We’ve all done it in our student days – or held our breath as others have been foolhardy enough to attempt it – correcting the teacher. We learned a lot from how the teacher responded, particularly when the student was actually right. Adolescent joy abounded if the teacher blustered and blundered and obfuscated around hisContinue reading “Correcting the Teacher”
Category Archives: Personal
The joys of being a railway tragic…
I went through a boyhood phase of wanting to be a train driver (when I wasn’t wanting to runaway and join a circus). I don’t think the desire ever left me. Then I came across this full length silent Buster Keaton movie: Heaven on a stick!
One thing my training never equipped me for…
… is IT troubleshooting. For a small, ageing congregation, we’re very wired up. We digitally record our services, network with one another through email and a few are even braving Facebook and Twitter. This week I ventured into Android tablet territory and began teaching myself its various idiosyncracies and exploring the wonders of syncing itContinue reading “One thing my training never equipped me for…”
Census night
The choice tonight is to catch up on this blog or fill out the census forms. My son with eagle eye already discovered a discrepancy in the registration number on our form and rang up about it. Sure enough, the number was ‘invalid’ and we had to arrange for the census office to SMS aContinue reading “Census night”
When the High Court saves us from ourselves…
There’s a very good reason for the separation of powers – particularly law and governance: High Court puts Malaysia deal on hold | News.com.au. There will be many who gnash their teeth and wail that a High Court intervention interferes with the so-called “will of the people.” It depends, however, on what theContinue reading “When the High Court saves us from ourselves…”
Trying a Triantiwontigongolope
It was my usual charge in and grope my way in the dark. I needed some things from the office, so I felt for the right shaped key, found the lock – turned the knob and entered the dark cave I call my study. I reached out my hands and felt around the desk. BotherContinue reading “Trying a Triantiwontigongolope”
Paying the tax collector
Having just labored over and electronically lodged my tax return (how tremulously the finger hovers on the “send” button!), I now sit back and ponder. The question of taxes is not a light one. A conflicted standoff over how much and under what circumstances and “what for?” recently brought our inhabited cosmos to the brinkContinue reading “Paying the tax collector”
Demythologising the wedge
The wedge has been used to good effect in Australian public life over the last decade. Politically, the strategy has effectively divided the community on such issues as immigration, Aborigine & Torres Strait Islanders affairs, the environment, sexual equality and, yes, public funding of school chaplaincy. The strategy is effective. Divide and conquer keeps theContinue reading “Demythologising the wedge”
Just a quick one…
… this is one of those days where my interruptions are having interruptions. I recall a mentor from long ago saying “Welcome your interruptions – they are simply occasions for new opportunities!” Well – plenty of opportunities abounding today – but which ones to chase and where?
What does it mean to cede control to the Divine Other?
This is the question I didn’t address in this morning’s harangue based partly on Jacob’s nocturnal struggle with a mysterious strong man. I would have said that Jacob didn’t cede control to the divine being with whom he wrestled all night. He managed to extort a deal – only then did he release the mysteriousContinue reading “What does it mean to cede control to the Divine Other?”
Wondering Pilgrim 