Sister Act

Hey guys, you should check out my mate's blog on new Australian music. There's some very cool stuff on it, including my first ever post on it! It's a review of Seeker Lover Keeper's album.

via Dingo Stole My Lady.

Seeker Lover Keeper’s self-titled album may not be as adventurous as any one of these three ladies going it alone, but this doesn’t make it any less powerful. It sounds as if Holly, Sarah and Sally have found a really comfortable dynamic together, creating a sisterly feel.

This sister-like relationship is demonstrated throughout the album by the sense of sharing and equality. Of the 12 tracks, Sarah, Sally and Holly have written four each, often with the one who penned the song singing backing vocals while one of the other girls taking the lead. The girls sing about love and relationships, with songs such as “Even Though I’m A Woman” and “Bring Me Back” standing out. Sarah Blasko emerges as the natural leader of the group, as she seems to sing the most often.

This is extremely good quality music and song-writing. I think Sally, Holly and Sarah have found a good place, where they compliment, inspire and push each other. This album deserves it’s place in the ARIA’s top three, and the only Australian Album currently in the top 10.

“This is my song
This is my home
This is where I belong.”
Sally Seltmann – If The Night Is Dark

This is where it must start

I woke up at 6am this morning to find that it was a tad windy. After trying to "sleep" until my alarm went off at 6.30, I got up, got dressed and started my stretching. I knew it wasn't going to be pleasant outside, but I've been putting off training for too long, I sensed it was pretty important that I run today. I needed to set a precedent, to stop making excuses and start being disciplined again. And running on a morning where a blizzard warning had been issued by the Bureau of Meteorology was a pretty awesome way to start. And very boast-worthy.

I realised a few things as a result of today's run (beware, list ahead):

• Running in wild weather is not so bad, in fact I kinda enjoyed it. It took my mind off the shock my body was in at running for the first time in nearly three weeks.
• I tense up when walking in the wind. I don't when I'm running.
• My hippie-headband thing rocks at keeping my ears warm, and doesn't make my head explode from heat like a beanie does. And it's actually colour-fast, something I wasn't expecting from a piece of fabric I bought in a coastal town for a coupla bucks. In fact I was half-expecting a blue streak across my forehead, but when I checked in the mirror afterwards - no streak!
• I really need to stretch and run more. My legs were so tight in my pre-run stretch, and the run itself. Yoga sessions are needed.
• My hands took around 3.5 to 4ks to warm up. I don't expect that they'll warm up at all on tomorrow morning's bike. Ouchies.

So the good news is that it has (finally) begun! I've also started planking (the core workout one, not the bogan one) and doing push-ups everyday - laying the foundation to hit the weights at the gym next week. I'm finally psyched!

Nearby Natural Wonders

A few months ago my mum showed me an article in the local paper about a place called London Bridge Arch. It's less than 30 minutes' drive from my house, yet I'd never heard of it.

Last weekend I finally got the chance to check it out, and by gosh it's impressive. Over (a lot of) time water leached this ol' hunk of limestone enough for the Burra Creek to find a way through, and what's left is an amazing natural bridge.

It was humbling to discover something so amazing that I'd never seen or even heard of before so nearby to where I live. It makes me think what other naturally-occurring spectacles I'm missing out on that may also be just over the hill or in the next valley over. I guess I have some more exploring to do.

Training Update

A week after writing my timetable, I've managed to run on the Thursday morning and do the yoga/pilates class on Friday. No pre-class gym session, no bike-ride on Sunday, no climbing on Monday (although that's because the climbing gym is closed at the moment), no Tuesday run (instead I was sick, off work for the day, and confined to either my bed or the couch. Except for a bathroom cleaning and mopping spree mid-afternoon). And it looks like I'll probably miss tomorrow morning's run too (I'm still sick, although slightly less so thanks to some pharmaceuticals).

So health and discipline are needed, but they are hard to come by when Canberra is in a prime location for an early-winter blizzard, apparently.

A Thought

This is going to be short. Because it doesn't need to be long.

Islam is the second largest religion on Earth, with Christianity the largest. We all know the vast differences in practice and doctrine that can be found in differing denominations of Christianity. There are over one and a half billion Muslims in the world, so obviously there will be just as much variety of doctrine and interpretation of their holy text.

Therefore, the same "logic" that assumes that all Muslims are extremist, hate anyone outside their belief system, or are terrorists, would also assume that all Christians behave like members of the Ku Klux Klan.

Nearly every large group of people, especially religious groups, will have extremists. And for the most part the acts of these individuals don't reflect the ideals of the group as a whole. I need to remember this.

Like Communism, this program is good in theory

So today at lunch time I came up with a "timetable" for my fitness. This is the first time I've had a timetable since finishing uni, but I'm pretty excited. If I'm disciplined and follow it, it'll see the creation of Fit Brendan 2.0, hopefully seeing my fitness become more comprehensive, rather than simply cardiovascular/legs of steel fitness.

In fact, before I started running I was actually pretty involved with rock-climbing. It was an injured wrist (from skating - my injury demonstrates my skating ability) that got me into running in the first place. But now that I'm wrist-injury free, I'm pretty pumped to get climbing and gym-ing again.

According to my timetable, my weeks will look like this:

Monday - Indoor climbing

Tuesday - Morning run, yoga/pilates class at lunch

Wednesday - afternoon gym session

Thursday - Morning run

Friday - afternoon gym session and yoga/pilates class

Saturday - rest day

Sunday - Bike ride to and from church

Boom.

If I'm disciplined, I'm pretty sure I can handle it.

The only thing I'm worried about is the morning runs during winter. I'm not so concerned about running in the cold (I kinda like it) as I am about actually getting out of bed. I've been pretty much hibernating lately, sleeping more than 8 hours a night. Which means some pretty early nights if I want to be getting up early in the morning. Or I could just man up.

Envious

When I saw this post on a blog I follow, I turned slightly green. It's written by Scottish rock-climber Dave MacLeod.

If I lived in a place like this I don't think I'd ever run on roads or paths again.