Preposterousness

5 Aug 2010

Blasphemous Rumours

"I don't want to start any blasphemous rumours, but I think that God has a sick sense of humour, and when I die I expect to find Him laughing" - Martin Gore

It's no secret that I'm a long time mega-fan of Depeche Mode, and I'm fascinated by chief songwriter Martin Gore's ongoing "difficulty" with Christianity, the Roman Catholic Church, and how that can cause reactions like this.

So how about we talk about it some more?

"Blasphemous Rumours" dates from 1984, and was supposedly inspired by some true stories of tragic teenage deaths (the lyrics can be found by clicking the link in the quote at the top of the post, btw), with the chorus here allegedly being based on a suicide note.

I will admit that sometimes I think God has a sick sense of humour, but more often than not I mean sick as in cool not sick as in ill or bad though since ill or bad can also mean sick as in cool perhaps I should stop with my ghetto analogies now...

I also fully expect God to be laughing when I die. My dad would always be laughing (& crying, simultaneously) whenever we came home from a long time away, and even though I'm not really away from God now - I'm as good an example as any of His radical grace - I am constantly reminded that while we're here on earth, our stories are really just to help make sure as many of His wonderful human creations get to make it Home along with us.

So there's my blasphemous rumour : I think God has a sick sense of humour, and when I die I expect to find Him laughing.

What blasphemous rumours do you not want to start?

29 Jul 2010

Same Thing In Reverse

I really believed this once.

When I was believing lies. When I was conflicted. When I was blocking God. When I was living two lives.

Boy George released Same Thing In Reverse around the time I was furthest from God's design for my life, and I clung to the lyrics. I identified with the man he was singing to. I wanted to believe what he was saying.

I wanted to make sense of my what I felt, and I didn't think the Bible was able to do it for me.

Thing is, in and of itself, the Bible can't : it's only when that Word is transformed from words on a page to words on our hearts through the miracle of the Holy Spirit study guide that the Bible truly makes sense.

But at the time, I was blocking God with my own judgement.

Now when I hear this song, having been through the refining fire of transformation, the main thing I feel is sadness. Because it's not the same thing in reverse at all; it's counterfeit.

3 Jun 2010

A Night in Medford

I can't quite believe I'm posting this voluntarily...

But I am : my early morning impersonation of Frank Zappa, and maybe
spitting in Tam Hodge's face.

Yep. I'm the very definition of ornery.

But you knew that though, right??

4 Mar 2010

Alice in Wonderland in 3D at IMAX

Last night, or rather, this morning, Diane and I were privileged to see the premiere of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland in 3D at IMAX.

It's a technical premiere only, since it's merely because we live in the future that we were able to see it before the rest of the world in general release tomorrow.

And it's brilliant. Frabjous, in fact.

I really appreciated that Tim went for a re-write with an older Alice, rather than just an adaptation of the book. That will likely be an annoyance to some people, but whatever.

I didn't see Avatar (I'm a fan of story more than effects) so I can't compare the CGI, and this film's budget was miniscule by comparison, but at this stage, I think it was as close to a perfect child's fantasy as I have seen. I don't see a lot of movies any more though - maybe 1 or 2 per year - so you may well disagree.

So far the reviews are average, and it may just be the fact I loved Lewis Carroll's writing when I was a child so I'm sentimental about the characters, but I think it's well worth the investment of money & time to enjoy this brief frolic through a child's imagination.

Note that while it is rated PG, I think kids will likely be scared by some of the action, especially in 3D, and even moreso in IMAX.

Also, I think it's worth noting that at the end of the film, the audience of mostly teens & twenties broke out in applause. I've heard of that happening on occasion, but I've never actually been in the cinema when it did. Bear in mind too, that Australians are notorious for not applauding if something is rubbish, even if we're "supposed" to.