RED-LIGHT VORORTROMANTIK ARCHITECTURE DEATH

Four of our friends had a show out at One Eye Gallery in Paekakariki last weekend. Here's some pics of some of their work.

These two are from the lovely Jo Russ.





Sandra Schmidt's little plastic houses:



Stephen Clover's drawings and photocollage





And from Matt Couper, a couple of large works on paper.

Underland and more

Nick Cave music with ballet. Who would have thought, eh? Well, they did it with The Fall (I Am Curious Oranj) - I would have loved to have seen that one - dancers in Doc Martens... Anyway, went to see the Sydney Dance Co dance to the music of Nick Cave in Underland last week and it was pretty stupendous. Some glorious moments. And what else have I done of interest lately - oh, yes - went to see the director's cut of Donnie Darko. Great to see it on the big screen again and all those little extra bits that fleshed out the story were worth seeing but I'm not sure if it made it any better than the original. Just worth seeing cos I'm such a Darko fan.

american art in nz

Harry from Tennessee asked me in a rare comment if we see much in the way of US art in NZ. Well, Harry, I had to really think about that one and try to dredge up what would be the last piece of American art I have seen in a local gallery and I'm guessing it would be an exhibition of Tony Oursler installations. We get a bit of UK stuff here - saw a Tracey Emin exhibition not so long ago. But we are far away from anywhere so we don't get a lot from overseas really. But the local art scene is pretty strong so who cares!!! And also, I guess, it's why NZers like to travel...

cafenet

This is cool. I'm sitting working in a cafe in town and can check my mail.I've just hooked myself with a cafenet account - there's a big list of places about town (mainly cafes, but other spots as well) where I can connect to the net with my wi-fi card. Sweet. Got my car in being fixed so I'm hanging out in town trying to get some work done. Just thought I'd blog, just because I can!

and much blood was spilt

Anyone been to see Zatoichi? Man, how was all that blood. Started to make me feel a bit queasy, and that's saying a lot because I have a pretty strong stomach. Very entertaining nonetheless. Of course, it was one of those films I missed during the festival that I am now trying to catch up on before the onslaught of the next festival (which comes round only too quickly).

my brand new brand

Well, I've finally done it! After much deliberation (getting votes from family and friends) I've come up with the brand to represent my design business. I do miss my old logo, but it really was time for a change after three years with my old pink victorian version. This is a bit fresher. I've gone all out on stationery - letterhead, compliments slip, envelopes and business cards. Now I just have to get the website designed to complete it all. That's the work for this weekend.


I've started up a bit of a health regime for the summer - a daily swim or walk (or both if I can manage it). Let's see how I get on. I'm pretty unfit at the moment, so it's a bit of a struggle.


SOD's bro, Ben Cauchi, has an exhibition on at the moment - Ghosting - I think he's already sold quite a few of the works. The opening was fun as usual - a chance to catch up with people and to down a few wines and scoff some bread/cheese/olives. Check out the pdf of the catalogue. I helped him out with designing the invites and catalogue - always a nice job cos I love his work.

look mum, no wires!

Yep, I got airport, and it's cool. This is my first post in quite some time and I'm doing it with a wireless connection. Yes, I'm bragging. Sorry. I just can't help it. And SOD (Significant Other Dave, for initiates to my blog) is also connected wirelessly upstairs as I type this. Oh happy days.

I've been managing some swimming over the last month - woohoo, it's been up to 25 degrees. Still a bit chilly on first entry, but once you get your head under, it's really rather nice. I've been doing a lot of backstroke and a bit of floating around with my eyes closed and one of those flotation stick things behind my neck, which is fun if you're in the pool on your own. I like to imagine it's what a flotation tank is like, without the claustrophobic sensations.

I'm about to rebrand my design business. Been thinking about it for a while and now that it's kinda quiet I thought it would be a good time to give it a go. Of course, that means getting my website (well, let's be honest, webpage) revamped as well. Better get busy!

