Ching Chong

***UPDATE 17/12/05***

An unexpected surprise has been attributed to this blog entry. It's been awarded 'Best Blog Post of 2005' by Tim Samoff. Most people can only dream of having their names in Tim's Hall of Fame. Thank you for your kind award.

I went to see this movie yesterday with an old travelling buddy - Jason. If you haven't met Jason, you really should. And if you haven't seen this movie, you really should do that too. The movie's wonderful attributes - visual effects, animation, storyline etc. remind me a lot of my own life. WARNING - Contains Spoilers...
Allow me to whisk you back in time for a moment. Picture this in your minds. I was once a beast on the Island of Great Britain minding my own business, swinging from tree to tree and, on ocassion, beating my chest and roaring at things. Then, one day, a helpless young unemployed American girl found herself on my island. The local savages presented her to me as a sacrifice to appease me. I always find these occassions endearing. She screamed, albeit in American - but I still understood what she was saying, because I know that when Americans from America scream "Nooooo!", it really means "Yessss!". I literally picked her up with one hand and carried her away to my lair. Which, I might add, she loved.
A surprising turn of events took place after this. One thing led to another - I was considered a threat - sedated, and brought back to America. Now I am a foriegn attraction!

Amazing really, how a movie like King Kong could have been prophetic in telling my own story. Long live Hollywood! Long live WETA! Long live Peter Jackson who turned my own life story into an amazing Hollywood movie and did it so well.

Windows

This devotional reading blessed me tonight. By the way, the 'agate' stone which Spurgeon references in this devotion is defined as "A type of chalcedony quartz that is found in a variety of colors and patterns, with varying color layers."

Evening Devotion
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
"I will make thy windows of agates." {#Isa 54:12}
The church is most instructively symbolized by a building erected by heavenly power, and designed by divine skill. Such a spiritual house must not be dark, for the Israelites had light in their dwellings; there must therefore be windows to let the light in and to allow the inhabitants to gaze abroad. These windows are precious as agates: the ways in which the church beholds her Lord and heaven, and spiritual truth in general, are to be had in the highest esteem. Agates are not the most transparent of gems, they are but semi-pellucid at the best:
Our knowledge of that life is small,
Our eye of faith is dim.
Faith is one of these precious agate windows, but alas! it is often so misty and beclouded, that we see but darkly, and mistake much that we do see. Yet if we cannot gaze through windows of diamonds and know even as we are known, it is a glorious thing to behold the altogether lovely One, even though the glass be hazy as the agate. Experience is another of these dim but precious windows, yielding to us a subdued religious light, in which we see the sufferings of the Man of Sorrows, through our own afflictions. Our weak eyes could not endure windows of transparent glass to let in the Master’s glory, but when they are dimmed with weeping, the beams of the Sun of Righteousness are tempered, and shine through the windows of agate with a soft radiance inexpressibly soothing to tempted souls. Sanctification, as it conforms us to our Lord, is another agate window. Only as we become heavenly can we comprehend heavenly things. The pure in heart see a pure God. Those who are like Jesus see him as he is. Because we are so little like him, the window is but agate; because we are somewhat like him, it is agate. We thank God for what we have, and long for more. When shall we see God and Jesus, and heaven and truth, face to face?

Travelling with an infant

So, does anyone have any tips for taking a 14 week old baby on an plane for 13+ hours?

Food! Glorious Food!

Christmas is almost here. 2005 is drawing to a close. It's that time of year again. Time for new year's resolutions. I don't really like that phrase though - 'new year's resolutions'. When I hear that, all that comes to mind is failure and fickle commitments. So, I use the phrase VERY loosely. What I really mean when I think of NYR's is - what would be fun to TRY and do next year. Or, what would I like to start thinking about doing at some point next year.

I'll start the bidding. I would like to try and cook more, or more accurately - I would like to start trying to cook. I've got more than enough cook books around the house. I mean, - let's take Jamie Oliver for example. Jamie Oliver is a professional chef and he is pretty cool. He cooks. He looks cool while he's cooking. He wears cool clothes while he cooks. He's funny. He's got flair, style and a British accent. He's got cool cooking shows. My wife likes him. I already have most of those qualities. Hopefully one day, my wife will like me too because I will be a good cook.

So, there's my inspiration. I'm not setting any dates or specific goals, but I think it's time I did a little more in the kitchen. I'd like to look at it as more of a hobby than a chore. Something I could, maybe, take some pride in. Maybe even post what I made on my blog, so that y'all can try some too. Physically reach into my blog and pull some food out of the screen and try it.

So, what are some of your New Year's plans or desires?

DNA Questions

I thought this article was worth drawing your attention to. BBC's Horizon documentary tackled this interesting subject.

"Biology stands on the brink of a shift in the understanding of inheritance. The discovery of epigenetics – hidden influences upon the genes – could affect every aspect of our lives.
At the heart of this new field is a simple but contentious idea – that genes have a 'memory'. That the lives of your grandparents – the air they breathed, the food they ate, even the things they saw – can directly affect you, decades later, despite your never experiencing these things yourself. And that what you do in your lifetime could in turn affect your grandchildren."

I have the this Horizon documentary if anyone wants it.

Lost is getting silly

I'm almost losing patience with Lost. It's a bit like when you are out of toothpaste, but there is a tiny bit left. So you squeeze and squeeze until a grain-of-rice size amount comes out onto your toothbrush. And you brush with it anyway, generating a pathetic amount of froth that pretends to clean your teeth.

Leaving you feeling empty.