There was a common theme running through my rss feeds yesterday...

Eric Keck
"I can't stand being told it can't be done..." [read more]

Pud
"As long as you're being creative, taking risks, and making things happen, people will always think you're crazy." [read more]

It was nice to be reminded.

Please please me

"It is said that we are all three different people: the person we think we are (the one we have invented), the person other people think we are (the impression we make) and the person we think other people think we are (the one we fret about). You could say it would be a lifetime's quest to reconcile this battling trinity into a seamless whole." Read more (via)

Reading this article this morning I was reminded of this.

There is a game that we play among fellow human beings which screams simultaneously "I am desperately intelligent, stylish, suave and good looking," and "Please, please, please give me some value." It's a game that we barely remember because it becomes so deeply entwined with who we are. We so badly need others to tell us we are worth something that creating a fictitious self to get it somehow loses its absurdity.

Strangely, we are told by a somewhat marginal stranger, that the way to find rest, the way to "reconcile this battling trinity into a seamless whole" is to escape this unsatisfying game.

White Van Man
This weekend Dave and I took a trip down to Plymouth in a white van. It was fun to see Mr Henson again and to enjoy some Wagamama Yasi Katsu Curry once we were back in Bristol. We watched Identity and I fell asleep just as the plot was coming to a head. When I woke up it waas the end credits and I made Dave explain the entire film.

While I was away from Cardiff, Wales beat England 27-18 in the Rugby (watch it here) transforming my otherwise sport-dispassionate father into a huge fan...

Why Britain will not win the Eurovision Song Contest 2007

'Our' entry

In Britain no body keeps track of the Eurovision and its entrants. It fits comfortably in the category of 'crap music,' which, by British standards, means 'worse than X-Factor,' and therefore attracts little attention. The one reason why a few people tune in on the night of the main contest is seasoned radio DJ, and comedy genius, Terry Wogan, who, as UK compare, is paid to make a mockery of the whole thing.

There was one thing that drew the interest of the press this year and that was the involvement of Morrisey, who wanted to write and perform a song at this years event (I'm told that he loves the Eurovision, and cites a past Swedish contest entry as his all time favourite song, despite being clueless as to the words).

Sweden's Entry

In Sweden, on the other hand, Eurovision, or Melodifestivalen as it's known there, is serious business. It's an event that makes headlines and is carefully constructed to extract revenue from the 12% (upwards) of the population who tune in through every week of the preliminary selections.

Not only that, but it attracts 'serious' artists, such as this years' winner The Ark, who have toured with the likes of UK favourites The Darkness. Carola, who has represented Sweden twice (and here in English) at the Eurovision, is one of the most famous people alive in Sweden today.

Swedes have a word for everything, and the style of music at The Contest is no exception. Swedish artists are proud to rise to the challenge of writing a piece of 'slager' for the event.

What Church is not...

As I'm sure you've figured out by now I'm back in Cardiff. It's actually been an entire week and I'm just about getting used to it.

Leaving Malmö was as difficult as expected. The last few days were bittersweet, being with great friends, knowing that I'd soon be gone. However there was hope mixed in with it, the hope of growth and adventure.

The Sunday before I left I met up with Andreas for the last of our weekly catchups, and was just about to leave (about 18:00) when the doorbell rang. When Andreas opened the door there was a small collection of people, all of whom I knew, but was surprised to see together. It turned out he had organised a surprise leaving party. It was a great surprise - Thankyou to all concerned!

Designing
One of the things I've been working on recently is the Skapa website. For those of you who won't get much out of the site (it's in Swedish) Skapa is an organisation that exists to explore the overlap between faith and art. This is primarily expressed through an annual event, where these elements are brought together. The theme for this year is Black/White, Life/Death and contrast, and the site design reflects the idea of this contrast. It was a challenge working primarily in black and white (there is a hint of colour in the links), but an enjoyable challenge.

