God is a DJ…

Because this week is half-term (for most) we had access to the Youth Hall and once again decided to make most of it by spending the evening thrashing around like mad things.  We started slowly with a rather lack lustre game of French cricket – but due to the lustre being lacking we thankfully didn’t experience any lasting injuries.  Then the evening progressed, along with the likelihood of injuries, and enjoyed a game of Skittle Ball.  A number of scratches and clashes later and we had a well deserved break.  During the break, seemingly randomly, we got into an interesting philosophical and ethical discussion of the rights and wrongs of abortion and “saviour siblings” – definitely one to return to at a later date.

In no way connected to anything above, but the following quotes were harvested this evening, both spoken by the same person and directed at the same person:

“do you mind, you’re in my private area”

“you sweat in some strange places”

Once we’d recovered from the physical exertion of skittle ball, and the shock of an interesting philosophical and ethical discussion, we returned to the Youth Hall for a game of Unihoc which turned out to further increase the likelihood of accident and injury.  After a number of shoulder-barges, raised sticks, slaps, bangs, collisions and almost tears, we called it a day.  Nobody died but there were a few broken nails.

During the final break we watched the following video entitled “God is a DJ“:

The video was followed by an excellent discussion about free-will and predestination, the degree to which God interferes in our lives, the possibility of God giving up on people, and the place and impact of prayer in the video and in our lives.  Please grab a cup of your favoured beverage and take 7 minutes to watch the video and see how it challenges your ideas of God.

Finally, just to help you waste make the most of the last moments of half-term here are a video and some random links for your enjoyment.

• Intrepid explorers have recently published the discovery made on their latest expedition…
• If you have a post-it note fetish, pay a visit over here for some sticky colour therapy…
• Who says the internet isn’t a useful tool for life?  Find out exactly how hard you are using an unusual unit of measure…
• Watch the video below for some excellent slow-motion video of people being punched (much more fun than it sounds)…

Next Week: Simon will be leading us in part three of our Bible Study series {see prequel, part one, part two} – please bring your Bible.

Unexpected Vibrations…

With a title like that we’re going to get all manner of visitors with unusual search terms.  On that subject, here are some of the weirdest search terms which have directed people here:

• lemon jelly
• homer simpson crotch shot
• psychodelic mushroom wallpaper
• dungate etymology
• bum cheeks
• french ferris strike 2008
• jelly bear

Anyway, enough of that, what did we get up to this week.  Well we were definitely thin on the ground this week with only three members present.  Partly due to illness which can’t be helped, partly due to exams and revision which is totally understandable, and partly due to ‘I’m not going if they’re not going’ which is always disappointing.  But we didn’t let it get us down.  Instead we turned to the projector and the PlayStation to save us from despair and spent most of the evening playing Gran Turismo 4.

We had a load of fun selecting the most inappropriate cars for the most difficult tracks, and trying to run each other off the road.  Sounds dull, but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.  We ended the evening with a tag-team endurance race where the lead changed about twice each lap, right until Ricky pulled into the pit lane by mistake – D’oh!

Warning: the following are whingey but important updates – please act on them!

Membership Fees & Hoodies: So far I’ve only received three membership fees and two hoodie orders. Please see the email and earlier post for full information – and make sure you pay up as soon as possible or we’ll be sending the heavies round!

MK Camp: As you will be aware, the date for Camp deposits is long past. If you are still wanting to go but haven’t paid your deposit (because you’re at Uni) please make sure we know you’re intending to join us. The Camp Working Group need to finalise the numbers in order to arrange transport, jobs, insurance, polo shirts, etc.

Whinge Over: but act now, or miss out big time…

Next Week: As it’s half term please come ready for an evening or active activityness in the Youth Hall…

If anyone can be bothered to make it to an Ikea breakfast some time next week, please get in touch.

So Proud Of His Brown…

This week’s update is brought to you by the letter ‘8′ and the number ‘F’…

Billed as nothing more than a chill-out evening with a possible walk, it turned out to be neither really. We were joined by Matt who has now completed his degree and is back home to sponge off his parents for a while see the family, and once again by Yolanda who we now officially welcome to the email list.

We started the evening with a mad, almost ferocious, time of catching up. We heard all about Alex’s trip to Alton Towers with a deaf friend, Steph and Yolanda’s “last” day at school, whilst Nick and Simon talked about the colour of cars {yawn}. We also heard about Matt’s economic plan for the next few months, but we can’t share that here in case his parents are reading this. The volume level was dangerously high at some points, but punctuated with laughter too.

