Buying this book might not save Perry's balls, and it might make you loose sleep for a week, but you'll never regret it.

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So I suppose I should write up some thoughts on Friday nights Guns and Roses gig. During the concert I was updating my Jaiku with the set list and immediate thoughts, so lets start with simply running through what my thoughts were:

• At the guns and roses gig.. Rose tattoo just came on stage..
• Rose tattoo set over.. Next up: sebastian bach
• 18 and life.. Ah memories of skid row.. School bullies.. And cute girls who didnt like me..
• We live.. We die.. We kill.. We rise...
• Old guy beside me complaining that sebastians songs all sound alike and he was hoping for a performer like mick jagger
• I remember you... And all the feelings come rushing back.. I miss her..
• Youth good wild.. Good encore song to end out with before guns and roses
• Overheard drunken comment "its not about working hard.. Its about working smart."
• Guns and roses baby... Fuck yeah..
• Welcome to the jungle.. Its so easy..
• Mr brownstone..
• Live and let die..
• Robin fink solo - This is like the blues on drugs..
• Sweet child o mine
• Better.. I think..
• Knocking on heavens door
• You could be mine..
• Jam session and keyboard solo
• Mmm not sure what song this is.. One of the new ones ive not heard the leak of i think..
• Band intros..
• Richard fortus solo and duet with fink
• Outta get me
• Axl piano break moving into november rain
• Another new song i think.. Sounds some what disjointed and confused.. No real flow.. (based on the video images shown, I think this might be the song called Madagascar)
• Sebastian bach on stage given axl coffee... Then into my michelle
• Patience..
• Nighttrain..
• No bumblefoot solo.. Im saddened...
• Encore with rose tattoo singer.. Name escapes me.. Dont play rock and roll.. (Rose Tattoos 'Nice Boys')
• Drumloops and roses? This is different..
• Yet another new song.. Axl apologised for going long.. People are walking out.. There new songs sound shit..
• Paradise city.. Crowd thankful for something they know at last..

For the most part the concert was excellent - starting around 8:30 with Rose Tattoo, followed by Sebastian Bach and band around 9:30, with Guns and Roses hitting the stage just after 11pm with the gig ending around 2:30am.

One thing I must say about new line up - whilst Robin Finck is a great rhythm guitarist I didn't overly think too much of him as a lead soloist. His blues instrumental left me with the feeling that he wasn't overly a good lead player, thou I suspect it may have just been his style - I do know that a few people around me made negative comments about his playing.

From what I heard of Ron Thall's leads during songs he was definitely the best sounding guitarist of the THREE guitarists and it was disappointing that he didn't get a chance to let rip and shred himself silly (I wonder if he did so on the Saturday night gig at all).

The crowd seemed to go limp and lifeless whenever one of the new songs were played - but thats somewhat understandable given that Chinese Democracy hasn't actually been released and that no one knew what they were hearing. Even thou the sound of the venue wasn't that great where I was sitting, I've heard a few leaks off the new album and the songs sound much better than they did on Friday night. Hopefully the new album comes out soon so I'll be able to hear them in the full glory.

Sebastian Bach's performance for me was clearly the highlight of the evening - it's weird thou, I kept thinking to myself "I hope he sings I Killed You, This is Gonna Hurt, or What Kind of Animal forgetting that he was only a guest vocalist for the Frameshift album An Absense of Empathy so of course he wouldn't be singing any of that material - thou I would have just gone nuts if he had (its one of my favorite albums of 2006).

I could have easily done without the Rose Tattoo performance at the start of the show, the music was good but Angry Anderson vocals just put me off. Although I must confess to being amused by Anderson rants between songs - sounding very much like a preacher calling down the power and the love of Rock And Roll to fill peoples souls and change them from within. One memorable portion of "sermon" went along the lines of "No one don't want to leave here the way the came - you want to be changed, you want your life altered by the power of rock and roll". I swear I could have easily been in a church service (at least, if you removed Andersons own swearing).

At the end of the day - whilst the sound was a bit of a let down, the concert was a great night out.

