War

With Palestine approaching (and in the headlines!) I've been thinking a lot about war.

Now I've never been a big Linkin Park fan (except for their dalliance with Jay Z) mainly because I don't like the nu-metal genre.

However their recent video for 'What I've done' really caught my eye. It contains shots of racism, war, addiction and environmental concerns and a hook that says:
So let mercy come,
And wash away... what I've done.

So I got the album. They have got the legendary Rick Rubin into produce it and I found much of it full of power, desperation and soul. I know my musical friends will slag me for this but just forget it is Linkin Park you are listening to and I defy you not to get sucked in.

Here's a track from the album called 'Hands Held High' It's a moving anti-war rally cry combining a floaty keyboard, arpeggiated guitar, choral vocals, and a military snare-beat.

Listen below with the lyrics from youtube. Keep listening to the end!

An open mind

A glance at the news will see that the situation in Palestine is fragile. Hamas, the militant Islamic group, have taken control of Gaza. I'll be in Bethlehem which is in the West Bank. This part is controlled by Fatah who are secular nationalist group that want to make peace with Israel so should be safer.

I been reading up on the history of Palestine through the Crusdaer rule, Ottoman rule, British rule and now Israeli settlement and occupation. It's hard not to be opinionated in the light of some facts. However, I have always hated when people from other countries come to Northern Ireland thinking they know it all when there's no way of understanding the complications unless you were brought up here.

Check out Elias' myspace. He has an amazing story of coming from a place of hatred of Israel to a place of forgiveness and reconciliation. He watched from his house as little boys threw stones at tanks and the Israeli army shot back and killed them. Israel also took his families land away that they had owned for hundreds of years. He met and danced with some Jewish people and God worked in him. Now he lives to build bridges between Palestinian and Israeli.

(Allegedly this boy was shot by the Israeli army shortly after this picture was taken)

To the Middle East!

This summer I'm heading to Israel and Palestine.

Week 1 and 2:
I'm flying out by myself and meeting up with a team of people in Jerusalem to do some hands-on stuff. This will include work with Jewish kids, working in a hospital and street work as well as a couple of days touring around.

The ethos of the team seems quite pro-Israel/Zionist and I wanted to see both sides of the story so.....

Week 3 and 4:
When the first team leave I will travel to Bethlehem which is in Palestine (West Bank). I will meet up with some other people and work alongside Elias and other Palestinian Christians. We'll be meeting people involved in reconciliation work and spending time in orphanages and refugee camps.

I'm reading up on the history and current status of Israel/Palestine. I'm trying to maintain an open mind and will try and keep the blog updated as I process what I see there.

Dream it all up again

On December 30, 1989, U2 were closing the Joshua Tree tour. During the opening strains of 'Love Rescue Me', Bono said:

"It's no big deal, it's just -- we have to go away and ... and dream it all up again."

They went away for a few years and wrote my favourite album of all time- Achtung Baby.

Well I'm making a similar annoncement on behalf of NEBO. We have our last gig in Lavery's on Monday night before we have a 4 month break. In this time we'll be doing our own stuff (including world travel, producing offspring and side projects).

So come along Monday night and get a fix before we go away and dream it all up again.

(ok the scale is slightly smaller....)

Poisonwood

Have returned from outdoor pursuits. It's the best part of my job, going away and having great craic with the kids rather than just being their teacher.

The time spent sitting in the corridor trying to get them to go to sleep enabled me to finish 'The Poisonwood Bible'- probably the best novel I have ever read (Douglas Coupland notwithstanding).

It is the story of an firebrand evangelical Baptist minister's who takes his family to the Congo in the late 1950s, entwining their fate with that of the country during three turbulent decades. His determination to convert the natives of the Congo to Christianity is doomed by his self-righteousness and lack of cultural understanding.

It is a fictional account set during actual events in the Congo. The language is evocative and beautiful. Every page contains something you could meditate on.

A constant theme seems to be the relationship between America and Africa. America who has taken the African people as slaves, drained her of her riches, taken control of her diamond and copper mines and used ‘aid’ money to bribe her dictators. It educated and angered me to a much greater level.

“If chained is where you have been, your arms will always bear the marks of the shackles. What you have to lose is your own story, your own slant. You’ll look at the scars on your arms and see mere ugliness or you’ll take great care to look away from them and see nothing. Either way, you have no words for the story of where you came from…we are our injuries as much as we are our successes.”

