eyrezer

Part II

2008-12-21T17:59:00.004+13:00

This morning I got up at 5am, ready to catch my bus off to Boston at 6.50am. After a number of naps, and some incredible and snowy scenery, I finally arrived at 10pm. I am now drinking a beer at Leo's listening to his collection of New Zealand music. It is nice and relaxing. So begins Part II of my grand adventure. I have never seen so much snow as the wind-sculpted plains that surrounded the highways and piled high in snow plow created drifts on the side of the road.

Tomorrow, Leo has work, but Xavier and I are planning on going to Mass at 11am at St Paul's, which Leo says has a great choir. I have only a couple of days here before going to New York on the 23rd. As was the case with traveling to Canada, the excitement didn't set in until I got onto the road, but then as we got onto the wide open steppes, I got excited.

War between India and New Zealand1

2008-12-07T16:03:00.004+13:00

Watching the Colbert Report during a study break (sure), when I see New Zealand get a mention. Cool. In what context? He recommends India invade NZ!! :p

Just out his vid HERE (Part 1, 12/04/08), showing Bollywood vs LOTR. Worth a laugh or two

You can vote however you like

2008-12-02T14:14:00.000+13:00

Straight to my blog...

2008-12-02T09:15:00.002+13:00

So, our RWC pool contains us, France, Tonga, and two yet to be determined minnows. Interesting. I think I am happy to meet France in our pool - before the real danger stages :p If we go through top in our pool we play off against the runner up of Pool B, which is probably the most wide-open pool. It contains Argentina, England and Scotland.

My last few posts have all been about rugby. I think that is because, one, I live rugby, and two, there is no one here with a comparable interest. Sure, there are people I can talk to sport about - Australians, English, and even a Kiwi - but no one that would initiate the conversation themself.

I wonder if the inflatable rugby ball will still be up in London when I am there. If so, I will have to try and visit it...

Rankings

2008-12-01T14:30:00.003+13:00

The International Rugby Board has a website with information on world rankings, World Cup qualification etc. I discovered on it today that there is a game coming up between Azerbaijan and Cyprus. How awesome is that? Neither team is a Full Member Union yet, so they are unranked, but still, that is pretty sweet. Go the Azers!

In other news, Finland is languishing at the bottom place on the ranking: #95...

Oh, and tomorrow, the draw for the RWC will be... drawn (?)

Huh...

2008-11-30T10:01:00.002+13:00

This really is a random photo....

It was part of our 30 - 6 win over England though, so that is a positive. Nice to realise that we did not concede a try against any of the Home nations too!

Now, back to my essay on medieval symbolism...

Late

2008-11-29T05:28:00.002+13:00

One of my courses has a 20% class participation component in its final mark. Well yesterday we had the second last class for it, and someone asked how the class participation was calculated. Um, isn't it a little late to be asking that question?

All Blacks

2008-11-19T09:47:00.006+13:00

So I'm trying to follow the Munster/All Blacks game online. I only heard a score at half time, when we were down 16 - 10. A slightly unpleasant feeling. I have the score page refreshing every 15 seconds, but they only record something every few minutes. Oh, to have Sky over here. At least it is only 16 - 13 now...

Still I look forward to seeing a video of the four Kiwi Munster players doing a haka to the All Blacks, That will be intense.

EDIT: Donald has missed two penalties in a row now...

EDIT: In, like, the 77th minute we have taken the lead 18-16...

... but Donald misses the conversion...

EDIT: Victory, but this one will go down in history

All Blacks v Munster

2008-11-19T09:23:00.000+13:00

My Canadian experience

2008-09-29T08:30:00.003+13:00

To all interested parties,

It’s been almost a month since I left home to journey to Canada and beyond, and while I’ve given some partial updates through phone conversations, some short emails, and Facebook updates and photos, this is my first attempt at a proper update of my trip.

Courses

I have been thoroughly enjoying my time here in Canada. The primary reason for my one semester exchange to Toronto was of course for study. I wanted the chance to study Theology papers not offered at Otago, and if possible to do so in a Catholic environment. Well, St Mike’s (the college I’m registered with at the University of Toronto) has certainly delivered in that regard. I taking four papers, which I’ll list below, and by the sounds of things, having spoken to some other St Mike’s students, my lecturers are a veritable “Who’s Who” of St Mike’s professors. I by and large kept the papers I’d planned to do, although “Liberation Theology” was unfortunately not available, so instead I’ve opted to take an Independent Study on the reception of the Second Vatican Council. While I was a little uncertain about taking this option – it being largely self-directed – it was definitely the right choice. Those who know me know that “Vatican II” is one of my buzz words, and even in checking bibliographies for good reference works on the subject I have been getting excited. While talking to my supervisor one day, he introduced me to a retired lecturer who was actually in Rome during the Council – only the second such person I’ve met – so that was enjoyable.

So, basically, I am delighted with my decision to come study here.

It has proven to be exactly what I hoped to find. In addition to that, it turns out the University of Toronto is a pretty well-regarded university, especially for Humanities, so that is an extra plus. The university has 80,000 students (on three campuses) so

is a little larger than Otago, and has 8,000 international students! The work load seems higher than at Otago, certainly with more regular assignments and less focus on end-of-year exams, but I think it will be manageable. So, just for quick reference, here are the four courses I’m taking:

• Religious Pluralism:

“This course will examine Christian responses to religious diversity, focusing particularly upon twentieth-century developments in theology of religions and comparative theology.”
This is a seminar course, and has been very enjoyable so far. In the first seminar the lecturer was quoting some of my favourite people, so I immediately felt right at home. I have already given a 25 minute presentation in this class on last week’s topics, which was the post-Vatican II church. It went reasonably well – I was the first to present (one student presents each week), so it is satisfying to already have that completed.

• Christianity and Symbols:

“An examination of the use and development of Christian symbolism in text and visual arts, from the foundations of the Church to the thirteenth century.”
We’ve been looking at quite a few primary texts which has been interesting, from Augustine to Bede to Bernard of Clairvaux.

• Varieties of Christian Experience:“This course samples the variety of forms which Christian personal experience has taken in the course of history (martyrdom, mysticism, monasticism, sanctification of ordinary life, etc.) in order to appreciate their variety, complexity, and deep unity.”

The lecturer for this course has a strong Italian accent which I found tricky at first, and the style is very conversational (20% class participation), so initially I wasn’t so sure about this one; however, I’ve since got stuck in to the class discussion and am now enjoying it.

• Vatican II and its reception 40 years on:

Well this one I made up myself so it doesn’t have a nice concise summary; however, I am writing one essay on the general reception of Vatican II with regard to competing lenses of interpretation, and then later on, a second essay dealing with a specific issue that has changed in the post-Vatican II era.

Ok, well this may prove to be a long email given what I’ve already written. Maybe I’ll add section headings at the end for easy reference!

City life

Putting my courses aside, I’ve met many cool people here. I’m staying at a residence that is in an old hotel. It has 27 floors (although there is no “1st floor” here – that is what they call the ground floor – nor is there a “13th floor”, which is just silly), and so there are a lot of students here. I’m on the 5th floor which is all one-semester exchange students and so we all have a similar

motivation for being in Toronto. There are 3 other NZers on the floor, as well as a number of Australians, and then quite a few from the rest of the world which is good. I have a roommate, Kelvin, who is Australian and is a good guy. We had a fun night taking random photos in the middle of town and have already discovered a mutual love for Canadian hotdogs – “street meat” they call it here – which are sold in many booths on the side of the road. Canada is also crazy over coffee. Virtually every corner has a coffee shop. As an illustration, I was once given directions to a travel agent by being told it was between a Starbucks and a Second Cup – two coffee shops!

