A reminder of God's sovereignty after the Haiti earthquake.

Our Esteemed European Union...

Eleven for '09

The amount of albums released in 2009 that I bought was, at last count, 2. Thus I cannot give you my top songs of '09, but I can do this. Thus herewith are my top eleven songs that were added to my iTunes library during the year 2009. Hope you enjoy.

Ryan Adams & the Cardinals - Fix It



Elbow - Switching Off



Coldplay - Strawberry Swing



Idlewild - City Hall



Pete Yorn - On Your Side



Paper Rival - You're Right



Rosi Golan - Hazy



The Acorn - Crooked Legs



Beirut - Nantes



Jon Foreman - Your Love Is Strong



Joni Mitchell - California

It's Cold in Britain at the Moment.

Picture from the BBC website.

A Throwaway Snow Comment.

I find it fascinating that we English are so incompetent at dealing with snow and at the same time so unbelievably transfixed by it.

Here is proof via the social networking site 'Facebook', you may have heard of it... (I know, using Facebook as proof is a bit of an oxymoron. But in my defense, I had to work all day and consequently didn't actually meet any of my friends, if I had I am certain they would have said similar sentences to me). Some selected statuses from friends posted during the last 8ish hours:


"snowtastic"

"first day of term cancelled due to SNOW! amazing."

"Snow day! Huzzah!"

"snowflakes continue to fall"

"my snowman is dead!"

"has a day and a half off school to play in the snow! Yay!"

"more snow - no work"

"built a snowman"

"reckons a little bit of white stuff and everyone goes silly ... don't you just love it !!!"


I'll stop there... but you get my drift.

We love it. I understand, I really do. I guess it taps into the British 'weather taking' psyche - just we go on about it forever because it's not as normal as, say, drizzle.

Anyway, for what it's worth, here's my throwaway snow comment of the day:

You see more when it snows, especially at dusk, because any light that is left is reflected by the snow on the ground, thus making it seem lighter and more eerie than it actually is. I like this bizarre state of flux in the earth's lighting.

In other news - Norah Jones has an incredible voice. Just incredible.

The Wooden Sky - The Wooden Sky

First Foray Into Photography OR Stills from a Christmas Eve.

Happenstance

Happenstance...

What a great word.

It means coincidence and has its origin in late 19th century, being a blend of happen and circumstance.

I went to the cinema...

I went to the cinema for the first time since... since.... since, well... I don't actually remember. I saw Pursuit of Happyness in January 2007 (I think), and then I Am Legend in early 2008, and I'm pretty sure I saw the latest Bond film at the cinema, but I don't remember when that was. Incidentally, I wouldn't want to see any of those films again.

But this Saturday past I went again, and I saw 2012. It was a pretty mixed film. I fell asleep at one point, a combination of my own tiredness and the film. But it was interesting to think about who we (i.e. the collective 'democratic' governments of the world) would save if the world was going to be hit by a mega-disaster, and the LORD would actually allow us to survive.

I thought it was pretty accurate that tickets to salvation would be sold. Our democratic world is only really democracy to the highest bidder... it then ceases to be democracy, by definition. I have two comments on this: firstly, thank God (quite literally and sincerely) that he does not work like this. Secondly, what an awful human race you would have if only those rich enough to pay for their salvation were there to repopulate... I mean, there would be no diversity, a lack of creativity and joy.

I've also seen Garden State recently, which I enjoyed a whole lot more. I thought it tackled the reality of broken human relationships with a stark honesty that isn't found in 99% of films. Well done, Mr. Braff. The conversation of home was particularly pertinent in our society that lacks belonging - and constantly strives for it.

In other news, I've been listening to The Acorn (a Tom Green recommendation), and I've also been listening to Forest City Lovers. Go, check 'em out.

It snowed for a bit today.

I was cold for about 3 hours, then I had a hot shower, and now I'm fine. Praise the Lord for heat and for showers. And for houses. May the Lord look after those who have none of the above tonight.

The Week That Was

This was played in Chapel on Tuesday. Live, and much better than any of the video's I could find on YouTube.

I take comfort that the lead singer is a Christian (as far as I've ascertained across the Christian grapevine), and that his lyrics speak about the tensions of living the life of a disciple within the context of a hedonistic, nihilistic, materialistic culture.

This week has been harder than most 7 day periods I've experienced, despite having experienced approximately 1185 of them previous to this one.

I have been on the end of some sound and timely words... from family and friends, and from the Lord. I can complain and complain, but at the end of it all, I acknowledge with Job that God is God, and I am not. And it is far better that way round.

I wrote something about these experiences here.