tralalala

here are some photos from our trip to the auckland zoo. here we found lots of things you don't normally find in new zealand, like wallabies, turantulas, and oranutangs. we also found the following.

this emu was all up in my grill. i would've been pecked to death if not for my ability to fly away to the south pole where i met...

... a small penguin named earl. he liked flapping his wings instead of his mouth though he still couldn't fly. what a loser.


this is a tuatara. the third eye is all covered up because he or she is an adult. tuatara's get pretty big. at least, much bigger than i initially thought based on their 1 cm length on the 5 cent coin. the coins are endangered just like the tuatara. the coin is due to go the way of the dodo at the end of october.

chicken hakka noodles were not on exhibit.

a spider monkey named chet. ok, he's not chet. he's larry. but the only way i could tell is by squeezing his liver. spider monkeys are hard to catch and they don't like their livers squeezed.

a mara. no, not my sister. but a rat-kangaroo-horse thing. i can't make this shit up.

* * *

early tomorrow morning brendan and i head off to see the rest of the pretty north island. updates and photos will be posted probably a lot less frequently. well, photos less frequently for sure.

in other news we went to a taqueria today. the first mexican food we've had in weeks. it was kind of like a local version of chipotle, only not a chain. pretty decent stuff. the fish tacos weren't bad. we also went to the auckland library and read some comic books. i read the first alias collection. it was like the fish tacos. earlier this week we ate another pizza at al volo's that was better than the fish tacos. sunday, anton and i had a bake off. well, it wasn't a competition, we just made a lot of baked goods. he made two loaves of ginger cake and two loaves of honey cake. i made two loaves of honey cake, a flourless chocolate cake-y thing, three wedding cakes, a souffle, and an apple pie. and for dessert i made a kitten pie. kittens taste better than ginger. take that, anton!

ok. i have to go pack for a month's worth of travel business now.

australian immigration policy

so australia is trying to set new standards for immigrants, and there are talks in new zealand of following suit. in australia it looks like immigrants will have to pass an english proficiency test and an australian history and values test. there's also talk of imposing some kind of pledge that tourists must sign about adhering to australian values before entering the country. i wonder if australian values officially include prejudice and discrimination, or if that's just a perk.

real quick...

Quotes from The Tick. I stole them from here. I think they're all from the animated series.


And so, may evil beware and may good dress warmly and eat lots of fresh vegetables.

Well, once again my friend, we find that science is a two-headed beast. One head is nice, it gives us aspirin and other modern conveniences. . . but the other head of science is bad! Oh beware the other head of science, Arthur, it bites!"

Life is a big wild crazy tossed salad, but you don't eat it, no sir! You live it!

You know gang, when you're a superhero, you never know where the day will take you. You may find yourself halfway around the world in the shark-infested waters of true-to-life living. Or you may find yourself going down to the store for a lozenge. You can't know, can you? No! You gotta ride that wave, you gotta suck that lozenge! 'Cause if you don't, who will?

You know Arthur, it's really been quite a day. On the outside, on the surface, oh sure, we were pursued by Swiss industrial spies, trapped in the belly of a whale. But what really pursued us? Where were we really trapped? C'mon Arthur! Get Meta with me! What pursued us were our own obsessions. I'm good, you're evil. I'm a super hero, you're a sidekick. I'm a woman, you're a man. What does it all mean? Nothing! And where were we all trapped? I'll tell you where Arthur! In the belly of love, love chum... LOVE.

Dinner's great! I especially like how you cut up my hot dogs to look like octopi.

Lab rat for your thoughts?

Gravity is a harsh mistress.

Come on, Arthur. The night is young and we have umbrellas in our drinks.

When evil's afoot, and you don't have any arms, you've got to do a little leg work. And when evil's ahead, and you're a little behind, you've got to stay hip. You've got to keep on your toes! You've got to kick a little--

Hug your destiny, Arthur!

I can't lose my name! It's on all my stationary!!

TV Reporter: Can you blow up the Earth?
The Tick: Egad! I hope not! That's where I keep all my stuff!

You don't fight destiny, no sir... and you don't eat crackers in the bed of your future!

Barry, I can't fight you. Superheros only fight supervillians....of course if you wanted to become a supervillian, I think we could have that arranged.

The Fourth Dimension is just one big crazy do not enter clambake jungle of weirdity -- and how does it work? Never mind!

That's a whole lotta' Aztecs!

Bad man hit dog with street!!

Villains, I say to you now... knock off all that evil!

Honk if you love justice.

Sun worshipping dog launchers! You face The Tick! And his dog, Speak!

Well, I hope you boys have learned your lesson. In love, there's a right way and a wrong way to do things. The right way is to take someone to a movie. The wrong way is to take someone from a movie. Because kidnapping is just plain wrong! Not only that, it's wrong in the eyes of the law. Wally, I'm pretty sure they'll try you as an adult. I'm not talking about detention, neither! I'm talking about detention! And what have we learned about Aztecs? Well, nothing really. Because you can't trust everything you read, especially in history books you get in gas stations. But you can trust Speak! Right, boy?

Look at my dog! I named him Speak. My dog Speak can really speak. My dog is the best. I love my dog Speak.

I can see it in your red-rimmed eyes, Speak! You're a righteous firebrand! Speak, we need a furry, moist avenger like you on the team. Come on, man, let's bark up the right tree together!

Speak, the ball fears you! Listen to its cry! Smell its fear! Now fetch!

I'm taking off the kid gloves, and putting on the very mad gloves!

Tropical parasites, your carefree infestation ends here! Tonight, you swim in ointments of righteous hygiene. Flee before the might of modern medicine! Mites, lice, and chiggers, your days are numbered... Yes, in this house, cleanliness is next to dogliness! Oh, Speak! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. Of course, you're not a dog, you're a wonderful, lovely rodent. And there's nothing wrong with that. No! And if that's your lifestyle choice, then we'll stand behind you all the way."

Let your journey into hugeness teach us all a lesson. Absolute power is a sticky wicket. And, Arthur, chum, you were the stickiest. Don't you get it, good friend? Some of the best things come in small packages. But large things can't! Unless they're inflatable, or require some assembly, or unless they're hearts. Yes, giant, juicy, loving hearts! As big as the moon, but much, much warmer! Right, Speak?!

Arthur! We're a daddy!