Technorati Tags: auckland, concert, music, new zealand, review

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It was quite surreal, and somewhat disturbing for the Christian in me to hear a packed out audience chanting "God Hates Us All" and "Hell Awaits" "The Angel of Death" "South of Heaven" as people yelled out their favorite song names - as if by some form of prayer they could influence the next song on the playlist.

As I entered the venue I ran into an old Fido-net friend Glenn from Wellington who was up for the concert and promptly lost him as he entered the pit and I was blocked by bouncers and sent upstairs to the 'grand circle' seated area. I think I've come to the conclusion that if the only tickets you can get for the St James are the grand circle - you might want to think twice about going - any sound the bands generate descend into a muddy mesh of static and feedback. For the most part you could hear everything, but it wasn't exactly the best sounding mix (I'm not surprised thou, the mix will be geared to those directly in front of the stage).

Still, the concert was great and Mastodon certainly impressed. One advantage of being in the grand circle area was that I had a clear view of Brann Dailor the drummer giving one of the best jazz based drumming set I've ever heard (albeit mixed up with metal all over the place).

Next up is Lamb of God on Wednesday...

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A growing craze in Britain for manga, a Japanese style of comic packed with big-eyed, wild-haired characters, has inspired publishers to produce manga versions of William Shakespeare plays and even a manga bible.

The popularity of manga is inspiring publishers to use the genre to reach a new audience. David Moloney, editorial director for Christian books at Hodder & Staughton, decided to release the first manga version of the bible in English.

"Manga is a form of story-telling that is very popular at the moment so why not try to use it to put the contents of the bible across," Moloney told Reuters in an interview.

Allright folks - my birthdays coming up in the end of May - who wants to source me a copy of this Manga Bible? Hell, if you don't want to buy me a copy but can source one for me I'll gladly buy it! But you're a kind and giving blogosphere right?

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1. Anberlin (myspace) sometime in May/June
2. Blindside (myspace) to play Power Station on April 14
3. MXPX (myspace) to play St James on March 6

Out of the three the Blindside gig would be my preferred/favored choice of attendance - but Anberlin/MXPX should still be a fun romp and stomp.

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First off it was ripping all the Styper CDs to my iPod and now Deliverance - bring on the old school Christian metal!

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The skit was left in a rough initial draft of thoughts and ideas and never really got rewritten or taken beyond the first draft, and was never presented to any drama people at church for feedback or actual delivery, maybe I should reconsider it after 10 years...

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Some chick rings up and says "Hi, is this Mark? Who runs church.co.nz, the NZ Church search site?" "er, yes it is - I've not maintained the website for like 6 years, I didn't realize it actually served content..."

"Well it does, I was wondering if you could point to me someone/somewhere where I could get prayer for deliverance?"

"oooooo kah - right...."

In the stunned moments that followed I put her onto a friend whose in the ministry team at my church. What's strange about this is that the website doesn't actually mention my phone number anywhere, except in the DNS records. I'm also amazed the website still runs after 6 years of neglect and lost interest.

I'm just glad she called before I'd opened the bourbon, I might have started chatting her up..

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People often talk about 'really getting something' out of the sermon, and it's been a long time since anything really hit me with any direct relevance, but tonight's sermon by Paul de Jong titled "Permission to Prosper" really struck a chord with me - not on any spiritual level, but on an agile development and testing level. Confused? Read on.

It was not the presence of God that formed me, but his absence which broke me.
-- Mark Derricutt

Even before the sermon started the above thought started to hit me, growing up I was born into the church, but it was never really forced on me. In this way - God has always been apart of my life, he's always there in one shape or another - quietly waiting till I call on him, and it's usually only when I turn away that his presence (or lack there-of) is really felt.

With software development, unit tests (and the testing frameworks behind them) are (or should be) always there, running quietly in the background waiting to come to our aide when the need arises (oops, bad commit!). However, if we turn out backs on our tests, remove them from the build process, we start to feel their absence as bug reports and deployment issues start to trickle in.

