New Zealand Cricket Star Jesse Ryder In Hospital Critical Condition

News that New Zealand cricket star Jesse Ryder is in hospital in an induced coma following a cowardly act of bashing in Christchurch is so sad.  This guy is the most naturally talented cricketer in New Zealand.  We know he has issues with alcohol, but by the sounds of it he was largely baited by a group of guys.  He should no better than separating himself from his team-mates when in public, but surely this goes beyond one eyed Canterbury fans beating up an opposition player. 

Jesse Ryder has had a battle with alcohol, but it is so sad to see people taking advantage of this and using it as an excuse to hassle him. 

Get better soon Jesse!

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/cricket/8483461/Ryder-critical-in-hospital-after-bashing

Kiwi Cyclist Jack Bauer Injured In Belgium Cycle Race - Dwars door Vlaanderen 2013

This is scary footage of my old flatmate and Kiwi cyclist Jack Bauer lying motionless pinned to his bicycle in a one day race in Belgium. It looks like a terrible day to be in a cycling race on such a muddy track. Anyway, I hope you get back on the bike soon and you didn't get any permanent scars that could ruin your modelling career!

The 27-year-old Garmin-Sharp rider fell 58km from the finish of the 199.7km Dwars door Vlaanderen in Flanders and television footage showed him lying face down still clipped into his pedals.

Officials raced to unclip Bauer, who competed with distinction at the London Olympics, and he was taken to hospital in Oudenaarde before being released.

"We were pretty scared in the car when we saw he was injured," Garmin Sharp sporting director Geert Van Bondt told the Cyclingnews website.

Team doctor Kevin Sprouse told the website Bauer had been knocked out but had a good recollection of the events leading up to and after the incident. "It's a very good sign," he explained. "He's in great spirits, the doctors at the hospital saw him and released him fairly quickly, convinced that he's doing really well... It all looks very good considering how dramatic it looked on TV," Sprouse said.

He said it was too early to say whether Bauer had been concussed in the crash.

"That is a difficult diagnosis to make quickly," he said. "We actually don't distinguish between mild, moderate, and severe concussions anymore - it's either you have one or not and the symptoms can develop 24 hours later so it's kind of an observational period at this point.

"He doesn't show any signs of concussion but that can certainly change as the adrenaline wears off and he gets back. Should he develop any symptoms we'll monitor for those."

Fellow Kiwi Clinton Avery, riding for Champion System, also failed to finish.

Italian Oscar Gatto won the race after overhauling a late breakaway from France's Thomas Voeckler in the closing stages.

Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/VIDEO-Kiwi-cyclist-Bauer-knocked-unconscious-in-Belgium-crash/tabid/415/articleID/291175/Default.aspx#ixzz2O94Yzmws

Captain Peacock Frank Thornton Dies - How Many Are You Being Served Cast Members Are Still Alive?

Frank Thornton who plays floor manager Captain Peacock in the British comedy Are You Being Served?  has died aged 92.  He outlived many of his younger co-stars.  I was brought up watching reruns of Are You Being Served during my childhood, but in more recent times most of the cast from the show have died with only Mr Rumbold (Nicholas Smith) still alive, although he wasn't the youngest actor on the show and seemed quite old in the 1970s, but even Mr Lucas and Miss Brahms have died in the last four years. Young Mr Grace and Mr Granger were old in the 1970s.  Mind you, it is hardly surprising these characters are almost all deceased given it started in the 1970s, but now when I watch episodes on Comedy Central, I realise that it is more an adult comedy based on slapstick and double entendres (double meanings).  That is probably why I still enjoy the show, although I just thought Mr Humphries was eccentric, now I realise he was gay.  Still, it is an entertaining watch from the days of fakely over-acted British slapstick.  Who was your favourite character?  I still think Mr Humphries was a laugh!