Poppa's got a brand-new bag... of fish!

Nobody mauls The Tick's sidekick. And nobody touches The Tick's baby! Ever!

Well, Mr. Mental, I can forgive you for trying to take over the world, but not for stealing my heart! Days from now, Arthur and I will look around our empty apartment and wonder, 'Where's Baby? Where's our little bundle of joy?' and he'll be in prison! How could you do this to us? You made a mockery of everything this family stood for!

I am mighty! I have a glow you cannot see. I have a heart as big as the moon! As warm as bathwater! We are superheroes, men, we don't have time to be charming! The boots of evil were made for walkin'! We're watching the big picture, friend! We know the score! We are a public service, not glamour boys! Not captains of industry! Keep your vulgar moneys! We are a justice sandwich. No toppings necessary. Living rooms of America, do you catch my drift? Do you dig?

Destiny, that finely-shaped engine of the universe with the warm hands and the tasteful footwear, pushed Arthur, wings and all, into my path. We were meant to be together, friends to the end. He has a three-pound brain and it's all smarts!

You're not going crazy! You're going sane in a crazy world!

Let me tell you, last night I was thinking: How can I best express my superhero-ness? As I came here across an ocean of adversity, and after a really long bus ride, with my cheeks ruddy with passion and a heart as big as the moon, the answer came to me: superhuman punishment! A terrible engine of destruction! A big, harmful thing! And I think the results speak for themselves.

Uh, yeah, I suck blood all the time. Look, I gotta straw right here, pal, you want a demonstration?

There's no nice way to put this: Sewer Urchin just stinks!

I know him! I welcome the chance to 'team up'! Besides, he's got a great big cape!

The Tick caters to no man!

A heart of gold beats beneath that big fiberglass croissant, and thank goodness for it!

He has the mustache of a titan!

A day job... in an office?! My worst nightmare!

The human mind is a dangerous plaything, boys. When it's used for evil, watch out! But when it's used for good, then things are much nicer.

Not baked goods, Professor, baked bads!

So warm... so soft... could sleep forever. No! Must fight, mustn't succumb to the rapture of the bread!

Yeast devil! Back to the oven that baked you!

I'm betting that I'm just abnormal enough to survive.

Let us not forget the lesson that we can learn from this, Arthur, that man was not meant to tamper with the four basic food groups.

I hate broccoli, and yet, in a certain sense, I am broccoli.

Villains always have antidotes... They're funny that way.

Yeah, well, don't count your weasels before they pop, dink!

So, foul gelatin, you would do battle with the nose of your birth?!

Nobody mucks around with the Tick's bodily membranes! Prepare for swift justice!

Mucal invader, is there no end to your oozing?!

I don't know the meaning of the word 'surrender'! I mean, I know it, I'm not dumb... just not in this context.

Let's hang ten for justice!

Ah, savory cheese puffs, made inedible by time and fate.

I won't hesitate to forsake species for combat!

Supermodels usually don't date guys who live in the dirt.

Hey, you're the guy that made my head hot! Well, you're not going to make my friends' heads hot!

It's starting to smell a little like danger in here, or heavily-fried food.

Well, once again we find that clowning and anarchy don't mix.

Oh, what a goofy work is man!

Evil, chum, is ever-green!

Yes, destiny has her hand on my back, and she's pushing!

When no one understands you for the little things you do, When destiny strands you or wears you like a shoe, That's when you know it's over, Man, that's when you know it's through. I never thought that I would be so very big and blue.

Y'know, evil comes in many forms, whether it be a man-eating cow or Joseph Stalin, but you can't let the package hide the pudding! Evil is just plain bad! You don't cotton to it. You gotta smack it in the nose with the rolled-up newspapaer of justice! Bad dog! Bad dog! And you don't do it for money. No! You do it for love! You know, I've learned something this week... on justice and on friendship, there is no price. But there are established credit limits.

Yes, my slimy friend, once again slime does not pay! You can't just coat yourself with artificial mucous and slip through the long fingers of the law. It's wrong and it's gross.

Don't ever try to swim against the might tide of justice.

What's this?! It's a little boy's face! Oh, don't worry, little boy, I'll free you from this block of wood!

You know, Little Wooden Boy, the worst sin in the world is disloyalty. You wouldn't lie to me, would you, Little Wooden Boy?

This is one small step for The Tick, and one giant step for... say, a little bug. Or some guy who's been shrunk to the size of a penny.

Space, the Final Frontier, the Great Black Blanket. Man, a guy can get bored out here. Ah... space hurts.

So the cosmic circus moves along, its tiniest clown gone to rejoin it once again.

You know, Arthur, when you spend two months riding around on a really big man, you start to learn a few things about yourself. You learn that it is a really great thing to stay on Earth and live in a place that has no arms or legs of its own. And most importantly, Arthur, you learn how to close your eyes and tell yourself that this just isn't happening to me.

When evil sees a twin-headed, Arthur-powered, flying engine of Justice barreling down upon it, great will be its trembling!

Villain love goddess! You toy with the hearts of men!

Don't make us bite you in hard-to-reach places!

Eating kittens is just plain... plain wrong! And no one should do it, ever!

Like a great blue salmon of Justice, the might Tick courses upstream to the very spawning ground of evil.

Their Achilles' heel is the noogie!

Wait a minute, you! I heard about people like you! Are you saying you don't believe in Santa Claus?! And you call yourselves superheroes?!

I'm flying... I swoop... I soar... the city laps at my heels like a grateful puppy. I am the eagle king of all I survey. I am become Shiva, destroyer of worlds!!

You know... I've heard the smarter you are, the more wrinkly your brain. And your guys' brains must be the wrinkliest! Oh, sure, ordinary Joes like me and Arthur here, maybe our brains are a little on the smooth side. But you don't have to be a genius to know that evil is bad. And good isn't!

Mad Nanny! If you harm a hair on this greasy spoon's head, you'll have The Tick to answer to.

You just toasted the best BLT joint in the tri-state area; prepare to pick up the tab!

Je m'appelle Le Tic. J'ai une grande plume et deux tetes.

You know, though today was the worst day of my life, I learned many things. First, the world looks a lot different when you're six inches tall and covered with feathers. Second, two heads are definitely not better than one. And finally, you can lay eggs and still feel like a man.

Bloom, little leafling, make good your hold upon the world.

