my day with oscar and new camera

the scripture meme

I have been tagged by Byron to share the verse from the bible that I keep going back to over and over.

This was tough. my first thought was the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). I feel like this son returning over and over to a father who against reason accepts me.

But it is Revelation 21 that gives me hope in crazy times.

I want the "new order" so desperately.

1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
5He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

We chose this at our wedding to be read out and I think quite a few people didn't understand why you would choose this.

But this is what we wanted to say that were jointly striving for a 'new order' in so many ways.


photo taken by ME (on our new camera!!!)

This Sunday

Some people think that God is in the details, but I have come to believe that God is in the bathroom.

-Anne Lamott "Traveling Mercies"

This Sunday at Glebe Cafe Church I will be facilitating a night of quiet reflection on the places and times that we've found God.

and the places and times we've looked but not found God.

or even the times when God has found us.

We will personally reflect on these 'places' where we've searched for God

or where God has searched for us

and anonymously share our experiences.

I am looking forward to this night. I am going to designate part of the building as areas for particular reflection such as "God in nature", "God in the bible", "God in humanity",

but I'm wondering if I should dedicate spaces for more ephemeral reflections such as "God in pain" or "God in humour"?

Alex suggested that I have an open slather area where people can make up a space.

For me I would have to say that God is in lone long car-trips home late at night when I am tired and the radio is that last thing I want over-crowding my full brain. in this dark silence i can call out to God, sing to God, laugh with God. and i can find comfort and solace.

Are there particular places/spaces that you search and find or search and don't find God?

i love photo booth!

bye bye pigface point

The time has come to say goodbye to this beloved place. we are in the process of looking for a place to move. in the meantime we are taking a ridiculous amount of photos.

New Series

Well I have been convinced. I am about to start a series titled "Why Christians should be opposed to uranium mining and nuclear power". Stay tuned.

Photos taken by Anne O'Brien at the Labour Party Conference anti -nukes rally.

a day in the life...

well i don't have anything of any intellectutal or creative value to post so what a better way to keep the punters happy than post some pics of my cute kid.

By the way we are only just taking a breath for air after being consumed by this gross gastro thing. my brain is yet to resurface.

children of men.

Alex and I watched the movie "Children of Men" on the weekend and I am still having apocalyptic type visions/nightmares in relation to this film. This movie scarred the shit out of us - mainly because it was so cleverly grounded in so many current truths and occurrences. The frightening factor was the treatment of refugees in the face of extreme world terrorism. As someone who has been to detention camps in Australia, it brought back uncanny flashbacks.

But this movie is not a science-fiction futuristic vision - it is already happening. In the face of fear we harm the innocent as a means of self -preservation but as the movie closely pointed out such actions lead to the slow death of humanity (in the movie's case - due to infertility)

Humanity can die a metaphorical death and I believe that this will continue to happen while we embrace fear and label individuals as the 'other'.

what happened?

So suddenly my posts about my life in the church (in five acts) disappeared...

I thought that no one would notice but some people did mention it in passing.

I took these posts off for numerous reasons - mainly because I was unsure that these rants were actually going to help anyone but myself - and my greatest worry was that they might actually be a hindrance to a person's volatile faith. so they are gone. but if you would like to hear some stories (and boy, I've got many!), give me a call or a comment and we'll have a coffee or a beer or a wine or someother (legal) addictive substance.

One day I may actually attempt a series and actually complete it before i get sued. or not.

Tastic!

Oscar's 2nd birthhday is coming up and I'm ready to receive your toddler birtday present hints...

So far I'm leaning towards this.

If I could justify the cost I think that the wooden treehouse (pictured) from here would be fun.

Or perhaps some of the wooden figures from here to add to our little collection.

because i promised!

Here is Astor. Gorgeous and serene boy who I saw enter the world. Photo taken by his rockin mama- Bess.

fun.

here is something fun to do. go to this website Storypeople. pick an animation and/or a story or write your own and send an e-greeting to your favourite person. and have fun.

One friend who I sent one to once said that it was the best e- greeting that she'd ever received and being a computer techi designer person - that's a compliment!

quick.go.consume.now.buy.

and maybe you will never consume in the same way again...

New job...

I have a very new and exciting job starting in the next couple of weeks here, you never know my job description may involve blogging...

What I've been working on.

I'm currently working on a paper about human rights abuses occurring in Papua New Guinea in relation to deforestation. I'm enjoying writing about something that I'm passionate about but when you write till a very late hour on some harrowing material it doesn't go down so well with someone who already struggles to sleep a whole night. If you would like to find out about the situation (condensed version) in PNG click here . I will post my paper when I've completed it (or parts of my paper).

come along!

This Saturday April 27th, the 400 delegates to the Australian Labor Party National Conference will vote to discard or retain the long-standing No New Uranium Mines policy.

Join the public lobby to stop an expansion of uranium mining this Saturday 12-2pm.

We need to send a strong message to the ALP that we don't want a policy U-Turn.


