Over the years I have loved to not only photograph birds but also record their calls to some extent.
This has usually been on a camcorder.
Sometimes I have just concentrated on sound recording rather than trying to video the subjects as cam corders usually have good recording performances as long as you avoid the noise of the mechanics of the camera.
With Digital Recording now this is not a problem.
I bought some CD's in a shop yesterday by Andrew Skeoch and Sarah Koschak.
Check out their website.
Brilliant work.
http://www.listeningearth.com.au/LE/index.php
Also here is a link to one of my favourite little bird encounters with a young thrush who joined me for morning coffee in Renmark.
Listen for his beautiful song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUVWfA3dfXo
Friday, January 30, 2015
Thursday, January 29, 2015
From the Wayside Chapel by Graham Long
Dear Inner Circle,
The good people of Bombala hosted me for their Australia Day celebrations. Sydney’s Kings Cross to the little town of Bombala is quite a cultural contrast. I began my speech by saying, “I walked down your main street last night and I didn’t see a single strip club or massage parlour. What kind of town is this?” I met so many hard working, honest people who mostly reminded me of an Australia that has largely disappeared. The primary activity of the day was shearing sheep. They stopped for a brief speech from me and also from the local Mayor and then they returned to shearing. The comedy act of the day was when they organised for me to shear a sheep. I didn’t want to hurt the poor animal that they put at my feet and so the job I made of shearing was just laughable. It’s an activity that is not kind on your back even to shear one sheep. How these folks are able to shear 200 and even 300 sheep a day is simply beyond my understanding. What an honour to speak with the locals and hear their concerns; to hear about the price of wool; the price of lambs; their vulnerability to weather; their understanding of the role of politicians; their fear about the threat of drugs to their young people. There were some clearly well-heeled people at the gathering and there were some young people whose fitness and strength left me in awe. There were many people who looked like they’d lived out in the weather for 40 years or who hadn’t removed their hats in that time. The main street literally had hundreds of 4x4 trucks and utilities and only one solitary small sedan. Even my car was something of a cultural shock to the street. I’m grateful to have met so many colourful characters and to have learned that should Wayside suddenly come to an end, shearing is not a way that I might make an alternate living.
Chatting in the cafe yesterday, a homeless man insisted on buying me lunch. I tried to talk him into allowing me to buy lunch for him instead. He said, “Think of all the times you’ve helped me in the past month.” “You’re right,” I said, “I’ll have spaghetti and a can of drink.” There are many people in this world who have so little but give so much. One of this city's most notorious criminals wrote to me from prison this week. He earns $20 per week in prison. If I told you the crime he committed, you probably would read no further. He sent me $200 and asked me to give it to someone in need. What an astonishing act of generosity! You can’t hate a whole person. The only way you can hate someone is to take a picture and call it the whole movie.
Sometimes our way is heavy. I’ve done two funerals last week and have three booked for next week. You should put a Wayside funeral on your bucket list. They are often sad, hilarious, deeply moving and inspiring all at once. Most of our eulogies come from voices that are never heard. Almost always, someone will stand and say, “I never met this person but if I had…” Sometimes there is the moving affirmation that, “This person was a bastard but he was my mate and I loved him.” Every now and then my mind plays the hundreds of funerals I’ve done here in fast forward. They are among my most precious memories as I’ve witnessed words of love with no polish and poor expression but almost extracted directly from the heart, bypassing the brain, lungs, throat and mouth. There is often a 'death weariness' to be clearly seen. Many people begin their words with, “How many times can we do this?”
Our team gets better and better at what they do. The other day I went into the cafe to see a table with five men all sitting around our Lisa, learning to sew. I saw our Julian and Katherine in our Twilight Team, sitting on the seats at the front playing some musical instruments. I stayed long enough to see quite a crowd gather. There were a few homeless people who got right into the singing, even shouting at various appropriate spots. There was a neighbour walking home from Woolworths who stopped and picked up a tin whistle to join in the jam. I saw a young mum with a couple of kids stop and join the fun. That was our mission, embodied and lived right there. To see the barriers that normally separate people melt is pure inspiration. Julian and Katherine created a moment where there was no good or bad, in or out, saved or lost, sick or well, housed or homeless. There was, “just us” and I went home more alive for having witnessed this vision of what could be.
