G20 WWJD

Long time no bloggage, and here's why (among other reasons):
I'm really excited about it, actually: this is the kind of stuff I want to do, introducing Christians to nonviolence and getting them actively involved.

And in case you're wondering, yes, the WWJD is tongue in cheek.

grace in the mundane

On a wall just down the street from our house there's a new form of street art appearing amongst the spraypainting and stencil art. People simply glue pieces of paper, printed with a picture or message, to the wall. It's less permanent of course, but I guess it's quicker to apply. I've noticed the subject matter also tends to be more positive than most of the graffiti in these parts. Here's one I just noticed on the way to the park with Chelsea the other day. I'm so thankful to whoever it is that put this there - it's a beautiful, simple piece of art to share with the world (why restrict it to the rarefied atmosphere of a gallery when it can beautify a streetscape, giving us a glimpse of love, beauty and grace in the midst of the mundane and the ugly?). And that is just what it did for me. It consists of three panels, as you can see below, no more than two inches high (hence the bad resolution on my cameraphone).

"When I was a little girl"

"I thought God made the sky blue"

"because it was my favourite colour"

Thankyou, kind stranger.

we're going on a bear hunt...

We're going on a bear hunt
We're going to catch a big one
What a beautiful day!
I'm not scared

Uh-oh, grass!
Long, wavy grass!
We can't go over it
We can't go under it
Oh no!
We've got to go through it!

-- From We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen

This has been my life recently. Not literally - there aren't many bears in Brunswick, so it'd be a pretty fruitless search anyway. I mean just looking at the next week, or day, or month and thinking "Uh-oh, look at everything I have to do! I have no energy to do it, I'm not going to make it!"

So reading this book to Chelsea has been a great reminder to me: I can't go over it, I can't go under it...so I might as well just go through it. And you do get through it, of course. But sometimes you have to steel yourself.

caat reprise

What a difference ignorance makes.

I blogged on these guys back in April when I first came across their story. They've called themselves Christians Against All Terrorism and basically found their way onto the Pine Gap base to conduct a "citizen's inspection". My reaction then was just that: a reaction, not a response. As a result, I was way too flippant and dismissive of something I probably should have thought through better. That's probably the case with most of the stuff I write though.

That and I now feel like I know them and the whole system better. Moving in some similar circles has brought the whole thing together more for me - bringing me out of my misconceptions and prejudices, and personalising it. These are wonderful people who care a great deal about people, and about living out their Christian witness with integrity. They've been charged under a 1950s Cold War law that has never been applied until now. The whole thing would be kind of a farce if it weren't so serious.

So the trial goes ahead in October: I'll be keeping up to date with it on here when I can. If you get the chance, go to their website and check out their ideas and actions. And keep an open mind as you do so.

schumi

Michael Schumacher announced on Sunday night that he will retire from racing at the end of this season. Thus ends a chapter of my life. I only ever really became interested in F1 because of him, so the interest is likely to wane now he'll be leaving in three races' time.

I started watching Formula One when he started at Ferrari. He was going from being world champion at Benetton to a no-hope team, merely for the challenge. He could've driven for any team, picked the best car each year and won many more world championships. Instead he spent the next four years in the F1 wilderness, building a team around him that would go on to win four back to back driver and constructors championships. Only a true champion gives up a ride in the best car in the paddock for a challenge like that.

No doubt he's had his share of controversy, but only because he's a ferocious and tenacious competitor. Every year he's been asked why he doesn't retire; every year he's replied in the best way possible, by maintaining a passion and a drive to win that is unequalled. That's what makes this so weird; he's always always said he would retire when he didn't have the same level of passion anymore. Michael Schumacher without that level of intense passion for his racing doesn't seem like Michael Schumacher.

Anyway, watching the Italian GP at Monza on Sunday night as I rocked Ella to sleep at 1 am brought back a ton of memories. I used to watch every GP for several years there, despite their late hour, and since very often Schumi would win I heard the German/Italian national anthems back to back many times. Hearing them again on Sunday night brought back memories of holding Chelsea as a tiny baby at our Mentone house, rocking her to sleep to the sounds of those anthems; and sitting on the couch in our little Whitley room huddled under a blanket. All those times I wondered how long this guy could go on, realising I was witnessing something special, something that could not last forever, and the finiteness made it all the more significant.

Seriously, most teams never win the amount of races he's won. His championship record (7 - or maybe 8 by the end of this year) will never be equalled. They've changed the rules of F1 literally because of his dominance of it.

I've always said that F1 is like a soap opera for blokes. It has all the personalities, all of the tantrums, the dramas, etc. At the height of my passion for it, that was what I loved; the highs, the lows, those years where Hakkinen would just beat him despite being in a vastly superior car, the crashes, the broken leg, all of it.

Mostly I just loved watching someone who loved what they did, and let it show. There was an article in the Age the other day comparing Steve Irwin to people like Michael Schumacher for sheer passion for their craft; and that's about right I reckon. They loved it, and they showed it. May he love whatever he moves onto as much as he's loved this, and may he win his eighth driver's championship in the weeks to come.

sosotired

so busy and tired at the moment. here is a list of things I could go off on an extended discourse (rant) about at the moment:

inspiral
nonviolence
g20
pace e bene
urban seed
sick child
new baby
john dear
music music music

but I don't have the energy or the time. hopefully that won't last too long. for the moment, here's a song lyric I rocked out to yesterday on the tram. loveitloveitloveit.

There Goes God (Crowded House)

What'll I tell him
When he comes to me for absolution?
Wouldn't you know it
Hope I dont make a bad decision

Cos I'd like to believe
That there is a god
Why sinful angels
Suffer for love
I'd like to believe
In the terrible truth
In the beautiful lies

Like to know you
But in this town I cant get arrested
If you know me
Why dont you tell me what I'm thinking

Hey don't look now
There goes god
In his sexy pants
And his sausage dog
And he can't stand
Beelzebub
'Cos he looks so good in black, in black