#shaun auckland

[earlycuntsets]

killjoy comic contest template (2012)

"above, is an empty comic strip for you to complete with your very own imagined Killjoys story, featuring the characters Party Poison, Jet Star, Fun Ghoul and Kobra Kid.

Make sure to complete your comic strip by adding your own original prefix to the title - and entries that incorporate 'Danger Days: The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys' references, are sure to be judged favourably.

Coup De Main will pick our top twenty favourites... then Gerard Way's 'The True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys' comic book co-writer SHAUN SIMON - click HERE to read our 2010 interview with him - will select the Top Ten entries, who will each win a double-pass to our My Chemical Romance meet and greet!

To enter, please print out and mail your original Killjoys comic strip entry with the below entry form [before January 14th, 2012] to: COUP DE MAIN, 120 New North Road, Eden Terrace 1021, Auckland."

FAQ's:

Do I have to use the supplied template? No - it's supplied as a guideline, but you do have to be able to mail us a print-copy of your comic strip entry.

Am I allowed to enter with a friend? Yes you may enter as a team of two - each winning comic strip entry will be eligible for two people to attend our meet and greet event.

Am I allowed to have more characters than Party Poison, Jet Star, Fun Ghoul and Kobra Kid in my comic? Yes as many you like - but you must include all of the characters Party Poison, Jet Star, Fun Ghoul and Kobra Kid in your comic at least once each.

12/22/2011 mcrhollywood.blogspot.com

[ardn516tingtingzhang]

The book of a different light

Five essays and a photo album look at how New Zealand has changed since photography started in 1827, from the first portrait photos to the Kodak "Brownie" camera, which became popular in the early 1900s.

The book is helpful because the essays give a lot of good information and the photos are interesting, letting people see and connect with the past. But photos aren't just neutral images of history — they reflect the photographer's choices and the time they were taken. Nowadays, we understand that photography played a part in settler colonialism.

So it can reflect the society, culture, economy, and even people’s thoughts at that time, along with a whole range of cultural and historical knowledge. Photography is a great gift because, through a small camera, it can reveal many issues in society and capture the situation of the time.

A good piece of work and a good photographer must capture a certain phenomenon or objective reality of the time, which later can inspire people. Behind the photos lies a deeper layer that provokes thought or storytelling. This is what truly defines a meaningful work.

I hope my work goes beyond just being photos for the sake of photos. I want them to have deeper meaning, something that can provoke thought and inspire people. To me, that's what makes a good piece of work.

Ref : A Different Light: First Photographs of Aotearoaed. Catherine Hammond and Shaun Higgins Auckland University PressISBN:  9781869409944 Published: April 2024Format: Hardcover, 284 pages

[photographynoob]

Week 4: Museum Visit

A Different Light: First Photographs of Aotearoa ed. Catherine Hammond and Shaun Higgins

My first try at editing a photo. It is a view of the Auckland War Memorial Museum. I tried to make the colours stand out more since the raw image looked quite muted. Overall kind of satisfied with what I did since it was my first time editing, although I would have liked to take a shot from a better angle, but wasn't sure I had the time since I had to meet up with the class. Maybe next time.

For my 5 chosen artefacts to reflect on, I chose these images.

A mammoth plate of the White Terrace of Lake Rotomahana. Mammoth plate daguerreotypes are remnants of the times they were born. Used in the mid to late 1800s, daguerreotypes to them are what would be digital is for us. This was a breakthrough technology at the time and is the grandfather of modern photography. A mammoth plate is a specific plate used for larger images, along with the mega mammoth plates for even larger ones.

This one really caught my eye as it looked so familiar but also so alien at the same time. It is inconceivable for me to even think about going through all that process just to create a photograph, but they used to do it all the time.

It makes me appreciate modern technology more that we are able to point and click and take a much better quality photo than they would for much less time. Add in the fact that mammoth plates rarely survived because of their size, this vestige from the 1800s is truly a wonder to behold.

This second goes along the same lines but with a captured images of a person. Again, it looks so bizarre to me for a person to look like this, but at the same time, I understand it for what it is.

it is a negative therefore the darkest parts of the photo would look the lightest, and vice versa. It could be because I do not really look at and interact with negatives in my day to day life, but things like this really draw me in.

This collection of cartes de visite caught my eye next since it looked like some kind of vintage collectible cards. It made me wonder about the monetary value since collectible cards today could go for hundreds of thousands of dollars and you can get them from booster packs sold for less than $10.

The historical value of them photos however, might just trump the monetary value since from what I gathered, carte de visite were akin to an 1800s version of a selfie, likely due to them being cheap and easier to make. They were also widely traded among friends or family that visited, hence the carte de visite name.

This artefact is apparently one of the earliest surviving photos of Auckland. I chose this one since it is like a portal to life back then, a looking glass through time. It is quite difficult to reconcile this image to what I see now, but it is undoubtedly what it was like before I was born.

For the final item, I chose this camera, the No.4 Cartridge Kodak that came out in 1897.

This camera would have been what they carried around back then instead of DSLRs or mirrorless cameras. I am very curious to see what kind of photos it would take compared to modern film cameras since this could take film negatives.

So I looked online to see what it would take to acquire one and this is what I found.

The price does not seem to stray from a second hand, entry level DSLR or mirrorless but I'm quite sure the image quality cannot be further from each other.

All in all, it an interesting memento for the novelty of its age and antiquity but if you're not rolling in money nor an avid enthusiast, putting your money towards better camera gear is the way to go.

It is, however, a camera older than most people today and it is interesting to think that technology has come so far yet we still use things that were derived from back then, albeit modernised to go with the time and advancement in technology.

This brings me to my next and final point, my chosen 1 artefact from outside the show itself, the Nikon F camera that came out in 1959.

This camera was one of the most advanced cameras of its time, it is an SLR, not DSLR, camera since digital wasn't around back then. However, unlike the No.4 Cartridge Kodak, this camera still holds up today and can still somewhat compete with modern film cameras even though it is almost 70 years old.

This camera was a marvel of its time as it combined many concepts and technologies into one which gave it its formidable image capturing prowess using the 35mm film.

[phoebelauardn516]

SDL - Joyce Campbell

“A Different Light: First Photographs of Aotearoa” by Catherine Hammond and Shaun Higgins is a fully illustrated book with exhibitions showcasing early photography from the Hocken Library, Alexander Turnbull Library, and the Tāmaki Paenga Hira Auckland Memorial Museum. There are five essays and a thematic album of photographs in this book, exploring the history of photography in New Zealand from its inception in 1827, involve the earliest daguerreotype portraits to the Kodak box ‘Brownie’ in the 20th century. It presents a variety of perspectives on the evolution of photography in New Zealand, technical history, decolonized historical analysis, and insights from the study of studio and private album collections. The book contrasts the realism in historical photography with modern digital photography, capturing the directness and simplistic techniques of early photography and the progression of Māori photography.

       Historical photography often conveys a naturalness in landscapes and social relations, avoiding the heavy quality seen in many modern images. I can apply this concept in my future work, as it aligns with my current practice of capturing different moments, such as friends laughing or people walking. I believe deliberate staging can detract from the realism of photos, making them feel stiff. Therefore, I aim to focus less on photo quality and extensive editing like adjusting angles, centring and colour and more on the expression of the moments and social interactions.

         Additionally, the distinctive intimacy and social relations depicted in historical photographs offer valuable lessons. I intend to explore these areas further, presenting more natural and consistent photos. While it will be challenging without heavy editing, I aim to capture more authentic scenes around me and develop deeper social relationships through my images. This approach will help me present a more continuous and impactful narrative to my viewers.

[dailyrugbytoday]

Chiefs v Blues Rugby on TV: Super Rugby Final 2024

New Post has been published on https://thedailyrugby.com/chiefs-v-blues-rugby-on-tv-super-rugby-final-2024/

The Daily Rugby

https://thedailyrugby.com/chiefs-v-blues-rugby-on-tv-super-rugby-final-2024/

Chiefs v Blues Rugby on TV: Super Rugby Final 2024

Live coverage of the Chiefs v Blues Rugby on TV, Super Rugby Pacific final at Auckland’s Eden Park. The Blues take on the Chiefs in an all-New Zealand clash in final of the Super Rugby Pacific in Auckland, with the Chiefs seeking to go one better than last season when they lost in the final against the Crusaders.

Blues v Chiefs kick-off time, date and venue

Blues v Chiefs will be played at Eden Park in Auckland, with the match set to kick-off at 08:05 BST on Saturday 22nd June.

Blues v Chiefs stats and head-to-head record (H2H)

The Blues are unbeaten at Eden Park in Super Rugby this season, winning all of their 10 home matches this season.

The Chiefs have won seven of their last 10 Super Rugby matches, however they did lose against the Blues at Eden Park at the start of June.

How to Stream Super Rugby Final Chiefs v Blues Rugby on TV

Blues v Chiefs (Kick-off 8.05am). Coverage of this year’s final from Eden Park in Auckland

Live Super Rugby airs on Sky Sports Action at 8:00 AM, Saturday 22 June.

Chiefs v Blues Rugby Match Preview

Chiefs – In the other camp, the Chiefs have lost hooker Samisoni Taukei’aho to a leg injury sustained in the semifinal against the Hurricanes last weekend. Tyrone Thompson will get his first start of the season as a result as he packs down between Ross and Dyer. The only other change to the starting lineup comes in the back row, with Daniel Rona dropping to the bench, Etene Nanai-Seturo shifting out to the left wing, and Shaun Stevenson joining the 15 at fullback. Manaaki Selby-Rickit comes in on the bench as second row cover.

Blues – Just one change for the Auckland outfit ahead of the final as they are bolstered by the timely return of their captain Patrick Tuipulotu in the second row. His recovery from an MCL injury picked up in the quarterfinals means he will start at 4, with Darry pulling on the number 5 jersey and Beehre dropping to the bench. Bryce Heem also joins the side among the replacements as he returns from a calf injury.

[runnersnz]

"Some of my earliest memories of running are of sitting on the steps at home tying up some old canvas shoes so I could go for a run around the block with Dad; of an aunty and uncle doing marathons and thinking, ‘Wow, that’s so cool!’ (maybe because they always seemed to be winning incredible spot prizes like spa pools and trips to Australia); of muddy school cross-country races across farm paddocks; and of entering the Papakura Fun Run and having my uncle abandon his marshalling spot to run it in with me (I wonder if he got in trouble?). 

So I’m lucky that running has always been there. I’ve gone through many seasons with it - at school I ran everything I could, but never ever won a single race, at best watching in awe as my mate Aaron tore around at speed, or coming second to my mate Anthony who must have beaten me 100 times. When I joined the Papakura Athletic Club, I found my mate Greg and together we’d run on the track, the trails, and the road until we were absolutely spent, a crucible which produced a life-long and special friendship. At 21 I ran my first marathon at Rotorua, forming a bond with that race and the people that lasts to this day. In my 30s I ran fast marathons, finding my wheels thanks to a group of incredible runners who let me try to keep up with them on Sunday long runs that left me fitter and happier; people like Gavin, Kerry, Phil, Guy, Shaun and Gary. And then in my 40s I discovered the trails at Riverhead and my good old mate Matt Rayment, with whom I shared so many conversations on the trails we decided five years ago (five years!) to launch the Dirt Church Running podcast. I’m lucky to still be running out there, with so many good friends; Matt, Tom, Seawon and others. And then there's parkrun - wow, I love the whole concept of that, not to mention the catch-ups and coffees afterwards (thanks Pai Parkrunners!). 

So yes, running has been about fitness and mental health goodness, but it has mostly been about people. The friendships, the chats you can have when you’re out running that you can’t bring yourself to have anywhere else, and the laughs you share even when you think you’ve got no spare energy. 

And along the way, family who have always supported and encouraged me and come along for the ride, even when running is not their thing – it lifted my heart to have my wife Suzanne and our younger son Kieran we with me at Naseby; and there have been plenty of other adventures too (our older boy, Marc, is a gun crew-chief, by the way, and I’ve also been lucky to share a couple of marathons with him, too. And I note that Mum was at the finish line for my marathon PB so I consider her a good-luck charm). 

So yeah, it’s people that keep me running, through every season, through every up and down, through the PBs and the DNFs, starting with Dad. He died suddenly 19 years ago, but every now and again I still sometimes hear his footsteps behind me when I’m running alone. I smile, thanking him for taking me on those first runs and introducing me to a world of friendships and joy. 

E hoa mā, inā te ora o te tangata. (My friends, this is the essence of life)."

Eugene @eugene_bingham (Auckland) Photo taken at the Great Naseby Water Race - Portraits of Runners + their stories @RunnersNZ

[thorntopieces]

crosslands

resplendent glory

transcendent journey

cry of the last unicorn

some others: arctic fire (robert buckley) , ride (samuel r. hazo) , goddess of fire (steven reineke) , windjammer (robert buckley) , whispers from beyond (rossano galante) , music from how to train your dragon (john powell / shaun o'loughlin) , arabesque (samuel r. hazo) , pirates of the caribbean (auckland symphonic) , cyclone (michael oare) , fate of the gods (steven reineke)

*scuttles up appropriately close to you*

hihi im back to be a little pain in your neck /lh /j

if you want music that isn't like. rock or pop. but is still like complex and nice to listen to for writing i really really recommend literally any symphonic orchestra piece written by rossano gallante. i played them all the time back when i was in marching/symphonic band and even to this day they're a staple on my playlist. you can find them on youtube! my favourite is probably crosslands or the last centaur

*scuttles away*

WAIT, WAIT, COME BACK TAKE ME WITH YOU!!!

[thedeliblog]

#214 Egy igazi hajtáshoz ezekkel készülj

videó: 10:56 perc

Shane Auckland vérbeli filmes. És ezermester. És mindenre gondol. És mindene van. Ebben a videóban feltárja, mi mindent tart a kisbuszban, ha a Skate Rats-szel filmezni mennek. Az aggregátortól a metszőollóig, a kézfertőtlenítőtől a gumipogácsáig és amit még el sem tudsz képzelni. Minden cucc, amire szükség lehet, hogy a kinézett spot deszkázható és filmezhető legyen. Lehetőleg zavartalanul. Mekk Elek és McGyver méltó utóda.

[cloudedknight]

While I’ve made short films in the past, I very much would like to announce my foray into an official professional directing career with my very short sizzle reel: “RAT.” Starring Victoria Ransom. Please enjoy. RAT | Shaun Swain | Short Thriller | The Directors' Program | 2019 | (4K)

[goalhofer]

2020 Olympics New Zealand Roster

Athletics

Sam Tanner (Tauranga)

Connor Bell (Auckland)

Malcolm Hicks (Auckland)

Quentin Rew (Wellington)

Zane Robertson (Hamilton)

Nick Willis (Lower Hutt)

Jack Gill (Belmont)

Hamish Kerr (Auckland)

Tom Walsh (Timaru)

Tori Peeters (Matamata)

Camille Buscomb (Cambridge)

Lauren Bruce (Christchurch)

Julia Ratcliffe (Hamilton)

Madison-Lee Wesche (Auckland)

Valerie Adams (Rotorua)

Boxing

David Nyika (Hamilton)

Canoeing

Callum Gilbert (Okere Falls)

Max Brown (Whanganui)

Kurtis Imrie (Lower Hutt)

Luuka Jones (North Palmerston)

Lisa Carrington (Ōhope)

Caitlin Regal (Takapuna)

Teneale Hatton (Auckland)

Alicia Hoskin (Gisborne)

Cycling

Sam Dakin (Cambridge)

Ethan Mitchell (Auckland)

Sam Webster (Auckland)

Aaron Gate (Auckland)

Regan Gough (Waipukurau)

Jordan Kerby (Brisbane, Australia)

Campbell Stewart (North Palmerston)

Corbin Strong (Invercargill)

George Bennett (Nelson)

Patrick Bevin (Cambridge)

Callum Saunders (Blenheim)

Anton Cooper (Westmorland)

Jessie Hodges (Hamilton)

Ellesse Andrews (Christchurch)

Kirstie Klingenberg (Auckland)

Bryony Botha (Takapuna)

Rushlee Buchanan (Hamilton)

Holly Edmondston (Nelson)

Jaime Nielsen (Hamilton)

Rebecca Petch (Te Awamutu)

Diving

Anton Down-Jenkins (Wellington)

Field Hockey

Steve Edwards (Auckland)

Sean Findlay (Taradale)

Leon Hayward (Darwin, Australia)

Hugo Inglis (Dunedin)

Stephen Jenness (Lower Hutt)

Sam Lane (Temuka)

Dane Lett (Carterton)

Shea McAleese (Canterbury)

Jared Panchia (Auckland)

Nick Ross (Dunedin)

Kane Russell (Dunedin)

Jacob Smith (Wellington)

Blair Tarrant (Timaru)

Dylan Thomas (Hastings)

Nick Wilson (North Palmerston)

Nic Woods (Hamilton)

David Brydon (Auckland)

George Muir (Auckland)

Katie Doar (Auckland)

Tarryn Davey (Morrinsville)

Olivia Shannon (Feilding)

Olivia Merry (Christchurch)

Frances Davies (Tauranga)

Elizabeth Gunson (Whangarei)

Samantha Charlton (Auckland)

Grace O’Hanlon (Auckland)

Elizabeth Thompson (Thames)

Stephanie Dickins (Āpiti)

Megan Hull (Pongaroa)

Elizabeth Keddell (Tauranga)

Kelsey Smith (Nelson)

Stacey Michelsen (Whangarei)

Julia King (Auckland)

Hope Ralph (Taranaki)

Tessa Jopp (Dunedin)

Holly Pearson (Taranaki)

Soccer

George Stanger (Dunblane, U.K.)

Clayton Lewis (Wellington)

Gianni Stensness (Northbridge, Australia)

Michael Woud (Auckland)

Winston Reid (Sønderborg, Denmark)

Liberato Cacace (Wellington)

Nando Pijnaker (Wellington)

Michael Boxall (Auckland)

Elijah Just (Wellington)

Joe Bell (Wellington)

Chris Wood (Hamilton)

Marko Stamenic (Wellington)

Joe Champness (Brisbane, Australia)

Callum McCowatt (Auckland)

Jamie Searle (Cambridge)

Dane Ingham (Lismore, Australia)

Callan Elliot (Nelson)

Ben Waine (Wellington)

Matthew Garbett (Porirua)

Sam Sutton (Wellington)

Ben Old (Wellington)

Alex Paulsen (Lower Hutt)

Marisa Van Der Meer (Christchurch)

Michaela Robertson (Wellington)

Erin Nayler (Takapuna)

Victoria Esson (Burnside)

Anna Leat (Arrowtown)

Catherine Bott (Wellington)

Meikayla Moore (Christchurch)

Ali Riley (Los Angeles, California)

Claudia Bunge (Auckland)

Ria Percival (Brentwood, U.K.)

Annalie Longo (Auckland)

Betsy Hassett (Auckland)

Katie Bowen (Auckland)

Daisy Wilson-Cleverley (Auckland)

Olivia Chance (Tauranga)

Hannah Wilkinson (Whangarei)

Paige Satchell (Rotorua)

Anna Green (Stockport, U.K.)

Abby Erceg (Auckland)

Gabi Rennie (Rangiora)

Emma Rolston (Auckland)

Elizabeth Anton (Auckland)

Gymnastics

Mikhail Koudinov (Auckland)

Dylan Schmidt (Auckland)

Maddie Davidson (Christchurch)

Rowing

Jordan Parry (Tauranga)

Jack Lopas (Christchurch)

Dan Williamson (Auckland)

Tom Mackintosh (Christchurch)

Phillip Wilson (Wellington)

Stephen Jones (Auckland)

Brooks Robertson (Nelson)

Chris Harris (College Estate)

Shaun Kirkham (Hamilton)

Hamish Bond (Dunedin)

Matt Macdonald (Auckland)

Michael Brake (Auckland)

Tom Murray (Blenheim)

Sam Bosworth (Waipara)

Hannah Osborne (Te Awamutu)

Georgia Nugent-O’Leary (Aramoho)

Emma Twigg (Napier)

Kerri Gowler (Raetihi)

Grace Prendergast (Christchurch)

Brooke Donoghue (Te Kauwhata)

Livie Loe (Christchurch)

Eve Macfarlane (Parnassus)

Ruby Tew (Wellington)

Ella Greenslade (Christchurch)

Emma Dyke (Invercargill)

Lucy Spoors (Christchurch)

Kelsey Bevan (Auckland)

Beth Ross (Auckland)

Rugby

Andrew Knewstubb (Wellington)

Ngarohi McGarvey-Black (Auckland)

Tone Ng-Shiu (Auckland)

Amanaki Nicole (Christchurch)

William Warbrick (Auckland)

Scott Curry (Rotorua)

Tim Mikkelson (Matamata)

Kurt Baker (North Palmerston)

Caleb Clarke (Auckland)

Dylan Collier (Auckland)

Sione Molia (Auckland)

Etene Nanai-Seturo (Pakuranga)

Regan Ware (Tokoroa)

Tevarn Webber (Tokoroa)

Dhys Faleafaga (Wellington)

Jazmin Hotham (Auckland)

Shiray Kaka (Auckland)

Mahina Paul (Whakatane)

Alena Saili (Wellington)

Tenika Willison (Hamilton)

Sarah Hirini (Feilding)

Kayla Ahki (Waitara)

Shakira Baker (Masterton)

Michaela Blyde (New Plymouth)

Kelly Brazier (Dunedin)

Gayle Broughton (Taranaki)

Theresa Fitzpatrick (Auckland)

Stacey Fluhler (Whakatāne)

Tyla Nathan-Wong (Auckland)

Risealeaana Pouri-Lane (Motueka)

Terina Te-Tamaki (Hamilton)

Ruby Tui (Wellington)

Portia Woodman (Kawakawa)

Sailing

Micah Wilkinson (Auckland)

Sam Meech (Tauranga)

Paul Snow-Hansen (Takapuna)

Daniel Willcox (Takapuna)

Peter Burling (Tauranga)

Andrew Tuke (Kawakawa)

Josh Junior (Wellington)

Erica Dawson (Auckland)

Alexandra Maloney (Auckland)

Molly Meech (Tauranga)

Shooting

Natalie Rooney (Waimate)

Chloe Tipple (Christchurch)

Surfing

Billy Stairmand (Auckland)

Ella Williams (Whangamata)

Swimming

Lewis Clareburt (Wellington)

Zac Reid (New Plymouth)

Erika Fairweather (Dunedin)

Ali Galyer (Auckland)

Hayley McIntosh (Whangārei)

Eve Thomas (Brisbane, Australia)

Carina Doyle (Auckland)

Taekwondo

Tom Burns (Christchurch)

Weightlifting

Cam McTaggart (Southport)

David Liti (Auckland)

Kanah Andrews-Nahu (Auckland)

Laurel Hubbard (Auckland)

Equestrian

Jesse Campbell (Marlborough, U.K.)

Tim Price (Rangiora)

Bruce Goodin (Huntly)

Tom Tarver-Priebe (Auckland)

Daniel Meech (Steinfeld, Germany)

Bundy Philpott (Cambridge)

Jonelle Price (Rangiora)

Uma O’Neill (Santa Cruz, California)

Golf

Ryan Fox (Auckland)

Bo-Gyung Ko (Orlando, Florida)

Karate

Andrea Anacan (Auckland)

Tennis

Marcus Daniell (New York, New York)

Michael Venus (London, U.K.)

Triathlon

Tayler Reid (Gisborne)

Hayden Wilde (Whakatāne)

Ainsley Thorpe (Auckland)

Nicole Van Der Kaay (Rotorua)

[themousai]

Gig Review: The Chats - Whammy Bar [12/02/2019]

Auckland summers are the worst. They’re so humid, and hot, and did I mention humid? So of course, it’s a no brainer to head down to Whammy Bar to check out The Chats play the sold out first show of their New Zealand tour. What could be better than getting out of the heat, and down into an underground bar full of people ready to dance their hearts out to Australian shed rock?

Making a timely start, local trio Shaun’s B’day take to the stage first - already the room is sweltering - the single onstage fan doing nothing to combat the heat. But within seconds all discomfort is forgotten, as they rip into their setlist. For a band i’ve never really heard much about, I’m instantly won over, as it’s evident that they just adore being up there, and they’re thriving off the attention from the grooving crowd gathering in front of them. Pausing briefly to address the crowd, frontman Jake Love introduces ‘Do More Stuff’ - a song that’s “new if you haven’t seen us before”. Which guitarist Shaun Dedekind quickly dedicates to the Daffodils, because ‘they’re young and they do stuff!’

Jake’s clearly comfortable up on stage, and tells us that their next song was inspired by a TV show he watched as a kid, making sure to specify that he grew up in the UK just so we all know he was multi-cultural. It’s a song inspired by the Teletubbies, more specifically, Noo Noo - “the teletubbies treated him like garbage!” he cries, as the band launch into the aptly titled, ‘The Injustice Of Noo Noo’. The crowd are quick to pick up the lyrics, chanting back the lines “Naughty noo noo! Naughty noo noo!” and man, there’s really something special watching an entire bar full of punks screaming for the injustice of Noo Noo.

Having won the crowd over, Jake tells us all that they’re gonna slow it down a bit, for ‘With Or Without You’ by U2, “Oh no! Something’s going wrong!” He cries, as the first few chords sound out - sounding nothing like the U2 classic nobody wanted, and the band rip into ‘Enter Sandman’ by Metallica instead - which goes down an absolute treat. Jake ends the song by bashing his guitar over his head, a move that may look punk as fuck - but results in an out of tune guitar - luckily the crowd is happy to help him out with re-tuning. By now the heat is too much, and Jake loses his shirt, remarking that he’s getting married soon, and that this is what a “marriage bod” looks like. As their set draws to a close, Jake calls out for another Jake to join him onstage, “Yeah we’re both called Jake” he remarks, as Jake Nuualiitia, of Dead Beat Boys, takes over on the bass so that Jake (Love) can thrash around on stage a bit more.

In the fastest changeover i’ve seen in a long time, The Chats take to the stage. Lead vocalist and bassist Eamon Sandwith is clutching an armful of beers, and having a hearty sing along to Dave Dobbyn’s ‘Slice Of Heaven’ blaring through the speakers. “This is a song about pingas!” He calls out, and just like that, they’re into it, starting us off with ‘How Many Do You Do’. The crowd surges instantly, lyrics are screamed left right and centre, and bodies thrash wildly towards the stage. They pause only briefly between songs, introducing them all in the same way “This is a song about not having enough money to get on the bus!” and “This is a song about buying drugs off the internet and getting your identity stolen!”

It’s wild and the crowd love it, no topic is out of bounds for them. They entertain us with songs about pub food, songs about mum’s stealing cigarettes, and even a song about the clap. It would be easy for their song subjects to cross the line into feeling a bit cringey, but their catchy lyrics are backed up with some impressive musical talent - which holds the whole thing together, and delivers an impressive final result. No wonder the show sold out so fast!

“Take a step back!” Eamon asks us all, as by now the crowd is well and truly tumbling onto the stage. Within seconds they’re back though, scrambling to get as close as possible to the band. It’s not often that i’ve seen an entire bar dancing, but damn, as I take a look around me - I realize absolutely no one is standing still. Everyone’s having a groove, and getting into it! It’s refreshing to see, especially on a Tuesday night, and just goes to show that these boys really do know how to put on a solid live show. Eamon makes the most of the crowd’s full attention, introducing us all to a brand new song, one that no one’s ever heard before, a song that sounds surprisingly familiar? I think that band KISS stole it off them, it’s called ‘I Wanna Rock And Roll All Night’ - and somehow the entire crowd already knew the lyrics, as everyone sung them back in unison.

Following up with ‘Smoko’ - the song that brought them into the limelight back in 2017, the whole crowd chant the lyrics back, “I’m on smoko! Leave me alone! I’m on smoko! Leave me alone!” fills the room, a song that we can all relate to, even if you care about your lungs, and don’t inhale cancer sticks for fun.

All too fast the night is over, they wind up with an encore of ‘Better Than You’ - and then it’s done. Or at least it is until the next show - and boy do they have a few of those lined up for the rest of New Zealand - over the next 10 days, they’re making their way all the way down to Dunedin and back, playing a show nearly every single day (bar a three day break after Dunedin - perhaps a cleverly planned recovery break after partying with everyone in student city?) - before returning for a second show at Whammy Bar on the 22nd.

TLDR; if you missed out on this show. Don’t miss out on the next one. I know i’m seriously contemplating grabbing tickets for round two.

Photos: The Chats | Shaun’s B’day

Review + Photography by Mandie Hailwood

[shaunswain]

Looking Back at 2019 (And Having 2019 Look Back at Me)

Someone stole the ‘D’ from the Hollywoo sign

What Is This?

This is not a usual thing for me. While I’m all for introspection and retrospection, until this year, it hasn’t often been aloud. I have a tendency to fall down rabbit holes and tangents that steal away my attention in a direction I feel is probably more pertinent.   To me, I don’t ever feel like I’m able to fit in the whole picture. This year I’ve learned (and I’m happy to say you’re going to have to get used to that sentence if you decide to read further) that it’s not always the whole picture that’s needed. Of course, when it comes to leaving friends and family for an entire year, living in a city that’s much bigger than I’m used to, meeting people with profiles I’ve only ever heard about to the point they’d become deified amongst the people that speak about them, learning far more than I’d ever imagined learning, and living in conditions I didn’t know I could - it gets to the point that being asked “How’s your year been?” can be incredibly incredibly draining to think about.   But I’ve thought about it all. This year has been nothing but thinking about everything as it happens and as it will happen, or should have happened, or shouldn’t have happened, or should happen again, and so on. This year has been a strange, disturbing, enlightening, fulfilling, and draining cycle of thought patterns, broken patterns, fixed patterns; plenty of thoughtlines that move forward, back, up, down, and around.   I’m writing this as part journal entry, part chronicle of my experience of the year, part update on life in general. It will get a little stream-of-consciousnessesque and I don’t feel the need to change that. If you’re interested in reading, go ahead. But while I’m making this public, this is also intensely personal. This is my very long answer to the question: “So, Shaun, how was your year?”

Part One: Living on a Prayer

  Let’s set the scene. 2019 has just begun. I’ve packed up and shipped out to Auckland with the massive crowd of supportive friends and family waving goodbye. While I knew at the time I’d miss Dunedin, I knew I wanted to leave. I had to leave. I’d saved up what little money I could for the move, and had massive assistance with two final shows, the tremendous donations of people from a GiveALitle, and final work payouts (plus a few more refunds and payouts on the way.)

  I knew that whatever I was doing was damn risky, and what I was essentially doing was putting everything I had on the line. My sense of security, safety, and support was to be thrown to the wind. Not forever, mind you, just for now. In retrospect it was all probably a little too careless. But there was probably not going to be an opportunity like this for a good long while, I didn’t have any intention of sitting around waiting for the next one. An impatient, young idiot who wants to grow up and leave home.

  I was not entirely out alone, of course. There’s the obvious other person that would be there with me, with whom I had made arrangements to live. Plus two others from The South(TM) that I was more than happy to live with for a year. Although the initial few months of living arrangements were shaky, it was all going to work out in the long-term.   This was, of course, another instance of recklessness, and probably the biggest one. But I’ll elaborate on that in a moment. I didn’t expect to be greeted at what I thought had been agreed upon to be my temporary first home in the big smoke, with:

“So where are you staying tonight?”

  Not going to lie, it was a bit of a heart-sinking moment, filled with confusion, and a little bit of anger. But it was fine. It will all work out. Just gotta quickly come up with an answer. Luckily, my dear Uncle and Auntie lived in the shore. It’s a small home, and quite far away from school, but that’s alright. I was able to stay with them for a short while while more permanent living arrangements were being sought for. At the same time, the wonderful Laith Bayan also had a home with a couch I could crash on.

  Even if it is a couch, or an armchair, or a rug on the floor with a few blankets piled on it, with whatever funds I had very quickly dropping into nothingness. It was all worth it. I remember feeling perpetually energised, excited, and ready for the next day. Never in my life could I have felt so empowered simply by the feeling of hope. This little road bump surely wasn’t going to last long, and if it was I didn’t give a fuck, it wasn’t going to stop me. Not by a long shot.

Part Two: One Month Later

  So one month had passed. The groundwork had been laid down at school - the year was to be all about identifying, working out, and expressing my directorial style. This would involve looking back at my previous works, thinking about key similar aspects of them, and working out how do I not only pitch this style to future collaborators, but also to myself. It’s a hefty thing to wonder, but so important. I think it’s important for any artist to work out what makes them ‘them.’ To some people that might seem obvious, and while it seemed obvious to me, the actual specifics of what one ‘is’ and how does one know what one is is actually a damn difficult thing to really explain until you’ve already done it.

  It turns out my stint with living nowhere with nothing to my name lasted longer than I anticipated. I had deleted Facebook shortly after arriving in Auckland, and one thing I had learnt when falling into a 9-5 routine with little to no interactions with people outside of that routine is that your sense of time can get seriously fucked up. I hadn’t learned how dependent on social media I was for seeing how the world is and how it’s changing and how everyone else in the world is changing until I cut that aspect out. It was, to say the least, very disorienting. Especially in a massive city filled with people I don’t know. It didn’t make the unexpected culture shock any more digestible. But, I sucked it up. I didn’t have time to worry about how everyone else is doing - I needed to know how I was doing.

  The time spent lying on a rug, reading a play a day, and combing through the filmography of several film directors kept my mind at ease until we finally found a permanent home for the year. A massive, terrifying, white, probably haunted house incredibly close to the city. School/town was a walk away, or if I’m lazy, a cheap bus ride away. Dominos was literally next door, and the only other people in the area were industrial buildings, parking lots, cafes, all of which closed relatively early. It was an eerie kind of a quiet. The kind where you can hear plenty cars whizzing down (or jamming up) along the road in the distance, but in the immediate vicinity of the house, there was a dark nothingness. Pipes leaked, stairs creaked (and thumped, and thumped, and thumped) and the lounge was composed of two lounges facing each other.

  One of the lounges had the perfect space for a projector.

Plenty of the lights and plug sockets didn’t work, the lights were in very strange spots, and the light switches in even weirder ones. There were a lot of additions built onto the house that gave the entire environment a very surreal feel. Like a bunch of houses crammed together. I had one of the actors in The Program, whom I was fortunate to have already known down in Dunedin describe the flat as “permanently feeling like its 4am in Dunedin.” And I am inclined to agree. The main counterpoint to that statement is, no matter where I looked, I could see that giant fucking heroin needle called The Sky Tower. I would later grow to massively resent seeing that thing everywhere.

  I’d grow to resent a lot of things around me. I felt that resentment shining right back at me.

  On that point I’d like to discuss my first major instance of recklessness. It didn’t start this year, it started several years ago. As a few of you may know I used to drink a lot. That’s kind of the thing around Dunedin. Dunedin has a horrendous drinking culture, it took me going stone cold sober and leaving the place to really notice it for what it is - a tragic cycle of people who don’t want to remember anything, encouraging other people to forget. And I had forgotten a lot, and suddenly I found myself in the vicinity of a perpetual reminder of one of my biggest mistakes - or rather, it was the fact that I forgot that was the mistake itself. Now, I’m a strong advocate of forgiveness, but sometimes there are limits to forgiveness. Forgiveness implies trust. Trust that whatever has been done can be learned from. But one of the harsh realities that this year presented was the fact that some people are incapable of learning from, or perhaps even incapable of remembering hurtful and terrible acts that they commit. At which point you can do one of two things: Pity them, or leave them.

Renaye Tamtati and Hamish Annan

  Foolishly, despite taking far too long to remember, when I did remember, I chose to pity and provide benefit of the doubt. This is the double-edged sword of living on hope. You can’t hope for things that will never change to change. You can’t change the past, and you can’t pretend that certain things never actually happened when they did.

  In truth, I never forgot. I just really wanted to. I didn’t want to complicate things by speaking out. I thought it would be easier to pretend certain things never actually happened. I chose to live in a situation where I was reminded of several mistakes that were made. I thought it would be worth it all in the long run. But if the run itself is long, it really does start to make me wonder: “Am I worth this constant feeling of unease?"

  I was always aware of the warning signs arranging this year when and how I did. I had constant questions of “are you sure?” ; “Won’t it be weird?” But I ignored them. I realise this is all quite vague, but this is not the platform for specifics. But if you’re still reading this, and you’re a close friend of mine, then you probably know exactly what I’m talking about. To those people: I am so sorry. I really should have listened. I should have cut out the people that were never ever going to change, because why should they when people like me aren’t willing to call people out? Even now, I still have so much unwarranted guilt, and difficulty putting to words the things I should have said a long time ago. I’ve spent a long time feeling like the situation has been my fault, and when I’ve willingly ignored the gravity of the situation, it makes it even harder to turn around and face it all for what it is.

Don’t ever ignore the warning signs. Really stop and think about what friends and family are saying. No-one should live in a place where they feel unsafe.

Part Three: “Now Is The Winter of Our Discontent”

My good friend Laith Bayan told me something that stuck with me deeply, when discussing how cold our flat might be in Winter. He said:

“Winter in Auckland doesn’t chill your bones like in Dunedin. The cold here is psychological.”

I can’t say he didn’t warn me. But also I can’t overstate how much he warmed me too. Before I get too down in the dumps, I want to take a moment to express gratitude for the tremendous support Laith offered me this year. I honestly do not think I would have survived this year without him. I can’t imagine the intense toll I, or perhaps the living situation we found ourselves in took on him. But I know he’s knocking Cyprus out of the ballpark (is that a saying? It is now), and I could not be happier for him. He introduced me to two funky cool cats that I’m more than happy to say are some of my closest friends. I know that wherever Laith is (again, it’s Cyprus, please stop asking me where he is I’ve told you a million times), he’s fighting the good fight.

Good Boys Laith and Zeus Bayan

In addition to living with as great a pal as Laith, I’ve also had a pretty awesome job. Rialto Cinemas. It was a little comforting knowing I had moved from a three minutes walk to one of the only two Rialto Cinemas in New Zealand... to... a three minute walk to one of the only two Rialto Cinemas in New Zealand.

It has been a fantastic place to work in. It offered nighttime hours so I could study in the day and work at night in order to pay for said study, I could see it from my house, and it offered craptonnes to do since it’s regularly packed out with corporate events. It also helped me capitalise on the shocking discovery I made earlier in the year while working at Hallensteins in Dunedin: I, like all humans, am a social creature! Even worse: I’m possibly quite extraverted and loving talking to people. Disgusting, I know.

That said, studying 9-5, then working 5-12 in a cinema, can really mess up one’s sense of time. I get all the movies and all their starts and end times written down on a sheet of paper. At first glance, it’s an incomprehensible grid of numbers. Things start and finish in quick succession, and there is only 10 minutes max to clean up the refuse of inconsiderate public, per cinema. Time moves really really fast when you are back to back with time limits. You get used to it. Then you quickly dash in and out of the starts of each film to make sure it’s all running okay. So I’ve had the benefit of seeing the starts and ends of loads of films, so I can decide whether or not it’s worth going in to see the rest for free.

I’ve always found cinemas to be such interesting places in terms of how they can mess up your sense of time and place. They’re dark boxes that take you on little journeys, the only sense of time you have is whatever the movie tells you. Then you come out and it turns out two hours have passed. Imagine that, but over and over again.

A great deal of this year is difficult for me to remember linearly, especially in my depressive period. It felt like it lasted forever and yet in an instant; like a black hole that, when gravitating towards, makes all time cease to exist and yet exist at a single point. In the grand scheme of things, and the infinity of the universe, everything happens immediately yet indefinitely and inescapably. I’d lie in bed in my haunted as hell house. Clocks ticking were substituted with the rampant stomps of flatmates above me and the pulsating of my heartbeat in my ear on the pillow. I’d lie fixed to my bed, not asleep, not awake, paralysed. Face to face with an old mentor giving me discerning looks, questioning every single facet of my integrity while I would have no strength to respond adequately. A former friend would sit at the end of a table, looking away from me. Looking to the wall. Walls of grey and white. Walls to lean against and faint on.

Look up, breathe. Try my hardest not to faint for a third time. Leave the bathroom and move to my post. File through faces and names, cross out times, tear off pieces of paper. Circle numbers, fill out, cross out, throw away and print grids. Everything is in grids. Everything is numbers. TIme. Money. Blood. Numbers numbers numbers. I felt numb. Idle. Yet always moving. Moving up moving down stairs. Staying at a flat level, walking fast nowhere. Walking fast everywhere. Sitting on cramped or desolate buses. I remember a man glaring at me at the other end of the bus. Doesn’t matter. I was passing my stop. Days passed. Weeks passed. Months passed. Everything was the same. I stayed calm. Breathed. I earnestly jotted down every bit of information. Did I eat? Did I sleep? Did I do anything? What have I done?  It doesn’t matter. Keep moving. Keep breathing. Filter feed like the bottom feeder you are. Pick up scraps to stay alive. Pinch your pennies. Keep walking up and down and up and down and up and down and don’t you ever stop. You can’t afford to. Keep rolling through. Row row row your boat gently down the stream, merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily

Twin Peaks: The Return Spoilers

You’re being told that your focus is all over the place. No shit. Are you sure you made the right decision coming here? The fuck does that mean? Fuck off. Take a good hard look at yourself.

And I did.

I looked at myself in a mirror and noticed I’d gotten quite thin. Not just weight-wise. I’d turned almost zombie-like. That explains all the comments regarding working on appearances. Everything is optics. Everything is exactly what it looks like, and if it isn’t, then no-one will know what it is. If you can’t express what’s on your mind, then you’ve probably failed as an artist. I thought I had failed. I thought I was a failure. I knew I was.

For a good long while I felt nothing. I said nothing. I did absolutely nothing but move from place to place. I literally thought I was dying and I kind of didn’t care. Hey at least the things I did will be looked at in retrospect as something “full of potential,” I’ll die a vessel for infinite possibilities rather than something that lived to accomplish absolutely nothing.

Going back to my ham-fisted Twin Peaks reference, I really truly felt like Dougie Jones from Season 3. I was numb, repeated what people said to me in order to give some semblance of humanity and registration of what was being said before I awkwardly fumbled into the next scene. If I felt like I was not going to make the next payment, or survive to the next paycheck, another convenient little ‘thing’ would pop up and I’d get the exact amount I needed. Little burning windows into the Black Lodge over a slot-machine, and I was Mr. Jackpots. I cannot overstate how eerily perfectly timed each month I would get a request or an inquiry for something that’d pay me exactly what I needed. I survived on miracles this year. Perfectly scheduled miracles. But even though these wonderful things kept happening, i felt like I was still doing nothing. Shuffling around like a zombie.

It was around this period of absolute nothingness that something hit me like a wave. I remember idly walking down the street. I don’t remember if it was early morning, or late in the day. But I remember going down the street then suddenly I felt something tackle me. I didn’t fall. It jumped right through me. The blood rushed to my head and I felt dizzy. A smile jumped on my face as all these thoughts just came rushing in. I think they call it inspiration. I didn’t realise how visceral something so non-physical could be. But that was entirely it. It has to be visceral or else it can’t be seen or felt. Optics is everything. Seeing is believing. It literally doesn’t matter how I feel, it’s what I’m doing. It’s what people are doing.

I staged a scene from Macbeth, with the audience scattered around a room while Macbeth (Joshua Crammond) and Lady Macbeth (Natasha Daniel) scurried around and towards each other dealing with the aftermath of killing King Duncan. I was like a ghost and knocked on the walls, clicking in their ears, and whispering echoes of the scene as, in my mind, their nightmares started creeping on their backs no matter where they went. It was a liberating, exciting moment. I realised what I was here for. To do something. Anything. Just make something that can be seen and felt.

There is tremendous power in dreams. All stories are dreams crafted from the dreamers heads and put onto a page, or a stage, or a screen, or whatever. There may or may not be logic by a conventional sense, but there’s always logic according to the dream’s sense. The dream has a world that may not be completely understood by the dreamer, but it’s there, and everything bows down to it. When I made this realisation I learned what “a vision” is. It’s the logic of the dream. If you can get everyone dreaming, then the dream will take over. The dream has already taken over, you just need to know that you’re in one.

Even though I had this stint of inspiration, I don’t think I had necessarily ‘woken up.’ Not just yet. But I was getting close.

I had to go through an awkward phase of being handed a skeleton camera crew to film a 15 minute film. Which definitely happened, I just didn’t quite know what I was doing yet. Still shambling around. (And yes I will be editing it properly, especially now that I know a little bit more about filmmaking, I promise.)

Lucas Haugh and Carla Newton in “Glass Streets”

I’m definitely happy with the result, just felt a little strange with my presence in the room. My amateurish lack of confidence was quite startling to me. However,  it started ringing a lot of bells that perhaps a lot of the scripts I’ve written are really just “films in the closet” with a bit too much dialogue. It was definitely nice being thrown in the deep end, wallowing in cluelessness. It was another pressure point that I’d have to learn from, grow from, and run away with. There was something exciting and alluring finally getting into the meat of the cinematic medium.

In all honesty, when asked “why have I chosen theatre as my career choice,” I’d say that ultimately it’s because it’s the only feasible thing I could ever see myself contributing to society. I’m happy doing anything so long as it’s building up something through a process of collaboration and communication. But that’s all well and good, but on a base level, what drew me to theatre was film. Theatre, however, was what was much more readily accessible growing up in Rotorua/Invercargill/Dunedin. Sure, we’ve all got cameras on us now, but theatre was, for lack of a better word, ‘easier.’ And what I mean by easier, I mean there’s been a lower monetary threshold to produce quality content. I’m not going to go into too much detail about the difference between film and theatre - I dealt with enough of that in my honours year, but to cut a long story short, this has been a year of learning the difference much more viscerally. ‘Seeing is believing’ and so on. But now, I have the proof right in front of me - something I can see; something I believe. Something tangible to hold onto and come back to shore.

Side Note: Donning The Tin Hat

The Labyrinthine Fire Exits of Rialto Cinema 

As I said before, I temporarily disabled my Facebook. I knew it would unnecessarily divide my attention. I’m ultimately grateful I did this. Though this came with some unexpected side effects. Firstly, when living under a rock of work-school-work-school, it was damn impossible to know when things were happening, where they were happening, or even if they were happening. I had to go off of hearsay, and when you’ve isolated yourself to a routine and socially removed yourself by virtue of being a fucking nutjob it’s very hard to gauge where the world is at. It was rather telling how reliant I had become on social media. It took me painfully too late to learn about a certain national tragedy that took place earlier in the year until I heard the disheartened and noble venting of the situation by my dear friend. I had no idea what day it was at any given point. Every day melted in the next, and made for some very very strange conversations. One such conversation included a warning regarding the information and misinformation surrounding the tragedy, which also included a “helpful” prayer that had been posted and regurgitated by someone in the group. This was to aid the grieving process of all whom had been bombarded with information surrounding it. I don’t want to go too far into this section of the year because it’s incredibly cyclical and still upsets me deeply. But I started to become hyper-aware of ‘the algorithm.’ Everything we look at, search for, say aloud, type, produce, reproduce, share, ‘like/dislike,’ argue, and consume is added to an ever-growing system that refines and filters every subsequent thing we see, consumer, and prosume. It becomes, for many people, the means of interacting and seeing the outside world and all the goings-on in it. But it is is all curated according to subjective interests. A reliance on it creates an emotional dependence on it. Suddenly emotional responses, logical arguments, and ideological beliefs are dictated by a machine. Not by any person, but a machine that literally watches you every single second of the day and reflects what it thinks you want to see. When I started realising how dependent I became on it, it only made me more terrified of going back to it, like a drunk ex-boyfriend asking for the machine to take me back at 4am. Unfortunately, Facebook is a commonly employed tool of the trade I chose, and so I came crawling back. But with every single face-scanning device masquerading as a quirky instagram filter telling you which randomly assembled photo of a Disney character you best suit, it is hard to forget that we are feeding a machine that is completely incapable of any unique individual thought, only a hideous monstrous juxtaposition of every bit of information forced into it. It probably didn’t help that I also read Harlan Ellison’s “I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream” during this time as well. But the point still stands, everything is bite-sized memes. In short: We Live In A Society etc. etc. And that scares the shit out of me.

Part Four: Waking Up

“Capping Show faces!” - Me. (’Two Gentlemen of Verona;’ Pop-Up Globe Youth Company) with Jake Fanstone, Annikki Lehtola, Shervonne Grierson, and Tanya Corpuz

At the end of Term Two, I was incredibly incredibly fortunate to come on board the Pop-Up Globe Youth Company’s first show as a Directing Assistant Intern. This slotted in perfectly with the Program’s holiday period. In this time, I got to go back to what I knew I loved: Shakespeare; Young Aspiring Actors; Farcical Comedy; Large Ensembles. While my role in the production was relatively minimal I effectively acted as hype-man and occasional consultant on directorial decisions, as well as occasional helper for songs, dances, and taking away and workshopping the odd scene or two. Three of the actors in the show would later come on board to help with my work in the program, two of which became part of my final stage project of the year.

Needless to say this was a tremendous opportunity on many fronts. It was a reason to continue waking up at a reasonable time, it was a place to go, and it was a nice and promising peek into what I could contribute to the theatre scene at the end of a relatively disheartening period. I cannot thank The Globe enough.

It also meant I would be sliding into the following term anew, with a fair bit more gumption and empowerment than before. We looked into the specifics of TV Show writing and pitching, which suddenly gave me a massive positive change of attitude towards TV work. Then we moved back into film drill weeks. This shift in attitude started to reflect itself in the film work.

Katherine Kennedy with Ryan Delieu (Off-Screen) in “Strange Case”

I felt comfortable to play around, experiment, and most importantly, be willing to fight for what I want to do and how I’m doing it. There was still definitely work to be done in the way of technical language and refining how I communicate what I need to crew and how to capitulate a vision not just on set, but also in the script. If my plays were films in the closet, I still needed to find a way to make them “come out.”

George Maunsell and Louis Flavell-Birch in “I Hope it Rains in Melbourne”

However, that’s a whole other skill to sharpen and hone. It was through trial and error, and through throwing oneself into those trials, figuring out what works, what doesn’t, and most importantly what I think works that helps sharpen everything involved. It’s very strange, trying to see both the big picture and every single detail it’s composed of at the same time. It’s a matter of not necessarily thinking “what am I seeing” but more “what am I not seeing, and why am I not seeing it?” A selective blindness of sorts.

It reminds me of dreams; fragments of memories your brain picks apart and jumbles together seemingly at random. Of course it’s not exactly random. There is a strange reason behind all of it. It’s the stuff that is going through your head while you’re awake and then is reshuffled and compartmentalized in your subconscious. So the question is: what am I thinking about? What have I been thinking about? What is on my mind? How do I get across what I’m thinking? How do I think? 

I think through feeling, through sensations. Every bit of information taken in by me, or the algorithm, or anyone else, is through the absorption of everything in the tangible physical world. Thoughts and feelings don’t come out of nowhere, dreams aren’t constructed by going to sleep. Everything that goes into a dream is taken from what we see and hear and feel and smell and taste while we’re awake. So I couldn’t expect to piece together any bit of information into a bigger picture until I had material for it. I had to wake up. I had to wake up. I had to wake up.

Part Five: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love My Sleep Paralysis Demon

No, Seriously. These Fire Exits Are Terrifying

And yet. Every time I tried to wake up, I’d be frozen in place.

On average, I had sleep paralysis at least twice a week. It was probably to do with my terribly askew sleep schedule, a routine lack of sleep, a lack of eating, stress, and an overabundance of caffeine and (to fight off hunger pains) a copious amount of nicotine. For whatever the reason, I’d wake up regularly several times a night, and once more in the early morning to be greeted with a fixed view of either my bookcase, or my suit jackets hung up on the curtain rail which, in the dark, unfortunately looks like the upper torso of a person.

Luckily I very rarely had any run-ins with monsters save for the occasional person lying in bed with me, floating torso in the distance, or scalped man peeking out from the side of the bed. No, instead I’d regularly find myself trying to move, feel myself move, see myself move, and yet not actually be moving at all. I’d get frustrated, then notice I’m not actually breathing, try and breathe, then either hyperventilate or just think I’m hyperventilating until I’d faint. Of course I wouldn't actually know I’ve fainted, in my mind I’d think I had successfully woken up, start my day, then wake up again and start all over in my bed until I finally willed myself to move, feeling mentally and physically drained afterwards. The fear wore out pretty quickly, eventually it was just fucking annoying.

However, as the year progressed, I started feeling and hearing people over me. Being one to not want to scare myself more than necessary I’d neglect to look in the direction of whoever was holding me down, each time getting harder and harder to do so. (There’s not a lot one can do in terms of mobility when you’re paralysed). Eventually I woke up face to “face” with a man covered in tar, dripping oil over my face. Suddenly my hyperventilation was real and one of panic. There was nothing I could do. Then a cat jumped into my lap. It was my dear cat, the late Medusa.

RIP Beautiful Queen (2001-2018)

As soon as she appeared I calmed down and the oily man slinked away. She hissed at it, and he vanished. I let her under my blankets, and her and I fell asleep. In the morning I woke up calmly, and much more energized. I opened up my bedsheets to greet my cat, but she was gone. In an instant, another wave of inspiration hit me.

And

I

Woke

Up

I rushed into school, manic, energised, and beat out a 15 page script for a film titled “Rat,” this went through several rewrites, each time shorter and shorter both to fit the guidelines of the Program’s final film calling card project and to concentrate the beats of the film. With every rewrite I’d filter everything into it’s finest point. Finally, with the help of my dear muse whom I had been reunited with I had myself a calling card. Something to demonstrate my style, and an exercise in what I want to see, how I want to put it together, and to assess the change I’d undergone throughout the year. I was proud of it. Not just because of what it is, but what it means for me extending beyond that. To me, it’s a display of where I was, and where I’m going. I am the oily man, glaring down at the withered shadow of myself saying “go the fuck back to sleep, you can get to work when you’re rested.”

Everything I’d gone through, experienced, and learned was grueling, hard-hitting, and overall so very very very very important. It was like running up a mountain, it’s hard to admire the view until you actually make the climb. Sure, my limbs are hurting like hell, but it’s so damn worth it.

Look back at it all, and putting it into words, it’s so hard to describe it all without making it seem like it’s been a year full of suffering. But it hasn’t. Not really. It’s easy to throw out the ol’ “character building” adage, but the funny thing is that’s kind of exactly what the year has been - character building. No pain, no gain. And I have gained a lot from 2019. The amount that I’ve learned and experienced, while lacking in terms of “living” and healthily appreciating myself, far exceeds what I’ve put up with over the course of the year. While I’ve probably definitely irrevocably shortened my lifespan a couple years, I have the confidence and willingness to acknowledge that I am worth the care and love that I’ve neglected to give myself.

My only regret is that I needed so harsh a wake-up call to realise that.

Epilogue: 2020

So, what’s in store?

Well for one I’m definitely in love with making film (again; we might get into my history with that at a later date), so I’ll be getting more into that.

More tangibly I’ve got a couple shows in the horizon (Bermuda and No Exit) in Dunedin, and a couple others to be confirmed in Auckland (and beyond). I’ll be living a relatively nomadic lifestyle and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m excited to leave this city for a wee while, then come back and properly actually “live” in it.

This is the beginning of the rest of my life. It’s time for me to live. To make. To see what I want to see in the world.

It’s time to keep on moving, with both eyes wide open. Alive. Awake.

(Also please let me know if you’d like more posts like these. I promise they won’t be anywhere near as long.).

[unkindness313]

Dylan Moran is an Irish comedian, recently described by the Independent “as a kind of Renaissance curmudgeon”. He’s as well known for his stand-up, which sees him regularly touring internationally, as he is for co-writing and starring in Black Books. He’s also appeared in a string of successful movies including Shaun of the Dead, Run Fatboy Run, and Notting Hill.Dylan Moran’s currently in Auckland where he’ll be on stage tonight, then doing shows in Wellington and Christchurch. He's been speaking to Jack Tame.

[schizophrenicsandterrorists]

The list

Shakira

Devina McPherson

Rihanna

Gavin walshe

Wpc

Danny Brandt

Jan

Janice

Neville gray

Col Hill

Lester smith

Fran

Uncle David

Matt

Caroline

Shirley

Ben

Gav

G

M

Bernard sumner

Peter hook

DM

Stacey Fenech

Robert Kovacevic

Simon

Lawton

Placebo

RHCP

Kiedis

Anthony

Lindsay

Slater

David

Jeniffer

Mark

Justin

Katie Oliver

Natasha

Fabricant

Stella

McNeil

Diana

St Vincent’s

RWBH

Pigs

Fire dept

Ambulance

Dr

Quacks

Psychiatry

Germans

Jews

Pakis

Blacks

Indians

Pam

Aborigines

Leslie

Alan Swift

Kashif Ashraf

Arshad omari

Robyn Quinn

Gerry

Carl

Carl Wilson

Tim Wil Amos Brendan

Dean Doug Shaun

Aussies

New Zealanders

Auckland

Lester-smith

Michelle

Annette

Jones

Green

Cooper

Ball

Etchells

Artingstall

Francis

Jonathon

Hans

Jon

Milton

Glue

Tacconey

Martin

Dawson

Haliday

Simon

North Chadd

MMU

Manchester polytechnic

UMIST

ECU

Curtin university

Murdoch university

Italian uni in freo

Gingers

Charles Diana harry Wil George Kate Meghan

Kovacevic

Rob

Hudson

Royle

Joe

Blair bush Howard Clark

Police

Dep health

Immigration

Helen Adele

Babalola

Juanita

Fe Stafford

Abdul

Sherry

Jen

Rachma

Suzanne

Lucas

Sean

Lawyers

Solicitors

Work cover

SGIO

nrma

Insurance

Korea

Asia

Taiwan

USA

NY

Twin towers

Pentagon

Obama

Bin laden

Hitler

Churchill

[dailyrugbytoday]

Super Rugby Pacific 2023 squads (New Zealand)

New Post has been published on https://thedailyrugby.com/super-rugby-pacific-2023-squads-new-zealand/

The Daily Rugby

https://thedailyrugby.com/super-rugby-pacific-2023-squads-new-zealand/

Super Rugby Pacific 2023 squads (New Zealand)

the New Zealand Super Rugby Pacific squads announced . Super Rugby 2023 Teams Blues, Chiefs, Hurricanes, Crusaders and Highlanders announce 2023 squads All you need to know as the Kiwi franchises this season.

While the vast majority of the squads’ make-up was already known, the five Kiwi franchises on Wednesday confirmed just who were filling the remaining spots in their 38-man contracted lists for next season (Moana Pasifika’s squad will be unveiled at a later date).

2023 Super Rugby Fixtures & Draw | Super Rugby Pacific

Blues 2023 squad

Forwards: Adrian Choat (Auckland), Sam Darry (Canterbury), Kurt Eklund (Bay of Plenty), Josh Fusitu’a (Auckland), Alex Hodgman (Auckland), Akira Ioane (Auckland), Nepo Laulala (Counties Manukau), James Lay (Auckland), Dalton Papalii (Counties Manukau), Taine Plumtree (Wellington), Marcel Renata (Auckland), Ricky Riccitelli (Taranaki), Tom Robinson (Northland), Rob Rush (Northland), Anton Segner (Tasman), Hoskins Sotutu (Counties Manukau), Cameron Suafoa (North Harbour), James Tucker (Waikato), Patrick Tuipulotu (Auckland), Ofa Tuungafasi (Northland), Soane Vikena (Auckland).

Backs: Beauden Barrett (Taranaki), Finlay Christie (Tasman), Caleb Clarke (Auckland), Corey Evans (Auckland), Taufa Funaki (Auckland), Bryce Heem (Auckland), Rieko Ioane (Auckland), AJ Lam (Auckland), Sam Nock (Northland), Stephen Perofeta (Taranaki), Harry Plummer (Auckland), Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens (Taranaki), Zarn Sullivan (Auckland), Caleb Tangitau (Auckland), Mark Telea (North Harbour), Tanielu Tele’a (Auckland), Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (Auckland)

Chiefs 2023 squad

Forwards: Aidan Ross (Bay of Plenty), Ollie Norris (Waikato), Jared Proffit (Taranaki), Samisoni Taukei’aho (Waikato), Tyrone Thompson (Hawkes Bay), Bradley Slater (Taranaki), Angus Ta’avao (Auckland), George Dyer (Waikato), Atunaisa Moli (Tasman), Brodie Retallick (Hawke’s Bay), Tupou Vaa’i (Taranaki), Josh Lord (Taranaki), Laghlan McWhannell (Waikato), Manaaki Selby-Rickit (Bay of Plenty), Naitoa Ah Kuoi (Bay of Plenty), Samipeni Finau (Waikato), Kaylum Boshier (Taranaki), Sam Cane (Bay of Plenty), Luke Jacobson (Waikato), Pita Gus Sowakula (Taranaki), Simon Parker (Waikato).

Backs: Brad Weber (Hawke’s Bay), Cortez Ratima (Waikato), Xavier Roe (Waikato), Damian McKenzie (Waikato), Bryn Gatland (North Harbour), Josh Ioane (Otago), Rivez Reihana (Northland), Anton Lienert-Brown (Waikato), Quinn Tupaea (Waikato), Alex Nankivell (Tasman), Rameka Poihipi (Canterbury), Gideon Wrampling (Waikato), Ngane Punivai (Canterbury), Peniasi Malimali (Counties Manukau), Etene Nanai-Seturo (Counties Manukau), Emoni Narawa (Bay of Plenty), Shaun Stevenson (North Harbour).

Hurricanes 2023 squad

Forwards: Xavier Numia (Wellington), Pouri Rakete-Stones (Hawke’s Bay), Pasilio Tosi (Bay of Plenty), Tyrel Lomax (Tasman), Owen Franks (Canterbury), Tevita Mafileo (Bay of Plenty), Asafo Aumua (Wellington), Dane Coles (Wellington), Jacob Devery (Hawke’s Bay), James Blackwell (Wellington), Dominic Bird (Wellington), Isaia Walker-Leawere (Hawke’s Bay), Justin Sangster (Bay of Plenty), Caleb Delany (Wellington), Devan Flanders (Hawke’s Bay), Reed Prinsep (Canterbury), TK Howden (Manawatū), Brayden Iose (Manawatū), Du’Plessis Kirifi (Wellington), Tyler Laubscher (Manawatū), Ardie Savea (Wellington), Peter Lakai (Wellington).

Backs: TJ Perenara (Wellington), Cam Roigard (Counties Manukau), Jamie Booth (North Harbour), Aidan Morgan (Wellington), Brett Cameron (Manawatū), Jordie Barrett (Taranaki), Peter Umaga-Jensen (Wellington), Riley Higgins (Wellington), Billy Proctor (Wellington), Bailyn Sullivan (Waikato), Salesi Rayasi (Auckland), Julian Savea (Wellington), Kini Naholo (Taranaki), Dan Sinkinson (Waikato), Ruben Love (Wellington), Josh Moorby (Northland).

Crusaders 2023 squad

Forwards: Joe Moody (Canterbury), Finlay Brewis (Canterbury), George Bower (Otago), Codie Taylor (Canterbury), Brodie McAlister (Canterbury), George Bell (Canterbury), Oli Jager (Canterbury), Tamaiti Williams (Canterbury), Fletcher Newell (Canterbury), Scott Barrett (Taranaki), Sam Whitelock (Canterbury), Mitchell Dunshea (Canterbury), Quinten Strange (Tasman), Zach Gallagher (Canterbury), Ethan Blackadder (Tasman), Christian Lio-Willie (Otago), Tom Christie (Canterbury), Sione Havili-Talitui (Tasman), Cullen Grace (Canterbury), Corey Kellow (Canterbury), Dominic Gardiner (Canterbury).

Backs: Mitchell Drummond (Canterbury), Willi Heinz (Canterbury), Noah Hotham (Tasman), Richie Mo’unga (Canterbury), Fergus Burke (Canterbury), Taha Kemara (Waikato), Dallas McLeod (Canterbury), David Havili (Tasman), Braydon Ennor (Canterbury), Jack Goodhue (Northland), Leicester Fainga’anuku (Tasman), Pepesana Patafilo (Wellington), Macca Springer (Tasman), Sevu Reece (Tasman), Melani Nanai (Worcester Warriors), Chay Fihaki (Canterbury), Will Jordan (Tasman).

Highlanders 2023 squad

Forwards: Jermaine Ainsley, Leni Apisai, Nikora Broughton, Daniel Lienert-Brown, Josh Dickson, Shannon Frizell, Ethan de Groot, Billy Harmon (captain), Max Hicks, Fabian Holland, Luca Inch, Ayden Johnstone, James Lentjes, Andrew Makalio, Rhys Marshall, Saula Ma’u, Marino Mikaele Tu’u, Pari Pari Parkinson, Hugh Renton, Jeff Thwaites, Will Tucker, Sean Withy.

Backs: James Arscott, Connor Garden-Bachop, Marty Banks, Mosese Dawai, Folau Fakatava, Sam Gilbert, Scott Gregory, Mitch Hunt, Vilimoni Koroi, Jonah Lowe, Cameron Millar, Jona Nareki, Fetuli Paea, Aaron Smith, Josh Timu, Thomas Umaga-Jensen.

[leanpick]

Johnson on song as Warriors beat Bulldogs

Johnson on song as Warriors beat Bulldogs

Shaun Johnson wound back the clock and scored the match-sealing try, as the Warriors beat Canterbury 42-18 in Auckland. The novelty of having the Warriors playing back in New Zealand clearly hasn’t worn off yet, with 16,212 filing into Mt Smart Stadium to watch the 12th-placed team play the 14th-placed one. While both clubs’ seasons have been disappointing, they combined for an entertaining match…