Vile vine, now maybe you'll think twice before you eat another human being.

Well, it just goes to show, Mother Nature has a load of tricks up her green sleeves. And tonight she really put her foot down. Yes, here's your little flower, Professor, and next time it blooms, may it bloom in the good way!

Yeah, I agree, falling in love with a supervillain is trouble with a capital troub!

Ottoman, there'll be no Justice of the Peace for you; just a big piece of justice!

Oh, look, Arthur, it's a completely rehabilitated villain. She's comfortable with herself. Comfort, commitment, marriage, what do these things have in common? The letter 'C' except for marriage, and if people get all British whenever they get knocked on the head, what do British people get? I know... comatose! Another 'C'.

Well, folks, there you have it. A day in the life of a superhero and his sidekick. It's a very long day, the tights are uncomfortable; I think we covered that before. Map light, convenient and essential. A lot of working of villain motifs. Crime has a Bossa Nova beat. Leap before you look. Remeber denouement. Other French words: inconvenient, nonessential... oh... I could go on and on... But time's a-wasting and evil's out there making hand-crafted mischief for the swap meet of villainy. And you can't strike a good deal with evil. No matter how much you haggle! We don't need to look for a bargain; goodness is cheap because it's free, and free is as cheap as it gets. Cut! What was that pig about?!

I'm sure millions of viewers out there are just wondering what it's like to wear the tights of justice. Well, it's tingly and it's uncomfortable, but it gets the job done and, oh, the job of it!

Here's a little tip. Leap before you look!

Deadly Bulb! I'm about to write you a reality check! Or would you prefer the cold, hard cash of truth?

Roof-pig! Most unexpected.

So warm, so bright, itchy all over. I'm twinkling... I'm twinkling.

Happy me, I'm the biggest, brightest ball of gas in the cosmos.

Hey! You in the pumps! I say to you, 'Stop being bad!'

Aha! So, bad lady, fate has put a dead end to your anarchy dabbling!

Sanity! You're a madman!

And that's just it, Doc -- my mind has always been my Achilles' heel!

You know, come to think of it, I'm not afraid of ants. I never was. It's just when they all come running out of a lady's pants like that... yech, creepy. And isn't sanity really just a one-trick pony anyway? I mean all you get is one trick, rational thinking, but when you're good and crazy, ooh ooh ooh, the sky is the limit!

Aha, yes, I see... a choreographic conundrum. Whoa, well that was a little dancey. You know why super villains are so unhappy, Arthur? They don't treasure the little things.

Oh, science... boring... interest... fading...

Hey, we've got these on Earth. We knock them into little pockets with sticks. Uh-huh, and we got higher numbers, too.

Got to pull myself together... must defy laws of physics.

Space aliens have neat stuff! Their space cookies are good, too!

Stylish!

Okay, Jack, this little minnow has been playing hooky. Any idea where it goes to school?

And my middle name used to be Helping People, The 'Helping People' Tick.

And so, Arthur, we learned that gambling is bad and yet in a certain sense, isn't life itself a gamble? You can never be sure of anything. Like who would have thought that dolphins could go bad and that fish were magnetic? Not me, no sir, not me.

Arthur, you have no historical perspective. Science in those days worked in broad strokes. They got right to the point. Nowadays, it's all just molecule, molecule, molecule. Nothing ever happens big.

So once again, we find that evil of the past seeps into the present like salad dressing through cheap wax paper, mixing memory and desire.

Arthur! My mustache is touching my brain!

You can't blow up Stinky! He's not even moving!

Rugged, self-assured, adult. These are the words that describe the man who wears a mustache. Yes, it says to the world, 'I'm a man of action!' Ah, but action tempered with maturity. Like a fireman... or somebody's dad! Y'know, most of your world leaders have mustaches!

So the mustache was in love. Oh, that's cool. Love is cool. That mustache is cool. But it didn't make me cool. It made Sewer Urchin swing ten miles by his upper lip. And look at Jim Rave. He should have been cool. He had a cool eye patch, cool RV, cool gadgets, and he traveled the world with three vivacious, exciting, talented beauticians. That's cool! But he wasn't cool. You know, Arthur, I may have lost my mustache, but I've gained... I haven't gained a thing.

This changes everything. I feel... different. Better. A new sensation is sprading out from my upper lip to every other part of my body. It's a feeling that I just can't quite describe. It's a savvy kind of feeling. A suavey kind of feeling. Kind of a.. kind of a mustache feeling!

Man! Today is so loopy!

Whoa-oh! Surprise hug from Mr. Freaky-Big!

Thaw out those cold feet! Let's talk this over!

Thank you for teaching us all that love it thicker than most bodily membranes. But not quite as sticky. And that a heart full of love is better than a body full of people. Merrilly, the feet that carried us on the heart's path today will be the feet that soak in the steaming brew of happiness tomorrow.

Always wear pants. Always wear your wings. And don't fall for Carmelita.

Question: Why would Aztecs be going to the movies? Answer: Forthcoming!

Yaaahhhh!!! Sidekicks don't kiss! You're so... you're so not Arthur! You dress like Arthur. Oh yeah, you're soft, like Arthur. But you curve in all the wrong places!

Everybody was a baby once, Arthur. Oh, sure, maybe not today, or even yesterday. But once! Babies, chum: tiny, dimpled, fleshy mirrors of our us-ness, that we parents hurl into the future, like leathery footballs of hope! And you've got to get a good spiral on that baby, or evil will make an interception!

Ah ha-ha, Chess! The ancient contest of wits. Two opponenets: Mano a mano. Braino a braino. And look! Magnets for ease of travel! You could play chess on the moon!

What was with the lobsters? I thought there were alligators in the sewers. I was ready for alligators.

We're sworn to protect The City. And we're just going to have to face it, that includes the sewers.

We spent all night learning an important lesson: You can't judge a sewer by its manhole cover. No sir, people can be very different under the surface than they might seem. Quiet, mild-mannered just might turn out to be roaring lions of two-fisted cool. And roaring lions of two-fisted cool just might have some crippling lobster problems. Listen, man, it's all crazy down there, under the surface. A lost wallet could bite you in half! A bar of soap could save your life! Egad! A disgusting mound of muck just my have some very compelling ideas! Do you dig my ditch?

Special devilery! Oh, Arthur! The thrill of modern postism!