In addition to doing lots of events with the internationals from my floor, I’ve also made friends with another group of international students – this time mostly from Europe. In fact, I went to one BBQ where I was the only non-European! It has provided a fun venue to revive my German and the few Dutch phrases I know, although my French leaves much to be desired! With regard to genuine real-life Canadians, I’ve met some of them too. I’ve made friends with some people in each of my classes as well as connecting with some Canadian friends-of-a-friend so that is good.

Toronto being such a big city, there is always something happening. The challenge I face is never to find something to do, but to limit myself to what I can manage – a good problem to have. A

snapshot of some of the things I’ve done so far:

Got my photo taken on the Toronto International Film Festival red carpet. Some students managed to get photos of Brad Pitt, but I confess that didn’t interest me too much!
Played Ultimate Frisbee for my residence team. They seem to love that game over here. For the record, we won, so that is always satisfying.
Watched a baseball game at the local stadium: Toronto Blue Jays vs New York Yankees. The Yankees took out the game 3-1 but apparently Toronto beat them a few days later 9-3. That was enjoyable – I haven’t seen baseball before.
Attended Theology on Tap talking about international torture and Canadian complicity in it. There are a number of other talks and lectures coming up on various topics that I plan to attend also.
Caught the subway. You may laugh, but we don’t have these in Dunedin!
Seen LOTS of squirrels!! Canadians don’t understand our obsession with these.

I think I will wrap this blog up at this point. Hopefully I’ll be more diligent in keeping you

updated from here on in. I have also been keeping one eye on my time after Canada, and have booked a tour in Egypt with my brother Michael for the New Year which is an exciting development!

I hope all is going well in New Zealand and elsewhere. Let me know what’s been happening for you too! I love to get email – or even real mail!

Archived

2008-09-15T16:59:00.004+12:00

Rereading my blog is actually quite enjoyable. Even those posts that at the time seemed very cheap - eg, a random quote from somewhere - are fun to rediscover, and to share.

Right at the moment I am discovering a new flavour - moon cake - curtesy of my roomate Kelvin. It is made from lotus seed paste and tastes nice. You should try it. I have also had one bite of a street-vendor hotdog - that was great! I will have to buy a full one soon.

Finally, I may not have been able to watch the rugby while in Canada, but I am still able to enjoy the taste of victory!

It's alive?

2008-09-09T01:38:00.002+12:00

I may or may not resurrect my blog while I'm here in Canada. At the moment though, I will post a link to this strange occurrence:

Fish flies out of lake, breaks Arkansas teen's jaw

This is from Atland

2007-08-12T17:54:00.000+12:00

American Idol

2007-05-13T13:29:00.000+12:00

This was an awesome rendition, if you didn't see the show, check out this vid:

Rugby vs Soccer

2007-04-11T13:18:00.000+12:00

This vid was taken down, sorry.

:(

Three - Zip

2007-02-21T11:38:00.000+13:00

450 runs! Need I say any more?

For some readers, perhaps, but not for you Solo!

The Soccer: it's back

2007-02-08T19:11:00.001+13:00

Super Web Soccer

Win the championship at any cost!

Play this free game now!!

High Five

2007-02-03T21:23:00.000+13:00

This is hilarious.

World's strongest Dad

2007-01-26T17:05:00.000+13:00

This is a bloody impressive story. The article is from here, and was originally in Sports Illustrated. Make sure you read both the article and watch the video.

[From Sports Illustrated, By Rick Reilly]
I try to be a good father. Give my kids mulligans. Work nights to pay For their text messaging. Take them to swimsuit shoots.
But compared with Dick Hoyt, I suck.
Eighty-five times he's pushed his disabled son, Rick, 26.2 miles in Marathons. Eight times he's not only pushed him 26.2 miles in a Wheelchair but also towed him 2.4 miles in a dinghy while swimming and Pedaled him 112 miles in a seat on the handlebars--all in the same day.
Dick's also pulled him cross-country skiing, taken him on his back Mountain climbing and once hauled him across the U.S. On a bike. Makes Taking your son bowling look a little lame, right?
And what has Rick done for his father? Not much--except save his life.
This love story began in Winchester , Mass. , 43 years ago, when Rick Was strangled by the umbilical cord during birth, leaving him Brain-damaged and unable to control his limbs.
"He'll be a vegetable the rest of his life;'' Dick says doctors told him And his wife, Judy, when Rick was nine months old. ``Put him in an Institution.''
But the Hoyts weren't buying it. They noticed the way Rick's eyes Followed them around the room. When Rick was 11 they took him to the Engineering department at Tufts University and asked if there was Anything to help the boy communicate. ``No way,'' Dick says he was told. ``There's nothing going on in his brain.''
"Tell him a joke,'' Dick countered. They did. Rick laughed. Turns out a Lot was going on in his brain. Rigged up with a computer that allowed Him to control the cursor by touching a switch with the side of his Head, Rick was finally able to communicate. First words? ``Go Bruins!'' And after a high school classmate was paralyzed in an accident and the School organized a charity run for him, Rick pecked out, ``Dad, I want To do that.''
Yeah, right. How was Dick, a self-described ``porker'' who never ran More than a mile at a time, going to push his son five miles? Still, he Tried. ``Then it was me who was handicapped,'' Dick says. ``I was sore For two weeks.''
That day changed Rick's life. ``Dad,'' he typed, ``when we were running, It felt like I wasn't disabled anymore!''
And that sentence changed Dick's life. He became obsessed with giving Rick that feeling as often as he could. He got into such hard-belly Shape that he and Rick were ready to try the 1979 Boston Marathon.
``No way,'' Dick was told by a race official. The Hoyts weren't quite a Single runner, and they weren't quite a wheelchair competitor. For a few Years Dick and Rick just joined the massive field and ran anyway, then They found a way to get into the race Officially: In 1983 they ran another marathon so fast they made the Qualifying time for Boston the following year.
Then somebody said, ``Hey, Dick, why not a triathlon?''
How's a guy who never learned to swim and hadn't ridden a bike since he Was six going to haul his 110-pound kid through a triathlon? Still, Dick Tried.
Now they've done 212 triathlons, including four grueling 15-hour Ironmans in Hawaii . It must be a buzzkill to be a 25-year-old stud Getting passed by an old guy towing a grown man in a dinghy, don't you Think?
Hey, Dick, why not see how you'd do on your own? ``No way,'' he says. Dick does it purely for ``the awesome feeling'' he gets seeing Rick with A cantaloupe smile as they run, swim and ride together.
This year, at ages 65 and 43, Dick and Rick finished their 24th Boston Marathon, in 5,083rd place out of more than 20,000 starters. Their best Time? Two hours, 40 minutes in 1992--only 35 minutes off the world Record, which, in case you don't keep track of these things, happens to Be held by a guy who was not pushing another man in a wheelchair at the Time.
``No question about it,'' Rick types. ``My dad is the Father of the Century.''
And Dick got something else out of all this too. Two years ago he had a Mild heart attack during a race. Doctors found that one of his arteries Was 95% clogged. ``If you hadn't been in such great shape,'' One doctor told him, ``you probably would've died 15 years ago.'' So, in a way, Dick and Rick saved each other's life.
Rick, who has his own apartment (he gets home care) and works in Boston, and Dick, retired from the military and living in Holland, Mass. , always find ways to be together. They give speeches around the country and compete in some backbreaking race every weekend, including this Father's Day.
That night, Rick will buy his dad dinner, but the thing he really wants to give him is a gift he can never buy.
``The thing I'd most like,'' Rick types, ``is that my dad sit in the chair and I push him once.''

Perplexing

2007-01-04T18:42:00.001+13:00

What is a group of baby fish called?

