Rugby World Cup Final 2011: Don’t Believe the Press

Well, that was brilliant! What a polarizing game. Those who wanted free-flowing rugby would say it wasn’t up to snuff, but I have never seen such an arm-wrestle of a game, let alone a final!

Some say the better team on the night didn’t win, but I think that’s bullshit. What I saw was a powered-up French team with nothing to lose playing their out of the box stunning game where they can beat anyone in the world…yet they still lost. Why? They were playing the only team in the world that could possibly contain them. No one else in the world could have won against that French team that turned up last night.

Don’t forget what 24 years of pressure from within and without can do to a side. The All Blacks were playing with that burden on their shoulders against a side with practically none.

As a game it wasn’t pretty, but this All Black team did what none of the forebears could; they won an incredibly tight match by grinding it out and neither conceding a penalty nor making a handling error when it mattered, when the pressure was suffocating.

Yes, there were parts of the game where I felt a drop goal or penalty would decide it against us, and yes we looked overwhelmed at times but the tenacity and grit that has been instilled in this team for eight years finally shone through.

We won the arm wrestle, we finally stamped our no.1 status on world rugby, able to lift the cup as victors once more.

Why I can’t wait to be back in a band

There’s nothing like the sense of being on the crest of a wave, playing your heart out to a bunch a fans with a group of guys you’ve come to see as brothers. My old band Tragedy of the Commons may turn out to have been the coolest, most fun band I’ve ever been in. There were no real aims at style, just fun rock that we enjoyed playing. Our lead singer was a nutcase who we could never get to stay in one place or sign the same song but he was brilliant. The drummer was solid, and ended up with massive arms from smacking the skins around so hard. The guitarist played the crappiest gear and got the most brilliant tone from it…he was also a nutcase on stage. I played bass.

I learnt so much from these guys, and in particular stagecraft. I learnt to go at 100% activity, swing my bass around manically and till stay tight. I also fell over a lot, but that was cool. It instilled in me an insatiable urge to do something the crowd isn’t expecting, and I learnt that when you go crazy, you enable the crowd to loosen up. I loved their faith (I was barely christian at the time) and their adherence to their core ideals. I was the crazy drunken munter that smoked too much, whilst they went crazier, harder, and never seemed too cool for me. I always respected that no matter how worldly I got, they just walked beside me. I owe a lot to those guys, and the crew of ever faithful supporters, Brehaut, Jim, and Fraser, who were there for every gig we rocked and every gig we sucked. It was refreshing to get off stage and have three guys go “yeah, that sucked.” Why? Truth is good. And when they came up and said “that was amazing!”, you felt 10 feet tall because you know you had done your job right. At the time, we were picking up support gigs everywhere, and it really helped us get super tight. Then, as he does, the lead singer faded out again, this time for good, to Canada. That was that.

I want to better that now. I want to get a good bunch of fans, do tours, write cool collaborative music that rocks, and go mental on stage once again. There is nothing  as cool as the night where everything clicks together; the crowd on your wavelength, you’re playing out of your skin, the atmosphere is electric,. You can just FEEL a memory being made. It’s exciting stuff indeed, and rather addictive.

But as people go more acoustic and mellow, I feel my chances are dropping. Maybe I won’t get to where I want. Maybe that was the high point? It could well be that I need to find a whole different bunch of musicians.

Nah, I’ll be back again. I can’t help but pine for it.

A couple of lines about the world

The world is in a hostage situation, trapped by our adversary.

Unfortunately, it’s developed stockholm syndrome.

Legal thoughts

A subpoena must be served face to face, in person. You can avoid it by avoiding the messenger. A subpoena is issued by the clerk of the court in the name of the judge presiding over the case. Once served, a subpoena gives you a choice. You can choose to shun the requirements of a subpoena but the penalty is severe. Once served, you ALWAYS have a choice; you cannot return to the choice-less existence enjoyed whilst a subpoena is binding. The purpose of a subpoena is to call someone to witness.

The Gospel must be served face to face, in person. You can avoid it by avoiding the messenger. The Gospel is issued by the clerk of the court in the name of the judge presiding over the case. Once served, the gospel gives you a choice. You can choose to shun the requirements of the gospel but the penalty is severe. Once served, you ALWAYS have a choice; you cannot return to the choice-less existence enjoyed whilst the gospel is binding. The purpose of the gospel is to call someone to witness.

Just a thought.

Just a wee disclaimer

I have random, radical views.

Feel free to disagree with me, and I whole-heartedly encourage posting comments that high-light areas of contention.

Also note that my commentary is first aimed at myself; generally admonishing, exhorting or trying to feel out ideas.

So if you feel I’m kicking your head in a bit, be safe in the knowledge I’ve already got a sizeable bruise.

I make no apologies.

