Upcomin GIG

my band [sansarcade] will be playing @ Schooner Tavern on 15th March - 8pm start.

tickets are $5 at the door - a steal!

its gonna be way way way fun.

just let the poor die

"just let the poor die"

you'd never hear me say or think that in a demi-century. but my actions. the selfish things i strive for, and the meaningless accruement of more material wealth. even the title of "Missionary" -even for a short term- which only serves to boost my already inflated ego. all that...disables me from doing the things that really matter.

what inspired such impassioned introspection - i hear someone ask? here we go...
it is not enough to have an "open heart/ and an open mind". BOLLOCKS. i heard someone say this-in regard to the plight of innocent people whose blood is being shed all over the world. what good is an open heart/open mind if nothing of 'time-worthiness' is collected in that filter we call brains. we are saturated with crap everyday. in the news - we hear about new zealand winning that sevens rugby game.yay. yawn! in the media - we hear tom and katie are squabbling over baby suri? people talk about how their workmate is a biatch for getting that promotion instead of them. and even church. yes. church - lets store up treasures in heaven guys - c'mon. Jesus wants YOU TO PROSPER ! oh. by the way your hair looks great , oh dude...that is a sweet outfit.you have soooo much style. oh u play the guitar? you should totally play at some christian concert/festival thinig! yeah!

sorry. maybe that was a little harsh. can't delete that now though. on a roll.
the church stands at the junction of power and powerlessness. i cannot help but feel we are standing with our feet pointed towards the latter. now let me first disclaim that i am in no way implicating any particular body of worship here. i speak generally. having said that however - it does have personal implications. at least i hope it does. i too am guilty of the same crimes - including the one of blissful ignorance. ah. free will. when was the last time you sung a song at church about Amadou dying on the street because he got no malaria pills - [you can buy them here for less than a dollar from the pharmacy in new zealand]? probably never. no no no. that would be too "in your face" ... too "confrontational". oh yes yes yes. you are quite right, we wouldn't want to tell people what its really like out there in the world, let alone think about that stuff. people just gotta get closer to God. we just gotta pray more. fast more. read our bibles more. lets get spiritual. coz that's what the world needs now isn't it.

c'mon man. lets do something with our lives. i feel like cussing right now. f'in lets do something!

finish that university degree so you can use that knowledge to free martyrs in jail.

go write that poem so you can inspire the oppressed.

go paint that painting - make people feel.

go finish that engineering degree so at least Amadou doesn't have to breathe dust while he's dying.

the fact that i had to be reminded that it was my birthday is probably commensurate with its insignificance. well perhaps that is a little hard - i suppose i feel a little indifferent or maybe its ambivalence?

what significance does "25" have? a quarter of a century young. what does it mean for me?

im not really sure to be honest. i still feel like a kid - as if i haven't quite grown up enough- indolent. maybe i never will and lets hope so.

its a little irksome that we should even be talking about 'n' life crises'...why 25? why not 26? or 16? etc etc. i guess its just an arbitrary figure, but i reckon its a kind of rest station to take stock and think about stuff e.g.: are we happy? and so on. its a little selfish - but that's okay, sometimes you gotta be in order to evaluate yourself and see where you fit in the grand schema. there are a few things i'd like to see happen in my lifetime before i go though. [i've had this inkling notion that mine will be short. about a decade left to go]. i'd like to see equal opportunity available to my bros/sists in Niger - and to achieve this would require a wholistic approach to mental/spiritual/physical well being - which would include improving the social milieu and all that good social justice stuff those hippies rave about :)

here's to another 25 + years. weeeeee!

klink*

good news?

i read in the paper today -
a young pakistani girl was raped by 11 men and then forced to parade herself naked downtown - the men felt their actions were justified after her brother had eloped with a local villager (obviously their family did not approve!).

how do we let such atrocities happen? though i understand it in the context of our propensity for evil...i still don't get it. this should not discourage us, rather it should challenge us to do something.

amid all this tragic news.
there are uplifting stories.
i had the pleasure of helping a young 30 year old schizophrenic lady. disowned by her family, and cast out of their home - they had had enough. they had even uttered the heart shredding words "my daughter is dead. this is not my child". it all seemed hopeless for her. but not so. she's now living in a supported flat and pretty much fully functional again - normal. she's happy. i cannot stop smiling.