others did their jobs then met by chance at the pub. It turned out we had a bit in common and lived not far away from each other so we started hanging out. He was a good person to know at the time but that was a friendship that didn't really end so well. Still, it was significant because I learned a lot.

Adrian - easily one of the most genuine people I've ever known. Adrian was a mainstay as far as mates went through university. He's an awesome Christian guy and was always, and is always, encouraging and supportive and wise. We reconnected through church in Sydney several years ago and little had changed as far as getting along. He's a great example of someone who doesn't need `stuff' to be happy because he fills life with more important things.

Nathan - the most recent `old friend' and one that still kind of hurts a bit. He came along at a time I was really finding it difficult to be positive. Not only is he interesting and great company, he's got an awesome attitude towards life and it was great to be around that. I've got to take some responsibility for damaging our friendship and I regret that. We did set things right and I learned a very important lesson but in the end it cost me a mate.

There are a few more that come to mind but these have had the most impact. On the whole they are very good memories, despite a regret or two, and that's something I am grateful for.

Donkey voting

Until about four days ago I wasn't aware there were local government elections.
I've lived in my current LGA for around eight years or thereabouts and have never had any interaction with the council or any prospective councillor.
So that made it a bit hard to know who I was voting for today.
My vote was effectively a donkey vote, which made it a bit pointless.
The one thing I will say about council elections is that they shouldn't be partisan, it is bad enough that politics gets in the way at state level we don't need it on councils.

Life on cloud eight

Another trip down memory lane from my university writings.....it was in response to a Far Side cartoon called Life on Cloud Eight and it was something I could relate to when I wrote this in 1995.

I would have to say that the Far Side cartoon (Life On Cloud Eight) is an accurate summation of what life is like right now. Life is not bad, but there seems to be people out in the world who really know how to enjoy themselves.
It is possible that my interpretation of a `good time' is different to others'. I can say for sure that when my friends think I should be enjoying myself, most of the time I am not.
Skip Ross, an American motivational speaker, says `you have right now exactly what you want'.
Skip was right. I do have exactly what I want, so what's the problem?
I have narrowed down my possible solutions to two: either I am afraid of how I will act or what I would say if I let go; or I'm too concerned with what other people think and spend too much time dwelling on it.
Skip Ross also said `admit that you have a problem'. I have now done that, but I guess the next step is to admit it to the world. Happiness won't appear overnight but I'm confident that it will eventually and until then I will have to settle for life on cloud eight instead.

Looking back on what I wrote then, I can see a major flaw in my thinking. Largely due to a book I am currently reading I can see that by waiting to be happy I'm actually wasting my time. Happiness is a decision and will not come about when all the planets eventually align for you.
I still like that Far Side cartoon, though.

Old writings

I was going through some of my storage boxes from university the other day and came across some old poetry I had written. It is an interesting exercise looking back at some of the things I have written over the years.
By the way, these date back more than 10 years.

Broken Dreams

I'm dreaming broken dreams
I wish that they'd come true
Behind closed eyes everything's fine
A stream of light can be so cruel
My broken dreams are perfect
And life is perfect too
But a single word, a line, a phrase
Said harshly changes the mood
In a world of broken dreams
I'm slowly going mad
How can all I've ever wanted
Turn out to be so bad
I'm dreaming broken dreams
They're always in my head
But what you can see when you look at me
Is what my broken dreams have bred.

Something To Believe In

When you've hit rock bottom, no rope
It's hard not to feel there's no hope
The road ahead in winding and full of holes
That you keep finding
You know you just can't win
And you've lost the will to fight
We all need something to believe in
We all want someone to care
And when life is taking you nowhere
It doesn't even feel good to sin
Without love we have nothing to believe in
I just need something.....

