If I had ignored my sins, the Lord would not have listened to me - Psalm 66:18 (GNB)
What was your fave childhood game? Everyone has got their own individual choice, but if there was ever a top 100 of children's games, you can bet that somewhere in the top ten would probably be Hide & Seek. The idea is so, so simple, which is why it's a perfect kids game: people hide somewhere during an allocated amount of time, and then someone has to find them. The last person to be found is the winner and automatically becomes the new "seeker". Hooray!
It's a really, really fun game. I often play it with my little cousins, who are, putting it bluntly, amazing hiders. One person I can't play it with, however, is God. It is pretty much impossible to play Hide & Seek with the Big Man Upstairs. Why? Well, first things first, you can't see God. You can see God working in people and places and things, but the actual presence of God? Nope, can't make him out.
Secondly, (and here's the biggest reason), no matter how well we try and hide ourselves, no matter which secret cupboards we crawl into, how many duvets we try and cover ourselves with, we cannot hide from God. He can still see us - he knows where we are, what we're doing, what we're thinking. If we ever did play Hide & Seek with God you can bet it would be the quickest game in history.
Sometimes we forget that God can do this. Most of the time it's when we're doing something that we know we shouldn't, because its not what he wants. I know I forget frequently that God can see me; when I do remember, its too late - the damage has been done. You get a really horrible guilty feeling inside of you. The only thing worse than this is when we then try and hide the things we've done wrong, as if they've never even happened. There is simply no point to this whatsoever. As this week's passage points out, it actually damages our relationship with God even more so than the things we do wrong!
We cannot simply hide the things we do wrong; we cannot ignore our sins. What God wants us to do is admit that we've done them. It doesn't have to be a grand public revelation either, because that proves nothing. It can be a very simple, quiet acknowledgement that we have done something wrong. And what's amazing is that we don't need to be afraid of God because when we do this and say sorry and mean it he always, always, always forgives us. And then that horrible guilty feeling vanishes and we feel different and inspired to start afresh.
God knows we're not perfect; he expects us to get things wrong from time to time. What he wants us to do is to realise and accept it too. Because then we can start to have a better relationship with him, a father/child relationship that actually works. And that's a really good relationship to have.
Laters.
Sunday 25 May 2008
Wednesday 21 May 2008
Singing Stars
Scarlett Johansson has an album out. But then you probably knew that already. Her album is a collection of covers of songs by Tom Waits. But then you probably knew that already. Apparently it's not that bad. But then you probably knew that already.
Why do you probably know all these things already? Simple answer: Scarlett Johansson. When one of the world's hottest young actresses starts to record an album, chances are that, unless you're a monk living in a remote cave and/or are completely detached from the rest of civilisation, you're gonna hear about it. It is big, big news these days when any actor or actress takes a chance on their vocal chords for something other than dialogue.
One question: why? Back in the golden age of Hollywood this kind of thing happened all the time. The big name stars were people like Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Bing Crosby. A couple of decades later you get people like (shudder) Barbra Streisand. Even Lee Marvin had a go. Was there really as much hype as there is now back then surrounding these guys?
Of course the main reason for this trend back in the glory days was that the king of genres was the musical. Soundtrack albums ruled the charts, as did stand alone songs by George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Kern, Rodgers & Hart, Rodgers & Hammerstein (same Rodgers, in case you were wondering - that boy got around!) and so forth. Nowadays movie musicals are rare; a once a year phenomenon. So when someone like Scarlett decides to break the stereotype and record an independent album, its going to be huge tabloid news, whether the the music is good or bad.
These days, however, there can be mixed results to these "experiments". Anyone heard anything sung by Lindsay Lohan lately? How about the latest one from Hilary Duff? I'm so confused as to what's happened to J-Lo right now I can't even remember what came first - the singing or the acting? Speaking of which, look at those who have recently gone from singing to acting: Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Justin Timberlake...oh dear.
