Sorry I haven't posted in a while. Unfortunately I've been a little uninspired. Maybe waking up late every day isn't such a good thing. I'm making a resolution right here and now to get up before 7am three days a week and be doing something productive by 8:30am.

Let's see how long that lasts.

Rightio then here's the main feature of todays blog: Anberlin. Just played to a sold out Roundhouse at UNSW and they're still rising in fame. Once my favourite band they still hold a very special place in my iPod.

Unfortunately, like many bands, people have said that their latest album was not up to standard. I agree that it's a little different, but I wouldn't say they have lost their "zing".

Earlier last year Anberlin moved record labels. They left a small underground label for a larger more mainstream corporation. They pretty much replaced their whole management for a more experienced, more well known bunch of people. Going by their sold out gig last week, it was an excellent move.

So I highly recommend their album "New Surrender". The musical content got a 4 star, lyrical content a 4.5 star, and interesting content (as opposed to boring factor) a 4.5 star. Great listening.

Quote: "Retrace the steps we took on that last summer night. I'm right there by your side." Stephen Christian

I got my thigh smashed by someone else's knee at basketball tonight. But it didn't feel like such a bad thing. I was laughing so hard at how awesome it was from me perspective. I went up, then straight down. Adrenaline pumping makes happy hormones and the pain must have tipped me over the edge into hysterics. Or maybe I'm just addicted to the pain.

I'm willing to go with either, they both sound AWESOME!

So I got a massive phone bill from telstra. Aparently they can bill their customers for stuff a month before you even use the product. I couldn't find that rule in writing so if anyone knows where I can find that rule please let me know. Otherwise I'm just racking up ways telstra can screw up.

Until things start going right on telstra's end I won't have facebook on my phone so no updates until the next day when I get to work.

Anyway does anyone know anyone who could do with guitar lessons? We need more students in Oyster Bay at the shop I run. We do gift vouchers for lessons as well. Please spread the word about Village Guitar. Best guitar tuition in the southern suburbs of Sydney. (Haha shameless advertising).

Alright down to the business end of the blog: what is decent and what is not. I don't mean what people wear, I mean what people say. I'm guilty of this and you probably are too. I'm fine with most things, but I'm really not ok with Good News Week. Making jokes at someone else's expense is not ok. It's indecent!

Some people say "if they don't want jokes made about them, they should stay out of the limelight". Are you kidding me? Do you think people would ask to be stalked by creepy dudes with cameras?

So stop making bad jokes about celebs and get a life you are interested in. It'll keep you from ferreting into other peoples lives.

Quote: "Puberty was very vague. I literally locked myself in a room and played guitar" Johnny Depp

I got my thigh smashed by someone else's knee at basketball tonight. But it didn't feel like such a bad thing. I was laughing so hard at how awesome it was from me perspective. I went up, then straight down. Adrenaline pumping makes happy hormones and the pain must have tipped me over the edge into hysterics. Or maybe I'm just addicted to the pain.

I'm willing to go with either, they both sound AWESOME!

So I got a massive phone bill from telstra. Aparently they can bill their customers for stuff a month before you even use the product. I couldn't find that rule in writing so if anyone knows where I can find that rule please let me know. Otherwise I'm just racking up ways telstra can screw up.

Until things start going right on telstra's end I won't have facebook on my phone so no updates until the next day when I get to work.

Anyway does anyone know anyone who could do with guitar lessons? We need more students in Oyster Bay at the shop I run. We do gift vouchers for lessons as well. Please spread the word about Village Guitar. Best guitar tuition in the southern suburbs of Sydney. (Haha shameless advertising).

Alright down to the business end of the blog: what is decent and what is not. I don't mean what people wear, I mean what people say. I'm guilty of this and you probably are too. I'm fine with most things, but I'm really not ok with Good News Week. Making jokes at someone else's expense is not ok. It's indecent!

Some people say "if they don't want jokes made about them, they should stay out of the limelight". Are you kidding me? Do you think people would ask to be stalked by creepy dudes with cameras?

So stop making bad jokes about celebs and get a life you are interested in. It'll keep you from ferreting into other peoples lives.

