this week...

...I may not post that much.

I'm working pretty hard on lyric writing. Sometime soon we need to come up with something good. Hoping it will happen this week.

I'm also pretty busy at school. The song I wrote for our school principal is being sung on Friday. There are quite a few rehearsals that I have to squeeze in amongst everything else.

The christmas shopping is not yet started. Oh well.

So you might not hear too much from me. Then again, you might. But don't worry too much about me. I'm doing okay, despite that post last night that I deleted.

ps. The plato-judaisers post, a few down, is worth a bit of thought if you're into that kind of thing. I'll continue the plato heaven stuff when I have a chance.

last night...

...I had ten friends over for a creative memories card making party. My friend Tash is a CM consultant. It was lots of fun and the cards look great.

Because I hosted the party, I get a free product. I think I'll get the tearing tool. It's pretty cool - like a bumpy ruler. Your rip your paper along the edge of the ruler and get a natural torn look, but the tear won't get out of control like it could if you did it yourself. Anyone have one?

judaisers are like...

...the man in the cave looking at the duck on the wall.

Colossians 2:16-17
Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

This is not a nice thing to say. I think the Colossian Christians would have understood this reference to Plato - and the culprits would have felt insulted. But, hey, in Galatians Paul tells the Judaisers to go castrate themselves!

the ideal dude

thanks stuart!

working again

I always expect work to dry up at this end of the year. It generally doesn't.

Today I'm teaching yr 6 at an easy school. Should be fine. Unlike yesterday and Monday.

The things we do to procrastinate!

I found a few lines of something I wrote a while ago and finished it off. This stuff comes so much easier than church songs. What do you think?


With Me

One glance, across a crowded courtyard
You stand, between a hundred heads
Eyes lock, and all else moves to background
I am caught and held and never free again

Chorus:
I stand my heart is ready, waiting
You call 'come shelter here with me'
I fall beneath your branches
faint with hunger, sick and weak with
wanting you
with me.

One tune that's always, always playing
Same chords, a silken thread that binds
All things, they move in counterpoint for
Now what's mine is yours and what is yours is mine.

sar 2009

plato's cave analogy

plato's forms

I couldn't find a bite sized piece of Plato for you, so here is part of Jostein Gaarder's explanation in Sophie's World.

"Let us assume that you have dropped in from outer space and have never seen a baker before. You stumble into a tempting bakery--and there you catch sight of fifty identical gingerbread men on a shelf. I imagine you would wonder how they could be exactly alike. It might well be that one of them has an arm missing, another has lost a bit of its head, and a third has a funny bump on its stomach. But after careful thought, you would nevertheless conclude that all gingerbread men have something in common. Although none of them is perfect, you would suspect that they had a common origin. You would realize that all the cookies were formed in the same mold. And what is more, Sophie, you are now seized by the irresistible desire to see this mold. Because clearly, the mold itself must be utter perfection--and in a sense, more beautiful--in comparison with these crude copies.

... [Plato] was astonished at the way all natural phenomena could be so alike, and he concluded that it had to be because there are a limited number of forms "behind" everything we see around us. Plato called these forms ideas. Behind every horse, pig, or human being, there is the "idea horse," "idea pig," and "idea human being." (In the same way, the bakery we spoke of can have gingerbread men, gingerbread horses, and gingerbread pigs. Because every self-respecting bakery has more than one mold. But one mold is enough for each type of gingerbread cookie.)

Plato came to the conclusion that there must be a reality behind the "material world." He called this reality the world of ideas; it contained the eternal and immutable "patterns" behind the various phenomena we come across in nature. This remarkable view is known as Plato's theory of ideas.

I'm sure you've been following me, Sophie dear. But you may be wondering whether Plato was being serious. Did he really believe that forms like these actually existed in a completely different reality?

He probably didn't believe it literally in the same way for all his life, but in some of his dialogues that is certainly how he means to be understood.

...

