Adam White

Okay, so it already looks like we are going to lose again after going out for a measly 231 in the first innings but I love it. Cricket is one of those sports that can tick away quietly in the background while you are working or busy doing something else.

For those of you stuck at work, and who don’t work for a company that let you have a plasma screen in your office, you’ll have to make do with reading about the cricket online. I have tried out a few alternatives and without a doubt CricInfo.com are the best. It auto-refreshes, has great commentary and even a nifty little 3D recreation of each bowl in case you are that interested. The best bit though is they display the score in the title bar of your browser which means you can keep an eye on it without needing to flick back all the time. Perfect!

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How can you not start a review of The Dark Knight without first mentioning Heath Ledger. Everybody was bigging up his performance in this film and whispering “Oscar nomination”. I was sceptical because the public tend to want to reward someone after they have died in such tragic circumstances. However, his performance is worth every bit of praise he is getting. His portrayal of the Joker was amazing. He was the stand out feature of this film by a mile and that is saying a lot considering that everything else was so good as well. Heath brought such presence to the screen that every moment the Joker was there you didn’t want to blink. I don’t think there has been a swansong of such quality since James Dean in Giant.

But I can’t talk about Heath Ledger for the whole review as that would imply that there was nothing else to the movie which would be so wrong. This film has everything: a cast to die for (Bale, Ledger, Eckhart, Oldman, Freeman, Caine), a director who deservedly has four of his five major films in the IMDb top 100, a two and a half hour running time that you just don’t notice, action, loss, twists and even genuinely funny gags (courtesy of the Joker of course!)

All of this would have been pointless if there was such an amazingly written story behind it all. The Joker’s schemes are amazingly complex and yet so simple. Batman, Lt. Gordon and Harvey Dent’s pursuit of justice and even a handful of twists are all excellently handled.

If I was to pick on a negative though (and every film has them) it would be Christian Bale. I think he is an amazing actor and one of the best working today but he was not the true leader in this film like he was in the last one. His performance gets hidden amongst the rest and no longer shines. I wouldn’t replace him as Batman even for a second but I felt that the title character of this franchise could have been given a little more focus and some better scenes. He only really came alive when he was faced with the Joker, but at these times Heath’s performance stole the show!

I have a word of warning about this film though. It really is dark. I came out of the cinema feeling like I had just watched an amazing film but I did not feel good about it. Uplifting is not a word I would use to describe this film. It reminds me a lot of Se7en in that it was a masterpiece of a film but you don’t feel like the world is a better place afterwards.

[9/10]

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Mark Driscoll recently spoke at the Brighton Conference (I didn’t attend but I have since started to catch up on what I missed) and in one of his talks he spoke about the Holy Spirit and how Jesus wasn’t the ultimate missionary alone.

Isn’t it funny how a lot of teaching about Jesus says he was born, died and rose again. Whatever happened to the 30 years when he walked on the Earth? A lot of people miss this part out but it is crucial to Christians to understand this fully. Jesus could have very easily have clicked his fingers and forgiven all our sins and yet he chose to die on that cross to show us the sacrifice and the cost. In the same way he walked on the Earth for 30 years to show us how it should be done!

But he didn’t do it alone. Jesus didn’t start his ministry until after a very significant moment: His baptism in water and the Holy Spirit. Until the Holy Spirit had come and rested on him he did not have what was required to do what needed to be done. I believe that as a normal man Jesus chose not to use some of the divine powers he had. Instead the Holy Spirit enabled him to do the amazing things he did to show us how it could be done. With the Holy Spirit in us we can walk in his shoes and do as he did. With the Holy Spirit resting on us we can achieve great things for God.

However, after Jesus was baptised and had received the Holy Spirit what was the first thing he did? He didn’t come up from that water and head straight to the people. The first thing he did was head out into the wilderness. He needed 40 days of silence, solitude, prayer and fasting to prepare him for what was to come.

Silence
I surround myself with noise all the time. I have music at work and in my car. I have TV and films at home. I even wake up to news on the radio. There is actually so much noise in my life that when I try to fall asleep I struggle because songs are still playing on loop in my brain. How am I meant to hear God through all this racket? It is time to turn off the stereo and listen for God in the silence.

Solitude
This goes hand in hand with the silence. If I surround myself with people all the time they just count as another distraction. I am not saying that I have to live as a hermit but sometimes I should say no to a trip to the cinema and stay in and spend time with God for a change.

Prayer
Silence and solitude without prayer seems silly to me. Prayer is the most important thing we can do in life (along with reading and following the word of God) and there is no better time to do it than when everything is quiet. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t pray with other people as this is also important but Jesus thought it important on a number of occasions to get away from the busyness of life and seek solitude to pray to God.

Fasting
Fasting is a new thing to me that I don’t know much about. I have only ever done it at lent but feel like I should do it more regularly. It doesn’t have to be food by the way, that is just the traditional thing to fast from. You could fast from TV or alcohol. There are lots of choices. The important thing as far as I am aware is not to just fast, but whenever you get that feeling of hunger for whatever you are fasting from you must seek God. Use the time that you would be doing whatever it is you have given up to pray and read your bible.