Majesty snatchers! Unhand that highness!

My first day on the continent, and I already have an arch-enemy!

Let's just see how you fare against two bits of flat, shiny America!

All right, I bought his brain!

Oh, I get it, spelling America with a 'K', are we?

I've got fifty-thousand viewers strapped to my head!

When a nice clean brain tumbles into the dirty street to lay among the discarded wrappers and spat-out gum wads of wickedness, you can't just pick it up and wash it off with soap and water; you have to think it clean from the inside out!

Al Volo Pizza

The search is on. Pizza has been found and consumed. Prior to our expedition north, Brendan and I made a stop over in the Mt. Eden area to check out this punk-feminist comic book shop, Cherry Bomb. While meandering over in that direction, we came across a nice little corner pizzeria by the name of Al Volo. The menu, which was clearly visible through the large windows, listed some pretty traditional pies: a margherita, a marinera, and a napoli among others. Under the ingredients for their eponymous pizza they even specified that the mozzarella was buffalo mozzarella. And what was that on the wall? Yes, it was a history of pizza, describing its nebulous origins up through our favorite tale of the Queen Margherita declaring the pizza that displayed the colors of the Italian flag (the white of the cheese, red of the tomato, and green basil) as her favorite.

Brendan and I returned promptly at 5:00 just after it opened for a sample of what they had to offer. We ordered a margherita (pictured), an Al Volo (sauce, buffalo mozzarella, fresh cherry tomatoes, roquette, and olive oil), and we topped it off with a marinara. The pizzas were classic neapolitan pies--extra thin crust, measuring about 12" in diameter. According to the pizzaiolo, the oven ran on native manuka wood and burned somewhere between 300 and 400 degrees Centigrade (roughly 575 F to 750 F). The pies only were in the oven for two or three minutes before they were done. The crusts were crisp, if a little flimsy due to their thinness. However, the sauce was somewhat bland. This may have been related to the kind of tomatoes used (I couldn't say for sure), but it also suffered from an apparent lack of any seasoning. The difference between the cow and buffalo mozzarella was suprisingly clear when sampling them side by side with the buffalo possessing distinctive tang and a creamier texture. Olive oil proved to be an excellent addition to the Al Volo pie, while basil was key for the margherita, though it probably could've used a few more leaves. The marinara pie was a nice change of pace after consuming all that cheese, but I would probably not order it again given the lack of character of the sauce and myriad options on the menu--42 to be precise, even if I would only consider a quarter of them actual pizzas (I'm sorry, but tuna and bacon do not belong on pizza).

All in all, it was a solid entry in the great pizza race. It probably wouldn't make my top 10, but it was certainly as good as 2 Amys and maybe as good as John's of Bleecker. If nothing else, this pizza gives me hope for the rest of my stay here. I'll not go pizza-less into the night.

More reviews of Al Volo here and here
Website here

Al Volo
27 Mt Eden Rd
Mt. Eden
Auckland, NZ
09 302 2500
info@alvolo.co.nz

what up, beaches!

a temporary title change has been enstated. it was too good to pass up. also, brendan finally got his blog up and running. you can read it at http://bonetree.blogspot.com/. if you're interested in seeing photos of me, that's probably the place to find them. here's the photo round-up from the past week:

haruru falls

brendan at cape reinga (where the tasman and pacific oceans collide)

a solar powered lighthouse

your mom is like a kauri tree

90 mile beach, which is closer to 90 km

brendan vs. the bay of islands

mangroves

trees! and the beach

...speaks for itself

sunset from the bus

far north

saw some $22,000 couches and tables yesterday... they were made from old kauri trees and when i say old, i mean maybe 10,000 years... carved out of old stumps dug out of the ground.

we're up in paihia, which is a small town on the north east coast. hit up cape reinga yesterday and saw where the pacific ocean and the tasman sea butt heads. went sailing the day before to a small island out in the bay of islands. photos, which will say more than i could, are tk.

... other than that not much news. my apologies for making this blog more ugly. i'll try and fix that when i get back to AKL.

work in progress

some adjustments being made... bear with me.

thanks.

holy bat-update, not-batman!

first, thank you for all the kind comments regarding my photo... wasn't exactly expecting to get picked, but surprisingly they threw me a frickin' bone. now i have to see if i can take a photo to win next year's competition... which brings us to more adventuring, etc...

farming life is good fun, if a little quiet. so far most of the work has been tree planting, but there's been some cow, pig, and chicken feeding a-happenin' too. some farmland photos are below...

this past weekend was spent with anton, ezra, and their friend candice skiing at the turoa area on mt. ruapehu. saturday was a white out with gale force winds at the top, so the slopes were closed. sunday was a good day, but the slopes hadn't been groomed due to the bad weather, so the snow was a bit uneven--powdery in some places and icy in others. that in combination with skiing on courses a little too challenging for my rusty skills (the last time i skied may have been eight years ago) led to a number of tumbles. an early accidental somersault led to a lost contact lens. a later double (or possibly triple?) somersault was a complete wipeout--lost both my skis and my poles (held on to the other contact lense though). one of my skis was stuck so far into the snow that ezra almost couldn't pull it out... some old guy gave me a 10 out of 10 for the fall, but didn't offer any help. needless to say, i have some sore spots (legs, torso, neck... pretty much everything). anton gave me a couple quick lessons and by the end of the day i was more-or-less back to where i was the last time i skied, just a little more cautious. today i got a couple of hours in and managed to fall on my ass only twice.

tomorrow it's back to the farm, where we'll probably stay until the end of the week, i think.

the latest batch of photos (click on them for larger versions):

anton (left) and ezra

brendan and the otamatea river

brendan and the moo cows

brendan and ruffy to action!

trees and farmland and sky


the view of the otamatea river from the house at the farm

two more trees

mt. ruapehu

worst. pizza. ever.

this may be my last post for a little while. brendan and i are headed up to the farm in otematea this evening. most of today is last minute prep--laundry, packing, etc. yesterday we headed out to one tree hill and wandered around the lovely cornwall park, where we met some of roudy hotsteppers.



yesterday also marked what was the first in a probably long and fruitless journey searching for the perfect pizza in new zealand. yesterday's jaunt to epolito's (a place run by ex-pat new yorkers) took about twice as long as expected only to find the establishment closed for the afternoon. what followed was probably the worst pizza ever.



then last night for dinner was a bit of a trip down memory lane with the harveys... well, warwick and shirley, at least. they managed to dig up an old home video of craig's 9th birthday party, which i had attended. there was a weird game involving shaving cream and the limbo. there was also a few minutes of footage of a game from the northcote soccer club i used to play on.

aaaaand... guess who got an honorable mention in the 2006 washington post travel photo contest.

i'll try and post while at the farm, but i make no guarantees.