That’s enough, thanks for being part of our inner circle,
Graham
Rev Graham Long
Pastor and CEO
The Wayside Chapel
Kings Cross
http://www.revgrahamlong.com/
http://www.thewaysidechapel.com/
Protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal information is important to us, as it is fundamental to the way we operate. All information is kept in the strictest confidence and is stored in a password secure database. Levels of access to information are determined by an authorised employee's specific need to do their job. Personal information collected by The Wayside Chapel is never sold or passed on in any way, shape or form to any other organisation or non-authorised person for any purpose. If you would like to seek access to, or revise your personal information or feel that the information we currently have on record is incorrect or incomplete, or you believe that the privacy of your personal information has been interfered with, please contact us. Our appointed Privacy Officer is Laura Watts laura.watts@thewaysidechapel.com
Friday, January 23, 2015
Three Minutes to Midnight
The "Doomsday Clock" has been moved again.
It now stands at 3 minutes to midnight.
See link below to the ABC article.
ww.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-23/doomsday-clock-moved-closer-to-midnight/6040208
Speculation on such things is an interesting subject always.
I prefer to look to the future from Bible Prophecy.
Notwithstanding these warnings are not necessarily incompatible with the Bible.
The following link is a good place to hear one of my former Pastors,Harold Long, giving his understanding of "the end times".
It is one of a series of addresses.
http://geoffthompsonstapelibrary.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/the-coming-world-religion-by-harold-long.html
You will find other addresses by Harold on my tape library blog and on youtube on Bible Prophecy. They are all audio tapes from the 1970's digitised and uploaded to youtube.
While the world is advised wisely by eminent scientists of the mess we are making of it, it is also important to consider,especially for Christians, what the Bible tells us and warns us about.
Sadly many of today's Christians seem to ignore this teaching.
They think it is for "fanatics" and "fundamentalists".
Not to be ignored when God speaks in His Word.
It now stands at 3 minutes to midnight.
See link below to the ABC article.
ww.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-23/doomsday-clock-moved-closer-to-midnight/6040208
Speculation on such things is an interesting subject always.
I prefer to look to the future from Bible Prophecy.
Notwithstanding these warnings are not necessarily incompatible with the Bible.
The following link is a good place to hear one of my former Pastors,Harold Long, giving his understanding of "the end times".
It is one of a series of addresses.
http://geoffthompsonstapelibrary.blogspot.com.au/2012/09/the-coming-world-religion-by-harold-long.html
You will find other addresses by Harold on my tape library blog and on youtube on Bible Prophecy. They are all audio tapes from the 1970's digitised and uploaded to youtube.
While the world is advised wisely by eminent scientists of the mess we are making of it, it is also important to consider,especially for Christians, what the Bible tells us and warns us about.
Sadly many of today's Christians seem to ignore this teaching.
They think it is for "fanatics" and "fundamentalists".
Not to be ignored when God speaks in His Word.
Friday, January 16, 2015
Oscar Nomination-Proud Dad
Tim Crosbie of Rising Sun Pictures and his team based in Adelaide has been nominated for a special effects Academy Award.
Here is the link to an interview with Tim on the ABC.
My son Daniel is the first person you see when they cut to the workers. It's his left hand writing.
Just a proud dad in awe of what one of his son's has achieved as I am with the other 2.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-16/adelaide-visual-effects-supervisor-shocked-by-oscar-nomination/6021988
Well done Tim and everyone else.
Here is the link to an interview with Tim on the ABC.
My son Daniel is the first person you see when they cut to the workers. It's his left hand writing.
Just a proud dad in awe of what one of his son's has achieved as I am with the other 2.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-16/adelaide-visual-effects-supervisor-shocked-by-oscar-nomination/6021988
Well done Tim and everyone else.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
From the Wayside Chapel by Graham Long
Graham is a personal friend of our family.