I found this in my notebook today and thought it would be ironic to post it here...

I do not write
for public consumption
Because I fear
the contrived

Originality has become
my captor
A kind of "End of
level guardian" to my
creative juices

(more posts to follow)

So the biggest news of my life right now is that I'm leaving Malmö on March 1st. The plan is to take a course in "Church Planting" (the buzzword for starting communities of faith centred around the life and teachings of Jesus) across the pond, starting in September. Before then I will spend some months in Wales, saving, and enjoying my family.

It's going to be so hard leaving this wonderful place, and even harder to leave the wonderful people I've come to know while I've been here.

My Weekend

photo (c) Emma Nordeborn

Beatbox
Here is a guy called Reggie Watts producing soulful, skatty, hip-hop with the use of just his voice and a small sampling machine... (via)


The clip below, from the same guy, made me smile too...

Last night Niklas and I had the pleasure of witnessing Plunge record their next album at Gula Studion. It was a great night of firsts, first time in a 'proper' studio (where the likes of Franz Ferdinand, The Cardigans, The Ark, Marit Bergman etc. have recorded), first time hearing Andreas play with his own band, first introduction to live, freeform jazz. Actually, I'm told that calling it 'freeform jazz' is really just a demonstration of ignorance. Plunge should apparently be discribed as (something like) "an experimental, existential, minimalist trio who express influences from the world of jazz along with other forms of improvised music..."

It was surprisingly relaxing and so inspiring to hear such great musicians and to watch their musical interaction. Now I have a sense of the "conversation" that Andreas has been trying to describe to me for so long.

The great thing about Sweden is there are still people who dress like Rupert the Bear - matching chequered trousers and scarf!

Last night I was chilling out with Christopher and Anna and we decided to play Scrabble. The strange thing is that in Sweden it's called Alfapet, and has extra letters Ö, Ä, and Å. I told them that I would play in English, but that they were welcome to use Swedish. They chose to play in English. The game was really strange when it comes to scoring and the making up of words - we decided that the extra letters would count as As or Os, but in the Swedish scrabble there aren't as many Es, and Cs are worth 8 points, instead of the usual 2 points (or is it 3?) Confusing.

Made to Mingle?
After eluding to questions of calling and purpose over passing weeks I thought I might unveil a tiny fragment of what feels like mine...

I think that one of the aspects of my 'calling' is the hosting of parties. This evening Peter, Ellen and I hosted a party at the apartment, which felt like a success. One of my passions in life is bringing together people from different walks of life, introducing them to each other, and seeing the interesting network of relationships that blossoms, along with the cross-pollination of ideas.

A couple of years ago I was at New Wine and I heard Mal Calladine teach this concept - that some people are supposed to be hospitable through the throwing of parties. I like the way it expands the concept of vocation. Living as something of a nomad in recent years (barely staying in one place long enough to decorate my room), I haven't had as many opportunities to throw parties as I would like. Whenever I have, however, I feel elated, kind of like I'm doing something I was made for.

Breakfast in Sweden is a serious business. Since I've been here I've gone through several favourite breakfasts...

1. Gröt med Lingonsylt (Porridge with Lingonberry jam)
I arrived last November to the coldest and longest winter I had ever experienced. Thankfully, unlike us Brits, Swedes keep the heating on all night. Anyway, for probably 4-5 months I thought there was nothing better than waking up to a warm, sweet bowl of porridge. However a few months ago I was mocked by a pastor for this porridge-preference, "Man, that is sooo Småland! You should try it with Äpplemos, that's WAY better..." I actually disagree, and I feel no need to apologise, as I was taught by a real life horse-riding, forest-dwelling Smålander...

2. Filmjölk och Müsli (Sour milk and Museli)
As soon as I tasted Fil, a product that is not available back home, and is like a cross between natural yoghurt and milk, I loved it. It gives a refreshingly sour flavour to the morning.

