the kava bowl

hold your head high

2011-11-29T19:12:00.000+13:00

I've made a lot of choices
Most have not been wise
But I have some really good friends
I've been fortunate to find
They get me through the lonely days
When I want to stay inside myself
They get me out of my shell
Out into the world

I am coming back, I'm coming back again
I had lost everything and then I got it back again
I dug myself so deep, deep into a hole
Then getting out was so far beyond my control

In the past I've always had trouble on my mind
I'm gonna take that feeling and leave it far behind
As I go down this path traveling through my fate
Lately I have begun to awake

It all started out in Jackson and we moved across the land
And all the dehydration turned the soil into sand
And then one day they hauled me away
And I was out there, out on my own

The thieves, they came and went
They took everything in sight
And then we got it back again
Oh, I had to fight

And I, then I woke up from the middle of the strangest dream
And everyone was there that I ever knew and they all began to sing
Hold you head high, just as high as you can
Things will work out soon, things will come round again
You see I've got this fascination with all the wrong ways to go
I get lost even in the places that I know

Hold your head high, just as high as you can
Things will work out soon, things will come round again
Hold your head high, just as high as you can
Things will work out soon, things will come round again

random picture show

2011-11-07T23:28:00.001+13:00

just some photographs that have tickled me lately...

soul

2011-09-24T04:12:00.000+12:00

i love this clip. rob machado carves while band of horses do their thing and amplify the view.

atmospheric fairground

2011-09-06T05:29:00.000+12:00

for fleeting moments you hang,
all charcoal and fire.

you remind me to be...

like a floating wisp,
a calligrapher's light touch.
something lies behind and beyond,
the still beauty of me.

act two shows me more.
orbital brilliance.

a shotgun blasts into blackness.
white gems above your stage.

how deep do we go?

photo: golden bay, new zealand. january 2010.

time lapses fucking rule

2011-08-10T06:51:00.004+12:00

For a period of 365 days I'd like to perceive our world this way.

LA Light from Colin Rich.

Manhattan in motion from Mindrelic.

Night Sky from Colin Rich.

444

2011-07-15T00:01:00.007+12:00

I have a recurring relationship with the number 444.

Generally, I encounter the three digits in the context of time - either 4:44pm or 4:44am. But this combination also often reveals itself in other formats that bring the three 4s mysteriously together.

Today I've been thinking about Bon Iver, Blood Bank alot. When I'm obsessing over a particular song I'll often lose myself in the YouTube matrix, sifting through performances at different venues, photo montages, user created videos etc.

This live version of Blood Bank was easily my favourite. Length of video? 4m 44s.

Update 1: OK, as soon as I embedded the video into this blog post it changed from 4:44 to 4:45. Some things can't be explained.

Update 2: No. 4 to one side, this is a lyrical and musical masterpiece.

new york's finest

2011-07-14T02:37:00.003+12:00

Les Savy Fav - total nutters and tight punked out tunes.

Quiet

2011-07-11T22:59:00.009+12:00

This Will Destroy You are a binaural trip; it's easy to get lost with them in the night sky.

Welcome to web design hell

2011-02-27T19:49:00.004+13:00

This is brilliant.

No one does observational humour quite like The Oatmeal.

When you're this Close Up, it looks ugly

2011-02-24T22:28:00.011+13:00

I've got to question the role of our state broadcaster, Television New Zealand.

The day following Waitangi Day, I watched a story on Close Up of a dispute between local Iwi and land owners about Maungatautari Sanctuary.

Before the story even starts, it's fair to assume that it was always going to be a dispute of a complex nature. When it comes to disagreement over land ownership, is there any other kind?

And here lies my point.

What is Close Up possibly hoping to achieve in devoting just 12 minutes to a story that actually warrants an hour-long documentary in order to inform their audience with a fair perspective on the facts and opinions from both sides?

It pissed me off. Lots.

Surely all this ordinary piece of journalism does is agitate negative misconceptions and racist attitudes. Is this in line with the TVNZ Charter?

It's the sort of crappy sensationalised piece that Close Up execs know will rate well and watch well in the heartland of New Zealand.

Our state broadcaster needs to take a far more responsible role in informing and educating New Zealanders about land and race issues than this throwaway segment aired the day after Waitangi Day.

Clever twitter crack up

2011-02-11T11:29:00.002+13:00

Humourous take on a not so humourous situation...

Shopfitters in Australia

2011-01-29T13:38:00.004+13:00

Sorry - another SEO post here

Wikipedia definition of shopfitting

Shop fitting (shopfitting) is the trade of fitting out retail and service shops and stores with equipment and merchandise. The trade applies to all kinds of outlets from a small corner shop to hypermarkets.