Seems the only way to gain credibility though this experiment these days is to go completely off the mainstream track. Scarlett is following in the footsteps of people such as Minnie Driver, whose latest album is country-based, or Juliette Lewis, who fronts an indie/punk band, The Licks. These all sound much more interesting than the bubble-gum/postmodern/Disney-fied pop; they sound different, unique, individual. It doesn't matter if you love the music or hate it: you gotta hand it to Scarlett, she knows what she's doing.
Laters.
Why do you probably know all these things already? Simple answer: Scarlett Johansson. When one of the world's hottest young actresses starts to record an album, chances are that, unless you're a monk living in a remote cave and/or are completely detached from the rest of civilisation, you're gonna hear about it. It is big, big news these days when any actor or actress takes a chance on their vocal chords for something other than dialogue.
One question: why? Back in the golden age of Hollywood this kind of thing happened all the time. The big name stars were people like Frank Sinatra, Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Judy Garland, Bing Crosby. A couple of decades later you get people like (shudder) Barbra Streisand. Even Lee Marvin had a go. Was there really as much hype as there is now back then surrounding these guys?
Of course the main reason for this trend back in the glory days was that the king of genres was the musical. Soundtrack albums ruled the charts, as did stand alone songs by George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Rodgers & Kern, Rodgers & Hart, Rodgers & Hammerstein (same Rodgers, in case you were wondering - that boy got around!) and so forth. Nowadays movie musicals are rare; a once a year phenomenon. So when someone like Scarlett decides to break the stereotype and record an independent album, its going to be huge tabloid news, whether the the music is good or bad.
These days, however, there can be mixed results to these "experiments". Anyone heard anything sung by Lindsay Lohan lately? How about the latest one from Hilary Duff? I'm so confused as to what's happened to J-Lo right now I can't even remember what came first - the singing or the acting? Speaking of which, look at those who have recently gone from singing to acting: Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Justin Timberlake...oh dear.
Seems the only way to gain credibility though this experiment these days is to go completely off the mainstream track. Scarlett is following in the footsteps of people such as Minnie Driver, whose latest album is country-based, or Juliette Lewis, who fronts an indie/punk band, The Licks. These all sound much more interesting than the bubble-gum/postmodern/Disney-fied pop; they sound different, unique, individual. It doesn't matter if you love the music or hate it: you gotta hand it to Scarlett, she knows what she's doing.
Laters.
Tuesday 20 May 2008
"The Good Shepherd"
After a brief hiatus on film reviews, here's my latest one for Robert De Nero's The Good Shepherd. Enjoy!
When an actor with a reputation as huge as Robert De Nero steps behind the camera, you expect big things. After all this is an actor who has been constantly named as one of the greatest of his generation, second only to Al Pacino - if anyone should know how to make a powerful, hard-hitting movie, it should be De Nero.
For most of the duration of the film, The Good Shepherd does not disappoint. First of all, its subject matter - the genesis and development of the CiA - is actually pretty interesting. The film tries to pass itself off as a spy thriller, but its really more of a biography of one of the most famous security organisations in the world.
There are some excellent performances in this film too, but sadly they don't seem to belong to any of the headline actors. De Nero does a good job in a small cameo which you want to have more of, as you do John Turturro in his "personal assistant" role. On the British end Michael Gambon is great as usual, and John Sessions does an brilliant job as a Russian defector, and it was a bit of a surprise to see him in a film like this. Perhaps the biggest waste here is the fact that the legendary Joe Pesci's role is laughably minuscule, yet he still completely out acts Matt Damon.
Damon isn't bad in this film, but I have an unfortunate problem in watching him with his glasses on, because I instantly think of The Talented Mr Ripley. You also get pangs for Damon's other great spy character, Jason Bourne, but I think that's because of the mislabelling of the film as a thriller. Angelina Jolie is reduced to playing a very, very annoying character, and that annoyance factor seems to be passed on down the family line to their son, who REALLY got on my nerves for some reason.
Another problem with the film is the length of it. Sometimes a long film works and sometimes it doesn't. This was a sort of mix between the two. Most of the time you enjoy the film, yet there are occasions where you look at your watch and think "How much longer are we going to stay with this scene?" On the whole, if you know what you're letting yourself in for - subject matter, length, etc - then you should enjoy this film. Otherwise you may be very disappointed.
