Adam White

I have been a life-long Tottenham fan and thankfully I have learned by now not to expect too much from them. No matter who our manager is or how much money we spend we are still the same old Tottenham. No wins, four losses and two draws is our worst start to a season for over 50 years but as any Tottenham fan knows; this is what you expect from us! Whereas Newcastle fans kick up a huge fuss, we just sit back and say “it’s going to be one of those seasons”.

As long as we don’t get relegated I’ll be happy. Fourth from bottom here we come!!

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I’ve just got home from the Alpha supper that we just hosted at my church. I have been worried about it all day and then suddely I was stood at the church having second thoughts. At first I thought I was going to be able to get out of it by being “Mr PA” and doing the lighting and sound for the evening (not that there was a lot to do in this area) but thankfully Kaz (who was co-running it with Clive her husband) told me she wanted me on a table with the guests. So I diligently (if a little terrified) started to mingle and greet some people. To say I was out of my comfort zone this evening was an understatement! Thankfully God was looking out for me and I sat next to a very nice chap named Ian and we talked all evening about sport, music and the like.

I thought the evening went very well and the meal that was cooked for us was excellent. I’m getting the impression though that my role in this Alpha may be more than I had first thought. It’s interesting how I started off by saying I didn’t think I was going to involved with this course, then I was agreeing to tidy up and help in a non-talking way but now I may be helping on or even (dare I say it) leading a small group next Sunday. It’s in God’s hands and I trust Him completely. I just have to learn to not get so worried about it beforehand!

One thing I am not happy about though is how bad I was at spreading the word about Alpha. I could have done so much more to talk to people about it and invite people along but I always chickened out (except with my old student from Tyco but he didn’t want to come anyway). I must learn how to talk about God and my faith more openly with people. I don’t understand why it is such a struggle sometimes! I am a work in progress though and hopefully I will get better at this as I continue to move on with God.

Posted by Adam under Faith & Personal | 3 Comments »

I have finally updated the About Me page. Sorry it has taken so long!

I also took this opportunity to write a page about my testimony. If you want to know why I am a Christian (I was an athiest for years) then have a read!

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When I was in my teens, Clueless was one of those films that I would watch over and over again. Yes I had a crush on Alicia Silverstone at the time but really I watched it repeatedly because I thought it was a really cool film. Fast forward ten years and how have my opinions changed?

Well, for a start I can see what the story is based on: You can imagine my surprise when last year I sat down to watch Emma and I realised that it was exactly same story as Clueless! There were a lot of modern-day versions of classic books around at that time (Romeo + Juliet, Cruel Intentions, etc.) but I had no idea that Clueless was one of them. This is really what is at the heart of this film. Behind all the pop-culture references and the groovy soundtrack lies a classic story retold really well in a modern setting.

From the start you find out that this is not a simple A to B movie. At times it is a social commentary on the youth of the day, then it is a very clever match making film and finally a love story with a difference. It is these changes in direction that make it so appealing to me. A film that follows the simple approach of man meets girl, man gets girl, man loses girl, man gets girl back again can get very tiresome. It is nice to find a film that treats the genre of romance a little differently (I know it was the book that defined this plot structure but this is a film review not a literary review).

It is funny, smart and still very cool despite being over ten years old now. It was the role of a lifetime (literally) for Alicia Silverstone and Cher was the character she would be remembered for for the rest of her life. There are some cracking one-liners in there and a wide range of interesting characters to keep you entertained.

In the words of Travis: “Two very enthusiastic thumbs up! Fine holiday fun!”

Oh, and an interesting side-note is that the cinematography on Clueless was done by Bill Pope. The man who later went on to work on The Matrix!

[8/10]

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So why haven’t I been blogging recently?

Is it because the novelty of blogging has worn off and I am now a bit bored of it? – While I’m not quite as enthusiastic as I was when I started I’m still keen to blog. So it’s not this.

Is it because I have run out of things to say? – I have a backlog of things I want to add on here so no!

Is it because of my new job with the BCS? – I used to be able to blog in my lunch break at my old job but I can’t do that anymore due to company policy but I could do what I have done with this post and write it during my lunch breakand email it home to post up from there! So it is kind of this but not really.

Is it because I have been unbelievably busy recently? – Hmmm, let me think…Yes! That’s it!

So what have I been up to that has had me so distracted? Gateway Church Swindon that’s what!

Up until a week ago I had been regularly attending Swindon Family Church but on Sunday they changed the name to Gateway Church Swindon. This is not just a superficial change, it was a very God-led decision and there’s a whole mindset change to go with this as well. If you would like to know why you can read all about it on the website.

As the person who looks after IT, projection, recording and the website, my involvement in the past few weeks has been fairly intense. Add onto this that the PA box was completely taken apart and rebuilt from scratch in a different place and you can guess the kind of week I just had!

