OK, last post about the world cup.
I don't know much about soccer (I'm not calling it football anymore, not after that ref dragged the beautiful game into shame) but as far as I can figure you can't foul someone when your laying on the ground?
But, I love you boys.
Scott
PS: for a pick me up go to my brothers blog and check out the dancing prancing ref http://tubemantravels.blogspot.com
Would you take oxygen from a dying man?
No, I didn't think so.
So why the heck did SABC 1 show a REPEAT of the Chec v Italy game at midnight rather than the Aussie v Croatia match??
Someone needs to tell those morons that I wasn't in Sydney for the Olympics and I'm sick and tired of missing these defining moments of my nation. I feel deficent, missing, incomplete. I feel like an oppressed person.
Like last nigths ref with the red, I hesitate to play this card, but personally I think it is because SA can't stomoach Aust being good at everything. But we are . So there.
Scott
I'll be honest. I watch soccer . . .sorry, football, once every 4 years. If I bumped into a member of the Socceroos walking down the street, I would be clueless. But now, I need to apologise to my team, my countrymen, my nation.
I'm sorry. Really.
With that apology in place want to say, You guys are bloody awesome!!!!!!!!
I pulled some comments off the Sydney Morning Herald. In the true spirit of mateship and the little Aussie battler, read on . . . .
“Vince Grella hunted like a dog, Brett Emerton had so much energy he could have run to Kaiserslautern from his teenage home near Cambelltown. When Craig Moore returns to Australia, he could move to near Uluru. He would not look out of place. Kewell toyed with defenders although to little avail. Chipperfield motored. Viduka actually ran, too. There was not a cheat among them.”
“Tim Cahill, the hero of the hour, grew up in Annandale, a freak at his school for playing "soccer" in the playground. He flew into Japan's penalty box to score Australia's equaliser and was a freak once more. Then there was the second.
Build that man a statue on Johnston Street.”
Scott
PS: sorry for stealing your pic Justin
I've spent the last few days with Rico Tice (of All Souls London and Christianity Explored fame). He is quite simply a super guy.
He preached last night on John 4, the Samaritan women at the well. In passing he made some really insightful comments.
Our realtionships were designed with certian stress bearing load capacities. If we demand from our relationships - esp. marriage - things that they were never meant to deliever, we will break them beyond repair. The women in the story had a deep thirst. She had been through 5 husbands trying to quench it, but to no avail. She was looking in her husbands for what she could only get in Jesus. Jesus knows this of course, and tells her that she will not find what she is looking for in her relationships, or in Jerusalem or Samaria, but only in Him.
Rico passed on some top advice he got about marriage.
If you don't feed on Jesus, you will feed on each other.
Scott
This weekend was a big one. For lots of reasons. None the least of which was that it saw the return of Bible Man, Gospel Boy and Memory Verse Dude.
After a popular tour of Junior and Senior Youth in years gone by the 3 bible superheroes have come out of retirement for a skit infront of 1500 people on Sunday morning. They were a little rusty, but they won the hearts and minds of the people, yet again.
Bible Man is quite close to me and allowed me to publish his super badge.
Rest assured good people of the world, your heroes are back!
Scott
Smash that penguin!
My record is 320m. Can you beat that?
http://n.ethz.ch/student/mkos/pinguin.swf
Scott
On saturday, Jenni and Andrew got married.
I was there.
It was great.
Just after the food came out I had to go and drop some honeymoon supplies into their car. Being the cautious man that I am and not wanting all the yummy treats to be hogged by the other wedding guests, I piled up a plate of snacks and headed out to the car (I was pretty hungry).
As I was fumbling with the boot, a man waled up to me and introduced himself and his wife. They were homeless, they looked pretty dirty, they looked pretty broken. I don't even remember their names. His wife had a baby wrapped to her back and it was starting to stir. He asked if I could help.
I told him the truth, that I was at a wedding and had no money on me, but they were welocome to help themselves to the sausage rolls and cheese cake on my little saucer. They took some, said thanks and wandered on. They even left me something for the walk back to the reception.
Those encounters always leave me feeling a bit empty, but this one more so than most. I think it was because Jesus told so many stories about weddings, and none of them ended like this. In Jesus' stories, it is usually guys like me who miss out on the wedding feast and guys like the one in the cart park who are invited in. Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful I have already RSVP'ed for my invite. Which makes me all the more dark for having only shared my finger food with him.
Scott
Planning to be in conversation this week? Or going to give a talk or a bible study? Got any emails to write? Here's some good advice . . .
"The secret to being boring is to say everything."
Voltaire
Top stuff Ben and Kate!
Welcome Hugh!
Keen to chat while your on leave Benny! When are you on skype?
Scott
It's fathers day here in a few weeks time. I've been dobbed in for the family service talk again. So this time I'm putting out a pre-emptive strike. Can anyone throw me a bone? I'm talking about a passage, an idea, an illustration, a kiddies visual . . . anything If you get me something I can use, I'll mention your name in the sermon. Promise.
Scott
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On Friday, we have been married for 5 years. To some, that is not very long. To others fo you, it will seem a very long time.
We went out for dinner to our favourite place and had a top time. It just all went too quickly.
As we have seen lately with postcard secrets, to post is to be, to validate what is.
So, it is with a full heart that I post that I love my wife and the last 5 years (plus the bit before). She is the greatest companion I could have wished for and she makes me laugh.
Scott
Archaeological Dig Uncovers Ancient Race Of Skeleton People December 8, 1999 Issue 35•45 AL JIZAH, EGYPT—A team of British and Egyptian archaeologists made a stunning discovery Monday, unearthing several intact specimens of "skeleton people"—skinless, organless humans who populated the Nile delta region an estimated 6,000 years ago. Enlarge Image An archaeologist examines the intact remains of a spooky "skeleton person." "This is an incredible find," said Dr. Christian Hutchins, Oxford University archaeologist and head of the dig team. "Imagine: At one time, this entire area was filled with spooky, bony, walking skeletons." "The implications are staggering," Hutchins continued. "We now know that the skeletons we see in horror films and on Halloween are not mere products of the imagination, but actually lived on Earth." Standing at the excavation site, a 20-by-20-foot square pit along the Nile River, Hutchins noted key elements of the find. "The skeletons lived in this mud-brick structure, which, based on what we know of these people, was probably haunted," he said. "Although we found crude cooking utensils in the area, as well as evidence of crafts like pottery and weaving, we are inclined to believe that the skeletons' chief activity was jumping out at nearby humans and scaring them. And though we know little of their language and means of communication, it is likely that they said 'boogedy-boogedy' a lot." Approximately 200 yards west of the excavation site, the archaeologists also found evidence of farming. "What's puzzling about this," Cambridge University archaeologist Sir Ian Edmund-White said, "is that skeletons would not benefit from harvested crops, as any food taken orally would immediately fall through the hole behind the jaw and down through the rib cage, eventually hitting the ground. Our best guess is that they scared away a group of human farmers, then remained behind to haunt the dwelling. Or perhaps they bartered goods in a nearby city to acquire skeleton accessories, such as chains, coffins and tattered, dirty clothing." Enlarge Image An artist's rendering of what a warrior-skeleton may have looked like. Continued Edmund-White: "The hole in that theory, however, is that a 1997 excavation of this area which yielded extensive records of local clans and merchants made no mention of even one animated mass of bones coming to town for the purpose of trade. But we are taking great pains to recover as much of the site as possible, while also being extremely careful not to fall victim to some kind of spooky skeleton curse." As for what led to the extinction of the skeletons, Edmund-White offered a theory. "Perhaps an Egyptian priest or king broke the curse of the skeletons, either by defeating the head skeleton in combat or by discovering the magic words needed to send their spirits back to Hell," Edmund-White said. "In any case, there is strong evidence that the Power of Greyskull played a significant role in the defeat of the skeleton people." According to Hutchins, the skeletons bear numerous similarities to humans, leading him to suspect that there may be an evolutionary link between the two species. "Like humans, these creatures walked upright on two legs and possessed highly developed opposable thumbs," Edmund-White said. "These and many other similarities lend credence to the theory that hundreds of thousands of years ago, human development passed through a skeletal stage. These skeletons may, in fact, be ancestors of us all." "Any of us could be part skeleton," he added. Other experts disagreed. "The evidence of an evolutionary link between humans and skeletons is sparse at best," said Dr. Terrance Schneider of the University of Chicago. "Furthermore, it is downright unscientific to theorize that skeleton life originated in Egypt merely because mummies, another species of monster, are indigenous to the area. Spooky creatures are found all over the world, from the vampires of Transylvania to the headless horsemen of Sleepy Hollow."
