Boho

The other day I stumbled upon this little article .

boho-hobo inspirational goodness.

I found it quite challenging to imagine myself doing something other than the normal working 9-5, saving up to pay off the student loan/mortgage/car/whatever,  rhythm of capitalist society.

When I was a kid I used to imagine living in a room under a mansion.
I figured all I'd need was a TV, a mattress and a big bag of carrots to live off.
I'd just sneak through the floor of the fancy house to use their shower at night, and I'd be set.

Though I've now given up this thrifty house elf dream, I love the to imagine giving my life to what I love and what needs my help, rather than just filling up my bank account.

Hmmm. Thoughts.

Where your heart is, there your treasure will be.

the mile

I like everything about this.

I like how Stu Larsen kinda holds his mouth in a funny way when he sings,
how the dude playing violin is wearing TOMS.

I like how way the camera blurs and changes focus,
how the couple watching on are so stoked to have stumbled upon such joy
'wholy shit...where's the money jar? where's the money jar? it's for pleasure, it's for pleasure'

I bet this made their night.
I like it.


From the little I know, Stu Larsen seems to be a bit of a nomad/hobo kind of character.
Traveling round, making music, thinking thoughts.
As a hoarder and homebody, I find what he has to say thought provoking.

'I've only got one pair of shoes,
 to comfort these weary feet,
 cos a man who has too much,
 is like a song without a beat,
 left feeling incomplete'

This tune and this lyric has been stuck between my ears for a little over a month now, what does it make you think about?

If you are digging, you can download a couple of songs for free here.

Happiness to you all.

light a candle for me

Boys, lighting a candle, saying prayer, Puno, Peru.

then, and again.

This is oh so cool.

 Irina Werning's project Back to the Future  is where peoples by-gone days are recreated, often with quite a humourous result.

Can you imagine recreating those scenes where you are playing naked in the sandpit?
Or when you wore that fluffy purple outfit to the school disco?
Yea.

She's done such a thorough job and paid such attention to detail it's almost like spot the difference in some of them, minus the aged faces.

These are some of my faves, but you should most definitely check the project out.

garden

 

today.

 my mother said 

"wait until I make my cup chamomile, I have to be in the write state of mind for song playing"

today.

I drank raspberry tea with a big squeeze of lemon and honey

today.

Many beautiful drawings of plants on Botanical were discovered.

Red for revolution

I went and saw Miss Saigon last night at The Civic.
It was quite a beautiful experience.

Set in Saigon in 1975 some pretty big ideas are expressed. Beauty, despair, wistful hope, bitter reality, the American dream, and most of all, sacrifice, give the eyes, ears, mind and heart plenty to do in two and a half hours of theatrical glory.

Early in the second act, the success of the Viet Minh sees Saigon established as Ho Chi Minh city, the American GI's gapping it as the red revolution conquers the city.

Red.

In this haunting scene the stage was flooded with dry ice and dyed blood red with light. As the soldiers marched and the gongs clanged I was struck by how much could be conveyed through colour, how much meaning was tied up in this and what this meant in Vietnam's context. For some, the greatest hope, for others, a death sentence.





So, you know, that was interesting enough, then today, on a normal Auckland street, in your general Auckland suburb, I drove past a house flying a Che Guevara flag. Just one of the 20th Centuries most influential revolutionary figures chilling out on someone's deck.

And again, here was the red.

This man who inspired thousands, perhaps millions, to fight for freedom, to fight for humanity, waving about in the rain. Che has long become a symbol for the fight against authority, boiled down to a stylized silhouette, and on this flag at least, swimming in red.


It's all rather interesting really.
Colour can just be colour, but it can also be so much more.

I guess we have a the French to blame for our fascination with revolution red. The sans-culotte's donned the bonnet rouge as a symbol for their quest for liberty and equality during the French Revolution. One minute a hat is for keeping your head warm, next time you look, boom! It's a political statement.

Whether for you red is a fire engine, communism, blood, fire or just a fave colour, I think it's worth acknowledging that if we let it, it can be a lot more for us.

I certainly be thinking twice about what it means for me when I don red, and what things I want to fight for, what freedoms I believe in. Some may say this is rediculous, but I'm redy for the challenge ;D