mountain masala

leaps and bounds

so the commonwealth games are over and all of victoria has no doubt been blogging about it. i missed the opening, saw lots of bits on tv late at night, and saw the second half of the closing ceremony.

seeing paul kelly live was wonderdul. he was one of the few "live" performers. the indian launch was stunning. i have to say that I was very impressed with much of the closing ceremony production - some very extraordinary and clever staging and imagery - a pity that it lacked a script other than tourism. 1000 dame edna's was hilarious, but the idea of sending up crass commercialism didnt work, did it. still, 1000 waving light-up gladioli....

after a weekend of indian and sri lankan worship and stories, i was more attuned to the clash of cultures, including the repeatedly dumb commentary (which at one point said that unlike england, australia, etc., india was a young country.....??? what the heck was that about???)

the launch of the 2008 games theme song was funny, poignant, moving. so un-disney. the song seemed like a eurovision song contest from another era. but at the same time a sincere attempt from a nono-western culture to embrace the world. who knows whether it was more or less sincere than the australian cultural antics.

i like the 'games' because for all of their economic and political biases, which are largely the point of them, I not only see people attempting and sometimes doing extraordinary things - but that in them i see grace and beauty, despair and failure, cooperation and compassion, longing and loss - raw and honest, regardless of all of the side issues - in ways that reveal the human person - body. mind, heart and spirit - and so give me glimpses of God.

would that the church so starkly and compellingly staged the intersecting drama of humanity and divinity for the world.

and yet this morning, when samson and gehtzi (our visiting indian ministers) told something of their stories, along with emma speaking of her recent visit to romania to train occupational therapists, such an intersection was lit more brightly that the fireworks along the yarra.

i don't have any prose tonight to say it better. what a contrast between the commonwealth games launch and the story of an indian minister, a woman from the lowest caste in india, dalit, for whom the intervention of the missionaries, for all of their failures, provided education that transformed her life, and that of many others.

very very tasty

i have to say that the split pizza was excellent. the veg half took the evening honours, and the roo was chewable too. I already have ideas to improve both - mainly wood-smoking particular ingredients - shaved roo (not minced), eggplant, and caramelising the veg for both in the vino cotto, with a bit of wine (red for the roo, white for the veg).

the veg pizza was almost a dessert thing, and probably the best original pizza recipe I've ever made in my opinion.

definitely a repeat very shortly.

kangaroo pizza and vegetarian too

yes. another culinary experiment. I've cooked 'roo a few times with good success, but never bought 'roo mince before. sincde we all missed our weekly pizza night last night, tonight I've been experimenting. having decided to make 'roo pizza, I did a search on the net, only to find a million foreigners blogging abouteating kangaroo pizza downunder (along with other exotic treats) at gourmet restaurants, but no recipes!

and of course, none of them would have been using mince! I have a few ideas about what to do with 'real' roo meat, but that's not what was on hand.

I also wanted to try something veg with an indian twist.

so... half of tonight's pizza has 'roo mince and is based on the lebanese pizza recipe. the difference is that I didnt use cinnamon, have put lots of fresh basil on top and sprinkled sugar and maggie beer's vino cotto. oh, and added some sweet chilli sauce - the one thing I gained from the net search. not sure, something fruitier might have been better, but I wanted tang rather than something to compete with the pomegranat syrup.

the veg side has grilled eggplant, fried sweet potato "chips", grilled capsicum strips, sliced leeks... and mango chutney (mainly the big mango chunks from the bottle with dabs of the sauce) and also sprinkled sugar and vino cotto. I've also sprinkled sumac over the whole thing.

yes, everything would have been much better smoked with charcoal - next time.

we'll have yoghurt for the veg side and sour cream to put on the roo side after its cooked.

off to put it in the oven......

the old rugged cross

tonight the girls and I played a the Sri Lankan Christian fellowship, where worship was being led by our two Indian minister friends. they picked the songs, which were a mixed bag, and in some ways a sad testimony to the influence of the british! so I can now say that I've played "the old rugged cross" in church for the first time! i was almost in tears for all the wrong reasons!