3. Frisk Bröd med Apelsinmarmelad och Ost (Fresh Bread with Orange Marmelade and Cheese)
It's not very British to eat untoasted bread for breakfast, or cheese for that matter (especially not with something sweet), but this ROCKS.

Now for my current favourite...

4. Mild Vaniljyoghurt och Müsli (Mild Vanilla yoghurt and Museli)
Where Fil is sour, Vaniljyoghurt is light and slightly sweet (though not too sweet for breakfast time). mmm mmm dee-licious.

Music
For me, Christmas, and the winter season, always brings with it a hankering for the mellower edge of my musical tastes. I was delighted to receive Johnny Cash's final contribution to the musical world, 'American V: A Hundred Highways' and also Sufjan Steven's 'Illinois' this year.

I love the rawness of Mr Cash's final recordings, which he made in collaboration with Rick Rubin, the guy who founded seminal hip-hop label Def Jam. There's a beauty and wisdom in his tired, old voice. I was also moved to read that, in the days leading up to Cash's death, Reuben and He were daily celebrating the Lord's Supper together...

As for Sufjan Stevens, I was delighted to hear that Mark Churchill's ravings were not in vain. Stevens really is a gifted songwriter and musician who seems to grapple with some of the intricate tensions of life with inspiring grace. My favourite track from this album is Casimir Pulaski Day, the lyrics of which you can read here.

Finally, while I've been aware of his existence for some time now, I've really only just began to appreciate Ray LaMontagne. He played at Jools' Holland's annual Hootenanny, and his voice was as rich as any recording I had heard. He also has an amazing beard.

As I sat in Dublin Airport on Thursday morning, awaiting my flight to Malmö, I listened to the Ricky Gervais Podcast. The show turned out to be so funny that I couldn't just sit there looking serious (as you're supposed to in an airport), but instead began to shake uncontrollably like a child in a classroom who can't laugh out loud because he doesn't want to get into trouble with his teacher. Eventually I paused the podcast, so as to compose myself, and hoped that when I turned it back on it wouldn't seem quite as funny. It didn't work, the show was just as funny and I was forced to continue with my muffled laughter.

Mmm mmm I just made the nicest Lentil Soup. It's the first time I've made a soup, and it marks me getting over a strange fear of lentils that I've had for a while. Fear is probably an over exaggeration, but I think they would be harder to use...

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients
1 Onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves Garlic (crushed)
1 litre Vegetable Stock
300g Lentils
3 potatoes (sliced small)
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 pinches Curry Powder
1 pinch Salt
2 pinches Black Pepper

Instructions:
1. Saute the Onion in the olive oil until it goes transparent, then add the the garlic.
2. Place the Vegetable Stock in a large saucepan and heat until simmering.
3. Add the Onion and Garlic.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 45min-1hour, stirring occasionally.
5. Serve with fresh bread.

There are two adverts running on Swedish television at the moment that use the same background track - 'Hoppipolla' by Sigur Ros. One ad is for a nature channel (at least that's what I think) and the other is for movies on TV3 (Swedish channel). The strange thing is that they often appear in the same sequence...

While Christmas and New Year were lovely times of relaxing with family, eating lots, and having fun together, there was another, more serious side, to the whole thing. There was a sense of God calling me towards himself, reminding me who I am and asking me to put him first in everything. I've been reassessing and rediscovering my purpose - the one thing that I could say I was made for.

It says in the Bible that "Where there is no vision, the people perish," and I'm sure that this is true. Vision is the target that you can set your sites on, it is the context into which everything you do fits. It is the thing against which you can measure your priorities, and assess, out of all the potentially good things you could do, which you are supposed to do.

I'm told that while pursuing your calling won't always be easy, when you are doing it there is a sense of peace, a deep sense of happiness.

On another note, I'm loving Rob Bell's Nooma Videos at the moment. I like the way he uses such short clips to capture a single aspect of who God is, or how we relate to Him.