Saturday, December 23, 2006

Sir Bono?

Queen's knighthood for Bono

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Bono -- the Irish rock star, anti-poverty campaigner, and philanthropist -- has been awarded an honorary British knighthood, the British Embassy in Dublin said on Saturday.

"The British Embassy in Dublin takes great pleasure in announcing that Her Majesty The Queen has appointed Bono to be an honorary Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in recognition of his services to the music industry and for his humanitarian work," according to an embassy news release.

The British ambassador to Ireland, David Reddaway, is to give Bono -- a member of the rock group U2 -- an "insignia of this honorary award" after New Year's in a ceremony in the Irish capital.

The embassy pointed out that titles such as "Sir" or "Dame" do not come with such honorary awards, "conferred on citizens of countries of which The Queen is not Head of State."

Bono is an Irish citizen. Bob Geldof, the Irish rock star who organized the Live Aid concerts, got the same award in 1986.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the award is well-deserved for Bono's "remarkable" humanitarian work and for his "outstanding contribution" to music with U2.

"I'll leave it to others far more knowledgeable than me to talk about U2's music. All I'll say is that, along with millions of others right across the world, I am a huge fan.

"But I feel a little more qualified to talk about your personal commitment to tackling global poverty and, in particular, to Africa," Blair said in a letter to Bono posted on the prime minister's office Web site.

"I want personally to thank you for the invaluable role you played in the run up to the Gleneagles G8 Summit.

"Without your personal contribution, we could not have achieved the results we did. So thank you and I look forward to continuing to work together to maintain momentum on Africa, and ensure leaders around the world meet the promises they have made."

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Sunday, December 17, 2006

Some Christmas Spirit



If this doesn't put you in the spirit, I don't know what will.

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Monday, December 04, 2006

Top 20 Christian Books

I read someone's blog the other day where they listed their top 20 favorite Christian books. It got me thinking, what have I read and what do I still need to read. Here's my top 20 list, in no particular order.

Velvet Elvis - Rob Bell
The Barbarian Way - Erwin McManus
Uprising – Erwin McManus
What’s So Amazing about Grace? – Philip Yancey
Reaching for the Invisible God – Philip Yancey
The Jesus I Never Knew – Philip Yancey
Bono: In Conversation with Michka Assayas
Wild at Heart - John Eldredge
Making Life Work - Bill Hybels
Mere Christianity – C. S. Lewis
The Message – Eugene Peterson
Experiencing God – Henry Blackaby
Victory Over the Darkness – Neil T. Anderson
Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire – Jim Cymbala
Rebel with a Cause – Franklin Graham
Spiritual Leadership – Bill Hybels
Hand Me Another Brick - Charles Swindoll
A New Kind of Christian - Brian McLaren
In the Eye of the Storm – Max Lucado
Boundaries – Dr. Henry Cloud

Would any of these books be on your list? What am I missing?

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Saturday, December 02, 2006

From Quinpool to Venice and back

This Saturday's post is a journey. Hope you brought your passport.
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The show 24 rocks. I started watching it at the start of Season 3, when one of my roommates at the time agreed to explain it. 24 is a tough show to get into in the middle. If you've never seen it and are curious, go to your local video store, like Video Difference on Quinpool, and rent Season 1. I've got it if you want to borrow it.

A few years ago we used to have a party at the house (Bergman's house) every Monday night. With everyone moving in their own direction, that changed to watching it at the Monette's house (once I got them hooked). I'm really looking forward to mid-January when Season 6 starts. Here's the preview.

Any other 24 fans out there?
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Sasha and I were watching the new Bond movie, Casino Royale, last night. I enjoyed the movie with its many twists and turns.

There was an unexpected surprise near the end with some great scene shots of Venice. I love Venice. What a beautiful city on a sunny day.

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Reader Poll:
Do you watch 24?
Have you seen Casino Royale?
Have you been to Venice?

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Recommended Read: Malcolm Gladwell - What the Dog Saw

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