the tamil song that the congregation sang, by contrast, was lovely.

great people and an enjoyable, hot evening, even if it was culturally mixed, still I suppose that was to be expected.

on the down side, my Martin is due for some new frets....

god is in the roses

rosanne cash's new album black cadillac, written following and about the death of her parents, johnny cash and june carter, is getting rave reviews. i listened to and bought a few of the songs from itunes. "i was watching you" is destined to become a funeral favourite in Tamworth. a standout track is "God is in the roses". well worth a listen.

God is in the roses
the petals and the thorns
storms out on the oceans
souls who will be born

And every drop of rain that falls
Falls for those who mourn
God is in the roses and the thorns

The sun is on the cemetery
The leaves are on the stones
There never was a place on earth
That felt so much like home

We’ve falling like the velvet petals
We’re bleeding and we’re torn
But God is in the roses and the thorns

I love you like a brother
A father and a son
It may not last forever
But it never will be done
My whole world fits inside the moment
I saw you be reborn
God is in the roses
And that day was filled with roses
God is in the roses and the thorns

snog - fill my hole

.thanks to jonathan, here's a great clip of Snog's hit Fill My Hole. 8.6 mb Quicktime movie.

Snog live here. I don't know anything about them at all really.

the dancing sky

while i was running youth leader training last weekend, the rest of the family (and most of adelaide) went to the opening of the adelaide festival to see "il cielo che danza" - the dancing sky. i'd seen a bit on television. they sat right underneath it all. amazing.

the twins played percussion at womadelaide on the weekend and so got free tickets again. apart from the drama of thinking we had lost one of them (for 5 hours) they had a great time, and got to see/hear evelyn glennie. this saturday we're taking them to see the rascher saxophone quartet.

i think i'm going to decide to host adelaide's biennial alt-church/worship event right at this time of year. the festival, fringe, and womad - what else could you want.

Adelaide Festival of Arts
Adelaide Fringe Festival
Womadelaide

ok. march 2008. i'm dead serious
adelaide hosts the church fringe festival
after all, why should the program at a church gathering be provided by the church. makes much more sense to be reflecting theologically on life in the world.

are you up for it?

[re]generate in april

our next [re]generate evening is coming up on 3 april. we'll be holding it at a pub near the city which apparently has great tapas. they also have a driving range, so budding golfers might come early for a swing. our focus will be on local stories. we have sarah talking about blackwood's jazz service, jason talking about his "eco church" initiative at scots, and robin giving us an update on the c-change pub church at port adelaide.

looking like it will be a good evening. any adelaide locals who'd like to come call 8416 8427 to book by the 27th.

hairless

on a whim i shaved my face last night for the first time in 12 years. children are crying, the dog tried to bite me, but my wife does keep stroking my face...

i think I'll grow it all straight back. it's a bit too weird. it makes me look like peter costello or something.

like a candle

I had meant to post that it was 10 years ago the weekend before last that rachel millen died. there was a gathering of friends in tassie, a kind of reunion I suppose. I didn't get to go, but as I was leading worship the following day here in adelaide, I included "like a candle" in the service, as the gospel was about transfiguration and that seemed to fit well.

I'm still amazed by where this gets sung. Here is the sheet music and here is a 2.8 mb mp3 of Palangi singing it at NCYC 97 in Launceston. Download like_a_candle.mp3

It was also recorded for Seasons of the Spirit Volume 3. Here's a sample.

Thanks to Tim and Roger for contributing the tune. I still like the original version which is on "The Belonging Kit" CD as well.

Like a candle burning wildly
raging soft against the night
spark that leaps to clear the shadows
sending warm, disturbing light
we are called to live the passion
hope stands strong against all pain
for its only in the burning
that the candle shows its flame

verse one
lyrics by me

once again for rachel