Quote: "Puberty was very vague. I literally locked myself in a room and played guitar" Johnny Depp

I'm listening to a band called And THen There Were None at the moment. They used to be hardcore but now they're club/dance music. WHAT'S THE GO???

They are good though. I don't usually listen to dance for more than 20 seconds.

Anyway you would think if someone has an appointment with you and they can't make it they would at least let you know. Had 3 of those this week.

Ok so down to business. I know a lot of my readers are christian (probably 4 out of all 5 of you hehe) and some may agree with me and some may not. But here's my problem: we want to connect with regular people in the world, yet we consistently create "Christian" jargon that no one understands!

This annoys me.

It's got to the point where we now have to be "in the loop" just to understand what other Christians are saying. Everything is so cryptic and symbolic. Why can't we drop the "I'm building the kingdom" and just say "I'm running Sunday School" or "I'm being a Christian influence at work"? Can't we say "God gives you all you need" instead of "God brings increase". That phrase doesn't even make sense! It took me half an hour to figure out what the person was trying to say (sorry, if you are reading this and you were the one who said it, I really didn't know, I had to ask someone).

So here's my solution. Speak in straightforward terms and we may just start growing our church. We need to be accessible Christians so we can make God an accessible God.

Quote: "can you tell if something you own is on fire? You should look for the following signs: 1 smoke 2 heat 3 fire. Things that are on fire typically have fire on them. It's a dead giveaway" Sarge, Red v Blue

Hey hey everybody. How's it all going? By the way if you read this and don't have a livejournal account please add me on facebook. Jared Spence. Let me know what you want me to blog on there.

Hamish and Andy are going to America! Very excited

I would like to welcome my 2nd favourite girl in the world to the land of facebook: my beautiful guitar Anna.

She's a life saver. One of my best friends. A business partner. A teacher. A therapist. A loud voice when I have none. She says things that no human words could ever hope to express. My life would be very lacking if I didn't have Anna.

When I was 16ish I saved up for a guitar. I'm not sure what I had exactly. I think I blew budget by about $100 to buy her though. I had no name for her at the time and thought for a few weeks before naming her after a hippie friend who writes folk songs back in Canberra.

Anyway onto a very serious issue. I was watching ABC kids a few weeks ago and on came this show and I say a dancing singing red monster with one eye who lost his tooth. It was all very nice until the rocks started singing too. Sure that's biblical but it's going a little far for a kids show I think.

So then the toothfairy turned up. She was old and sang really weird. She looked really tense! And scary!

Then the worst thing happened. A dark guy with an orange Afro dressed in orange plastic clothes! Yo Gabba Gabba should never be aired ever again. It's a disturbing show. Scares me. It must scare little kids deep down inside too.

If you know any shows that should e banned please let me know. Maybe we can start a petition to take it off air.

Quote: "The way I see it, you should live everyday like its your birthday" Paris Hilton

I watched Bridge to Terabithia again tonight. If you haven't seen it yet then you are missing out!

But down to business. What is you top 3 sword fight scenes? I was thinking about it while wasting my life away on facebook and I think I have come up with mine. The are ranked on cleverness, the surrounding storyline and other factors. Here we go:

Ranking 3rd is the Qui-Gon Jin and Obi-Wan v Darth Maul death match in Star Wars 1. It is the big picture battle between good and evil behind the massive battle that is really only just a couple of pawns beginning a war. It was well choreographed, had some awesome graphics and kept you holding your breath on the end of your seat the whole time. Qui-Gon's death made the scene though. You see a young Obi-Wan trying to overcome his grief while he avenges his mentor. A very emotion filled action scene. However there could have been a bit more physicality in the chase/fight bits. 8.5/10 from me.

In at 2nd is the fight between Westley and Inego Montoya in the Princess Bride. Just before the battle the two opponents give each other time to rest and Inego to tell his heart wrenching story. As soon as they are done the fight, both using their left hand, their nonprefered hand, to start. They continuously compliment each other and eventually Westley wins by only knocking Inego out so he can continue on his mission to avenge his father. Cleverness and wit made this fight however I think it was slightly overdone and the actual fighting could have lasted longer. 9/10.

1st place has to go to the most shocking scene in movie history: Luke Skywalker versus Darth Vader in Star Wars 5. Luke's friend has just been frozen alive and he is next in line. He is lured into the trap but evades the machine to fight Vader. The fight leads through the dark room and out a large broken window onto a thin walkway overhanging an open abyss. Vader cuts Luke's hand off and is about to kill him as Luke accusses Vader of killing his father. Vader replies one of the most quoted movie lines in history: "Luke, I am your father". I still remember being shocked as a little kid watching that scene. It still rips me today what Luke must have felt at that point. There was not much that could be changed from that to make it a better scene. It was great choreography and the emotional revelation alone blows every other fight out of the water. 10/10.

Quote: "Weather forecast for tonight: dark" not sure who said that but it's clever.

Right, time for a blog.

I am quite humoured by the way different people from different states call things by different names. Like those little cocktail frankfurts. In Queensland they're called cheerios. In victoria they are little boys (which I think is a bit dirty and almost turned me off them for a while). Or swimmers. Bathers for all you Americans out there. Togs in Queensland. Cozzies (is that the spelling?) in NSW. Love it.

Anyway, guys. If you wanna impress the lady don't bother with walking around in the cold unless there's chocolate or coffee at the end of it for them. Or if there's something very romantic that doesn't scream "I want to make out with you". The stars are your friends. Anything pretty and lit up at night I'd great. Just a tip.

I'd like to thanks Tony Campolo for giving my dad a great weekend. Encouraging his couch/sex life. Mum doesn't seem to appreciate it and I definitely don't!

Quote: "a bad fashion sense doesn't automatically mean a mental illness issue" Ben Peterson

For 3 different women going through troubled times with very different feelings and situations. I hope this helps you heal.

Ocean

When clouds cover your sky
And stress is the taste on your tongue
It's good to know that I belong to you

When the sun sets at night
And everything is dark
It's good to know that all I need is you

Oh my anchor has found
No solid ground
But now I know
I'm secure in you

You are my ocean
You surround my boat with peace
With you I will weather every storm
You hold my world in your hand
The waves don't worry me
I'm secure and safe in you

The waves are growing big
And thunders all I hear
It's hard to feel you by my side

But I close my eyes tight
And know you never leave
And once again I feel your presence near

Oh my anchor has found
No solid ground
But now I know
I'm secure in you

You are my ocean
You surround my boat with peace
With you I will weather every storm
You hold my world in your hand
The waves don't worry me
I'm secure and safe in you

Good evening folks. The rain was lovely tonight. My tired spun nicely at the Stoney Creek Road/King Georges intersection tonight.

The reason I'm blogging so late is because I'm angry. Angry at McDonalds. And Nightwish. 2 toned blog tonight.

McDonalds was always so good. And then they gave me a cold hash brown!!! I'm serious. Ask Jared Briggs. He was there. Then they gave me sweet mustard sause instead if sweet chilli. Don't go to Silvania McDonalds.

Anyway now that that useless rant has finished here's another one: Nightwish.

I actually listened to them for more than 5 seconds (because it only takes 5 seconds to say "this sucks so bad"). I got the feeling that ABBA had decided to make angry songs and change their name. I really can't stand them. At least the original ABBA was catchy.

Speaking of catchy music let me tell you an interesting fact. Vivienne Westwood, the world famous fashion designer started out making clothes for the Sex Pistols. Amazing how the forerunners of punk end up catering for middle aged women who still wanna loom great (and they do).

Quote: "...on bikes. Some have metal sticks. They could be getting ready to fight." Chicago Police

Hey guys. I haven't logged on in a while so I'm sorry. I am finding too many beginner guitarists are dissatisfied with their lack of speed. So I'm going to tab out some speed developers for you all to use in your practice time. I am posting this using my phone so please let me know if it doesn't make sense.

Start with down stroke picking on the low E string then play each string until you finish on the high E:

The fingering is -1-2-3-4-
d d d d
You should start to see some imrovement really quickly. After you are confident with downstrokes try playing down then up with

-1-1-2-2-3-3-4-4-
d. u d u d u. d u

Then when that is easy enough:

-1-2-3-4-
d u d u

d=downstroke. u=upstroke.

So there you go. I would recommend these as part of your practice everytime you whip your guitar out. Use the same techniques on scales and arpeggioes and you will be shredding in no time.

Quote: "It's unfair!" Lyndsay

What a day! 2 new movies and a day with my 2 favourite girls. Can't get any better.

Hannah Montana is not the movie I thought it would be. Sure it had the soppy lovey crap but it was very much a family over love interest movie.

One part I will always love is when Billy Ray sits with Miley and asks what song she's writing and she asks him to sing it with her. It's a bit cutesy but it's touching to see 2 great musicians singing the same heartsong.

The other part I loved watching was the grandma saying she missed her Miley. The character is such a great family leader with a firm hand yet shows such compassion.

There is so much I want to say that probably isn't appropriate for a public forum such as this. It's hard to be pouring out parts of my heart into this and have to hold a lot back because of the consequences that might follow if I let things slip.

But I will say I have bad days just like everyone else. I would love to have great days everyday but unfortunately growth in relationships and friendships don't allow that. Growth stretches us and it hurts. Allow the pain to teach you and you will be just fine. Just don't hide your real self from anything

Quote: "Why does everyone keep saying they miss me?" Miley Cyrus "Maybe you should ask yourself that question" grandmother

Good morning! I just got home from seeing Transformers 2 with David. I must say it was worse than the first.

I'm not just bagging it because it's a big Hollywood film and I'm a cynic. I'm saying it because it was genuinely a bad movie.

Take the storyline for example. There is none. There's a bit of a "why don't you say you love me" thing going on, and a "we are going to destroy your sun" backstory but other than that it's just a bunch of robots and soldiers trying to be brave. And the humour was almost aimed at a 12 year old male audience. Very crude humour for an action movie based on an old kids cartoon show.

I will admit the action was pretty awesome and there was some pretty neat camera work but some of the shots were a bit dizzying and I felt sick on a few occasions.

Anyway it went too long and had very little meaning to it. I give it 4 stars and recommend it to anybody looking for a good night out.

Quote: "If you want to climb a mountain, start at the top" my phone's zen garden.

What's with discouragement? People bringing others down? It's not cool. It's not fun for the guy on the other end of the stick. It's just plain discouraging.

Now I admit I'm guilty of this so I'm gonna do my best to change and you guys can pick me up on it.

At church on Sunday we were taught that words have meaning. If you say good things to someone then you will see it in their behaviour. If you discourage them all the time, that will show too.

So why all the discouragement? I won basketball tonight and I was enjoying the win right up until someone on facebook said "don't you mean you got owned?" I felt very discouraged.

I have a solution. In my personal experience I have found that encouragement is quite contagious. There are reasons for that that I would take too long to go into. So I'm going to be intentional in encouraging people. I encourage you to do the same.

Encouragement does amazing things. If it wasn't for encouragement peer pressure wouldn't work. Encouragement creates a feeling of acceptance that makes the person want to continue their behaviour.

So use your encouragement wisely. It's a powerful thing.

On that note I encourage you to take the healthy choices this week especially when it comes to food. I wanna see sexy healthy people when I see you next lol.

2 person quote tonight: "He didn't knock me over, I just fell over so he ref would notice," me, "Yeah that's how the pros do it!" Michael Hosking

AAAIIIH! Short Stack are exactly that: short. On musical talent. On creativity. On looks. On manliness. Their makeup covers pimply teen faces.

Their single Sway Sway Baby is boring and quite painful. It's all kick drum and synth. There's a very basic bass part and maybe 1 guitar part in the whole song. And is there even a synth player???

Then there's their music video. They aren't old enough to have sex yet they're having pillow fights with half naked women! PEDOPHILIA!!!

Anyway I got an airhockey app for my fone and challenged my brother. I beat him of course but then I challenged Chloe. She's 8. She beat me! Not happy Jan.

Anyway here's a quote: "TWITTER TIME!" Kevin Rudd PM series 2