All right, Sophie, I'll explain it more clearly: a gingerbread man can be so lopsided after all that baking that it can be quite hard to see what it is meant to be. But having seen dozens of gingerbread men that were more or less successful, I can be pretty sure what the cookie mold was like. I can guess, even though I have never seen it. It might not even be an advantage to see the actual mold with my own eyes because we cannot always trust the evidence of our senses. The faculty of vision can vary from person to person. On the other hand, we can rely on what our reason tells us because that is the same for everyone.

...

When you see a shadow, Sophie, you will assume that there must be something casting the shadow. You see the shadow of an animal. You think it may be a horse, but you are not quite sure. So you turn around and see the horse itself--which of course is infinitely more beautiful and sharper in outline than the blurred "horse-shadow." Plato believed similarly that all natural phenomena are merely shadows of the eternal forms or ideas. But most people are content with a life among shadows. They give no thought to what is casting the shadows. They think shadows are all there are, never realizing even that they are, in fact, shadows. And thus they pay no heed to the immortality of their own soul."

p72-76

decent verse

Oh grace! It lifts us from despair,
it's comfort when we weep,
and when we lie encased in death,
it wakes us from our sleep.

sar 2009

All the other verses are bad bad bad. And we're onto our 6th chorus - with each as poor as its predecessor.

frustrating...

....stupid, stupid song!

top 5 things I learned from new moon

1. The more aware an actor is of how hot he is, the less hot he is.
2. Life is unlivable if you are not hanging off some guy.
3. Even the best love story is a bit stale in a sequel.
4. Vampires and werewolves definitely add something to a movie.
5. Less is more when it comes to dialogue.

PS2, PS3 or wii?

Anyone have an opinion?

what is the most real?

This world or the next?

The difference between the old Narnia and the new Narnia was like that. The new one was a deeper country: every rock and flower and blade of grass looked as if it meant more. I can't describe it any better than that: if ever you get there you will know what I mean.

It was the Unicorn who summed up what everyone was feeling. He stamped his right fore-hoof on the ground and neighed, and then he cried:

"I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now. The reason why we loved the old Narnia is that it sometimes looked a little like this. Bree-hee-hee! Come further up, come further in!"

C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle.

all in Plato

“Kings and Queens,” he cried, “we have all been blind. We are only beginning to see where we are. From up there I have seen it all – Ettinsmur, Beaversdam, the Great River, and Cair Paravel still shining on the edge of the Eastern Sea. Narnia is not dead. This is Narnia.”

“But how can it be?” said Peter. “For Aslan told us older ones that we should never return to Narnia, and here we are.”

“Yes,” said Eustace. “And we saw it all destroyed and the sun put out.”

“And it’s all so different,” said Lucy.

“The Eagle is right,” said the Lord Digory. “Listen, Peter. When Aslan said you could never go back into Narnia, he meant the Narnia you were thinking of. But that was not the real Narnia. That had a beginning and an end. It was only a shadow or a copy of the real Narnia which has always been here and always will be here: just as our own world, England and all, is only a shadow or copy of something in Aslan’s real world. You need not mourn over Narnia, Lucy. All of the old Narnia that mattered, all the dear creatures, have been drawn into the real Narnia through the Door. And of course it is different; as different as a real thing is from a shadow or as waking life is from a dream.” His voice stirred everyone like a trumpet as he spoke these words: but when he added under his breath "It's all in Plato, all in Plato: bless me, what do they teach them in these schools!"

C.S. Lewis, The Last Battle.

For Kutz and Stuart, following this debate. (some bible next time.)

new moon

Jacob makes Edward look like an anaemic weed. Don't you think?

the one I love

seeing new moon tonight

Scoffers, go away.

I don't want to hear it.

I am going and it will be great.

nothing to say...

... desperately trying to come up with a decent song.

8686. Anyone...

gym pet-peeve #3 - the backless hoodie

A couple of my gym instructors are into these. Seems a stupid garment. Surely?

stan wins!

That's it for another year.

I think Hayley's song was better than Stan's.

idol final tonight

Don't care who wins. Both Stan and Hayley are good.

Last year I fell asleep just before they announced the winner. I'm feeling fairly stuffed already so might sleep through this year as well.

Who are you going for?

feeling like a failure as a human being.

