Buzz Word Bingo

Here’s a fun game to play, one for the whole family. Brother Danny introduced it to me. When listening to a politician talk choose one of their particularly favourite buzzwords and see how many times they can say it in an interview or even in a sentence.

Kevin Rudd is a master at it, he has coined some great ones. Examples include, “shovel ready”, “fresh ideas” and “decisive action” to name just a few. Also admire how Rudd not only asks but answers his own questions. No wonder he is always right.

Now Rudd has thrown his support behind besieged NSW Premier, Nathan Rees, like that is supposed to help him. It has become obvious that Rudd’s mastery at buzzwords and self-interviewing has rubbed off on his colleague.

Rees is now spewing forth a collection of his own buzzwords, not that dissimilar to Rudd. Seen recently on Channel 10 news with Bill Woods and Debra Knight his main offering was “fresh approach” after apparently “listening to the people of NSW”. Also imploring that he is instilling the values of “respect, discipline and integrity” into his new cabinet.

Rees is a clever politician, just like his federal colleague. This method has worked in the past and unfortunately I can see it working again as the NSW public don’t seem that discerning. Everyone was apparently sick and tired of Bob Carr so he left the sinking ship and handed it over to a “fresh” leader in Morris Iemma. He was so fresh that no one had even heard of him. Iemma did the best he could, winning one election, but ultimately had to jump as well for another unheard of “fresh” leader in Nathan Rees. So even the idea of a fresh approach isn’t that fresh anymore. It’s been going on for a long time.

A different leader and a different cabinet doesn’t result in a different government.

Now with Rees sacking senior ministers he has virtually painted a target on his back that will further destabilise the NSW government. Hopefully people will start paying attention before the next election comes around.

More Than A Carpenter

“More Than A Carpenter” by Josh McDowell

This is a popular book, the cover says so, “more than 10,000,000 in print worldwide”. It is easy to see why. Firstly it is small and thin and therefore not intimidating to the targeted audience, non-Christians and sceptics. It is also good for Christians to read, as it will provide some good answers to common questions they may face.

It is an easy read. Some other books I have read go more in-depth on similar topics. ‘The Christ Files’ by John Dickson covers the historical Jesus specifically and ‘The Case For Christ’ by Lee Strobel is the same sort of book as McDowell’s but would be harder to read for new Christians.

McDowell prior to writing this book found himself at a point where he couldn’t fault Christianity’s legitimacy and truth, but yet could accept it intellectually.

I can relate to this as for many years in my late teens I was attending church but didn’t really now why. Going to church became a routine, merely something that was done on a Sunday. I am a late bloomer as a result. By reading this book and the others mentioned and now reading the bible cover to cover things are locking into place.

I found this book very handy recently as it fits in my side pocket in my uniform and have pulled it out occasionally when stuck in bed block, usually at Westmead. I find it hard to read anything too heavy when on the job so this is perfect. Who knows, someone might se it and engage in conversation.

Shopping For Blokes/Dummies

Shopping is not something that comes naturally to us blokes. This would especially be the case with shopping for clothes. If it were up to us we would get around in track pants and t-shirts everyday. While very comfortable these outfits don’t present you in your best light.

There are benefits of dressing well. It gives a good impression as it shows you want to look your best and that you take care of yourself. Looking more presentable to the opposite sex is not a bad by-product either.

But us blokes need some help. From someone who knows what looks good. Someone other than your mother as there comes a time when she shouldn’t be selecting your clothes. Although my options were scant until this year when I found Val.

Val is a friend I met a couple of years ago when I joined her bible study group. She used to work in advertising but is currently making cakes. As a stylist she is so good that she may have to start charging. She’s very stylish herself, I don’t understand how she chooses her outfits sometimes but this is due to male ignorance, as she always looks great.

Val read my very random blog posts on fashion (A Fashion That’s Growing On Me 19/7/07, Girls In Skirts 11/3/07, Fashion Beefs 13/11/06) and was impressed with what I had to say, despite the rebuttal from others. It came up again in conversation then, surprisingly, she agreed to be my fashionista stylist for a day of shopping.

Some tips for blokes in preparation for a day of shopping:

• Do a cull – offload stuff that you don’t wear or is worn out. Send good stuff to op shops, while old t-shirts make great rags.
• Know what you want/need – for me I had a lot of daggy polo shirts from when I was teaching and needed more smart casual pants, shirts and shoes.
• Know how much money you have to play with – you have to be willing to drop some dosh. Although it is possible to shop economically, you just need to pick the right shops. I took a liking to shops like Just Jeans, Jeans West and Cotton On.
• Go with an open mind – some suggestions might never have crossed your mind due to your shopping novice status. I was surprised with a few articles that Val chose, yet she was right about all of them.

Who knows, you may even enjoy it and learn something.

Shakespeare

“Shakespeare” by Bill Bryson

I like Bill Bryson’s writing so much that I would almost buy anything that he writes without actually knowing what it was about. Initially he grabbed my attention through his travel book called “Down Under” obviously it is about Australia.

So when I saw a book that he has written on Shakespeare I though that he would turn a potentially dry subject into something interesting. I was not disappointed.

From the beginning it was evident that Bryson had done so much research about Shakespeare and the era in which he lived. This allowed him to write in his trademark witty style that I enjoy. He is as informative as he can be here, as there is little that is actually known about the life of William Shakespeare. We learn more about the era and the popular legends about the man than about his actual life.

Turns out that his works is the main remnant from his short life. Even that can be described as a miracle. Even his works though have caused a lot of interesting discussion for the last 400 years. The works of Shakespeare have been attributed to many other people in the theories of researchers. Unfortunately none of their conclusions has more weight than the current popular opinion that William Shakespeare was the sole author of the finest plays from his era.

A very interesting read.