Introducing Jamie Price

Spaceship (song) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As a musician I know what it feels like to think, every so often: I wonder what life would have been like if I’d completely sold out on doing music full time…

Fortunately for a friend of mine, he doesn’t have to think that at all; as part of a band he’s done far better than I ever have and as supported bands I’ve actually heard of, like Puddle of Mudd. On top of that, he’s just released a lovely new web page where you can hear some of his music, see a trailer for an upcoming film he’s written a lot of the soundtrack for, and peruse the services he offers as a solo musician.

So please, check out Jamie’s website to show your support for him, and if you know anyone who’s looking for a singer/musician/band for a wedding/party/event get in touch with him!

Oh, to be normal and strange

When You’re Strange (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m not sure how to define ‘normal’. Are most people normal, or are most people different, strange or unique?

Obviously everyone is unique but I think you know what I mean.

Some people are more unique than others.

As Christians there’s a fine balance to be struck between being ‘in the world’ (normal) but not ‘of the world’ (strange). Any ideas what that should look like practically?

In other words, to what extent should a Christian become like his colleagues? Is it anything short of sin? Or something different? Is it ok to be a real weirdo?

Does it matter?

Six degrees of separation

Me, My friend and The Chuckle Brothers (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m sure you’ll have heard of the theory that every individual on the planet has a maximum of six degrees of separation from every other individual. In layman’s terms, a friend-of-a-friend is someone who is one degree separated.

So in a partially fictional way I’m friends with someone who’s friends with the Chuckle Brothers (1), who are friends with some producer at the BBC (2), who plays golf with the FD of a national baker (3), whose brother-in-law’s (4) family (5) lives in Uganda and know a witch doctor there (6).

The theory goes that I could get to absolutely everyone on the planet in a maximum of six.

And surely Facebook etc has shown this in real-life. One person says something interesting, it’s ‘liked’ by his friends, and suddenly the audience for this comment is multiplied exponentially. Apparently some salesman called Joe Girard (he’s meant to be a Big Deal) claimed that everyone has 250 important contacts, which means that only two friends away we know 15 million people.

A lot.

Is the effect that we have on our closest friends significantly greater than it first appears? I think it might be.

Spider Man is apparently still amazing

I’ve never really been into the Spider Man films – it always seems that this superhero does incredibly well for two-thirds of the film before being paralysed by something ridiculous…but I’m sure they’re really enjoyable, so I thought I’d share this extended preview that’s come out.

I reckon it would have been improved if, when asked at about 1:30 ‘Who are you?’ Spider Man responded ‘I’M BATMAN.’ Never mind.

Thoughts from Oliver Twist

Just like the rest of the UK I got caught up in Dickens Mania around Christmastime, and started reading Oliver Twist for the first time, using a Kindle app on my phone. As I read it, I highlighted sections which I found interesting, and I thought I’d share them here. Some are funny, some more poignant…enjoy:

If he were really not in the habit of drinking rather more than was exactly good for him, he might have brought action against his countenance for libel, and have recovered heavy damages.

The poor people were so neat and clean, and knelt so reverently in prayer, that it seemed a pleasure, not a tedious duty, their assembling there together; and though the singing might be rude, it was real, and sounded more musical (to Oliver’s ears at least) than he had ever heard in church before.

We need be careful how we deal with those about us, when every death carries to some small circle of survivors, thoughts of so much omitted, and so little done – of so many things forgotten, and so many more which might have been repaired!

Strip the bishop of his apron, or the beadle of his hat and lace; what are they? Men. Mere men. Dignity, and even holiness too, sometimes, are more questions of coat and waistcoat than some people imagine.

‘When ladies as young, and good, and beautiful as you are,’ replied the girl steadily, ‘give away your hearts, love will carry you all lengths – even such as you, who have home, friends, other admirers, everything, to fill them. When such as I, who have no certain roof but the coffinlid, and no friend in sickness or death but the hospital nurse, set our rotten hearts on any man, and let him fill the place that has been a blank through all our wretched lives, who can hope to cure us? Pity us, lady – pity us for having only one feeling of the woman left, and for having that turned, by a heavy judgment, from a comfort and a pride, into a new means of violence and suffering.’

When a man’s his own enemy, it’s only because he’s too much his own friend; not because he’s careful for everybody but himself.

