Where are the travel updates? I hit the ground running in Wellington. I'll suss out some photos soon.
In other news I just watched the Last Lecture by Randy Pausch. It was perfect and beautiful. I did not know what to expect, and it was exactly what I wanted. Like most of the internet has already done, I'd like to make sure I share it with everyone.
O.k. My biggest Vox Post ever just got deleted. Here we go again.
I can't really say that I haven't had time to post lately. Even a short explanatory sentence similar to the previous one would have sufficed relative to nothing, I'm sure. Since I have to type this post out again, I'll skim it back to three short chapters.
Super Mario Galaxy
My flat mate borrowed a copy of Super Mario Galaxy on Monday. I felt intrigued but not excited. This is the sole game I've been counting on to prevent my Wii from remaining an underpowered desk lamp. With a slight tinge of fear I booted it up to enter a 30 minute foray in to Mario's new world. Initially the long unskippable story sequences wore on me. I wanted to play the game, which would surely involve jumping on things and grabbing things. Fortunately the sequences are visually stunning, even if they seem to drag a little. Possibly exacerbated by my impatience to find out if the Wii was really a worthwhile purchase.
The first planet starts out very platformy. The basic goods to collect are stars, star bites and coins. The controls are precise and the camera comfortable. But quickly the feel changes. The landscape is different, the camera takes odd turns. A slight disorientation could perhaps be expected when one circumnavigates an entire planet, albeit a small one, very quickly. The point of reference is lost and things begin to turn upside down. However, it's not a disorientating effect and it's hard to loose focus on the gameplay. But it's not long before I feel as if I am wandering through Escher's Crazy Stairs. I am still not entirely used to it, but I feel it's for the best. The camera drifting in this most peculiar way it seems to contribute to the revitalization of Mario's mysterydom.
I'm not sure exactly when the fantastical nature of talking anthropomorphic and other such mushrooms got lost on me but Galaxy serves to refresh how amazing the world of Super Mario really is. The design, the characters and the camera are all spot on. Galaxy feels picturesque, almost as a moving story book. I feel immersed in such fantasy that I could have only dreamed of expecting from a video game.
I was never really a huge fan of the populace of Delfino Isle and this is another area where Galaxy shines. Though the game features Power Stars as the static items of collection. The stars that serve as the guiding characters look very different. They are charming, little, well mannered creatures who you will be most happy to run around with. They also have a few other surprises up their sleeves. Oh, and like Delfino Isle, the water still looks tasty and the more creative levels retain whimsy. Super Mario stays atop the platform mountain again with Galaxy, a title that alone can justify the Nintendo Wii.
2
Well. I don't feel like discussing anything heavy right now. I'll throw out a few curious links.
- The Newton Bar in Berlin certainly looks worth visiting. Newton Bar.
- I think Geoff Denton deserves to be Santa. Santa sacked all for the sake of change.
- I have the beginnings of His Dark Materials. I'm trying very hard not to read it before I get on the plane. I'm very excited. His Dark Materials.
- XKCD: Success.
- I highly recommend The Adventures of Mr Stephen Fry.
Fin
I will return in 40 days with stories from across the globe. Adios Sabata.
Wellington has been stuck in a bit of a rut this past week. Beautiful mornings would appear, but quickly close in to reveal angry clouds and even angrier winds. Enough to knock my electricity out for a couple days. Today looks nice, I feel I can trust it again.
Last night we went to Snow in Sweet Summer at Studio 77 (the Victoria University theatre). Snow is inspired by a 13th century Chinese opera, in this case the text titled Utopia Parkway by Charles Mee, which is available here on his website.
Though the play opened awkwardly the music was immersive before the play even started, and once the production got up to speed it revealed itself as the well thought and well executed production it is. The performance swayed between operatic and more of a classic film musical. Always keeping a fair balance.
The mix between the east and the west, and the past and modernity was sublime as well as relevant. For the most part the references amounted t more than just little jokes a la Men in Tights.
The set design is great to begin with, and only impresses more as it follows the progression of the play. The story itself is beautiful and relevant to modern times. I can't imagine anyone leaving disappointed.
Directed by Megan Evans, it finishes tonight.
Alrighty, the VASFAs have passed. That's the resurrected Victoria University Film Awards. A Life Well Lived is now online.
It's time to start clearing some brain-space for a new project. I've started re-reading Rebel Without a Crew, it's like bottled inspiration for me. I also took great inspiration in finally getting round to watching 50 Feet That Shook The World, watch it now. Enjoy with me.
Graffiti is stupid, but this time it's good!
From Victoria University notice boards:
At the tail end of a long work day I was lucky enough to be in attendance at the Crossings Concert 2007. It was a Bollywood Crossover of sorts featuring Indian pop artist Vaishali Samant and my favorite new artist Angaraag Mahanta (Papon) as well as local artists including Onomatopoeia. It's too bad the publicity was fairly low key for the event, I'm sure many people I know would have loved it if they had known to go.
Check out Papon below:
June 20th. . .
Flew up to Auckland. It was a bit of an early rise for a holiday, but at least we were flying. Buses, or anything else across that distance in one day would be torturous.
Rain, plenty of it. Possibly more than Wellington, but it was o.k. We just went straight to Kate's Parents place and rested in the lovely room that was prepared for us.
Most of Wednesday and Thursday was spent visiting friends and relatives. Saturday we went to a party at Caitlin and Seth's place. Even as an out of towner knowing only a portion of the people I had a great time... I was sober driver too! There's some photos up here (http://bebo.com/PhotoAlbumBig.jsp?MemberId=3821962841&PhotoNbr=1&PhotoAlbumId=4773486974). I know, I don't do people photos. But, there you go.
We found a delicious Japanese Restaurant in Auckland "The Don" it's on High Street next to World Man. I wish we had something like this in Wellington. The prices were much better than Hede and it didn't taste like garbage served late (refer: Hede). The Don was excellent. I'll be back there next time I'm mooching around the Auckland CBD.
Kate got me lots of birthday presents. A Hooded Scarf! and some much needed and much appreciated sunglasses.
Nicest sunglasses I've owned. Thank you Kate.
Ultra Cafe in Onehunga Mall serve a mean eggs benedict. Gosh... I talk about food too much.
We hit New Plymouth next, where I got to enjoy the comforts of my parents place and hang out with my brothers, as well as be there for my Dad's birthday. It was a short but fun few days and I managed to prepare an assortment of cakes to take back for Jason's Tea Party.
We hit South Taranaki again while we were there. I'm afraid we're making a bit of a habit out of it. Unfortunately!!!! The totally great retro clothing shop was temporarily closed during out visit, and we were left naked and cold on an Eltham street corner. (Not naked... but lacking the fantasticly awesome clothes that are bounded only by our own imaginations). Patea came through again, and we picked up a few nice things including an epic picture frame that I just will never be able to place anything into. Perhaps the frame can stand alone as it's own piece of work. Patea also yielded some delicious bacon from the butcher. Damn good bacon and not weighed down with water like all the supermarket bacon. I recommend picking some up if you're passing through.
Our quite drive back home became an action filled adventure with the addition of Nik and Seb into the returning car. We hit some cooool 2nd hand shops, the Fast Food Demon and a Foxton Dairy to return with some delicious bottles of Foxton Fizz (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foxton_Fizz).
(Why won't Vox let me make links?)
This is a MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) message.
This is a MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) message.
Just because moblogging is fun.