And why have I been so remiss with my postings? Well, a little slump really. I just haven't been feeling like it. Work has become a drag and life has been a little on the dull side. Now that the weather is starting to perk up and become springlike (as it bloody should now that September is almost over), I'm feeling a little more chatty. So hi to anyone who is still bothering to visit this wasteland of a blog.

accounting work sux

I've just spent the last two days getting up to date with my business accounts. I use Mind Your Own Business accounting software which makes it all pretty simple, but the trouble is I've been so busy that I haven't been entering in any transactions for months and was really behind on my GST (Goods and Services Tax, for those outside this country) - a ridiculous system that taxes almost everything you buy and causes most people in business to have to spend vast amount of time tallying up everything coming in and out of your business. The only advantage that I can see, from my point of view, is that it makes me keep up with all my accounting which is very handy for when it comes to sort out income tax (which is next on my list and is waaaay overdue). The New Zealand Inland Revenue department is a little more understanding these days about late payments and penalties since they copped a great deal of flack over a spate of suicides after business people were charged so many penalties that they just plain couldn't cope any longer. IRD have a lot to answer for. Hearing about some cases at the time was heart-breaking. Bureacracy gone mad. So, it's all done for now and I can go to bed with a clear conscience (and a couple of red wines under my belt).

Oh! Just remembered - I had my very first swim today. The waters's still only 20 degrees celcius - not all that warm - but once I was in for a while it was fine. It's about up to my neck which is a nice depth - the same depth for the whole length. Fun, fun, fun! I'm planning on a daily swim. Good exercise for someone who spends almost their entire day on an office chair. My morning dog walks down to the beach have come to a quick standstill.

A new sexy look?

No, not really, I'm just kidding myself. Trying to make myself feel okay about the fact that I now have to wear glasses. Just for computer work and reading, but still... it's gonna be weird. I tried on a few different frames and found some pretty quickly that looked okay. The trouble is, I don't have much of a bridge to my nose. It's one of those button noses that dips right in between the eyes, so there's not much to hang the glasses off. Lots of frames slip down and then I end up peering over the top of them, sot the heavy-framed secretary look is totally out of the question, which is a shame cos I kinda like it. I've chosen some rimless ones - a contemporary sort of design. Gotta wait 3 weeks though. In the meantime I'm meant to be doing eye exercises. Like I have the time!

Still haven't tried out the pool! Had problems with the heat pumps which is now sorted out, but has been a bit of a setback in getting the water up to a reasonable temperature.

street art

Saw this yesterday - great to have the camera on the phone when you want to record a visual moment.

Finally starting to catch up on all my work. Got a tasty job coming up that I'm putting in a proposal for. Fingers crossed that I get it! Going to have to collaborate though cos it involves doing some TVC work which I've never been invloved in before. It's only between me and one other company. Worth a shot.

It's all over

Oh, so sad! The film festival is over for another year. It always goes so quickly. SOD and I have been bemoaning all the films we managed to miss, mainly Screaming Men and Guerilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst. The Anatomy of Hell was one that we had tickets to but still managed to miss. That's SOD's story, which I will leave him to tell if he feels like it. Suffice to say, I was pretty disappointed since that was a film on my initial "must not miss" list.

Anyway, I have managed to see 31 films - not nearly as many as I would have liked - mainly cos the daytime screenings that I planned to attend were pretty impossible to get to cos of my workload. It would be so nice to take the two weeks completely off, but it's too hard to do that when you are self employed. You'd think it would be easier, but no - essentially the equation is "no work = no money". Just doesn't work out.