Won't kill me.

new look blog

what do you think?

I tried quite a few, but kept on feeling like I was pretending to be someone else. I'll change back if I can't get used to this. Not sure the blue is really me.

beauty and truth

what are they?

nightswimming

bright kids

I taught some clever 11 year olds today.  I gave them the task of working out how many squares were in this square:

then in this square

then in a 4 x 4 square.

Then I asked them to work out the formula.  I gave them a little clue to help them out, and after about 15 minutes, 2 kids got it.  I was impressed.  Could you work it out? 

disaster cookies

I've had many cooking adventures since getting the ratio book for my birthday.  I've made several batches of biscuits roughly following the 1:2:3 (sugar:fat:flour) ratio.  Most have worked well. 

Last night I thought I'd try a short cut.  I melted the butter and mixed in the (white) sugar instead of creaming them together as I usually do.  I also had some condensed milk which I chucked in as well and white choc chips.

The biscuites weren't a triumph.  The sugar didn't disolve properly and the end results looked like they had been sprinkled with sugar.  Not sure why, but something funny also happened to the butter.  When I pulled them out of the oven, each bikky was frying in a fatty yellow puddle.  When they cooled down they were crunchy on the outside and doughey in the middle.

So not great.  I called them my disaster cookies.  The kids thought this was a little harsh because they still tasted delicious.  Put enough white chocolate into anything and it will be okay.

Next year I'm considering having a regular feature - Simone's cooking adventures.  What do you think?  Perhaps others with the ratio book could try too and we have a bake off!

it's [not] my funeral

Andrew found a new and strange mole on my back last night.  I decided not to panic and didn't panic.  I booked a doctor's appointment.  Very mature.

But it would have been a shame to have let such a thing pass without a little drama.  While lifting weights this morning and marvelling at how well I was feeling (considering that I was dying of skin cancer) I planned my funeral.  I was wondering who would show up.  Would you, blog friend?  (Good to know, for catering purposes...)

It seems, though, that I probably don't have cancer just now. 

Oh well.

safe in our saviour's hands

I just got a tune back for this lyric that I wrote 15 months ago! 

It's good. Too melancholy to be a hit, but lovely to listen to.

to be so loving...

This was buried in the mass of comments a couple of posts down.  Thought I'd dig it out for a closer look.

Nathan said,

I'd love to be showing so much love to my brothers in Christ that stupid people asked whether I was gay or not. People are now starting to question if Jesus was gay. That people would ask the question can't be an altogether bad thing if there's no substance to it.

top 5 annoying things about today's adventure in lyric writing

1. I read 6 chapters of bible before I started.  Always a good thing.  Lots of interesting stuff.  I never expect that what I read just before I write will end up in my lyrics, but always hope it might... (There are some particularly cool verses in John 1-3 an Habbakuk.) I spent the first half hour mining the chapters for verses with poetic potential then gave it up.  Unless you want to write a scripture-in-song type ditty, you need to think theology, not exegesis.  Exegesis is not commercially viable (because it makes for dumb songs).

2. After 2 hours I had 4 versions of a chorus.  I eventually ditched them all. 

3. After 5 hours I have a chorus and four verses.  But none of it's very good.  Yes, if it were published it would probably be sung occasionally, but no-one would really care about it.  Especially not me.

4. the trochaic meter (dum de dum de) sounds trite.  Or it that just the way I'm saying it?

5. I'm pretty sure P will take one look at it and decide it's not worth pursuing.  I'd do the same.  Oh well, there goes 5 hours.

I have a chorus!

playing grown ups

I was almost a bi**h at my grown-ups meeting last night.

I had the chance to single handedly and majorly stuff someone around because of a (smallish) personal grudge I felt towards him.  It would also have meant a pile of inconvience for my committee.  I didn't do it, but enjoyed the feeling of power in the 2 seconds that I contemplated it. 

How horrible.

to-do list for today:

1. shopping
2. washing
3. house tidying
4. write hit song.
5. write lots of blog posts so November's stats don't look so pathetic and so my readers stick around.