(Select the text below for the answer)

A pre-school of fish

***
I made that one up myself. Amazing what thoughts cross your mind when you are weedeating. It strikes me as the kind of joke that would arrive in a Christmas cracker. Speaking of which, I'm planning on going to the Orthodox celebration of Christmas this Sunday.

Merry Christmas

2007-01-01T14:34:00.000+13:00

Happy New Year

2006-12-31T15:08:00.000+13:00

Earlier this year I went to John and Mikaela's wedding in Wellington. I met them both on Kerygma. Was a great wedding and a nice chanmce to spend a few dayts out of town and to catch up with mates in the windy city.
Me, James, Tony and Tom played a few games this year. Tom re-introduced us to Heroes of Might and Magic, a very slow game to play with four players(!) but fun.

Tony sometimes played with balls at the flat.

My nephew Michael has been growing up quickly. He is now quite strong and has started pumping iron.

He also likes to hide from his uncle.

I now have Skype so feel free to add me.

Quite

2006-12-15T20:15:00.000+13:00

God definitely has a sense of humour, but sorry guys, it was a private joke!

New link

2006-12-07T19:04:00.000+13:00

I added a new link to the left: Realm of Atland. It's an online comic that is quite funny. Is updated every Thursday.

I hear ya

2006-12-07T17:24:00.000+13:00

Just Humor Me is a blog I perodically read, and it lives up to its name. I've been a little bit behind, but this entry made me laugh:

Kara and her friends have dealt me the terrible fate of having to stay home playing video games instead of spending the evening in front of better-dressed people showing off both of my signature dance moves: “Bounce up and down, with the beat if possible” and “Blend in, blend in, oh man I hope I’m blending in.”

For some reason I understand exactly where Mike is coming from. :o)

Haircut

2006-09-26T16:45:00.000+12:00

I got a hair cut today. It's funny, I always find that I'm uncertain about the haircut until the next day when I wash it and do it myself. When the hairdresser puts gunk in you can never quite tell how it is.

Anyway I'm off to ceroc now but thought it had been a while since I blogged.

Am I in the right place?

2006-09-22T12:29:00.000+12:00

Moronical

2006-09-06T16:39:00.000+12:00

Yesterday was funny. I was going to go for a run with James, but it looked like it was going to rain so we decided to go to Unipol instead. When we were about 30 metres away I said to James, "Have you got your ID card?" I thought I'd better remind him because he was away for a year.

Then, of course, we get to Unipol and I realise it is I that has forgotten my ID card! And so we end up going for a run outside anyway! Isn't life wonderful?

The truth will set you free...

2006-08-24T13:23:00.000+12:00

Peter P.

2006-08-07T13:50:00.000+12:00

I'm facing a difficult task at the moment: writing a eulogy.

Last week my dear friend Peter died. He was 77 and had been quite an influence on my life. Trying to capture that in words is difficult. How do you do justice to a person who has helped to form you?

I just found out that one of his middle names was Aloysius. St Aloysius is the patron saint of youth, which, knowing all of Peter's involvements with youth, is an amazing coincidence—then again, perhaps not...

Breakfast?

2006-08-03T17:29:00.000+12:00

It was an unusual conversation over breakfast this morning:

J: Do you have a busy day?

D: Just a crim tute at 9am, and lectures from 2 pm to 4pm.

J: Not too bad.

D: And between them I have to bury a sheep...

And so I did. I got the call from home last night. "Dan, one of the sheep died. We need you to help dig the hole." How wonderful to receive a call from home—and I even got the privilege of standing on the pitchfork to pierce it. I think a quote from Star Wars might be appropriate at this juncture:

"And I thought they smelled bad on the outside." - Han Solo

So an unusual day for me. I was fun in the Law Building lift though. Was talking to a fellow law student. "I dug a grave today..." I looked across at the random stranger on the other side. They were looking back a bit confused and alarmed. "... for a sheep." The stranger looked somewhat relieved.

The moot on Monday was quite an experience. We lost, rather convincingly I would suggest too. Was a great experience though. It has been 4 years since I was in a debate, and while this was quite different, the same adrenaline rush occured. The judge asked some quite tricky questions I must confess. I was a bit thrown. Oh, well, I learnt a lot for next time.

Mooting

2006-07-30T14:30:00.000+12:00

At the moment working on my moot problem. It is for a competition for second year law students, and is going very slowly. We have had the problem for just over a week but the part I'm looking at is not well settled and so there is not much law supporting the propositions either way (that is of course why it is capable of being mooted, if it was clear-cut, it wouldn't provide much opportunity for debate).

My area is Illusory promises, ie, where you promise to do something in a contract and then give yourself the iscretion whether or not to actually do it. In effect, did you actually promise to do anything. I am supposed to argue that the promise was not illusory, but the guy has reserved the right to do other stuff, so it is like pushing stuff uphill. Have got a few arguments going though, although I have to talk for 15 minutes including opportunity for the judge to ask questions and so it still needs a bit of work.

Wish me luck.

In other news, flatting is going well. The All Blacks won last night. Ceroc is enjoyable. J-Week is over and went pretty well, the sports day I was to organise went well... Life is pretty good.

Now, back to mooting...

Cartoon

2006-07-19T13:27:00.000+12:00

There is also a very funny catroon on the Time magazine site here.

Oh!

2006-07-10T19:49:00.000+12:00

There is something rather satisfying about being awake at 7.30pm, watching 80 minutes of rugby and seeing the team you support thrash your opponents 32 - 12.

In hindsight, perhaps rugby is a better choice to watch than football...

(And just as an aside, what was Zidane thinking?!?!)

Oh!

2006-07-05T13:47:00.000+12:00

There is something slightly frustrating about getting up at 6.20am, walking down the road in the cold dark rain, watching 115 minutes of goal-less football and then seeing the team you support lose.

In hindsight, sleeping in might have been the better choice...

Oh!

2006-07-02T17:44:00.000+12:00

There is something slightly frustrating about staying up until 5.30am, watching 120 minutes of goal-less football and then seeing the team you support lose in a penalty shoot out.

In hindsight, sleeping might have been the better choice...

Assignment writing

2006-06-16T14:13:00.000+12:00

I found this on Karen Traviss' blog.

Illiteracy!

2006-05-02T09:03:00.001+12:00

I brought my camera to uni today, to take a pic of something I saw yesterday. Sadly it was no longer there. Someone had painted a big black stencil on a concrete wall outside the uni. It was of the Star Wars character Boba Fett. Beside it they had written:

Boba Fet says its cool to stay in school.

Is it wrong that my reaction was, "That's bloody awesome, but Fett has two 't's."?

:0)

Quote of the week

2006-05-01T13:18:00.000+12:00

"There is no difference in interpretation, they just see it from different points of view."

Now that is logical.

The Leith

2006-04-27T22:08:00.000+12:00

For those wondering what the flooding was actually like down here, these pics give some indication. The Leith was definitely the highest I have ever seen it, and I have lived beside it for 16 years. These were taken of the street further down the road from our house. The street was closed off on the "damp" day for obvious reasons: Sorry the pics are a bit blurry.

Technology

2006-04-27T11:39:00.000+12:00

(Copyright Gospel Communications International, Inc - www.reverendfun.com)

Huh?

2006-04-26T22:15:00.001+12:00

I was talking to a girl in my law class today about her tutor. She said "he's taking us next" and I heard "he has a red BMX". Crikey, did that cause some confusion!

Mike the tyke

2006-04-23T22:50:00.000+12:00

(Uncle and nephew) I'm pretty sure we are both smiling
(Mum and son) Raar!!

A Very quick brown fox

2006-04-23T11:49:00.000+12:00

I got a forward today, which has a weird result.

Open up a Word document and type:

= rand (200,99)

Then press enter. Strange...

