Day 4, my favourite book

The Lord of the Rings. As I read it once a year, it kinda has to top the list. I love the bible but I don't treat that as an ordinary book in all honesty.

The Lord of the Rings has it all. Quality characters, action, romance, over arching story lines just everything. Plus, Gimli rocks. True story.

Peace out and happy new year folks :D

Day 3, favourite tv series

Ok, seeing as I only just made it for day 2 I have decided to get today done early. A morning blog rather than a last minute at night blog. Hopefully it will make sense.

Today's blog is another case of simplicity as my favourite tv show isn't hard to choose. Whilst there are a fair few that I enjoy, like Spaced or Family Guy there is only one show that can claim the accolade that is Jono's favourite tv series. It got cancelled before I'd even heard about it but once I'd seen it, I just loved it.

Joss Whedon's Firefly. So phenomenally brilliant. To sum it up in one sentence, it's about space cowboys. Captain Malcolm Reynolds is probably my favourite leading character in a show.

Big love people, see you tomorrow. Peace out

Day 2

In the 30 day challenge, day 2 is a wonderfully simple one. Favourite movie. If you know me fairly well, you will know that my favourite film franchise of all time is Star Wars. So unsurprisingly it is a Star Wars film that tops my list. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. My personal favourite of all 6 (eventually I will be able to say 9, thank you Disney). It has it all. Chases, lightsabers, blasters, asteroids, a wookie. Sheer brilliance plus it ends so perfectly that as a boy watching it, I remember longing to watch the next one no matter the time. Stil do to be honest :)

30 day Challenge: Accepted

So I decided to ensure I got back into the habit of blogging regularly rather than once every few months, I have jumped on another bandwagon and decided to do a 30 day blog challenge.

Some could see this as a waste of my time but I think it'll be fun. Interesting for somebody out there in cyberspace no doubt.

Day 01 -- your favorite song
Day 02 -- your favorite movie
Day 03 -- your favorite television program
Day 04 -- your favorite book
Day 05 -- your favorite quote
Day 06 -- whatever tickles your fancy
Day 07 -- a photo that makes you happy
Day 08 -- a photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 09 -- a photo you took
Day 10 -- a photo of you taken over ten years ago
Day 11 -- a photo of you taken recently
Day 12 -- whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 -- a fictional book
Day 14 -- a non-fictional book
Day 15 -- a fanfic
Day 16 -- a song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 -- an art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 -- whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 -- a talent of yours
Day 20 -- a hobby of yours
Day 21 -- a recipe
Day 22 -- a website
Day 23 -- a youtube video
Day 24 -- whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 -- your day, in great detail
Day 26 -- your week, in great detail
Day 27 -- this month, in great detail
Day 28 -- this year, in great detail
Day 29 -- hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 -- whatever tickles your fancy


As you can see day 1 kicks us off nicely with "favourite song". A seemingly simple challenge for me to begin with, no? Well, not really. I have a rather wide and eclectic taste in music so to narrow the plethora of music in my life down to one song that stands head and shoulders above the rest will be a challenge.

No how do we do this. Do I try to pick a favourite band and then my favourite track of theirs? Well, no cause that adds the complexity of picking a favourite band. The same issue would arise if I true by favourite album. So it shall have to be a song b song viewing and probably a top 3/5/10 depending on what I think of. I think it best to go for a top 10 as it at least shouldn't be too rough on my brain.

10. Swedish House Mafia - Don't You Worry Child. The most likely song to drop out of my top 10 at the moment. That being said I think that it is a great track and its core message is brilliant for a song that was number 1 in the charts. Heavens got a plan for you. How awesome is it that a song that repeatedly states that, was number 1 for a fortnight?
9. The Beach Boys - God Only Knows. This song for a while hurt more than being punched in the chest. But I grew up, moved on and realised that this song is about someone in the future who I can look forward to meeting. Sheer genius.
8. Bethel Live - Who You Are. I love this song. It just helps bring an idea of Gods many ways and how He loves me in so many ways. Lets me know that whenever He looks at me, He's happy.
7. The Beatles - Something. A George Harrison track that for me sums up beautifully how you feel when you love somebody. It's probably the best secular summary of love that has ever been.
6. Led Zeppelin - Stairway to Heaven. This is the song that made me pick up a guitar and strive to learn it. The guitar work is just phenomenal. And yeah, if you work in a guitar shop/store you hate it, but I love this song.
5. Jesus Culture - Everything. I know that this is a cover of another groups song BUT I love it. First time I heard it was when a group did a drama in my church and I was left awestruck. This song sums up so many different facets of where I feel I need to be.
4. Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah. Whilst other people may disagree as to whose take on Mr. Cohens beautiful song is superior, there is only one version for me. I cried the first time I listened to this song by myself. It moved me and it left me reeling.
3. Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart. Top placed secular song in this list and with good reason. A beautiful song written by a deeply troubled man. I can listen to this in any mood.
2. Bethel Live - Closer. This song is just simply wonderful. It mirrors my heart cry at this time and I just cannot wish or want for anything else.
1. Jesus Culture - How He Loves. This version of a John Mark McMillan track just completely wrecked me and blew me away. Absolutely changed my life and in all honesty, every time that I listen to it I am just wowed. Heck, I might go put it on now.

