Kofi Annan and Didier Drogba’s World Cup guide

A challenging perspective on the World Cup from the Africa Progress Panel (APP). Above is a section of the Stats Table, download the full guide here (11Mb) from the APP website.

h/t @theElders

Something Welsh this way comes...

 

The other day I was rabbiting on about the importance of looking for things we don't always see at first... this fence is right opposite the house and directly in my line of sight from my desk for the last 8 years...

However my main revelation over the last decade, as a musician, has been to comprehend the 'art' of lyric writing. I am very aware writing is not my gift despite my new found outlet of this blog, however, the joy of discovering subtlety and beauty in a well crafted song has become a deeper joy than simply savouring the musical elements.

I know nothing about golf. Yesterday I followed a link on Martyn Joseph's e-mailshot to a special song he has composed about the forthcoming Ryder Cup in Wales... Now as a hardened music business person (joke!) I would normally make between 15 to 30 seconds of a piece and move on (true!). However this is an all the way through listen and, in my opinionated view, is exceptionally brilliant on many levels.

I love the poetry, the 'not stating the bl***ing obvious' approach, the joining of iconic and descriptive 'images' in verse all set to a flowing chord structure and strong melody. Whilst this piece doesn't 'convert' me to a golf lover the music and the lyrical clarity using a language that I understand as a non-golfer means I can lean back, close my eyes and simply enjoy! Nice...

Give yourself a treat, free download/listen here: Martyn Joseph - On This Celtic Morning

The Beautiful Game - World Cup Planner

Loving this amazing, dynamic wall chart for the World Cup 2010. This is a brilliant combination of gorgeous web graphic design and clever programming, a work of art! It will be even more impressive if it is updated as the tournament progresses...

A year in the Sphere...

I started this blog in June last year (2009) and included code to record statistics 6 months ago. It has been an interesting journey, have learnt a great deal and would have chosen my categories differently if I knew then what I know now! I have found it immensely cathartic to record my thoughts before recursive brain whirr destroys my grey matter, that has been a personal and tangible benefit. I have to confess writing does not come easy to me so the discipline has been good. It is clear that the posts where I have been as original as possible and made the effort to knuckle down and get on with writing without letting 'it' take over have yielded the most response.

So here goes, a double statistic celebration, my first year on Blogspot:

1 Why modern worship songs are crap - my most read post ever!

2 BBC Radio 4's 'Soul Music' on Dido's Lament featuring Jeff Buckley

3 The 'Sunday's Coming' video depicting consumer style worship stuff

4 My review of Peter Gabriel's 'Scratch my Back' concert at the 02 London

5 Let me through I'm an Anglican... not!

6 One of After The Fire's youngest fans comes up with a brilliant CD design

7 Back to Pub Sunday - how the pub gets it right whilst the church gets it wrong

8 Ashamed Anglican? Bravo Father Tim and shame on you Archdeacon of York - should have stood by your man

9 Art and music discussed 'There's got to be a better song than this'

10 Art and Christianity - Antony Gormley's 'Field for the British Isles'

11 Angels from the realms of... er, Norway! Breathtaking and truly wonderful music

12 After The Fire becomes International Rescue as ATF ring tone finds mobile in snow drift

13 Mumford & Sons, music to mend and inspire!

14 Great tidings of joy in the Brit film Nativity!

15 Whilst we allow poverty through inequality we are culpable for disasters like Haiti - Thank God for cancellation of Haiti's debt since

16 Brilliant article in blokes mag Esquire by Greenbelt Festival speaker Shane Claiborne

17 The Carbon Calculator revealing issues with Tory and Labour Green attitudes

18 Pete Rollins in full flow on camera - Insurrectionist Theology

19 YouTube video explaining the total idiocy of the Digital Economy Bill passed in the wash-up in the last Parliament

20 On maintaining the tradition of saying grace at mealtimes

And some of my sub top 20 favourites:

24 Art and Christianity - The transcendental music of Bach's St matthew Passion

27 The BBC's drama 'All the Small Things' really matters - Choirs and stuff

28 Explanatory chart and definition of Progressive Rock

51 My Memorable Musical Moments Meme - pieces that knock you sideways

59 Video interview 'Redeeming Culture' covering After The Fire's Bradwell church service

84 Baptism - When best laid plans fail, mystery can take over

91 Rob Bell's incredible talk about maturity at Greenbelt 2009

98 5 deeply de-Christian doctrines meme

107 Nova Scotia's incredible 'Ice Cream Church' near Halifax and also here (#118)

110 The Devil Inside - The unbelievable Christian Rock equivalent of Guitar Hero

Top referring blogs excluding Google, Facebook and Twitter

1 theartistandthetartist.blogspot.com (James & Maggie)

2 elizaphanian.blogspot.com (Revd Sam)

3 philipstreehouse.blogspot.com (Phil Ritchie)

4 evangelistchanging.blogspot.com (Joe Haward)

5 cyber-coenobites.blogspot.com (Archdruid Eileen)

6 diggingalot.org (Graham Peacock)

7 davidkeen.blogspot.com (David Keen)

8 theconnexion.net (Richard Hall)

9 churchmousepublishing.blogspot.com (The Mouse!)

10 joinbetween.blogspot.com (Jonathan Evens)

Sometimes it makes you wonder...

The latest campaign by the infamous anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church is to picket singer Ronnie James Dio's funeral with another potentially offensive protest. This has come to light in the NME, MOG and on the AV Club news pages. Looking at one of the most distasteful Westboro Baptist Church websites, godhatesfags, they list the funerals and locations they will be 'protesting' at...

Let there be love shared among us?

P

The Anglican Matrix

Some of the things I'm beginning to learn about the Church of England with help from various sages:

clergy	jews
laity	gentiles
choirmaster	god
choir	trying
robes	robes
flower guild	see above
psalter	rare book
book of common prayer	red book
common worship	read book
hymn book	new book
sunday school	lambs
baptised (C of E only)	sheep
the rest of us	goats
administrator	donkey
treasurer	bankrupt
PCC	deluded
eastenders	never watch it
cleaners	angels
wardens	heroes

With respect to the lamented Beaker Folk of Husborne Crawley

P