This is this weeks weekly newsletter from the wayside chapel.
Dear Inner Circle,
First thing this morning a man stopped me with an infectious smile. He pointed to his face in a way that made it obvious that he was growing a beard. He put his arm around me and walked me to the front window of Wayside so that we could both see our reflection. He proudly proclaimed, “Like father, like son”. The significance of this moment was not in the beard but in the proclamation of father and son. I suspect no higher honour could be given to me.
Yesterday while walking through the cafe, I saw a woman and in passing asked, “How are you going?” Her reply was, “My life is like a rigged game of snakes and ladders.” I paused to look into her face. If ever there was a high milage face, it's this one and yet there is a beautiful woman to behold. I wanted to say, “I’m with you” or “I’m glad you’re here” or something that showed I could see her. I couldn’t think of anything to say except, “If I had a magic wand, I’d give it to you”. She smiled for the first time and said, “If you had a magic wand, I would have stolen it by now.” She gave me a kiss on the cheek. Beautiful!
Last night I had cause to be in Woolloomooloo quite late. As I was leaving, I saw the distinct walk of an old guy that I love. He had a stroke some time ago and I’d recognise his walk anywhere. I thought that he had accommodation and it worried me to think that such an unwell and frail man might be living back out on the street and still walking around at this time of night. He’s an old-fashioned skid row type of alcoholic but there is much to love about him. When I saw him this morning in the cafe I told him that I’d seen him last night and was quite worried that he should be out on the street so late. His yellow-stained but soft hands both grabbed mine and he said, “Thank you for worrying about me because I don’t have the time to worry about me.” This dear old man is much-loved by everyone at Wayside. A week ago he sat on the side of a silly conversation I was having with some young people who were likening their lives to cakes. They asked me, “If you were a cake, what kind of cake would you be?” My lovely skid row friend piped into the conversation saying, “Unfortunately someone dipped my cake into alcohol.” He knew he’d cracked a funny joke; his timing was perfect and his face and mine met at that moment. The mostly dirty, blood-coloured face had lit up in a burst of hilarity. A perfect toothless smile broke into a belly laugh. None of us really knew what to say next and I was kind of relieved for the natural end. As he shuffled away I knew I was mightily privileged to have shared a laugh with a lovely man.
A young, articulate, successful man sat in my office this week and I have his permission to tell this story. Some years ago he survived the most dramatic attempt at suicide. Today he’s in a long-term relationship; he has beautiful children and more wealth than most of us would understand. In the early part of our conversation he began to tell me that he has certain needs that are not being met. I stopped him. If unmet needs is where the conversation begins, there is no happy way to finish the conversation. Nothing human and life-giving comes from the project of getting your needs met. All the endings are unhappy. Sometimes a kind of mutual need-meeting arrangement looks human in the short term but it’s a temporary illusion. I always make it clear to people that I don’t do counselling. I’d rather relate to people as Graham. There are plenty of good counsellors around. I told him that the longer he sooks about his needs, the more comprehensive they will become. He’ll only find life by losing it. It’s not his attitude that needs to change but the direction of his feet. He’s made an appointment to see me next week so I’m comforted to know he’s curious and not offended.
You may think I’m something of a cracked record but we’re right out of socks, undies and blankets again. So many times you have responded with extraordinary generosity to give our city’s most vulnerable the dignity that comes with a clean pair of undies or socks. If you could jump in again we’d be most grateful. Perhaps you could run an undie drive in the office or a sock or blanket drive in a club or church. I give you our deepest thanks on behalf of the knickerless.
Thank you for being part of our wonderful inner circle,
Graham
Rev Graham Long
Pastor and CEO
The Wayside Chapel
Kings Cross
http://www.revgrahamlong.com/
http://www.thewaysidechapel.com/
Protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal information is important to us, as it is fundamental to the way we operate. All information is kept in the strictest confidence and is stored in a password secure database. Levels of access to information are determined by an authorised employee's specific need to do their job. Personal information collected by The Wayside Chapel is never sold or passed on in any way, shape or form to any other organisation or non-authorised person for any purpose. If you would like to seek access to, or revise your personal information or feel that the information we currently have on record is incorrect or incomplete, or you believe that the privacy of your personal information has been interfered with, please contact us. Our appointed Privacy Officer is Laura Watts laura.watts@thewaysidechapel.com
This is this weeks weekly newsletter from the wayside chapel.
