Really interesting, Dan, & sad. The first time I saw those satellites I had an overpowering urge to smash them out of the sky with a rock. During Covid a lot of Americans arrived in Wellington (those who could afford to flee, mostly). I noticed they seemed to have this see-sawing love / hate, on the one hand, isn't everything so quaint & delightful, on the other hand, things are better & bigger in America. I found this annoying, because you can't have both, you know what I mean? That's there & this is here.
I can remember one conversation with an American where he asked me, was I good at what I do (making art)? I looked him dead in the eye & said I was good, yeah, & he fell on me like a starving animal, thank God! he said, someone who was actually willing to admit to skill & prowess! He was so sick of having to pretend to be humble!
By the way rose shows are awesome, skinny jeans are also acceptable in my books, but as you say I am something of a backwards savage LOL. Take all this with a grain of salt, I like that you are digging into these emotional contradictions.
In Ellensburg, WA - where I once worked at CWU - you have what is essentially a ranch town with a university in it. Aside from that, there is a Safeway, a Fred Meyer (out by I-90), a feed store and a place that sells farm implements, a McDonalds, Arby's, Jersey Mike's, and an honest-to-God saloon with swinging doors, plus the usual collection of drinking holes frequented by students. There is also an ageing, abandoned bowling alley, probably comparable to the Masterton bowling alley and arcade. Rodeo Bowl closed it's doors for the last time in 2013 and there have been a few efforts (all falling short) to restore and reopen, including one by a Microsoft multimillionaire who studied at CWU and likes to bowl, but that ended flat too.
As for video games: there was a time when I spent an inordinate amount of my meager budget on the arcade at the University of Oregon, and my go to's were Ms. Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Gallaga and the timeless Space Invaders. I never have tried my hand at The Claw, having watched others (my kids included) poring money into the machine in a futile effort to grab something to take home. I don't think I have ever seen anyone get something from those damn machines. Wish I had invented it.
Really interesting, Dan, & sad. The first time I saw those satellites I had an overpowering urge to smash them out of the sky with a rock. During Covid a lot of Americans arrived in Wellington (those who could afford to flee, mostly). I noticed they seemed to have this see-sawing love / hate, on the one hand, isn't everything so quaint & delightful, on the other hand, things are better & bigger in America. I found this annoying, because you can't have both, you know what I mean? That's there & this is here.
I can remember one conversation with an American where he asked me, was I good at what I do (making art)? I looked him dead in the eye & said I was good, yeah, & he fell on me like a starving animal, thank God! he said, someone who was actually willing to admit to skill & prowess! He was so sick of having to pretend to be humble!
By the way rose shows are awesome, skinny jeans are also acceptable in my books, but as you say I am something of a backwards savage LOL. Take all this with a grain of salt, I like that you are digging into these emotional contradictions.
In Ellensburg, WA - where I once worked at CWU - you have what is essentially a ranch town with a university in it. Aside from that, there is a Safeway, a Fred Meyer (out by I-90), a feed store and a place that sells farm implements, a McDonalds, Arby's, Jersey Mike's, and an honest-to-God saloon with swinging doors, plus the usual collection of drinking holes frequented by students. There is also an ageing, abandoned bowling alley, probably comparable to the Masterton bowling alley and arcade. Rodeo Bowl closed it's doors for the last time in 2013 and there have been a few efforts (all falling short) to restore and reopen, including one by a Microsoft multimillionaire who studied at CWU and likes to bowl, but that ended flat too.
As for video games: there was a time when I spent an inordinate amount of my meager budget on the arcade at the University of Oregon, and my go to's were Ms. Pac Man, Donkey Kong, Gallaga and the timeless Space Invaders. I never have tried my hand at The Claw, having watched others (my kids included) poring money into the machine in a futile effort to grab something to take home. I don't think I have ever seen anyone get something from those damn machines. Wish I had invented it.