Watch Out Cowboys!

Again...only in China!

The Truth is Stranger Than Fiction Chinese Sign

In other words, when in China you are prohibited from doing anything... or else!

The Milk Shake from Heaven!

Exciting news! This white man experienced the best new taste sensation today at Highpoint Shopping Centre. Quite simply, it is the best milk shake he has ever encountered and it came courtesy of SHAKEAWAY. No, we're not talking glorified topping flavours like chocolate, vanilla, caramel or that sham of a flavour blue heaven. No, these shakes are real heaven with the largest assortment of flavours and ingredients imaginable. Today, this white man enjoyed a regular Turkish Delight shake (made with skim milk of course!) and it was the best! Just a Fry's Turkish Delight bar in a blender with ice-cream and milk and the rest is history. But check out some of these other shake options: after dinner mints shake, apple pie shake, banana custard donut shake, cadbury creme egg (at easter only) shake, caramel popcorn shake, coco pops shake, custard tart shake, ferrero roche shake, fruit tingles shake and the list goes on...and on...and on! Honesty, there is not a type of biscuit, breakfast cereal, snack or confectionary item that is not on their list! It's ridiculous, but it's soooo good! But don't just take my word for it - check them out for yourself at http://www.shakeaway.com/ and prepare to salivate!

And as five young gay men who called themselves the Village People once proudly proclaimed;

Do the shake

do the sha-a-ake

Do the milkshake, the milkshake,

Do the shake!

What more need this white man say...Oh yeah!

Poignant Thoughts on the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games!

When in the Beijing Olympics...

Win for free speech

Run for human rights

Throw a javelin to kill hatred

Jump to overcome ignorance

Bicycle to treadle over tyranny
Pole vault to reach for freedom

Throw a shot put to knock out communism

Swim to save those imprisoned and tortured

And race as hard as you can in praise of God!

Tsoltim N. Shakabpa’s 6th book of poems, DEAD PEOPLE TALKING, is due to be published soon by Paljor Publications in New Delhi.

Steamroom Ramblings...

It's interesting the conversations one can have in a steamroom. This white man had such a dialogue with another regular gym patron this morning. Usually, over a period of time, regular users of gym amenities become familiar with each other. And the conversations they have are at first limited to politely guarded pleasantries , but then become more free and casual. Usually two-three times a week after gym this white man enjoys a spa and steamroom session to wind-down. A familiar face is a young Vietnamese woman who regularly swims first and then enters the communal spa/sauna/steamroom area. Like me, she is entrenched in a routine of dropping off her child at school and then going to the leisure centre. Over time I have engaged this woman in some general conversation about life to the point where she often tries to trick me by throwing in some random and quick Vietnamese questions. She catches me out more often than not and it is now a running joke between us. Anyway today this white man thought he would 'raise the stakes' dialogue-wise in the only appropriate way a pastor can...I asked her about her religious belief...

She explained that she was Catholic. No big deal there as many Vietnamese are Catholic. I went on to explain to her that I was Protestant - more than that, I was a Protestant minister...in a Vietnamese church! That's when things started to turn slightly weird! The woman's first response was to say how impressed she was with my church because many non-Vietnamese members could fluently speak Vietnamese. I found that intriguing, considering most of our church's second-generation youth can't even speak Vietnamese properly, let alone any of the few Anglo-Australians in the church. Then she went on to state her admiration of the commitment the young men had - how they always get around in their nice suits in pairs speaking in Vietnamese about their faith. And that's when the penny dropped - she thought this white man was from the Mormons! I explained frantically that my church was not part of the Mormon church and we were a traditional Christian church. She indicted that she now understood that I wasn't a Mormon and I was suitably relieved. She then went on to ask me how I could be a Christian church minister and have a wife and children - she had never heard of such a thing! Again I explained that our church was different to the Catholic church in respect to it's leaders and their ability to be non-celebate. She left soon thereafter and I'm still not sure she fully understood the legitimacy of this white man having a family. So perhaps I'm now a crazy heretic in her mind - who cares...at least she knows I'm not a Mormon! Other than that, all I can say is thank you God for Martin Luther!

Lies, lies and more lies...

This white man had the opportunity to grab a newspaper at the gym this morning and was confronted with the following grandiose bold headline: THEY LIED! Of course it was referring to the two Collingwood Magpies AFL players who had transgressed the night before; the two players being involved in a drink-driving incident where cars were damaged yet fortunately, no-one was physically hurt. But the media screams out LIES!!! MISTRUTHS!!! as it seems that the greater wrong in this incident was that one of the players lied to his club by denying that the other player was directly involved - in essence vainly trying to protect him from trouble. And yes, to try and falsify the truth was misguided and plainly wrong. Yet something seems to be getting overshadowed here - a prominent footballer who is a role-model whether he likes it or not made a decision to break the law and potentially risk harm not only to himself but also to others by getting into his car intoxicated and deciding that he could drive home. Well his car didn't make it home but, for the grace of God, he managed to emerge unscathed in one piece. But it could have been much different - it could have been an awful tragedy.

When will young people in our alcohol-fuelled culture realise that they are not laws unto themselves? When will footballers learn that they are not bullet-proof and above reproach? When will clubs REALLY begin to make a stand and deal with their players the way they should be dealt with? Not with a slap in the face with a wet piece of lettuce but a significant penalty that responds sincerely to the stupidity of their actions. Heath Shaw and Alan Didak - you both are bloody idiots and I hope you both grow up, learn something through suffering meaningful consequence and change your behaviour accordingly! What does it take and when will they ever learn?

Eating Ethiopian...

Today this white man had the opportunity to have lunch with a close church colleague in Footscray. So what better to eat in Footscray than Ethiopian! Yes Ethiopian! Those of you who know the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, particularly Footscray, know that the cultural demographic face of this area is changing. Once Footscray was the domain of the mid- 20th century Mediterranean wave of immigrants. By the end of the 20th century however Footscray had been 'asianised' by floods of post-war Vietnamese refugees escaping the horrors of their homeland. All the Greeks, Italians and other southern Europeans were pushed into the outer western suburbs. Now, at the commencement of the 21st century, history is repeating itself again! Footscray is rapidly becoming predominantly home to the Horn of Africa community with Ethiopian, Somali, Sudanese and Eritrean peoples assuming prominence. And just as they dispersed the European migrants years ago, now the Vietnamese community is being pushed further out into the greater western suburbs! And that's why getting an Ethiopian meal in Footscray nowadays is no big deal. But the meal itself? Something special...

Think of a rich spicy hot stew-like curry beef served on spongy-fluffy yet slightly sour Ethiopian injera bread and that's your staple Ethiopian fare. The curried stew, known as "wat" tastes superb, well that is if you like your stew fiery with a kick that lasts the distance! The injera bread compliments the spice of the stewed meat and fills your stomach very nicely indeed. But the best part of eating Ethiopian style is the cutlery. Well, actually there is no cutlery and that is the highlight - it's eat with your fingers or go hungry! Eating with your fingers is a delicate art that needs to be experienced to be appreciated. Whilst it may appear at first to be grossly unsavoury, nothing could be further from the truth. There is a real culinary intimacy in getting your fingers and hands dirty in your food. Perhaps it's an infantile regressive security/comfort type of thing. Maybe the squishy food just feels fun in your fingers. Whatever it is, this white man thoroughly recommends the digitally defined delectable delicacy that is Ethiopian cuisine! Two 'dirty' thumbs up!

Rounded Are The Rocks...

Rounded are the rocks upon the beach
That take the pounding of the waves
It never ceases, never stops
The crashing sounds of thunderous water as it hits
Against the shore
Only to pound once more...

Pounding is the heart that beats alone
Inside the soul surrounded
By this man's emotion and his thoughts
While flesh and blood keep breathing...

Rounded are the rocks
Pounding is the heart
At one with man, at one with God...

Balance...

Since the inception of the white man's world a few self-professed commentator's have personally made mention of the white man's apparent effeminacy. Through some of the blog entries, some have 'discerned' a whitish soft streak, even labelling the white man a "Sensitive New Age Guy" of unimaginable proportions. One even dared to accuse the white man of deliberately pandering to female sensitivities in an attempt to portray himself as something he's really not! Well, then...who really is the white man you ask?

The white man is balanced, that's who he is! He knows who he is and is at peace with his consistencies, his contradictions and the One who created him! Actually if he was that much together then he wouldn't really need to be writing about it in this blog would he now! So he's self-depreciating too! Seriously, it does show me how as I get older life seems to round off the jagged edges of extremes I used to have. For in my youth I could never have been accused of being a S.N.A.G - the love of heavy metal, professional wrestling, tattoos and basically anything rebelliously obnoxious forever boxed this white man into a corner of absolutes. Yet as my life has meandered along the God-given path it has taken, it is amazing how all the entrapments of my self-induced personality confinement have fallen away. That why today this white man can, and still does, love heavy metal....Yet he also embraces the serenity of soothing chamber strains of a Baroque sonata. He still loves high contact sports like rugby and still enjoys the brutality of WWE wrestling, especially cage matches where blood is guaranteed to flow! Why? Because he knows that life is stressful and he needs these 'release valves' to stay sane! But he also now loves tending to his 'internet' garden, planting all kinds of plants and flowers. And yes, he knows that his real garden would love the same amount of attention! The point is this - a well-balanced individual knows their inner needs and embraces an appropriate balance in their inner masculinity and femininity. That makes a well-rounded person; a person who recognises their 'shadow-self' and makes room for them to live and breathe alongside them in life. That's who this white man wants to be because it's who he believes his Maker created him to be! Well-rounded, honest, complete...did someone say Christ-like?

The Stars...

This thought has truly captured me

A thought that begs for more

That stars are actually openings

Holes in the heavenly floor.

I imagine a light shining through

As our Lord steps over a star

A momentary darkness comes,

but His shadow is not really so far.

Gazing at His incredible creation
Dazzled by the sparkling night

A brilliant white robe falls gracefully

My mind can envision this sight.

Sometimes one streaks across the sky

Leaving a trail of heavenly dew

Are there holes in the floor of Heaven?

Where His light is shining through.

Oh, millions of stars glimmer above

Where time is an endless space

Surrounded by the house of God

And a dream to touch His face.

The shadow of Him so very close

Only a mere universe away

It is just a breath to Him

A breath and maybe a day.

This thought has truly captured me

That stars are holes in the floor

Openings to our Savior's house

My heart can't conceive much more.

Lord, my eyes are lifted upward

Once again Your shadow, I see

Stepping over one last star

When at last You come for me.

by Kathleen Higham