Author Archives: Elizaphanian
Some thoughts post-Wednesday afternoon (football)
The scoreline wasn’t great, but the performance, especially in the first half, was. Our goal was well earnt and we should have had several more. Which remains the problem. If we play the same team and formation against Germany I expect us to lose, possibly quite badly.
Some positives:
– Impressed with Milner, who visibly grew through the game, after an appalling first ten minutes
– Gerrard, for once, exercised a proper discipline on the left, which allowed Ashley Cole to play properly, which helped the team greatly
– Rooney showed flashes of what he is capable of
– Joe Cole had a run out – as a replacement for Rooney. Perhaps that is how Capello sees him, as a split striker rather than winger. Interesting.
One last thought – I’ve been impressed at how Capello has handled the Terry situation, and he got a great performance from Terry as a result.
TBTM20100623
TBTM20100619
A good post from Tim about the Mitre fuss.
He also talks about the Ditchkins controversies, on which topic this video of Peter Hitchens is worth watching.
Some thoughts post-Friday night (football)
Firstly: full credit to Algeria for closing us down very athletically, denying us space and making us look stupid. That said…
If you are facing a hard wall, you need your best drill. If you have a diamond-tipped drill, why use a drill-bit best employed on wood? Most especially, when things are going wrong, why do you shift your diamond tip out on the left wing?
The team seem to have lost belief – either in themselves or in the coach – and I would put it down to using the wrong formation. Capello is, I think, starting to realise his lack of experience at this level, most especially (and I laughed heavily) when he said that the team didn’t reflect what he saw on the training pitch. Well, duh! He needs to put the players in their best positions, where they feel most comfortable, and he needs to bring on Joe Cole, a proven performer at this level who also has a lot to play for (like a move to Man Utd) – and who also isn’t exhausted by the over-long Premiership season.
Unless Capello shifts to the formation I recommended (!) then we will not score against Slovenia – and then we’ll be on our way home, and deservedly so. Grrrrr….
The Fall
This was an absolute feast visually, but what held it together was a phenomenal performance from the child at the centre of the story. I’m not sure if it carries a great weight of meaning – the ‘bracketing’ of the film with particular images put me in mind of Magnolia – but it is certainly a film that could be watched many times. Highly recommended 5/5
20 Seconds of Joy
I caught this on TV last night and found it fascinating. It is a documentary following a Norwegian base-jumper, and it explores what drives people to pursue these extreme sports. It had interesting things to say about the nature of fear, and the way in which facing and conquering the fear of death – which you need to do if you’re going to jump off the side of a cliff – leads to much greater equanimity and sense of proportion in the rest of life. I’d recommend seeing it if you get the chance.
It also struck me, however, that some people have the same attitude to worship that base-jumpers have to the adrenaline rush (the “20 seconds of joy”). They seek a ‘hit’ – an internal ‘charging’ of their spirituality, in the same way that the base-jumpers entered a state akin to meditation when they really had to concentrate on pulling the parachute cord at the right moment. Just as with any other addiction, familiarity breeds contempt. The Norwegian girl rapidly became accustomed to simply jumping off a cliff and flying down, so she pursued a path of flying closer to the cliffs for a greater rush. In the same way I have the impression that much Christian “worship” is about pursuing a particular experience, a particular subjective state, which allows some self-forgetfulness, and we end up with the phenomenon where “the pastor feels like a cult prostitute, selling his or her love for the approval of an upwardly mobile, bored middle class, who, more than anything else, want some relief from the anxiety brought on by their materialism” (Hauerwas & Willimon).
I think that to really enter into a genuine and transformative relationship with the living God a believer has to be prepared to work past the threshold of boredom with regard to worship. It is only when the self, with all its immoderate and ultimately jaded appetites, its consumer preferences and idolatry of choice, is subject to a higher discipline that a genuine intimacy with God can be found.
Put differently, many contemporary worship forms will simply end up breaking the legs of the believer. Liturgy puts them back together.
TBTM20100612
The Pontiac that was allergic to Vanilla Ice Cream.
Some reflections on Avatar.
What caused the Deepwater Horizon disaster, and why (possibly) it’s going to get much worse.
Transition Culture vs The Big Society.
I strongly recommend listening to this (1.5 hour) talk from Stoneleigh of The Automatic Earth, slides to accompany the talk are at the link. Very sobering.
The Unforgiven Wrestler
Finally got around to watching this film last night – I had been meaning to watch it for ages – and it was, as expected, an excellent film, highly recommended, although, as a tragedy, it ends up being pretty grim. 4.5/5
However, whilst watching it I was put in mind of the text from Sunday’s service: “he who has been forgiven little loves little”. The turning point in the wrestler’s story is a rejection, which leads to a relapse into bad habits, which escalates into another rejection, and a further relapse, and the man sinks back into the way of death. In other words, it is because of a lack of forgiveness – especially from one crucial person – that death follows. So I see the film as an exploration and presentation of a spiritual law – where choosing love and forgiveness leads to life in abundance, so too does a lack of love and lack of forgiveness lead to death.
Similar themes to the Eastwood film – hence the title of this blog post.
Righteous
Is it worrying that I really like this motivational poster?