Harold And Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay

I don't know what I'm more disappointed in, myself for watching this or the fact that it was very ordinary right from the start.
Harold And Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay is the sequel to H&K Go To White Castle, which I must confess I thought was absolutely hilarious hence my interest in this follow up.
The first scene, and I won't go into the details, was enough for my hopes to be dashed as they well and truly crossed the crudeness line.
Now White Castle, which was essentially the story of two pot-heads who see an advertisement for a burger store on TV and get the munchies so they go in search of it, didn't cross that line.
Harold and Kumar are seemingly ordinary young adults with little responsibility and a recreational drug habit. In Escape, as the title suggests, they get thrown in jail for being suspected terrorists when their bong is mistaken for a bomb on a plane to Amsterdam.
Through chance they escape and go on the run.
Neil Patrick Harris has his cameo again as himself and is mildly amusing this time around. A mention to OTH's Danneel Harris who has a role here but I prefer her as Rachel in Tree Hill.
In short, a load of crap, I barely laughed at all, there's a difference between gross-out comedy and disgusting comedy and this is the example. A 3 out of 10.

The verdict on the new 90210

Not a lot has changed in Beverly Hills since the original series finished some eight or nine years ago. There are still people who are playing teenagers, 15 or 16 or so, who look well into their 20s but I suppose that happens with all shows of this genre.
The most disturbing for me what that all the girls look far too thin. They don't look attractive and it all looks too wrong. Ironically Jennie Garth and Shannen Doherty, who didn't look too thin in the original series, scrub up pretty well. The only girl in the previous BH90210 who looked too thin was Tori Spelling but she was cast out of this one.
It's her own fault because for me everything that is familiar about 90210 is what made it watchable. I liked that Kelly was there, she has a son (the father a mystery at this point but seems like a good way to bring back another old character should they be convinced) and some dignity. Brenda was great as well, even though she was only in it for a bit in the first episode, and she also had some dignity. This is unlike a lot of the other female characters who are just overtly bitchy and not very likable.
Nat is still running the Peach Pit, which is now like a coffee shop/bar, and the brief chat he had with Kelly and Brenda was great nostalgia. It also suggests Kelly comes there a lot.
Kelly's half sister Erin Silver is a major character which is a great move and also Andrea Zuckerman's daughter Hannah is a student at the school.
The Wilson family are the new Walshs, Harry and Debbie Wilson relocate to Beverly Hills from Kansas with their kids Annie and Dixon (who was adopted and you can't help but see tokenism in his character at this point). There are spoilt brats, the `hot girls' and `hunky guys' you'd expect.
Did I like it?
Yes and no. Some of it was quite interesting and well done. Some of it was pure soapy drivel. That's an overstatement as well. It's almost like two different people were swapping between scenes. It might get better, but as a fan of the original this is not in the same league - thank God for the returning characters. I don't see it lasting too long, a season or two, unless they try harder to not be the same mundane teen drama (there have been the odd exception) that's been on TV since the demise of 90210 the first time.

Touch Me I'm Going To Scream

The long awaited season 6 premiere of One Tree Hill, Touch Me I'm Going To Scream, wasn't as mind blowing as I was hoping but nonetheless a great start.
We pick up (spoiler alert) with Lucas daydreaming about the three women he could have proposed to at the end of last season. Then we find out he called Peyton.
A tad predictable and their storyline was way too mushy for my liking. Perhaps that means something is about to go wrong.
You've just got to love Brooke. Her battles with her mother (a brilliant Daphne Zuniga) are promising, I just hope they write the little girl out of Brooke and make her a tad tougher. Just my notes.
Elsewhere, Skills is still on with Nathan's mother and that's the comic relief. And it appears Nathan's comeback to basketball may be short lived.
Dan was hit by a car at the end of the last season and it turns out it was the evil nanny Carrie. I hope this one doesn't drag on too much, it's interesting because of their back story but I feel it is going to outstay its usefulness.
I'm being a tad critical here given the brilliance of season 5. This is a tough year for One Tree Hill because of the five year time gap between four and five not allowing as much reinvention.
I feel this should be the last season and I really want it to go out on a high because it really is in a class of its own.
A good start, but we all know what they are capable of. So lets see it.