Posts tagged with “miscellany”
Miscellany the thirteenth
Posted at 4:15 PM
Following from last time, I can report that “grace” has increased its importance (in Google’s eyes at least) on this website. Unfortunately, while my top three important words remain at “God”, “Matthew” and “Christian”, it seems “joy” has been kicked off the fourth spot (no longer in the top 100 either!) by the word “work”. Luckily of course this shows the trend into more entries about work, careers, calling etc. and not any profound point (just in case I’m misunderstood!).
Radiohead were amazing in concert last night, playing Everything In Its Right Place, Idioteque, Planet Telex, Pyramid Song, How To Disappear Completely and Cymbal Rush (!) amongst other amazing tracks (The Gloaming had never sounded so good!), and we managed to make it home shortly after two despite having to walk from Oxford city centre.
Currently reading: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, and The Shadow and Night by Chris Walley (in preparation for The Infinite Day).
Currently listening: Cymbal Rush by Thom Yorke (played on piano at the gig last night!) has finished; now Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring; earlier, our own covers of Disney songs, jazz standards, Muse and Coldplay.
Currently watching:
The Count of Monte Cristo is so far an amazing book; I’ve been reading it for three days now (it’s quite long) and it’s still gripping (despite knowing overall what happens, having seen the film) and generally fascinating. I may write more once I’ve finished it. It’s taken me a long time to start on these kind of books*, and now I’ve started I plan to continue.
* As to what I mean by “these kind of books”, I’m not really sure. Great novels of the past? Works that require use of a dictionary, or a passing knowledge of Latin? Books likely to contain a scholarly forward and possibly historical notes in an appendix? (Books likely to be known only as a modern film to the majority of the populace, who probably won’t even have heard of the author? Books that, once you’ve read, you end up feeling superior to those who haven’t? Hopefully not the latter, but already the temptation is there…)
UPDATE: I use the word amazing far too much.
The twelfth miscellany
Posted at 5:00 PM
UCCF have just put a video they showed at New Word Alive up on Youtube, so for those who weren’t there or aren’t students, here it is!
I’ve read a few of them and it seems an excellent selection. Delighting in the Trinity and Let the nations be glad! are on my to-read list.
Sam Allberry posted a list entitled “You know you’re an Ebbe’s student when…” back in 2006, which I’ve just discovered. Favourites of mine (which are more widely true, I’d say!) include:
- You can’t remember the last time you asked a Christian “How are you?”. “Are you well?” is the only appropriate enquiry.
- You can distinguish between a Iwernite, a Lymington-Rushmorer or a CYFA camper on the basis of fashion sense alone.
- Whenever a chorus in a Christian song is repeated more than once you have an involuntary eyebrow-raising reflex.
- If someone asks you out for coffee, you lie awake at night beforehand examining your conscience and preparing for the worst.
- During a break in lectures you have an unaccountable urge to turn round and get to know the person sitting next to you.
- You secretly wish you could carry off addressing people as “brother” or “sister”.
- You know you can’t, but you start doing it anyway.
And in a long-running tradition of amusing search terms that bring up this website, this year’s are positively tame:
- saying what you’re subconsciously thinking
- what type of government did the lion king have
- ways to lose your job
Now Google has search analysis tools as well, and so I can inform the world that in Googlebot’s humble opinion, the four most important words on this website are:
- God
- Matthew
- Christian
- Joy
Grace clocks in at #17 – should probably work on that.