Things in my head

We don't need no education

2007-02-15T16:34:00.000Z

or time with parents, or positive relationships, or health and safety, or support from the community. But we do need under age sex, drink and drugs

In the last couple of days Unicef published a report that placed the UK at the bottom of a list of 21 developed nations regarding child well being. It was quite widely reported in the news, and expectedly the government were criticised by the usual suspects as having failed the young people of this country. But the political blame game almost never gets us anywhere, and it's not what I'm interested in. As with most of these sorts of stories, they are used for what political value they may serve and are then discarded. If a report favours the government, they will shout from the rooftops that their policies are working and Britain has never had it so good. If they are negative towards the government then the opposition parties will wade in to the debate, accuse the government as having failed the British public and hope that they have scored some more valuable credibility points with the population.The same thing is true in the media. It was on the front page of the BBC website yesterday, and today there was a little piece focussing on how children in the Netherlands have it so good (they came top of the Unicef report). But is that it?

I couldn't really be bothered less about political points scoring or articles with a clever angle to pitch, particularly in this instance. What this report is saying is that the UK doesn't have the right systems, resources, people, parenting, schooling in place for our children to grow up happy and healthy. The only area that we performed slightly better in was in education, but as David Batty in the Guardian said, "when our children are among the most awkward, lonely, friendless, poor and unhealthy, is it any consolation that they're good at tests?"

So where do we go from here, because we have to go somewhere. It's now impossible to stay where we are. On the one side is the 'kids have got too many rights' brigade. Be tough on them and they'll learn some respect. The recent series 'Brat camp' (which I have to admit to not having watched at all) or 'Bad lads army' would be an example of that sort of thinking. On the other side would be the 'listen to the kids, and let them know that they're important' bunch. Marilyn Manson in Bowling for Columbine opted for this approach when he was asked what he would have done had he been able to speak to Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, the two student who carried out the Columbine Massacre.

But can looking after children be so easily split in to the two debates. Over the past few weeks I've been spending quite a lot of time with a 16 year old boy who has next to no qualifications, and has nowhere to live. He is what it is about. Or the girl who after a year 9 (13-14 year olds) sex education lesson told me that all of the girls in the class had already had sex. The country is in a mess with regards to our children, and a lot of us have invested in trying to look after them. Whether we're working in the health care system, education, justice, religious, whatever, we've spent our time and energy on trying to help young people.

So people, where do you think we can go from here?

Ok, so maybe not bigger, but maybe better

2007-02-15T16:31:00.000Z

So maybe I jumped the gun a little on the whole 'blogging's back' thing, but we're back in the game now.

YEAH!

It's back, blogger and better!

2006-09-30T01:26:00.000+01:00

Well blogging chums, a new year of blogging is upon us. We've had a nice long break for the summer, but now is the time to get back in to the swing of things blogging wise.

Scriv, Matthews, Victoria and even Joel (see last post)have waded in with some excellent work so far. In fact, I don't think Victoria has ever been so prolific. What can be going on?

Anyhoo, the point of this post is to encourage everyone to start afresh with some new and exciting discussions, rants bits of news etc. Tim Oakes, we need you to step up your game. Now is the time.

So, my question to you is, what do you think the best posts or major topics of discussion could be this year? Ben Brown's increasing blood lust as he senselessly kills more and more people? A journal of Jon's realisation that he is gonna be a daddy, and that means not being a nob? Scriv becoming a militant eco warrior and spending most of the year at her majesties pleasure as a result of throwing his very own home grown eggs at Tony Blair?

The possibilities are endless, so why not brighten our days and blog again?

Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

2006-09-06T18:05:00.000+01:00

I have just seen something so earth shattering, so collosal, so mind blowingly awesome that I had to tell everybody about it:

Joel has just written a new post! Yipee.

Blogging's back in town baby.

The Song is True...

2006-08-09T18:31:00.000+01:00

We really are going to the chapel and we really are getting married. (Except it's not really a chapel, its a rather large church, so in that respect the song is FALSE).

I thought that I'd let you all know that Vikki and I have got a wedding blog which will keep you up to date with everything regarding the wedding- from the gift list to any piccies that we think are nice. There are also diary bits where Vikki and I will write about weddingey type stuff. It may be a little narcissistic, but humour us, it's our wedding. But we do hope that the wedding blog is fun for you to look at, for those boys who like dreaming of weddings and outfits, and for the girls who like to quickly find the gift list, buy something and get the heck outta' there.

Well that's it. Why don't you go and look at it now. Go on. Go on, go on, go on. Ya will, ya will, ya will, ya will, ya will......

Oh yeah, there's a link to it here

What a Weekend!

2006-07-18T15:35:00.000+01:00

Well, here they are, some of the pictures from the hotly anticipated, greatly enjoyed Norfolk weekend. The first annual Brum chums trip maybe?

I haven't put all the pictures on yet, but will add more later. I'm sorry there aren't pictures of everyone, some were a bit blurred. But I hope you enjoy them in the slideshow below. I've actually opened up a flickr account and thought that if I share the username and password with you guys, then any of us can add pictures that we want to share. I'll put it in a comment.

Anyways, here's what the Welshy's missed, and what we enjoyed.

Hope you enjoyed it too!

*Update*

Because of the mad crazy size of the slideshow thing, I've taken it away, but there is a link to all the pictures below:

I'm the link, click on me to see the pictures that I just told you about. Ta.

Bigger is better?