Waiheke

will someone get this baby out of my soup?

got some new zealand culture last night with a night at the cinema. brendan and i saw sione's wedding, a domestically made film shot in the auckland area about a band of troublemaker friends who are banned from another friend's wedding due to their past history of bad behavior. the only way they'll be allowed in is if they're able to find actual girlfriends (instead of their usual one-night stands) to bring to the wedding with them. i suppose it would fall into the "urban comedy" category and shares a number of tropes. the cast was mainly minorities (in this case polynesian), the soundtrack featured almost exclusively polynesian hip hop and r&b groups, and much of the humor was based on race (prejudiced police officer, the white guy acting like he's a minority, playing up the differences between white and polynesian women, etc.). it's kind of weird how american culture has been force fed to/adopted by other nations. the movie itself was fairly enjoyable. it was pretty amusing and had some fun oddball characters.

today we headed over to the auckland botanic gardens, which we found out was a hell of a long way away, especially if you take the bus just after school has let out. it took about an hour and a half to get out there from downtown auckland and about an hour to get back. it turned into a fun photo-taking expedition.












































for more photos check out my flickr page.

if any of the formatting on this blog looks weird on your browser, let me know. i've had some weird spacing problems with firefox when posting photos.

day 4, rainbow 8

yup... saw 2 rainbows again today... i also got to check off two items on my list of things to do: visit the war memorial museum and see the maori culture show, and visit my old neighborhood in northcote. the latter was an experience that was a little difficult to describe. the last time I'd been there was at least 12 years ago. it all seemed pretty familiar (here's a map of the general auckland area), but there were some definite changes: fisherman's wharf, down at the end of my old street, was abandoned; the dairy my brother and i used to frequent for candy (i specifically recall buying gummy coke bottles) is now a wine shop, and the lotto store is a chips shop; northcote primary and a ton of new buildings, one of which pretty well blocks the entrance to the school; the onepoto domain is really a pretty nice place, and the soccer fields, in hindsight, are probably the best ground i've ever played on; and the northcote shopping center has basically turned into one giant asian mart, which i can't say isn't an improvement, but it was a little striking to see pretty much every store sign there have asian lettering. the old house is still there, though...

flowers in the auckland domain's winter garden

maori wood carvings in a traditional meeting house

the northcote tavern, located across the street from...

my old house and its ski slope of a driveway (yes, that is the ocean behind it)

day 2, rainbow 4

wandered around auckland today. bought a cell phone, looked for a pair of jeans... apparently i failed to pack a pair (...because, really, who needs pants?), ate at some tastey asian place for lunch, hit up the auckland domain, dropped by the museum, but didn't purchase entry as we'd missed the last maori cultural performance for the day. promised ourselves we'd come back. walked the 8k from auckland to the bruell's in st. helier's. got soaked through by sideways rain.













... made with real malaysians--spicy!













graphitti bores brendan, pictured sleeping whilst standing



















an old railyard near the auckland domain













auckland, city of rails.













rainbow #2... #3 was actually just to the left and #4 appeared later

two americans not killed by dormant volcano

so, after a 3 hour delay at jfk, a 12 hour flight, a short stop in tahiti, a six hour flight, and multiple interrogations by new zealand customs officials (including a thorough check of the contents of all of my bags, a gander at my backup computer files, and a cleaning of the hiking boots i brought along), we finally made it to the home of the bruell's in st. heliers in the suburbs of auckland. most of the day was spent wandering around the waterfront, checking out the local shops, and chatting with jules, a friend of the bruells. this may seem pretty uneventful, but after spending nearly 20 hours sitting on airplanes, the sight of anything not beige was really a point of interest.

first second impressions: there's more grass and sky than i remember their being. the air smells of ocean salt, which is something i quite like. the auckland area has seen a huge amount of development in the past 12 years, and seems incredibly commercial compared to when i left in 1994. maybe i was just oblivious at the time, though.

Rangitoto is a party animal

here is where the avians like to party

rainbow count so far: 1

august 5 shim sham part deux

august 5 shim sham

see here:

australia vs. new zealand

for the record australia and new zealand are different countries. see them on the map here. they have many differences. for instance, australia was colonized by europeans who oppressed and murdered the native aboriginies. they also dumped their prisoners there. new zealand was colonized by europeans who oppressed and murdered the native maori. they did not use the island as a jail. australia is mainly desert and grasslands, with some lovely tropical areas along the coast. new zealand is sub-tropical. it has some desert, but is mostly a nice shade of green. australia has snakes and poisonous spiders. new zealand does not have snakes or poisonous spiders. australia has the tasmanian devil (specifically in the island of tasmania, which lies to the south of mainland australia), koala, kangaroo, and wombat, among other native wildlife. new zealand has the tuatara, kiwi, kea bird, tui bird, and hector's dolphins (hector does not want them back), among others. new zealand also has some really cool trees, like the pohutukawa, rimu, and kauri. australia does not have these trees. new zealand, outside of zoos, does not have kangaroos, koalas, devils, or wombats.

australia.
new zealand.
australia.
new zealand.
australia.
new zealand.

there are many, many other differences. suffice it to say that when i say i am going to new zealand, i do not mean that i am going to australia.

do you remember the time?

do you remember when i used to post on this thing all the time... and by all the time i mean maybe once a week? yeah. that was the best. for anyone who actually still reads this thing, i'm headed to new zealand on the 9th. hip hop hooray.

i got a couple of my first palgrave jackets back from the printer and, i'm not gonna lie, they look pretty sexy. thumbnails here and here.

this bullshit in the middle east is out of control. as my cousin pointed out yesterday, we've successfully created a crescent of shiite controlled countries surrounding israel, so there's really nothing to stop arms trafficking between iran and hezbollah stationed in lebanon. well done u.s., for taking out saddam and completing that nice little trade route. and well done israel, bombing both a u.n. station and 50+ refugees. i read in the post today that over 500 lebonese have been killed, most of them civilians. this isn't justice. it's revenge.