Sometimes you might have never had tests in your code, and you're unaware of the unconditional love regular test suites offer. They don't lay blame, they don't criticize, they may slap you around with the cold hard truth - but they do so in love :)

Paul made several points during the sermon, which I'll paraphrase, and translate into something more test-related:

1. Develop the ability to listen

   One of the first steps in increasing your agility is learning to listen to your code, and more importantly - to listen to your tests. For the most part they shouldn't be saying much, just going about their business making happy noises. If you've not yet got any tests in your code - listen to silence, listen to the echoes around the gaping void, listen to the impending pain.

   Your code should be purring like a sleeping kitty, or growling like a hungry rabid dog. It should not be silent thou.

2. Complacency embraces a limitation called satisfaction.

   If you find yourself with silent code and you're not actively testing your code, you'll be lulled into a false sense of code stability, this endangers the life of your project. It's bad.. mmmkay.

3. Realize your value to God (and your code, and your team)

   As a developer, you are important to your team, and your projects success.

   John 10:10-14

   The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

   I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

   But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.

   The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.

   I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.

   You have come that your code may have life, and life more abundantly. Don't be complacent in the code you write, substandard code begets substandard applications; but with sufficient testing the health of the code and overall project increases, and with it so does your own value to the team/project.

   The sheep need you.

4. Believe its your mandate

   Matthew 28:19

   Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit

   As test infected developers it's our calling to introduce unit testing to as many projects and development teams as possible. To worship and wash the feet of Kent Beck should be every agile developers twisted (and hopefully private) fetish.

5. Make the next level normal

   Expectation opens doors held closed by limitation -- Paul De Jong

   By making regular testing the 'normal' mode of development, the lack of testing becomes an aberration, a scar on the project that should be removed as ones earliest convenience.

   For the sake of your fellow developers - don't let your code become a leper to be cast out of the city walls. It's just not pretty, and people will laugh at you.

There were several other points made during the sermon but this is where things started to leave my analogies to developer testing so I think this is also a good place to end this posting.

Disclaimer: Since returning from church this evening I've been drinking cheap Bourbon and Cola, the proceeding post may end up as the ludicrous ramblings of a religious nut case, but it may also turn out to contain some useful prose on developer testing.

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But I digress, why is that I want to kill myself? Because I've been dead for 20 years.... at least I have been in a story I've just thought up. I don't know why but a series of story ideas just flooded my mind, call it a cross between the movie, and listening to The Dragon Page - anyway, I just spent the last hour scribbling down thoughts and notes on an intriguing universe, with several plot lines for a story, or stories. It's been years since I've ever written any fiction, but I think these ideas have enough merit to dust off the imaginary type writer and see what comes out...

I have universe rules, character birthings and deaths, several key plot points, a host of potential tangents, and enough theological anomalies to get me excommunicated from several religious orders - but I think it'll be worth it...

Stay tuned, and maybe you'll read it someday...

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...then on Sunday night at Church, I found 3 copies of the CD in the church store ( who hardly EVER carry anything heavy ), so I purchased all three and am shipping the other two off to friends in the morning.

Man - these tracks kick sooooo much arse, especially the opening In Christ. Man - it hurts that these 3 tracks are all there is, these are the best three songs I've heard lately, alot of the new CDs I've picked up lately have left me empty, devoid of a total spark, but these tracks... Who am I? I AM IN CHRIST!

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A newly discovered fragment of the oldest surviving copy of the New Testament indicates that, as far as the Antichrist goes, theologians, scholars, heavy metal groups, and television evangelists have got the wrong number. Instead of 666, it's actually the far less ominous 616.

I guess Iron Maiden will have to re-record a few songs :)

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Civil Unions are mainly for people who want to have the same rights that are afforded to married couples, but who don't want to have the whole religious aspect associated with it. No one is trying to re-name marriage as a "Civil Union."