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Justin's most recent post (www.moffattnyc.blogspot.com) gives you a glimpse into the world of postcard confessions. Scarey stuff. I've been picking up a few of these over the last while and hesitate to open a door to that place. But here are some to add to think ponderings. But by far and away the most scarey thing is that I reckon everyone you pass today could write one of these postcards, as well as that person who you saw in the mirror this morning too. For me, that's the most disturbing bit of all. So, thatnks J-man for the verses and reminder. Scott |
"Noam Chomsky might be the most significant intellectual of the 20th Cent."
That's the rap this professor of linguistic and philosophy at MIT gets on just about every book he has ever written. His bread and butter is his theory that the human brain has an innate language faculty and he calls this part of our biological make up 'universal grammar', a theory of principles common to all languages. His book, 'Syntatic Structures' was a "turning point on 20th century linguistics" and "epoch making". When was the last thing I did that was epoch making? I would even settle for a 'turning point'.
If your about to click to another blog with some quirky story of how a guys kid fell off the bed, don't. Well, not quite yet.
The other thing Chomsky is famous for (and this is what I'm interested in) is as an academic who rigorously criticzed social injustice and state violence. Guess what country he spends most of his time sweating over? That's right, the good old U S of A. Now it needs to be said from the outset, this is not consipricy theory stuff or emotionally charged witch hunts. This is one of the smartest guys in America. His stuff on linguists leaves me completely confused, but his stuff on empire building, power and justice , well . . . .It rocks.
Ok, this post is already almost too long for the casual surf, but let me just give you a taste that will hopefully develop you an appetite for a meal of Chomsky. He observes, "If the Nuremberg laws were applied, then every post war (WII) American President would have been hanged."
Want to know why?
Read some Chomsky.Visit www.chomsky.info
Scott
Scott |
Another year, another Two Oceans. This year I was sporting my new club colours (The Mighty Celtic Harriers) and had a pair of those sexy running shorts (not included in the photo). I was hoping my magic shorts would give me the edge I needed. Instead, they gave me bad chaffing. But hey, I ran the exact same time as last year. At least I'm consistant.
Scott |
Work in Progress
Enmity
We had our youth social on Friday. It was a band night with 2 home grown groups; "Work in Progress" and "Emnity". Good times my friend, good times. After that we did some singing of our own. It went completely caro of course, but it was worthwhile. Anyone with half a brain knows that a band night for evangelism is one step forward two steps back. But for just pure enjoyment, it's a winner. |
(“I know that the Lord has given you this land and a great fear has fallen on all of us . . . We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the red Sea . . When we heard of it our hearts melted and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God of heaven above and on the earth below . . .”) Out of everyone in the city, he picked a hooker. It kind of reminds us of that story Jesus told of a man finding treasure in a field. He sees it’s value, and realizes that when compare to his life as it is, he would be a fool not to throw caution to the wind and do whatever he could to buy that field. |
I had a genuinely good experience on friday night. The kind of time that leaves you feeling deeply satisfied, content and full. I got it from spending a few hours in bible study with nine 13 year olds.
The soccer was great, but it was really only after that when I found the buzz. One of the guys, Ben, was so excited to be there with us, he was literally on the edge of his seat all night. We talked about 1 Peter 3:18. Which of course lead us to other questions like, "Did the dinasaurs come before or after Adam and Eve?" and "How did Cain have a family if it was just him and his parents?" (Although the question was asked by Tim in a way I have never encountered it before, "Did Cain do his mum?") But they weren't red herrings or trouble makers, the boys were really concerned about the answers and after we chatted, they left feeling calm and content that their God was trustworthy.
In the 6 or 7 weeks that the group has existed, one guy, Will, has already brought 3 friends. That does good things for my soul. I'm not sure if there is a deep lesson here, but I definately wanted to post it. God is drawing people to Himself despite their age, blindness and leaders who are, at the best of times, jars of clay. And that was more than enough to leave me deeply satisfied.
Scott
