My New Baby!

Not only did I get to see loads of young people make decisions to impact their schools, and take in some of the best scenery in North America, but I came away from Canada with a brand-spanking new skateboard, thanks to Ryan & Arash.

5 Books Well Worth Reading

Lately I´ve been reading a lot of books and the topic of literature seems to be coming up in a lot of conversation, leading to requests for tips and a fair few vacant slots on my bookshelf. I thought I´d reminisce and write a few reviews starting with 5 classics that had an impact on me during my first 25 years.

Here goes:

Once in a while a book comes along that just completely changes your priorities. No Compromise is one of those books. From the brutal honesty of Keith´s lyrics & the passion of his poetry to the conviction backing his actions & the heart-wrenching circumstances surrounding his tragic death, Melody Green manages to do justice to a man who made more impact on the Christian world in 7 years than most do in a lifetime. Keith´s honesty, zeal, sensitivity & sacrificial living will for ever be an example to us all.

A lot can be said about Saint John Cassian and his works speak for themselves. The most famous compilation of his writings in English goes under the name The Conferences, often reserved for somewhat seasoned theologians and those willing to tackle so-called "heavier" Christian literature. More accessible books compiling shorter excerpts of Cassian´s writings such as "Det rena hjärtat" are available in Swedish and other languages. What strikes me is the relevance of the insights of a Scythian Monk and Desert Father born 1600 years before me in a completely different time, tradition, country and culture. This book was one of my earlier discoveries in the field of ancient Christian literature and is definitely worth a read.

Bruce Olson is a living legend and a master of meaningful mission. Having left the security of the States for the hostility and loneliness of life in the Colombian jungle with the Motilone indians, Bruce endured pretty much every obstacle imaginable from cannibals and shooting incidents to life-threatening illness and a 7-year wait before being able to share his faith. Bruce is a lingual genius and humanitarian, an adventurer and a hero; not to mention one of the most successful modern-day missionaries on the face of the earth. This book is a mus for anyone attempting to convey the Christian message in a foreign culture.

What can I say? This book needs no introduction and with the impending release of the 2-part take on the book directed by Peter Jackson, I´m sure it will find it´s way back to bestseller shelves all over the world. At the age of 12, this was my first introduction to the fantasy-filled world of fiction founded by the likes of literary fathers and Ex-Inklings Tolkien and Lewis, and it will always be my favourite.




This book was first given to me in 1998 by an former drug addict and jailbird called Börje, who had made it his mission to put this book in the hands of as many people as possible before his lungs gave way and his life came to an end at the age of 63. At the time I had no idea that it was one of the most important devotional books written in modern times and that it would turn up all over the place over the decade to follow. My Utmost for His Highest is not for the faint-hearted, containing some of the sharpest Christian teaching and most concise yet constructive devotionals I´ve ever read. Tack Börje, and rest in peace.

Ekman on Blog!

At long last Ulf Ekman has joined the blogosphere! www.ulfekman.nu

Rise Worldwide

I just got back from doing a couple of sessions at Momentum in Solihull today and came away content having had good talks with lots of good people all doing good things. One couple running a clothing company have come all the way from New Zealand to London to South Birmingham to set up their branding and design company, and also run Rise Worldwide on the side. Check them out at www.rise-worldwide.com

R.I.P. Jason Rae

Jason Rae of the Leeds-based funk band Haggis Horns was found dead last week at the mere age of 32, leaving behind his world-famous 29-year old singer wife Corinne Bailey Rae. Life is precious and it´s sad to see young talent pass so early whatever the circumstances. Rest in peace.

Planetshakers Confirmed for One 08 London

As of today the Planetshakers Band are confirmed for One 08 London, to be held in the ECC theatre in Ealing, London this October. Check out the band´s latest album on iTunes or click your way to their site here

The One poster is also hot off the press thanks to David at NG Studios, Sweden. Well done, son!

More info coming soon at www.one08london.com

On the Road UK

Johnny Rosewall´s latest contribution to the New Generation video archive! Check this one out and pass it around.

NGUK Launches Brand New Website

NGUK´s proud to announce that the long-awaited-updated-revamped-and-renovated version of www.newgeneration.co.uk has now arrived. With regular updates and news and video right on the first page we´re hoping it´ll keep the visitors coming and get the message out to even more young people across the globe. Check it out and send us your feedback at info@newgeneration.co.uk

Tune In to iTunes

Tune in to NGTV´s podcast every week on iTunes, and tell your friends so we can raise the ratings. For those of you who prefer YouTube, you´ll find us under the NGUK channel where we post all our Word of the Weeks and new videos.

Website of the Week

Nothing like a nice pair of jorts! The only question...when will these babies be coming back?!
www.jorts.com

Immaculate Renovations

Though I can´t say I´m completely happy with the number of church converts (no, not converts to church, but converted churches!) I´ve been seeing lately, the creativity put into some of them provides at least some consolation. To see for yourself, check out coolhunter.net right here

I´m Not There

I´m Not There is a complex and creatively daring take on the life of one of America´s favourite icons, one that truly has to be seen to be believed.

If you enjoyed Hollywood´s take on friend and fellow icon Johnny Cash just a couple of years ago in the highly acclaimed Walk the Line, you´ll love I´m Not There. Seeing Joaquin Phoenix team up with Reese Witherspoon to not only tackle the mammoth challenge of portraying the infamous John and June on the screen, but even overcoming a complete lack of musical training to do their own take on the couple´s songs, was unique and almost eery. Not to mention them even replacing the originals on the movie´s soundtrack. This type of bravado was more or less unprecedented in the world of musical biographies, and it surely crossed more than one mind that any attempt at doing justice to the diversity and complexity that is Bob Dylan would require a similar if not even braver tactic.

In I´m Not There the music is left more or less intact, to the majority of viewers´great relief. Instead the swap takes place in the form of the subject´s name, skin colour and even gender. As if having 6 different actors portray the legend wasn´t enough of a challenge, it was decided that a black boy and Australian actress Cate Blanchett would be doing two of the predominant impersonations. Whilst women playing men and vice versa may not be a new thing – most of us remember similar attempts by the likes of Robin Williams, Eddie Murphy and Dustin Hoffman – this time around the casters aren´t just toying with some fictional character whose first and last appearance in the public eye is in the movie itself, but portraying a real-life figure, celebrity and to some, idol, and a pretty well-known one at that!

After mixed reviews on Scorsese´s take on Dylan a couple of years ago with docu-film No Direction Home, this one comes from a completely different angle. And this time around not only have the reviews been good, but the award nominations have been rolling in too, with Cate picking up best supporting actress (or should that be actor?!) at the Golden Globes. Curiosity has gotten the better of many a non-Dylan-fan and the takings at the box office have been better than many expected. Although both abstract, surreal and outright off the wall in parts, it´s hard to find fault in this complicated account of one of the most elusive performers and “celebrities” alive, and the movie just underlines the widely upheld fact that Mr. Zimmerman is indeed one of the best poet/songwriters that ever lived.

Personally, I saw the whole experience as 2 hours and 15 minutes well spent, and what better place to catch a flick like this than at Birmingham´s one and only Electric Theatre? Not only is it the oldest running theatre in the country and sole surviving independent theatre in a city which was once home to over 100, but the place boasts everything from comfortable couches and in-theatre waiter service to beautiful art deco décor and all the trimmings one would expect from a place with that amount of history. Well done Todd Haynes for having the guts to take the challenge, and more importantly, well done Bob for providing us all with such a rare specimen of character and genius.

Flying Kiwis and the Tape of Love

I couldn´t help myself! This one´s for you Arash.

