Randomness and Waffle

The economy is tattered and bruised, the integrity and honesty of our elected leaders called repeatedly into question, and calls have been made for a general election.  Political critics are howling at the state of our government.  Be thankful that they can!

Be thankful that you and I have the democratic right to mark a cross on a bit of paper and say who we want to lead us – even if it does feel like choosing the lesser of 2 or 3 ( or many) evils.  Be thankful that you and I have the right to whinge, protest and challenge what our governement says and does, and to hold it accountable in some fashion.

20 years ago, it was brought home to me in all to tragic detail the immense amount of freedom we have in the right to vote, the right to protest, the right to challenge inequality and oppression.  20 years ago, watching John Simpson reporting the events of Tiananmen Square – students the same age as me and younger at that time facing tanks and dying for the right to gain some of the democratic freedoms we have – my view of politics and my life was changed.

It seems somehow right that today – the 20th anniversary of that massacre in a square in Beijing, i’m about to head out of the door with a polling card in my hand.  I hope you are doing the same today – making your mark, making your voice heard (albeit in a small, safe way) – be thankful that today you can and for God’s sake, dont waste it.

if you need a reminder of why – go here

Been to see this twice now – it was THAT good.

Its very reminiscent of Star Wars, which should come as no surprise as director JJ Abrams is more of a Star Wars than Star Trek fan.  The similarities are background character plays – the loner farmboy with a love of fast vehicles, poor relationship with the Uncle looking after him (temporarily – this farmboy is not an orphan), finds a mentor who encourages him to fulfill his true potential, planet destroying weapon and evil enemy.  However, this does not feel like a Star Wars movie for Trekkies.  The similarities add to, rather than detract or distract, from the plot development.

This is definitely a reboot of the Star Trek franchise – rather than get lost in Trek Canon and attempt to create a movie for which he has little passion, Abrams has successfully created a movie that non-trekkies can enjoy, fans of the originals and the Spin-offs can relate to, and which has created a timeline different to that of the original Star Trek series and subsequent movies/spin-offs.  Whether this is a good or a bad move remains to be seen – it is a bold move with the potential to both annoy and excite die hard fans: this is largely dependant on how they handle the remaining 2 movies that are contracted, and where the franchise goes from here.  At the same time it gives time and space to explore new ideas, new places and new themes – to go boldly where no-one has gone before within the Star Trek universe.

The casting choices are well made, and the various tips of the proverbial hat to the humour and grit of the original make it an enjoyable, believable addition to the Star Trek universe:  Simon Pegg’s adlib as Scotty “get tae f…” a hilarious well placed nod to the Scots, especially those who comprise his RL family, Karl Urban as the the irascible Bones, “damnit Jim…” making him seem the most natural of the crew to step into the shoes of the original cast.  None of the hat-tips seem shoe-horned in, but appear as a natural part of the discourse, and perfectly timed.

Overall, this was a fantastic movie, and one I would definately see again – Highly recommended!

Still having pretty awful days, but scattered in between are a majority of bearable days and good ones.  On the bearable days it feels like I’m detached, in a haze or operating in slow motion. Good days, all is normal and i feel pretty much like my old self.  On bad days all is blackness and tears, and usually for no reason whatsoever – not even the made up ones my mind sometimes tells me are real.

On the teary days, Alan is torn between offering comfort and wondering what the hell he has done – it seems to bring out the guilt in him regardless of the fact that he has done nothing wrong (most of the time…)  For his sake and for mine I wish that our own wee Easter would come soon.

The happy pills from the doc are helping, but we’ve had to reduce the dosage as i was reacting unfavourably to the higher dose.  Good news is she only wants to see me on a monthly basis now, initially it was weekly, then fortnightly.

Overall things are slowly improving – I’m making more space for personal life, and being much more strict in differentiating between work/life boundaries, and I’m taking mroe time over the things that matter outside of work – spending time with Alan, with family who live close by, and rebuilding relationships with friends long neglected.  But this all takes effort and there are days i just cant be bothered…

Thanks for the prayers, and please keep praying

I even play Star Wars Galaxies regularly with friends  – its good fun to play a sith lord.  however, even I dont go this far!

(Dunno how the bishop would react, especially considering the stories from the US of late…)

As an aside – back at work this week, still not feeling great but was going stir crazy!  Back at the GP on tuesday to assess how the tablets are helping (they’re not particularly).  The locum at my last visit may even get a mention – i’m still really cheesed at her!

A day of resurrection, of celebration and joy at the fact that love crucified, arose.

for me – still walking though my own dark journey, but with glimmers of light here and there – the good days are good, but the bad ones are just awful, magnified this last week by inept locum GP and significant anniversary of a loss (21 years since dad died, Tuesday of Holy Week).

Resurrection has come, is coming, and will come again