Watch it...

I love it...

Although I love thomas more than a guitar

hmm. HAve realised i'm quite sad. i have spent the last few days on fan forums for radiohead downloading various live bootlegs and videos. Tis all good fun - but i do have limited boradband alas.

Ah well. I dont mind being a sad act. I get lots of music.

On the same note "I FREAKING LOVE RADIOHEAD!". I can't believe I can now say such a thing but I wholeheartedly apologise to all i may have once mocked for liking them (namely mr thomas...sorry love).

In other news I'm going to get a guitar strap with "Crime Scene - Do Not Cross" written on it. How awesome is that? Put a guitar strap on my strat the other day and because it had been adjusted for an acoustic guitar (making it longer as strap must stretch from base of guitar to end of neck at headstock, whereas electric goes from base to shoulder), it meant the guitar was down around my ankles practically. I felt quite cool though. Daresay many would beg to differ. Oh crap. Radiohead influence of self slagging off has begun. No wait. I've always been like that.

Wrote a weird song last night. it has potential but cant record it at the mo as sonar is crap. it keeps spazzing out. What have i done?!

Got cash??

Ok, a quick post. My friend Hannah Orchard is running the Paris marathon in April 2006. I fully support her actions because
a) it will provide me with comedy (I will continually rib her if she spends weeks afterwards going "Aah my legs" like she did the first time she did cross country at our school in year 9)
b)she is supporting a good cause.

She's a good Christian lass with tendencies towards international football star Zinedine Zidane (albeit unhealthy tendencies), she loves cats, despite the fact everytime i'd speak to her on the phone and she'd go "come here tilly" to hers and then would yell "OW" as it scratched her arm to bits, and, well, she's han, and she rocks.

So for those of you feeling an urge to support the work of a great charity like Shelter, you can read about her progress on her blog, and you can sponsor her here. And remember - every little helps!

I will put those links on my blog links section anyway, because this will post will disappear into obscurity otherwise. So i may well remind you over the next few months!

Love Em xxx

Alas.

How very sad.

Yet again the non believing British public has completely misunderstood everything Jesus stands for. They, resent the implication of Him dying for our sins. Why? Because when did they sin? I mean - I've done nothing wrong have I? I've never murdered someone? Have i lied - sure. have i said awful things about other people? yeah. But i mean...I'm not a bad person...am I? Sorry love - but you and everyone else are in the same boat. the question is - do you fancy a life jacket?

This world is a sinking ship. There is nothing left to discern right and wrong because people want to design their own God. And yet, if there was an absolute God, where does that leave the relativist? Up excrement creek to put it bluntly.

As C S Lewis said about Jesus (and as the Professor says about Lucy's tale in Narnia)

"I am trying to prevent anyone from saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: “I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept His claim to be God.” That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to…. We are faced, then, with a frightening alternative. This man we are talking about either was (and is) just what He said or else a lunatic, or something worse. Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God. God has landed on this enemy-occupied world in human form."

So what is our reaction to the cross? Jesus is a name known throughout the world. You cannot escape His presence in history. So what do you say to the cross? It's symbolism is God's question posed to the world. "What do you think of my Son?"

When Polly Toynbee makes the comment "Of all the elements of Christianity, the most repugnant is the notion of the Christ who took our sins upon himself and sacrificed his body in agony to save our souls. Did we ask him to?" in her article, maybe as someone with a non Christian family background i can see her point of view from that position, but it's only to that point. The fact is that no, we didn't ask Him to. Why? Because if anyone of us were to approach the throne room of God, we would be on our face and speechless, suddenly aware in the awesome presence of His light and being, just how dark the gaping chasms in our own being are. We would be speechless and we wouldn't be able to ask Him to save us, because we would know how unworthy we are of His grace and love. But herein lies what is so beautiful about God's love for us:

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5v8).

We've done nothing to endear ourselves to God - nothing to make Him think "Ah, they've been good today - I'll go down and help them" - He's not like us. So what's the point in celebrating Christmas if you don't know that celebrating the birth of Christ is celebrating the one chance you have to be set free?

>sigh<

Better late than never

Hmm. I should have done htis a long time ago, but in the shriek of what followed (bonus points if you can tell me what book that line comes from) in July ie my graduation, i didnt get round to it. Attached is a pic of my dear Michael Stipe. What a guy. On the 10th July i got to see my favourite band in the most awesome venue, being the Cardiff Millenium Stadium. The particularly picture on show is for the benefit of my welsh viewers - when he came out for the encore he was wearing a welsh rugby shirt with "Stipe" on the back. Had i been closer i would have fought to the death to grab hold of it when he THREW IT INTO THE CROWD! Anyway. It was an amazing gig.



Here's the setlist:
Bad Day
What's The Frequency, Kenneth?
The One I Love
Drive
The Outsiders
Starnge Currencies
Wanderlust
Animal
Leaving New York
So Fast, So Numb
These Days (One of my favourite old REM songs!!!!!)
Everybody Hurts (Too Beautiful for words)
Electron Blue
Electrolite
Final Straw
Orange Crush
Walk Unafraid (Up up up)
Losing My Religion (should be every christian's favourite song)
-------------------
Imitation Of Life
The Great Beyond
Exhuming McCarthy
Nightswimming
I'm Gonna DJ
Man On The Moon

Gig of my life? So far. Yes.