Meat

2006-04-19T22:27:00.000+12:00

If you have a few minutes (won't take long), read this short story:

Meat.

It is by Terry Bission, and is science fiction.

You will enjoy it. It certainly paints meat in a different light...

Breaking news!!

2006-04-17T20:24:00.000+12:00

I have just won my 900th game of Solitaire on this computer! Not only that, I have also just reached 70% winnings as well. Exciting stuff.

Of course it means that it will be many games before I reach 71%. I'd better get back to it then...

Some Oriental Wisdom

2006-04-14T22:39:00.000+12:00

found on Chris Malano's blog

Other matters

2006-04-13T20:27:00.000+12:00

We had our first squash match of the season last night. It was a grading match which we won. I won my singles too, 3-2, so that was satisfying. A nice start to the season.

***

My Public Law lecturer is quite a funny guy. He makes plenty of random comments during his lectures. Yesterday he spent about the first 10 minutes just cracking jokes. Anyway one of the things he was saying is how our law skills are like superpowers that we should to choose to use for good, not for evil! I do like superpowers, I hope mine will be flying. Invisiblity would also be okay. I guess I have to wait until I graduate to find out though.

***

Welcome to the Easter Triduum. If you would like to see a sataire on commercialism and Christianity, have a look here at theMcPassion. A very cringeworthy creation that was created in response to hearing preached from pulpits that people should go see the Passion. It is the ultimate in corporate tie-ins.

A couple of thoughts...

2006-04-12T21:02:00.000+12:00

Christ, the Good Shepherd

...since my last post. Firstly, it was the idea of John XXIII working on his faults that made me think. I have found it quite inspirational reading about his pursuit of virtue. My question is, is this pursuit of virtue common today? When I think of campus, I don't know that it does. I'm sure that it had secular appeal at one time but has that disappeared? Possibly. Thoughts anyone?

The second thought is a bit different but also related to John XXIII. A few times I have heard the objection that the Church has taken over "pagan" festivals or symbols. It is generally an accusation, as though it is either unknown or is actively hidden by the Church, in which case I am meant to react defensively. In fact the opposite is true. The Church acknowledges that this is the case and is not ashamed about it as though, it is in some way betraying Christianity. Instead, it is affirming humanity, and culture. In one of John's encyclicals I found a passage on this exact issue. It is worth quoting I think:

Incorporating other cultures and possible practices, feastdays etc.

19. "The Catholic Church," ... "has never fostered an attitude of contempt or outright rejection of pagan teachings but, rather, has completed and perfected them with Christian doctrine, after purifying them from all dross of error. So, too, the Church, to a certain extent, consecrated native art and culture . . ., as well as the special customs and traditional institutions of the people . . .; she has even transformed their feast days, leaving unchanged their methods of computation and their form, but dedicating them to the memory of the martyrs and to the celebration of the sacred Mysteries." (35)

We Ourselves have already expressed Our thoughts on this matter as follows:
Wherever artistic and philosophical values exist which are capable of enriching the culture of the human race, the Church fosters and supports these labors of the spirit.

On the other hand, the Church, as you know, does not identify itself with any one culture, not even with European and Western civilization, although the history of the Church is closely intertwined with it; for the mission entrusted to the Church pertains chiefly to other matters, that is, to matters which are concerned with religion and the eternal salvation of men.

The Church, however, which is so full of youthful vigor and is constantly renewed by the breath of the Holy Spirit, is willing, at all times, to recognize, welcome, and even assimilate anything that redounds to the honor of the human mind and heart, whether or not it originates in parts of the world washed by the Mediterranean Sea, which, from the beginning of time, had been destined by God's Providence to be the cradle of the Church. (36)
~ Princeps Pastorum

Excuse both the masculine language, and the royal "we" (John couldn't completely escape his time). So, there you have it. The "defence". Whatever is good in cultures the Church will adopt and adapt. God has been revealed in different ways in different cultures and the Church discerns this and makes use of it. It is relevant to inculturation, I believe. While looking at this I was also searching for some icons and found some wonderful example of inculturation in art. These icons make use of indigenous imagery from the Americas.

Compassionate Christ

"My soul is in these pages"

2006-04-11T22:15:00.000+12:00

I am an ardent supporter of the Second Vatican Council, and for a while have thought I should get to know the architect behind it all a bit better. Recently, I have started reading Journal of a Soul, a collection of Pope John XXIII's spiritual journals. It is an incredible read. His first entry is at 14 years of age, and it continues right through until when he was Pope. It is a rare glimpse into the interior of a person. When handing his journals over to his secretary, he described them saying "My soul is in these pages". A fair description.

The entries depict a real person, easy to relate to. They show someone aware of who they are, aware of their faults and failings, who with great humility, works on amending them. One thing he writes frequently about is pride - a common affliction, I think. By all accounts he succeeded in attaining humility and partly for this sake he was such a loved man. He certainly was not a career priest. As he said, he did nothing to acquire the role of Pope, but rather was pleased when it seemed others were going to be elected to the job.

I love reading about what he did as Pope (this is not in the journal). How as a 77 year old, he defied his role as a care-taker Pope, defied the Curia, and called for the Council. He called for "aggiornamento" or a renewal of the Church. He wanted to open the window of the Church and let in fresh air! In his opening address at the Council he warned of the "doom-sayers" that feared the Council. The quote on the icon above is "We are not on earth to guard a museum but to cultivate a flourishing garden of life". In the context of his time, that was a striking statement to make, but very true.

Another quote: "In essential things, unity; in doubtful things, liberty; in all things, charity." This from the man who allowed the ecumenical movement to be legitimate in the Catholic Church. Perhaps it is this attitude that enabled the irony of Protestants mourning the death of a Pope. Protestants, and non-Christians too!

I will enjoy getting to know John better. What else to say now but:

Good Pope John, pray for us!

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark"

2006-04-08T19:43:00.000+12:00

Well, not quite rotten but definitely odd. I have a Contract Law assignment due on Monday and the odd thing is that, by last Thursday, I basically had it done. I had already reached the word limit and so now it is just a matter of refining it. Very unusual as last year it was only the late nights in the weekend that got me through. Hopefully a sign of things to come! It has been quite enjoyable wrestling with the facts and reaching my conclusions. Satisfying.

I was also just looking at a news site, when I saw this pic:

I never realised soccer was such a dangerous sport!

Running

2006-04-04T17:46:00.000+12:00

Following the example of that guy in America (no, not Forrest Gump!), I went for a run today.

I enjoy psychology and the way people’s minds work. Running reminded me of the concept of “doublethink” in George Orwell’s 1984. It is the concept where people hold two contradictory thoughts in their head at the same time. Let me illustrate it for you:

I’m running and starting to feel tired, and think that it is time for a break. I say to myself, “Just run to that bridge and you can have a break.”

My immediate next thought is, “I’m not actually going to let you stop at the bridge. I’m just going to keep extending the point where you can stop until you get home.”

Somehow my body does not hear the second thought. It merrily runs to the bridge, is slightly confused for a stride and keeps on running. “Hey, wasn’t I going to stop at that bridge?” it asks. “No, it’s this coming bridge you're stopping at.” “Oh, okay.”

It works, I tell you, it works!

My second resort is to that inspirational line:

Your body is telling you it’s hurting – it’s lying to you.

If that is that case, it is a damn good liar, too…

Smile

2006-03-29T22:36:00.000+12:00

I am wrong, I am right

2006-03-28T19:41:00.000+12:00

I went to see Lord of War on Sunday night with Matt Randal. A very enjoyable movie actually that raises a salient point at the end. I highly recommend it.