2006-06-19T01:49:00.000+01:00

Recently I've been thinking and reading about church. And then I found out that Hannah has written an excellent post about what she's been thinking about church recently. I wasn't sure whether I should carry on writing the post, as I don't want to seem like I'm stealing her thunder, but what I've been thinking about is a little bit different. If any of us end up leading or starting our own church in the future, what would it look like, and would you aim for a big church, or a small one?

What I've been thinking about is the relative merits of big and small churches. Is a big church better than a small church? I work for a church that isn't massive, but is growing, and hopes to be about 1,000 before we think about splitting. But then on the other hand a lot of my friends (you guys) are going to small, kind of cell churches. I can see real positives and negatives in both styles of church, and there's always going to be a certain amount of 'different strokes for different folks', but is one better than the other at all?

The tale of the holiday, the house and the spotted celebrity

2006-05-18T23:59:00.000+01:00

For your convenience and reading pleasure, this post will be split in to 3 distinct sections:

Section 1- The house
Section 2- The holiday
Section 3- The results of the 2006 Spot a Stupendous Celebrity Challenge

Section 1- The house

Following the Matthews' lead, I too seem to have acquired a house. I think it's a lovely place. I moved in on Friday the 21st April, and it was a mammouth move if ever there was one. I moved from number 49 to number 43. I didn't even change postcodes!

I don't have a cat (they're rubbish anyway), or a washing machine, but do have a really nice kitchen and garden. And a shower cubicle, and a lovely lounge. Anyway. I really like it, and would love to have any of you come to visit, if you were ever coming to see the sights of Essex and the famous 'Oakwood Hill Estate'. I've got a futon, a sofa bed, and a spare single. Alternatively, one of you could rent a room. I'll give you a good price...

Anyway, here are some pictures from the estate agents thingy to give you a taste. The only key differences are that in the Kitchen, instead of a table (practical), I have a huge table football table (highly impractical). In the lounge, I've got a better sofa, but a more rubbisher rug. Hope you like.

Section 2- The holiday

On Monday the 24th April, a full 2 days after moving in to my new house, I went off on a little vacation with my lovely fiance. We flew to Jackson, Mississippi, and then drove on to the town of Vicksburg. I had a lovely time in Vicksburg, swimming in pools, dining out a casinos on the river, and engaging in a bit of twitching (which, for the less environmentally embracing is ornithology (which for the less etymologically endowed is bird watching)).

After a week in Mississippi we went on a road trip through Georgia and South Carolina to North Carolina where Vikki's dad had a conference. While he was busy talking engineery things, Vikki, her mum and myself made do with sunbathing on the beach, body boarding and twitching (see previous paragraph for definition). Anyhoo, after much too short a time, I had to say goodbye to my fiance and future in-laws and fly fly fly all the way home to Essex land.

I've put some of my photo's on flickr, which is a picture viewing program that's in the sidebar, but I'll put some of my favourites here.

Section 3- The results of the 2006 Spot a Stupendous Celebrity Challenge

Well, the competition has been fierce and there have again been hints of devious goings on, with banned competitors taking part, entrants questioning the validity of other entrants claims and downright silly stories. The panel has convened and made their decisions. For a full list of entries, see the previous post. There is also some explanation to those of you who didn't quite make the grade.

However, I feel that I must point out that the competition was titled spot a celebrity. Not 'know them really well' or 'met my friends dads uncles lama'. So to have brushed past a celebrity counts as much as being born to a celebrity.

There were however many people who did make the grade. So many in fact that I have had to create separate categories for our winners. And fear not, the winner of each section will recieve a prize (if they send me their addresses by email, which can be done in my profile).

So, without further ado, here are the winners of the 2006 Spot a Stupendous Celebrity Challenge

The winner of the Hollywood heavies category is:
CAT- For spotting Al 'say hello to my little friends' Pacino. A cooler hollywood star would be hard to find. Well done.

The prize for the Most famous Christian apart from the Pope award goes to:
JUSTYN and LUKE- Both have stories of meeting Sir Cliff 'devil woman' Richard. There aren't many celebrities who can claim to have had their calendar up in the girls house, but Sir Cliff- little Harry Webb- is one of them

The winner of the Schmoozing with celebrity royalty category is:
LIZ- For your claim of tea with the Queen. However, I did ask for some more information regarding the entry and have not, as yet received any verification as to the stories veracity. More proof as to the truth of this entry is required before a prize can be sent out.

And finally, the Lifetime achievement award goes to:
LUCIE- Special merit for oustanding effort goes to Lucie for a lifetime devoted to the spotting of celebrities. Time doesn't allow me to list the countless celebrities that have crossed Lucies path, so instead I shall merely whet your appetites with a selection of them: Lawrence Llewelyn Bowen, Ruby Wax, Bonny Langford, Bob Holness, Matthew Kelly and been sung to sleep by Captain Birdseye.

Bravo to all the winners. You have done your families proud. Where would the world be without celebrities. And where would the celebrities be without us, their adoring public. God bless celebrities, and God bless you.

It's competition time folks...

2006-04-21T04:32:00.000+01:00

Yes, that's right, it's time for another competition. And like last time there will be real prizes, IF the winner emails me their address in time (yes Trev, you are too late).

I'm going to be having a little holiday for a couple of weeks, and so I thought that I should do a little post before I go away. And what better way to revive our quiet blogging community than a post that has David Hasselhoff and a competition in it.

So here's the Hoff, and I think he's hooked on a feeling.

Beautiful.

But wait, there's more! In association with the 2006 Find a Fascinating Fact Contest, and the Hasselhoff for President coalition, Half Arsed Blogging Productions presents to you...

The 2006 Spot a Stupendous Celebrity Challenge

I would like to hear of your brushes with the beautiful, gifted and rich people that are celebrities. Entries will be rigorously investigated due to previous malicious and underhand cheating. Photos will gain extra points, and once again, the panels decision is final.

The following people are excluded from entering this competition:
Jon Matthews

Until such a time that he/she is able to produce a satisfactorily penitent message to the panel.

I shall start: At an Arsenal game, I once went to the toilet next to Matt 'Yeah I know' Lucas. Aka Andy, Aka George Dawes (he's a baby). It's over to you. See you in a couple of weeks.

Long live the Hoff!

Oooh I'm looking in to the depths of my mind...

2006-04-11T22:08:00.000+01:00

Hello

I'm trying to think of stuff to write guys, but its too danged busy. So, my esteemed youngest brother sent me this link to a site, and it proved to be quite fun, so I thought I'd share it with you.

The first one is an IQ test, I think its pretty proper. It must be, because it proved that I am the dumbest of the Lovell offspring. However, we were all in the first percentile (thats 130+). Yay!

The second is something I've wanted to do for a while- an Inkblot test. Bit weird but good fun all the same. Once you've done them, click on the test results tab at the top and it should tell you all you need to know

Hope you enjoy, and I'll post something profound as soon as my life calms down a bit.

The IQ test is here

And the Inkblot test is here

An engaging conversation...

2006-03-14T11:16:00.000Z

Some of you may be aware, others may not, and others simply might not be bothered in the slightest, but Vikki and I got engaged on Saturday.

It's been a little while coming, but it was great to finally pop the question over a picnic breakfast, at yep, you've guessed it, the Lickey Hills. I had taken her over under the guise of it being a birthday picnic (Saturday being her birthday as well) and lulled her in to a false sense of security before I pulled out the ring. (Another benefit of Asking Vikki on her birthday was that I didn't need to shell out for a present. Good thinking eh?)

The ring, as you can see below, is really lovely, and was made by a good friend of the family who goes to our church. Cliff, you did an amazing job.

In other news, a panel of judges has announced that the winner of The 2006 Find a Fascinating Fact Contest is... Jon Matthews! There were some excellent entries, and the judges would like to commend Trevor Phyo for his gallant effort with There are 92 confirmed cases of unaccounted for nuclear bombs lost at sea. Trevor receives a firm pat on the back, and Jon, your prize will be winging its way to you as soon as you send in your address (you can email me via my profile). Here, for the rest of you, is the winning fact:

In late 1923, when hyperinflation in Nazi Germany was its height, a loaf of bread cost 200 billion deutsch marks.

Bravo!

Hmmm that's interesting...

2006-03-03T17:35:00.000Z

I love a good fact. Whether it is a fact about an animal with seven mouths, or a planet that spins clockwise. I just can't get enough of them (or remember them for that matter).

So here it is, The 2006 Find a Fascinating Fact Contest. The challenge is to send in the most interesting fact you can, the winner will receive one of Tim Oakes exclusive prizes! Send in as many facts as you want, but you are limited to 2 facts per comment!

I will start, and this may well end up being the winner...

Fact: The wingspan of a Boeing 747 is longer than the Orville brothers first flight.

Beat that...

Ups & Downs

2006-02-28T16:45:00.000Z

Feeling a bit stressed if I'm honest.

Wasn't going to write about it- there isn't much to tell, and it will probably sound well lame, but then I listened to Otty's new track, Ups and Downs, and thought that it's a cracker (thanks Rob for putting it on).

You should be able to listen to the track here

I looked at a few of the posts around our little community too, and quite a few people it seems are on one of those downs. I know I've got it better than the vast majority of the rest of the world, that is a blessing. But when you feel stressed, you feel stressed. If you're stressed because the new wing on your mansion isn't the right shade of lilac, or if your your homeless and your only sleeping bag has blown away (knew a homeless dude in Birmingham who that happened to) you still make use of the same chemicals. Some stress more, some stress less, but life sometimes seems like one big stress.

So I don't really know what to do. I could jack it all in, live as a hermit. But that wouldn't work. And I probably wouldn't have much access to the internet to check the old blogs either would I?

Celebrity big bothered

2006-01-28T01:27:00.000Z

So Celebrity Big Brother is over. And despite my better judgement, and my hatred of reality TV shows like that, I did still end up watching a bit. Or maybe a bit more than a bit.

So what have we learned from CBB this year. Well, I found it interesting that of the 4 finalists, 3 of them were 'normal', either lower middle or working class, young and on the whole, quite friendly. Michael is a damaged guy, as were a few of them, and craved not really attention but encouragement. Pete is a wind up, and I think he's had to defend himself so much in the past that he is now permanently on the defensive.

But what do you guys think? What did you like or dislike about CBB? Its over to you...

Cheese- a potent metaphor for life

2006-01-22T03:59:00.000Z

A dessert without cheese is like a beautiful woman who has lost an eye. — Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin.

How can you govern a country where there are 246 different types of cheese? — (attributed to Charles de Gaulle)

Cheese smells a lot like ass. — (attributed to William Shakespeare)

Over the past weeks I have been thinking an increasing amount about cheese. And I now believe that as well as being a most excellent foodstuff, cheese is a potent metaphor for the challenges that we meet with in our everyday lives.

However, I must admit that my ponderances are not solely of my own creation. They were, in part, inspired by Dr Joe, whilst sitting in his joy basket one afternoon. I was reading another in a long line of excellent posts, this time regarding a 'cheese inquisition', and it occured to me that this 'cheese' that we so glibly talk of has a lot more to it than meets the eye.

Another major influence on my thinking is the phenominally popular author Dr Spencer Johnson, and his internationally best selling book Who moved my cheese? Reading this book has helped me to begin to understand the power of cheese as this metaphor for change in our lives. And it is on this journey that I would like to now take you on.

I first came across this book in August of 2002 when Arsenal Football club unveiled their new signing, the Brazil international Gilberto. Gilberto, a defensive midfield player who, unlike most Brazilian footballers, doesn't like to spend too much time on the ball. Described by the Brazilian press after the 2002 World Cup as the 'Invisible Wall', he was the player who, 'carried the piano for Ronaldo and Rivaldo to play their tunes on'. But this 'no nonsense' approach to his football wasn't the main thing that set him apart from his more exuberent team mates, it was his passion for cheese. This passion is not based on (although it may include) the distinctive taste that cheese affords, but on the book written my Doc Johnson. The book subheaded 'An amazing way to deal with change in your work and life'.

This book contains such profound insights as: "having cheese makes you happy" and that one should "smell the cheese so you know its getting old". In essence, the book claims that "When you see that you can find and enjoy new cheese you change course." To help one to achieve this we must understand that "movement in a new direction helps you find new cheese". The result is an engaging, enriching manual for life that tells the story of what happens in a maze when four different characters search for 'Cheese' - a metaphor for everything one wants out of life such as career, relationship, money, house or spiritual peace.

"The more important your cheese is to you the more you want to hold on to it."

So cherish your cheese, hold on to it and you will be able to enjoy it. But be aware that it could at any time start to get old. It is at these times that you will have to take the exciting journey to seek out new cheeses, cheeses that are made fom the milk of many animals, be they a cow, goat, sheep, buffalo, horse or camel. Some of you may be worried about leaving cheeses that you have held on to for a long time, others may be worried that they will not find better cheeses than the ones they have already. But it is taking the step that counts. Which reminds me of another dairy based parable, from the 2002 Steven Spielberg film 'Catch me if you can' starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and based on the true story of Frank Abagnale. The father of Frank Abagnale jr, Frank Abagnale snr (who is expertly played by Christopher Walken) is recounting the story of his life. To sum it up he says: "Two little mice fell in a bucket of cream. The first mouse quickly gave up and drowned. The second mouse, wouldn't quit. He struggled so hard that eventually he churned that cream into butter and crawled out. Gentlemen, as of this moment, I am that second mouse."

This book is clearly so much more than just another 'self help' book. It could be the key to a new way of looking at life, a new philosophy of not trying to hold o to cheese, but seeking out new pastures, and new cheeses. However some of you may disagree with the idea of finding new cheese and leaving old cheese out to dry. I believe that this is an important question, and one that would be very positive to discuss on this forum. But I urge you, my friends, to begin to smell the cheese you have, and to search out new cheese that it may enrich your lives in the way it has enriched mine.

Merry Christmas bloggers!

2005-12-23T14:27:00.000Z

Just wanted to say Merry Christmas to all you guys. Hope you all have a great time. (This is my Christmas card to you all, so I hope you appreciate it!)

This is always a good time to reflect on whats happened over the past year- any standout moments for anyone?

Also, if you're bored, you could always try out this excellent snowball game. I only got to level 2 on my first go, but then I found out that the trick is to keep them moving. Hope you enjoy it.

Men, pity and fools

2005-12-16T02:18:00.000Z

I've just remembered how much I love Mr. T. He is incredible. And the answer to the question of 'what is it to be a man?' The answer is the T of course. The epitome of manliness- he doesn't suffer "foohs" lightly, and is ever ready to dish out some trademark justice (http://gravyboat.tripod.com/sound/getrough.wav).

On May 21, 1952 the man, who would one day be known to the world as Mr. T, was born in to a poor family. Mr. T himself said "I was born and raised in the ghetto, but the ghetto wasn't born and raised in me". He went on to star in one of the best loved TV shows of all time. But it is only after researching the truth of the T that I have found how astounding he really is. Below is a list of the top 34 facts about Mr. T, and I defy you not to be in pain (http://gravyboat.tripod.com/sound/pain.wav) from laughter by the end of the list.

1. According to Mr. T, Jibba Jabba is the official language of 99.9% of the world's population
2. Briefly, before hitting the big time, Mr. T was a hairdresser to the stars. There were no survivors
3. Mr. T once owned a beauty parlor called "I Pretty the Fool". No matter what anyone asked for, they always receieved mohawks and a heavy dose of pity
4. The pitying of individual fools is now illegal in most eatern-european countries, since only Mr.T is fully able to pity them all simultaneously, and nobody likes favouritism
5. Mr T defines love as the reluctance to murder. If you're still alive, it's because Mr T loves you
6. Mr. T did not invent the Atom Bomb. He did, however, invent atoms
7. Mr. T has so many gold chains that the Earth's center of gravity changes depending on where he is on the planet. Out of fear for the safety of the world, the U.N. bought Mr. T a house on the moon, where he curently resides
8. Mr. T takes a 1 Liter does of Botox everyday to prevent his face from collapsing on to itself in anger
9. The only thing Mr. T hasn't pitied is pity itself

10. Contrary to popular belief the Aztecs were not wiped out by Spaniards, but in fact by Mr. T so that that he could use their gold to make his jewelry of power
11. Stephen Hawking was once a strapping young athlete and genius until Mr. T unleashed upon him his Theory of Pittitivity and labeled him a fool. The gravity of the situation crashed down upon poor Hawking and left him how he is today
12. For God so pitied the world he sent T to do it in person.
-Original John 3:16 passage before it was changed to reduce intimidation among Christians
13. Mr. T's tears cure all known disease. Too bad he has never cried
14. Mr. T makes twenty minute insta-brownies in under seven minutes
15. The last man who made eye contact with Mr. T was Ray Charles

16. Mr. T's Mohawk is not held up by hair gel, his hair is just scared of him and is trying to get as far away as possible
17. When Mr. T folds his arms, the U.S. Terror Alert Level is raised to gold
18. Mr T. and Chuck Norris decided to spar, they travelled to the only safe place in the Universe, the beginning of time. They bowed to each other and Chuck launched in with a roundhouse kick. Mr. T blocked it, and the resulting pressure wave is commonly called the Big Bang
19. Mr.T once punched Chuck Norris at the exact moment he roundhouse kicked Mr.T in the chest. the result was the 80's
20. Mr. T was once involved in a head-on car crash, and he was the only survivor. Mr. T was walking at the time
21. Mr. T once captured Bigfoot, but released him after he shaved the beast and realized that it was just Chuck Norris walking around naked in the woods
22. Mr. T invented fools. Realizing the magnitude of his folly, he then created Pity

23. Mr. T wasn't born, he shed a woman
24. Mr. T once stared at a woman for three seconds. She instantly became pregnant
25. Mr. T wears sunglasses to protect the sun from his eyes
26. Mr. T is not black. It's just that the sun is to afraid to shine on him
27. Mr. T. does not break wind. He destroys it
28. Mr. T only eats the Ts in his alphabits cereal. All the other letters are pitied for being fools
29. If you play "Mother, there is No Other" backwards, you can hear Mr. T pitying you for being a fool
30. Mr. T has never lost at anything, so when he was forced to lose in Rocky III, he lost his mind and ate Stalone's children, and pitied the director until his head exploded. The explosion became the basis for the aliens weapons in Independence Day
31. The Oil Crisis of the 70's was a hoax. Mr. T horded gold all decade to create his stockpile of neckchains for the 80's, plunging the world into recession
32. Many years ago, Mr. T went to a McDonalds restaurant. He was asked if he wanted his meal Super-Sized, and he responded by consuming the entire restaurant. Since then, McDonalds has stopped the Super-Sizing option.
33. Mr. T is actually listed on the periodic table of elements. His element symbol is Ba, and his atomic weight is pain
34. The theme song to 'Law & Order' is the exact sound of Mr. T's heartbeat

So there you are. The list has spoken. Although I can't take any credit for these, and indeed there are more to be found, so go there and refresh not only your browser, but also your soul.

So I should try to be like the great Mr. T, but I fear that nature may have dealt me a far harsher hand. It seems that I on reflection, I find myself closer to Murdock than to BA Baracus. Murdock the fool. Murdock the insane. Yes, Captain 'Howlin Mad' Murdock.

I am Murdock

They call him "Howling Mad" and with good reason. Once a top notch pilot, the pressures of war left Murdock mad. He is known for his smirk, variety of personas and overall mental instability. When he isn't spending time institutionalized, Murdock is using his flying skills for the A-Team, driving B.A. nuts and talking to his imaginary dog.

Which A-Team member are you???

So maybe I should heed BA's warnings about trying to get to close to him.(http://gravyboat.tripod.com/sound/brothers.wav)

But still, I think we have in Mr. T the best example of what it is to be a man. Whether he is appearing in his comic, his spin-off TV show, his raps, or his story books, we should just gaze, in wonder and awe, in the hope that he pities us fools.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

2005-12-05T22:58:00.000Z

I saw some statistics the other day that said that men commit more than 87% of murders, over 95% of rapes and 87% of robbery and assaults. Its not that surprising though. But why? What is the difference between men and women that makes men so much more likely to commit crime? Is it just based on biological differences- more testosterone, or is it the man fulfilling the role of hunter gatherer in a modern setting?

Maybe I want to ask a bigger question: What is the difference between males and females(aside from the obvious visible ones)? The reason I say 'males and females' rather than 'men and women' is because what it is to be a man or woman varies from culture to culture. For example, in pre-industrial Europe, medicine (apart from midwifery) was thought to be a mans career, whereas in Russia it was almost exclusively made up of women. But what it means to be a male or female wont vary from culture to culture. It's the difference between sex and gender.

What do you guys think the difference is between the males and females? From a scientific but also a biblical or religious perspective. I really don't know much about the issue, but I am concerned by simplistic explanations of maleness and femaleness- even biblical ones. How can people from less masogenistic cultures than the biblical authors ones understand these passages?

At the end of the day, I have no idea what is essentially male in me, and what is essentially female in women. If we were able to find this, then I think it would take away a lot of the pressure that people can feel from society to fit in to certain moulds- moulds that are probably not made for them. I'd really appreciate your thoughts on this, I know some of you will have looked at this a whole lot more than me.

Global Lovell Update...

2005-12-04T23:19:00.000Z

This is a global Lovell update- keeping you up to date with all things Lovell across the world today.

Recently unearthed is the talented singing trio, 'The Lovell Sisters'. Jessica (19), Megan (16), and Rebecca (14) put together tight harmonies and have a unique and distinct sound that is a fusion of folk, country, and contemporary acoustic music. The band is based in Calhoun, Georgia, about halfway between Atlanta and Chattanooga in Tennessee.

You can listen to some of their wonderful music here or here.

Their site can be found at www.lovellsistersband.com and is well worth a look if you're a fan of Lovell's or of Bluegrass music, or both.

Another example of some outstandingly talented, musical and excellent Lovell's. God bless 'em.

(And just so you know, the name of the radio telescope at the top of the post is, wait for it... 'The Lovell Radio Telescope'. No joke. Now how many Scrivener or Phyo or even Mathhews radio telescopes do you think are out there. Don't beleive me? Check it out Check it out for yourself.

My name is... Tim Lovell

2005-11-25T19:03:00.000Z

I have the greatest name ever. And I am not just referring to the fact that my surname means 'little wolf', or 'wolf cub'. No, I am more specifically referring to my fuller (though by no means fullest, as I would have to add 'Robert' into the equation) name of 'Tim Lovell'. This post may be reminiscent of the excellent 'My name is Dave Gorman' series and book, and the following could be seen as paying homage to the series and its creators.

Let me explain. During the week I had an email. Not very strange you may think, but the second I laid my eyes on the sender of this email I became curious. You see, the sender of this email was a certain Tim Lovell. Now I have, in the past, and for reasons that I shall not explain here, sent emails to myself. But this email had not originated from my fair hand. No, something far more peculiar was at work.

The email began with the not so traditional greeting of "I am also Tim Lovell." This 'other' Tim then listed similarities that he and I share. 'Tim' also helps to lead his churches youth group (Manor Park Evangelical church), has lived in Birmingham, and has an affinity for Subbeuteo (his blog may be accessed here). It is here the similarities end. But as I'm sure you'll agree, it had opened up the proverbial can of worms.

I was aware of other Tim Lovell's from around the world, and I think that now is the time to share them with you, and to prove beyond all doubt why the name 'Tim Lovell' is the best.

Firstly, there is yours truly, Tim Lovell of London, England. I shall say no more of myself, but move on to the other Tim Lovell's who may not be as familiar to you.

There is Tim Lovell who was recently made president of UK pest control. He moved to this post from the States, where he was vice president of the company.

Next, there is Tim Lovell the molecular biologist of The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. His interests include Electronic Structure Calculations for Active Site Models of Metalloenzymes and Metalloantibodies, Computer Modeling of Proteins and Nucleic Acids, Computational Design of Bioactive Molecules (Metal and Non-Metal-Based), Applications of Quantum Mechanics to Transition Metal Complexes in Inorganic, Bioinorganic and Organometallic Chemistry and Catalysis by Transition Metal and Organic-Based Active Sites in Biology. He seems like a jolly fine gentleman.

Following on from Tim Lovell the molecular biologist, is Tim Lovell the guitar maker. Yes, thats right, you can own a quality electric guitar made by the legendary Tim Lovell. Unfortunately, you will have to be in Australia to pick one up. Lovell guitars, as they are known "are beautifully handcrafted instruments created by Melbourne Luthier Tim Lovell with incredible attention to detail and amazing tone. The full range of Lovell Guitars featuring the unique Lovell Bridge are available now." To check them out for yourself, click here. If you feel inclined to buy me one of these quality handcrafted instruments, please do.

Next in our list of Tim's is Tim Lovell the anaesthetist. However, upon further investigation, Tim is in fact his middle name. He is actually A T Lovell. I was not able to ascertain what it was that the 'A' stood for. There is also not a picture of him that I was able to find. The reason that I have allowed him into my hall of fame, is because he is known as Dr. Tim Lovell. He has obviously understood the class that the name holds, and elected to cast off his less impressive forename (Alan perhaps) and to forever be known as Tim Lovell. He is the Consultant Senior Lecturer at the Sir HumphryDavy Department of Anaesthesia, Bristol Royal Infirmary in Bristol. A most excellent addition to our already stirling line up.

But now I come to the premier league of Tims. Firstly, let me proudly introduce to you Tim Lovell the pro Hockey player. Beginning his career at the University of Maine in 1993, Tim went on to play for 11 different teams, in 3 different countries before blowing the final whistle on his days as a pro hockey player in 2003. Highlights of his career must include the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, the Las Vegas thunder and the Tacoma Sabrecats. But Tim didn't end his association withhockey when he hung up his skates. No, he went on to start the prestigious 'Lovell's Hockey School' which aims to develop the complete player through highly structured on and off ice training sessions taught by coaches who are respected players of the game. You can check them out here.

Our penultimate Tim Lovell is another Tim who is used to the limelight. It is Tim Lovell the actor, or more accurately, the performance artist. Until recently has was signed to the Donna Baldwin talent agency, and was a regular in industrial commercials and the like. I think he is a handsome and rugged man. However, I have been unable to find any up to date information on him. While he would have fitted perfectly in to shows such as 'Diagnosis Murder' and 'Murder She Wrote', it is possible that Tim found it difficult to continue acting in todays harsh world of CSI and The Soprano's.

Our final featured Tim (I have had no time to talk about Tim Lovell the photographer from New Zealand, or Tim Lovell the rigging gaffer) is possibly the most impressive of all. Winner of Great American Song Contests 'Outstanding Achievement in Songwriting Award' in 1999, the 2001 Oklahoma Songwriters and Composers Association's 'One Plus One Songwriting Contest', 4 awards in the 2003 Tennessee Country Music Association's New Gospel Category, and a massive 6 awards including most promising album of the year, and male vocalist of the year at the 2004 Tennessee Country Music Association's awards, Tim Lovell is a singer songwriter with clout. He has also set up 'Lion of Judah music and songwriting', which is where his website can be found. His music is reminiscent of the great country and western songwriters of the early 1980's, with lyrics that communicate the power of the gospel. You can listen to his music via his website- may I encourage you all to experience the delights of his music- especially 'the suns gonna shine', and 'the singing in heaven'.

I hope that you have enjoyed my world tour of Tim Lovell's- a tour that has taken in many different coutries, and many different careers. But there is one thing that unites us all- and that is the great name of Tim Lovell. God bless Tim Lovell's everywhere.

A Celebration Of Indiscipline

2005-11-18T20:05:00.000Z

I am back. And I have something to say. Its similar to Jon M's post about the disciplines, only the exact opposite. I call it the indisciplines...

I am tired. Very tired. But its my own fault, I don't want any sympathy. Now the reason I am tired is this: I had seven minutes sleep last night. And the reason for this absurdly miniscule amount of rest? There isn't one. There really isn't.

I got back to the office after youth group last night, and thought that I'd have a little look on the internet at some of the camera's I'm thinking of purchasing. While I'm there, I thought that I should catch up with some of the long overdue blogging that I had promised I do, and I might as well check whats happening to Arsenal again (because something important may have happened between 5:00pm and 11:00pm). And so it went on. As did the time. 10:00, 11:00, 12:00 (I told Vikki that I would leave the office by midnight, but I was still looking at cameras), 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 (this is getting silly, but there's no point in going to sleep now), 5:00, 6:00, 6:30- ok, I'd better get home now, because I need to clear out the car. You see, I had to pick up some friends from Gatwick, a mere hour and a half away. So I left at 7:00am, having had 7 minutes sleep.

The journey was not fun. I was just struggling to stay awake- I think I had a 'micro-sleep' for a second, so I turned off all the heaters, and it got so cold I could see my breath. Too cold, add some heat, hmmm, feeling sleepy. Might just have a rest. No, too warm, turn the temperature down- for 1 and a half hours.

Tim, Tim, Tim, what are you doing? Its less burning the candle at both ends, and more like pouring petrol all over it and letting the whole thing disitegrate. But I did have an hours sleep today, so thats good. And I made my blog look all pretty. Thats good too. And I think I've found the camera I want. Very good.

Is anyone else this stupid, or am I the only one who does stupid things nowadays? Comfort me with your stories of crass stupidity, and the like.

Who's a pretty boy then?

2005-10-25T18:18:00.000+01:00

This music is dedicated to Trev. Doesn't he look lovely.

I love you guys. You're all so great.

How to blog- part 1

2005-10-21T16:02:00.000+01:00

Hello! So I'm definitely no expert on computers. That dubioous honour would probably go to Rob or Jon. But I have had fun setting the old bloggy blog blog up. So I thought that I'd post a simple 'How To' thing, which will explain how to:

Post links
Put a picture on your profile
Post pictures
Post music and video
Add chat, clocks, counters, banners etc

But because the things I'm gonna write will be in HTML code (computer language), I'm gonna have to write it in a Word document. So if you would like to find out about any of this stuff,

CLICK HERE FOR A NEW WORLD OF BLOGGING FUN!!

And if you think any of it helpful, or confusing, or if its wrong, or if you know a better way, leave a post.

Have fun!

Made in the image of God

2005-10-14T17:39:00.000+01:00

I've been pondering this a little bit recently, and I started to write a post on it, then gave up, then got told by Saint Jon of Matthews to give it a go again. So,

What does it mean to be made in the image of God?

One of the things that I was thinking around was the idea of community. Now obviously there are animals that live in community, but it seems that that is largely to do with safety in numbers, or common feeding grounds. I wonder if part of what it is for humans to be made in the image of God is our desire to exist in community.

A lot of our posts have talked about the need for a greater emphasis on community- be that in a Christian or non-Christian setting. For eternity, God has existed in community. It is one of the most central parts to His character. The Father, Son and Spirit all existing in relationship with one another. In community with one another.

So what do you guys think? Is our desire for community part of our being designed in the image of God? And what else do you think it involves. Your time, starts now...

Also I want to say that having you as mates is great. My mates at home went to different uni's around the country, and none of them found such a great group of people. We hit the jackpot methinks. Anyway, on with the debate...

Invasion of privacy

2005-10-12T16:08:00.000+01:00

I don't usually have that much interest in fwd's, but I got sent this one today, and was horrified. Apparently there's this website where you just have to type in somebodies name and the coutry that they're from, and you can get all their passport details.

Its well screwed up man, I checked mine, and it was on there. I dunno if we should write a letter about it or something, but just check it out. The link to the website is here. Does anyone know how this is possible?

Firing cats from a canon

2005-10-10T23:55:00.000+01:00

Ok, so maybe the instant chat thing was a bit too much too soon. But I stand by the fact that its a groovy idea. This is a frivolous post again. In fact, some people might even not like it. But its only a game...

Click here and try to get the cat as far as you can!

I've got to say I'm pretty good at this, so you've got your work cut out for you.

Hopefully I'll do an intelligent post one day soon...

It's all getting a bit technological...

2005-09-30T20:36:00.000+01:00

Hello again. I know that I'm going a bit mental with all the posting but I might have come up with quite a good idea. Just below my profile on the right is this instant chat thing. Its a good idea, but the problem is that for anyone to see it or write on it, they have to be on my blog.

So I had this idea, because if we post the link below on to all our templates, then we'll all see all the messages written, so we can really easily see if anyone's about when we're blogging away. I'll explain how to do it so it shouldn't be too hard, even for the technophobes. But it will work best if as many of us as possible do it. Unless you think its a crappy idea.

Right, the thing that you will need to paste is at this link. It will open a word document.

All you need to do is highlight it all, then go to change settings, which is on the dashboard next to the 'new post' icon. Click on it, and then click on template. This is where all the information on your blog is stored. Scroll down until you see the words "Main archive page" which is about 2/3rds of the way down the page. Press enter a few times, and then in the space paste the link. Save the changes, and then check out your blog. You might need to press refresh, but it should come up with some chat between me and my brother Dan. Each one should be exactly the same anytime that one of us posts an instant message. Then we can get chatting.

Hope it works!

Subbuteo challenge

2005-09-30T16:04:00.000+01:00

Right, a few of us have been reminiscing about good old Subbuteo. So I thought, how about our very own Subbuteo challenge. Click on the link below, and there's a game that will appear. See who scores most, post it as a comment, and there may even be a prize for the winner. (There wont be).

Let the games begin

Biblical authority

2005-09-29T17:28:00.000+01:00

Ok, so a few of us have been talking about Old Testment interpretation and part 2. A little while ago though, Tim O was talking about the Authority of the Bible and I thought it would be interesting to talk about how we understand the Bible, because I think we will have quite a number of different perspectives.

This is something that I'm not totally sure about. I do believe some key things about the Bible: It has challenged, comforted and inspired me in my life. I get pretty much all my values from it. I want to follow Jesus and his teaching, and I think that the best place to find Jesus' teaching is in the Bible. But further than that I'm not sure, you know infalliability and all that.

I don't think that the Bible is inerrant. In matters of science and history or whatever, even the 'original' documents might have errors. But that is not to say that it isn't an extremely reliable source- probably he most reliable for the periods and places that it talks about. I do believe that on matters of faith and practice it is fully trustworthy. (But of course we have to engage in careful interpretatoion to find out what that is). I think that this is called the infallibist view- that the Bible isn't a text book, so the facts aren't the most important thing.

This is also to do with how I believe God likes to work in the world. As He is a relational God (trinity etc), he likes to work through partnership and stuff. So he chooses to use falliable humans to get His plans done, coz it gives Him a kick, or brings Him more glory or whatever. He takes a risk though when He does it, with choosing Israel, when using Paul, or me or Billy Graham. Each time God takes a risk by using us rather than doing it Himself. And I think that He did that with the Bible. He took a risk by partnering with people who could get things wrong.

Anyway, I'm getting a bit lost here. As Tim O said in his recent post, I believe that some of the Bible's authority lies in the fact that it is kind of a family document. A history of our roots. Of a bunch of people who had crazy experiences of God, or went through mad things with God or wrote to God with pretty words. But its also a history of the development human race as well. Our routes- roots and routes! So Adam and Eve were some sort of primitive human beings who didn't know much about God, but knew Him. Then Abram gets a promise, Moses some commands, etc. So some of the authority of the Bible comes from it historcal value. But I think that its more than that.

Most evangelical Christians aren't big fans of what Karl Barth says about scriptural authority, but I think its got quite a lot of merit. He believes that scripture is a human product, and that it gains it's authority only if God gives it, which He has.

right, now an explanation for the horribly disjointed rant. I wrote this pretty good long post, then the bloomin maintainance people take the whole site offline. So I lose my original post, and have to wait an hour to find out that its been lost. So I write another one, in a mood, at 3'o'clock in the morning. Happy days! And I've got to work tomorrow. Bugger. So all I can hope is that this is a starting point for some more eloquent and structured discussion, and that I get a good sleep tonight!

I think in fact that the best thing I can do is give you a link to something I've just found by NT Wright (who Tim O was talking about a bit) about the authority of scripture. I'm going to print it off and read it, so I thought I might as well give you the link here

A Quick Question

2005-09-26T17:57:00.000+01:00

After you have been dead for a long time, would you rather be:

a) forgotten

or

b) hatefully remembered

Also, does anyone else other than Ginger Jon think that I am a girl?

Also also, for anyone in still doubt about the coolness of Ligers, check out the link that I posted on at the bottom of the discussion...

The existence of UFO's in essex!!!!

2005-09-22T13:27:00.000+01:00

Ok guys, no joking around now. This is a place for serious discussion. Two saturdays ago, as my brother and I were getting out of my car at my house we spotted 3 bright lights in the sky. We looked at them for several minutes, and found them to be quite unlike anything we had seen before. I have lived in the area for many years and never seen anything quite like this. It was a truly strange thing. We went in to the house and thought nothing more of it until we heard that it had been reported to the MOD and in the national press (the Sun, no less). A short search on the internet has uncovered several videos and pictures of the sighting- and I promise you they really are exactly like the one's my brother and I saw on that saturday. Some of the sights that report on it are reputable UFO sites- such as rense.com and hbccufo.org, a Canadian UFO research site, and ufocasebook.com. There are two others that actually have video of it that you can watch here and here. I wasn't sure about UFO's, nor really bothered by them, and I'm still not sure, but its quite exciting that I have witnessed my very own UFO sighting! I suppose it would make Rob's existence on the planet a little more understandable though. What do other people reckon on the possibility of us not being alone in the universe? I guess at the very least it makes Jon's knitting admission seem a bit less weird...

The best animals in the WORLD!!!

2005-09-21T09:44:00.000+01:00

I've got to say that Ligers are absolutely positively the best animals in the world. I can't even imagine a cooler one. Look at the size of it. Napoleon Dynamite was right when he said tht they are pretty much his favourite animal. Dare any of you suggest a better one?

Meetings, meetings, meetings

2005-09-16T14:28:00.000+01:00

This is my first post, and all I have to say is that I HATE meetings right now. I've had to contribute to or lead evening meetings on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday morning and possibly Sunday night. That is all for now...