Natalie Postman

trotted along to see V for Vendetta tonight with some friends, this was probably the most spectacular film I have seen this year, Its only down fall was the product placement by JVC. But I soon got over this as I had the pleasure of seeing Natalie Postman (That's how my spell checker corrected my spelling of Portman) on the big screen. I wont give anything away regarding the plot as I highly recommend you all to see it. Out of ten I would give it 8,

He who awaits much can expect little.
-- Gabriel Garcia Marquez

goose flesh

It is so bloody chilly tonight! I am so cold Im wearing my so called Rupert bare scarf, beanie and sweat band haven't up graded up to trousers yet still in my shorts but we will see.
found a cool looking snow flake maker havent tried it yet as it dosent work on the Mac and its probably got loads of viruses as its from Russia. Ill let you guys be the gunnie pigs.
any way of to my cosy bed

Anybody remotely interesting is mad, in some way or another.

Doctor Who

Explosive Bath

Candida is down for the week looking for a house to rent as shes sick of Tauranga. Last night Candida, f4tty, Steve and I went to some IT geek thing and drank lots of free beer which was a bit too much for a Monday night! Chilling tonight, Candida spoilt me with a bath bomb from Lush (a BIG BLUE Bath Ballistic if your ever thinking of something to buy me) it was great! the bath looked like some one had put some harpic toilet cleaner in it with a more pleasant smell. not much else happening tonight just lots of rough weather outside and its so dam COLD! brrrrrrrr

We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are.
Anais Nin (1903 - 1977)

Little Ruthy

My Little Big Sister Ruth died this day 27 years ago, she had Downs Syndrome and Spina Bifida which is a very rear combination. I never got to meet this little beauty as she died a couple of months before I was born, I find it amazing how Ruth effected my life especial with courier working with in the disability sector. Here's to you Ruth Louise Mackie and all the people you touched. Love Jonathan xx your little Bro

Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.
-- Semisonic, Closing Time

Italian kai

Started the day off with brunch at The Maranui Surf Club Cafe , then followed with a stroal around the Italian Food Festavil down by the water front in Wellington, didnt try much food but did purchase some Italian beer and got some free Vespa mints :-) the guy at the Vespa stand knew my scooter as its pretty famous around Wellington for its high mileage, 16,931 K's so far since I got it new last April. Also fixed my cuckoo clock which is been out of action for the last 2 years, so its happily tick tocking away with the occasional cuckoo. Just spending the afternoon chillaxing listening to some lazy fat dub on Radio Active

In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed - but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock. So long, Holly.
- Orson Welles as Harry Lime, The Third Man

Desk top blues

My dad just sent me this link (very cool) Desk Top Blues Click where it tells you click when ready to to make it work.
A very lazy day indeed today, I bought 2 new fish for my tank (silver dollars) and lay on my bed doodling into my sketch book listening to some old vinyl which i got from some second hand shop for a dollar each, who needs mp3s!

The covers of this book are too far apart.
-- Ambrose Bierce

pics from the vermin party

A pretty fine, party lots of drunk Goths. Having a lazy Saturday, probably bye some fish for my tank or plants. Got another party to go to tonight but i don't think I can be assed.

Rat party

Djing at a friends place tonight as they are celebrating the fact that they are moving out of their rat infested flat. should be good. Deidre my vespa disappointed me again, not having much luck with her lately, she lost her 1st gear so I took her back to Motorad and they fixed her up for free as they "i guess" didn't tighten the bolts properly, ill go somewhere else next time, as this is the second time i have found dodgy bolts.

I love deadlines. I especially like the whooshing sound they make as they go flying by.
-- Douglas Adams

Thursday's child has far to go.

Not alot to report on today, we had pizza at work, only 3 of us in the office for lunch. chatted on the phone for a while tonight and listened to some Stevie Wonder. Heading of to bed soon to read a book on motorcycle touring around New Zealand, as I am thinking of doing some road trips around the South Island over the next few months.

Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a teardrop.
-- Anonymous

mr fish

finally got my Vespa back this afternoon after a week and a half. Any way I was reading a Capital Times article about redicules websites and www.ratemyfishtank.com was one of them which has motavated me to give my fish tank a spring clean and post a pic on line to see what sort of rating it would get. (not much!) not much to report on today just that Autumn has well and truly set in :-(

One survey found that ten percent of Americans thought Joan of Arc was Noah's wife....
-- Robert Boynton

9735 days 9hr 16min 34 sec

That's how old I am. doesn't really sound that old. Well not much on today just work and a quick look around the library in the city didn't get any thing out. then had some sushi in town, still haven't found a good sushi joint like Cafe Hanna in Whangarei, Hope its still there??? just spending the evening doing all the jobs i should of done this weekend if I hadn't got distracted ;-) and chilling to some groovy music, currently some Recloose

Life is a sexually transmitted terminal disease.
-- Colin Greene

DJ Spooky

This was a great gig-performance, very thought provoking. The only down fall was there was a lot of reading involved for a dyslexic kid, as he used and old silent film about American racial identity which he mixed up the score in with hip hop, blues and string arraignments but i managed to keep up. I thought of instead of writing a review, Ill past the blurb about the show. another thing Dj spooky has the longest fingers I have ever seen!

