Seeing as Spencer so kindly tagged me, here are 15 random facts about myself:
1. I wear glasses
2. I detest tomatoes
3. Tramping/climbing is my favourite activity
4. I don't wear fashionable clothes
5. I wear shorts 99.9% of the time
6. Sometimes I sit down and read the dictionary
7. I enjoy word puzzles
8. I have never gone to school
9. My favourite place is Aspiring National Park in the South Island (NZ)
10. I want to go white water rafting
11. Blue is my favourite colour
12. I am not a good conversationalist
13. I have only been outside New Zealand once
14. I enjoy reading
15. I am shorter than the average person
I will refrain from tagging anyone else; a) because I have nobody to tag. b) tagging is a crime in NZ
The first verse of our National Anthem is commonly sung, but the other verses of the song are largely unknown.
The poem was written by Thomas Bracken in the 1870s; the music composed by John Joseph Woods in 1876. The popularity of 'God Defend New Zealand' continued to grow throughout the 19th century and entered the 20th century as one of the most popular hymns of the period. In 1940, 'God Defend New Zealand' was pronounced as the national hymn, but it wasn't until 1977 that, with the Queen's consent, 'God Defend New Zealand' was raised to the position of national anthem and given equal status with 'God Save the Queen'.
God Defend New Zealand
God of nations at Thy feet,
In the bonds of love we meet,
Hear our voices, we entreat,
God defend our free land.
Guard Pacific's triple star,
From the shafts of strife and war,
Make her praises heard afar,
God defend New Zealand.
Men of ev'ry creed and race,
Gather here before Thy face,
Asking Thee to bless this place,
God defend our free land.
From dissension, envy, hate,
And corruption guard our State,
Make our country good and great,
God defend New Zealand.
Peace, not war, shall be our boast
But, should foes assail our coast,
Make us then a mighty host,
God defend our free land.
Lord of battles, in Thy might,
Put our enemies to flight,
Let our cause be just and right,
God defend New Zealand.
Let our love for Thee increase,
May Thy blessings never cease,
Give us plenty, give us peace,
God defend our free land.
From dishonour and from shame,
Guard our country's spotless name,
Crown her with immortal fame,
God defend New Zealand.
May our mountains ever be,
Freedom's ramparts on the sea,
Make us faithful unto thee,
God defend our free land.
Guide her in the nations' van,
Preaching love and truth to man,
Working out Thy Glorious plan,
God defend New Zealand.
Mada, you have the honour of being one of the few males your age who are homeschooled in New Zealand. According to the Ministry of Education's statistics there are only 35 others in the country.
As at July 1 this year there were a total of 6,501 homeschooled children in New Zealand. This is less than one percent of school age children. We who are privileged to belong to this number are definitely a minority.
You can see the full report here
Disclaimer: While I personally think homeschooling is good, I understand that there are others whose opinions differ from mine. This post is not intended to offend anyone. I merely posted it because I think the statistics are interesting.
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. After a good meal, they lay down for the night and went to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes awoke and nudged his faithful friend. Holmes said: "Watson, look up and tell me what you see".
Watson said: "I see a fantastic panorama of countless stars".
Holmes: "And what does that tell you?"
Watson pondered for a moment: "Astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three. Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful and that we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow."
"Why? - What does it tell you, Holmes?"
Holmes was silent for a moment then spoke: "Someone has stolen our tent."
On September 21st, 1908, a boy was born into a comfortable two-storied home in Gloucester Street, Christchurch. He was the child of a respected Christchurch lawyer, and in time would be hailed as New Zealand’s bravest son. Charles Hazlitt Upham was a shy, quiet boy who was very courteous and gentlemanly. But right from the time of his birth there was something about him. When he was little it was obstinacy; when he was older it was called perseverance and single-mindedness. Charlie would only accept authority if he could be shown that it was right.
Charles was a student at Christ’s College in Christchurch from 1923 to 1927, where he made little impression academically. He developed a love for the land, especially the great spaces of the broad sheep stations of Canterbury, where men live among the grandeur that knows few barriers save the sprawling rivers and snow-capped mountains. Charles enrolled at Canterbury Agricultural College (Lincoln College) and was soon enthralled with work. He spent six years working in the rugged terrain of Canterbury before joining the Land Valuation Department.
In 1942, Field Marshal Rommel was pressing hard on the Allies in North Africa. On June 27 the New Zealand Division found themselves on and ‘island’ in the desert of Minqar Qaim surrounded by German troops. While both sides exchanged fire, Upham ran from section to section seemingly oblivious to the danger of being hit. That night the New Zealanders charged at Rommel’s encircling troops and punched a way through the ring. Charles Upham possessed himself of a sack full of grenades which he used to destroy German transports. Although wounded by his own grenades he kept pushing through, never relenting in his onslaught. But to mention Upham is to name but one man whose exploits in the break out were dramatic. There were dozens of men whose heroism went unseen in the darkness.
The next mission for Upham was to capture Ruweisat Ridge, an important feature overlooking the battlefield of Alamein. Charles and his men fought gallantly through stiff opposition from the Germans to reach the ridge. The Allies succeeded in routing the enemy, but tragically the promised tank reinforcements never arrived. Without tank support the New Zealanders were an easy target for Rommel’s troops and were soon utterly defeated.
The prisoners were dispersed to prisoner of war camps throughout enemy territory. Upham passed through a few prison camps and made a number of escape attempts, as well as disrespecting and annoying the Germans. Naturally this led to him being transferred to Oflag IV C, a camp for troublesome prisoners – Colditz.
Liberated when the Americans captured the area, the prisoners of Colditz were shipped back to England. On 20th June 1945 Charles married his sweetheart Molly McTamney. Once back in New Zealand it was announce that for his conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty in action at Minqar Qaim and Ruweisat Ridge, Charles Upham had been awarded a second Victoria Cross. No combatant soldier had ever before attained two Victoria Crosses.
Charles always shied away from media attention, sometimes flatly refusing to talk to journalists. In 1946 he and his wife moved to Lansdowne Station in North Canterbury, fulfilling Charlie’s dream of owning a farm. He stayed on the land for 48 years and raised his three daughters. In 1994 his failing health forced him to move to Christchurch, where he died on November 22 age 86. Thus passed a brave and gallant soldier.
There is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do?
Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft.
Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours.
There is no going back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow." You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success! The clock is running. Make the most of today.
To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE-SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a Silver Medal in the Olympics.
Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time.
And remember that time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present.
Charles Darwin: 200 years from your birth, the Church of England owes you an apology for misunderstanding you and, by getting our first reaction wrong, encouraging others to misunderstand you still. We try to practice the old virtues of 'faith seeking understanding' and hope that makes some amends. But the struggle for your reputation is not over yet, and the problem is not just your religious opponents but those who falsely claim you in support of their own interests. Good religion needs to work constructively with good science – and I dare to suggest that the opposite may be true as well.
The Church of England conceded in a statement that it was over-defensive and over-emotional in dismissing Darwin's ideas. It will call "anti-evolutionary fervour" an "indictment" on the Church".
The bold move is certain to dismay sections of the Church that believe in creationism and regard Darwin's views as directly opposed to traditional Christian teaching.
The apology, which has been written by the Rev Dr Malcolm Brown, the Church's director of mission and public affairs, says that Christians, in their response to Darwin's theory of natural selection, repeated the mistakes they made in doubting Galileo's astronomy in the 17th century.
Opposition to evolutionary theories is still "a litmus test of faithfulness" for some Christian movements, the Church will admit. It will say that such attitudes owe much to a fear of perceived threats to Christianity.
