Ooops ...let me print a retraction!

In Saturday's Australian a retraction published of a story some what earlier. It reads that costing the Olympics the original article said "therefore each gold medal cost the taxpayer $30 million" that should have read '$13 million'.

Can't help but think it was a little tongue-in-cheek!

The Mondegreen green grass of home

All of us us have experience of the mondegreen or the misheard lyric. [I sang for much of my childhood It's Mobil Castor Oil... heaven knows why anyone would think such a song line would exist...have you guessed it yet?]

I have been listening to my daughters mis-singing the Abba song Lay all your love on me!

Blithely they sing the mondegreen. Don't go wasting your devotion! Now forgive me but don't the lyrics say...Don't go wasting your emotion, Lay all your love on me...then you are allowed to sing ...Don't go sharing your devotion

Both sentiments are challenging!

But it does strike me that my children think that the correct attitude of others towards them should be "devotion". Good luck to them

I'm more out of touch than you are

The latest politcial game is "Who is the most out of touch?", in trying to expose Turnbull as an elitist he was pilloried in this AFL Grand Final week for not knowing which team he supports...and plucking "The Roosters" out of mid-air. Not a bad try, unfortunately the nearest thing to 'roosters' are probably the Swans, or the Eagles or the Crows.
Does it matter? It seemed to, because it showed he lacked common touch. I remember a former Archdeacon, Alan Daw, telling some of us younger clergy that it always paid to know what was happening in the local footy as it gave you an immediate intro...not bad advice, at times it has worked. Malcolm could learn from the Venerable Alan
Now the Opposition is throwing it back...The Government is out of touch
This is just as tiresome, and is I suppose to be expected.
Parliamentarians are almost always by definition going to be 'out of touch' with their electorates. As relatively high achievers, from fairly well-educated backgrounds, with a certain degree of success under their belts...they are always going to be rather alienated from the so-called 'battlers'.
Indeed I suspect most of them would have no idea what it is like to be ina house where there is simply not enough money to see the week out.
So we do the best we can.
My advice is that these ruling elites should at least find various key voices who can speak into their ears to give them a hint of what it might be like for those who are doing it tough. This is much more fruitful than the "who's most out of touch?' argument

The return of the native

K arrived home from America yesterday. Today, as I staggered up the corridor to make a cup of tea at 6 a.m. the house felt strangely complete again. I guess not for long, those days are over now that the break has been made.

Was her trip a 'success', and that of S some weeks before? K seems to have synthesised a lot of her experiences well.

Making a lot of personal observations about people and situations there is a depth about it which is better than tourism. She seems to have realised where she has been privileged, and also where she was not able to observe the true depth of community and society.

There is an identification that sometimes things may not have been what they seemed, that it may have been more dangerous than the false sense of security into which she has lulled herself. A sense, I suppose, that may have been necessary just to get through the day.

Any way, today I am glad to wake up and not have to wonder where she is. And be thankful that she seems to have had a solid eight hour sleep (or more)

Same, same but different

There are lots of candidates for catchy - but cliched - titles for blogs about the change in Liberal leadership.
Methinks he protests too much is one. His need to convince the legendary 'battlers' that he is not a 'silver tail' was obviously uppermost in some strategists minds. I don't think he was very convincing but time will tell.
Turn Bull into reality could be another one. Again we will wait and see.

Should we worry too much that he is rich? In one way this is a sign that this is a man who knows how to achieve, and surely we want successful people in key leadership positions.
Any way I suspect in six weeks all this will be academic, he will either be chewing it up or stuffing it up. I suspect the former, and the personal critique will then all be a bit beside the point.
Certainly will be interesting
Personally, I was in agreement with Turnbull, that it was disappointing to see that the one of the first comments the PM made was that the Republic would now be a key issue.
This is such a political ploy, aimed at agitating the Liberal Party from within, about what is essentially a minor issue.
For heaven's sake a strong opposition is a good thing(here for example). On the other hand it was good to see an encouragement from Rudd to identify key bi-partisan issues. As these troubled times go on it is clear that there are more and more issues that are just important and not just or substantially political.
I could and would name the River, education, the intervention, the War and health as just some. of these

Wild and wooly

It's almost possible to believe with such wild weather here and in all sorts of other places that something global is happening. Maybe the particle accelerator did bring about some teensy weensy black holes, and all the weather came out of them.

Or maybe the world is indeed warming faster than we think. Today.

But then as I said to someone this morning!

It is typical show weather. Hot one day, wet and wild the next. The vagaries of early Spring.

Ich habe Angst vor den Wolf!

I love and I hate politics. So I am rather watching Peter Costello with awe. As he typifies both of these facets. 

In literary terms you would have to wonder whether he is Brutus or Cassius. He could be the genuine Christian he should be  as the result of his upbringing, who has steadfastly refused to play the political game to the bitter end. So he has been caricatured as weak, when in reality he has boldly just refused to be recklessly ruthless. Or he could be, as Tony suggested this morning, skillfully flogging the book; ensuring another 50, 000 sales.

But I actually suspect that what we are witnessing is not loyalty to the Liberal Party or Brendan Nelson; but Costello's opposition to Malcolm Turnbull, whose dry economics he despises, whose political opportunism he detests. He recognises, I imagine, that he has lost his chance to lead (probably) so he will now do what he can to stop a Turnbull coup. I think he will succeed at this. Maybe already has done so.

Will the party then say: well Malcolm is too unpopular and dear old Brendan is not up to it, and try to re-enlist dear Peter. I don't think so. So failing that he will settle for second-best. Ensuring Turnbull never becomes leader of the Libs, let alone PM.

The winners in all this are Brendan, who will probably survive to fight another day, and of course the Government who must think that  any Opposition squabble is good.

Show and Tell

I am looking out the window on my day off and wondering about going to the Show

But it's grey now, and I really think I am just avoiding my Master's assignment. So think of me as I try to be virtuous.

K is in Boston today (Yes I managed to find her accommodation from here while she was in NYC). The girls are in Melbourne for Wicked. Which Sue and I saw in London last year. Sophie has to fly home tomorrow, for the first time by herself, because she has Tournament of Minds this weekend, this fabulous competition looms large in her mind, as a challenge for intellect and creative thinking. The actual competition is on Sunday.

Listening to what people say

I have been having a lot of conversations lately in which I have been listening carefully to what people say. Because of course the plain meaning is not what is always being conveyed.

Sometimes the speaker is saying what the hearer wants to hear.

I think Senator Palin is a bit like this. And I remember that Ms Hanson was rather like that too. I see a similarity.

Sometimes the speaker is saying what they think ought to be said. With an eye on accountability, or perhaps even history, they are are cautious. It is not a good position to be in.

And then I have been speaking, too, to a lot of vulnerable people. Who just don't know what to say or to whom. 

And I feel a bit sad that we can't just be open and say what we mean, and what we feel. I am saddened for those people whose sexuality has to be denied, or can't be admitted to in all circumstances. And I wonder what damage is done to those who have to constantly temper what they say about themselves.  The gay person has few allies in this world. They are not vote winners, or sympathetic characters. But I want to stand alongside them and say, no matter how judgmental others are, I don't want to be. I don't think the Lord is, and it's about time we did a bit better.

Nada te turbe- Don't be disturbed

Nada te turbe
Nada te espante
Todo se pasaDios no se muda
La paciencia todo lo alcanza
Quien a Dios tiene nada le falta
Solo Dios basta!!!!................
Si a tanta dicha subes,repara
Que aunque haya bienes
Solo Dios basta!!!!!!!!

Let nothing disturb you,nothing afright you.
Whom God possesses
in nothing is wanting.
Alone God suffices.
All things are passing.
God never ceases.
Patient endurance attains all things.

Blessing and discomfort!