A shopfitter executes planning, design of shop layout, and most importantly physically stocks the shop with equipment and goods.

A shop fitting firm typically incorporates professional expertise in interior design, manufacturing of bespoke furniture, signage and fittings (with own or outsourced facilities) and purchasing of retail equipment.

Shop fitting cycle begins with a survey and measurement of available space and preparing design drawings for submission to the client.

Alternatively, the client may have their own drawings prepared by an independent interior designer. The shop fitter arranges for purchase of standard equipment and merchandize or production of bespoke, delivers and physically installs them — until the shop is ready for daily operation.

There are different requirements to the different branches and types of shop. Fashion shop design requires up-to-the-minute awareness of current trends in colour and style to create stores that will draw customers in.

Successful pub, nightclub and bar design creates entertaining environments that also help customers relax and feel at ease. Cosmetics shops have small size products with high prices, and needs store design constructed to display the countless types of perfume and personal care products in an inviting manner.

Melbourne shopfitters
Sydney shopfitters
Brisbane shopfitters

Al Reef Villas

2010-11-26T10:26:00.006+13:00

(An SEO interlude)

Pink Property is the leading real estate agency for Al Reef Villas in Abu Dhabi.

This modern residential community is very popular with expatriates and is ideally situated to Yas Island and Al Raha beach, and only a 20-minute drive from downtown Abu Dhabi.

Al Reef Villas is divided into four zones, each with its own unique architectural theme – Arabian, Desert, Mediterranean and Contemporary.

All villas have private gardens and parking spaces; many have swimming pools.

Through our connections with developer Manazel and individual landlords in the neighbourhood, Pink Property has an exceptional and exclusive portfolio of properties available.

Whether you would like an immediate viewing of these rental and lease properties or are seeking to invest through buying and selling, Pink Property can assist you.

(This SEO interlude is now finished)

no words...

2010-10-26T13:23:00.004+13:00

just happiness...

Shop fitters Melbourne Sydney Brisbane

2010-10-26T13:08:00.006+13:00

We interrupt this broadcast for an SEO post.

>>>

Billings Long work with some of Australia's biggest retail food brands and have operational capability across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Darwin, Perth and Hobart.

Billings Long are fluent in all aspects of franchise management and are a leading retail shopfitter in Melbourne, Sydney and all the major states.

Billings Long conduct all aspects of your shop and office fitting project; consultancy, joinery, interior design, permit applications, carpentry and project management.

They are comfortable delivering in a small shop or in a large retail shopping mall.

The Billings Long team has a wide array of skills and expertise; builders, cabinet maker, joiners, interior designers, carpenters and labourers.

Shopfitters Melbourne
Shopfitters Sydney
Shopfitters Brisbane

>>>

Thank you. That is all.

what a load of rubbish!

2010-07-13T15:37:00.006+12:00

The inorganic rubbish collection needs to stop. Now. The concept is outdated, illogical and sends out a disastrous message that flies in the face of responsible, sustainable living.

Large piles of unwanted whiteware, old stereos, beds, mattresses, busted up furniture, kitchen sinks and other odds and ends literally litter the streets in my neighbourhood, right now.

I cannot believe that all this junk is now going to get picked up and thrown in a landfill to possibly biodegrade over the next few ten thousand years or so – at no cost to the person throwing it out there on the street.

Surely it’s widely accepted that we now live in an age where if we create waste then we have to pay for the disposal of that waste. Let’s face it, getting stung in the pocket is the only way we poorly evolved humans seem to find the collective will to change our behaviour.

At the same time as I get in a stir over one of Auckland’s largest city councils throwing thousands of tonnes of waste into a landfill, the New Zealand Government is introducing ETS (albeit a watered down version to the point of being utterly ineffective).

If we are to change our ways and start making a difference then the messages and actions must be aligned. Change is also most powerful when it comes from the bottom up.

Manukau City Council is so far out of whack here that it’s not funny. The huge sum of (our) money that will have veen paid by the council to some contractor to pick up the mess and put it in a hole in the ground should have been spent on an environmental initiative.

What a disgrace. What a waste.

an epitaph to The Pacific

2010-06-14T23:19:00.004+12:00

I’m happy that The Pacific aired its tenth and final episode tonight.

It wasn’t that I didn’t like it – in fact, the opposite. I shake my head at the unwarranted criticism that was increasingly aimed at this exceptional production as the series unfolded.

