I have moved to hosting my blog at: https://www.culturedkiwi.com

Some of my latest articles:

Best Street Photography Camera

Fuji 90mm f2 

Best 35mm Film Camera

Solo Road Trip

Nikon FM2 Review

Develop Film at Home


So long and thanks for all the fish!

Boredom

The phrase "I'm bored" is an interesting one. My newly realized dis-taste for those two words, extends back a number of years when a certain friend of mine used to use on a daily basis."I'm boorreed" she used to say. Fishing for a solution to her now widely apparent "boredom". I had forgotten about this until this morning. A small child let out that hideous phrase with her head hinged back like the reach toothbrush man as she gazed up at her mother. I had to bite my tongue to stop myself from letting out a potentially awkward (and no doubt inappropriate) response. I was bedazzled at the fact someone could be bored on such beautiful sun baked day at one of Wellington's finest beach side coffee shops. However, this prompted the gears within my head to begin whizzing again. Back to the blog!

For the record that phrase will only come out of my mouth in the most extreme of circumstances, if ever. One that springs to mind from a few years ago was after a long wait in an airport. Having checked through security to the waiting area of Brisbane airport, I herd over the loud speaker that the plane was to be significantly delayed. I must add that I only herd the announcement as it was conveniently timed to coincide with my ipod's battery going flat. "Murphy's Law" I uttered to a nearby pending passenger myself. I find that a daily reliance on technology has somewhat shortened my attention span. So the passing seconds felt like minutes and minutes like hours. I started counting people, tiles on the walls, tiles on the ceiling, loops in the carpet, anything to stave off my state of boredom.

What I find interesting about all this is the fact that some people must be more prone to boredom than others. Are these people boring to begin with? Does their mind just stagnate the second they run out of purpose? I find having too many hobbies cuts boredom down to an impossibility. The second I wonder what to do, a guitar happens to find it's way into my lap. If one is not accessible I turn to a pen and paper. If this is not possible, it's stand up and move time. Just walk with no other ulterior motive but to walk. I once picked up a hitchhiker who collected four leaf clovers to stem off his boredom. He now has over 4000 and is planning to place them underneath the fiberglass on his long board. Luckiest surf board ever! The key is to keep your mind occupied whether with a task as simple as looking for four leaf clovers or as complex as researching supernovae. I think that once people stop "having" to learn they begin to devolve (presumably the antonym of evolve?). So keep that mind active kids! Try a new hobby on for size, or research something you have thought about recently. There is a whole world out there filled with stuff to learn about. Do yourself and those around you a favour and strike those two hideously paired words from your vocabulary!


Isn't it awesome how 2 words can remind you of such obsure things. Smells, colours and I guess anything and everything can trigger the most vivid memories. What are memories and how are they stored? There you go.....

A comic I have since found to finish...... CLICK ME

Wellington on a good day....

Wellington is a land of opportunity. This is why such a diverse range of people come here. I think as far as people in NZ go, Wellingtonians must have the most broad range of both cultures and sub-cultures. However, 3 weeks of rain with only brief winks of sunshine have taken their toll on this weary local. Before you realise it your skin has turned a pasty shade of off white. Your eyes wince the second the clouds relinquish their stranglehold on the skies above. Yet we trudge on, seemingly unfazed. Until that day comes. The last spatters of cloud disappear over the horizon and the sun unleashes its full wintry force. Wellington begins to hum with anticipation. The second the door swings open, those sun-glasses slip behind your ears, you cannot help but grin. I today experienced this brief bliss along with many other Wellingtonians. There are no words to explain the feeling of community that rises alongside the sun. It is simply something one must experience.

Humble Beginnings

The concept of blogging has always seemed so foreign to me. However, now that writing is no longer a part of my every day life I feel as if I must vent my literary drive in an appropriate manner. Well... I'll see how it goes.

Today I stumbled across an article on alternative sleep patterns. I followed this with a mildly intensive internet search which yielded very little scientific research on the subject. My findings consisted of a semi-instructional ebook and a plethora of enthusiastic short term experimentalists. Stumbling upon this site has sent my mind into a spin. It is awash with questions. Why does almost everyone sleep in the same pattern? Why don't we sleep less? Would we evolve faster with more time to be productive? Have we evolved to sleep in this way because we simply need it? Why do most of us sleep during the night? Does the "digital lifestyle" have the potential to change the way we sleep?

I have had a love/hate relationship with sleep for as long as I can remember. I love it when I sleep well and as a result feel good. I hate tossing and turning awaiting sleep in a semi-conscious daze. Not willing to be the next unsuccessful person to write about my experimentation with sleep patterns this concept may get shelved for some time. I can assure you one thing though, when the time is right I will give it a go!