The reason I went with Matt? He is leaving tomorrow to go on his OE. First off to South East Asia, then to Europe where he'll meet up with Sven. I am very jealous but he deserves it. Will have an awesome time I am sure.

Meanwhile I'll be working on my law degree. Our readings have certainly picked up, as seeing as I have not been in Dunedin the last 3 weekends, there are starting to build up. Still, it feels like I am within striking range of being up-to-date, and anyone who has seen The Castle will know that the vibe is very important for law.

What have I been doing these 3 weekends? Well firstly it was up to Christchurch for Johanna's 21st. That was a cool weekend. I stayed at Nicky's flat, and also saw my auntie and a friend I hadn't seen for about 2 years so that was cool. It was funny to arrive back to Nicky's flat late at night to find that the couch I had been planning on sleeping on was occupied by a flatmate that had fallen asleep while watching a movie. Lol, never mind, I grabbed some pillows and slept on the floor.

The next weekend was up to Wanaka with the family which was nice. Watched plenty of the Commonwealth Games which was cool. Finally last weekend was the CathSoc retreat out at Warrington. Was a good weekend really. Had 15 students out there, so a good number especially considering many of them were new ones. I'm doing the accounts now for OUSA affiliation so I'd better get back to that. I thought I'd better blog though before the cobwebs took this place over.

Oh yeah, and the title? It's part of the chorus in the Dashboard Confessional song, Vindicated:

Vindicated. I am selfish, I am wrong. I am right, I swear I'm right. I swear I knew it all along. And I am flawed, but I am cleaning up so well. I am seeing in me now the things you swore you saw yourself. Like hope...

I like it. It speaks to me of the contradiction that is often who we are. It speaks of redemption.

This is actually quite funny

2006-03-03T14:21:00.000+13:00

(Copyright Gospel Communications International, Inc - www.reverendfun.com)

21st pics

2006-03-02T10:37:00.002+13:00

Say hello

A blast from the past!

Does this photo look a bit lop-sided to you?
Yum

Happenings

2006-03-01T16:24:00.000+13:00

So uni has started again and God said it was good.

I've got four law papers this year - Criminal, Contract, Public and Property. The lecturers are pretty good I reckon. I've observed that tendency people have to complain about lecturers (I know I used to do it) but they are actually pretty good. The contract guy used a quote from Harry Potter this morning which was funny! It's a bit of a strange world though. Yesterday I bought a copy of the Crimes Act. I mean, who needs there own copy of the Crimes Act?! Only a lawyer... or wannabe student.

Last weekend, I also had my 21st party. Was actually a pretty cool night. Had about 60 people and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. There was a very impressive DVD made by my bro Caleb. I'd had many a sneak-peak before the night - I picked some of the pics, and edited fig leaves into a couple - yet on the night it was still really special. The soundtrack was great too.

Catching up with friends that I haven't had too much to do with lately was cool too. Some old school mates, or even earlier than that were there. I might post some pics later from my new digital camera - 21st present of course. I also got an iPod shuffle from Mike which is great. I've loaded some classical songs at the start to use when studying and then flick to other songs when I finish.
James, no doubt you'll read this - shame you couldn't be there but such is life.
In other news I had a special moment with my nephew Michael the other day - no doubt the first of many - he threw up on me! lol.

Aren't names important!

2006-02-24T09:38:00.000+13:00

Now I know what mine actually means. You can check out yours here.

Hi there

2006-02-10T13:28:00.000+13:00

Well here I am.

First of all, happy birthday to me and to the Swiss Guard - our birthday's are only one day apart. I turned 21 in Jan. We went out to dinner that night which was cool and I'm having a bit of a bash in a couple of weeks.

I got some cool presents from family. A digital camera from Mum and Dad, Settlers of Catan from Theresa and Caleb (Which is a great game by the way! I first played in on a computer in Dutch, but since then have played it heaps as the board game) and a big fridge magnet set from Sarah and Foa. It is quite interesting to use as it limits your vocab is some areas and extends it in others. Here's one example, and let me tell you I don't normally use the word galoshes!

I think some of the inspiration for that must come from Terry Pratchett, but the rest, well, came from somewhere...

2006-01-18T17:03:00.000+13:00

Welcome to my world...

2006-01-15T18:02:00.000+13:00

Say hello to Michael Luke Vossen, born at 2.30 this morning!! Isn't he a handsome chappie?

Congratulations to both Theresa and Caleb. A very exciting day!

On a totally unrelated note, I am now an uncle.

Spring cleaning

2006-01-05T14:06:00.000+13:00

I am not good at throwing things out. Consequently my room has plenty of stuff that could potentially have been thrown out long ago. Often at this time of year I go through it all and thin it down a bit. Progressively things get closer to being thrown out, until one day they no longer make the cut and into the bin they go.

This time I made up a little list of some of the more unusual things I found. It is listed here for your pleasure!

2 mouth guards from rugby (5 and 6 years old)
Rubber soccer studs
37 Good One cards
A complete photocopy of The Wizard of Oz
5 origami roses
2 cans of table tennis bat cleaner
An empty Continental chocolates box – not the one from Ghana
2 “24 Game” sets
2 random keys
A money pouch from when I used to play Robin Hood – contained 5c which went into the collection.
James’ broken cell phone – or was that my broken phone? ;)
Some palms from Palm Sunday two years ago
Mostly unused diaries from 2001, 2004 (two of them), a 2003 calendar,
Test results from Auckland when I thought I might have malaria
A Pokemon Gold walkthrough
A Civilization 1 (!!) introduction manual
8 candles of all sizes
Debate notes from 1998: Why attacking Iraq would be a bad idea – hah, 8 years on and still relevant! I knew it was a good idea not to throw them out.
58 birthday, congratulations, Merry Christmas etc cards
A cricket bat blade without handle

And now for something completely different:

I guess coming from a pretty small country I enjoy having New Zealand mentioned in books I read. The best reference was in a science fiction book where Dunedin was mentioned! Apparently with global warming it will become a happening place. Anyway, it seemed for a period there that every book I read mentioned NZ:

The Garden of Rama, Arthur C. Clarke:

The only real opposition to the applicant is coming from a psychiatrist, a Dr. Ridgemore from New Zealand, who has the opinion that Nakamura still does not recognize that he did anything wrong.

Of course, Nakamura went on to become a criminal kingpin and doom everyone to death. Why don't they listen to the Kiwis?

The Eleventh Commandment, Jeffrey Archer:

The blue-uniformed official in the little cubical flicked open the New Zealand passport and carefully studied the photograph inside. He handed back the passport and allowed Alistair Douglas, a civil engineer from Christchurch, to stroll through to the departure lounge.

As a word of warning, if you do meet an Alistair Douglas who claims to be a civil engineer from Christchurch, he's lying. He's actually an assassin working for the CIA.

Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll:

"I shall have to ask them what the name of the country is, you know. Please, Ma’am, is this New Zealand or Australia?"

And finally if a young girl digs up through the ground underneath you, her name is probably Alice. If she offers you anything to eat, refuse it...

I think that is enough randomness for one day. Happy New Year all.

Merry Christmas

2005-12-30T12:11:00.000+13:00

If you ever become an evil overlord...

2005-12-29T14:42:00.001+13:00

...read this:

The Top 100 Things I'd Do
If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord

It could save you from an unfortunate downfall. It will also provide some comic relief now, while you are working your way up the corporate ladder to the position of Evil Overlord!

Some of my favourites:

46. If an advisor says to me "My liege, he is but one man. What can one man possibly do?", I will reply "This." and kill the advisor.

48. I will treat any beast which I control through magic or technology with respect and kindness. Thus if the control is ever broken, it will not immediately come after me for revenge.

56. My Legions of Terror will be trained in basic marksmanship. Any who cannot learn to hit a man-sized target at 10 meters will be used for target practice.