Sara Back on P3

Yes, she´s done it again. The lady´s back on national radio for another dose of travel trivia and some live sound bytes from somewhere across the ocean. To check it out, click here

P.S. It´s in Swedish. Sorry anglos!

Guerilla Marketing Gone Too Far?

Watch www.mintshot.com´s Marc Ellis hijack Auckland´s Rangitoto Island for some explosive early morning publicity! Hehe.

Newfound friends in NZ

After battling it out on volcanic island Rangitoto and hitting Waiheke Island without a local to show us the best spots, Greg and Loretta from City Impact Church Auckland made sure we saw everything that was left to be seen. With trips to all the nicest beaches, volcanoes, eateries and even a ripping luge park, we were left loving Auckland like never before and almost wanting to skip Sydney for another few days just to catch some more of the place.


One of the highlights was spending Sunday night and some of Monday in the coolest church in the city. A brand new complex and 2000-seater auditorium with one of the nicest interiors I´ve seen, 95 percent of the place was built by the church members themselves, occupying every Saturday for 2 whole years! That´s what I call a church.

Thanks Greg and Loretta and thanks to NZ for having us.

P3 Planet This Saturday!

Now on the other side of the world, we've checked in to a beautiful old house by Auckland's biggest park and we're spending most of our time catching rays whilst trying to choose whether to hit some volcanoes or take a ferry to Waiheke Island tomorrow...life's rough!

To add to our joy, we just got the news that Sara's been chosen for this Saturday's P3 PLanet on Sveriges Radio. Hopefully the first of many, her slot will be sometime between 6 and 7pm, so tune in all you Swedish speakers and show some support for the lovely lady and help us peak the polls in hope of some more shows as the globetrotting continues.

We're missing you all back home, so drop us a line and let us know what's going on. We'll try to keep you posted with some pics from our first two stops as soon as we get some wireless and don't have to wrestle with an old PC at the downtown internet cafe!

God bless.

Does LA really belong to the USA?!

21 years later and I´m finally back in LA, and the first thing that hit me was some serious dejavu from trips to Latin America. We bought "boletos" for the train, got "billetes" from the ATM, and went for burritos at the Mexican diner, before heading past the "lavanderia" and the "supermercado" on our way home. Get rid of Hollywood Boulevard and it´s stars and you could just as well be in Panama City or somewhere in Mexico.

But then there was the part where we headed towards the China Theatre where we stumbled across Will Smith holding a speech about his plans to change the world with the help of Hollywood movies and we realised we definitely weren´t anywhere other than the U S of A! Moving on from his anecdotes about meetings with Mandela and the human spirit we found ourselves in a store off the Boulevard where we bumped into two of our flight attendants from Virgin Atlantic the day before, who turned out to be Brummies living just down the road from our flat in Moseley. Small world.

After strolling down Sunset Blvd, checking out some chic in Los Feliz and going for dinner with some friends on Melrose Ave., we head back to the North Hollywood hostel. Run by a Russian Jew with a big appetite for conversation, the place turns our to be home to an out-of-work Ukrainian, a Russian cleaner, a lost Israeli, and a Latvian on probation. Between these guys, clans of Latinos and the boys from Birmingham, we´re still in search of the stereotype American. Today´s destination: Santa Monica Beach.

To be continued...

Round the World

Just a day and a half to go and we´re round-the-worlding! With 7 countries and 3 continents on the list and Sara´s brother and sister´s family heading for Bolivia at the same time, there´s lots coming up for the GómezHawkes clan.

Stay tuned here for pics and updates, and for more from the Gómezfamily, check out www.lafamilia.be

What Would Jesus Buy?

Some call it blasphemous, others just love it. Either way this movie promises to be a real thought-provoker, just like its predecessor Supersize Me. Having listened to a Morgan Spurlock interview on the Relevant podcast, all I can say is that it sounds like rocks crying out...

To listen to the interview check our the Relevant podcast on iTunes or find it in the archive at www.relevantmagazine.com