Are You Being Served? is a British sitcom broadcast from 1972 to 1985. It was set in the ladies' and gentlemen's clothing departments of Grace Brothers, a fictional London department store. It was written by Jeremy Lloyd and David Croft, with contributions by Michael Knowles and John Chapman. The idea for the show came from Lloyd's brief period in the early 1950s working at Simpsons of Piccadilly, a clothing store which traded for over 60 years until 1999.^[1]
The inspiration for the store has also been credited to Rossiters of Paignton department store from the time Lloyd and Croft spent there,^[2] and the former Clements of Watford.
Over the course of its 13-year run, only Frank Thornton, Mollie Sugden, John Inman, Wendy Richard and Nicholas Smith appeared in all 69 episodes, and all later featured in the sequel television series, Grace & Favour (also known as Are You Being Served? Again!). In 2004, Are You Being Served? came twentieth in "Britain's Best Sitcom".
In January 2010 the BBC screened the show's pilot programme (seen in colour for the first time since the early 1970s)^[3] alongside several tribute shows to the late actors who appeared in the series with BBC2 dedicating an entire night to the show.
Following the death of Frank Thornton on 16 March 2013, Nicholas Smith is the only surviving member of the original regular cast.<sup>[4]

Actor / actress – Character – Duration</sup>

Main characters

• Frank Thornton – Captain Stephen Peacock – Pilot–Series 10
• Mollie Sugden – Mrs. Betty Slocombe – Pilot–Series 10
• John Inman – Mr. Wilberforce Claybourne Humphries & Mrs Humphries – Pilot–Series 10
• Wendy Richard – Miss Shirley Brahms – Pilot–Series 10
• Nicholas Smith – Mr. Cuthbert Rumbold – Pilot–Series 10
• Arthur Brough¹ – Mr. Ernest Grainger – Pilot–Series 5
• Trevor Bannister – Mr. Dick/James Lucas – Pilot–Series 7
• Larry Martyn – Mr. Mash – Pilot–Series 3
• Arthur English – Mr. Beverley/Harry Harman – Series 4–Series 10
• James Hayter – Mr. Percival Tebbs – Series 6 and The 1978 Special
• Alfie Bass – Mr. Harry Goldberg – Series 7–The 1979 Special
• Mike Berry – Mr. Bert Spooner – Series 8–Series 10

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Are_You_Being_Served%3F

Scotty Presents : Cocktail Party 2013 - Why Host Such An Event?

Scotty Presents: Cocktail Party 2013 is on Saturday April 6th at 8pm, but why host such an event? 

As the organiser of  both Scotty Presents : Spring Ball 2012 and Scotty Presents : Cocktail Party 2013 I realised that a major reason that people go to church is not only to grow in their relationship with the Lord, but also to build community through social interaction.  There are so many cool people scattered around different churches in Wellington, but often people stay in their cliques within their churches.  This in some ways is necessary, but in other ways this makes me sad because I have a heart for connecting people.  As a leader of a Connections team at The Street City Church, I hate hearing stories of people who come to church without knowing anyone and then leave without anyone speaking to them. 

I was once in that position fresh faced, from out of town and I knew only a few people in Wellington, but I bumped into an old friend at The Street City Church and I attended events and gathering which he knew were on and this got me so well Connected.  Without him taking me under his wing I probably would have stopped attending The Street and maybe church altogether.

As an event organiser of some repute, I have decided to help people get connected by organising various sports, sports camp teams and holidays for both my own personal enjoyment and to get people from the church interacting with each other. These are even a way for people to bring their non-Christian friends along to get involved with in a less threatening way than church.

I grew up attending several church balls and even helping to organise one in Dunedin, but Wellington is a bigger place and there is less of the community vibe that you get in smaller centres, hence why I decided to organise an event which I not only wanted to attend, but want heaps of others to attend.  In many aspects of life most people want to do something, but someone has to standup and actually organise it, otherwise it won't happen.

So last year Scotty Presents : Spring Ball 2012 saw 180 people (both singles and couples) dance the night away having a great time at The Boatshed, but I thought it would be good to have a slightly smaller event towards the start of the year so that new people to town could meet some people.