I can’t write an article on this without mentioning the fact that Jesus was also tempted in his 40 days. This will happen to all of us whenever we do something like this to seek God. The devil wants to stop us from getting close to our father in heaven and will try all the tricks in his arsenal to stop us. Like Jesus we must put our trust in the word and the devil will flee from us.

So, I am saying that we should all go and camp in a field for 40 days? Of course not! As none of us are preparing to do what Jesus went onto do I don’t think we have to go to such extremes, but maybe trying to do this on a smaller scale could help us. If you feel like there is something amazing that God wants to do with you in the near future don’t you think you should get yourself prepared? So ask for the Spirit to rest on you, seek God in silence, solitude, prayer and fasting and you will be ready to walk in Jesus’ steps.

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I’ve had to keep this one under my hat until it was official but after four years I am finally moving on from Tyco Electronics!

Ever since I got back from visiting Harrisburg with work I have had that feeling that it was time for me to change jobs. I think that my department is moving in a great new direction, I just don’t think it is a direction I am interested in. So while I was in Palma I wrote up my CV and started looking for jobs (hence the long overdue redevelopment of this site).

Last Tuesday I had an interview with the British Computer Society for a role in their team and then that same afternoon I was offered the job. I felt at the time like it could be the perfect role for me but to hear back from them so quickly with an offer was almost too good to be true. After a couple of days of talking, thinking and praying I came back to them with a definite yes and handed in my notice today. I now have four weeks left here at Tyco before I embark on a whole new adventure.

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What is Hancock? Is it a comedy? is it an action film? Is it a drama? It is these questions that are the root cause of why Hancock misses the mark. It is about a superhero called Hancock (played by the ever watchable Will Smith) who spends his days drinking and causing mass destruction while trying to do good. Everyone hates him until a struggling PR man Ray (Jason Bateman) comes along and offers to help him change his image and make the public love him like they should.

It starts off as a very funny comedy. Most of the funniest scenes you can see in the trailers but it still raises a good laugh. It then starts to get a little serious about 30 minutes in when Will Smith has a stint in jail but still keeps its comedic edge. The funniest and most uplifting moment comes around the midway point when he is recalled back by the chief of police to help diffuse a bank robbery. It is around this point though that the film suddenly changes gear: It becomes a straight superhero action film. I don’t remember laughing once through the rest of the film. It seemed that at times the director remembered that he was meant to be making a comedy and threw in the odd situation that was meant to raise a chuckle but just ended up distracting me from the storyline.

There is an interesting twist in the second half of the film that I managed to easily guess as I had read a review and seen a trailer that hinted at it. I’m not going to give it away here as I’m sure it would catch a lot of people unawares if they don’t see it coming.

When the credits rolled I found myself smiling and wanting more but not in a good way. It felt like I had seen two different movies put together and wanted more of each of them. I enjoyed the comedic first half and at the same time I enjoyed the action packed second half but could have done with more of one at the expense of the other.

It wasn’t a disappointment but could have been so much better if the director had chosen a genre and stuck to it.

[5/10]

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This is from an email I was sent today:

A woman’s daughter had asked the local minister to come and pray with her mother.

When the minister arrived, he found the woman lying in bed with her head propped up on two pillows. An empty chair sat beside her bed. The minister assumed that the woman had been informed of his visit.

‘I guess you were expecting me, he said’

No, who are you?’ said the mother.

The minister told her his name and then remarked, ‘I saw the empty chair and I figured you knew I was going to show up’
‘Oh yeah, the chair,’ said the bedridden woman. ‘Would you mind closing the door?’

Puzzled, the minister s hut the door. ‘I have never told anyone this, not even my daughter,’ said the woman. ‘But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it went right over my head.’ I abandoned any attempt at prayer,’ the woman continued, ‘until one day four years ago; my best friend said to me, ‘Betty, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here is what I suggest. Sit down in a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It’s not spooky because he promised, ‘I will be with you always’. ‘Then just speak to him in the same way you’re doing with me right now.’

‘So, I tried it and I’ve liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day.
I’m careful though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she’d either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm.’

The minister was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the woman to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with her, anointed her with oil, and returned to the church.

Two nights later the daughter called to tell the minister that her mother had died that afternoon.

‘Did she die in peace?’ he asked.
Yes, when I left the house about two o’clock, she called me over to her bedside, told me she loved me and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found her. But there was something strange about her death. Apparently, just before Mother died, she leaned over and rested her head on the chair beside the bed. What do you make of that?’

The minister wiped a tear from his eye and said, ‘I wish we could all go like that.’

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…I didn’t have the time to do it!

It is so much easier to have a blog when you are sat in sunny Spain as opposed to being back amongst the jobs and distractions of everyday life!

This short post is really just a filler to say I am still blogging, and I have plenty of things I want to say, I just have to find the time to say them.

Watch this space…

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While I was out running this morning I was listening to a sermon from North Point Community Church in Atlanta (USA). In this preach the pastor was talking about the amazing impact a kind word can have on someone and do we realise that what you say to someone today could have a lasting impression on their life. He gave an example from his youth but I can easily come up with many examples of my own where someone has said something to me which they probably forgot about five minutes later but have stayed with me for the rest of my life!

The verse that was used to illustrate this was also a verse I have pinned up on my wall at work:

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. – Ephesians 4:29

This made me think: I can have such a huge impact in other peoples lives solely based on what I say to them. As I think about how I react to people, if I just said more positive things I could have such an uplifting impact on other people’s lives. How much better would it be if we built each other up more rather than always focusing on the flaws?

The pastor’s challenge at the end of his preach was to ask God to bring someone to your mind for this week and go and say something to them to build them up. I am going to accept this challenge but I don’t want to just do it once. I want to go out there and build lots of people up. I know I benefit greatly from positive talk in my direction. I should aim to give it back more and more.

Don’t you feel like doing the same?

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Well, the journey back on Friday was fairly uneventful. Driving back to Swindon from London through horrendous rain showers was a bit of a culture shock after not seeing clouds for a week but I survived!

On Saturday it was time for me to do some serving after being served and relaxing for a week. I had signed up for four hours of backstage guarding at the Rock the Planet event at Lydiard Park. This involved me standing between two metal fences for four hours through sunshine, wind and torrential rain and checking everyone for red armbands. It was fun! I was very impressed by the turnout at the event. Despite the bad weather (the Fairford Airshow had been cancelled because the weather was so bad) there was still a good number of youth around to enjoy the bands and fun activities. Not that I got to see much of it from my perspective…

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I went on another bike ride with my brother today. What started out as a pleasant cycle turned into something far more eventful and entertaining:

0.1 mile: Restaurant for this evening booked. We are going to end the week where we started. A very popular pizza restaurant called Diabolitos.

1.0 mile: My brother is already starting to pull away from me. Boy he’s fit! I’m going to try really hard to keep up but everytime I get up some speed someone gets in my way and I have to start again!

3.2 miles: Along this route there is one hill. I can see it coming. I drop some gears and start peddling. But then… clunk… My chain comes off half way up the hill! Aaaaargh! I have to pull over, get all greasy putting it back on again and then go back down the hill to try again. Thankfully this time I make it!

4.5 miles: I’ve caught up with my brother again. He stopped where we cycled to earlier in the week. We decide to go on further this time and see what is further down the beach. It’s starting to look like Skegness around here!

4.6 miles: And suddenly the bike path disappears. Looks like it roads from here on in.

5.0 miles: Suddenly we’re in Germany! There are Germans everywhere and all the shops have German names! It still looks like Skegness though (I’m starting to get knackered, how far is my brother planning on going???)

5.6 miles: Trams. Two of them. Parked side by side. Just as we are pulling up onto the curb in front of one of them it decides to move forward. It nearly runs us over! We are now behind the other tram as it has also decided to make a move and it is travelling a little bit faster than we are.

5.7 miles: The tram stops up ahead so we go around it. Just as I make it past though it starts to move. Aaaargh! I now have a speeding tram up my backside and I know from a second ago that it travels a little bit faster than us. We have no choice but to pick up the pace and try and keep ahead of it. Eeeek!

6.5 miles: The tram kept stopping to let people off so we are safe. It looks like my brother is slowing right down though. Could we be stopping? Yes!! Phew! We pull up and buy a bottle of water. Ow! I’m hurting all over and I’ve still got to travel all the way back again. I’m never going to make it at my brother’s pace so I tell him to go on ahead.

9.3 miles: Now that I have cut the pace a little I am finding it much easier going. My brother is long gone and I can’t even see him anymore.

9.4 miles: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!! Ow!!!!!!!! I was approaching a blind right turn so I slow right down and keep far to the right-hand side but I meet a lady on a bike travelling on the wrong side of the cycle path and I have to brake and swerve to miss her. I send the bike skidding and my knee gets a good scratch but thankfully there was no collision! The poor lady was so startled! Hopefully she will learn from this to ride on the right side of the paths from now on!

9.5 miles: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!! What was he doing? Less than a minute after my collision I come up against a man on a bike riding left and right, alternating lanes coming towards me and he showed no sign of stopping! I skid to a halt and he rides on by me with a big grin on his face. Grrrrr!

9.6 miles: Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!!! What now?!? I come up against a small group of cyclists and just as I am coming up to them the lead cyclist decides to swap lanes and chat to the person behind him. I coming to another skidding stop and he changes lanes just in time. At least this one put his hand up to apologise! What am I going to come across next?!?

11.5 miles: Through the park again and everything seems back to normal. No incidents yet. Maybe things are getting back to normal…

12.0 miles: Nope: Cramp! Ow! Ow! Ow! Looks like I’m walking from here. I wonder where my brother is?

12.4 miles: There he is! He’s heading back in my direction to find out what has happened to me. Boy have I got some fun stories to tell him. Thankfully my cramp has gone now so I’m back on the bike for the journey home.

13 miles: The world threw everything it had at me on this journey but I made it! Home sweet home. Time for a shower, an antiseptic wipe and a sit down. I have definitely earned my pizza this evening

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