Experimenting with Video

Ben and I've been playing around with music and video clip tonight, and I remembered I experimented with my tiny camera shooting a very short clip of Nancies back in January. The picture quality is "huh"; they sound heck of a lot clearer than the clip, but still I do wish I had recorded a whole song! Anyway, here it is, my first video experience.

That was a heck of a good gig, wasn't it, Kath!

Things I Like

Pears. I love pears. The two wooden apples on the ledge are the first things we ever bought in New Zealand when we first visited in 1992. The blue bowl was one of the many ceramics we've accumulated in the years we've lived in the Nelson region; this one is from Golden Bay.
Autumn. This sunflower was well over 30cm in diameter.
Sometimes I think Nelson CBD (Central Business District; downtown) looks like a town from an old Western movie. (I lived in Tucson, Arizona when I was five, and we used to take overseas visitors to Old Tucson.) I think Nelson's provincial atmosphere suits the look or vice versa; if we ripped out the pavings and got rid of cars, we might even get an old fashioned gun fight. I like the facades of these buildings; new office buildings look not only ugly, but they don't look like they will last as long as these.
Rocks from a beach in Golden Bay; I can never remember which beach; I used to think it was Parapara, but I seem to recall finding out that I was mistaken.

Good Reads

I've heard this Shelley Gare twice on National Radio (now called Radio New Zealand National) in the last week or so, and she's a rip-roar of a interviewee, so I had to go get her book, "The Triumph of the Airheads and the Retreat from Commonsense".

Here's one podcast of her interview: she's the 14th item on this list today; she'll go lower on the list around noon Thursday, but I hope she stays there for a while. The book so far (and I just started on the bus on my way home) has lots of Australian references that I don't understand, but still it's a hilarious and she's put into words what I've been thinking of late. She also made references to "Affluenza", but Oliver James, so I got that, too. (I stumbled on a 25%-off-non-fiction sale at the not-so independently owned bookshop; I wanted de Botton's architecture book, too, but I'm kind of trying to live within a budget, so had to forgo that one.)

Then when I got home, I had a package from my Philosophy professor in Minnesota; he sent me some of the books he wrote that I've been after. Dr Cady has been a peace activist for a long time, and was invited to speak in the Soviet Union in the 80's; he's been a feminist for even longer, and some of the things he mentioned ever so casually in class in the last 70's used to baffle this ex-convent school girl.

And I might also have a new "hobby". I went for the first time, as a guest, to a Toastmaster's meeting. I admit I had this image of a bunch of people dressed like, ummm, the Masons toasting endlessly (and drinking heavily) and I had no idea what they did, but the meeting was interesting and I think I might go a few more times as a guest to see if I want to join. Anybody involved in the Toastmaster-ing?

And it looks like it's going to rain tonight. This week gets better and better.

One Thousand Cranes

Montana Raven alerted me to this: Crane Maker Liz is folding 1000 paper cranes and sending them to the first 1000 people who contact her. All she asks in return is one photograph of that crane taken by you; the 1000 photos will be made into an art installation by Liz at a later date. Ours are on their way.

For more info, check her "About the Paper Crane Proejct"; or email her.

The paper cranes are Japanese in origin; if you have a dream, if you fold 1000 cranes and string them together, your dreams will come true. The two places I've seen them most often were in hospitals (understandably) and headquarters of those running for public offices (like that's going to work); these cranes were always made by other people, though. When I was a kid, ever time someone got sick, out came the origami box, and we had to fold our quota of tiny cranes. No wonder I don't like origami much. But for once, this sounds like an exciting project!!

Hydrangeas

I didn't used to like Hydrangeas; they were more or less big clumps of nuisance back home. But they are nice in wide, open gardens. I don't really understand what I heard about how the different colors come out; all I know is I like most colors except pale and mid-pinks, buy mine likes to glower in straight-forward, boring pink. These were found in a long row at Eyebright, a gift/Christmas shop in Richmond.

What? Where?

With Beta, if you've not logged into your account, and try to comment on someone else's (or even your own) post, and type in the magic word, enter the account name, and press Tab: WHERE ON EARTH DOES THE CURSOR GO TO?

I try to tolerate/live with upgrades and "enhancements" but some very basics things haven't been ironed out, have they?

Horses Made of Driftwood

Found over at Myron's; the artist's web page is kind of hard to navigate if you don't have a wide screen, but some of the work are amazing, some are just spooky.

Off the Radar

It's been a while. Really. I've been off the Internet for quite a while, and it's done me good, because I do tend to spend too much of my life on the Internet. Meanwhile, I've been trying to get my life back to normal, trying to clean the house (which is hard when you accumulate mess over nearly three months WHILE constantly adding to it by dealing with fiber all the time), coping with a time bomb in my mouth, filed my tax return, and generally wondering, "What do I really want to do next?"

Anyhoo, I should be back on the planet, hopefully, by the end of the week. Hopefully...

Kath Bee, have you got time for me? Paul, I will email you soon-ish - but otherwise, no news at my end. And everybody else, have a wonderful early spring/late summer (and maybe not so blustery) week.

UFO Photography 101

On our way to Blenheim, around 7PM last night, I saw a regular passenger plane just above us; we were driving directly underneath it. So of course I try, but it's starting to get dark, especially now that daylight saving is over, we're moving east, it's flying west, you get the picture. And as far as UFO photos go, it isn't even halfway interesting.

Mt Ruapehu Lahar

Did I ever mention that one of the things I wished I could be trained for after I became an adult is a volcanologist/seismologist? Or maybe I just find volcanoes and earthquakes exciting, as long as I'm nowhere near them and there's no casualty.

Mt Ruapehu, along with Mt Tongariro and Mt Ngauruhoe sits in the middle of the North Island. In 1995 it had a spectacular eruption, and since then, the crater lake has been closely observed for fear of releasing lahar any time; in fact, it breaks every so often, and it was high time it did. When my parents were in NZ in February, the news programs were reporting on its status every day, and I warned Mom and Dad to obey civil defense, army, police/firemen, or anybody else if that happened, and to take a lot of pictures.

The crater lake broke around 11am yesterday, and Channel 3 captured some good footage; the only thing is, it wasn't anywhere near as spectacular as I had hoped, but looks like an ashy/rocky mudslide. Anyway, no human damage, and here are the links to some video footage: Broadband/Dial-up.

If you know the area, the train was stopped between Ohakune and National Park and the passengers were bussed; the Tangiwai Railway disaster memorial is under debris (but not sure if it's ruined), the railway bridge is fine; a footbridge may have to be rebuilt, and the debris went Wanganui way.

Answers

1 and 3 were from the same ballpoint pen. 2 was the hinge on my glasses. 4, of course, is Ben's paperweight from Hogland, a local glass studio. (Hey, I even got a bit of Nelson advertising in!) And just because I shot it, here's a closeup of the pen.

I must say, Ms Soup, your mate Mark has good eyes for objects. Thanks for playing, everybody.

Chubby Guy

One of the disgruntled-old-men/audience on the Muppet Show looked like this; remember him? This photo works better when seen in a smaller size. Here's his mate.

In Need of Rabbit Island

Aging Disgracefully

Starbyte, with whom I went to high school, told me she had a good laugh with a friend recently because they are now spending equal/more money on health as they do on their car/house maintenance. Ditto, here.

I've never been athletic or exceptionally fit, but by the same token I've been pretty healthy, and besides bad teeth, horrible eye-sight and incapacitating hey fever, I can't recall going to a doctor between the ages of 14 and 41.

My Dad was of the belief that most illnesses are self-inflicted; that they are caused by not eating healthily, lack of exercise, or his favorite, laziness. He always told us if we aspired to do well in school, we'd be too busy to catch a cold. In fact, until his recent problems (he's 79 now) Mom remembers him having had two colds in roughly 35 years. And in case you think he's totally misguided, there is the popular Japanese/Chinese saying: "Illness springs from the mind."

When I was 41, I had to register with a GP* because of stress-related problems, and I stuck with her until last September. She was younger than me, a tall, stick-figured woman. She's reputed to be not a bad doctor, but in my case, I should have quitted her a long time ago. But you know, there is a Stockholm Syndrome-like relationship with medical professionals; at least I did.

For the last five years or so, I've had what I think are the-changes-related problems: minor, sporadic/recurring symptoms that, when left untreated, collectively reduce the quality of life (what I call "output") substantially. I tried to think/work my way out of health problems, and by the time I went to see her, I was usually worn out. At the end of every visit, she'd give me this semi-encouraging, semi-condescending laugh, telling me to exercise and loose weight . (Did I tell you she told Ben the same thing after he had what turned out to be a scary-but-not-dire heart "event"?) And it transpired she didn't even take notes of my symptoms/complaints sometimes.

So with Dad and this GP telling me it's all psychosomatic, I've come not to trust my instincts and resigned to believing all these symptoms are insignificant or imagined. But it's my body, and we all know that we know when something is wrong; it's like sensing your car or sewing machine or camera just not working like it should or did a week ago. So last year, I binged on health advice; I sought four specialists who, independently, discovered/recommended things I suspected/knew. I changed my GP, and my new doctor is systematic and intelligent, and about the same age as the previous one, but I trust her; my part is to be a good patient and keep maintenance records and report faults, and she'll take it from there. And this is such a relief.

I'm still not 100%, or maybe this is the way it's going to be, until I hit another rapid decline; maybe this is natural aging, and I'm never going to have as many productive hours per day as I used to. That's fine, because I'm finding ways to work around it.

Anyway, Starry, it gives a whole new twist to "spending money on myself," doesn't it? It's no longer about a new bra, hair products, or a day at the spa. We'll look back on 2007 and talk about the good old days.

---

*In New Zealand, you must register with a General Practitioner, who can refer you to specialist or the regional hospital for publicly- (free, but ridiculously long waiting lists) or privately-funded treatment. Although you can call specialists on your own volition, you must then pay privately. Because theoretically health care is provided free of cost (if you can wait that long), there is no compulsory health insurance; private health insurance has skyrocketed in the last four or five years, both in demand and cost.

My Niece

That's her on her First birthday. They sent me a successful, smily shot as well, but this is cuter.

Couple of weeks ago she had a really bad cold and she and her parents had a hard time coping; this is her crawling to the corner of the room, running out of space, and falling asleep. She's fine this week, and is going to walk any day now.

What is It?

Requested by Alphabet Soup and Kath. So, what are they? All shot in my house.

1. Need one almost every day.

2. These come in pairs.

3. Connecting me with friends; connecting me to thoughts.

4. On my desk.

Attention (Public) Art Lovers

From Ryan's Orange Country Daily Photo; have a look at this!!

Dark Thoughts

Recently, I've been suffering from the-world-is-taken-over-by-young-people-itis . When I watch the news, when I have to contact an organization, and most worryingly, when I have to talk to a health professional or someone at the bank, most people seem to be younger than me. I look at some (but not all) people in their 30's and think, "By golly, you're just a kid!"

Usually I laugh at myself when I catch myself, but by golly, gee, I hope I'm not showing disrespect. I think I'm still a bit young becoming a seriously grumpy old woman.

Dogs

Many people have lovely photos of dogs on their blogs and Flickr pages, but I've never been bombarded by so many lovely shots as Montana Raven's dog sled race shots... And I think her Sam is one of the nicest pooches I've seen. Click here to see some of the best of Sam; he's the big, black one.

Now I feel incomplete without a dog!

Having Fun Taking Potshots

Indulgent, but I had so much fun. 18 days ago.

Life is a Party

My friend Nancy is a deep thinker with faith; she goes to lots of interesting workshops and retreats. Today she told me that once a priest likened life to a dinner party; by the time you get there, the party's started so you have to pay attention a bit before you can join the conversation, and then you enjoy the company and the conversation (and the food, I hope), and then when your time is up, you have to leave even if you're not finished telling/hearing a story. Well, she didn't say that last bit, but I'm guessing.

My party is a bit messier, noisier and and chaotic, with too much junk food and chocolate on top of the salads, the meat, and the fish, but I like the analogy.

Meanwhile, Ben and I've been lamenting that the photos in NDP have been decidedly lackluster in the last month or so. I'm not sure why but neither of us have found anything spectacular, and we're a bit tired of the heat. The night before last was probably one of the best sunsets we've seen all summer, and this morning the cloud formation was very strange and beautiful, but between the two of us, we shot... 0.

My eyes get very tired in the Nelson sun, that's for sure, but I'm just wondering if the late summer sun is different from early summer sun and is not conducive to producing clear, sharp images. The heat and lack of rain is making the plants look a bit tired and dusty in places, too. But there must be still plenty of interesting and worthy shots left in this town.

Must try harder.

Yeah, What-Ever!!

I'm feeling bad about not having visited all of your blogs recently; I promise I'll do that after I finish my tax returns. Meanwhile, today's find here.

Clothing stores are having (or have finished) the summer clothes sales now, but the sun doesn't seem to mind - it's still glittery and dangerous in Sunny Nelson. Remember to slip, slop, slap, and wrap.

Oh, and, YAOWEEEEE, I'm having another dental crisis or two; Paul the Dentist thinks one is nothing, but the other, I've had to sign up for a minor dental surgery on April 12 for a one-hour job. I told Paul that since I plan to eat for another 40 or so years, he's now allowed to retire for as long. He said he'll take care of me only if I'm nice to him.

But how many people in the world can seriously say they sincerely like and admire their dentist AND their accountant? I am so lucky.

Chinese Garden, Queen's Garden, Round Gate

I can't wait for the Chinese Garden to be completed, whenever that might be. I love the round gateway (??) in the wall. Beyond the gate, there's a wooden plank jutting out onto the water and you can see the rest of the Queen's Garden from there.