65. If I must have computer systems with publically available terminals, the maps they display of my complex will have a room clearly marked as the Main Control Room. That room will be the Execution Chamber. The actual main control room will be marked as Sewage Overflow Containment.

I hope you enjoy the rest.

Quotable

2005-12-21T23:12:00.000+13:00

I may have faults, but being wrong isn't one of them.

- Jimmy Hoffa

Christmas in the Park

2005-12-12T09:31:00.000+13:00

We went to Christmas in the Park on Friday night - about 10 of us. Was good fun. I thought I'd post a few pics as I'm going off for a week to do the rail-trail.

We also finished off the week with a hangi. Yum

Blog traffic

2005-12-11T18:06:00.000+13:00

I have another blog that is for Star Wars. I mostly use it to post pics that I can then link to from elsewhere. It's quite amazing the increase in traffic that occurs when I do so. Check it out!!

What type of Catholic are you?

2005-12-08T00:20:00.000+13:00

Just did a short quiz. If you're interested it's here at beliefnet.com.

I came out as a "Liberal Catholic".

The scale is: Traditionalist, Neo-traditionalist, Liberal, Progressive, Recovering Catholic. I fit right in the middle.

Apparently:

You are a liberal Catholic
You love the church, but you'd like to see some changes in certain areas--birth control, divorce, the role of women--where official teaching seems disconnected from contemporary experience. Your favorite hymn is probably "On Eagle's Wings" and your favorite pope is John XXIII. You admire Dorothy Day and like the philosophy behind movies like "Dead Man Walking."

Well yes, my favourite Pope is certainly John XXIII. I'd perhaps like to see some changes in some areas, I guess. Dorothy Day - lol, that's a bit of a private joke...

Good ol' Winston

2005-12-07T23:43:00.000+13:00

www.stuff.co.nz

Job

2005-12-03T14:13:00.000+13:00

(Copyright Gospel Communications International, Inc - www.reverendfun.com)

Smile

2005-12-02T23:57:00.000+13:00

[kow]: "There are 10 types of people in the
world... those who understand binary and those who don't."
[SpaceRain]: That's only 2 types of people,
kow.
[SpaceRain]: STUPID

Bloody rocks

2005-11-22T16:53:00.000+13:00

I have been doing some work turning over the garden recently, and let me tell you, it must be pretty fertile soil out. We haven't been doing anything to the garden, yet it has produced a bumper crop of rocks!

I never knew the ground there was so fertile.

In other news, we have entered Sandfly Hunting season. Most of the time that means sandflies hunting me, but sometimes I get my own back. I have to tell you, I hate, loathe sandflies. That is a shame because they seem to love me, and equally my body seems to delight in reacting violently to their little lovebites.

The main problem is that even if you get them, it is often to late. By the time you feel them, they are already imbibing your suculent blood. You know they have had a good serving when your blood comes out when you slap them. Sigh.

Perhaps I can turn that pile of rocks into a burial cairn if I kill enough sandflies...

I reckon!

2005-11-20T16:11:00.000+13:00

Speights

2005-11-18T19:11:00.000+13:00

I went on the Speights Brewery tour yesterday with my uncle Eddie and bro-in-law Caleb. Actually very interesting - and quite tasty. They spoke about the whole Southern Man campaign and how the people of the South came to identify themselves with it. I can confirm that - watching the movie of the South, it was heartwarming.

Apparently the origin of the word "skull", as in your drink, came from the Vikings who used to lop the top off the skull and drink it down. Educational.

We got to sample a few beers afterwards (of course) and also to pour your own. I tried a chocoloate beer, believe it or not. Quite tasty.

Caleb, Eddie, and me.

2005-11-16T21:31:00.000+13:00

"Don't worry about the world coming to an end today. It's already tomorrow in New Zealand."

Charles Schultz - creator of the Peanuts comic strip.

Does that mean we should worry...?

My Golden Moment

2005-11-10T12:08:00.000+13:00

In the next installment in the World Cup Saga, my Brazilian team has suffered a very unfortunate loss in the final against Germany.

The game was forced to go to Golden Goal which the scores were tied up 1-1, after I scored two scintillating goals.

Those of you that are quick will have realised there is something wrong with that sentence above... 2 goals - 1 for each team? Yep, I had flicked to another window and came back and continued. Some fantastic passing, dodged their player, swivelled and bang - straight into the back of the net.

I then checked the score: Germany 1, Brazil 0. Huh. I'm Brazil! I watched the replay. Yep, that was my Brazil striker making the slashing run and shooting straight past the goalie in yellow. Yellow? Oh buggar.

It wasn't until 10 minutes to go that I scored the equaliser, only to loose in extra time.

If you look closely you can see their shot impacting the back of my net.

O, the frustration!

Can I achieve my goal?

2005-11-09T14:44:00.000+13:00

Just a wee update:
I really thought I was going to do it today. For a bit of variety I played as Turkey in the World Cup. Sadly I realised my first game was against Brazil. Damn. And there I am, down 5 - 2. The expected thrashing. But then with some fancy foot - er... finger work I won 6 - 5. Oh, yeah!

With Brazil out of my way, no one could stop me this time!

Until I met France in the next game...sigh. There's always next time.

The exciting adventures of Mr Eyre

2005-11-07T13:11:00.000+13:00

I decided to respond to James' comment with a post. Something exciting, hmm, let me see.

Ask and you shall receive!
This is what I got up to during the week:

Okay, not quite. This is more accurate:

Mon 31st: 8 hours of study on Law.

Tues 1st: 5 hours of study on Law- okay nothing exciting yet, James. I'll keep looking.

Weds 2nd: 5 hours of study - but wait, this was study for Theology not Law! Variety is the spice of life they say.

Thurs 3rd: 7 1/2 hours study on a mix of Law and Theology; very spicy!

Fri 4th: 7 hours of study. My exam is tomorrow; so spicy I'm now beginning to sweat!

Sat 5th: Exam day. I wake up and, in that half-awake/asleep state, I know what one of the questions is. It slips from my mind as I try and grab a hold of it. Shame. The questions in the actual exam are a more mixed up than I had anticipated. My favourite was "Explain the logic of the "double homoousios" in Jesus Christ". A word of warning, don't get it mixed up with "homoiousios", that would be heretical. I'd be careful if I were you, also (hehehe).

Had a break from the spices though, and had cookies instead. A theology student gave them to me. She was going to give me some notes for when I was away but only got them to me a couple of days before the exam. I think the cookies were a way of saying sorry. Very sweet. I had them for my lunch.

I spent the rest of the afternoon playing World Cup soccer on the net. Look here if you're interested; very addictive. Still haven't won the final yet, I keep losing to Brazil. (I'm Germany).

Sun 6th: I have a nice sleep in and decide to prepare for my Law exam on Monday by writing a Star Wars short story. Explain the logic of the homoousios of that! (It is a good story, but sadly not relevant to any of the exam questions.) I then spend about 7 hours doing study into the early hours.

I think I have had too much of that variety - or maybe the cookies - as I have started sweating profusely over tomorrow's exam, namely an essay that should have been written but is not. I think I have a moral objection to just regurgitating stuff in exams. I much prefer receiving lightning bolts. It makes for unpredictible exams but the adrenaline rush is something else. Anyway at least since I've been working late I should have no trouble getting to sleep. That's the theory at least, but somehow reality doesn't seem to abide by it.

Mon 7th: The day dawns bright and early. Too bright and much too early. Virtually have to shower with my eyes closed because they refuse to open. I did have a wonderful moment upon waking knowing my exam had gone well. The feeling abruptly vanished when I realised I had yet to sit it. Damn halucinations. My mind does strange things in exam time. Must be the odd combination of spice, sweat, adrenaline, cookies, and homoousios.

