I have mentioned in the past that I’m less than excited by most church signs that try to be pithy and end up sucking.
Why churches don’t just use these boards to promote the big idea of each sermon, or you know, the gospel, is beyond me.
Here’s a bit of a doozy in Brisbane (sent to me by my brother-in-law).
From my perspective, Steven Tran is many things. Talented photographer. Blogger. Budding theologian/preacher. Friend. Coffee companion. Dancer.
That’s right. Dancer.
Have you ever known somebody for a while only to have your eyes opened to their true nature a surprising amount of time into that relationship? It can be disconcerting. I don’t think I’ll ever look Steven in the eyes the same way having watched him take me completely apart in a game of Michael Jackson’s Dancing Whatever on the Wii recently. It was, well, wow. It was wow.
I’ve never seen anybody play Wii dancing quite like Steven did. It was like the old days. The Timezone days. I’d be there with my friend Simon, playing Pro Evolution Soccer, or whatever the arcade equivalent was. And there, next to us, would be some very serious looking dancers. Faces still. Limbs flying. Serious expressions. Steve was like that. And he knew all the moves.
Here are his tips to dancing like a star…
I must confess, the whole experience reminded me of a South Park episode, it has a rude title that some might find offensive, and I haven’t watched it recently so I can’t remember if it has rude words, but here’s a link to the clip…
I’ve really been enjoying Community. A show about a group of stereotypes at a community college (TAFE).
Really worth checking out (even if you didn’t think Four Lions was the funniest movie ever made).
Ha.
I can’t help but think this actually started with photos of dogs that were then matched with fonts.
Via Churchm.ag. Which used to be ChurchCrunch/ChurchGear/ChurchAwesome – but now just is. Check it out.
There’s something really nice and classy about this video.
Letterpress from Naomie Ross on Vimeo.
Makes me yearn for simpler times and simpler tastes.
Spotted first on 22 Words.
If I could pick one person in the blogosphere to meet in real life it would be Ben of Vanishing Point fame. He is famous. And if you don’t read his blog it’s your loss. And if you don’t look at his paintings and think “gee, I’d like to buy one of those” you are blind, or have no taste.
Amongst other things, Ben is an expert public transport commuter. So he offers the following guide as his mad skillz week submission. Thanks Ben.
Commuting is rubbish. If you like it, you are strange. I commute 3 hours a day. It’s rubbish. Lots of people all close together, being annoying. Morning breath in the morning. B.O. in the afternoon. Your day is bookended by badly smelling humans. You need to do what you can to minimise the pain. Seat positioning can help in this regard. Here are a few tips I’ve gleaned through years of experiance, pain and toil.
1. Be prepared. The biggest mistake commuters make is in thinking the quest for a good seat begins when the train door opens. Novices. Did the Mona Lisa begin when Leonardo Da Vinci started putting paint to canvas, or when his uncle (Kevin Da Vinci) gave him that set of Derwents and a Star Wars pencil case for his 7th Birthday? For real. Before the train even rolls into the station, you must be alert. All your senses must be working hard. None of this lollygagging around in the crowd chatting with your buddies, or reading mX. You need to already be visualising the seat that will be yours. Believe it to be yours already.
2. Determine your platform position. It’s all about vantage point. This comes with practice, but you must learn to read the platform before you. Seperate from the pack. They will blindly congregate regardless, like antelope heedless of impending predators. But you must find the courage to be your own man and/or woman. Be the lion. Don’t stand at the bottom of the escalators in the middle of the platform. Too crowded. But don’t go right up to either end either. This is where the hunters like yourself will be working on their own game. Go three quarters of the way to either end. No man’s land. Your land.
3. Avoid the frail and needy. Look around you on the platform. Are you near some elderly people? A guy on crutches? A lady with a pram? Move away fast. Sure, you’ll beat them on to the train and get a sweet seat, but all for nothing. Your groundwork will have been in vain. You’ll soon feel bad and give up your seat for one of these kind, and spend the remainder of your journey suffering the consequences. Reading your novel standing up, trying not to fall over. Trying to avoid skin to skin with sweaty armpit guy. If you can’t find a blank bit of platfom, you need to find a bit that is made up of peers, ie, people you won’t feel bad about taking a seat from.
4. Hit the ground running. Or more accurately, approach the slowing train walking. Don’t wait for it to come to you. Walk beside it, looking for where the doors will stop. Sort of like a relay athlete running a bit before he gets the baton thing passed to him. Apply caution and acceptable level of politeness to avoid falling down The Gap, or sending someone else falling down The Gap. When the door opens, you need to be directly beside the door. Not in front, or you’ll be one of those annoying people who doesn’t let people get off before they get on. But certainly not way back behind the rest of the pack. Be right beside, so you can just slip in fast.
5. Choose swiftly. Okay, you are on the train. All having gone well you should be very near the front of the pack. Don’t dillydally pondering upstairs vs. downstairs, carriage vs. vestabule, 3 seat vs. 2 seat. Consider that before the train has even arrived. Every second counts. Find an opening and go. You are the lion. Be bold and go for the prize. It’s all paid off now. You are in position. Settle, and enjoy the fruits of your labour. Look how far you are from sweaty armpit guy. It feels good doesn’t it. That sweet coctail of comfort and victory. Be happy. Be proud. You have won.
This is brilliant in so many ways, and on so many levels, starting with the gardening by power tool, finishing with one loon telling off another loon for being a loon. William Tapley v Harold Campling. Gold.
Van Gogh would have made art with bacon if bacon had existed back when he was alive. That’s the only reason I can think of that he didn’t create art with bacon. Bacon is a relatively recent development, and its PR department has convinced us all that it has been around for thousands of years.
Compare this:
To this:
For a guide to making art with bacon check out this instructable (the bacon starry night has its own entry).
Check out the Scream…
Speaking of Canadian Mitch (and Canadian Steph), one of the fun things about getting to know them this year has been watching them come to terms with Australian coffee culture. Steph even works at one of my favourite cafes.
I hadn’t realised why the learning curve was so steep for them, until I saw this video:
One of the great things about being a Bible college student is Bible college jokes make sense. Apologies to all my non Bible College readers for this one…
My friend Canadian Mitch sent me this. He has a photo blog, you should check it out.
Also. If you are a college student (particularly a first year at QTC) starting to stress about exams – check out my college resources page, I posted heaps of exam prep stuff last year.
Ok. So I’ve posted a billion videos like this before, and real life Mario videos have been disappointing since the Super Mario Bros movie. But this is kinda cool.
I don’t remember Mario having a handgun though.
Ahh. The art of the remix. Love it.
Christian Bale movies cut together to explain the darker side of Batman’s psyche.
So there’s a Tintin movie coming out. Are you, you, you, so excited? You should be.
What you may not know is that the movie that is coming out is just the tip of the iceberg. The Tin Tin franchise is looking to merge with existing movie franchises to make a much bigger splash in the cinematic world.
Ok, so that’s a lie. But the posters are cool, no? They’re from Mr Hipp.
Let me open with an arbitrary disclaimer. Only try this at home if your home is being invaded and you can take the criminal by surprise. Even then, you might be better off kicking them in the groin.
Not the hold suggested below.
I don’t know when you’ll need to use this, and I hope you never will, but Craig Schwarze is a seriously tough guy. He doesn’t just watch UFC like the rest of us. He does martial arts stuff. He knows how to do stuff you’ve only seen Chuck Norris do. He blogs about Genesis 1. You don’t get much tougher. You should, by the way, check out his blog. I’ve been reading it pretty much since I started blogging, and his post rate a few years back inspired me to up the ante here.
Here is his guide to taking down said opponent.
1. Position yourself behind the subject
2. Take your right arm, hook it around the subjects neck, and then place your right hand on your left shoulder. At this stage, the subjects neck should be sitting comfortably in the crook of your elbow
3. Take your left hand and slide it behind the subjects head, with the palm facing toward you. Use it to grip your right shoulder. There should still be no pressure on the subjects neck
4. Gently begin to squeeze your elbows toward each other. Don’t press too hard or quickly, or you will “gas” your arms. Just steady pressure together
5. Your forearms would put great pressure on the arteries on either side of the subjects neck. There should be no pressure across the throat. If applied correctly, subject will lose consciousness within a few seconds
6. Check out a quick demonstration (sadly embedding is disabled on this video)
Thanks Craig.
Feel free to submit your own mad skillz via my email address, found in various locations around this page (try the header).
I’m about to post my first Mad Skillz Week entry for round 2. But don’t despair. You can still submit yours. Email them to me. I have quite a few. But I’m happy to extend this until I run out. Get in on the action.