So there we have it. At the time of doing this list, my favourite song is How He Loves by Jesus Culture. Gonna take a very special song to displace it I'm sure. Peace out folks

Back to work

So this week I started work again after a brief hiatus.

"Where are you working now?" I hear you say. Well, I now work for Asda. And contrary to some of my expectations, it is a really good job. I missed working as part of a team in my last job so it is nice to be back in one.

Adjusting back to working patterns is always a fun thing to do... Early shifts really do mean early. And late shifts, after travel to either home or sarahs most assuredly means late. My body, so far, has adapted to waking up early which is a slight nuisance as when I have a late shift, I really ought to have a lie in. But I will work it out.

One downfall of jumping back into full time work is the fact that I shall now miss the occasional youth extreme/emerge/kids club/kids church. Which initially when I thought about it, did not leave me impressed. But the more I thought, the more that I realised that it'd be good for me because it'll help me to really cherish my time being involved with those events.

Due to thinking about my future, which always comes along with getting a new job, I thought about what job I actually want to do. Teaching came to mind and at present, it seems to be the only one. The "penny drop" moment is absolutely priceless. So maybe I did get my assignment done... I shall have to wait and hear back about that.

So umm, yeah

So I started writing a blog and it was about how I was tired but I decided that was lame. So now here is a blog on the first portion of thoughts that come to me when I should be in bed.

1. I really ought to listen to my body more when it comes to sleeping.

2. I am blessed by having a family willing to let me know when they worry about me.

3. Even if it seems like I don't appreciate something at the time, know that I really do appreciate all the stuff people do for me.

4. I cannot wait for Christmas. Some say it is ages away but still, I can't wait. Definitely my favourite time of year.

5. Life is gonna happen, whether you want it to or not. So get out there, find your dreams and live. Don't just sit there and let life happen to you. Be the life of the party. You gotta pursue your hearts desire. Sure some point down the line there may be heart ache but you gotta get back up, dust yourself off and get back at it.

6. This one is for me as well. You were born for greatness and you were born for now. Stop hiding in the shadows of yesterday and step into the brilliance of NOW. You are where you are meant to be, even if it doesn't feel like it.

Video games and reality

An interesting point of discussion. A video game allows us to escape ourselves and pursue what we wish.

We can conquer nations, kill our enemies, find an entertaining yet most assuredly fake romance and pursue it to the end. We shape our interactive worlds.

Yet why do we do all this when we could just live our actual lives? We are all capable of fantastically, wonderful deeds and having beautiful lives. Yet we dive into the world of pixels with reckless abandon to escape the bright lights of reality.

What is so wrong with the real world that it requires an escape?

I find it odd that it is from the "1st world" that this escapism is prevalent in. We who have it good are the ones who want an alternative reality? Does that seem right to you?

Back in the game

Well folks, my blogger days started off well then fell away due to a lack of ease of access for me. But now, I have this wonderful little app that lets me update my blog from wherever I am as long as I am connected to the internet.

Pretty amazing considering the humble beginnings of computers and the internet. Computers were the size of rooms and the internet was, shall we say, slow and only accessible through wires.

As I write, I am sorting out a friend's computer but as I haven't been given direct instructions as to what they want, a fair amount of what I am doing is updating windows :)

If you haven't guessed already, this is another of my blogs where I am just writing down what comes into my head.

By the way, well done to all my friends who are still at uni. Looks like you are nearing your goals and I am proud of you. I know the word graduation is a bit scary for some of you but trust me, you will love it. And what comes after isn't actually that bad.

Peace out

Not knowing

Picture the scene. You've just shared a wonderful time, with some amazing people and then one of them turns around to you and says "Proud of you".

All of a sudden your mouth dries up and your tongue turns to stone. You have no idea how to respond. So you have an embarrassed smile creep on to your face and before you know it, there is now a full blown grin on your face...

You feel utterly ecstatic yet totally awkward. You want to say thank you. You want to tell the person just how amazing they are and how great they make you feel. You want them to know how much you love and appreciate them. But you can't. When you're face to face with this amazing person, you just get nervous and a stupid grin is all you can muster.

They do say that a picture is worth a thousand words. So maybe that stupid grin on your face actually tells this person everything they need to know. Sure it is an embarrassing and awkward moment but when you look back at it, would you really change it?

Peace out folks

Music

This morning it struck me as something quite fascinating. As Mr. Kiedis once proclaimed "Music the great communicator." Now I am not disagreeing with the man here nor am I attempting to make his song sound silly but if you don't understand the words that someone is singing, surely that stops it being a communication and actually just becomes an odd parody of the British/American stereotype of just saying things slower and louder when in non-English speaking countries.

Don't mishear me on this, I think that music from all over the globe is a wonderful thing but what I am saying is if you don't understand the heart behind the music, you don't understand the music. Were you aware that when Coolio released "Gangsta's Paradise" a lot of people branded it as glorifying being involved with gang violence? Rather than simply listening to the man who was declaring the struggles facing people with (for want of a better phrase) a background of being raised on the "street". Gang violence isn't something to be praised, it is something to be concerned by.

A friend once told me that every genre has something good to offer, you just have to look. And after a fair amount of listening, I can honestly say that I haven't found evidence to prove this wrong yet. Rap music can be deeply profound and is not just about violence. Folk music can be really fun and catchy whilst not just being sung by a bunch of odd, old men. And as for the enormous, recycling behemoth that is Pop, well let's just say that The Beatles could only be classified as a Pop band on many of their best selling songs. Before you label something terrible, listen to it. I know I've been guilty of it in the past. Having a short stint as an indie child, if something became popular and was "overplayed" I decided that I just couldn't like it anymore. Well no more. 

Listen with your eyes shut and let someone's heart come through their music. Yes, sometimes someone is just singing absolute nonsense but you know what? Sometimes it is just fun to think about nothing except something silly. Peace out folks

In the morning

The morning.

An interesting time of day for a variety of reasons. For starters, everyone has different morning routines. Even people who claim to have no routine, still probably have some semblance of one. But that is not the only thing that makes the morning so interesting to me. It is the fact that it is the only time of day that we have assigned as a description for people. Person 1: "Why are they so happy this early?" Person 2: "Oh, they're a morning person" What makes a morning person, a morning person? Is it their capability to get up quickly and be ready for the day quickly or is it a sheer willingness that whilst in the face of the groggy waking up feeling they will overcome? Personally, I think it could be either.

Some days I am most assuredly not a morning person. When the morning arrives, I would like nothing more than to fast forward through it and get straight into the afternoon. My alarm going off is not a nice, gentle wake up call with music I love but rather, on these days it is more akin to a bomb going off. My eyes do not want to open, even in a dimly lit room where the only light is coming from a tiny crack between curtains.

But on other days, if I didn't have my morning then I can guarantee that I would achieve nothing with my day. My alarm gently rouses my consciousness and the light seems wonderful, like the first dawn of the world. Instead of having to escape the constraints of my covers, I can just lightly throw them aside and step into the bright and welcoming day.

What is the difference between these two different sides? Why is there a variety in reactions to one simple event? Who knows? Not me. But what I do know is that breakfast always has the potential to be the best meal of the day, to the point where I would even have breakfast foods for dinner and have myself a mighty fine brinner. Bacon, eggs, sausage and beans in any meal are nearly always good (although bacon is definitely always good). But there you have it folks. My odd thoughts that I started the day with. Hope to see you soon, peace out.

Jumping on

Well, after the past few days of being inundated with peers writing blogs and informing me that it is either therapeutic, entertaining or fun I figured that I would give it a shot.

Certainly a change from the blogging that I did in the Leeds Trinity Occupation where someone other than myself had to check over what I wrote. Slightly ironic that a group who were standing up for individual freedoms would remove your freedom of speech but in a subtle way that I only questioned after leaving. But I digress.

For those of you who don't know me or haven't kept up with me lately, I spend most of my time working with young people of varying ages. I am a development officer for my local rugby club and I also work with my church in the youth and kids ministry team. To be honest, they're both pretty rad. Coaching is a lot of fun and enables you to really impact kids/teenagers lives in a positive manner. But then again, so does being part of a ministry team. I love both of them and even though it usually means that I end up pretty tired I couldn't be happier with what I get to do.

There's a popular phrase out there that states "children are the future" and they really are. And it is my honest opinion that an under valuing of their education and needs is what lies at the root of our society's shift from manners, politeness and other such "good" things to the days of the hoodlum, a lack of respect and people being nervous just because they are around a "youth". I really do believe this. It doesn't help that the media has a fascination with portraying only the worst element of our youth culture whilst I know numerous young adults who make far greater contributions to our community than people twice their age. But once again I am digressing into a topic as whilst I write this, I am happily drinking vimto and thinking rather than setting out with a specific agenda for what to write about. Note: Vimto is great.


So yeah, I have jumped on the bandwagon of blogging and it's more to clear my head out of the outlandish nonsense that tends to occupy too much of my brains activity and time than to provide people with an interesting read (although I hope the people that know me will be slightly amused). Hopefully you will continue to keep up to date with my blog and therefore my life (as the true hope is for me to update this on a regular basis) and we can all have some fun and laughter out of it. Peace out.