Whilst not opposed to civil unions and the legal protections/benefits they provide, I always find the "we're not renaming marriage" angle somewhat odd - if you're not renaming it; why have a new name? However, my main area of contention is in when someone talks of "marriage without the whole religious aspect", isn't that what the "registry office", or "down at the river/park, anywhere thats not a church" wedding deals with (as well as for financial reasons)? Marriage, and all its legal implications, but without God, or any religious affiliation (vows aside).

In a world with Civil Unions, where does a registry-office wedding stand? The only exception here would be same-sex unions, which is where a majority of the issues lie. Not with civil unions themselves, but with the same-sex portion.

If civil unions had been brought in, but didn't provide any clauses for same-sex unions, I wonder how much fighting there would be from the christian sector; they might not be as vocal, or get as much media attention, but the fights been here for awhile. The fight for family values, and a family home isn't some new "Destiny" agenda, it's been on the TODO list of most churches for at least 30 odd years. If I say anything on this subject, its that civil unions havn't destroyed the sanctity of marriage - its society.

Out of all the people I know, the number of unbroken marriages is growing smaller by the day, and whilst I have both parents together, and it's far from a perfect family, it IS a functioning family unit. Growing up friends would always "spend the weekend with dad", or "have issues with mums new boyfriend", or some other variation - it would seem having a functioning, traditional family home puts you in a minority these days; regardless of religious affiliation... and like all minority groups - we fight to defend ourselves.

Whilst not directly related to family values, or civil unions, the following passage from C.S.Lewis's "Mere Christianity" (circa 1943) comes to the mind:

We must now consider Christian morality as regards sex, what Christians call the virtue of chastity. The Christian rule of chastity must not be confused with the social rule of "modesty" (in one sense of that word); i.e. propriety, or decency. The social rule of propriety lays down how much of the human body should be displayed and what subjects can be referred to, and in what words, according to the customs of a given social circle. Thus, while the rule of chastity is the same for all Christians at all times, the rule of propriety changes.

A girl in the Pacific islands wearing hardly any clothes and a Victorian lady completely covered in clothes might both be equally "modest," proper, or decent, according to the standards of their own societies: and both, for all we could tell by their dress, might be equally chaste (or equally unchaste). Some of the language which chaste women used in Shakespeare's time would have been used in the nineteenth century only by a woman completely abandoned. When people break the rule of propriety current in their own time and place, if they do so in order to excite lust in themselves or others, then they are offending against chastity. But if they break it through ignorance or carelessness they are guilty only of bad manners.

When, as often happens, they break it defiantly in order to shock or embarrass others, they are not necessarily being unchaste, but they are being uncharitable: for it is uncharitable to take pleasure in making other people uncomfortable. I do not think that a very strict or fussy standard of propriety is any proof of chastity or any help to it, and I therefore regard the great relaxation and simplifying of the rule which has taken place in my own lifetime as a good thing. At its present stage, however, it has this inconvenience, that people of different ages and different types do not all acknowledge the same standard, and we hardly know where we are.

While this confusion lasts I think that old, or old-fashioned, people should be very careful not to assume that young or "emancipated" people are corrupt whenever they are (by the old standard) improper; and, in return, that young people should not call their elders prudes or puritans because they do not easily adopt the new standard. A real desire to believe all the good you can of others and to make others as comfortable as you can will solve most of the problems.

What I find interesting here, is that even back in 1943, C.S.Lewis recognised that society changes, and what is, or isn't acceptable in society also changes - over time, and over location. However, there is also the recognition that for Christians, certain things remain constant. In this context, I see laws of modesty being judged, and defined by society, and the laws of chastity being defined, and judged by God. The former changes, and we are judged acceptable, the later is constant - and all are guilty ( enter mercy, grace, unconditional love, and that Salvation thing ).

"Judge not, that ye be not judged" (Mathew 7:1) - this famous, well known verse, in light of the above would (IMHO) be best read as "don't judge others according to gods laws, unless you want yourself to also be judged by gods laws". Given that everyone is guilty when judged against Gods rules, do you really want to know your verdict?

This is not to say we shouldn't fight, that we shouldn't strive to rebuild the family unit, it just means we need to be better at it.