7/10
Laters.
When an actor with a reputation as huge as Robert De Nero steps behind the camera, you expect big things. After all this is an actor who has been constantly named as one of the greatest of his generation, second only to Al Pacino - if anyone should know how to make a powerful, hard-hitting movie, it should be De Nero.
For most of the duration of the film, The Good Shepherd does not disappoint. First of all, its subject matter - the genesis and development of the CiA - is actually pretty interesting. The film tries to pass itself off as a spy thriller, but its really more of a biography of one of the most famous security organisations in the world.
There are some excellent performances in this film too, but sadly they don't seem to belong to any of the headline actors. De Nero does a good job in a small cameo which you want to have more of, as you do John Turturro in his "personal assistant" role. On the British end Michael Gambon is great as usual, and John Sessions does an brilliant job as a Russian defector, and it was a bit of a surprise to see him in a film like this. Perhaps the biggest waste here is the fact that the legendary Joe Pesci's role is laughably minuscule, yet he still completely out acts Matt Damon.
Damon isn't bad in this film, but I have an unfortunate problem in watching him with his glasses on, because I instantly think of The Talented Mr Ripley. You also get pangs for Damon's other great spy character, Jason Bourne, but I think that's because of the mislabelling of the film as a thriller. Angelina Jolie is reduced to playing a very, very annoying character, and that annoyance factor seems to be passed on down the family line to their son, who REALLY got on my nerves for some reason.
Another problem with the film is the length of it. Sometimes a long film works and sometimes it doesn't. This was a sort of mix between the two. Most of the time you enjoy the film, yet there are occasions where you look at your watch and think "How much longer are we going to stay with this scene?" On the whole, if you know what you're letting yourself in for - subject matter, length, etc - then you should enjoy this film. Otherwise you may be very disappointed.
7/10
Laters.
Monday 19 May 2008
Grumblings
Last assignment handed in on Wednesday, weekend away with the CU a really enjoyable time. Last week of normal lectures at Winchester, three lectures left to go, then three exams, then nothing...
Yet in between all of this "excitement" we seem to have become surrogate parents in our house. Recently Smoker had the wonderful idea to purchase two bunny rabbits, seemingly because she has nothing better to do with her time now that she has unofficially dropped out. This Monday she went and promptly lost one of them, by letting them roam free in the garden...not exactly a good idea.
Thankfully the lost bunny, whom we had given up for dead, returned three days later, right as rain, completely un-traumatised by the experience. Then this weekend Smoker goes and loses her again. She came back the next day - apparently shes got a burrow somewhere in the garden.
I didn't exactly agree to having rabbits in the house. We're still owned by the University and technically, as far as I'm aware from similar experiences last year with Third Year's hamsters, not allowed pets. Yet Teacher, Other Bloke and I seem to now be doing most of the looking after of these animals. The other two don't mind that much, as they wanted rabbits anyway, but we had a major grumbling session last night about it. And we made a rather painful decision to call the RSPCA next time something like this happens again. It sounds rather harsh, I admit, and its the last thing that I want to do - hopefully its the extreme. But really they're not our rabbits. Why should we keep looking out for them?
Moan over.
Laters.
Yet in between all of this "excitement" we seem to have become surrogate parents in our house. Recently Smoker had the wonderful idea to purchase two bunny rabbits, seemingly because she has nothing better to do with her time now that she has unofficially dropped out. This Monday she went and promptly lost one of them, by letting them roam free in the garden...not exactly a good idea.
Thankfully the lost bunny, whom we had given up for dead, returned three days later, right as rain, completely un-traumatised by the experience. Then this weekend Smoker goes and loses her again. She came back the next day - apparently shes got a burrow somewhere in the garden.
I didn't exactly agree to having rabbits in the house. We're still owned by the University and technically, as far as I'm aware from similar experiences last year with Third Year's hamsters, not allowed pets. Yet Teacher, Other Bloke and I seem to now be doing most of the looking after of these animals. The other two don't mind that much, as they wanted rabbits anyway, but we had a major grumbling session last night about it. And we made a rather painful decision to call the RSPCA next time something like this happens again. It sounds rather harsh, I admit, and its the last thing that I want to do - hopefully its the extreme. But really they're not our rabbits. Why should we keep looking out for them?