Get your tickets for Scotty Presents : Cocktail Party 2013 below via the Eventfinder website.  Are you a single or a couple?  Are you afraid of getting out of your clique and meeting new people?  Everyone who attended the ball were very friendly and I wouldn't have it any other way.  This is a Christian friendly event!  Get your classy threads on and buy a ticket below!

http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/2013/scotty-presents-cocktail-party-2013/wellington

10 Percent of Men Have Done This At Their Own Wedding - What Is It?

 

 

According to GQ magazine, 10% of men have done this at their wedding. What?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer: Snuck out to watch sports.

Read more: http://www.k103.com/pages/NearlyImpossibleQuestion.html#ixzz2NgmxhY2M

Behind The Eggheads - How To Become An Egghead!

The BBC Television game show The Eggheads is intriguing, when a team challenges a bunch of pub quiz legends in order to win money. I thought it would be worth doing a background check on The Eggheads. It seems that it is the cream of the crop of the British pub quiz fraternity. I have included further details below and incase you are wondering, CJ de Mooi is gay! Kevin Ashman is the Egghead with the most impressive background.

"Eggheads" The quiz champions who compete on the show as the titular "Eggheads" are: Kevin Ashman: (2003–present). Eight times winner of British Quiz Championship, six times winner of European Quizzing Championships, four times winner of World Quizzing Championships, 1989 winner of Fifteen to One, 1999 winner of Fifteen to One: Champion of Champions, 1995 Mastermind (including all-time record score), 1996 Brain of Britain (including all-time record score), 1998 Brain of Britain: Brain of Brains, 1998 Brain of Britain: Top Brain, ten times Brain of London, twice Gold Medallist for quizzing at the Mind Sports Olympiad, two times Master Brain, winner of Sale of the Century, Quiz Night, Trivial Pursuit and The Great British Quiz. Captain of the England quiz team and ranked the number one quizzer in the world.[citation needed]

CJ de Mooi: (2003–2012). 2002 Beat the Nation, 2001 winner of 100% and 2000 contestant of The Weakest Link as well as having been Mensa chess champion.[3] He "tweeted" that he wouldn't be in the Series 13 recordings of the show from 2012, in order that he pursues a full-time acting career. However, he continued to appear in Series 13 episodes of the show until Vine took over presenting duties from Murnaghan halfway through the series. His last appearance on the show was on 31 August 2012.

Daphne Fowler: (2003–present). 2001 winner of Fifteen to One, 1997 Brain of Britain and 1988 winner of Going for Gold. Chris Hughes: (2003–present). 1983 Mastermind, International Mastermind and 2005 Brain of Britain. Judith Keppel: (2003–present). first British winner of £1,000,000 on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.

Barry Simmons: (2008–present). winner of Are You an Egghead?, semi-finalist on Mastermind, finalist on Brain of Britain, £64,000 winner on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, winning member 2006 Masterteam and now member of the Scotland Quiz Team.

Pat Gibson: (2009–present). winner of Are You an Egghead? Series 2, two times winner (2007, 2010) of British Quiz Championship, 3 times winner (2007, 2010, 2011) of World Quizzing Championships, 2005 winner of Mastermind, 2010 winner of Mastermind: Champion of Champions, 2006 winner of Brain of Britain, £1,000,000 winner on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, amassing 21 international quizzing medals, and ranked the second strongest quizzer in the UK, behind Kevin Ashman.[citation needed]

Dave Rainford (2012–present) A previous contestant on Are You An Egghead and £250,000 winner on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, nicknamed 'Tremendous Knowledge'.

Sixth, seventh and eighth Eggheads

In May 2008, auditions began for a sixth person to join the Eggheads team.[1][4][5] These auditions were developed into a spin-off show, Are You an Egghead?, presented by Dermot Murnaghan. This began airing on BBC2 on 20 October 2008.[6] On 2 December 2008,

Barry Simmons, who had once been a contestant on the regular show, won the Are You an Egghead? final and became the sixth Egghead. He made his first appearance on the team on the regular show the same day. Since the addition of Simmons as an Egghead, the Eggheads team has operated on a rotating basis, still featuring five Eggheads (out of the six or seven) per show.

Pat Gibson won the second series of Are You an Egghead? and became the seventh Egghead to join the team, as of 25 November 2009. His first appearance as an Egghead was on the Celebrity Eggheads show on 7 December 2009.