No U-Turn: No expansion of uranium mining

The ALP's No New Mines policy recognises uranium is a unique mineral with drastic implications and risks. After fifty years in the global nuclear industry, there is still no safe way to store radioactive waste. Uranium deserves special status. The current policy recognises this and should be retained.

The vast majority of Australians do not want Australia to go further down the nuclear path. 66% of Australians believe there should be no new uranium mines opened in Australia, and 78% of ALP voters don't want new uranium mines in Australia or want uranium mining stopped altogether (Newspoll, 30 May 2006).

Uranium directly leads to radioactive waste and nuclear weapons. It is not clean, safe or needed. Leave it in the ground!


Uranium: No Solution to Climate Change

Australian people deserve a genuine alternative and strong leadership in the face of climate change. The argument put forward by the Howard Government that we need to expand Australia's nuclear industry to combat climate change is not credible. Nuclear power is too slow, too expensive and too dangerous to be an answer to climate change.

The ALP should continue to be part of the broad opposition to Howard's nuclear push. Any changes in this policy would create more similarities, rather then alternatives between the Coalition Government and the ALP.


Join the action to lobby the ALP Conference

Join community members from environment, community, peace and union groups to retain the ALP's uranium policy.

Join us Saturday, April 28th, 12-2pm for the Rally, Speakers and Public Lobby .

At Darling Harbour Convention Centre, front entrance

Places you should go...

This Band - The Boom Band Krewe

This launch party -this Saturday - we'll be there - as will Alex playing 80's tracks trad style with a sousaphone and banjo player (you will have to see to believe). We are very excited to be part of this project and can't wait to see where it will go. Come along and sign -up to become a 'Friend of The Earth'.

This Caberet show for the performance of your life - and I am not biased because my friend is in it - it is seriously magical.

This website - I am currently addicted to.

The album that changed my life

being the little copy cat that I am I'm going to use the above title taken from a FRANKIE magazine editorial and start raving.

(PS If you feel like sending me a title - i may meet the challenge and come up with a blog entry to match)

Album that changed my life? mmm I feel the pressure to say something really cool here but not necessarily truthful. Because there are some people that that I listen to these days that may be considered cool by some.... I'm goona go with the truthful option and am prepared to loose any shards of 'cool' I had going for me.

I am internally debating 'Martika's Kitchen' -just because it was the first album i ever owned... but na, didn't exactly change my life.

OK I'm going to delve into the time of my life that was Ben Harper "Welcome to the Cruel World". Think high school, think big crushes, think intense year 12 major art works, think Bens.

The Summer of 1997 was the year I discovered Ben Harper. and it was not really a surprise that I fell in love on first listen - he was after all the fourth 'ben' crush I had had that summer (sadly there was a succession of ben crushes to follow into my uni years - thank goodness i married an Alex.) My gorgeous friend Ivy first coined the term "there is always a Ben" first it was in relation to my crushes, but then the saying seemed to embody all boys that were slightly bewildered by life and generally had that 'oh please show me what it's all about" look about them. It got to the point that when i met this guy on a train and when he said his name was ben i said (out loud) 'of course it is'

anyway back to Ben Harper.

Wow This album was and is pure magic. There was blues, soul and humour and suddenly it dawned upon me that there was a whole world of country style music that was actually OK - that was not like the music that I heard down the main street of my hometown during country music festival. suddenly country could be cool and lightening bolts descended midair. I was changed never to return to my smashing pumpkins cranberries loving faze again. The best bit about this album was that he sang about 'issues' and yeah well... I was a teenager and that was my job right, to love all things intense an 'meaningful'?


I used to go to sleep every night to 'waiting for an angel',This guy sang me 'walk away' at a festival (for all i knew he could have been a ben too), and i danced around the art room to 'we will rise'.

Sadly my ben harper experiences plateaued when i saw him live twice - O be honest! my affection was waning and i was more interested in the guy i was standing next to (Alex) than with Ben Harper.

then ben harper ... well ... in my opinion... got crap/sold out and I discovered other 'country' albums like M Ward, Iron and Wine, Calexico and more recently The Be Good Tanyas and Jolie Holland and now I seem to be progressing to dirty grubby raspy country rock and haven't really looked back.

but thanks for the memories to all the Bens and ben wannabees.

so how bout you tell me about the album that changed your life...

New Mac - and we're having funwith it!

I feel human (again)

after a trip to my home town where i managed to catch some great rock-a-billy nashville style live tunes at a new funky venue called saas and an afternoon to myself in which I got to finally talk to a friend (pictured) without simaltaneously attempting to stop my nearly two year old from killing himself or someone (else) I feel human again. wow normal converstaion is hard to come by these days (on my part as conversation tends to be interupted with "don't eat that" or "come back" or "where did you get that cake from?") and it feels good.


this amazing woman pictured will be holding her own bubba some day (very very) soon and I'm so excited for her...


Picture is Bess with Oscar aged 4 minutes.