Moan over.
Laters.
Sunday 11 May 2008
Pentecost Ponderings
So today is Pentecost, and, in a sense, the birthday of the church. Its the day when the Holy Spirit became a "tool" for everyone, not just a minority of gifted prophets. It's described in the book of Acts as "what looked like tongues of fire" (Acts 2:3), so I though that this week's passage was perhaps more than a bit appropriate.
You see, as 1 John says in one of my all-time favourite sentences, "God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all." (1 John 1:5) And the Holy Spirit is the fuel that burns that light for us; it revitalises and refreshes, it boosts and restores. It is a provider, just waiting for us to say the magic word: please. It won't force its way into your lives, because that's not the way of God. Instead, like faith itself, you need to invite it in and to have a little patience.
It's an immense feeling when you receive it. and a very personal, individual feeling too. It's different for each person. My experience has been the feeling of a thousand bees buzzing all over my hands, but not in an uncomfortable way. You can feel incredibly close to God when you receive the Spirit. You can feel alive, so much more alive than before.
What I find interesting is that the Psalm that this week's passage is taken from is entitled: "A Prayer of Trust in God", and it was written by David after he was captured by the Phillistines in Gath; a time of obvious strife and worry, yet he can confidently put his trust in God. Centuries later we find the great Evangelist Paul doing exactly the same as he writes some of his best letters from the discomfort of a prison cell. That's an immense challenge, but one you need to take up; for if you really want to receive the Holy Spirit, to feel it working in your everyday life, then like faith you have to drop your guard and put your trust in God. Don't worry, it's in very safe hands. Trust me.
Laters.
You see, as 1 John says in one of my all-time favourite sentences, "God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all." (1 John 1:5) And the Holy Spirit is the fuel that burns that light for us; it revitalises and refreshes, it boosts and restores. It is a provider, just waiting for us to say the magic word: please. It won't force its way into your lives, because that's not the way of God. Instead, like faith itself, you need to invite it in and to have a little patience.
It's an immense feeling when you receive it. and a very personal, individual feeling too. It's different for each person. My experience has been the feeling of a thousand bees buzzing all over my hands, but not in an uncomfortable way. You can feel incredibly close to God when you receive the Spirit. You can feel alive, so much more alive than before.
What I find interesting is that the Psalm that this week's passage is taken from is entitled: "A Prayer of Trust in God", and it was written by David after he was captured by the Phillistines in Gath; a time of obvious strife and worry, yet he can confidently put his trust in God. Centuries later we find the great Evangelist Paul doing exactly the same as he writes some of his best letters from the discomfort of a prison cell. That's an immense challenge, but one you need to take up; for if you really want to receive the Holy Spirit, to feel it working in your everyday life, then like faith you have to drop your guard and put your trust in God. Don't worry, it's in very safe hands. Trust me.
Laters.
Tuesday 6 May 2008
Back With A Vengance
Yes, after many moons - well, about a fortnight - I return to this blog victorious! I am now wiser and older...well, okay, perhaps just older, as I turned 21 yesterday, but still! The FYP: finished and handed in three days before the due date. This Bird Has Flown: a success and immensly fun to be a part of.
Now I can look forward to the glorious summer weather which has suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere here in Blighty. And how am I going to spend my summer? From this angle, in a dark room watching many, many movies. I don't think I've ever been quite so excited about a summer blockbuster season, with Indiana Jones 4 and The Dark Knight both appearing over the next few months! It's going to be an amazing time. And hopefully, hopefully, I'll be able to keep up with my blog a bit better than recently.
Laters.
Now I can look forward to the glorious summer weather which has suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere here in Blighty. And how am I going to spend my summer? From this angle, in a dark room watching many, many movies. I don't think I've ever been quite so excited about a summer blockbuster season, with Indiana Jones 4 and The Dark Knight both appearing over the next few months! It's going to be an amazing time. And hopefully, hopefully, I'll be able to keep up with my blog a bit better than recently.
Laters.
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