I'm also reminded of a poem I wrote at the end of last year titled "Broken fragile familes":

I am the damage, of excuses you have made
I am a crack, in walls with secrets never told
I am the lost, abused and unappreciated
I am the curse, that threatens your way of life

In this broken family
We're the pieces never seen
It's a fragile fantasy
Societies falling apart...

I am the fear, that hides behind misguided hope
I am the reasoning, that fails to comprehend
I am resentment, from being treated like a whore
I am the damage, I am a bleeding open sore

This is a broken family
I'm a piece that was never seen
In this f*cked up reality
Societies fallen apart.

Finally, though I have had to speak at some length about sex, I want to make it as clear as I possibly can that the centre of Christian morality is not here. If anyone thinks that Christians regard unchastity as the supreme vice, he is quite wrong. The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of all sins. All the worst pleasures are purely spiritual: the pleasure of putting other people in the wrong, of bossing and patronising and spoiling sport, and back-biting; the pleasures of power, of hatred. For there are two things inside me, competing with the human self which I must try to become. They are the Animal self, and the Diabolical self. The Diabolical self is the worse of the two. That is why a cold, self-righteous prig who goes regularly to church may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute. But, of course, it is better to be neither.

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The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Christ. John answered them all, "I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

I thought the timing of this popping up was quite appropriate. The NIV commentary for Luke says:

John's ministry begins during this period. He ministers in the wilderness, brings the word of God and preaches a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. The concept of repentance is central to Luke. Not only is its concrete character elaborated in 3:10-14, but Jesus, in his Great Commission in 24:43-47, makes it clear that the roots of the concept come from the Old Testament. Though the Greek term for repentance means "a change of mind," the Semitic concept involves a "turning," an attitude that brings a change of direction (1 Kings 8:47; 13:33; Ps 78:34; Is 6:10; Ezek 3:19; Amos 4:6). Other texts in Luke emphasize this term (5:32; 10:13; 11:32; 13:3, 5; 15:7, 10). On this point Jesus and John echo one another. It is a contrite heart that comes to God for forgiveness, one who knows the need of a spiritual physician (5:31-32). A walk with God means submission to him and a change of direction.

John's baptism is a one-time rite in preparation of God's approaching salvation. Its roots may well go back to the Old Testament association of the Spirit's presence and washing (Ezek 36:25-27). Though John makes clear that Jesus is the one who brings the Spirit (Lk 3:15-17), John's baptism pictures a preparation for what God will do in Jesus.

Still, John's baptism differs from Christian baptism. John's baptism looks forward, while Christian baptism assumes Jesus' provision of the Spirit. John's baptism anticipates the Spirit's coming, while Christian baptism reflects the Spirit's arrival through Jesus. The washing aspect of John's baptism allows it to be associated with forgiveness of sins, as its connection to the Ezekiel 36 imagery suggests. Here are people of contrite heart, looking to God expectantly for what he will do in the days to come. Acts 19:1-10 reinforces the picture that John's baptism is anticipatory and not an end in itself: when some disciples appear in Ephesus who only knew John's baptism, they are led by Paul to experience what John's washing anticipated--the experience of being indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Lk 3:15-17; Acts 10:37-38; 13:23-24). When an Israelite takes John's baptism, he or she is declaring openness to God and his ways. The nation is put on notice to await the rest of God's promise.

Clearly, one can learn from this that water ( John's ) baptism is merely an outside indication, a sign to others of your decision, and willingness to submit to God and change your life to his favor. Whilst not talking about baptism, I was reading Salt today and I came accross the following passage, relating to the rigid structure of dogma and religion:

"It is Sunday," she said. "I would like you to take me to one of your churches. I have been dreadfully tested by God this week, and it is time for me to pray in a House of God."

I was chewing something; leekroot I think. "Church," I said, the word mushy with my full mouth. "This is one of your Senaarian customs."

She looked blankly at me, and then digested my words. But her reaction was not what I might have expected. She did not rage at me, nor lecture me on the ungodliness of Alsist peoples. Instead she sat down, with a bleak expression, and began sobbing.