Time and 12 Monkeys

A lot of people get really confused about the time line of this movie. I think it helps to have toyed with the concept of eternity not being lots of time, but being an absence of time.

It’s the only way you’ll understand that when God in exodus says :

EX 3:14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: `I AM has sent me to you.’ “

and Jesus says in John:

JN 8:58 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

that He’s using the present tense “I am” perfectly. Perfectly used because someone who is based outside of time but involved in it would have their present at all points of time; past present and future. (also proving continuity between old testament new, and also Jesus’ divinity; He’s claiming to be the voice of the burning bush, AND the start of plausible proof that we have an interventionist God) Hence pharisees picking up stones to throw in the next verse We have a weird sense of reality, we don’t know what happens next, and I am always fascinated that time only goes one way, and often exclaim it to people at work that “I’m so glad time goes forward!” which seems slightly retarded if you don’t get the backstory.  I don’t see time as linear, only my perception of it is.

This lil’ light o mine

We are so biblically bankrupt.

We’ve forgotten that sharing our faith isn’t about racking up points with God, it’s about love.

Trying to get as many souls as possible to Christ is a noble and awesome thing but how are we doing it? Are we doing it so God will like us more, in effect being quite self-centred? Or are we doing it out of love?

I had a good yarn to a close mate of mine who has always been in and out of the church, and He really made me think.

“Tony, it’s all about the song ‘This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.’”

I suddenly was in a crazy introverted tunnel of discovery. Was it disco? Very.

It’s not about sitting around with your christian mates and forming a pocket of resistance, although there is a time and space for that fellowhip. It’s about getting out, hanging out with the tax-collecters, the prostitutes, the drunkards, the people that don’t know God. That last term isn’t a summation, it’s a category, because anyone can be a slave to money, lust or addiction. And if you’re honest with yourself and aren’t blessedly naive, you’ve felt the pull of these things. Anyhow, back to the point. It’s not about avoiding the world. It’s being IN the world, not OF it or OUT of it. Thats step one, I mean how else are you really going to help people if you’re not there in the first place?

Blathering and a bit o bad time venting

I’m going to write and not stop for a while, so if ideas seem disconnected and strange, well, I don’t care.

I seem to keep thinking that theres a type of person that I desperately want to surround myself with but I can’t find them. So many times I’m kicking around the house, which I swear has lethargy-spray all over it, I feel so strangely alone. There are no friends I can just ring and say “Bro, whats up? Lets kick back and do nothing.” Well, lets just say theres a few groups of people.

Group one is full of people who can’t because they’re married/in a relationship and spend all their time working on those things.

Group two is full of lovely but intense people that I could have some yarns with but they’d probably not join me in having a beer or I know would be uncomfortable with some of the grottiness I can blather.

Group four are people I like but don’t know so well and they’re the “doing” types, fun but not really comfortable with scaling intellectual heights (not that they are ill-equipped).

Group five are people who aren’t in the city.

Group six are people I don’t know very well but are pretty cool but I think would be shocked at my take on things and my propensity to swear occasionally and talk about sex.

Group seven is full of amazing wonderful people that I find fascinating, whom I can talk bollocks or go insanely deep and intellectual with, who do insane stuff and have wonderful stories.

Bear in mind I seem to know most of Christchurch at the moment, but I think I know three of group seven, and I’m getting a little wary of wearing them out.

I think I’ve just got itchy feet, I desperately want to travel the world and see crazy things, walk the shores of galilee, meet weird amazing people, and have crazy stories to tell and come back with a crazy, fascinating and gorgeous texan/irish woman on my arm .

A few thoughts on preaching

I’ve noticed a very weird phenomenon within our churches. Preachers get up, drive home a good message and hold an altar call. Now what’s weird is the fact that the message generally will have nothing to do with the gospel. In fact, it won’t really have any relevance to non-Christians at all. Then the preacher vainly stares into the audience to try and spot a half-raised hand. Sometimes they get some people recommitting. Sometimes they get a couple of people. A couple rest on the fact every eye should be closed and just make it up.

 

X-tian Culture

Talking with a few friends tonight, I found that my age-group seems to have a very similar attitude to church and church events. My band played at a Christian Conference over the weekend, something which we will not do again unless under extraordinary circumstances, CNLC asking, or an event we’re helping run. Organisation was terrible, and those running the event were exceptionally condescending or inept or both. Nevertheless, if one young person was saved because of the conference and our presence there, it was worth it. But really, we need to stop thinking “Oh God will fix it, it doesn’t matter.” Maybe He will, it helps save people. But think for a moment, God will use us and these conferences for His purpose; why not make it as easy as possible for His will to become apparent? Why put barriers up? Why leave most everything to the last minute? Why have everything organised to the minute but have a soundman who doesn’t know what a D.I is?