Films I saw (in the order I saw them):
Hero (martial arts eye candy)
Old Boy (over-rated Korean shock-fest, Tarantino-style - morally queasy)
Super Size Me (30 days on Mackers - should be obligatory viewing for all western teens)
The Motorcycle Diaries (Che-the-man in his formative years, on a craZy roadtrip across the Andes)
Touching the Void (True story of grit and sheer dogged determination - if a little nuts)
Aaltra (Belgian road movie in wheelchairs - superb black comedy)
The Saddest Music in the World (genius Canadian Guy Maddin with a tale of a legless woman and the quest to find the most melancholy music. This film was indescribably gorgeous)
Father and Son (Vaguely disturbing offering from Russian Ark director - tale of an obsessive father and son relationship. Homoerotic and gorgeously shot)
The Yes Men (Anti-globalisation hi-jinx - lots of fun and thought provoking)
Control Room (Inside Al-Jazeera - the news we never bloody hear)
Our Music (my only dud film - Jean Luc Godard has lost the plot - overtly intellectual nonsense)
A Page of Madness (huh! Whoever went to Fahrenheit 9/11 missed this gem - 1920s silent era Japanese avant-garde accompanied by twin british duo In The Nursery. My number one film from 2004 festival. I was gobsmacked)
In Your Hands (This year's Dogme film. Made me cry bucketloads. Gutwrenching tale of a spiritual event in a women's prison and the aftermath. Excellent. I think the guy beside me was crying. On ya mate)
Dias de Santiago (Peruvian film - as depressing as they come, but very worthwhile. Saw this straight after In Your hands and was an emotional wreck by the end of the night. Tale of ex-soldiers attempts to make sense of life after four years of jungle warfare. he couldn't)
Tropical Malady (Not for everyone, but I was glad I gave it a go. Sexy boy-love between a worldy Thai soldier and a village boy. Big surreal jungle sequence during the last half. Weird and wonderful. Wish I'd seen his other films)
Intimate Strangers (Quiet french comedy of mistaken identity. Okay, but nothing special)
Any Way the Wind Blows (Cool Belgian film - think Magnolia in it's structure, but add some hipster Belgians, a plot that culminates in one big groovy party and a wicked soundtrack. I wanna see this one again and I'll be buying the soundtrack for sure. I wish I had been at that party...)
Bukowski: Born Into This (What a foul-mouthed sod, but what a poet. Good doco on the life and times of american writer Charles Bukowski)
In My Father's Den (Forecast to be the next "The Piano" or "Heavenly Creatures". I concur. Superb acting, an emotional rollercoaster of a movie. Hope it does well in the international marketplace - it deserves to. Based on a novel by Maurice Gee who was there at the screening)
The Corporation (Two and a half hours of corporate exposé. Conclusion? Corporations are unhealthy for humankind. They need to be disbanded. People need to see this film!)
The Return (Another Russian gem. Creepy father comes back after twelve years to take his kids on a "holiday". Great cinematography)
Coffee and Cigarettes (Jim Jarmusch as wonderful as ever with this series of vignettes all involving coffee and cigarettes. Wellingtonians will love this take on cafe life. Lots of fabulous faces including Iggy Pop, Steve Coogan and the boyz from Wu Tang Clan telling Bill Murray to stop drinking so much coffee as we watch him swigging straight from the filter jug. Loved it. Oh, and Jack and Meg White are in there too. It's all good)
Vibrator (Dark but beautiful story of the meeting of two lonely people - alcohol-dependent early 30s woman who is spinning out and spunky late 20s trucker bloke hit the road in his truck after chance meeting in a late-night store. Neuroses abound. Raw camera work and raw emotions. One of my faves)
Cowards Bend the Knee (More craziness from Guy Maddin - it's hard to describe his films. This one contained ice hockey, amputation, incest, murder, and a breast made of ice. Freaky fun)
Shaun of the Dead (Took two of my kids to this UK zombie spoof. Plenty of gore and laughs. Starring Dawn from The Office and Bernard from Black Books)
The Stroll (I didn't know Russian film could be so bubbly. I heard some people didn't like this - I loved it. Sexy Russian girl and two young men-about-town walk through the streets of St Petersburg flirting. She's a bit crazy and the boys fall in love with her and who wouldn't. Sexy fun)
Ramones: End of the Century (Never been a big fan of the Ramones, but great music history. There's no denying the influence these guys have had on other bands and of course, they were the main influence on the punk movement in the UK. The doco highlighted their early years through to their final demise and the death of Joey. A thoroughly disfunctional bunch of guys)
The Battle of Algiers (1965 classic dramatising the struggle of the Algerian Liberation Front against the french colonialists. Gripping realism, and still entirely relevant)
Hollywood Respliced (My shot of experimental film - small audience, and some that walked out. But for those that stayed, a treasure trove of decontructed/reconstructed short films. Who needs drugs when you can watch film like that?)
Ong-Bak (What's the boy's version of a chick-flick? Whatever it's called, that's the genre for this film. Great Muay Thai fighting scenes and lots of action. I liked it, but it's not really my kinda flick, but it was closing night film, so I wanted to see it)
And the last one, which was this morning's viewing:
Checkpoint (This film had my friend Steve clenching his fists and sweating profusely with anger. We all took a while to calm down afterwards as the four of us sat over coffee and vented. Simple footage of checkpoints on the Gaza Strip, filmed between 2001 and 2003. Makes you understand the reason for Palestinian suicide bombers)