Man moves things with brain.

A paralyzed man with a small sensor implanted in his brain was able to control a computer, a television set and a robot using only his thoughts, scientists reported yesterday.
-NYtimes.com (courtesy of Claire)

The hell? If this doesn't result in a cyborg army snuffing out the human race, I don't know what will.

Cyborgs are cool.

achenblahg

Joel Achenbach's Sunday piece about blogging and journalism is pretty good. Here are the first paragraphs:

"In the news media there is much talk of "interactivity," of breaking down the wall between journalistic producers and consumers. No longer will the news be proprietary to a professional elite that attempts, in an Olympian voice, to speak down to the unwashed masses. Instead, everyone will be an equal, fully respected partner in the news process, including nitwits, fanatics, the extremely daft and the recently straitjacketed.

"I'm all in favor of this, as I have a blog, with many excellent commenters, some of whom comment on the comments of other commenters and manage to develop, over time, a kind of cult following of their own, such that the readers of the blog tend to forget all about the writer to whom the blog technically, in an old-fashioned sense, "belongs." Which is fine! Into the future we go! My feelings aren't hurt. We all know who's actually getting paid around here. Paid. Paid. Not to rub it in. Paid."

Most of it is old hat, but it's entertaining and the last paragraph is an unexpected, but welcome, tack off course, revealing the larger implications of the blogosphere on public discourse.

War on Terrorism

Listening to Open Source on NPR right now. William E. Odom made a point about this that I think everyone realizes, but not many have articulated particularly well. A war on terrorism is a ridiculous because it's a war on a tactic, which is ridiculous. Militarily it doesn't make sense, it doesn't allow for a real enemy. He likened it to waging war against people who use knives--it's impractical. The rhetoric is distracting us from the real problem. Our war isn't really against terrorism, it's against al Qaeda, the Taliban, Wahhabis, and against, essentially, those who are violently anti-American. This is a culture war. Democrats should grab ahold of this.

USA 1- Ghana 2

That was never a penalty. While I can't blame the ref for our poor finishing, I can blame the ref for giving Ghana a freebee. I can also blame the ref for not carding the two or three flagrant dives from the Ghana side. That said, with the exception of a clever backheel from McBride that ended up fizzling into nothing, the US lacked any kind of creativity. Our counterattacks, until the last fifteen minutes, were far too slow. We didn't press enough in the first 20 minutes of either half. Our bright moments were few and far between, but they were there. Lewis did a good job with his crosses; Dempsey was all over the field for the first sixty minutes and hammered a fantastic shot into the back of the net; Beasley finally put in a good effort, grabbing an assist, winning a lot of balls in the midfield (even if they didn't amount to much), and helping out the back line; and McBride broke my heart with his header off the post. And I was happy to see Ben Olsen get a CAP, even if he didn't contribute much. Donovan looked sluggish. I think putting Convey in was a mistake. I would've dropped O'Brien in. We needed someone with a little more of a creative mind.

All in all, I would say it was a pretty mediocre game. It's a shame that the ref had such a heavy hand in its outcome. At least there's some hope with our next generation of players... Adu, Convey, Quaranta, Johnson, and Donovan and Beasley still have another cup left in them. South Africa in 2010!

the netherlands vs argentina

remember what happened the last time the oranje played the blue stripe-y team?



(thanks for the reminder nytimes.com)

more of the magnificence that is dennis bergkamp (a man who, like john madden, refuses to take an airplane):


(or in a slightly more legible google video version)

OMG!

US-Italia

About US forward Brian McBride, who took a vicious elbow to the face in the first half of the match:

No broken bones were reported as a result of the elbowing. In fact, McBride said he did not even feel much pain. After repeated operations — including plastic surgery — to repair shattered cheekbones, McBride said: "I don't have a lot of feeling in my face. My nerves are all dead from the surgeries. You get hit and you get back up."

The team out on the field on Saturday looked like a completely different squad of players. We made some good cuts up the front, with some nice runs down the wings. We also won a number of 50-50 balls and held possession quite well in the first half. Dempsey even showed a little flair with some stepovers and a couple decent crosses.

WC Trivia: Apparently Ukraine has seven Andriys in their squad...

And Argentina's amazing goals.

Oy...

Highlights of the US - Czech Republic game:



You'll notice that most of the hightlights involve the Czech Republic attacking. This is because we played like ass. The only reason I post this is to remind us that (1) the first goal was scored by the 6' 7-1/2" Jan Koller, or Frankenstein as he's better known, and (2) Reyna did actually hit a post.

Other cup news: I listened to Spain destroy Ukraine, a team which may have looked worse that the US. Granted the Ukraine may have only had 10 men on the field for half the game, but still, at least we don't look like the only chumps in this tournament any more. Spain were dominant even before the red card though, and it sounds like they may have actually fielded a contender this time instead of a lot of hot air.

___________

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazzzzzzzzzzz!

Arjen Robben

Arjen Robben was incredible. The Serbia-Montenegro defense looked like turtles compared to this guy. He was all over the field. It seemed that nearly every time he touched the ball he created a chance on goal. The only piece he was lacking was a decent touch in a dead ball situation... but then, neither side had a free kick or corner kick on mark the whole game.

I cannot wait until the next game the Netherlands play. Netherlands-Ivory Coast. Don't miss it. It may be one of the fastest paced games in this round.

holy god. this is why the world cup fucking rocks.

Lahm's goal for Germany...


Fring's goal for Germany...

a boring, whiney post about pop-culture

X-Men III is schlock. I would have asked for my money back if I had actually paid to see it. It's a b-movie with an a-movie budget--written by hacks with cornball dialogue, glacial pacing, boring choreography, and clichés galore. I think the best word to summarize it is unimaginative, from the production design (the pristine white science lab with extras in white coats all scurrying around and peering into things to look science-y and Magneto and his band of merry evil mutants in the forest), to the characters, the plot, the use of mutant powers (repetitive use of telekinetic levitation, telepathic voices echoing in peoples heads, equally opposing blasts of fire and ice from Iceman and Pyro in a standoff, a general lack of acrobatics from Beast... The list goes on), and the dialogue:

Wolverine: The whole world's going to hell, you gonna just sit there?

