Duncan Macleod
Martin Stewart, a Presbyterian colleague in Aotearoa New Zealand, has started a blog. Martin’s one guy who helped launch me into an earthy approach to spirituality. He’s a U2 fan, keen musician, theological gardener and able comedian. In his spare time he’s based at the Highgate Mission in Dunedin where he works alongside Fyfe Blair, who appears to have jump started his blog: Beyond Flatland.
View Martin’s blog online at
marttherev.blogspot.com
Forge Queensland is hosting a missional training intensive in July, focusing on radical discipleship, the Spirit and sustainability.
July Thursday 7 - Friday 8 will focus on ’simple church’, and will be led by Tony and Felicity Dale from House2House Ministries. 9.30 - 5 pm at Hercules Rd State Primary School, Kippa-Ring. There will be an open evening program on Thursday night. Contact Bruce Moore: hopecommunity at netspace.net.au or mobile 0409 545 063 for more details.
July 8, Friday evening will feature Peter Breen speaking on ‘Christ the emergent artist in the emergent culture’. 7.15 pm at Jugglers Art Space, 103 Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley.
July 10 - 11 will feature Stephen Said and Dave Andrews from TEAR Australia. 9.30 am - 5 pm at Gateway Baptist, 1052 Mt Gravatt Capalaba Rd, Mackenzie, Brisbane.
To register conctact Kelly Edington: kellyedington at aapt.net.au or mobile 0422 407 859. Registration forms can be downloaded from the Seeds of Hope web site, www.seedsofhope.unitingchurch.org.au.
Today I’ve joined up with Amazon UK’s Beta advertising program, Self-Optimizing Links. That’s the feature at the top of each page, with three items ranging from iPods through to books. The theory is that the script in the page template will find the most appropriate products to go with the contents of the page. After the page has been loaded four to five times the ads do start to provide relevant material.
So that explains the the prominence of Highlander movies on the main page of Pacific Highlander. Put ‘Duncan Macleod’ and ‘Pacific Highlander’ together and that’s what you get. But hopefully there will be some useful connections for readers, particularly for those living in the UK. I have an account at both Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, for the sake of some products that just can’t be obtained through the American base.
The Amazon contextual ads can’t be used on pages that have Google Adsense contextual ads. So I’ve kept the Google ads on Duncan’s TV and am putting Amazon on other sites where appropriate.
Interested in your feedback on how this is working for you…
This week I discovered The Australian Index, a directory of Australian blogs. What a good idea. Once a blog’s feed is submitted to the site and is accepted, post headings are posted there in the Australian wide page as well as in the state-related page.
The Australian Index is maintained by a helpful South Australian with a background in computing system engineering and computer science at Adelaide University.
A few statistics to start the day…
1356 blogs registered
90 in ACT
306 in NSW
22 in NT
198 in QLD
104 in SA
25 in TAS
418 in VIC
113 in WA
80 Unkown
This confirms my suspicions that blogging in Australia has its centre in Melbourne.
Today’s Emergent/C newsletter gives a link to Tony Jones’ post at the Christianity Today Blog on May 23, exploring the suggestion/accusation that the Emergent Conversation (based in the USA) is the New Christian Left, aligned with Jim Wallis and Sojourners. Mark Driscoll has recently drawn a line in the sand between ‘emerging evangelicals’ and ‘emergent liberals’. Ed Stetzer has divided the emerging church into relevants, reconstructionists and revisionists.
Tony points out that there is a wide variety of theological and political viewpoints in the Emergent movement. That, it appears, is the problem. The people most likely to stick around in such a conversation are people who enjoy diversity and thrive when they sit alongside people who see thing differently. The Emergent movement, by its commitment to exploring a range of contextual interpretations of Christian faith, becomes unattractive and repulsive to those who have narrow definitions of what following Christ is all about. It’s this pattern that leads to labels such as ‘ecumenical’ being used in the derogatory sense.