Well, that wraps it up for another year. I'll try and watch some of the stuff I missed on tape if I can.

Here's the house

It's about time I got these pics up, eh? Well, when you're seeing so many films, it's hard to keep up with the normal routine. Since I moved house I think I've only made a couple of proper meals and still have stacks of boxes to unpack. Anyway, here's some images of the new place. Firstly, the kitchen.

The dining room...

Lounge...

Check out the view.

Haven't taken any photos of the pool yet - tried using the pool yesterday and still too cold! I hope it doesn't take too much longer to heat up.
Much to say about films I've seen, but not enough time. Next blog, I'll be filling you in on what I've been seeing. And it's been good!

the festival begins...

Thursday night was the Gala Opening - Hero. Beautiful, gorgeous. Amazing fight choreography. Shame I kept falling asleep. Last night SOD and I saw Super Size Me - all fast-food-consuming teens should see this film. Then Motorcycle Diaries - the story of Che Guevara's trip through Chile on an old Norton with his friend. Recommended. Makes me want to hunt out a good biography on the man. Looking forward to more films tonight...

should be working...

I'm really in a bind. I have a job that must be finished by Monday and I have many many tickets for films for tomorrow and over the weekend. Can't do both. Am way behind because of the shift. What the fuck, I'm gonna try and get to the most important films (Super Size Me, The Saddest Music in the World, Motorcycle Diaries) and get the work done as well. That means getting up at some ungodly hour tomorrow to try and nail a large chunk of the work.


Hey, here's a pic of the new house - bad pic, but can't be buggered getting the digital camera out, so this pxt will have to suffice. This is the lounge area taken from the dining area. Most of the house is set up now, except for the huge unsorted mountain of clothes on the floor of my - get this - walk-in wardrobe. And the stacks of yet-to-be-hung paintings lining the hallway. And the embarrasingly large amount of cartons of books, most of which will probably remain in their cartons because we have no shelves to put them on. At least the essentials are sorted - clean towels, food in the cupboard, living area clear of boxes. We had the pool man around today. We have a pool man! I didn't get to meet him, but I'm guessing he's not gonna be one of those sexy latin guys you see on TV/porn films. Oh well. Maybe a kiwi equivalent...

Gotta go. Early start in the morning.

The Big Shift

We have too much stuff. We really do. But I guess that's not surprising with three teenagers and a kitchen gadget collector in one house. And my home office takes up a lot of room. We move out tomorrow and the packing is well under way. In the midst of this, I am trying to work. Pack a box here, clean out a cupboard there, and then lay out a quick page in between. It's insane. Ideally, of course, I'd be taking a few days off, but being self-emloyed just isn't like that. In particular, you have to look after your regular clients. If I was to turn down a job, they'll have to find someone else to do it, then I may lose that client entirely. There goes the rent money!

