Yes, I'm still alive, and so is this blog, in spite of the lying very still and looking like we weren't breathing for the last week. We're both very sorry; things have been ten kinds of CRAZY. Birthdays, family members in hospital, travel (okay, inter-island, barely two hours travel, but still - travel), sleep-deprivation, and a new project I can't share with you yet but is taking a lot of time and energy. CRAZY.
There have been so many things that have happened that I've wanted to post here but just haven't been able to make it, so no more time making oblique excuses. Let's catch up!
1. Return of BIG DAY OUT!!! Damn straight, I'm excited! I was one of those people who blamed fickle hipster youths (yeah, I'm thirty now; I say "youths") and Laneway for BDO's demise, and this past summer, Auckland was the poorer for it. Now not only is it back, Arcade Fire are headlining(!!!) AND it's (kind-of) walking distance from my parents' house. LIFE IS GOOD! The last BDO we went to was one of the best days I can remember in my entire life - IT WAS THAT GOOD. Blueberry daiquiris in the train. Painful carnival rides. Wolfmother killing Baba O'Reilly. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros playing Home, in the rain while the small crowd all danced together like we were leftovers from Monterey (nb this was before Home blew up and the hipster youths got hold of it). Sia, resplendent in a portable picture frame, talking about the "brown note". And Iggy Pop. Vive la Big Day Out!
2. I didn't make it to the California exhibition, or any of my favourite op shops while I was in Auckland - things were THAT CRAZY. But don't cry for me.
3. There's a new Closet Visit! I'm not sure how new because it had been a while since I checked in, but anyway - Jeana's back! This time she visits Sophie Buhai, who has a very tidy house and wears pants beautifully. I really love a woman who wears pants beautifully.
4. The film festival hits Dunedin in a few days. If you feel like I've been talking about the festival forever, imagine how I feel - I didn't get to even one while we were in Auckland! Our programme is like the Auckland programme's half-eaten twin, but if we look at it in a glass half full kind of way, it includes two of our must-sees... Nah, I didn't convince myself either. We have worse weather! We need more movies!
5. I have completely forgotten any other news I might have had (the last point wasn't even news), so here's a song. Jimmy's been working on music for a new restaurant opening in Auckland soon, so there's been a lot of Southern blues, early rock, and Orleans jazz playing in the house. It's cacophonic, a bit messy, pretty dark at times, and just the best reflection of life I can think of. This is song you might recognise from Treme (which has the best music): the Rebirth Brass Band's Feel Like Funkin' It Up.