Without strong affection and humanity of heart, and gratitude to that Being whose code is Mercy, and whose great attribute is Benevolence to all things that breathe, happiness can never be attained.

Foetal humans, or human foetuses?

I read a blog post over here which made me physically nod my head in agreement.

I’ve been reading a book recently about being a parent to a newborn baby (because once you’ve read a book on that you’re fully prepared, surely), and it constantly refers to the child in the womb as a foetus. This particular book then continues to call the child a foetus even after birth, which clearly draws out the question: Where do you draw the line? When a child can talk/walk/vote?

The solution proposed here, I think, is far better. Perhaps it’s just semantics, or perhaps it’s deeper than that. The whole thing’s worth reading so I’m just going to quote it all:

I’ve been thinking of how unhelpful the term “human fetus” is. It reverses our usual grammatical way of speaking about a stage of development, so it perpetuates fuzzy ideas about the identity of the unborn.

We say “adult human,” not “human adult,” because that is the clearest way to speak. Saying “human adult,” “dog adult,” “horse adult,” etc. would make it sound as if an “adult” is a type of creature in and of itself, with the qualifier telling us if it happens to have human qualities, or dog qualities, etc. No, the type of being is “human,” and the qualifier is “adult.”

We ought to also say “fetal human.” It puts the emphasis in the right place and makes it clear to the listener that “fetal” is a stage of development, not a kind of being.

The word “fetus” has been used to obfuscate the identity of the unborn for too long, and even we pro-lifers can’t help but be affected by it. Just think of both terms and you’ll see what I mean. Don’t you feel more of an immediate kinship with a “fetal human” than a “human fetus”? Don’t you feel more protective of a fetal human? This is not a language trick, it’s a more consistent use of grammar and a long-overdue clarification.

I will give you money for free

Image via Wikipedia

I’m not even kidding.

I’m a bit of a freak when it comes to saving money, I’m willing to search for hours if it means saving a few pounds. So one of my frequently visited sites is one which gives me cash back on purchases I’d make anyway!

And I want you to share in my joy.

As a bit of an example we wanted breakdown cover – normal price £45 for the year, cash back £30 – quids in.

As an even better example I like music – special offer for joining some music download site: two free albums, first month free, cash back £8 – cancelled after the first month and I’m not only quids in but two albums in as well! Boom.

So here’s the deal – click on this link and get an account – that will be tracked to my account, and I’ll get £2.50, of which I will give you £2. Aren’t I generous? Just let me know when you’ve done it (DM on Twitter/e-mail me/grab me if you live nearby/leave a comment here – it won’t appear unless I approve it so I won’t tell the whole world you want the cash!).

Of course, there is some small print – for the £2.50 to be credited to me you have to claim £5, but as you’ve seen that’s not too hard, and it doesn’t have to cost you anything!

Can church be online?

This will be brief, but I may expand on it and clarify it over time…

Online communication is just a newer technology than writing letters – I hope we can agree on that. But it’s tempting to look at online communication as if it’s a different place rather than just a method of communication. We talk about ‘going online’, ‘meeting people on the internet’, and so on.

I’ve certainly heard of churches that have been set up online, and churches which have started ‘digital campuses’. I even think there’s a church within the Second Life community – but is this biblical?

Well, the apostle John talked about this a couple of thousand years ago:

I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. 1 John 1:13-14

John could have written more, but he didn’t want to; he recognised that being physically present with the church was better than communicating in his letter. It didn’t mean he didn’t write the letter, only that he intentionally kept that to a minimum to maximise the time they would spend together.

Would the apostle John have approved of online church communities?

I can’t draw either

I quite like the idea of drawing. But to give you an idea of my skill, here’s a picture I created (entered it into a competition and won. Alright.):

But it does make be inspired (and a bit sick) to see incredible artists. Here are a couple I’ve spotted in the past week.

Fredo

Some of his are a bit freaky, but you can see them here.

Justin Beever

This guy is ridiculous. Apart from having a cool name. Check out more here.

Also, happy anniversary to me.

A reminder that I’m not a good photographer

This might just be me, but whenever I’m taking photos of stuff I’ll often find one I like and secretly think, ‘man, I think I’m pretty good at this photography thing.’

Anyway, these photos are a good reminder of my need to be humble:

Ok, so this one won an international award. But this one‘s just too cool: