Hi there
Happy NZ Music Month! Hope you've found some nice kiwi sounds to warm up your week!
Speaking of kiwi music... After a whirlwind few weeks of regional auditions, next weekend will see a couple of thousand singers, dancers, musos, skaters, artists... etc etc... invade Wellington for FUSE. Early bird tickets close this Sunday so you'd better get in fast.
If you're one of the many going without over the next 40 hours, all the best, and don't forget to checkout 40 Hour Live. Other events to lookout for are HM Rage (30 May - 1 June, Matamata), Breakthrough (30 May -2 June, Akld) and Noise (12-14 June, Akld).
And remember, you've got talent NZ! Much love,
The SP Crew.
Top 5 inappropriate uses for canned tuna
5. Roll-on underarm deodorant.
4. A wedding gift.
3. As a flavour shot in your latte.
2. Playground bark substitute.
1. A means of extinguishing the Olympic flame.
The Microwave Generation
by Ben Kendrew
You stand frowning, arms folded, right foot tapping furiously on the lino floor. Finally the microwave beeps, your ‘meal-in-a-minute’ is ready. You chomp it down and rush out the door and into the car. You sit at the first set of traffic lights muttering about how they must be broken because it’s obviously stuck on red. Then when it turns green the car in front of you doesn’t move immediately leaving you no option but to toot your horn vigorously to let them know: “GO! NOW!”
On your way to wherever it is you’re going you drop into the café to grab a bite to eat. However you’re aghast to find a whole three people already waiting in line! You return to the microwave pose, foot tapping and eyes constantly checking your watch. You’ve also incorporated some heavy sighs of frustration into your flustered demeanour… Sound familiar?
Back in the ‘80s, glam-rock band Queen sang a song that said, “I want it all and I want it now.” Even if that song may be a little before your time, it’s fair to say we’re part of a generation that often has that same catch-cry: NOW! We’re in a microwave generation, desiring instant gratification.
Super-quick, instant, immediate, on the spot—these words are frequently used to entice us into this “now is better” mindset. We’re used to getting everything as fast as possible. Convenience is the key to marketing and we’ve bought right into it. “How quickly will I receive the product and how long will it take to do its job?” we ask, impatiently.
I hate waiting in queues, be it in traffic, at a shop, at a big event, wherever, something about it infuriates me. It’s odd, because in general it doesn’t match my personality, which is pretty relaxed and casual – just not when I’m waiting in line.
I’m (slowly) learning the benefits of taking some time to stop, wait and take stock of things around me. Too often we might brush over something that demands more attention purely because we just want to get on with whatever’s happening in our life.
Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God”. Sometimes God is trying to tell us to just chill for a second, especially when our chaotic lives don’t allow any time to hang with Him. Sure, we are all going to have busy seasons in our lives, but we can benefit from taking some time when necessary, because as we well know, food tastes better when baked slowly in an oven than when it’s zapped in a microwave!
We're All Slaves: A new perspective on addictions
On the wall of my bedroom there’s a slogan written in dark green felt-tip. It reads ‘We’re all slaves to something’. It’s a reminder to me that I will always have an itch to scratch; I will always take my lead in life from somewhere. For a long time when I heard the word ‘addiction’ I thought of drugs More »
Death Cab for Cutie | Narrow Stairs
Following their 2005 release, Plans, indie outfit Death Cab for Cutie faced the insurmountable task of delivering on the enormous expectations of the music press. Their first single, “I Will Possess Your Heart”, did nothing to help their cause with some calling the nine-minute marathon of a track pretentious and self-indulgent. More »
