Let's Go to The Movies

WETA Cave, Wellington, NZ. (At the time this picture was taken, WETA was still working on Tintin, along with The Hobbit and - surprise! - Avatar 2.)

The house from A Christmas Story, in the West side of Cleveland. Squint hard enough and you'll see the "fra-gee-lay" leg lamp in the window. 

(No embedded video for this one, but check out this link instead.) 

Just Another Day at The Beach

And a cold, windy day, at that. 

But still, undeniably lovely. 

Tauranga and Mount Manganui Beach Park, North Island, NZ. 

Go Play Your Video Games

Photograph taken at the Museum of Technology and Transport, Auckland, NZ. 

You see, kids, when we were your age, our video game consoles were heavy and big, and all of the games came in  these hard plastic containers and we have to plug them in if we want to play. None of those things were connected to the Internet, and all the controllers were connected to the unit, so we didn't have any of those motion-sensitive wireless thingamabobs that you get to use nowadays... 

(...Yeah, yeah, I got on the Lana Del Rey bandwagon a few months too late. She's an oddity to me, but I think that we'll all be wailing to this song like we did with "Someone Like You" by the end of this year. Trust.) 

My Reflection

Picture taken at the Museum of Transport and Technology, Auckland, NZ. 

When I started this blog back in May, I had a stack full of JPEGs from Australia and New Zealand that I sincerely promised to post on a near-daily basis. As good as my intentions were, however, most of those plans came to nought when I got swamped with other things - in particular, work, fiction-writing, and constant updates for Domesticity. 


Then graduate school happened.

Once Again: Milford Sound

This is an example of what I would call an existentialist approach to nature. 

It's not just the environment itself, but the ponderance of the self in relation to nature and vice versa. Here you are, in the middle of a vast ocean, surrounded by mountains that are half-glacier and half-rainforest... and even though you are not exactly a child anymore, you are still looking at something bigger than yourself, which wasn't created by any man or beast in existence. 

You can try to explain it all with science, with physics, with projections... but there's no algorithm in the world that can give you the answer to all the questions in your head: the ones you wished you didn't have to ask about God and man and the universe at large. 

Then you realize that, no matter what you've been told all your life, you're not the center of the universe... and yet, in spite of whatever nature throws at you, you're still alive - as if you have been granted permission to live.

Why, yes, I am about to give a quiz on educational philosophy...

Milford Sound Facts

From Wikipedia:

Milford Sound runs 15 kilometres inland from the Tasman Sea at Dale Point - the mouth of the fiord - and is surrounded by sheer rock faces that rise 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) or more on either side.

Lush rain forests cling precariously to these cliffs, while seals, penguins, and dolphins frequent the waters and whales can be seen sometimes.

The rainfall creates dozens of temporary waterfalls (as well as a number of major, more permanent ones) cascading down the cliff faces, some reaching a thousand metres in length. Smaller falls from such heights may never reach the bottom of the sound, drifting away in the wind.


Not (too) related to Milford Sound: Ben Folds covering "Such Great Heights."

Also Not a Postcard

Fiordland National Park, en route to Milford Sound.

And Not to Be Outdone...

Queenstown looks at Leura and says, "So you think you have a monopoly on cute tea rooms with antiques and awesome snacky things? Well, well... look at what we've got here."

"Yeah, we don't have a teapot collection to show off here in Walnut Cottage... but we have PIE! And SLEEPING AREAS! And an HERB GARDEN!"

So we have one question for you..." 

"...Well, not really, but... you know."

This Is Not a Postcard

And yet, it totally looks like one.

A view of Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown, South Island, NZ. Taken with my usual Sony Cybershot camera from the common-area lanai of our hotel.

The Proper Way to Ride a Bicycle Through Auckland

For the young ladies in the Victorian era:

Don't ride without gloves. 

Don't wear a skirt that's more than eight inches shorter than your boot. 

Don't walk your bicycle more than absolutely necessary. It attracts unwanted attention.

Don't start till you are certain that not only your wheel but your costume is in perfect condition. 

For everyone else: 

Yep, we've come a long way, baby. 

Prim and Proper Fashion

Another collection of fine vintage clothes, this time at the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) in Auckland.

Spotted this at an exhibit on Victorian-era Auckland. I love the embroidered details in the back.

Another exhibit from vintage Auckland, this time at a dress store. Note the tailoring details, and the vintage sewing machine in the back.

A dress from the 1950s, marking the grand era of mid-store fashion shows. Sigh.

More 1950s-era outfits - so very Mad Men. (That blue coat? WANT.)

Incidentally, JuniorMei and I saw the dress on the left and had the same thought: "Hey, didn't MamaMei used to have that exact same outfit not too long ago?"

The Bungy-Jump: A Photographic Essay

Resolve.

Free-fall.

Uncertainty.

Rescue. 

Proof. 

Pictures taken at the Kawarau Bridge Bungy in Queenstown, NZ, operated by AJ Hackett. And contrary to what Kate Gosselin might tell you, this one is actually safer than you think. 

The Great Trans-Tasman Nommage Debate

Photo taken at the Museum of Transport and Technology (MOTAT) in Auckland, NZ.
(That tea-time china set, by the by? Lovely.)  

This one's for those of you scoring at home, and would rather not bring up the same old debates about Russell Crowe and Keith Urban with your Aussie and Kiwi friends.

Things You Don't Want To See at an Airport Kiosk (NSFW)

What's more disturbing: the existence of these "novelty" "items"...

Kia Ora!

Hi all luvvies! Just thought I'd check in with you since I've got some down time (and computer usage) to kill while I'm still in NZ.

In the last few days alone, I have taken in the sights...

Don't you want to know which location we're talking about here?

...made a few new friends...

Hey, it still counts if I'm in the same frame, right? 

...and, of course, encountered the finest nommages produced in this fair land.

And why do I get the feeling that I'll upset a lot of Australians with this picture?

More to come in the next few days!

You're Flying to Auckland

I was watching The Soup this morning (don't ask), and I got to watch a clip from Kate Plus Eight where the ex-Mrs. Gosselin ends up picking a fight with the bungy-jumping instructor at Sky City because she thinks he's BS-ing her about her harness and all sorts of things worth whining about when you're about to jump off a building.

I hate heights, but I still have this to say: Shut up and jump, woman.

Speaking of clips from Auckland, here's an ad from the TourismAuckland channel.



And also: Miss J + NZ tourism >>>>>> Kate Gosselin.