18 September 2006

6 foot and glassy


It's been months since I've left Wellington, so it was really nice to take a wee road trip and head up the coast for a couple of nights this weekend. Friday night traffic still sucks, though I suspect the big railway overbridge at McKays Crossing will alleviate that a little.

The lack of decent cafes open beyond 5pm was also felt, particularly as we had jumped in the car straight from work, but Levin has a new Countdown (even though we're off Progressive at the moment) with aisles wider than a hospital's, so all was not lost.

But once there all was good. A decent red wine, some good fresh pasta, some good cds, and a cosy batch steeped in family history. Rather nice really.

Saturday shot through to Palmerston North to look at art. Good to see Te Manawa pushing the provincial comfort zone a little, with the Sydney Biennale work by Racheal Rakena and Brett Graham, and some hauntingly good video works by Annee Olofsson, juxtaposed with a bunch of good paintings on canvas, belying the fact that Te Manawa still has a strong commitment to delivering what the local audiences actually want. Good work the new team there.

Other pleasant discoveries in the North: Peter Ireland at Thermostat - vibrant and clever canvases delivering an affordable and near sellout show, reliably good food and coffee at Barista, and a frotty Look frame at Pedal Pushers.

The rest of the weekend was a happy blur of sunshine, simple food, bombing through overgrown pine forest singletrack on a singlespeed (soo much easier that hauling a 1-geard bike around Wellington's hills) and equal amount of plotting to overthrow the art world and conspiring to advance the mountain bike industry.

Escapism. It's kinda nice once in a while.

11 September 2006

08 September 2006

In Conversation

In Conversation: discussions of place and placement
Friday 8 September, 6.00pm
Cuba [Street Art] gallery is pleased to present the latest in its public event series In Conversation. This week's installment juxtaposes landowner and landuser on their differing perspectives defining public and private space.

07 September 2006

Stingray, Stingray, dananana-nana


I'm not one to incessantly collect links to other blogs (although I guess that is the whole point of web interconnectivity), but this, from Dublin Opinion via Spare Room, is just too good to let pass.

Yes Steve Irwin's departure is a sad thing, and yes this may be a little tasteless, but come on, we of a certain age and upbringing based around Friday afternoon TV2 Thunderbirds and Stingray (before the Dukes of Hazard/BJ and the Bear/Automan at 7pm) WERE ALL THINKING IT!

06 September 2006

Celebrity Obscura

With the plethora of TV shows currently removing any sense of mystery or talent from becoming a rock star (supernova, Osbournes, Run's House, Pop Stars, idol et al), and the automatic propulsion of performers on those shows into becoming a TV stars, I wonder if music/tv celebrity is becoming devalued.

Eventually the cynicism of the informed (or at least not-uninformed) audience must overcome push of the advertisers, marketers, lables and network executives. We're already seeing a new wave of bedroom performers making their own albums, having lost faith in their own pop idols and thinking "yeah I could do that".

I predict the waves of celebrity spewing out of the music and tv industries will dwindle. In their place will be a new celebrity, one which doesn't get their fame in the bottom of a cereal packet.

The new celebrity will come from sports and science. They will work hard and think hard. They will earn more than a gold record, or a tour of shopping malls to push their latest single, and they will contribute more than next year's elevator music.

04 September 2006

Size might just matter


I've never been a huge fan of SUVs, despite hiring a baby one on occasion to go snowboarding, and doing a 4wd driving thing in a Range Rover once. Something about the smoke a lot of them put out, the aggression that a lot of the drivers exhibit, and the safety abominations caused by a centre of gravity 4 feet off the ground.

But last weekend we had one of our very own for a wee while, due to visiting in-laws bringing the 'work car' - a GMC Yukon. To say it was big is like saying Lord of the rings is a film about a short guy who goes for a walk.
  • It was exactly twice the height of our regular car.
  • It had more leg room than my lounge.
  • It had a 5.8 litre V8.
  • It was bigger than every other SUV we encountered.
  • It had over 12" of body roll (by my totally unscientific calculations)
  • It had mirror glass in the back
I'm kind sad to admit that of it was kind of cool. Hell, very cool. So big. So powerful. So practical yet impractical all at the same time.