The Pacific differed greatly from its wildly successful older sibling, Band of Brothers. Too many people were expecting and wanting a type of Band of Brothers II.

It only took a couple of episodes before it became apparent that those expectant viewers were going to turn off, disappointed. Hell, given the atrocious attrition rate of the Pacific campaign it was probably even fitting.

The Pacific was much harder work to watch than Band of Brothers but ultimately more rewarding, because what it conveyed so emphatically was the unique brand of absolute hell that was intrinsic to the U.S. campaign through the Pacific.

There was nothing linear about The Pacific – the campaign or the TV series. The island settings could and would change abruptly, brilliantly evoking a maze of confusion, lack of purpose and loss of direction.

Characters entered and departed against a backdrop of terrifying nightfall, putrid mud, torrential monsoons and parched volcanic rock landscapes.

The Pacific did not afford viewers the chance to bond with characters in the same way they had in Band of Brothers, where they moved with one unit through boot camp and ultimately to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest.

Death was also never far away. The horrific casualty rate of the campaign has been well documented, and the producers did a fantastic job trying to create a sense of what only those marines who served will ever understand.

Rarely were Japanese soldiers seen throughout the series. The marines were largely fighting against an invisible enemy who waged unimaginable terror out of the darkness of night or subterranean holes and tunnels.

Many times in this series I was left physically tense and wincing in the thick of a battle scene, wondering how on earth it was possible for young men to endure those levels of panic, alarm and killing. Harrowing, is a mediocre descriptor.

I’m happy for The Pacific to finish tonight because I’d had enough and seen enough. The arduous story had been told wonderfully well.

To all those soldiers and civilians who have died in conflicts and wars, may you Rest In Peace.

an hypnotic asphalt trip

2010-06-03T15:16:00.004+12:00

i like this...

seductive visuals and awesome soundtrack; the dodos, the season

enjoy that? here's some equally blissful movement and sound:
an hypnotic NYC trip

Clear... bzzzt... we have a heart beat

2010-06-01T23:01:00.002+12:00

i just need to post something, anything to break the silence.

From lone nut to leader, how movements start

2010-04-14T15:42:00.015+12:00

Short and sweet.

One of the briefest TED Talks I've seen and also one of the best.

Online entrepreneur Derek Siver on how movements start, and a fantastic representation of how the first follower transforms a lone nut into a leader.

Roll the tape...

up here in my tree

2010-03-11T14:00:00.010+13:00

this is without doubt one of the coolest pictures i've seen in a while. sure, it's over exposed and blurry around the edges but that doesn't matter. in fact, it just adds to the surreal nature of the photo.

it's taken in sequoia national park, california. i love it. if i die without walking among the majesty of the giant sequoias then i will have missed out.

it's funny how things happen in life. these seemingly random events light up around you and you need to take action and connect them.

over summer i did quite a bit of tramping around new zealand with an american friend of mine from seattle. (hey, alan, how you going, bro?) i'm planning to go visit him at some point soon. i've got a real yearning for an american road trip, and the national parks on the west coast, like sequoia, look staggeringly beautiful.

i was watching one of my favourite movies, into the wild, just two nights ago, and there is a moving sequence when christopher mccandless is walking along the pacific crest trail in northern california. it touched me.

then, yesterday, i just felt compelled to start searching on google for the town of auckland in california. from the satellite view, it appears to be a tiny little outpost on the edges of sequoia national park. intrigued, i push sequoia national park into google image search and 'bam', this beautiful image is right there. i know i need to make that adventure happen.

i've always loved trees. i used to climb trees a lot when i was a kid. our backyard was blessed with what, at the time, seemed like giant sequoias that i would clamber up and summit; hugging tightly at the top, feeling an intoxicating mix of fear, joy and peace. there was also a big walnut tree in the middle of our yard, with a tree hut of mine tucked away up in the foliage.

my connection to nature and mother earth is really channeled through trees, and also landscapes - more so than the animal kingdom.

i can hear the giant sequoias and redwoods calling me, tapping into that innocent boyish spirit within me...

pearl jam: in my tree (no code)

what i did last summer

2010-03-10T16:54:00.004+13:00

great news today! i'm officially on the copywriting books for blacksheepdesign.

blacksheepdesign needed to expand their stable of copywriters and posted an ad that asked me to share what i did over summer.

over the past six months, one of my main goals has been to unplug from the 9-5 matrix and create as much mobility and flexibility in my life as possible. gigs like this chip away at self-doubt and keep nudging me along in the right direction. gotta keep walkin...

ps: if you're not from new zealand, my summer won't mean a thing to you. it's just one of those things...