In reading through Ephesians I’m finding a strong emphasis on unity in Christ. It appears as though the early Church had similar problems about lines in the sand between differing interpretations of faith. Paul says to do what we can to maintain the unity that has been established by Christ. That’s partly why I’ve made a commitment to turning up for conversations with people whose opinions I genuinely find puzzling or disturbing.
Microsoft Australia is nominating typical Aussie words to be included in Office 2007. They’ve chosen 20 words and phrases to be voted on in an online poll. We get the chance to have our say, along with Adam Spencer (Radio Host), Peter FitzSimons (Sports Writer) Dr Ruth Wajnryb (Linguist, Researcher and Writer), David Blair (a founding member of the Editorial Committee of the Macquarie Dictionary) and Microsoft Australia’s Director for Information Worker - Tony Wilkinson.
We’ve been given the chance to choose five of the phrases, selecting from the following:
Jackaroo, Uluru, Ugg, Dag, Dinky-di, Bogan, Sheila, G’day, Ute, Sanga, Wuss, Cooee, Phar Lap, Bradman, Ridgy-didge, Sickie, Dob, Galah, Woomera, Ironman, Waratah, Bonza, Rogaine, Motza, Cockie, Trackies.
I’ve had my vote. But something doesn’t seem right here. Five choices? And what about other words that should be on the list, that haven’t been conisdered by Microsoft Australia? What would you like to see added to the list?
Phillip Ruddock announced some long-awaited changes in Australian copyright laws yesterday. Up to now anyone who has taped a television program on to VCR or copied a track from a CD to an MP3 player has been breaking Australia’s laws.
See the Attorney General’s Press Release for the overview. The fine details are yet to be released.
Here’s an excerpt. I wonder if I’m breaking copyright here…
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The Government is reforming the Copyright Act. The following is a guide only on how the new reforms are intended to apply. The final form of these changes will depend on the specific amendments approved by the Parliament.
Format-shifting means copying material from one format to another. Formatshifting may be done to take advantage of new technology (eg. dubbing a video tape to DVD) or to enjoy the material in different locations (eg. transferring music from CDs to a portable MP3 player).
Time-shifting means recording a TV or radio program for viewing or listening at a later time.
When we refer to copying we generally mean making a copy in the same format as the original.
Yes. For the first time you will be able to record most television or radio program at home to enjoy at a later time. This will allow you to watch or listen to a program as it was made available to the public at the time of the original broadcast.
The recording must be deleted after one use. It will not be possible to use the recording over and over again.
No. You will not be able to burn a collection (or library) of your favourite programs on DVD or CD to keep. (It will be permitted to record a program on DVD or CD but only temporarily until you watch or listen to it for the first time.)
You can watch or listen to the recording with your family or friends. It will not be permitted to sell or hire a recording or to play it at school or work or in any kind of public audience.
No. A recording is for the personal use of the person who made it. You can invite a friend over to watch or listen to your recording but you can’t lend or give it to a friend to take home with them.
No. Uploading the recording to the Internet to share with others would continue to be subject to civil and criminal liability.
Yes, if you have paid the subscription fee to watch the program.
Yes. You can format-shift your music collection from CDs, audio tapes and vinyl records to devices such as an MP3 player, X-Box 360 or home entertainment PC, but only if the original is a legitimate copy that you own and you format-shift for your personal use in a different audio format.
Yes, if you copy the tracks in a different format to the original, such as making a compilation CD in MP3 format.
Yes, if you have purchased a legitimate copy and it is permitted by the purchase agreement.
No. You will not be able to sell, loan or give away any format-shift copy you make in a different format, but a friend can listen to your music with you.
No. A format-shift copy must be made by the owner of the original copy. It will not be possible for a business to make copies for a customer.
No. A format-shift copy must be in a different audio format to the original.
Yes, but you will need to delete any format-shift copy you have stored in the MP3 music player before it is sold or given away.
No, this would continue to be against the law.
The Government is still considering this issue of copy protection.
Yes. You will also be able to format-shift copy some other copyright material such as books, newspapers, magazines, video tapes and photographs.
Yes. In general, the same conditions will apply as for format-shifting music (see above). For example, the original will need to be a legitimate copy that you own and the copy made for your personal use in a different format. It also will not be permitted to loan, hire or sell any copy you make.