"We do not have churches," I told her, taking another bite of leekroot. "There are no priests, no establshments, nothing to interfere between the individual soul and God. Why should there be a special room to which people have to go to speak to God? Is any one room on Salt different from any other? As God sees it, does it matter wheather a soul is in a certain room, or is somewhere else?"

I've always had this same thought running through my head growing up, "church" is no more than a building, but "the church" is the people - and its the people that matter. I remember mum always telling us off for not putting on nice clothes for church, and I remember trying the argument that if God is everywhere, and sees, and knows all, then he knows I'm a somewhat messy child, he knows who I am and what I'm like - if I put on nice clothes and pretend to be something I'm not - surely he'll know, and hold me accountable for forgery?

I remember a long time ago attending a Bahai' "fireside" meeting, in which one of the people I went with opened with prayer, reading and reciting a standard, fixed prayer from a book, this was followed with another person reading another prayer, also from the book. Afterwards I asked why they don't pray a "personal, heart felt" prayer instead of opting for "old faithfull" and just got odd blank stares with comments along the lines of "thats just not done".

As a christian this somewhat confused me, I'd never really come accross pre-written/recited prayer outside of The Lords Prayer, and started to think this might fall under the "personal relationship with Jesus" clause Christianity offers its members. Any mention of this quickly got me various annoyed looks so the conversation soon shifted direction.

So what does this have to do with baptism, if anything? I'd probably be clutching at staws but I'm leaning towards the "personal relationship" angle, the decision to acknowledge your sin, seek forgiveness, and follow Christ is a deeply personal issue - it's between you and God; no one can make that decision for you, nor should they try and force the issue. Baptism, in particular John's baptism ( that being baptism by water ) is an outside public sign of a private and personal decision to people you know. It's always struck me that if water baptism is soooo important to proove to people of your faith, then whenever you move towns and/or change churches, you should get baptized again so that people know you're a christian; but thats just silly - people don't do that, they just say "oh yes, I was baptismed by so-and-so, then-and-there" and you roll with it.

A number of years ago back when I was still with the Salvation Army I asked my pastor ( then Major Adams ) why the church doesn't perform water baptisms, the answer was simply:

"Water baptism is a means to publically express ones decision to follow christ, we have the uniform for that; as a means of publically identifying ourselves with the Church, and with Christ."

Not all Salvation Army members wear a uniform. It is a personal choice to do so, but the reason for wearing it remains unchanged.

It stands for:

• A commitment in the war against evil.
• As a personal testimony to the wearer's own Christian faith and practice.
• And signifies the availability of the Salvationist to anyone needing a helping hand and listening ear.

Unlike the uniform which is clearly seen and identified when worn, the outward effect of water baptism is an intangable concept, much like intellectual property; the results can be seen in the attidudes, personalities, and performance of the christian - but theres no tangable entity for which one can grab hold and say "you're a christian, can you pray for me?".

Unfortunately this puts me in a spot of paradox - whilst I like the idea of the Salvationist's Uniform as a means of public identication, I like the freedom of dogma and religious regidity that we have in modern christianity. I like to wear crosses, but that's more out of "I like crosses" than any symbol of allegiance.

One then has to rely on how they project themselves socially to others, through their actions ( or inactions), words, and general personal behaviour; unfortunately this is one area I find myself trapped in an unbalanced line - my mind is creatively twisted, but moralistic, which tends to get me diving in areas I don't really want to, or making rash comments laced with innuendo without thought, knowing full well the instant I've said and thought (or induced others to think) something that's just not kosher.

In the end all I can say is I'm a man with failings, but a man who publically accepts Christ as the central core of his life, and his destiny.

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1. Know your goal/destination/purpose: When you don't have a goal or purpose firmly set in your mind, all you're going to be doing is drifting around aimlessly, lost and unfocused.
   
2. Give it your all, your 100%: If you're going to do something, do it right, give it your best and work to your full potential. Their's no point doing a substandard job when you know you can do more.
   
3. Keep things in perspective: Don't get too proud or big headed - you're not God - God is.
   

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