The exam itself goes well. Spent some time afterwards trying to take the World Cup off Brazil but to no avail. I still have one more exam this coming Saturday. I can probably make a n accurate prediction on what the coming week will hold. James don't expect it to be as exciting as one. I don't know if I could survive two weeks in a row of such not stop adventure!

I will finish with some Irish philosophy, especially relevant when your week is as jam-packed with excitement as mine, or you have exams:

There are only two things to worry about:
Either you are well or you are sick.

If you are well, then there is nothing to worry about.

If you are sick, there are two things to worry about.
Either you will get well or you will die.

If you get well, there is nothing to worry about.

If you die, there are two things to worry about.
Either you will go to heaven or hell.

If you go to heaven, there is nothing to worry about.

And if you go to hell, you'll be so damn busy shaking hands with your friends you won't have time for anything else!

In the words of good ol' Bob, "Don't worry, Be Happy".

2005-10-30T11:21:00.000+13:00

Read this quite amazing story about a donation to the Katrina victims. Here is a teaser from it:

When the money-counting team came to Father Banks on the Monday following the weekend Masses, they showed him a church donation envelope with a message hand-printed in Spanish: "Para las vctimas del huracan, no traia dinero pero esto debe de tener algun valor. Es de todo corazon." ("For the victims of the hurricane. I did not bring any money. But this should be of some value. It is with all of my heart.")

Exam Time

2005-10-29T21:32:00.000+13:00

It is Exam Time.
That is a very deliberate full stop up there. Those four words punch well above their weight. What they mean is that life does not exist outside of the library and home. It is horrible. I'm actually working pretty hard too so its not just time spent sitting in the library.
I had my first of four Exams on Thursday. It went pretty well - a few curly questions but that is to be expected. I wrote my legal history essay comparing the 14th of January 1840 with the 6th of February 1840. Don't recognise the significance of the 14th? Don't lose sleep over it - basically the territory of NSW was expanded then to include any parts of NZ that are, or would become Crown property. What implications does that have for the Treaty of Waitangi signed 23 days later? Yeah, I know - fascinating.
From my experience, the most frequently repeated phrase during Exam Time must be "You'll be alright." There is something about the NZ psyche that forbids someone coming out and saying that they are going to do well in an exam, no matter how well prepared they are. As such they end up downplaying their preparation, or alternatively, revealing their lack of it. The other person is then obliged to make a comforting statement that invariably ends up as "You'll be alright." I should know, I've been in both positions in the last week.
I also had an interesting experience before my exam the other day. I went in the morning to check that I knew where the room was, and a woman inside beckoned me in and gave me an Offical Tour! I've never been so privileged to have an Offical Tour of an exam location before. Yes, she showed me the room and where the toilets were, and told me that they had pens and tissues. Wasn't that nice. I will have to see if I can get another Offical Tour for my next exam as well. It's on Saturday week.
It's Doing Theology. I have 4 essays to write. I was doing some readings for my essay on salvation when I came across this very informative and motivation quote about eternal life:
"There'll be no butter in Hell" - Amos Starkadder in Cold Comfort Farm.
That really does warn me off going to Hell, although it does beg the question, will there be any margarine?
I also thought I'd let you in on a little exam technique secret that I use. It really is the secret to my success so keep it quiet. You know how your hand can get sore after writing for a long time, well, the cure? ONE WOOLEN GLOVE. That's right! Half way through my exam I pull out my magic glove and carry on writing. It has special powers of insulation and support, and when combined with my ANTI COLD-FEET WOOLEN SOCKS, an unbeatable crime-fighting duo is formed ... did I write crimefighting?I meant exam beating. Whoops!

I'll finish this post now, I'm ready to go home and sleep so that I can get up tomorrow and study. So, just rememeber, "there'll be no butter in Hell" but "You'll be alright."

You'd better watch it!

2005-10-26T22:03:00.000+13:00

borrowed from stuff.co.nz

A few riddles to keep you going

2005-10-25T09:03:00.000+13:00

I never was, am always to be.
No one ever saw me, nor ever will.
And yet I am the confidence of all,
To live and breathe on this terrestrial ball.
What am I?

What always runs but never walks,
Often murmurs, never talks,
Has a bed but never sleeps,
Has a mouth but never eats?

What walks on four legs in the morning,
two legs at noon, and three legs in the evening?

Br Shepherd

2005-10-23T09:54:00.000+13:00

Some sad news to share from yesterday. I'll post Br Joe Lauren's words:

Dear Brothers and friends of the Brothers,

I regret to inform you that our loved Brother, John Henry Shepherd, died this morning at the Little Sisters of the Poor Home in Dunedin.

Henry had seemed until recently to be recovering from his serious operation for cancer of the oesophagus earlier in the year. Less than a week ago, a continuing difficulty with eating became severe. On Tuesday, he was at the hospital to meet with the Oncologist who informed him that there appeared to be another growth, this time in the stomach. A scan was immediately organized for next week. However, Henry was not to last that long and he passed away peacefully at 3.00am today.

When I spoke with him on Thursday evening, he said that the prayer taught him by the Sisters at an early age kept coming to his mind as he weakly moved around his room: “Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, assist me in my last agony. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you. Amen.” I think it was not until then that he felt that his death might be a lot closer than he or any of us had thought.

Henry was one of those rare people who touched everyone he met, seemed able to remember personally all of those people and just exuded love for others. Each of us felt we were his personal friends. It is so sad to lose such a friend but it is also great to think of the welcoming committee of great friends as he is brought into the presence of the One by whose teaching of love he has so strived to live.

May our very dear friend and Brother be at peace and continue to delight us with the memory of his smile, as well as put in a good word for those of us he has left behind for the moment.

Joe Lauren

Thanks Br Shepherd for all that you do. Thank you for your big heart and big smile. "You make the whole world smile with your little button nose..."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Br Shepherd will be buried from Holy Name Church in Dunedin at midday on Friday, 28th October. The celebrant will be Bishop Colin. There will be a Vigil service the previous evening at 7.00pm, also at Holy Name Church.

Government(al!)

2005-10-20T10:25:00.000+13:00

Online Safety Quiz

2005-10-19T16:02:00.000+13:00

In the interests of public safety, you should take this special quiz on internet safety.

This post brought to you by the letter B, as in be wise!

Politics

2005-10-18T11:03:00.001+13:00

You are a
Social Moderate
(43% permissive)

and an...
Economic Liberal
(16% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Strong Democrat

Link: The Politics Test

2005-10-16T18:01:00.000+13:00

I have been studying at uni today.

It was a beautifully sunny day this morning, so I wore shorts and sandals.

I knew though, that I'd be studying inside and it may not be that warm. I might get cold with shorts and bare feet.

But I thought of a great plan:

I took a pair of woolen socks in with me.

That way, I thought, when I get cold feet I can put my socks on and keep going!

;o) ;o)

I know - absolutely terrible!!

Use your talents wisely...

2005-10-14T09:30:00.000+13:00

2005-10-11T20:25:00.000+13:00

Try this:

Go to www.google.com.
Type in "failure".
Hit I'm Feeling Lucky.
Laugh and enjoy.

:D

EDIT: Here's another one to try from John R. - type in "French military victories", then click I'm Feeling Lucky...

Beer Research

2005-10-11T16:57:00.000+13:00

I could get in trouble for this, but it comes from Tony S. so I place responsibility onto him:

Scientist suggest that men should reconsider their beer consumption, after a recent analysis revealed the presence of female hormones in beer.
The concern is that drinking beer could turn men into women. To test this theory, 100 men were each fed six pints of beer within a one hour period.
It was then observed that 100% of the men:
talked excessively without making sense
became overly emotional
couldn't drive
failed to think rationally
argued over nothing
refused to apologize when wrong
No further testing is planned....

