Screen if you want to go faster!

Some while ago I mentioned that one of the Church installations I was doing used a Beamax R-series screen, which I thought was superb. Well, when the install was complete I sent off some pictures to Otto Tromm, at Beamax, and they have just added the pictures to the ‘References’ part of their website – do go and take a look. The elegant suspension system was engineered by Ernie Broadhurst, who runs Engineering Design & Supplies in Groby – I think he should market it commercially!

While I’m on the subject of worthwhile achievement, I ought to say (a bit like John the Baptist) that while I take credit for setting Angela (Tracing Rainbows) off on the blogging path, she has long since overshadowed my limited efforts, so I’ve nominated Angela for ‘The Bloggies’ – the Christian Web & New Media awards. Voting for the awards is done simply by the number of nominations – so you might like to consider nominating a blogger of your own choice. Submissions close on August 26th.

And on a more theological note, I was doing some research for tomorrow’s sermon – on the Church as ‘A Prophetic Community’ (yes, after ten years I’m finally preaching on 5 Core Values!) And I encountered a short article on Jesus as a revolutionary, which included this powerful quote:

Jesus was without a doubt a revolutionary, but he wasn't just a revolutionary.  He was a revolutionary of revolutionaries.  He didn't just turn the entire social, religious and political order on its head.  He did it in a way different from every other attempt before him.  Maybe that is why we are hesitant to give Jesus the title "revolutionary."  When we think of revolutionaries we think of armed revolt, funny hats, and the color red.  Jesus, however, led a nonviolent revolution marked by service.  His revolution doesn't come by a sword, gun or bombs, but by a towel and turning the other cheek.  See, Jesus was a revolutionary, but he wasn't only a revolutionary of society.  He even began a revolution of revolution.  He had Zealots among his disciples.  These were revolutionaries "par excellence."  They wielded swords and daggers and sought to overthrow Roman rule.  Jesus liked their zeal, and to some extent their goal, but taught them new methods and a broader goal that subverted Rome but also included reconciliation with Romans.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s on a site called ‘Wrecked’ – and they describe their mission like this:

Wrecked seeks to awaken and challenge its readers to follow Jesus, the greatest misfit that ever lived, in a world that has been numbed by pop Christianity.
We want to help our readers embrace radical lifestyles in their local context and to connect to the world around them through engaging in incarnational living. In other words, if someone reads a Wrecked article, and nothing about their life changes, then we haven't done our jobs.
We do not just seek what is, but rather what should be.

Full of great stuff – another one for the blogroll, I think.

A bit of a laugh.

Doing a school assembly this morning. And I wanted something with a ‘dramatic’ theme, as I’m going to tack on a plug for our Holiday Club, which is the SU ‘Showstoppers’ one. So here’s a story I wrote – feel free to use it if you like it.

I went to see a show in a Theatre. How many of you have been to the theatre? It was wonderful. There was lots of music, and lots of singing and dancing, and the lights were very... flashy, and the scenery on the stage was beautifully painted. And I listened to all the songs - and you know how it is; you come away humming the tunes. There was one bit I specially liked, with some clowns, and they were riding unicycles (bicycles with just one wheel) and juggling at the same time.

Well, when I came home, I knew that I wanted to be on the stage. I was going to be a great star. I could be famous! So I practised - singing in the bath, and dancing, and I practised particularly hard at the juggling. Which was a bit more difficult than I thought it was going to be. I mean, I could already throw and catch - how much harder could it be to throw three balls up at once? Anyway.

I had a friend - called Justin - who could juggle. So I thought I would go and ask him the secret of the juggling. So I set off to Justin's house.

On the way there, I met Mrs Appleby. She was standing looking up into the sky, and as I went past, I said 'Hello Mrs Appleby. I'm going to be a star of the stage and screen. I'm going to sing and dance and juggle for a living. Why are you staring into the sky?' 'She said 'My cat's stuck up in the tree, and he won't come down.' I wanted to show Mrs Appleby just how good my singing was, and she wasn't paying attention, so, as I was much taller than she was, I climbed onto a barrel and reached up into the tree, passed the cat down to her, and while I was still standing on the tree I sang her one of my songs.