Shameless SEO plug part I

2010-03-08T15:49:00.005+13:00

apologies straight up here - but i need to give a bit of an SEO push for a newly launched website of mine. there'll be a little bit of this, from time to time, on the kava bowl...

abu dhabi is a city with a diverse and delectable spread of cuisines from around the world, which is always one of the beautiful offshoots of immigration and a nomadic global community.

although abu dhabi is rich with culinary delights, the main problem is trying to find these restaurants. after all, abu dhabi is a city that works on landmarks rather than postal addresses, which can be more than a little frustrating when you're trying to find the restaurant that your work mate swears by.

eating abu dhabi is going to change all of that for the people who live in the capital city of the uae. eating abu dhabi is a website rich with abu dhabi restaurant reviews, listings and menus, simplifying the decision over where to go and making food easy and accessible.

it's the ultimate restaurant and dining out guide that will demystify dining out in abu dhabi.

there - job done... i'll shut up now!

two exercises to improve concentration and attention

2010-02-26T20:03:00.007+13:00

i've been doing a fair bit of reading around meditation, lately.

there's a lot of really interesting stuff to be discovered, and it's a world littered with beautiful sounding words, phrases and definitions: alpha rhythm, pineal gland, transcendental etc etc

here's a couple of exercises that will:

- increase the intensity of your concentration
- increase the duration of your attention span

* for best results, cut and paste these images on to a blank word document.

exercise one:
stare at the black dot, resisting the temptation to look anywhere else. Stare at this for about five minutes to begin, then gradually increase the duration as you become more skilled.

exercise two:
Stare past the circles until you notice they each double for a total of four circles. Your goal is to overlap the middle two circles to form one circle with a white cross. Seeing the cross is the evidence that the left hemisphere of the brain (connected to the right eye) is communicating with the right hemisphere (connected to the left eye).

an hypnotic new york city trip

2010-02-23T13:53:00.005+13:00

i love this clip. broken social scene (bandwitch) and new york city. what a beautiful pair they make...

new york city bike messengers = grace, bravado, balance, timing, vision, audacity, control, faith.

Dad, what did you just do?!

2010-02-20T17:19:00.010+13:00

i came across this ad today, served to the guardian's website courtesy of google. it's a real beauty, if not rather alarming on a couple of different levels.

firstly, for a horrifying millisecond, imagine that this is your father. yes, try not to remember that vision.

secondly, it's a good example of how opting in to google's online ad model will leave your brand vulnerable to 3rd party advertisers who may have absolutely nothing in common with your own brand values.

the day that this ad runs in the print version of the guardian is never, unless rupert murdoch has gone and bought the paper. so why would the guardian want it on their website?

welcome to a world of augmented reality

2010-02-15T23:50:00.006+13:00

this talk from TED 2010 is a fascinating glimpse at where augmented reality is quickly headed. incredible.

i find it really interesting to see how microsoft's bing maps are integrating crowdsourced imagery from yahoo's flickr to create software straight out of star trek.

on a week that google released its incredibly dour and uninspired buzz product to the market, microsoft notch up an easy (albeit rare) PR points victory over its online rival.

our laughs are like our fingerprints

2010-02-14T21:06:00.002+13:00

i love listening to laughter. it's a beautiful and simple thing.

i was laying on my bed reading this afternoon while in the room next door my two nieces were cackling away like - well, like two little girls. caitlyn, 11, has a laugh that is somewhere in between the unmistakable guffaws of bart and lisa simpson. just hearing caitlyn laugh makes me laugh. every. single. time.

each of my nieces have got such unique laughs. we all do. our laughs are like our fingerprints, only much more interesting.

we hear people laugh in public all the time - yet i can't help but feel that hearing someone laugh is a moment to share in something quite intimate. our laugh reflects the way that we are tickled by the world around us; the intonation, the hiss, the pitch, the choke, the vibration, the wheeze, the nasal-oral ratio.

i often try to work out whether caitlyn sounds more like bart or more like lisa... it's a mystery i shall never solve. each staccato of her unbridled glee switches between bart and lisa like a metronome that never hovers long enough for me to be sure.

and, honestly, i guess it's not something i care to ever know the answer. laughter, with all of its mesmerising idiosyncrasies, should be left simple. most beautiful things are.

bula vinaka

2010-02-14T20:36:00.001+13:00

so, err, hi. this is the kava bowl. i guess this is my sandpit to mess around in when twitter's 140 character max just won't cut it. welcome...