Dave Rainford made his debut on 27 September 2012, replacing CJ De Mooi. He was previously seen on Are You an Egghead? in both series. In Series 1 he was beaten in the semi-finals by Barry and, in Series 2, he was beaten in the quarter-finals by David Edwards.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggheads_(TV_series)

Kiwis Watching TV While Online - Do You Do It?

According to a Google survey 85 per cent of people surveyed are online on some form of computer while watching television. It is often a joke that I am on Sky Sports website watching the statistics while watching the rugby on television. It is actually a lie! Why do so many people go online while watching tv? Is it because tv is boring? Do you go online while watching tv? We are a nation of dual screeners! Can we multi-task?

Watching television while simultaneously browsing the net on a smartphone, tablet or laptop is becoming the new norm in New Zealand living rooms, according to Google. A survey of 1000 tech-savvy New Zealanders showed that 85 per cent dual-screened - used their laptop, smartphone or tablet while watching TV - at least once a week.

Of those, 62 per cent said they mostly used a laptop to dual screen, 24 per cent mostly used a desktop, 22 per cent a smartphone and 13 per cent a tablet. One in five said they were prompted to go online and research something as a result of what they saw on TV.

While it might not come as a huge surprise, the findings "put meat on the bone" in terms of providing evidence, said Google NZ country manager Tony Keusgen. "We had a feeling this was going on but we wanted to know what the actual behaviours were," Keusgen said. "The days of consuming one type of media at a time are gone. The proliferation of this kind of behaviour is enormous."

Google carried out the survey in August last year with market research company Ipsos and digital advertising firm VivaKi. In order to qualify for the survey, participants had to watch TV for at least one-hour per day, own at least one device capable of accessing the internet, and access the internet at least every three to four days.

The majority of dual-screeners were younger and earned a higher income than the general population, the survey showed. Google said watching the news was one of the biggest prompters for Kiwis to dual-screen, while reality shows like My Kitchen Rules and The Block were also triggers. One in five said they were prompted to go online by advertisements, Google said.

Half of those who carried out research after liking something they saw on TV ended up making a purchase. Keusgen said the research has implications for an advertising market which has been slow to keep up. New Zealand has a large 'media gap', being the difference between where media is being consumed and where advertisements are being placed, he said. "Advertising dollars aren't following consumption in New Zealand." While 43 per cent of media is being consumed online, only 15 per cent of the marketing dollar is being spent there, he said. "Whether it's from TV to tablet, tablet to laptop and laptop to smartphone,

Kiwis are jumping between devices and expecting to find what they're looking for without hesitation. "By creating that ecosytem where you're reaching across both mediums, advertisers will get a much broader reach of viewers." The research has prompted a deal for Google which will see ad agency VivaKi roll out two New Zealand masthead ads a week on Google-owned YouTube over the next year.

Kevin Molloy, VivaKi NZ country chair, said advertising was no longer just about "buying a 30 second TV commercial". "This is about being a bit more aggressive with our approach to digital advertising in the marketplace." New Zealand's online advertising spend last year rose 9 per cent to $363 million, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau New Zealand (IABNZ).

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=10870754&ref=rss

Pine Marten Invades Football Match - FC Thun I Have Been Here!

Watch this pine marten invade the pitch during a top level Swiss football match between FC Thun and FC Zurich. I have actually been to Thun, Switzerland in 2006 which was the year when they played in the UEFA Cup which is a big thing for such a small place. Their home ground has a capacity of about 10,000 people. It is small! I didn't go into the ground, but looked in from the outside much like at Malmo FF whom Thun defeated in qualifying for the UEFA Cup. I love the way that it took the Zurich goalkeeper with his gloves on to take care of the pine marten.

Facebook Reveals Secrets About You - Cambridge University Research

 

Some researchers at Cambridge Univeristy have looked at the relationship between what we like on Facebook and also what religion, sexuality and political views are. I love eating curly fries and a study at Cambridge University suggests that I am highly intelligent since so many highly intelligent people like curly fries on Facebook. This study is really interesting. What do you think? Does Facebook really say that much about a person?