'That's very nice, dear. But the cat's just run inside, and I think he might be frightened. Thank you so much for helping me, though.'

Then I walked a bit further, and I came across Mr Jones the Butcher. He was sat at the side of the road, looking puzzled, staring at his hand. I said 'Hello Mr Jones. I'm going to be a star of the stage and screen. I'm going to sing and dance and juggle for a living. Why are you staring at your hand?'

'My mobile phone has just beeped, and I'm sure it's a message from my sister - she's having a baby today - but I don't know what to push to see the message.' (Adults can get like that with modern things like mobiles) I wanted Mr Jones to see my dancing, so I showed him how to see the message, and then I did a little dance for him.

'That's lovely', he said. 'But I've got to rush - it's a boy! - oh, and thanks for helping!' - and off he went in his van.
Anyway. I got to Jason's house, and his mum was doing some cooking. She was trying to get the top off a jar of jam, but it wouldn't move.

'Hello Mrs Thyme. I'm going to be a star of the stage and screen. I'm going to sing and dance and juggle for a living. Is Justin in? And why have you gone all red?' 'No, he's gone out, dear. And this top is stuck.' So I opened the jar - I'm quite strong, you see - and asked her if she would help me with my juggling.

And after a while, I got a bit upset, and said 'If I can't juggle, then how can I be a great star? And Mrs Appleby didn't seem to like my singing, and Mr Jones ran away from my dancing. I'm useless!'

And Mrs Thyme said this.

"Not everyone is the same. And not everyone is good at the same things.  Some people are good at one thing, like singing or dancing or juggling. And other people help in other ways - like you did with fetching the cat out of the tree, and sorting out the phone, and opening the jar. God's book, the Bible, says that we're like the parts of a body - one person is an eye, another a hand or a foot. And it's only together that we can do things, when we each use the different gifts God has given us to the best of our ability for other  people.'

And that made lots of sense. So I'm not going to be a star of the stage and screen any more. And I went home dancing and singing - but a bit more quietly, and just for fun. And I still can't juggle!

Compare and contrast.

Picked up a couple of SF books just recently, and I’ve finished both of them.

One was the classic ‘EON’ by Greg Bear. Tells the story of an artefact discovered in space just as a particularly nasty conflict comes to a head on earth. It appears, Tardis-like, to be larger inside than its external dimensions should permit, and this seems to both drive the conflict on earth towards destruction, and also offer hope of salvation. Intriguing, but stronger on speculation than on political science!

The other book, released in the same series, is Adam Roberts ‘Stone’. Which was a tedious waste of time – one of those stories where the ‘anti-hero’ has nothing about him to make you want to know why he does the things he does. Add to that a load of ‘Paul Daniels’ style science, and it has no redeeming qualities.

What amazes me is the blurb-writers ability to find positive quotes. For Greg Bear (no surprises) we have a recognised SF luminary – Brian Aldiss, no less – describing him as ‘One of the contemporary masters of SF.’ And for the other work: ‘Roberts is the king of the thought-experiment.’ (The Guardian – the newspaper, I presume, rather than some obscure religious periodical) What does that mean, exactly? That he can think daft things?

Ah well. There’s nowt as queer as folk.

Great book – prescient?

Just read ‘Chart Throb’ by Ben Elton – and I think it’s a fabulous book. He takes apart the myth of ‘X-factor’ and mercilessly subjects it to ridicule. In the process, he predicts the rise of characters like Susan Boyle – cruelly called ‘Mingers’ – and even picks out the phrases, facial expressions and characteristics of judges and characters alike.

Now the subplots – a little bit of romance, a sleazy divorce, and the exploitation of the Prince of Wales – are a little contrived and artificial. But as that’s the premise of the whole book, Ben can be forgiven. And it is, as you would expect, unrestrained in the choice of language. But for all that, I would recommend it – X-factor will never seem the same again.