Warren Worthington, Sr.: Warren, it's a better life. It's what we all want.
Warren Worthington III: No, it's what you want.

Jean Grey: Would you die for them?
Wolverine: No, for you.

A few examples of other grievances:

- blatant inconsistencies, like a scene turning from day to night from one shot to the next, without the passage of time

- Angel, besides being a completely useless character in the film, looks ridiculous, striking cheesy, heroic poses throughout

- the decision about keeping the Xavier Institute open is out of context and is abrupt and seemingly thoughtless

- the head scientist working for Worthington is a science lab cliché

- whereas in previous films, Magneto and his group appear as a more radical mutant activist / terrorist group, in this movie they're just portrayed as evil and any kind of moral ambiguity is shoved aside to make it a good guy vs. bad guy battle at the end as opposed to a conflict of ideas

- Jean Grey, the most powerful mutant on the planet sits around and does nothing for most of the movie... when she finally does do something, she levitates some stuff and disintegrates things... that's it.

- why didn't Magneto take out Wolverine and Colussus by himself at the end? They're made of metal. He could've have twisted them into knots instead of letting them kill a dozen of his mutant cronies.

- why move the golden gate bridge to get to Alcatraz? It was just a little ridiculous.

- throughout the diagolue was trite, characters lacked depth, the story was slow.


... Highlights:

- Shadowcat... decent acting and some pretty cool use of her powers... well, a couple of times... was useful as a foil for Rogue

- Wolverine... despite some shitty fight choreography, cheesy lines, and too much lone wolf bullshit, Hugh Jackman still managed to put in a pretty decent shift as everyone's favorite mutant badass.

- Preview for the new Jet Li movie looked fucking radical. That shit is going to be an hour and a half of awesome.

- Preview for Superman looked pretty good. I think it was the third trailer... no John Williams soundtrack to this one, which is a bummer... but Kevin Spacey is going to kick ass as Luthor, even if the rest of the movie blows chunks.

- Jean Grey levitates and disintigrates things... yeah, it was repetative, but it was pretty cool at first...

...Congratulations X-Men 3, you made my list of top 5 bad blockbuster hollywood movies I wish I had not seen:

1. Star Wars: Episode II
2. X-Men III
3. Star Wars: Episode III
4. Star Wars: Episode I
5. Batman & Robin

Hamburger Helper

Summer has made an unfashionable, early appearance. Water molecules are doing that thing where they hesitate in mid-air, uncertain as to whether they should be forming a cloud or falling from one. It's the kind of weather where even thinking about moving causes perspiration. Everything seems to plod along with a bloated weariness. Yes, Memorial Day weekend made its successful return. Electronic road signs in Boston noted, in a rapid loop of fine rhetoric, to "Drive Safely" and that "Boston Honors its War Dead." I had my own little remembrance ceremony wherein I ate the ground flesh of a quadruped, freshly charred off the grill. Mix in a little crimson-colored corn syrup, and you've got quite a meal.

It seems our media outlets enjoy honoring our perished soldiers by virtually ignoring them. Rather, they prefer to make a big hullabaloo about a couple of journalists who were killed in Iraq. This is nothing to make light of, however it seems fairly self-serving and generally not front page worthy news, at least if you compare it to the fact that deaths of contractors or soldiers don't get similar treatment. It just seems uncouth for the media to be focusing attention on itself on a holiday where we're supposed to be remembering those who fought and died for our country as opposed to just... well, died.

Hooray for the free press.

______

In other news, I had a very enjoyable weekend with my cousins and oma up in Boston. We hit up the MFA (which has a few very nice Art Nouveau pieces) and the DeCordova (interesting sculpture park... didn't get to the museum). I also got a little of my game back in FIFA soccer, which I haven't played in maybe a year. The '06 version is buggy, but more realistic on the scoring front. Goals are almost fluky, which seems more in line with how things actually work, at least in my experience. I got schooled in some Nintendo fighting game by Andrew, the older of my two cousins, and schooled in Greek mythology by Sam, the younger.

complete the thought...

... a list in the style of a list from McSweeney's...

I almost married her. She was perfect in every way but one...

...she was dead.
...she was a he.
...she was 23 and I was 12. She was not into preteens.
...she had three elbows.
...she had four elbows.
...she was a Nazi.
...she was made of uranium.
...she did not believe in dinosaurs.
...she was inflatable. Actually, she was perfect. We honeymooned in the Himalayas.
...she was a leper.
...she had no neck.
...she was a silverback gorilla.

Please, feel free to add your own.

Albright is Alright.

"If Arab democracy develops, it will do so to advance Arab aspirations based on Arab perceptions of history and justice. The right to vote and hold office is unlikely to soften Arab attitudes toward Israel or to end the potential for terror, just as it has been unable to prevent terrorist cells from organizing in the West. Democracy should, however, create a broader and more open political debate within Arab countries, exposing myths to scrutiny and extreme ideas to rebuttal. Though some may fear such an opening, Americans should welcome it. For if we fail to value free expression, we forget our own history." --Madeleine K. Albright on washingtonpost.com

Tsar Nicholas II to Blame for Wayne Rooney's Broken Foot

From the Guardian:

Instantly supplanting the War of Jenkins' Ear as history's most depressing conflict about a body part is the War of Rooney's Foot, currently being waged between Sir Alex Ferguson and Sven-Goran Eriksson. Yet as they fiddle, the rest of us get on with the real business: whom to burn for The End of the Dream(TM). Happily my eye is drawn to a letter to Football365.com which suggests that stopping free school milk caused brittle bones in all subsequent generations of children, and therefore the blame for Rooney's injury must be laid at the door of Margaret Thatcher...

Continue reading what may be considered the most brilliant football article ever written.

The List

Here's the list of memorable places I've eaten pizza from (in no particular order):

1. Pepperoncino's (5th Ave)

2. Patsy's (118th & 1st)

3. Patsy's (11th & University)

4. Totonno's (26th & 2nd)

5. Totonno's (81st & 2nd)

6. Totonno's (Coney Island)

7. Ray's (2nd & 94th)

8. John's (44th & 8th)

9. John's (Bleecker)

10. Bleecker Street Pizza (7th Ave)

11. No. 28 (near Bleecker)

12. DeMarco's (was on Houston, CLOSED)

13. Joe's (near Bleecker)

14. Abitino's (Bleecker)

15. Lombardi's (Spring St.)

16. Una Pizza Napoletana (12th & 1st; CLOSED)

17. Waldy's Wood-Fired Pizza (6th Ave.)

18. Luzzo's (1st Ave)

19. Nick's (94th & 2nd)

20. Nick's (Queens)

21. Sac's Place (Astoria)

22. Grimaldi's (Dumbo)

23. Angelo's (57th & 6th)

24. Di Fara (Midwood)

25. Franny's (Flatbush)

26. 5th Ave Pizza (5th & Union St.)

