ED + Harbour Tunnel + Epping Road = Marty is not a happy chappy
23 February 2006
This week I'm working out next to Macquarie Yooni.
The traffic en-route is horrendous. If it's not bumper-to-bumper, it's start and stop, it's duck and weave. Trying to stay at the speed-limit (and not speed) is like taking life into your own hands as the wrath and fury of other drivers is unleashed as they speed by, or as they ride your rear bumper.
Perhaps it's the country bumpkin in me, but I just can't believe that so many people endure this for every working day of the year. I think our city has a mental health problem and it's name is drivingtowork. No wonder Sydneysiders are renowned for being stand-offish, short and impersonal compared to their country-dwelling counterparts: they're all going slowly (or quickly) insane because of the lifestyle in this city. So much for material prosperity being the most important factor in our existence - Sydney is getting richer and more stupid by the day it seems.*
In other news, it looks like the
Newsboys are playing Hillsong @ Hills on Easter Sunday (16th April). Rock on - they're also playing shows in Tasmania, Victoria and Queensland. These will be the first in Australia with new Melbournian guitarist Paul Colman.
Also, for all you Christian nerds out there, Koorong is looking for a
Java Programmer.
Until next time, stay classy, and economically viable,
Martyman
*Economic Rationalism takes another bullet to the chest from the gun of common sense.
Author: Martyn » Comments:
Ten Things I Hate About You
22 February 2006
You know those kids in Africa who are dying of AIDS and starvation. Man, I really hate those kids!! You know those homeless guys in the city, always on the same street corner. I hate those guys!! What about those workmates who are having some personal problems at home. I really hate those guys!!
And, gee, don't get me started on the exploited workers in the third world.
My hate for them flows ever freely!!
But don't worry, I'm not biased, I hate everybody...
And so, I suspect, do you.
What does it mean to hate someone?
I recently heard a wise man say "We keep confusing anger with hate. They are not the same thing."
That comment made me realise that I am a very hateful person. Because hate can manifest itself in anger, but it can also manifest itself in ignorance and apathy. It is anything that is not love.
So, that child in Uganda who's starving while I buy my new mobile phone. I hate that kid, man!! I really hate him!! It's in my power to show him love by donating to World Vision of Orxfam or Compassion or whoever. Instead, I get my upgraded gadget.
Or that homeless guy on the corner of George and Market. I really hate him.
Every time I treat him as a piece of furniture in the street and not a human being,
every time I walk past him and ignore him, I hate him.
And yet, there's not a hint of anger in me as I go around hating everybody.
Who's on your hate list?
Author: Martyn » Comments:
Beavis and Martyn do Australia
16 February 2006
Today, God taught me a very good lesson: that I am a butthead*
Ha! Who'd have thought?!
In my pride and arrogance I had prematurely judged someone I know, when I didn't really bother to hear things from their side.
It's no surprise that Jesus biggest problem when he was on earth was with the religious establishment of the day, who were quite keen on their own righteousness, but looked down on others. They found it hardest to break through their hard hearts and admit that they needed mercy. Today, this was me.
Thankfully, that someone was more humble and forgiving than I am.
God: 98237465982736598765987652765873657845
Martyn: 0
Thank God for mercy
!Until next time, stay classy, and merciful,
Martyman
* For those in the know: "I am cornholio!! TP for my bunghole!!"
Author: Martyn » Comments:
Fourplay
13 February 2006
Four jobs I've hadOracle Functional Application Consultant
Web Content Management Specialist
Radio Vocal Actor
Guitariste and Singer Extraordinaire, Esquire
OK, so I counted some things I've only done once or twice. But I did get paid!
Four movies I can watch over and overStar Wars (IV, V, VI)
The Matrix
Zoolander
Happy Gilmore
Four places I've livedNewcastle, Australia
Maidenhead, England
Randwick, Australia
Kingsford, Australia
Four TV shows I loveStargate SG-1
Macgyver
Seventh Heaven (yeah, baby! The only good Aaron Spelling drama)
Hornblower
Four highly regarded and recommended TV shows that I've never watched a single minute ofThe Office (UK)
The O.C.
Big Brother
Family Guy
'highly regarded' may be questionable for some of those...
Four places I've vacationedVancouver/Whistler, Canadia (spelling is correct =) )
Singapore la, Singapore
Hong Kong, Hong Kong
San Francisco, Los Angeles and Hawaii, U.S.A
Four of my favorite dishesStrawberries and Wizz-Fizz Sherbet (a tastesplosion in your mouth!)
Pineapple Juice!!
Chicken Salad Sandwich (Chicken, Avocado, Lettuce, Tomato, Capsicum, Cucumber, Beetroot, Carrot, Cheese on Multi-Grain)
Chocolate Subway Cookies with White-Choc-Chip...hmmmm...
Four sites I visit dailyhttp://mail.yahoo.com.au
http://www.abc.net.au/news
http://martynsmusings.blogspot.com (Shameless self-promotion is so noughties!)
Work Intranet
Four places I would rather be right nowIn bed!
Redhead Beach
In church!
In a recording studio
Four people I have 'tagged' to do this quiz next...
Joe
Alwin
Guan
Faith
Until next time, stay classy,
Martyman
P.S. Alas, looks like this year there will be no Ice Dream. Oh the humanity! Oh the shame!
Author: Martyn » Comments:
Living the Dream...
11 February 2006
It's Winter Olympics time, and I hope that means a resurrection of the Ice Dream
with Roy and H.G. I really do miss the
Smiggin Holes 2010 plugs (although I think Vancouver/Whistler, Canadia won that one), and the
Hugentoblers, and the stupid foreigners doing the Australian weather with all of the place names moved around on the map.
I wonder if we will be treated to another Steven Bradbury this time around?
But the highlight of every games is the channel seven commentary team.
Bruce McAvaney has an uncanny ability to completely transform into Captain Obvious in
the length of a single phrase. Comments such as "Well, he's going to win unless he comes second", and "At the end of the day, the better team will win"* are really what makes any major sporting event worth watching.
Let the games begin...
Author: Martyn » Comments:
And the winner is...
06 February 2006
Syd-e-ney!
Well, not quite. Here are the survey results:
| Name | Votes | % |
|---|
| Coe | 0 | 0% |
| Jolie (or is that taken) | 1 | 2% |
| Joarly | 1 | 2% |
| Sugglepie & Cuddlepot | 1 | 2% |
| mchardire | 1 | 2% |
| mr and mrs hardy | 1 | 2% |
| Hey you! | 1 | 2% |
| Yola! Kind of a funky combination of Yoda and Lala. | 1 | 2% |
| Carlsberg and Jarlsberg (cheese and beer) | 1 | 2% |
| marty, i reckon combine the first three: jarlycoeshow, with a british accent it almost sounds like jolly good show! | 1 | 2% |
| Jarly Larly Car | 1 | 2% |
| The Jarly and Coe Show (note the cute rhyme) | 1 | 2% |
| Cjarloe (kyar-lo) | 1 | 2% |
| Gilly is Mad | 1 | 2% |
| JoeLa | 1 | 2% |
| The Joe and Carly Travelling Circus | 4 | 8% |
| The Carly and Joe Show | 6 | 12% |
| Jarly | 12 | 24% |
| Joseph and the Technicolour Carly | 14 | 28% |
Congratulations goes out to
'Joseph and the Technicolour Carly'!!!Kudos also goes out to Gilly (for shameless self-promotion), and the Carlsberg and Jarlsberg entry (for staying classy).
In other news, no one has taken up the KYC challenge from the
last post *sniff* Perhaps a shorter post would've increased the chances of uptake =)
Well kids, that's it.
Until next time, stay classy,
Martyman
Author: Martyn » Comments:
Weekly Hoedown!!!
03 February 2006
Don't forget the Joe and Carly Amalgamation Survey!
Alright there folks!! Grabs your torch and pitchfork, it's an ogre!!
Hangon, that's not what I meant to say....
I meant to say, grab your flanno, straw hat, and your 'I heart Tamworth' shirt, cos it's time for the biggest hoedown this side of the Country Music Festival. Yes, that's right, it's Martyman's weekly hoedown[1]!!!!
FridayA rockin day at work with the new project team. Man~ they're a nice bunch of people!! Had lunch with sister at funky salad place. Who would've thought that salad could taste so good (yes, all you guys reading, I was as shocked as you are right now!).
After work I headed up to this year's Katoomba Youth Convention with a nice bunch from Unichurch: D, A and S. We arrived just to hear the end of the first talk. I hit the sack with zeal and passion.
Saturday / SundaySaturday and Sunday was a blur of joy. I love the part of ushering that involves smiling and yelling at people simultaneously =). This year was by far the best KYC I've ever been to, out of 5 or so. I was really moved by every talk, to tears sometimes. It was such a great topic and such great speakers.
The speakers were Ray Galea and Sam Chan.
I immediately warmed to Ray from the first time I heard him speak, at KYC 2000 (on Romans 1-8, with 8 speakers!). He has such a down to earth manner, and expresses some high and lofty ideas and thoughts in a very real way, that is grounded in human experience. He always comes across as really meaning what he's saying, from the heart. Surely, this makes for great preaching[2].
Sam Chan is a much more recent discovery for me! He spoke at Men's Convention[3] last year, where he excelled above all other speakers I've ever heard in the humour stakes. He wasn't quite as funny this time around - I think, perhaps, due to the presence of females in the audience. At Men's Convention he made countless jokes that appealed to male sensibilities: a formula that cannot possibly fail!! =) But he's more than just a funny speaker - all of his stories and analogies always tie back in to where he is going with the message. He's certainly a very clear and gifted speaker. I look forward to hearing him more in the future.
The topic for the weekend was 'Encountering God'. The phrase 'Encountering God' is, in itself, very charismatic language. And some of the application that came out of the talks was very non-hardline-sydney-evangelical. Both Ray and Sam articulated things that I have been feeling and experiencing and saying for some time now, but suspected that I may be only one of few: that God is personal; that knowing God has an experiential and emotional component of which we should not be afraid; that we need to read the Bible to know Jesus, not make knowledge of the Bible an end in itself. I can tell you right now, it was so refreshing to my soul to hear these things spoken in the pulpit by two Godly Christian leaders.
Thankyou God, thankyou!!!!
I've spent the rest of the week rocking along to the tune of the talk mp3s on the way to and from work, or at lunchtime: on the bus, walking along, whatever!!
Sunday NightUpon arrival back in Sydney, I hit Unichurch for the evening. The speaker was a blast from the past. He actually stood in line with me while I enrolled before first year: something my sister had teed up. He's now back with a vengeance to look after the campus junket.
Post-church was an all-male jaunt to Dong-Dong with some old friends and new MTSers. A great night of chillin' with muchos foodos. We highly recommend the honey pork with peppery bits (I can't remember the actual name of the dish).
MondayDay off!! Wise move, Martyman. Took it easy, went to the gym, watched a b-grade movie on TV with Joe. Slept.
Tuesday - Friday
Tuesday night was dinner with an awesome Christian mate at some Indian place on Anzac Pde. My spice tolerance factor increased that night[4]. Wednesday was a grads bbq - spent hours chatting about music to one of the long term pastors. What a gift music is!!
OK, that's it for the play-by-play account. It was quite exhausting. I think next time I shall go for a higher-level overview.
Until next time, stay classy,
Martyman
P.S. If MYC = Meet Your Companion; Melodious Yellow Chickens; etc.
What does KYC = ? Post a comment and let me know your thoughts...
[1] In related news, did you know that when
Third Day were in one of their first incarnations, they were called 'Nuclear Hoedown'? Just goes to show that the Sovereignty of God and the evil of men do coexist!! Thankfully, what their naming skills meant for evil, God meant for good, and they eventually traded that tag in for the much beefier Third Day.
[2] Some literature that I have read on 'how to be a persuasive presenter' asserts that the manner and body language of a speaker can, humanly speaking, be more important in persuading than the content of what the author is speaking. Perhaps the effects of the stirring oratory of people such as Adolf Hitler and Martin Luther King, Jr. affirms this, to some level - both were able to persuade people who may not normally have listened to them. Just a thought.
[3] Men's convention = boo-yah!! Hangin' out for this years =)
[4] When it comes to food, Anglo is my skin, and Anglo are my tastes!! Give me meat and three veg any day, but curry...oh dear!
Author: Martyn » Comments:
I.T. - IT's where IT's at!
02 February 2006
Don't forget to take the Joe and Carly Amalgamation Survey!!In recent days, my colleagues have added to the MHI* rather significantly. Since my colleagues are all computer nerds like me, much humour revolves around the I.T. Consulting world.
Key examples are:
1. The e-bore-ometer2. huhcorp?
3. Project Understandings
4. Dilbert
Until next time, stay classy,
Martyman
*Martyn's Humour Index = a metric scale system designed to represent, at any point in time, the level of humour and hilarity present in the mind and action of Martyn.
Author: Martyn » Comments:
