Senses working overtime #203

1 Nu Zild

This week we returned to live in New Zealand (above picture is pretty much the first thing you see as you arrive at Auckland Airport) so my senses have been filled with familiar sights and smells and sounds. New Zealand life is a lot more relaxed than the UK. A lot more!

2 North Hollywood
On the way home we stopped off in North Hollywood to visit with our eldest daughter. Noho has its own feel. Which we really liked btw. The smells are interesting for a start, with cannabis being legal.

While there I visited downtown and Amoeba Music. Right by the CNN building and Sunset Blvd. The biggest independent music store apparently. Luvverly!

3 John and Yoko's room

Baby, you're a rich man: exploiting a moment part 9 - Joko's honeymoon suite at the Amsterdam Hilton has been turned into a weird kind of corporate shrine. Go look.

4 Jacinda-mania part two

I loved this article about our PM which appeared in The Guardian before we left the UK. I read it out to my wife and got quite emotional.

5 Great advice
I've been chain reading books of late. This is great advice from Austin:

My last book was The Beatles On The Roof - excellent on the lead up to the roof session in January 1969 with great attention to detail. 

I've stood on the footpath below and gazed up and wondered and this book fills in the gaps.

Overtime: In praise of WS Merwin (may he rest in peace)

Senses working overtime #50

1 Shake it up..er..off!



I visited JB Hi Fi this week and came away with my usual armful of eclectic bargains. I bought Ryan Adam's version of 1989 a while back and have been looking for a bargain bin priced copy of Taylor Swift's original album since then. Loving it, especially the hit Shake It Off! What a video too!!

2 Spurious friends
I recently had to ditch my Facebook account because of some hacking on my page. I'm kinda missing it or more accurately anxious that I've lost touch with some friends. But then I read this and realised true friends will still be in contact - we find a way.

3 Documentary heaven
Great list of ten documentaries that must be seen (according to The Guardian and you know how much I love The Guardian so...just trust the list, okay!).

4 Heard it in a love song
Six movies about love that you should watch. Yes, I know but watch them anyway!

5 Living here, OMG...amazing!
Fritha Hookway wrote a nice piece on how great living in NZ is. It's easy to get blasé about the crust upon which we live, so it's nice to be reminded of things from time to time.

Overtime
I'll end with more Swift stuff - pretty cool cover of Clean (a terrific song, also from 1989)


..and Ryan Adam's cover of Shake It Off takes us via Springsteen Roy Orbison...