There is no food in the house, no clean school uniforms left, and we have friends around this afternoon, but #4 is the most pressing.  #5 may have to wait.

back later today...

Was up half the night with a croupy kid.  Now, there's absolutely no food in the house - breakfast or lunch.  Need to sort that immediately.

Will be back to respond to the posts below later today.  Keep the comments coming.

out of the sky

Joel and I wrote a choose-you-own-adventure story while we were on holidays.  We wrote it as a big flowchart and I've now turned it into a blog.

What do you think?

It just needs some pictures. 

sexual confusion and friendship

With homosexuality increasingly becoming an option for the average Australian, I'm wondering how our talk about sexual purity will change in the coming years.

The trouble with sexual temptation and sin is that they compromise relationships. I can't have the kind of close relationships with guys that I might want to have because:

• close cross gender friendships can have the appearance of immorality, leading others into sin or bringing the name of Jesus into disrepute
• close cross-gender relationships might lead me into immorality
• close cross-gender relationships may tempt my friend to sin.

I hate this, and look forward to a world without these problems.

But if homosexuality is normalised in our society, will the problems of cross gender friendships also be the problems of same sex friendships? Will I be discouraged away from having close girl friends in case such relationships are (or appear to be) sexual? Will we warn our single friends of the dangers of flatting with another girl or confiding in another girl? Will all close friendships be seen as suspicious? Will all our relationships be compromised?

This may seem a long way off, but I can see a world full of very lonely people in the future (and now as well). Temptation and immorality will only increase if close, healthy, chaste friendships are wanting. But in a world of sexual confusion, how is friendship possible?

Any ideas?

Back to real life with a bump!

Class 4B at ES. One child now facing suspension.

Top 5 things that I've missed while being away

1. My dog
2. A couple of friends
3. Fast internet
4. All the blog love
5. My skype headphones

Top 5 things I've used while being away

1. My ratio cook book, butter, flour, sugar and eggs.
2. Sunscreen (an entire 1L pump pack)
3. My phone (QuadraPop)
4. Togs
5. [um... no. That's it.]

Top 5 things I've learnt while being away

1. Camping is fun if the camp site comes with 2 kitchens, private bathrooms, a gym, a lap pool an indoor play center and two waterslides.
2. The 1:2:3 ratio makes great cookies. Especially if they have lots of while choc chips.
3. I am a legend at QuadraPop - a mobile phone game. I've invested alot of time into it, and it's paid off.
4. That I'm vain enough to care about the tan marks that my togs leave on my back
5. That I love the beach best when it is as calm as a swimming pool.

I'm back!

Might write a few lists to get me back into the blogging thing!

Daddy (by Joel)

daddy is a bady
who lives in a cloudy
meger monstres bomb proof
closit that was boosed
into outer spacs were the monster
truck blue it up

Joel R.

[daddy is a baddy
who lives in a cloudy
major monstrous bomb proof
closet that was boosted
into outer-space
where the monster truck
blew it up.]

At least I'm not the only evil parent. I like Joel's short 'o' assonance through lines 3 and 4 and half-rhyme end of line rhymes.

Idol

Nathan's gone. Oh well. For the first time in AI history, I think the top 3 are actually the best 3.

Why did Hayley try to do U2?

Annoying Mummy

Of course, I am the worst mother in the world. Joel wrote this today. I was sitting next to him making him do spelling. He might have started out a little angry, but he finished up with a big smile on his face. Nothing like a rant-poem to get it all out of your system. Enjoy! I did.

Annoying Mummy

Mummy is annoying day and night,
Sometimes I don't like to be in her sight.
She bans me from the computer,
She definitely can get a bit cuter,
She smacks really hard.
When I just might win
She calls in reinforcements.
Daddy shuts me in my room
and the door bangs, BOOM!

by Joel R. (age 8)

I particularly like lines 6 and 7. Does Joel really think there's a chance he might win? Against me? If things have gotten to the 'reinforcement' stage, he's got no chance. Kind of fun seeing your parenting from your kid's point of view!

having a great holiday...

...but wifi caravan park internet is just not worth the fuss. I'll check in on friday.

holidays!