I can happily report though that the website has been changed, the CDs now have a new styling, there are newly styled presentations running every service, and everyone’s email addresses have been changed. There are a few minor things left to do but the bulk of the work has been done.

Does this mean I have lots of time again? Unfortunately not! I’ve been having this week off of “church work” but starting next week I need to tidy up the remaining mini-jobs, keep the website moving forward and grow it to fulfil its potential. On top of all this, somehow I have managed to get myself involved in another Alpha course starting this weekend. This is my first proper course and I’m not sure yet what my involvement is going to be. If we don’t get many people along I may just be tidying and serving. But the more people we get I may end up helping on a small group or even leading one! It’s all in God’s hands though and I trust in Him to do what is best. It doesn’t stop me from being nervous though!

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Warning: Spoilers below

I remember the hype surrounding The Matrix when it first burst on to the scene. I remember going to see it and being absolutely blown away. I remember going to see it again and enjoying it even more on the second watch. Now having seen it for what must be nearing the 20th time it is still a phenominal film that still makes me say audible “wows!” at certain scenes.

It is not a flawless film. It starts well as is going strong until after Neo is brought into the real world. It then starts to stutter a little in certain scenes (the visit to the Oracle and Morpheus’ interrogation) but then I am awoken with a bang and get to enjoy probably the best final 30 minutes of an action film ever. They really pushed the envelope with this film and not just with the now trademark “bullet-time”. It was the use of wire-work to make the fight sequences more balletic and (for want of a better word) cooler. It is this that has had the biggest impact on action films being made today.

But it is not just the action that makes this film stand out amongst the crowd though. The Wachowski’s (and DOP Bill Pope) stage some amazing camera shots: The car pulling outside the building seen from the roof as the rain pours down. The ascension of the staircase as the camera slowly rotates up the middle. The pills reflected in Morpheus’ sunglasses. These and many more are shots that add depth to a film that could have easily have rested on it’s action merits but decided to be visually stunning as well.

Also, how can I review The Matrix without mentioning its soundtrack? If you look at the artists list you may be put off (Rage Against The Machine, Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie) but it works within the film so much. I find myself sitting through the end credits just to listen to the music!

The Matrix raised the bar for action films which still hasn’t been topped to this day.

[10/10]

Posted by Adam under Films | 3 Comments »

40 days on and I have successfully avoided all films, film related things and even TV shows. I haven’t used my time as well as I could have done but I do feel like I have learned from this experience. The real question is where do I go from here?

I don’t want to go back to how I was where I would fill my spare time with watching films or TV shows. I would rather keep my film watching to a minimum and spend time with God instead.

I do want to look into running a film night at my church once a month but I need to understand what the format is going to be. I want it to be an open atmosphere where anyone can come and watch but I also want to bring God into it if I can.

I’m also going to watch my first film on Friday night (Phil is in London). I wonder what I am going to choose!!

Posted by Adam under Faith & Films & Personal | 1 Comment »

Google invite special guest speakers along to their campus occasionally to talk about anything and everything for about an hour. Recently an American pastor/author called Tim Keller went and spoke about his new book The Reasons for God. Apparently he managed to get the biggest audience Google have had for a talk and listening to it I can see why.

I highly recommend that you go and watch it at The Resurgance. It is about an hour long and you can probably skip the questions and answers session at the end as that wasn’t quite so good (a bunch of geeky Google employees try and trip him up).

My favourite bit is when he likenened God to Shakespeare. Here is my paraphrased version of what he said:

Expecting God to give us proof of His existence is like Hamlet looking for proof of Shakepeare’s existence in his play. Unless Shakespeare wrote some kind of proof into the play it won’t be there.

God did more than just write proof into His play though. He wrote Himself into it: Jesus!

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US Open 2008 Semi-Final
Andy Murray vs Rafael Nadal
6-2 7-6 4-6 6-4

I have seen a lot of tennis matches. I have seen some amazing rallies and some phenomenal points. I have never before seen a match that had as many amazing rallies and phenomenal points as the one I have just finished watching. Andy Murray played the best game of tennis I have ever seen!

Andy Murray hit back shots that he had no right to get to. The shots from Nadal would have beaten most others players but Murray kept hitting them back again and again and again until he won the point. Relentless and skillful. Nadal didn’t know what hit him!

I’m not just saying this as a Brit. I’m saying this as a tennis fan and this match will forever rest in my memory. I don’t care if Andy Murray doesn’t win the final against Federer tomorrow. I will be happy to have been able to watch that game. Brilliant. He deserves his world no.4 ranking!

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Is was my friend Paul’s wedding on Friday. I had worked with Paul for over four years while I was at Tyco and it was great to see him so happy. He and Gina had been together for 18 years so it was about time they made it legal!

It wasn’t exactly a traditional wedding but wasn’t as scary as the “East-meets-West” invitiation made out. It was a lovely chilled affair. Shame about the weather though

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