No. The Government will monitor the implementation of the new exceptions and review its scope in two years. It will be possible to dub an old VHS tape to a digital player.
No.
I mentioned back in March that Darrell Guder will be in Melbourne in July. Here’s an update…
Darrell Guder, a key thinker in the area of Christian mission to the West, will be in Australia in July. Based in Princeton, Guder has written books such as “The Continuing Conversion of the Church”, and collaborated in the Gospel and Culture publication, “Missional Church: Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America”.
Darrell will be speaking at the Geelong Ecumenical Conference on Mission from July 4-6, in Sydney July 8 - 12, at the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture in Canberra & St Mark’s, July 14, and at the Uniting Church in Australia Victoria/Tasmania Synod School of Ministry July 17-19.
Walking past a memorial service in Surfers Paradise this morning reminded me that today is the 64th anniversary of the Battle of the Coral Sea. On May 7 - 8, 1942, Japanese, USA and Australian aircraft carrier forces fought a battle in the waters southwest of the Solomon Islands and east of New Guinea. That battle has become a focus point for Australian-USA defense relationships.
The Japanese were attempting to capture Port Moresby, on the southeastern coast of New Guinea, close to North East Australia. The US Navy discovered the Japanese invasion plan and moved ships into the Coral Sea to take on the flotilla. Both sides lost ships in the ensuing battle. However the US/Australia force managed to prevent the invasion of Port Moresby and eliminated enough ships to make possible a victory in the later Battle of Midway, a month later.
Some helpful sites:
US Naval Historical Center Photo Library
Gunplot Summary
My first interest in the Battle of the Coral Sea developed when I was working at Robina Uniting Church. We held a special service on the Sunday morning, inviting members of the veterans association and honouring the American-Australian connection. I was in charge of sourcing imagery for the service. While working in Cairns in 2004/5 I was living on Coral Sea coast. Northern Territory and North Queensland residents felt very vulnerable during World War II. Having lived there, so far away from the rest of Australia, I can understand the fear of being abandoned that still lingers there.
I’m at a conference at Adelaide looking at building ‘links, bridges and partnerships’. I am here as a guest of the Australian Society for Association Executives.
Here’s a few highlights:
Judy Potter, from SA Great, providing us with a case study of business, government and not-for-profit partnership in the Bank SA connection with the Adelaide Fringe Festival. The festival is part of the State’s strategy for improving its creative capacity and attracting young blood. Bank SA has gone beyond the typical sponsorship deal and has entered into proactive encouragement of the event. Buying tickets in the shows of artists and giving them to staff and clients, for example.
Jim Cavaye, from Cavaye Community Development, took us on a whirlwind tour of communities around Australia who have engaged in a collaborative development of vibrant community. This is more than infrastructure, services, jobs, business, economic development, planning, policy and amenity. We looked at the role of individuals and organisations in developing enthusiastic people, functional organisations, rethinking and redefining assets, strong networks and good decision making. We explored the role of gateway people (rather than gatekeepers) in forming community hubs.
Peter Quarmby, from Community Sector Banking, told the story of a bank formed by a collective of twenty one community-focused organisations. As government, business and not-for-profit organisations work together for the benefit of the community we see the ‘fourth sector’ emerging.
This morning we heard from Kate Carnell, CEO of the Australian Divisions of General Practice, formerly chief minister in ACT. We looked at lobbying government from the perspective of an association as well as from the perspective of a government minister. Quote for the morning: “We need win-win solutions, not approaches that involve ‘bagging the buggers’.
Jennifer Hodgeman from the Commonwealth Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, presented strategy for trust and growth in the online environment, including work on broadband for nonprofit organisations, ‘clever networks’, mobile connection, access in the west, and indigenous ability and access.
AUSAE doesn’t usually have delegates from the churches, but I’ve found most people fascinated with the possibility of collaboration for the benefit of the community. Associations share similar issues to the churches, including the need for capital investment and openings by local, state and federal government.
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