How cocaine is made


So this is a pretty interesting video. hmmm, gasoline and ammonia anyone? for more info go to http://colombia-reports.blogspot.com/.




on an unrelated note, look at this cutie: this is rosie miles' neice holly. this is the sweetest little one year old i have ever seen! rosie, sorry to post holly in the same entry as some colombians making cocaine. but we all need something to perk us up after watching that!

rygbi mewn cymru

so i went to wales to watch the all blacks on saturday. when i got there my camera ran out of batteries so anne took lots of cool photos. it was a pity to go and not see the haka, but you know what was more disappointing? everyone, welsh and nz, booing. it was actually sad, and a really immature response to the absence of the haka. sure, i wanted to see it, but man, when we were at the match and nothing was said, even i could realise that if the haka wasn't being performed, it was for a good reason. i was disappointed that the nz fans couldn't see that booing their team was really poor sportsmanship. the welsh asked for their anthem to be last. the all blacks didn't want to do the haka between anthems, so did it at another time. they could have been disrespectful to the welsh, and to the memory of the welsh official guy who we just had a minutes silence for, and still do the haka last but they didn't. that was a sensible move. everyone moaning should realise that the game of rugby was still awesome!
so yea, enough of my rant about taking a high ethical ground over the haka controversy. the trip to cardiff wasn't spoilt by this. the trip on the bus was heaps of fun, and cardiff is such a pretty, friendly and fun town! all the shops are in like little arcades, and they were all strung up with christmas lights. it was cold, but that seemed to add to the atmosphere. there's a castle, and next to that this concrete bridge with stone animals sitting on top of it! it was cute. the river was grey, and the little houses all english, all stuck together. there were so many people around, but the rivalry was good natured. the staff in shops and cafes were just as accommodating as the punters walking the streets, which made such a nice change from the isolated and unfriendly people working and living in london. the millennium stadium was incredible, we got to our seats quite early and it was so cool to see all the seats fill up! the bull, which seemed to be some symbol to the welsh, was walked out onto the field at one point before the game and then, grossly, it shat on the field. gross! the four guys escorting it around stood over the crap for a while, debating what they should do. they ended up throwing some buckets of brown water over it. i watched carefully but none of the players slid in it at all.
i had a pretty good seat, at some points i had to alternate looking at the big screen and then the field, as it was hard to see them down the opposite ends. but not complaining it was still fun. probably the worst part was that nowhere in the stadium sold hot chips and anne and i were planning to eat them during the second half. how ridiculous is that, no hot chips?
so we got them after the game, at tony's fish and chip shop, on what they call chippy lane. that's how many fish and chip shops are on that street, they nicknamed it that. funny!
after the game we got our chips and it was a long drive back to london!
and to those who know him, guess who i saw in this souvenir shop in cardiff!! chris o'malley! funny eh! it was so crazy, but so cool. he went to see tom play water polo at the world champs in holland, which would have been cool, and he's living in london so will see him at some stage probably! he asked about everyone, jono, ash, etc. he says hi!
also went to gbk for dinner last night, crystal i thought you would be jealous, i went to the one near notting hill, and i had the kiwiburger again! it was really yummy. didn't have a milkshake though, might have one next time!
so people who went to U2, did you have a neat time? natalie, ashton, everyone? happy times? i thought about you there while i was at work on friday.
so what's josie got going on this week? she wants to finish her book, she is reading the sea, the sea by iris murdoch, so that she can start reading her latest purchase, the new thomas pynchon, she is going swimming tonight and then again one night in the week, she is also going ice skating on thursday afternoon yay!, and next saturday night she's going to school disco which should be a crazy laugh. josie is also looking forward to coming back to nz - it is dark now, at 4.32pm, and it was dark when i walked to the tube this morning at 7.40am. look out new plymouth! i'm going attack you and your sunshine for all you're worth.
if you're unnerved by me speaking about myself in third person, it's because my job is so boring and i sit here, quietly going insane........it's hard work, saving people from addiction.
there will be photos soon hopefully! cool!

LUCKY

super news people: i won a competition! i got into the habit of entering these online things through one of the london newspapers, this one called thelondonpaper, and then totally forgot i had done this. but i won tickets to go ice skating! yay! i have never done this before. and this is on an outside skating rink at Somerset House. how cool! i am very excited. this picture is from the website:

so this is going to be neat-o. i won't be going at night, they are giving me the tickets to use at certain times and they are all in the afternoon - my goodness, i just realised. one of the times is like 4.15pm on thursday next week - it's dark by then! muahahahahaha, how perfect!

Last night lindy and i went to ulu to see kate havnevik playing. if anyone who watches grey's anatomy is reading this is the lady who sings that song from the final episode of season 2 when meredith and derek get it on in the hospital, and when denny dies. sad, beautiful, emotive music. mix of bjork and sarah mclachlan. i did put a link to her myspace earlier and i highly recommend people listen to her! it was very special! also heard a couple of other acts, some up and comers i suppose, and i thought how much jono and willy would have liked to be there and listen to some of them. so, jono, willy - you're on my mind boys!

This weekend am off to wales so probably will write again after that with some photos from the game. i am going to get a fern and 'all blacks' face tattoo thingee. haahaa! should be fun! but to ash, alison, rosie, steve: have a blast at U2. i know you will. say hello to gigli for me. i miss that richie mccaw impersonator.

music of the night

the last weekend was so wicked! lets start from the beginning so that i try not to leave anything out! Saturday morning i woke early to go for a swim, which was fun and nice to not go straight after work. i did a 3km set, and hurried home to get changed and hurry to leicester square. once there (after passing go and thankfully collecting £200) i waited in line at the tkts booth to get cheaper tickets to the matinee of the phantom of the opera. i don't know when my interest in this particular musical started to take root and grow in my subconcious, maybe when i was like 11 and crystal sang think of me and i thought it was perhaps the most romantic and perfect song, and then mum and dad saw it in australia, or maybe it was when i had my teeth pulled out and i sat reading the gaston leroux numb jaw and all....anyway it was so cold i had my fingers crossed that it wouldn't sell out before i could buy my ticket. but ahoy! this was an occasion when the crossing of the fingers worked it's magic, because i got a ticket! i almost skipped away in joy! seriously, i did. it was playing in her majesty's theatre on haymarket street. i went alone, which was fine, but it would have been so very cool to go with someone so i could have squeezed the life out of their hand as the show went on. i also would have had someone to talk to during the intermission! the sets were amazing, and the singing very beautiful, raoul was dashing, christine suitably perky and the phantom was as tortured and intense as one could imagine. it was a great experience, and i knew as i watched this that i was doing something i would remember for the rest of my life. profound, i know, but still utterly compelling!

after this cultural experience i knew i had to do something much less upperclass, so i went to the walkabout to watch the all blacks play france. ahhh, noisy, smoky bar, some rugby - what better way to round off the day! haahaa i might sound cynical but it was, in it's way, just as exciting. i screamed with frustration each time leon macdonald dropped the ball. my heart quietly broke when it slipped through his fingers.

sunday morning dawned sunny and cold. anne and i went for a walk, and then caught the train into town so that we could visit the institute of contemporary art. we were going to this fine establisment in the hopes that we would broaden our horizons and take in some great art. the exhibition was called experimenta, and it was pretty neat! it was an interactive display, with some cool pieces, like this couch with long fur that vibrated, moaned, growled and purred depending on how you treated it. we jumped, punched, rubbed, patted, and kicked this couch. heaps of fun! also this screen with some images on it, and as you hummed, clapped or screamed into this microphone the objects, like vases and lamps and glasses, shook or shattered! it was awesome and i made the attendant outside the exhibit laugh with my uninhibited screams. as we left he said 'it's a good way to start the day!' we looked at another exhibit there called alien nation, it was pretty neat too but won't bore you with too many details. after that, we walked to covent garden for sushi, and i bought some new chucks, cause my others were all ripped up and i was starting to look homeless. they showed my socks, so bought some more even cooler ones and threw the others out.

last night tried to go to casino royale which i have heard is pretty good but the 8pm, 8.30pm and the 9pm shows were all full! gutted. i met lindy, a girl i lived with here for a while, for coffee instead! today i have been busy working...on watching my favourite teevee shows. tonight i am going to the uni of london student union building where kate havnevik is playing. hopefully not going to be a late night! now, because a blog is worthless without photos, i have some completely unrelated images to spice this up! they are all my photos, just not recent.
the first photo is my bed in my room! haahaa it's messy isn't it.

this next photo is at the V&A museum. i was walking around, admiring sculpture after bust after sculpture, when i see this little teddy bear thingee just sitting there, between two busts, as innocent as a teddy bear. it had a wee name on that piece of paper, it reads: Mattell, 1950 - , SIR ALISTAIR PILKINGTON XXIII. cracks me up! it had been there i don't know how long, haahaa. cute.



The final two images are from a weekend about a month ago (?) when i went and stayed with mellits and becs in woking. we all got embarrassingly drunk (i fell over trying to dance, becs yelled uncontrollably with her boyf, and mellits unfortunately was the unlucky one who was sick) once the photos were taken, so don't worry that being here has cured me of my 'kiwi' attitude to booze - binge drinking is my heritage.
hope whoever is out there reading this you are liking my being back on attack with the blog. it feels good, i have missed it. peace out hommies!

Urban Fox

The other evening, at around 7.30pm, i fulfilled a dream that i have cherished since arriving in london, a dream so sacred to me that i kept it hidden from everyone, and that was my desire to see an Urban Fox. This, for the clueless, is a member of the fox family that lives within the urban confines of the city. Seen usually in the dawn hours or at dusk, the Urban Fox is a mysterious creature that is often mistaken as part of the canine family, but when you see it's little pointy fox face (i'm reminded of that girl Oskar Matzerath hates....anyone read the tin drum?) you know that's not a dog. This little UF walked across the road, and into some bushes, as we approached it stopped, standing still on the grass, about 5m away, and by god i think it read my mind. Cunning little animal. i had no camera with me, but it looked a little bit like this:


except the fox was in an urban setting, so imagine it on a wet tarmac, with street lights, parked cars, houses, no stars etc.


::ALSO::
Seeing as the main thing i do all day is look at the internet, i'll give you a sample of some of the funny/cool things i have seen this week:

super weird 'juxtaposition' of john mayer and kanye west

a song called 'grace' that rules by kate havnevik, whom i am going to see play next monday night

and the funniest outfits ever that might be NSFW (rowley you will love this)

is this a good idea?

I am the living dead

hi to anyone still out there.......
yes i am still alive, breathing, working, shopping, socialising, going to the movies, reading, laughing, emailing, talking, eating, and now blogging. i am getting super excited about coming home to np on the 15th december, and will be in chch also from the 10th jan to 13th jan.
so what has been happening here:
the thing is, just what i've been doing every day: working at the NTA, which has remained as unstimulating as it always was, but i've got a id pass to get into the building so they have no plans of letting me go yet - but i leave before that can happen. after work, i either go swimming or walking with my roommate anne, or i watch tv. on the weekends: shopping has been an interesting pasttime, whether it be on the high street or at a market. last thursday night anne and i went and watched the christmas lights on oxford st get turned on by the all saints, and were "pleasantly surprised" to see peter andre and wife, glamour model jordan, perform one of their duets that will be on their upcoming duets album.
also recently been getting excited about a trip to wales for the all blacks game. that is on the 25th of nov, and i'm going with anne.
this saturday i am going to see the phantom of the opera. on sunday i am going to this experimental art gallery thats really interactive so will let you know how that is.
my camera is too big to fit in my bag most of the time - so that's why i have hardly any photos! haahaa loser excuse i know but hey, i wouldn't sacrifice fashion for photographs. my brain remembers, yes it remembers, sometimes almost too well......
so here's a couple of shots from recently:
First photo is from a night when we drank in the executive lounge on the 7th floor of the Hilton Kensington. it was a funny night there followed by dinner at this cute restaurant in hollard park. that's me on the right (in case you forgot what i look like) and becs next to me, and my new (crazy in a good way) mate jozza.

Second photo is from just this last sunday: at the pub i really like down the road from my house called the defectors weld. my flatmate nate works there, and becs, mellits, jozz and i went there after a big night out for mellita's farewell (sadly, she has returned to australia). i am trying to hide behind a thistle. i think i almost manage to. those glasses i am wearing are new! i bought two new pairs because the optometrists here are good sales people.
these photos are taken on bec's cellphone. cellphones here now have better cameras than my digital camera. isn't that amazing! anne has some cool photos on her camera from a night we had out in covent garden (doing the running man in the bunker bar!) and when i get those from her i will post them.
so hopefully this sates anyones desire to see my face again until i return in dec. it will be so nice to see the sun properly! it is now 10 past four in the afternoon and outside it is dark. i am hard at work yet again.