Ang is coming over today to help me - that'll be great. And I'll get to show the house off to her. I suspect quite a few people we know will think the house is pretty gross - a pretentious and tacky display of wealth. And they'd probably be right, but if the owners are happy to rent it to us for the incredibly cheap rent that it is, then I'm happy to live in comfort for however long we can stay there. I don't mind living with central heating, views of the sea, loads of room, an indoor swimming pool and all mod cons. The decor is not at all offensive - quite neutral with a few of those coloured "feature walls" in muted tones. (I sound like a real estate agent - maybe I should take up a new career.) I guess what is offensive is the proportions of it all. Quite vast. And the curved walls. We're a bit annoyed with those - not so good for hanging art.

So, next time I post we will be all moved in. Maybe some pics may be in order.

Decision made

Omigod. We're moving into the house with the swimming pool. I hope this is the right decision. SOD hasn't even seen it! Hope he won't be pissed at me when he sees it. And the craziest thing of all is that we are moving NEXT WEEK! Aaargghhhhhhh! this is going to be bloody hard going. I have loads of work to get finished and packing and organising new phone/internet/fax/change of address/Post Office Box - freaking out here! Wait till I put a pic up here though and you see why I just had to take it. It's pretty mind-blowing.

consternation!

I have a major dilemma on my hands. We've found a house (already!). We went to look at it on Sunday and yesterday we put in an application and found out that they were fine with a dog in the house (our border collie, Laika). It's go what we need although the kids don't get their own lounge and it's not as big as where we are now, although that is difficult to find as this place is pretty huge. BUT I had booked in to go and see a house yesterday morning which I have completely fallen in love with. Dilemma: the house we have signed up for is more practical - it's close to school for Wendy and Jules (walking distance) and close to the train. But it's kinda bland and not very spacious. The other house, in Camborne, is simply amazing. It's architecturally designed, has an indoor swimming pool and views to kill for - open vista of the inlet. The whole place was jaw-droppingly gorgeous. It was like something from House and Garden. BUT it's twenty minutes walk to the train station and the kids would have to take two trains to get to school. Cheaper house (unbelievably!) but more transport time and cost. The kids say they would be fine with that, but I just dunno. I think they would get sick of it. For me, the cost of couriers would be ridiculous and it's about 25-30 mins into the city, something I have to do quite regularly. Oh, and we would need to put up a gate for the dog. Decisions! I hate them!

Old friends

Found this fun site the other day where you can track down old classmates or people from old workplaces. I've put my name up there and put myself forward to contact some people I used to know. Have got a few emails back. So many years ago, but when you start remembering back it doesn't seem that far away at all.

Sleeping is so niiiiiicce

Oh man. I feel like a new person. Yep, I've been working over the weekend, but it's been from home and the night before last I slept for thirteen hours! I feel like an early night tonight, but there are still a couple of things for the festival that I need to get finished.

We've started looking at houses - checked a few out on the internet and got the paper on Sat morning to suss out the To Let column. Pretty hard for us cos we need lots of room with both SOD and I needing work space, plus room for three teenagers and the dog. My hope is the 7 bedroom house in karori. I thought we could get a boarder or an overseas student to help pay the rent. We looked at one today but it was so ridiculously clean and tidy that I reckon they won't be into tenants with pets. We'll see. The house was nice and big but not really my cuppa tea. Underfloor heating though - mmm. And 3 bathrooms.Fuck we're lucky in New Zealand. Imagine what something like that would cost in London!

enough is enough!

Gotta get outta here!!! Got up at 10.30 this morning after small amounts of interrupted sleep - have been back working since midday and now it's nearly 6. Not much longer. Sleep deprivations does very strange things... I'm almost at the not-coping level. I think on the way home I might have a little cry :( Oh, and yesterday we found out that our landlord is kicking us out in 6 weeks cos he wants to move back into the house. Crap. Wanker. We only moved in last November.