I should have written more about Africa on this blog. I feel a soul-tie with the place and find it hard to write about it without getting angry and ranting and boring everyone.

My younger wiser brother, Davymull, has just started blogging. Check out his thoughts on Somalia.

Our Shadow Self

Some great thoughts thanks. The arrival of internet social networking seems to have a generation addicted to myspace/bebo/facebook/blogs. People can present themselves to the world, revealing (or making up) another dimension to their character.

Douglas Coupland is my hero. In an interview about his new book 'jPod' he said:

'In the future everybody will have their real selves and their shadow self that exists purely inside computers'

Do you think this is the case?

Anyway, I'm off to England for a school trip tomorrow for some absailing, raft building, quad bike racing, shooting, zip-lining, and trying to bring the same 30 kids home again. Click here for last year's update...... that means I've had this blog for a year now.....I'm still unsure of the point!

To blog or not to blog

I've been wondering about the point of blogging since a discussion in Brian Heasley's a few weeks back.

My own blog began because I like writing and thought blogging would be a good outlet for it. After a while I kept getting religious nuts coming on and twisting what I was saying so I stopped writing about real issues and just stuck some pics up and talked about music.

Al's blog has provided him with support and catharsis but....
.....as I look at most other people's blogs it seems that whenever they write something new, interesting or profound nobody comments. But if they write something for a bit of craic then they get a load of people commenting.

Maybe the people who read blogs do so for escapism? The same reason that people watch soaps, big brother and read those crappy celebrity magazines where they compare how awful they look compared to the fit celebrities and how great they look compared to the fat cellulity ones.......maybe it's escapism from real life which is just too damn hard to be thinking about.

I also find it strange how friends, partners etc go on eachother's blogs and declare their love. Why not just tell them or send a text? Why does the WWW need to know??

Any thoughts on.....

Why we write blogs? Why we read blogs?

Hallelujah Avenue

This song by Foy Vance has moved me so much since I first heard it in Dundalk's Spirit Store. This is a powerful unofficial video I spotted on youtube. Have a Jeff Duke.

She never was a fighter
Til he lay beside her.
And gently whispered hope

Jesus of the Scars

Yesterday the mini-rugby team I coach won the Gilpin Cup- the most prestigious sports competition for local primary schools. Great reward for the hard work through the winter months.

Last night was a special gig with Julie Feeney, Foy Special, and Duke Special and the amazing Ulster Orchestra. Very different than Foy's and Duke's normal gigs but a feast for the senses never-the-less.

Normally I would have loads to say about these things but last night didn't feel normal. Though the past week has been eventful, I find it hard to do normal things, be normal places, read normal books/blogs etc when my mind is consumed with reminiscing about Lins and the pain that her passing has left on those closest to her. A pain that I can't come close to understanding. The grieving period, especially for them, is ongoing.

Stefan quoted from this poem (by Edward Shillito) in his prayer at Lindsay's funeral. Beautiful words.

If we have never sought, we seek Thee now
Thine eyes burn through the dark, our only stars;

We must have sight of thorn-pricks on Thy brow,

We must have Thee, O Jesus of the Scars.

The heavens frighten us; they are too calm;
In all the universe we have no place.
Our wounds are hurting us; where is the balm?
Lord Jesus, by Thy Scars, we claim Thy grace.

If, when the doors are shut, Thou drawest near,
Only reveal those hands, that side of Thine;
We know to-day what wounds are, have no fear,
Show us Thy Scars, we know the countersign.

The other gods were strong; but Thou wast weak;

They rode, but Thou didst stumble to a throne;

But to our wounds only God's wounds can speak,

And not a god has wounds, but Thou alone.

Grief observed

I'm finding it difficult to think with any clarity these days. Nothing seems important beyond the loss of Lins and the grief of those closest to her (click here). I heard a song on the radio recently that summed up my feelings and prayers for them. It's called 'Revival' by Soulsavers. I'm not sure of their spiritual leaning (have sent off for the album so will let you know). It is beautiful. Check out the audio here.

Why am I so blind with my eyes wide open?

Now I need someone

Let this dark night be done

I need you so

Put an end to my suffering

I wanna see a revival tonight Lord

There needs to be a revival.