Dear Inner Circle,
First thing this morning a man stopped me with an infectious smile. He pointed to his face in a way that made it obvious that he was growing a beard. He put his arm around me and walked me to the front window of Wayside so that we could both see our reflection. He proudly proclaimed, “Like father, like son”. The significance of this moment was not in the beard but in the proclamation of father and son. I suspect no higher honour could be given to me.
Yesterday while walking through the cafe, I saw a woman and in passing asked, “How are you going?” Her reply was, “My life is like a rigged game of snakes and ladders.” I paused to look into her face. If ever there was a high milage face, it's this one and yet there is a beautiful woman to behold. I wanted to say, “I’m with you” or “I’m glad you’re here” or something that showed I could see her. I couldn’t think of anything to say except, “If I had a magic wand, I’d give it to you”. She smiled for the first time and said, “If you had a magic wand, I would have stolen it by now.” She gave me a kiss on the cheek. Beautiful!
Last night I had cause to be in Woolloomooloo quite late. As I was leaving, I saw the distinct walk of an old guy that I love. He had a stroke some time ago and I’d recognise his walk anywhere. I thought that he had accommodation and it worried me to think that such an unwell and frail man might be living back out on the street and still walking around at this time of night. He’s an old-fashioned skid row type of alcoholic but there is much to love about him. When I saw him this morning in the cafe I told him that I’d seen him last night and was quite worried that he should be out on the street so late. His yellow-stained but soft hands both grabbed mine and he said, “Thank you for worrying about me because I don’t have the time to worry about me.” This dear old man is much-loved by everyone at Wayside. A week ago he sat on the side of a silly conversation I was having with some young people who were likening their lives to cakes. They asked me, “If you were a cake, what kind of cake would you be?” My lovely skid row friend piped into the conversation saying, “Unfortunately someone dipped my cake into alcohol.” He knew he’d cracked a funny joke; his timing was perfect and his face and mine met at that moment. The mostly dirty, blood-coloured face had lit up in a burst of hilarity. A perfect toothless smile broke into a belly laugh. None of us really knew what to say next and I was kind of relieved for the natural end. As he shuffled away I knew I was mightily privileged to have shared a laugh with a lovely man.
A young, articulate, successful man sat in my office this week and I have his permission to tell this story. Some years ago he survived the most dramatic attempt at suicide. Today he’s in a long-term relationship; he has beautiful children and more wealth than most of us would understand. In the early part of our conversation he began to tell me that he has certain needs that are not being met. I stopped him. If unmet needs is where the conversation begins, there is no happy way to finish the conversation. Nothing human and life-giving comes from the project of getting your needs met. All the endings are unhappy. Sometimes a kind of mutual need-meeting arrangement looks human in the short term but it’s a temporary illusion. I always make it clear to people that I don’t do counselling. I’d rather relate to people as Graham. There are plenty of good counsellors around. I told him that the longer he sooks about his needs, the more comprehensive they will become. He’ll only find life by losing it. It’s not his attitude that needs to change but the direction of his feet. He’s made an appointment to see me next week so I’m comforted to know he’s curious and not offended.
You may think I’m something of a cracked record but we’re right out of socks, undies and blankets again. So many times you have responded with extraordinary generosity to give our city’s most vulnerable the dignity that comes with a clean pair of undies or socks. If you could jump in again we’d be most grateful. Perhaps you could run an undie drive in the office or a sock or blanket drive in a club or church. I give you our deepest thanks on behalf of the knickerless.