Enjoy curly fries, thunderstorms and Morgan Freeman’s voice? Chances are you’re highly intelligent. But if Tyler Perry, Harley Davidsons and the American country group Lady Antebellum are your thing, you may not be the sharpest tool in the box.

These are just some of the conclusions of a new study by Cambridge psychologists into what can be deduced about a person by analysing their Facebook “likes”.

Researchers used a complex algorithm to find it was possible to accurately predict what a person is like in real life – including sexual orientation, religion, political views, intelligence, and even drug use – based on what might otherwise appear to be innocuous preferences.

The academics warned that similar tools could be used by repressive regimes to predict the political beliefs or sexual orientation – even of those who avoid making obvious statements online. For example, researchers found that only five per cent of gay users clicked on obvious links such as “gay marriage” but they were nonetheless able to predict with 88 per cent accuracy a man’s sexual preference by monitoring the other things they liked on Facebook – such as films and pop groups.

Michael Kosinski, a computational psychologist at the University of Cambridge’s Psychometrics Centre, told The Independent that similar techniques were used by companies to tailor advertising or services to consumers. But he said online behaviour could also be used to accurately predict deeply personal details. “On one hand I want to share as much data as possible with online services,” he said. “I want an online book store, for example, to know about my book tastes so I get better recommendations the next time I log on. But on the other hand by revealing the kind of books I’m reading I’m also allowing different companies or institutions to predict quite accurately other traits I might not want to share.”

Scientists studied 58,000 predominantly-American Facebook users who have signed up to a free online psychology test in return for the anonymous use of their data. That allowed psychologists to build a computer program that could start trawling through public posts and predict what sort of person someone is like in real life. The programme was able to determine race with 95 per cent accuracy, political leanings with 85 per cent accuracy and religion 82 per cent of the time.

* Individual traits and attributes can be predicted to a high degree of accuracy based on records of users' Likes. For example, the best predictors of high intelligence include “Thunderstorms,” “The Colbert Report,” “Science,” and “Curly Fries,” whereas low intelligence was indicated by “Sephora,” “I Love Being A Mom,” “Harley Davidson,” and “Lady Antebellum.”

Good predictors of male homosexuality included “No H8 Campaign,” “Mac Cosmetics,” and “Wicked The Musical,” whereas strong predictors of male heterosexuality included “Wu-Tang Clan,” “Shaq,” and “Being Confused After Waking Up From Naps.”

Although some of the Likes clearly relate to their predicted attribute, as in the case of No H8 Campaign and homosexuality, other pairs are more elusive; there is no obvious connection between Curly Fries and high intelligence.

Moreover, note that few users were associated with Likes explicitly revealing their attributes. For example, less than 5% of users labeled as gay were connected with explicitly gay groups, such as No H8 Campaign, “Being Gay,” “Gay Marriage,” “I love Being Gay,” “We Didn't Choose To Be Gay We Were Chosen.” Consequently, predictions rely on less informative but more popular Likes, such as “Britney Spears” or “Desperate Housewives” (both moderately indicative of being gay).

Research also showed the average levels of personality traits and age for several popular Likes. Each Like attracts users with a different average personality and demographic profile and, thus, can be used to predict those attributes. For example, users who liked the “Hello Kitty” brand tended to be high on Openness and low on “Conscientiousness,” “Agreeableness,” and “Emotional Stability.”

They were also more likely to have Democratic political views and to be of African-American origin, predominantly Christian, and slightly below average age. Although liking “Barack Obama” is clearly related to being a Democrat, it is also relatively popular among Christians, African Americans, and Homosexual individuals.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/features/like-curly-fries-youre-clever-like-motorbikes-youre-not-the-science-of-facebook-likes-8530101.html

Fat Dancing Speedos Man in Step Class - Inspirational

Watch this big bellied man in Speedos putting on a masterclass in this Russian step class poolside. He upstages the class instructor and uses his own artistic license. He really tests the strength of those Speedos. He is an inspiration. I want to be him when I grow up! It is funny that the instructor just carries on without giving him too much attention. There is also another guy in the class who doesn't have a clue what is going on either. I wonder if there had been some vodka drunk before this class. Anyway. it goes for five minutes, but made me laugh out loud several times.  It is difficult to know why overweight people dancing makes me laugh so much, but there is something brilliant about this guy!  The other guy in the video is just creepy (not the instructor).


http://gawker.com/5989541/fat-dancing-speedo-man-is-both-the-hero-we-need-and-deserve

Taupo Policeman Loses Dancing Duel - But Wins Fans

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8389906/Taupo-policemans-dance-duel-goes-viral

Watch this video of Taupo police officer Ross Humphrey "working the beat".  He lost the dancing duel but won plenty of fans!  Good on him I say.  There is always something about a guy wearing high vis and dancing that gets most people entertainment, but he had a pretty impressive repertoire.  Don't mess with Ross the boss!

For one Taupo police officer, the term "working the beat", has never been more literal.
A video of Taupo constable Ross Humphrey challenging a community member to a dance battle has gone viral in the two weeks since it was posted.
Shared on the Tauhara Paetiki Neighbourhood Policing Facebook page, the video has already been shared more than 1300 times and received more than 200,000 views.
More than 400 comments left by members of the public on the Facebook page have been overwhelmingly positive - something Humphrey describes as "nothing short of amazing".
"Social media at the best of times can be quite cruel - there are people on there whose job is just to hate. And a positive response of that size has just been amazing."
In the video, Humphrey demonstrates some pretty impressive moves, including a caterpillar and robot, but unfortunately is bested by his opponent who can also hold her own on the dance floor.

 http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/8389906/Taupo-policemans-dance-duel-goes-viral

Jamie How Breaks New Zealand Domestic Cricket Record - Should He Be Recalled To The Blackcaps?

Central Stags opener Jamie How has set a new New Zealand domestic cricket record by hitting 222 off 138 balls vs Northern Districts in a one day match.

How hit 27 fours and 8 sixes in his 188 minute innings at Hamilton's Seddon Park.

The team was in pursuit of the record tally in a one-day innings in the NZ one-day competition of 410-5 from 50 overs set by Canterbury against Otago in 2009/10.   Central Districts is heading for a total well in excess of 400 runs!

How needed to reach 269 to set a new world's best mark for a 50-over match, set in 2002 by Ali Brown for Surrey against Glamorgan at The Oval.

Unfortunately, How has struggled to make the step up to international level and this innings probably sums up the lack of quality in New Zealand domestic cricket without the Blackcaps playing.  I still have my doubts about him at international level.


http://scoring.blackcaps.co.nz/livescoring/match1749/scorecard.aspx#current

Anika Moa Snubbed By Church For Being Gay - Agree Or Disagree?

Kiwi singer Anika Moa has been snubbed by Wairarapa's Lighthouse Church because they were unhappy with the openly gay singer performing in their church as part of her tour.  Do you agree with this decision?  I say good on you to Masterton's Lighthouse Church.  They own the venue and can decide who they want to perform and have actually came up with some money to change the advertisements.  The Anglicans don't seem to have any problems with homosexuality and St Mark's Anglican Church will now host the show.

While it could have been a chance for Masterton's Lighthouse Church to get some publicity, I think it is good for them to stand up for what they believe in.  Although should a church be the place where everyone is welcome? It raises the question with the potential new law reform regarding same sex marriages in New Zealand that many churches will not let gay marriage ceremonies take place in their church based on what they believe.  If you are a gay couple reading this romantically before watching The Ellen Degeneres Show then an Anglican church is your best bet if you are considering marriage.

Singer Anika Moa has had to switch venues for her Wairarapa concert because an evangelical church objected to her sexuality.
She was due to perform at Masterton's Lighthouse Church on March 23, but promoter Mark Rogers said it became clear after the booking was made that some members of the church were not comfortable with hosting her.
Moa came out as a lesbian in 2007 and has been in a civil union with Australian burlesque dancer Azaria Universe since 2010.
Mr Rogers said the church was suffering from "sapphic paranoia" and was "unhappy" with what it called Moa's "lifestyle".
"It's not as though, by ‘life-style', the church meant she went skiing every weekend," he said. "I just couldn't face having a concert in a location where one of the performers was not welcome."
Moa will now perform at St Mark's Anglican Church in Carterton instead.
Lighthouse pastor Russell Embling said Mr Rogers had decided to move the gig after discussions with church leadership.
He would not comment on whether some of his flock were opposed to having a lesbian singer perform. He said the church held to "traditional biblical values regarding marriage and the family".
The church had offered, in good faith, to pay for some of the costs incurred, including new concert posters and tickets, and had given the money to Mr Rogers, he said.
Mr Rogers confirmed it was his decision to pull the show.
"In no way were we forced out - we just didn't think it was appropriate to hold an event there, given the views and beliefs of a number of its congregation."
Green Party "rainbow issues" spokesman Kevin Hague said it was a shame that the "small-minded attitudes of the Lighthouse Church are denying the people of Masterton the opportunity to see Anika Moa, who is a fantastic performer".
Mr Hague, a veteran gay rights activist, said the church had arguably "created a situation where the promoter feels he has no choice but to shift the venue - it could be classified as constructive discrimination, which would be illegal".
St Mark's vicar Jenny Chalmers said she regretted the attitudes of some within the Lighthouse congregation.
"I'm really sorry for that, because sexuality is such a small part of a person's makeup."
Moa, who is touring in Australia, could not be contacted.

 http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/8380757/Church-uncomfortable-with-Moas-lifestyle

Religion Question in Census Survey Raises Further Questions - Which Box To Tick?

Tuesday March 5th is Census Day in New Zealand.  The "What is your religion" always causes plenty of problems.  For the first time more New Zealanders look set to tick the "no religion" box than the Christian box.  Despite over 40 percent of kiwis expected to tick the Christian box, most of these people would only do it out of habit or tradition rather than being personally active followers of Jesus.

Check out this study from the UK which shows the reasons why people are Christian.  It shows that only a very small percentage are active followers of Jesus or see Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and have accepted him into their heart.  This completely skews the statistics.  I would suggest that only active followers of Jesus tick the Christian box!  It would be so much more accurate to get the number of actual Christians in the statistics, but it would also probably be disturbingly low!


The results presented in the Ispos MORI survey “Religious and Social Attitudes of UK Christians in 2011”  show the problem. This survey questioned people who recorded their religion as “Christian” in the 2011 UK Census.
One question was “Which is the one statement that best describes what being a Christian means to you personally?” Nine choices (including “prefer not to say” were provided. The figure below shows the responses.





The other issue I have is knowing which denomination of Christian to tick.  These days unlike in the past, denomination is less important.  It used to be watch out for those "beautiful baptists".  Because so many more people went to church back in the day, denomination was really crucial and sometimes people wouldn't mix with people from another denomination.  These days, being a Christian is more important than which denomination.  The other problem is if you go to The Street which is a non-denominational church, then which box do you tick?


I was raised in the Presbyterian church, went to the Baptist church for ages and now go to a non-denominational church which used to be Open Brethren.  I may just tick Christian.

I am not sure where Jedi fits in as a religion!


http://www.ipsos-mori.com/researchpublications/researcharchive/2921/Religious-and-Social-Attitudes-of-UK-Christians-in-2011.aspx
https://openparachute.wordpress.com/

Doug Bracewell In Trouble - Does He Deserve It?

Blackcaps bowler Doug Bracewell cut his foot cleaning up the day after a party at his Napier flat and has been forced to withdraw from the New Zealand cricket team to play England in the first test.  This prompted a warning from New Zealand cricket as Bracewell's flat has hosted several parties, but the worst part of this is that he cut his foot the day after the party when cleaning up in bare feet.

OK, this doesn't seem like the smartest thing to do, but I am amazed by the amount of negative publicity that Bracewell has received.  Do you think he deserves it?

Should Bracewell be throwing a BBQ/party a week before the first test between New Zealand and England?  Why did his neighbour who usually calls noise control, call New Zealand players association president Heath Mills and how did he have his number?

There is more to this than meets the eye.  It seems that Doug Bracewell has been a bad boy and this hopefully gives him the wake up call he needs as a top level athlete.  He is only 22 years old, but I don't want another Jesse Ryder situation to develop.  It is an amateur mistake which has cost us one of our better bowlers for the first test against England and this latest event sums up New Zealand cricket in my opinion, amateurs.  This is why we are such a badly ranked side!

Get better Doug and wear shoes the next time you are tidying up smashed beer bottles!

For the record, accidents do happen, but when you are a professional athlete, you need to make smart decisions in order to reduce the risk of not being able to fulfill your role of representing your country.  We are depending on you Doug!  Unfortunately this sort of thing seems to happen to the Blackcaps all the time.  I don't care what Doug gets up to in his private life, but it is a shame it has influenced his sporting career.  

World Tennis Day Today 4th March 2013

It is World Tennis Day 4th March 2013, what are you doing to celebrate?

I am an extremely lucky person as since I play Monday night interclub tennis, I will actually be playing competitive tennis on World Tennis Day 2013.  I may not win tonight since we are playing a better team on paper, but everyone wins with World Tennis Day!

 

 

World Tennis Day launched by ITF and StarGames

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced that it has entered into an agreement with StarGames to launch World Tennis Day to help promote tennis participation around the world. The inaugural World Tennis Day will be held on Monday 4 March 2013 as part of the 2013 ITF Centenary activities.

World Tennis Day will be centred around a series of high profile exhibition events around the world, including the well-established BNP Paribas Showdown in New York’s Madison Square Garden. Each of the events, organised by the promoter StarGames, will feature current and former professionals together with demonstrations of the ITF’s

Tennis10s programme aimed at increasing participation among young players around the world.

Alongside these events, the ITF will be encouraging its 210 National Associations to support World Tennis Day with their own grassroots and club activities to attract new participants to the sport.

The United States Tennis Association (USTA) has already established the successful Tennis Night in America in conjunction with the BNP Paribas Showdown in which clubs are asked to open their doors as part of a month-long drive to get children playing the sport. Over 2,200 clubs in the United States took part in this initiative in 2012.

Several other National Associations have already pledged their support to join the USTA in World Tennis Day activities in 2013, including Davis Cup finalists Czech Republic and Spain, plus Argentina, Brazil, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, Norway, Portugal and South Africa. Announcements about further exhibition events will be made soon.

The ITF’s Tennis10s programme, which promotes the use of slower and lower bouncing balls, shorter and lighter rackets, and smaller courts to make it easier for children to take up the game. Tennis10s is a supporting programme of the Tennis Play and Stay campaign, the ITF’s global initiative launched in 2007 aimed at increasing tennis participation worldwide. Tennis Play and Stay centres around the slogan of ‘Serve, Rally and Score’ and seeks to promote tennis as an easy, fun and healthy sport.

"We look forward to World Tennis Day as a way to put a spotlight on tennis participation," said ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti. "The very successful Tennis Night in America, staged by the USTA in association with StarGames, is an example of how special events and participation activities can be combined successfully. We look forward to events around the world over the next few years, and to see our 210 member national associations get behind World Tennis Day with activities in their own countries on that day."

Ivo Kaderka, president of the Czech Tennis Association (CTA), said: "We think World Tennis Day will be very good for tennis worldwide and the CTA looks forward to getting involved in this initiative." Anil Khanna, President of the Asian Tennis Federation and All India Tennis Association, said: "We will be delighted to support World Tennis Day."

Jerry Solomon, President and CEO of StarGames, said: "Our partnerships with the USTA on Tennis Night in America and BNP Paribas on the Showdown have proven successful so to be able to expand this to World Tennis Day in partnership with the ITF and its 210 member nations is a unique opportunity. I want to thank the ITF leadership for sharing our vision and look forward to the day when World Tennis Day brings focus to the sport through multiple special events combined with the Tennis10s programme across the globe."

Tennis Play and Stay and Tennis10s are programmes with proven success in growing participation," said Dave Miley, ITF Executive Director of Development. "This initiative will give both the ITF and our member nations a great opportunity to showcase and draw extra attention to what they are doing to grow tennis in their countries through World Tennis Day."

http://www.worldtennisday.com/