The Picture of Dorian Gray

After reading almost exclusively non fiction this year I decided it was time to start reading some fiction. I had recently read about Oscar Wilde's the Picture of Dorian Gray in several places so thought this may be a good place to start.

The Picture of Dorian Gray tells the story of an extremely good looking young man who make a pact that enables him to keep his youthful looks throughout his life. Instead of him growing older the effects of his life and the effects of his sin are not seen in his body but in a portrait of himself.

Dorian under the influence of Lord Henry Wotton enters into a double life. While maintaining a respectable reputation within society he secretly begins a lifestyle in search of endless pleasures regardless of the cost. With each step further into a depraved life the only outward sign is the painting (that is carefully hidden in his house)becomes more and more aged and marred.

Wilde does have a way with words and their is some very clever and witty writing. At times I feel he gets a bit carried away with philosophical discussion between Lord Henry and Dorian. While some of these are quite amusing as Henry explains his hedonistic view on life, at times they are rather drawn out.

Overall this is a fascinating tale that looks at human nature, sin and the cost of living simply to pleasure oneself.

If anyone is looking to read this I highly recommend getting the Penguin Classic edition as it also includes some interesting articles written about how the book was received when it was released in the late 1800's

Giuliani Leadership - First things first

I first read Rudolph Giuliani's book on leadership a few years ago and since then it has been a book that I never tire of. Giuliani was a two time mayor of New York and was mayor during the September 11 terror attacks. The book will not be everyone’s cup of tea but if you have an interest in politics (and leadership) then I am sure you will find the book very interesting. While I do not agree with Giuliani on some political and moral issues, I have come to admire him tremendously as a leader. The book is jam packed with fantastic leadership principles and examples of how these principles worked in changing New York City. So for the next few days I will discuss a different chapter of the book.


#1 First things first

"Every morning at exactly eight o'clock, I make my mother very happy. Throughout my childhood, she would lecture me on the virtues of finishing my schoolwork before I went outside to play ... That's why I've begun every single morning since 1981 with a meeting of my top staff"


Giuliani goes on to explain throughout the chapter that as mayor of New York City the task could be completely overwhelming. So to ensure he dealt with the vital things first he met with his key leaders first thing every morning. This would give the opportunity for key issues to be dealt with in a timely manner. He credits this meeting as one of the keys to his success as mayor.

While this may be leadership 101, in rereading the book it has challenged me afresh. Often I find myself getting drawn to what appears to be urgent rather then what is truly important. The other challenge is to avoid tasks that while important are not exciting and instead rush to tasks that are exciting regardless of importance.


As a Christian leader (or even just as a follower of Christ) the first things first principle means that time with God needs to be the first part of your day. One of the things I have discovered is that you never know who you are going to encounter on any particular day. As a Pastor, people will ask you for advice and they are hoping for more then just your opinion – they are looking for Godly wisdom. If I am regularly connecting with God and putting him first, there is a much greater chance that I will be able to have an informed perspective on a situation rather then just regurgitating cliché answers.

The first things first principle is all about living life according to priorities and doing the right thing at the right time. Jesus constantly lived by this principle – His life was driven by his mission, not the agendas of other people. In Luke chapter 2, Jesus as a 12-year-old boy goes missing and when his parents eventually find him he is in the temple. When they question him about where he has been he replies, "Why were you searching for me? Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"

Later in John Chapter 4, prior to Jesus meeting the woman at the well, the Bible says that "Jesus had to go to Samaria". The interesting thing is that he was taking a journey to Galilee, which would not usually necessitate going through Samaria. The reason he had to go to Samaria was that he had to visit the woman at the well. His life was ordered by his mission not convenience, and he knew the principle of completing everything at its appointed time.

In John Chapter 11 Jesus finds out his friend Lazarus is sick, this seemed to be an urgent situation. It would appear that the first things first principle would dictate that you would go and visit your friend. However as Jesus knew what he was going to do, he knew that this was not the time to visit Lazarus. Instead he waited until Lazarus died and then visited. When Jesus arrives, Lazarus’s sisters say, "Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died". In other words, “If you had just put first things first then we would not be in this situation”. But Jesus was looking at a bigger picture than their agenda. Jesus wanted to raise Lazarus from the dead but to perform this great miracle he had to delay what other people deemed to be urgent. I am not suggesting we leave our friends to die! But the first things first principles does mean not being ruled by others’ opinions and agendas but always acting out of true priorities

A Tale of Two Kingdoms

A Tale of Two Kingdoms is a point and click adventure game for PC computers. At one stage adventure games were one of the most popular genres for PC gaming however as computers got more wide spread the market for adventure games decreased and software companies began producing games aimed at a more mainstream market. After being snubbed by commercial companies many adventure game fans have started up their own projects either remaking old games with enhanced graphics or as in the case of Crystal Shards (the makers of ATOTK) releasing their own original adventure games. While most fan team start with great intentions and ambition they never end up completing their projects as it takes literally thousands of hours of work to make an adventure game. That is why it is so nice to see a project that has been followed through to completion.

I downloaded ATOTK (for free!) on Sunday night and was instantly impressed at the level of detail put into the game. It is amazing that people would put so much effort into making something simply for the enjoyment of others and for no monetary gain.

Graphics 7.5/10
The Graphics in ATOTK are fantastic! So much detail has been put into the background art and it is quite amazing how many extra animations they added into the project. They have settled for the classic adventure graphic style, which is VGA and is a retro 1995 feel to the graphics. While they may not be cutting edge technology they are still very easy on the eye and a great example of VGA background and sprites

Story 7/10
All adventure games need a solid story and ATOTK does not disappoint. The game is set in a fantasy land called Theylinn and you play the part of a mercenary solider who has come from another land to help save the kingdom from a goblin invasion. However things don't turn out quite as intended as the king is murdered and you are framed for the murder. One thing that makes many adventure games unplayable for Christians is occultic references and participation in dark magic. While ATOTK does have some magic it is played out like a fairytale and is far more tame then something like Lord of the Rings. So unlike many games that I either pass over or begin to play and then have to stop due to questionable material it was great to find a game that I was able to play and enjoy.

Gameplay 6.5/10
ATOTK has the classic adventure interface and it seems to work very well. The only negatives is that it opened up too much of the game at once rather then revealing piece by piece as the story progressed. It also had far to much dialogue, it can be frustrating for a player to read through so many different replies to questions. On the positive side it has several side quests and also some alternate endings which do add value to the production

Overall 7/10
Overall ATOTK is a good quality adventure game. It is amazing to find a full game that is completely free and so should be downloaded by anyone with an interest in storybased gaming.

Anyone who is interested in the project should check out www.taleoftwokingdoms.com

And for all those who didn't know I was a computer nerd .... now you do!!!

amazing grace

a couple of weeks ago, aaron arranged a preview screening of the film 'amazing grace' for our church. this is a film about william wilberforce, who helped abolish slavery in england. it is a high-quality production with brilliant english actors. it stays true to the historical culture of the film by remaining british when the temptation could have been to make it more american for a wider audience.

i was particularly affected by the relationship between former slave-ship captain john newton (played by albert finney), who wrote the hymn 'amazing grace', and wilberforce (played by ioan gruffudd - 'hornblower' and 'the fantastic four').

here are aaron's comments on the film:

I turned up at the Amazing Grace movie and was so busy ensuring that our group of 80 knew where they were going and the process of tickets that I had given little thought to the fact that I was actually there to see the movie. Once everyone was seated I shuffled in and found my seat and was surprised to find myself stirred by emotion. The movie was just starting but I could already sense it was going to be a very inspiring story and so it proved to be.

The story of William Wilberforce’s battle to abolish the slave trade was very well told and it managed to capture the type of emotion and passion that drove Wilberforce. As the movie was telling such an intense story it needed a completely believable cast and in this case they exceeded expectation. Each actor seemed perfect for the role they were playing and you would be hard pressed to find a better example of character casting.

The only thing the movie did not really show was just how horrific the slave trade was. While it did make allusions to the type of treatment slave were subjected to I think it could have been even more impacting had there been just one scene that showed what the slaves had to go through.*

Overall was a most enjoyable movie, it is inspiring what change one person can make if totally committed to a cause.

* watch the film 'amistad' for this

Leadership Excellence

Leadership Excellence by Phil Pringle

Having heard Phil Pringle preach and teach on numerous occasions I decided it was time to read one of his books. As I am currently trying to develop my leadership skills this seemed like the right title to start on.

I was really captivated by the first two chapters of this book, rather then giving me laws and principles of leadership it was hammering home the heart and character of the leader. This really challenged me on a personal level and led to some healthy self examination.

The rest of the book was very helpful, mixing leadership principles and character development. Overall it provided some good tips, pitfalls to avoid and some very sound biblical teaching on leadership.

One criticism is that the book is a little bit too long(276 pages). At times he repeated himself and also used too many motivational stories. It could have easily been condensed without losing its effectiveness.

However often the key with books like this is not trying to process the whole book but to pick up one or two key ideas that fit into where you are at and work on implementing them. So on that front it certainly succeeded in giving me the next step in leadership development

In closing here are a few quotes I enjoyed from the book

"When people join our church, we tell them they are now members of a house, not a hotel"

"The scripture tells us that 'Lot.... chose for himself. This will always be a poor decision"

"Sometime we want some thing more than the will of God. We are clever at cloaking this desire with the line 'God told me'