Those who know me at all would realise that it would be fairly unlikely that I’d be willing to voluntarily link to the Collingwood website. But this piece by Collingwood defender Harry O’Brien is a beautiful piece of personal reflection, and a genuine witness to the way in which scripture has helped him deal with trouble in his path.
You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men
These are my favourite bible verses from the book of Matthew 5:14-16. These words hold great meaning to me and my desire is to live my life in this way.
via “You are the light of the world – Official AFL website of the Collingwood Football Club”
O’Brien shares his family dealing with the suicide of his father. Don’t want to say any more, but I recommend you read it.
(If you can’t handle having to visit the Collingwood site to read it, it has been re-posted on the Age website). Found via Jessica Halloran’s twitter.
Posted in God Stuff.
By Geoff
– 3 July, 2009 3:55 pm
I don’t know which is more insightful – the quote below or the comment he goes on to make. But this at least made me feel guilty about my lifestyle:
This is one of the great cultural touchstone slogans of our era. A culture where there’s so much to eat we need to try to find a food that we can eat even if we’re stuffed.
via Seth’s Blog: There’s always room for Jello.
Realise I’ve been posting a lot of these “here’s a quote with little commentary” lately. Sorry if that doesn’t suit you.
Posted in World.
By Geoff
– 1 July, 2009 3:30 pm
The Walkman - now takes double sided tapes!
… but this review from a 13 year old on the BBC site confirms it. Scott Campbell was handed a Walkman to review, and compared it to his iPod. As soon as I read this line, I felt like a senior citizen:
“It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape.”
BBC News | UK | Magazine | Giving up my iPod for a Walkman
Just thought I should share.
Posted in World.
By Geoff
– 30 June, 2009 2:01 pm
Erwin McManus has a fantastic post up at that blog of The Origins Project:
Recently, I was having dinner with one of Hollywood’s gifted cinematographers and directors. In the course of the conversation, he asked me what my newest book, Wide Awake, was about. At first, I simply said it is about finding a dream that fits your life. He looked interested, so I pressed ahead: “You know the narrative known as the Gospel? I think it has been demeaned. It has been reduced to this, ‘Come to Jesus so that your sins will be forgiven and you can go to heaven and not hell.’ For me this is the most narcissistic and self-preserving message I have ever heard. Wide Awake proposes that Jesus lived the ultimately heroic life by giving Himself as a sacrifice for all of humanity and that He now calls us to give ourselves away for the good of the world.”
As soon we left and began walking the streets of Hermosa Beach, he remarked after much thought, “The Gospel has never made sense to me. It is such a narcissistic narrative. But this idea that it is about provoking us to the heroic—this is intriguing to me.” Then he asked me a question I will never forget: “Is it possible that Christianity has rejected this Gospel because it demands too much of us?”
via Living Wide Awake : The Origins Project.
At the risk of sounding all “Bill and Ted”: woah!
This is what NT Wright hits on when he says that we are “saved for good works”. I like it a lot – the post does sound more and more American as it goes, but the heart of the quote above blew me away.
Posted in God Stuff.
Tagged with Erwin McManus, The Origins Project.
By Geoff
– 29 June, 2009 3:16 pm
Voted in the Triple J Hottest 100 of all time tonight: which was quite an arduos task.
The 10 I ended up voting for are below, followed by my (not very short) shortlist:
(in no particular order)
- U2 – One
- Jeff Buckley – Last Goodbye
- Jimi Hendrix – All Along The Watchtower
- Beatles, The – While My Guitar Gently Weeps
- Bob Dylan – Maggie’s Farm
- Frank Sinatra – Mack The Knife
- Paul Kelly – How To Make Gravy
- Queen – Bohemain Rhapsody
- U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday
- Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl
Beatles, The – Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
Beatles, The – While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Bob Dylan – All Along The Watchtower
Bob Dylan – Maggie’s Farm
Bob Dylan – The Story Of Hurricane
Bob Dylan – Tombstone Blues
Boomtown Rats, The – I Don’t Like Mondays
Cab Calloway – Minnie The Moocher
CAKE – Short Skirt Long Jacket
Crowded House – Don’t Dream Its Over
Damien Rice – The Blower’s Daughter
Flight of the Conchords – Business Time
Frank Sinatra – Mack The Knife
Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu – Gurrumul History (i Was Born Blind)
Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová – Falling Slowly
Herd, The – I was only 19
Hilltop Hoods – Nosebleed Section
Huey Lewis & The News – Power Of Love
Ingrid Michaelson – The Way I Am
INXS – By My Side
Jackson 5 – Abc
James Brown – Get Up (sex Machine)
Jeff Buckley – Halleujah
Jeff Buckley – Last Goodbye
Jimi Hendrix – All Along The Watchtower
Johnny Cash & June Carter – Jackson
José González – Heartbeats
Kimya Dawson – Loose Lips
Lenny Kravitz – Are You Gonna Go My Way
Living End, The – Second Solution
Living End, The – Tainted Love
Living End, The – West End Riot
Lou Reed – Walk On The Wild Side
Louis Armstrong – Summertime (feat. Ella Fitzgerald)
Michael Jackson – Billie Jean
Michael Jackson – Smooth Criminal
Midnight Oil – Beds Are Burning
Monty Python – Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life
My Friend the Chocolate Cake – It’s All In The Way
Nick Cave – Red Right Hand
Nick Cave – The Ship Song
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – The Weeping Song
Oasis – Wonderwall
Paul Kelly – How To Make Gravy
Paul Kelly – Love Never Runs On Time
Pink Floyd – Another Brick In The Wall
pink floyd – comfortably numb
Powderfinger – Already Gone
Queen – Bohemain Rhapsody
Queen – Fat Bottomed Girls
Queen – Somebody To Love
Queen – You’re My Best Friend
Queens of the Stone Age – Nobody Knows
R.E.M. – Losing My Religion
Ray Charles – Georgia On My Mind
Ray Charles – Shake A Tail Feather
Rolling Stones, The – Sympathy For The Devil
Roy Orbison – Crying
Run-D.M.C. – It’s Tricky
Salmon Hater – 6.66
Santana – Smooth
Sarah Blasko – Flame Trees
Scissor Sisters – Take Your Mama
Shins, The – Caring Is Creepy
Simon & Garfunkel – Scarborough Fair
Simon & Garfunkel – The Boxer
Simon & Garfunkel – The Sound Of Silence
Skyhooks – Ego (is Not A Dirty Word)
Skyhooks – Living In The 70s
Stevie Wonder – Superstition
U2 – I Still Havent Found What I’m Looking For
U2 – Magnificent
U2 – One
U2 – Pride (in The Name Of Love)
U2 – Sunday Bloody Sunday
U2 – Windows In The Skies
U2 & Johnny Cash – The Wanderer
Van Morrison – Brown Eyed Girl
Verve, The – Bitter Sweet Symphony
Posted in Personal.
By Geoff
– 28 June, 2009 8:56 pm