It's my arm!

2005-10-07T11:52:00.000+13:00

Sorry, another WYD pic, but I found my arm!!

The red sleeve, right in the middle is mine (if you want to know how cold it was, look at how white my hand is). That's also my head at the bottom.

It's fun finding random pics of myself.
Vain? Perhaps...

World Youth Day Index

2005-10-07T11:10:00.000+13:00

World Youth Day is definitely my highlight for the year. For easy reference I thought I'd collect all my blogs about it in one place. That would be here.

Ever get lost in the crowd?

2005-10-07T10:43:00.000+13:00

I found this picture on the net and I wanted to post it. It is an aeriel view of Marienfeld, where the WYD vigil and final Mass were held.

That blue stuff, that is poeple - 1.2 million of them! To the left, that white circular thing, is a big hill with the altar on top. There were hundreds of people up there alone!

It is virtually impossible to imagine that many people. New Zealand is what, 4 million? We will never get a gathering that size in our country. I think it is very impressive. The largest WYD was in Manila. They got over 4 million people to the final Mass! It's thought that that may be the largest gathering in histroy! That is pretty amazing if you ask me...

Here is the stage from another angle. Somewhere up on that hill I looking out at you. Can you spot me?

(Dis)Organised?

2005-10-03T16:21:00.000+13:00

I seem to live in this strange netherworld between being organised and being unorganised.

Take today as an example. I had a Law tutorial at 2 o'clock. I was very diligent and organised; during the weekend spent about a good hour preparing my notes and working through the problems. Fantastic, organised.

Then 10 mins before the tute I go to get out my stuff, and where are my notes? Not in my bag! I had a bit switchover this morning and must have left them at home. Disorganised. Not much fun I have to say. Oh, well, at least I get some benefit out of it as it is reasonable fresh in my mind.

Now after the tute I'm working on the computer writing up some of my other notes. And what do I find nestled quietly in amongst my other notes? Grrr!

Tell me, why, o why , do I bother?

If anyone else lives in this netherworld I'd love to know...

This post brought to you by the letter C and the word confused.

When Harry Potter meets Star Wars:

2005-10-02T23:07:00.000+13:00

"They look alike from the top!"

"Perplexed Potter"

Rosebud?

2005-10-01T12:01:00.000+12:00

Well, I got my last assignment in on Wednesday, which was a great feeling. I now have a clear run up to my exams at the end of this month. The main priority is now Law. Its divided into two exams. Here's a little clue to what it involves:

For Case Law there are 5 lines of cases that we need to know. Of these, we will be questioned only on three, but we do not know which three. That is half of this exam. In the first line:

There are 6 key principles;
involving 17 cases, each defining, developing or clarifying those principles;
with 3 main exceptions to those principles which are also developed in the 17 cases.

And of course it needs to be said that that is the first and most straight forward of the 5 lines! Simple, right? The others are less clear and have more cases involved. To add to that, I missed one whole line and half of two others. I do like to set myself challenges!!

I watched The Firm last night. Great movie, When I'm a lawyer with my 6 figure salary and my Mercedes I'll know all the work was worth it - because there are plenty of those jobs in NZ! : )

Besides the Firm, I've been watching a few good movies lately. Continuing to work through Dad's collection. Citizen Kane was one of those. According to some, one of the greatest movies of all time. Quite interesting, though I don't think I would rate it so highly. It's one of those movies with plenty of symbolism- in other words you never quite find out the significane of "Rosebud". You make of it what you will.

I'm currently in the middle of watching Vertigo, an Alfred Hitchcock thriller. Also, according to Dad, potentially one of the greatest movies of all time; perhaps in the context of when it was made - 1958. One thing you have to say about these movies though, is that they rely on their storylines much more than many modern movies do. So many movies these days just have special effects do the work! I guess it depends what you are looking for. One thing I enjoy about watching the older movies is that, although they may have been stars then, most of the actors are unknown to me so I only see the character, not the actor.

Finally, in other media, I've been reading some of the collected works of Arthur C. Clarke, a science fiction writer. Some brilliant short stories there. They are Great to read inbetween study breaks. His shortest is only 31 words! I might have to move onto some of his novels when I have more time.

A quote I liked from one of his stories,"Breaking Strain":

News that is sufficently bad carries its own guarantee of truth. Only good reports need confirmation.

------------------------------------------------------------
Also, Sarah and Foa: Have an awesome time in Vietnam! Be careful crossing those roads!

When LEGO meets Star Wars:

2005-09-28T11:08:00.000+12:00

What a surprise!

2005-09-27T21:03:00.000+12:00

I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me at home tonight. A parcel arrived that had travelled a long distance to get to me. In fact it had come all the way from Ghana!! I opened it up and what was inside? A delicious box of Cadbury chocolates! Fantastic, my favourite...

And who was this wonderful gift from, you may ask. My Mum.

And when did she sent it to me? Oh, only the 21st of June 2004! That's right, it only took 15 months to get to Ghana - and miss me - and get sent back!

Being the strong chocolate fan that I am I didn't let a little matter like a 15 month delay prevent me from enjoying them. I mean, sure, they expired in March, but boy did they look good!

Which famous World leader are you?

2005-09-27T17:03:00.000+12:00

Apparently I am...

What Famous Leader Are You?
personality tests by similarminds.com

This post proudly brought to you by procrastination! Yep, another essay due tomorrow and this is probably the trickiest one I've had to do yet. Still, I'm making stunted progress.

And to finish with a great quote from Hamlet:

"You, sir, are a fishmonger!" ;o)

Interested in Exorcists?

2005-09-24T18:44:00.000+12:00

Have a read here about the Italian Exorcist's congress. Apparently every diocese has an exorcist; by default the bishop, unless another is appointed. There's a useless fact for you.

Unless, of course, you are possessed...

On an unrelated note, I went to see Hamlet last night at the Fortune theatre. Fantastic performance. So much better to see it than read it. There are lots of cool quotes there too. You know, Hamlet goes rather mad (or is he faking it), maybe he needs an exorcist himself!!

eyrezer

Part II

War between India and New Zealand1

You can vote however you like

Rankings

Huh...

Late

All Blacks

All Blacks v Munster

My Canadian experience

Archived

It's alive?

Fish flies out of lake, breaks Arkansas teen's jaw

This is from Atland

American Idol

Rugby vs Soccer

Three - Zip

The Soccer: it's back

High Five

World's strongest Dad

Perplexing

Merry Christmas

Happy New Year

Quite

New link

I hear ya

Haircut

Am I in the right place?

Moronical

The truth will set you free...

Peter P.

Breakfast?

Mooting

Cartoon

Oh!

Oh!

Oh!

Assignment writing

Illiteracy!

Quote of the week

The Leith

Technology

Huh?

Mike the tyke

A Very quick brown fox

Meat

Breaking news!!

Some Oriental Wisdom

Other matters

A couple of thoughts...

"My soul is in these pages"

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark"

Running

Smile

I am wrong, I am right

This is actually quite funny

21st pics

Happenings

Aren't names important!

Hi there

Welcome to my world...

Spring cleaning

Merry Christmas

If you ever become an evil overlord...

The Top 100 Things I'd DoIf I Ever Became An Evil Overlord

Quotable

Christmas in the Park

Blog traffic

What type of Catholic are you?

Good ol' Winston

Job

Smile

Bloody rocks

I reckon!

Speights

My Golden Moment

Can I achieve my goal?

The exciting adventures of Mr Eyre

Exam Time

You'd better watch it!

The Top 100 Things I'd Do
If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord