For the love of live...

i can't remember whose commercial it was; Carling, or the BBC or someone else who promotes live music... but anyway, here's the scene:

There's a row of fans at the front of a gig, and the camera is passing in front of them (it's all in slowmo, obviously!). They are tired, sweaty and barely able to stand, having to lean on the front barrier just to stay on their feet. However, there are looks of pure ectasy one their faces, looking up at the stage in total enjoyment of the music. You never see or hear the band, but it doesnt matter. the caption comes up: "For the love of live"

It's ALL about live music.


Case in point: last night's gig.

I went to the Talking Heads last night to see Ezio, an awesome acoustic-y combo. But not normal acoustic style... a sort of rocky, latin-y, blues-y mix - fantastic! with some of the best acoustic guitar playing i've EVER heard...

And what i loved the most - these guys have a pretty strong following (I haven't heard them before, i went along cos i knew the drummer and guitarist from another band) and most of the audience were middle-aged... when the more popular songs were played, EVERYONE around me was singing - there's something that makes a gig even more enjoyable when you know that everyone around you is having an even better time than you!

Anyway, having had an amazing night last night, it's time to do some work. eugh.

laters,

C

Communion

I went along to the Maundy Thursday service the other day, and there was this QUALITY call to communion:

Come, not because you are strong,
but because you are weak.
Come, not because any goodness of your own
gives you a right to come,
but because you need mercy and help.
Come, because you love the Lord a little,
and would like to love Him more.
Come, because He loved you
and gave Himself for you.

Lift up your hearts and minds above
your cares and fears and let this bread
and wine be to you the token and pledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God
and the fellowship of the Spirit, all meant
for you if you will receive them in humble faith.

I'm not normally a big fan of liturgy, but that is a beautiful summary of why we take communion, and of God's grace as a whole for that matter...

Happy Easter!

C

Western Lowland Gorilla

This is one of my favourite useless facts ever. As you should know, all species of animal have a latin name, otherwise known as a proper name, i think.

I was musing about gorillas (as one does) and decided to see what google could teach me.

The Western Lowland Gorilla's latin name is...

wait for it....

Gorilla Gorilla Gorilla!

oh yes. It's a few months after i first made that discovery, and im still chuckling.

dont believe me eh? ok, here's a link to prove it. clicky

everyone always raves about the Romans, and yet, they clearly put no effort into naming gorillas. teehee.

By the way. I dont get many comments on here by the looks of things, and yet many people tell me that they read my blog (disconfirming my fears that actually im writing to noone!) - if youre reading this, please comment - to tell me what you think about gorillas. THIS MEANS YOU!

Holidays...

I've come to a shocking realisation.

I REALLY dislike holidays. Not going abroad and all that, i love to travel. But this obscenely long month-out-of-my-life. I havent experienced one properly for some years now, as I've always jumped right into full-time bar work. But without that option any more, I've been left to my own devices. And I'm bored out of my skull. And my daily routines are shot to pieces - prayer, eating, exercise, work.

I'm sure taking time out is important, but a month for easter?

And now an even scarier prospect looms: Am i actually looking forward to being in full-time work?

Hell yes.

hmm that wasnt scary at all ;-)

C

Fat Poppadaddy's

So, after 8 months or so of The Cube (our student's union club) running this night every Saturday, and me never quite being bothered enough to go I finally went - but not in the cube.

Apparently this is one of those nationwide promo nights. anyyyway - it was AWESOME. the DJ was a true genius. well sort of. It was surely the best inter-genre mixing i have ever witnessed. a few of my favourite mixes:

Shaggy - Boombastic with Rage against the Machine - Killing in the Name of
Shimon & Andy C - Bodyrock with Queens of the Stone Age - Noone Knows
Prodigy - Smack my Bitch up with SL2 - On a Ragga Tip

I'm just not sure how he pulled it off.

anyway, that aside, i havent been out for ages and just had a good time - noone who i had to talk to, or sort something out with someone, or sort tickets for everyone, or avoid vomiting freshers...

just a nice relaxed drink with old mates, and then dancing like a prat till the early hours.

nights out don't get much better than that.

C

Further Deep Musings...

I finished Nick Hornby's book in like 3 days - i love doing that, makes me feel so clever (Don't tell anyone its only 243 pages!) and looked to the family fiction bookcase to see what i could see...

Picked up the complete Hitchhiker's collection - all 6 books in one volume and felt excited. So far I had only made it about halfway through the first book... Douglas Adams is hard work if you're not in the mood! Anyway i got stuck in again... and so far i have reached the same point. its actually pretty funny, and the short chapters give me a real sense of achievement ;-)

However.

I was sitting in church last night and realised why i've been feeling pretty crap recently - don't worry, this post isnt going to turn into a heavily depressing soul-search... But here's the thing; I've lost touch with God. I was wondering why i find it so hard to hear God's voice at the moment, and what came to me was exactly the same feeling as when you catch up with an old friend who you havent seen for years, and you have no idea where they're coming from when they tell you about some incident that just happend to them.

Logic dictates that the thing i need to do is sort out my Quiet Times - well, of course. but the reason these have been so thin on the ground recently is partly because of this feeling - almost like i dont know where to begin because i've all but forgotten who God is.

SO, Hitchhiker's is scrapped. Sorry Douglas, another time. My reading list will now consist of Christian books - because i need more spiritual input in my life, and the book i'm reading seems to be a good place to start.

Of course, quiet times (particularly praying) need to be re-established too, don't worry, i'm not expecting a few pages of Philip Yancey to renew my relationship with God. But it can't hurt.

So like yeah... I think I'll start with Wild at Heart, one of my many half-finished Christian books.

C

P.S. Joe and Chix, although i was officially a convert at the last 57 Party, I'm now listening at home ;-) Jellybass yeah!

Unhealthy...

ManFlu subsiding, dry cough type-thing remains. better. not all there, but better.

I've just watched Supersize Me, a movie by Morgan Spurlock who decides to eat nothing but MacDonald's for 30 days, and see what it does to his health. the results are terrifying. I've seen this movie before, and i remember it having the same effect on me then: i feel so unhealthy.

I actually don't really eat MacDonald's - I'm a real fan of *proper* food - sure, my housemates call me a food snob (not nearly as snobby as my alcohol tastes, i assure you!) - but i try to get my 5 portions, avoid e numbers, would rather drink juice than coke etc, but still - there's something about watching people live in extremes that wakes you up to the little things you need to do in your life...

need to go back to the gym
need to swim occasionally
need to buy a bike next time i have money
need to eat less crap
need to eat more veg


now, if it were only new year's day toady, i could make these resolutions now ;-)

Man Flu...

I'm reliably informed that the medical definition for what i have is Man Flu.

Its some kind of nasty coldy-fluey ming which has managed to encompass about everything that sucks about being ill, including:

Insomnia
Temperature Change
Inability to focus on a page
Headaches from screens

as well as the usual grot:

stiffness, headaches, shivering, fatigue, dodgy stomach

all ending in a blissful bout of tonsilitis.

YEAH!

hence the lack of blogging.

on the plus side, it's all passing now, hopefully tomorrow should be the last day of it.

right, now that i've won your sympathies, im going to go to bed and attempt to sleep.

C