Thank you for being part of our wonderful inner circle,
Graham
Rev Graham Long
Pastor and CEO
The Wayside Chapel
Kings Cross
http://www.revgrahamlong.com/
http://www.thewaysidechapel.com/
Protecting your privacy and the confidentiality of your personal information is important to us, as it is fundamental to the way we operate. All information is kept in the strictest confidence and is stored in a password secure database. Levels of access to information are determined by an authorised employee's specific need to do their job. Personal information collected by The Wayside Chapel is never sold or passed on in any way, shape or form to any other organisation or non-authorised person for any purpose. If you would like to seek access to, or revise your personal information or feel that the information we currently have on record is incorrect or incomplete, or you believe that the privacy of your personal information has been interfered with, please contact us. Our appointed Privacy Officer is Laura Watts laura.watts@thewaysidechapel.com
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
"Je suis, I am!"
"Je Suis" is in the news.
Some notable "Je suis" in the Bible.
I studied French briefly in High School. "Je suis" has always stayed with me.
John 14:6 in French "Jésus lui dit: Je suis le chemin, la vérité, et la vie. Nul ne vient au Père que par moi."
John 14:6 in English.
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Exodus 3:14 in French
Et Dieu dit à Moïse : JE SUIS CELUI QUI SUIS. Il dit aussi : tu diras ainsi aux enfants d'Israël : [celui qui s'appelle] JE SUIS, m'a envoyé vers vous.
Exodus 3:14
It is interesting how the French words Je suis are very similar to the name Jesus and also have the same Theological implications.
God is the great "I am" Jesus, His son, is I am (je suis) in the flesh.
Many chose to reject God and Jesus.
John chapter 3.16-21
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
John 3:16-21 in French
16 Oui, Dieu a tant aimé le monde qu'il a donné son Fils, son unique, pour que tous ceux qui placent leur confiance en lui échappent à la perdition et qu'ils aient la vie éternelle.
18 Celui
qui met sa confiance en lui n'est pas condamné, mais celui qui n'a pas
foi en lui est déjà condamné, car il n'a pas mis sa confiance en la
personne du Fils unique de Dieu.
19 Et voici en quoi consiste sa condamnation: c'est que la lumière est venue dans le monde, mais les hommes lui ont préféré les ténèbres, parce que leurs actes sont mauvais.
20 En effet, celui qui fait le mal déteste la lumière, et il se garde bien de venir à la lumière de peur que ses mauvaises actions ne soient révélées.
21 Mais celui qui a une conduite conforme à la vérité vient à la lumière pour qu'on voie clairement que tout ce qu'il fait, il l'accomplit dans la communion avec Dieu.
Some notable "Je suis" in the Bible.
I studied French briefly in High School. "Je suis" has always stayed with me.
John 14:6 in French "Jésus lui dit: Je suis le chemin, la vérité, et la vie. Nul ne vient au Père que par moi."
John 14:6 in English.
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
Exodus 3:14 in French
Et Dieu dit à Moïse : JE SUIS CELUI QUI SUIS. Il dit aussi : tu diras ainsi aux enfants d'Israël : [celui qui s'appelle] JE SUIS, m'a envoyé vers vous.
Exodus 3:14
God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”
It is interesting how the French words Je suis are very similar to the name Jesus and also have the same Theological implications.
God is the great "I am" Jesus, His son, is I am (je suis) in the flesh.
Many chose to reject God and Jesus.
John chapter 3.16-21
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
John 3:16-21 in French
16 Oui, Dieu a tant aimé le monde qu'il a donné son Fils, son unique, pour que tous ceux qui placent leur confiance en lui échappent à la perdition et qu'ils aient la vie éternelle.
17 En effet, Dieu a envoyé son Fils dans le monde non pas pour condamner le monde, mais pour qu'il soit *sauvé par lui.
19 Et voici en quoi consiste sa condamnation: c'est que la lumière est venue dans le monde, mais les hommes lui ont préféré les ténèbres, parce que leurs actes sont mauvais.
20 En effet, celui qui fait le mal déteste la lumière, et il se garde bien de venir à la lumière de peur que ses mauvaises actions ne soient révélées.
21 Mais celui qui a une conduite conforme à la vérité vient à la lumière pour qu'on voie clairement que tout ce qu'il fait, il l'accomplit dans la communion avec Dieu.