Renowned New York-based musician, conceptual artist and writer, Paul D Miller is otherwise known as DJ Spooky That Subliminal Kid. He is bringing his latest full-scale, multimedia performance project Rebirth of a Nation, which has been touring to great acclaim globally, to the Festival for two exclusive performances.

At the forefront of using technology to remix art and culture, the 35-year-old has taken his talents for remixing sound and music and applied them to the medium of film. Taking D W Griffith's infamous 1915 silent film The Birth of a Nation, he remixes it, fusing new and found footage (for example, graceful images of dancers from the Bill T Jones/Arnie Zane Dance company which contrast beautifully with the rigid body language of G's actors), with an original soundtrack of strings, hip-hop and the blues of Robert Johnson. The remixing of audio and footage is live, Miller controls the electronic , music and video , turntable and the visual remix is projected onto three giant screens.

“The whole idea is to break the film apart … Griffith was one of the masters of editing. So I was re-editing his edit,” says DJ Spooky. “The fun part about it is, it's live. The scary part is if the computer crashes.”

Carla van Zon, the Festival's Artistic Director, says: “I met Paul in New York City last month. His multimedia show really makes you question if we ever really do learn from history or if it in fact history repeats itself.”

Griffith's film was groundbreaking in the early days of cinema. His visionary use of editing - cutting between scenes to show parallel action - use of close-ups and night cinematography earned him his place in history. Griffith is hailed as Hollywood's first great artistic director, whose pioneering filmmaking spawned a new art form.
However, the film based on the 1905 novel The Clansman is unabashedly racist. It portrayed Ku Klux Klansmen as heroes, and blacks as violent and ruthless villains in the post-Civil War South. Until the mid ‘60s, the epic film was used as a propaganda film for the KKK whose national membership peaked in 1920 to an estimated 4.5 million. The film did have a huge backlash with riots erupting outside venues screening the film, injunctions were sought and it was ultimately banned in eight states.

“The film changed American racial identity. All of a sudden, it is saying, ‘Look, this is what black people are like.' It set the whole tone,” says DJ Spooky.

In Rebirth of a Nation, Spooky uses the film as a springboard to create new social commentary, revealing how the original film's symbols and myths endure today.

“… the paradox of his [Griffith's] cultural stance versus the technical expertise that he brought to film is still mirrored in Hollywood to this day,” says DJ Spooky.
Further information on Paul D Miller
Musically, DJ Spooky has recorded eight albums (his latest is called Death of Drums) and has collaborated with a wide range of musicians and composers, including Yoko Ono, Pierre Boulez, Killa Priest from Wu-Tang Clan and Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore. By no means confined to the club scene, Miller has performed at music festivals globally and has even performed under the Louvre's glass pyramid and a Versace fashion show in Milan. He also composed and recorded the music score for the Cannes and Sundance Award winning film Slam, starring critically acclaimed poet Saul Williams.

As a media artist, his installations have appeared in a wide variety of contexts such as the Whitney Biennial; The Venice Biennial for Architecture (year 2000); the Ludwig Museum in Cologne, Germany; Kunsthalle, Vienna; The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh and many other museums and galleries.

DJ Spooky is also a widely published writer whose articles have appeared in The Village Voice, The Source, Artforum, Raygun, Paper Magazine and in 2004 he released his first book, Rhythm Science, published by MIT Press, which is a collection of selected essays. He also started http://www.21cmagazine.com. He has given numerous talks at prominent universities and teaches music mediated art at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland where he co-teaches an Intensive Summer Seminar.

In two startling performances of Rebirth of a Nation, sponsored by Clemenger BBDO, DJ Spooky will push the boundaries of content and technique, reminding audiences that those who forget the past are doomed to reboot it.

The Hangover

Well I awoke with the hangover from Hell today, partied till 6am and got out of bed at 9, stumbled back to Kiffs where the party was that night and then we meandered of to the Waitangi park to watch Fat Freddies Drop play, so of course I danced every little energy cell I had left. I also manage to score 2 free tickets to see DJ Spooky tonight which i really wanted see (saves me $120). Anyway just a few censored photos from the party last-night :-)

Every flower must grow through dirt.
-- Anonymous

party stuff

Well my little Vespa is still getting fixed and wont be done till Monday afternoon. Ill have no wheels all weekend, which is a bit of a bugger because the scoot club I'm in meets up on Saturday. Not much planed at all this weekend just a party tonight, a friends sister is back from teaching English in Japan. Should be fun as her leaving party was good.
I have the urge to drop in on family but no ones around :-( all so far away. Oh never mind Ill get over it...
Well the photo is of my 4th birthday, the only party type photo I could find.

You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses.
-- Ziggy, character in comic strip by Tom Wilson

Christchurch

Had a wonderful and joyful time in Christchurch. Probaly the best bits were in the evening involving many glasses of wine and workmates. Didn't actually get into the city or casino as we hoped. Home now just settling down and catching up on sleep.

Laugh and the world laughs with you. Snore and you sleep alone.
-- Anthony Burgess

science experiments and a beautiful creature

Long trip home today, still no Vespa :-( not much on today just work and packing cloths for a work trip to Christchurch tomorrow. cleaned out our flat fridge as we have had some science experiments growing for the last few weeks. Thought ill put a pic of Natalie on my blog to cast some sun shine on my dreary day :-)

The grass may be greener on the other side of the fence, but you still have to mow it.
-- Anonymous

Monday

Had the day of work today to spend some time with Robert as he flys back home tomorrow, Basically the day consisted of walking, eating, drinking a few beers and a games of pool. pretty bugged now. tomorrow will be an early start as Ill have to use public transport to get to work which might take 1.5hrs to get to work compared to the 30min trip on the scooter :-(

Experience is the name every one gives his mistakes.
-- Elbert Hubbard

sore heads today

Well it was a very interesting night last night....... We had plenty to drink, one having a little more than the other. Well I spent the day as Robert spent the day asleep on the couch, going shopping in the Hutt with ring a ding Rose and Gorman. I got back then shouted Robert out for his birthday tea, then we walked back to Island Bay and took some picks of some of the Graffiti around Wellington (Pictured). Looks like Ill be doing a lot of walking this week due to the vespa misshape yesterday. Having a lazy night watching repeats of Top Gear and some films

The hard part about being a bartender is figuring out who is drunk and who is just stupid.
-- Richard Braunstein

my vespa has faild me :-(

I was going for a Saturday ride with my mate Robert today for his 30th birthday around Seaton and then out of the blue my clutch cable broke whiles in 4th gear on my vespa. I managed to make it to Island bay chugging along, at one time I had to ride on the foot part to avoid stopped traffic as if I stopped there was no way of starting again, it was amusing but sad at the same time. I dropped the vespa at a scooter buddies house were it will have to stay till Monday :-( its probably going to be expensive to fix :-( all sad now, Robert and I are now Drowning our sorrows with some Bennett's Beer then off to watch some free moves at Rialto.

Some ones turning 30

One of my best mates Robert, who is pictured behind the really ugly knitted bikini. Is turning 30 this weekend! He's flown up from Dunedin for 3 days so we can hang out and get up to mischief, don't know what yet but I'm sure it will be posted here over the next few days. Picking him up on my Vespa tonight form the airport (hes never been on the back of a bike before heheh)

ok a dumb quote, as i forgot to put this up earlier (I was rushing to get to work)

Things are more like they are now than they ever were before.
-- Dwight D. Eisenhower, U.S. President

Hail, Thunder and a realy old cool car.

Well, I was rudely woken by the sound of hail this morning and a few claps of thunder which made Wellington look is if some one had split open a really big bean bag all over the place. The airport was closed for a little while and there was still evidence of hail stones on lawns at lunch.
I had a little hiccup at a petrol station today as i had filled up my scooter with fuel then realising that my wallet was in my other jacket, Duh... I had to leave my watch with the attendant and called back to work to borrow some cash of a work-mate (Thanks) then returned with the dosh so I could get my watch back.
Just found this the worlds first gas turbine powered car on the net which happened on this day in 1950. This is proof that old tech is cool!
1950: Gas turbine car gets road test

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.
Philip K. Dick

Aghhhhhhh

Aghhhh I need to do something but I have no idea what!??? A couple of weeks ago I was going to join some night school classes but got distracted by a women so never enrolled, and now all of the courses have started so I'm too late. I was going to join a wine appreciation course. Just think of the challenges of ridding my Vespa home after a evening of wine testing......
Went to the city library after work today and got some books out. One on motorbike trips around NZ, one on scooters and the third on classic synthesisers. I went in to the library hoping to find a c.d. with Ravel by the Borodin String Quartet. but couldn't find it. the library is a great place for obscure music tastes :-) Oh and Im going to be in the Radio Active Lawn Bowls tournament on 1 April, a few friends and I have put together a team. should be a fun day; cheap drinks, birds and DJ's.

People with bad consciences always fear the judgement of children.

Mary McCarthy

Tuesday..

Started the day with 4 weetbix then walked to work which was a 70 min walk, f4tty walked half way then headed home. On the way we found a lost puppy on the beach so we rang its not so distressed owner who apparently was just about to hop in the shower and wasn't aware that it was lost. The pup was sort of like my old dog Meka who I left in Whangarei when I moved down to Wellington (pictured) miss her heaps! We did every thing together; Sunday drives, kayaking, mountain biking and even going to the pub, she was good at getting me home at closing time ;-)
Anyway looks like i might have some little visitors one day soon, Layla and Sven (boy in picture) who are my X's kids who I was a step dad to for 5 years might be making a trip to Wellington one weekend Sven and the next Layla. They will fly down from Whangarei I guess, should be heaps of fun since they haven't been down to Wellington before. I will have to get a kids helmet for the scooter :-)
Not much on tonight just movies and food (Hot Dogs) :-)

I am always doing that which I can not do, in order that I may learn how to do it.

Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)

Cassettes rule!

In this age where every one walks down the street listening to there Ipods in there own little audio bubbles, we tend to forget that it wasn't that long ago that we spent 90min compiling audio tapes with our favourite tracks form either CD or vinyl. I have just recently got out my huge collection of audio tapes and my old Onkyo Cassette deck and surprisingly they sound good, this one was a pretty expensive one at the time and with all the setting right and as long as if the tape was originally recorded with Dolby settings it sounds great! wish i still had my old Walkman with the radio built in as that would be equivalent to pod-casts :-)
Some cool cassette links
Wikipedia -Audio Cassette
Cassette Forum

Phone call from out of the blue

My mobile phone rang at work today which doesn't often happen nearly answered "Welcome to .... how can I help you" it turned out to be an old friend who I haven't really talked too for 18 months, had a good chat. that was pretty much the highlight of my day. It was good being back in the office with my work mates. I spend a lot of the time out of the office tutoring around the Wellington area.
Just having a lazy evening, reading books on scooters, listening to music and tonight I WILL make Alfredo Chicken pasta!

*NEW* Thought Ill post a quote every day :-) and today's quote is......

It's amazing that the amount of news that happens in the world every day always just exactly fits the newspaper.

Jerry Seinfeld (1954 - )

Newtown Festavile

Spent most of my lunch eating at different stalls at the Newtown Festival today, a great mix of food from all over the world. couldn't say much for the other stalls there were around 150 but were basically selling bead jewellery, baby clothes or T-shirts, one did sell old toy cars and some antique coke cans. Might go for a long walk this afternoon or a little Vespa ride out to Eastbourne. not much on tonight might try and cook something.

First snow of the year

This picture is taken from my room which outlooks the sea and the South Island. I have no idea what those snow capped mountains are called but there near Blenheim. Off to the Newtown Festival so Ill take some picks should be good.

missed the scoot rally :-(

Well I didn't make it to the meeting place at 6am for the NZ scoot rally, too bugged and the weather is real shit (gale force winds and rain) I wasn't too sure where I was going to sleep tonight, probably in a field.
Last night however was an interesting night, I put in a lot of effort in getting all my gear to my mates pace for DJing at his crew party and it all ended at 11, so it was a bit of a mission. I played a laid back set to start of with then after Dave showed his film to the crew I played some Drum and Bass then I got lazy and put on my Ipod. couple of my mates had gone to a bar to see a Clash cover band so I went to go and join them. It was a good gig, one were ear plugs were a must! At one stage of the gig i feel asleep on one of the couches and had some bar staff trying to wake me as if I was drunk. After the gig had finished we went back to were the crew party had been and packed out all my gear and then drove home. Not much planed today as the weather is shit. Some of the walls in our house flex an inch in the winds which is pretty scary.

Its going to be a real long day......

I was going to originally get up and go for a walk this morning at 6am with f4tty, but once again it way to windy so i slept in till 7:30. work today tutoring out in Lyall Bay, then of home to get my wheels of steal, records and monster sound system (which will probably be in the hands of sound control later) to David's Crew party. I dont now how Im going to get all of this stuff on my little Vespa? we will see, I also have to get it all back as first thing on Saturday (6am) I have to meet my Scooter buddies so we can travel in a little swarm up to the scoot rally which is a 3 hour ride away (3 tanks away) So wish me luck!

A night doing house work or probably nothing

Well I worked late tonight till 6:30pm and since Im in that kind of a mood i think will do some house work but since Im writing this sitting in my nice comfy leather chair i think ill watch some trash realty TV and blob instead.

Scoot Night

Well it was scoot night tonight, we all meet in force at Fidels. We all meet up talked scooter talk, then hoon around Wellington at night pulling Wheelies and burnout's and stuff, all very fun. this weekend is the NZ national scooter rally which is in Palmerston North so a group of us will be heading up to that on Saturday morning which means most of Friday night will be spent polishing my Vesper's Chrome. Also on Friday night im suposed to be DJaing at a friends crew party so it looks like i won't have much rest over the weekend :-(