Then we settled into a gentle game of Hue Knew which many of us were introduced to last week. Simon proved victorious (again) and Nicci a close second (how that must’ve hurt) followed by Yolanda and Steph. Then we “stole” the projector and connected up the PlayStation for a team game of Buzz. Alex and Nicci made refreshments for everyone – big thank you!! And Simon provided some of his “brown” which was moist and sticky, and perhaps even a little too sweet. The game of Buzz was a close contest and hard fought, which is a bit over the top to be honest with you ;o)

We ended with a few rounds of French Cricket which proved to be a little dangerous at times – must check the insurance ;o) As a result of the lack of accidents tonight and the fact that we didn’t attempt to break our Volleyball Keepy Uppy record, sadly we didn’t make the news. But take a look at this excellent video and see what it would be like if there was no news on the BBC’s 24 hour News channel.

Finally, it’s great to see that James has recently joined the elite group of people on Facebook. If you haven’t signed up yet, please do. If you have no idea what it’s about, take a look at the following video to get an idea:

If the video hasn’t put you off, once you’ve signed up you can join the Amicus Group.

Warning: the following are whingey but important updates – please read them, but even more importantly, act on them! Thanks…

Membership Fees & Hoodies: So far I’ve only received three membership fees and two hoodie orders. Please see the email and earlier post for full information – and make sure you pay up as soon as possible or we’ll be sending the heavies round!

MK Camp: As you will be aware, the date for Camp deposits is long past. If you are still wanting to go but haven’t paid your deposit (because you’re at Uni) please make sure we know you’re intending to join us. The Camp Working Group need to finalise the numbers in order to arrange transport, jobs, insurance, polo shirts, etc.

Whinge Over: It’s safe to proceed…

Parade Service: Don’t forget that it is a Parade Service this Sunday. Meet at the Church at 10:45.

Next Week: Add your suggestions in the comments below for what we should get up to next Wednesday.

Mr Bradley in the Multi-Media Room with the Banana Bread

One accurate indicator of a good evening at Amicus is the look on people’s faces as the evening progressing. Take a moment to click on the pictures (right and left), have a close look at the faces and see what you think. The amazing thing is that we didn’t catch Nick looking like this – although we were stunned that he turned up at all as this week we were playing board games (or “bored games” as he likes to call them).

Unusually we started with cakes and refreshments – probably too soon after dinner, but never mind. Then we started with a leisurely game of Simpsons-themed Cluedo. Not the most exciting game, especially when interspersed with the usually weekly catch-up, but it was fun nonetheless (well, almost). If nothing else, it did at least generate the following quote:

“I would like to be Krusty!” – Sarah Dungate

After much discussion, some exasperation, lots of shouts of “come on – it’s your go!” and a number of surreal conversations, we ended the game when Sarah correctly predicted that the murderer was Marge Simpson in the Frying Dutchman with the Slingshot. Woohoo!

Then we moved on to a game called Hue Knew (available from Amazon UK for just £7.99) – a really dull-sounding game which actually turned out to be pretty good fun. I now wish I’d filmed some of the rounds. In simple terms:

Hue Knew? Challenges players to resist quick answers and say a colour rather than reading a word. Be the first to find the words that are printed in the correct colour, then grab the appropriately coloured pawn.

Simon won, Flick didn’t.

Then we finished with a quick game of Pass the Pigs (available from Amazon UK for just £7.45). Full details of the game and the statistical frequency of each move is available via the hive mind of Wikipedia. Thanks t the wonders of the interweb you can of course also play online. Yeah it’s a bit naff, but what do you expect for nothing?

:: more –>

Finally, another great quote:

“Oooh – this stuff is belchy!” – Nicci Horn

Membership Fees & Hoodies: So far I’ve only received two membership fees and two hoodie orders. Please see the email and earlier post for full information – and make sure you pay up as soon as possible or we’ll be sending the heavies round!

MK Camp: As you will be aware, the date for Camp deposits is long past. If you are still wanting to go but haven’t paid your deposit (because you’re at Uni) please make sure we know you’re intending to join us.

Next Week: No formal plans – just a chill out at the Church Centre. If the weather holds up we can go for a wander and hang out with the Chavs at the park or stay in the garden for safety reasons ;o)