I Dare You to be Moved...

Some of you may have heard this incredible testimony to the person of Jesus Christ, if not, hear it here (as always, rigth click and save as). At this time, being CHRISTmas, it is naturally of importance to reflect on what it means beyond screaming kids, copious amounts of food and rudolph the red nosed reindeer. Yes, that's right, Christmas is about Jesus. A baby, born to be a revolutionary. He who would become a man, and a King. The King. The following transcript is from the link i put up earlier. Rev Lockridge saying it how it is. That's My King.

The Bible says my King is a seven-way King:
He's the King of the Jews - that's a racial King.
He's the King of Israel - that's a national King.
He's the King of Righteousness.
He's the King of the Ages.
He's the King of Heaven.
He's the King of Glory.
He's the King of kings and He's the Lord of lords.
That's my King.

Well, I wonder do you know Him.

David said, "The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork."
My King is a sovereign King - no means of measure can define His limitless love.
No farseeing telescope can bring into visibility the coastline of His shoreless supply.
No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessings.
He's enduringly strong.
He's entirely sincere.
He's eternally steadfast.
He's immortally graceful.
He's imperially powerful.
He's impartially merciful.

Do you know Him?

He's the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world.
He's God's Son.
He's the sinner's Saviour.
He's the centrepiece of civilisation.
He stands in the solitude of himself.
He's august and He's unique.
He's unparalleled, He's unprecedented.
He is the loftiest idea in literature.
He's the highest personality in philosophy.
He is the supreme problem in higher criticism.
He's the fundamental doctrine of true theology.
He is the core and the necessity for spiritual religion.
He's the miracle of the age, He's... yes He is.
He's the superlative of everything good that you choose to call Him.
He's the only one qualified to be an all-sufficient Saviour.

I wonder if you know him today?

He supplies strength for the weak.
He's available for the tempted and the tried.
He sympathises and He saves.
He strengthens and sustains.
He guards and He guides.
He heals the sick.
He cleansed the lepers.
He forgives sinners.
He discharges debtors.
He delivers the captive.
He defends the feeble.
He blesses the young.
He serves the unfortunate.
He regards the aged.
He rewards the diligent.
And He beautifies the meek.

I wonder if you know Him? Well, my King---
He is the key, He's the key to knowledge.
He's the wellspring of wisdom.
He's the doorway of deliverance.
He's the pathway of peace.
He's the roadway of righteousness.
He's the highway of holiness.
He's the gateway of glory.

Do you know Him?

Well, His office is manifold.
His promise is sure.
His life is matchless.
His goodness is limitless.
His mercy is everlasting.
His love never changes.
His Word is enough.
His grace is sufficient.
His reign is righteous and
His yoke is easy and
His burden is light.

I wish I could describe Him to you.
But He's indes... Wooah, yeaaah! yeaahh,
He's indescribable - yes He is ! He's God.
He's, He's indescribable, yes, He's indescribable.
He's incomprehensible.
He's invincible.
He's irresistible.

Well, you can't get Him out of your mind,
You get Him off of your hand,
You can't outlive Him, and you can't live without Him.

Well, the Pharisees couldn't stand Him, but they found out they couldn't stop Him.
Pilate couldn't find any fault in Him.
The witnesses couldn't get their testimonies to agree.
Herod couldn't kill Him.
Death couldn't handle Him and
the grave couldn't hold Him. Yeah !
THAT'S MY KING !
THAT'S MY KING ! YEAH !

And Thine is the Kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever
and ever and ever.
How long is that ?
And ever and ever.
And when you get through all the forevers, then
Amen !

GOOD GOD ALMIGHTY ! AMEN ! AMEN !

"Don't worry I'll catch you..."

another random song lyric. Not entirely random though - it is "I'll catch you" by the Get up Kids (TGUK), and is regarded by me as "our song" with reference to a certain Hounslowian. He will prob kill me for publicising this fact - although to be fair, it's not that he has said anything about it being our song - it was something i decided. Anyway. I love the song - it is amazing. You can hear a live version of it here, if you right click and save as. TGUK are a emo punk bad from Kansas i believe. And i now retract an earlier blog comment i made which was that i found them cliche. Actually I dont. I love them.

My word. We have a lot of fruit in this office. Steve's trying to be healthy although it may be cancelled out by the fact he has just gone to his favourite greasey spoon over the road. We have a lot of snacks in the office though which is always good. EXCEPT for the VILE crystalised ginger in here. It's from Julain graves that wacko health food shop. Bleurgh. I remeber me and jen (my sister) waled past it in totnes once and they were advertising for a job and as it was around the time the spar started sapping the life from my soul so iwas like "oh jen - should i apply there, then i could sell health food and shit". And having tasted crystallised ginger (aka crystallised EVIL), i think the latter adjective is accurate.

Anyhoo - had best be off. Grindstone beckons

Em xx