A bishop calls us to reflect and avoid the temptation to easy answers and half truths.

Fit as a fiddle

There are certain aspects of the Paralympics that are highly commendable. It is difficult to escape the fact that they happen in the shadow of the great event, and that (in itself) is an idea which requires come thought and unpacking.

But I think I was involved in a conversation yesterday which suggested that what we see at the Paralympics is also the 'lovely' side of disability. I suspect there is an 'elephant' of truth in this. An elephant? Because it is both an 'element' but also it sits in the room uncommented upon.

While there is no doubt that the Olympics is a festival of the lovely, the Paralympics is naturally also the fittest of the disabled. The ones I have seen being interviewed are also (as you'd expect) articulate and pretty good looking.

Even the footloose Adam Hills as principal commentator could pass as abled and handsome! It's tricky isn't it?

There are not the slobbering incontinents, or the people who are totally uncoordinated, or those who are disabled by depression or bipolar disorder.

On being heard

I realised fairly early on in my ministry that I needed to be careful when I preached that I did not overly expose my family's private affairs. In choosing illustrative examples it is not hard for those in the know to put pieces together (2+2=5). Likewise in a small town like Adelaide, it is all too easy to identify folk from scant information.

One also needs to be careful not to say too much, because wrong conclusions can be arrived at, and the overly sensitive amongst us can take umbrage...or feel they have been misrepresented.

It is an even more curious issue with blogging, because it is not a precise art form. I sort of think I am thinking out loud (heaven knows my family think I am odd enough for talking to myself as I go round the house, and the daughter's boyfriend is  faintly bemused  by the fact that I applaud the television...and we sing at each other all the time....).

Trouble is, sometime blogging is taken to be more accurate than it actually is or is intended to be. It looks like accuracy, but it's musings; when we confuse this we get into trouble.

Mind you, musings don't give you permission to slander people. Though readers should also note that what is often being conveyed is impressions, feelings not facts. And the reader may wish that I hadn't felt like I did, but they can't tell me how I did feel.

Then again, another problem with blogging is that you can't be sure you ahve any readers any way!

The only one

The only one of our family who is not an SC, lost track of time this morning and rang us 5 a.m.

She was (to excuse her) on a bus about 45 minutes away from Washington DC, having just gone through Baltimore (those who have seen Hairspray will know why she rang)

She's doing well, I alsways ask the questions about her safety, but she either lies stretches the truth or is blissfully unaware.

"Washington," she said "is easy to get around; and very safe"

And I think...Doesn't it have the highest murder rate in the US!!!

Clarification

After word and clarification
Since I wrote my post about the clergy meeting at which the Lambeth Conference was discussed the Archbishop has clarified with me the fact that I am mistaken about his having gone further than Lambeth, he says to me:

"You suggested that the Lambeth resolution related (only) to ordinations to the episcopate. This may be what people have focussed on as a result of events in the US, however the text is “nor ordaining those involved in same gender
unions”. The reference is not simply to the episcopate and I am not (if I might quote you) going further than Lambeth. "

Heavy weigh-in

Events of the last few days seem to be sitting heavily with me, though there is a sense in which crap is being moved. And while that is messy, it is good to do it. And even better to have it done. But why is there so much of it?

In a conversation with someone after Kirk on Sunday they said "I just wish it would all be over!"

I agree. I remember thinking in my early days on the Professional Standards Committee (of which I am no longer a member), Surely this week when we go for our meeting we will ahev made some head way.

But no, each time there was a new pile, and then the next time time another pile.

Recent events, take me back thirty...no forty years! (here for one version!). And an awful lot of chickens seem to be coming home to roost. So maybe this is good....But really sad! Hurtful! And it grinds you down!

I am struck (yet again) by how poor the church is at process. And how like everyone else we are when we should deal better with people. But we watch our backs, we stretch the truth, and like everyone else some of us must (apparently) not be telling the truth, since mutually contradictory tales are being told

God help us!

On the contary