27. La Villa (5th Ave)

28. Anthony's (7th Ave)

29. Li'l Frankie's (1st Ave)

30. Gino's (Washington Ave)

31. Nino's (Franklin Ave)

32. Vinny Vincenz (1st Ave)

33. Monty's (Montague St.)

34. Two Boot's (Bleecker)

35. Two Boot's (Grand Central)

36. 33 (23rd & 8th)
37. Fornino's (Bedford Ave, Williamsburg)
38. La Pizza Fresca (20th & Broadway)
39. Graziella's (Vanderbilt Ave & Dekalb Ave)

40. Famiglia (Crap. Don't ever eat pizza from here.)
41. Lazzara's (38th b/t 7th & 8th; Square pie)
42. Serafina (somewhere in Midtown)
43. Celeste (Amsterdam Ave b/t 84th and 85th)
44. The Alligator Lounge (Metropolitan Ave., Williamsburg)

45. Pizzatown (5th Ave., Park Slope)

46. Isabella's Oven (Grand St., LES; CLOSED)

47. Dean's (85th St. & Broadway, UWS)

48. Lucali (Henry St., Carroll Gardens)
49. Toby's Public House (South Slope/Sunset Park)
50. South Brooklyn Pizza (Court St. & 3rd Pl., Carroll Gardens)

51. Co. (24th & 9th)
52. Kesté (Bleecker)
53. Artichoke Basille (14th & 1st)
54. Pizza Mezzaluna (W. Houston; MacDougal)
55. Motorino (Graham Ave., Williamsburg; CLOSED)
56. Motorino (East Village)
57. Rose & Joe's Bakery (Astoria)
58. Rizzo's Fine Pizza (Astoria)
59. The House of Pizza & Calzone (Carroll Gardens)
60. Tomato & Basil (Park Slope)
61. Paulie Gee's (Greenpoint)

Plus a number of other corner slice shops that dot the cityscape.

To do list:


Best Pizza
Totale
Olio e Piú
South Brooklyn Pizza (Manhattan)
Artichoke Basille's (Westside)
Rose & Joe's Italian Bakery
Donatella's
Roberta's
San Marzano
L&B Spumoni Gardens
Arturo's
Leonardo's
+ more!

My current top 10 (in order):

1. Di Fara (excruciatingly long waits for works of edible art)
2. Motorino (wood oven, crisp and tensile crust, delicate buffalo mozzarella— and excellent gelato!)
3. Grimaldi's (coal oven perfection, quality pepperoni, and root beer)
4. Anthony's (homemade cheese, amazingly delicious crust like fresh bread)
5. Nick's (wood-fired, crust quality varies, excellent pepperoni, all in the exotic locale of Queens)
6. Artichoke Basille (the square. really. it's that good. crisp, rich, oily.)
7. Totonno's (the most consistently made pizza, paper thin crust, smokey coal oven)
8. Pizza Mezzaluna (wood-fired, Neapolitan-inspired)
9. Lombardi's (America's first licensed pizzeria)
10. La Villa (the DOC is wood-fired new york-italianess; bonus!: delicious house salad)

What?

Ridiculous.

Cigarettes and Pollution

Below are some statistics I looked up. I don't have anything to compare cigarette pollution to yet (except for the segment from the Italian Institute for Higher Health), but I'll see what I can come up with. I think my math is right, but I welcome corrections.

According to a study conducted by the the Italian Institute for Higher Health, three smouldering cigarettes produced a 10-fold increase in air particles compared to those produced by an idling 2002 Ford Mondeo turbo diesel with a two-litre engine, fuelled with low-sulphur diesel. (http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6312)

The mean average of milligrams of CO per cigarrette is 11.5mg (taken from data corresponding to 103 different kinds of cigarettes, a sampling of the statistics found here: www.ftc.gov/reports/tobacco/1998tar&nicotinereport.pdf , a Federal Trade Commission report).

Estimated number of cigarettes smoked in U.S. in 2005 by the U.S.D.A.: 389 billion
Estimated number of cigarettes produced in the world in 2004: 5.662 trillion

Approximately 4.5 million kilos or 9.9 million lbs of carbon monoxide released into the atmosphere via smoking in the U.S. (11.5mg x 389,000,000,000 / 1,000,000 = # of kilos x 2.2 = # of pounds).

The 465 billion cigarettes smoked in the United States in 1998 translates to a total of 176,250,000 pounds of discarded butts in one year in the United States alone.
(http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/cigbutthowmany.htm)

The average diameter of a cigarette is approximately 10mm or 1cm (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigarette). One football field is approximately 110m x 50m (http://www.ncaa.org/champadmin/football/football_field.gif). If you stood each cigarette on end, like a chimney stack, you would need 55 million cigarettes¹ to cover an entire football field. It would take about 7,072 football fields, or slightly over 15 square miles², to house all of the cigarettes produced in the U.S. Now imagine those cigarettes burning.

1. 110m = 11000cm; 50m = 5000cm;(11000cm*5000cm)*(1 cigarette / 1cm^2) = 5.5x10^7 cigarettes

2. 1m = 0.000621371192 miles; 110m = 0.06835083112 miles; 50m = 0.0310685596 miles; 7072*0.06835083112 miles*0.0310685596 miles = 15.017829547194793606144 miles^2

from nature.com

Puzzle of leaping liquid solved
Physicists explain how shampoo streams can bounce.

Philip Ball

Dutch researchers believe they have cracked the physics behind a mysterious bouncing behaviour of liquids, first seen more than 40 years ago.

British engineer Arthur Kaye first noticed this weird phenomenon in 1963, while experimenting with a mixture of obscure organic liquids. When he poured his viscous mixture on to a surface, the down-going stream would suddenly throw up a jet that merged with the incoming stream.

Continued...

Videos of the phenomenon.