As a Wellingtonian, I do enjoy seeing Ashley Bloomfield in the wild - he crossed in front of my car on The Terrace the other day. The man walks absolutely everywhere! No black cat symbolism, but perhaps a subtle message to take the waiwai express a bit more often.
I think it was his approachability and calm that appealed to all of us. Most of us would have willingly included any of the people who showed up for us every day (despite harassment) in our bubbles - and in many ways we did. I'd easily add Michael Baker and Dr Siouxsie Wiles (and Toby Morris).
What strikes me is how this flips the usual expat narrative; most of us move thinking we're escaping our home country's problems, only to discover we've just changed our exposure profile. Global supply chains mean that (for Americans in this case), foreign policy follows you whether you want it to or not.
Hi Simo! Thanks for reading! Exposure profile, I like that. Different angles on the same mess. My Americans back home: 'This war is stupid.' Here in NZ: 'Maybe industrial society as we know it ends in three weeks.' I almost envy the bubble/ Hope Belize is holding up OK, man!
Cripes. Unfortunately America has become the worlds clown, or sad uncle at a wedding. You know the one. Everyone turns their head in embarrassment. It's not just Trump, because he is aided and abetted by the population, promising future war crimes. Just. Like. Hitler.
Hi Steve! Yes, the sad uncle at the wedding! NZ is the table in the far corner. Half of us watch in horror. The other half trying to flatter the poor man, hoping somehow they're in the will
When Bob Dylan sang about "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues", it was a fringe belief shunned by both the Dems & GOP. Now, it's hijacked the White House.
Great info bro. As a Kiwi living in Florida - now hanging in Auckland - Im relying on you for all my news. Will I be able to get back home….? The mystery is exciting… my wife can keep earning in the USA and supporting me while I chill here :)
I think you’ll escape! NZ never could hold you back, mate. But if the flights get canceled make your way to Greytown and bring your wife’s paycheck, we’ll get that compound started
Hi K. Honest question: does Kiwiana work for music, too? Like is it a music genre? I always understood Kiwiana as jandals and gumboots and pavlova and etc., icons and cliches and such. I’d put The Warratahs’ ferry song in that category but the rest is just…good country music.
We leavers are different, in a lot of ways. Not every way? I struggle to draw the line sometimes!
I did some googling and it looks like I made the mistake. I thought Americana the cultural signifier and Americana the music were basically the same definition, but they are really two independently developed definitions.
I can't really figure out what Americana is just from reading, what makes it distinctive from other genres. I was assuming it was basically a term for eclectic country, which could work for any country that has country music, but seems not.
Yeah it’s a whole thing! Eclectic works. Indie. Democrat. Anti-Nashville. Reverent and self-conscious, often to a fault. Gillian Welch our guiding mother. Uncle Tupelo our knights of the roundtable. Lucinda Williams’s Car Wheels on a Gravel Road is the stone tablet of perfection handed down from the mountain. I think some Kiwi artists fit right in.The Warrarahs and Holly Arrowsmirh are great. What’s so exciting about the latest Marlon Williams album is that it’s conversant in that sound as he always was but utterly its own Aotearoa thing!
Hi Lucy! Glad you enjoyed it! I thought us four liters too, but turns out it’s only 3.78 liters to a US gallon. Makes no sense, really. UK gallons are bigger! So I took the cheapest gas here at NZD 3.48 per liter x 3.78 = NZD 13.27, which at last night’s rates a US gallon is US 7.58. Eye-watering to this cheap gas gringo. Will clear that up above!
I think the numbers are still a weak story. America is BUILT on cheap gas, so the pain point is lower (bigger cars, bigger sprawl.) Hard to compare apples to apples. But I do love to scare to the folks back home.
As a Wellingtonian, I do enjoy seeing Ashley Bloomfield in the wild - he crossed in front of my car on The Terrace the other day. The man walks absolutely everywhere! No black cat symbolism, but perhaps a subtle message to take the waiwai express a bit more often.
Yes! I don’t even live in Welly and I’ve seen him walking twice now. Healthy for the body & body politic both!
I think it was his approachability and calm that appealed to all of us. Most of us would have willingly included any of the people who showed up for us every day (despite harassment) in our bubbles - and in many ways we did. I'd easily add Michael Baker and Dr Siouxsie Wiles (and Toby Morris).
Sir Ashley was simply the best person for Aotearoa at the time.
Hi Christopher! Yes. The best of us.
Love this thoughtful post, Dan, especially your juxtaposition of Ashley Bloomfield and black cats!
Hi Marisa! Glad you liked it!
What strikes me is how this flips the usual expat narrative; most of us move thinking we're escaping our home country's problems, only to discover we've just changed our exposure profile. Global supply chains mean that (for Americans in this case), foreign policy follows you whether you want it to or not.
Hi Simo! Thanks for reading! Exposure profile, I like that. Different angles on the same mess. My Americans back home: 'This war is stupid.' Here in NZ: 'Maybe industrial society as we know it ends in three weeks.' I almost envy the bubble/ Hope Belize is holding up OK, man!
Oh yes, just straight chillin' here in bubble-Belize!
Cripes. Unfortunately America has become the worlds clown, or sad uncle at a wedding. You know the one. Everyone turns their head in embarrassment. It's not just Trump, because he is aided and abetted by the population, promising future war crimes. Just. Like. Hitler.
Hi Steve! Yes, the sad uncle at the wedding! NZ is the table in the far corner. Half of us watch in horror. The other half trying to flatter the poor man, hoping somehow they're in the will
When Bob Dylan sang about "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues", it was a fringe belief shunned by both the Dems & GOP. Now, it's hijacked the White House.
Great piece Dan. That live countdown is mildly terrifying. On the up, Debt Club is a vibe, thanks for the recommendation!!
They are, aren’t they? Like I want to be friends with Debt Club. We should catch a show sometime in Welly!
❤️
there is so much to apologise for why stop at this
Kiwis can only take so much, and I can only say so much
no April Fool's joke here. that digital countdown is truly unnerving.
Your writing always hits the nail on the head. This time, it also adds Debt Club to my music listening list.
Thanks Rachel! Debt Club are fun, aren’t they? Cleaning the kitchen to ‘em right now
Great info bro. As a Kiwi living in Florida - now hanging in Auckland - Im relying on you for all my news. Will I be able to get back home….? The mystery is exciting… my wife can keep earning in the USA and supporting me while I chill here :)
Keep me updated bro !
I think you’ll escape! NZ never could hold you back, mate. But if the flights get canceled make your way to Greytown and bring your wife’s paycheck, we’ll get that compound started
Kiwiana Dan, Kiwiana.
The average American outside America is very different from the average American inside America. I think most non-Americans understand that.
Hi K. Honest question: does Kiwiana work for music, too? Like is it a music genre? I always understood Kiwiana as jandals and gumboots and pavlova and etc., icons and cliches and such. I’d put The Warratahs’ ferry song in that category but the rest is just…good country music.
We leavers are different, in a lot of ways. Not every way? I struggle to draw the line sometimes!
I did some googling and it looks like I made the mistake. I thought Americana the cultural signifier and Americana the music were basically the same definition, but they are really two independently developed definitions.
I can't really figure out what Americana is just from reading, what makes it distinctive from other genres. I was assuming it was basically a term for eclectic country, which could work for any country that has country music, but seems not.
Yeah it’s a whole thing! Eclectic works. Indie. Democrat. Anti-Nashville. Reverent and self-conscious, often to a fault. Gillian Welch our guiding mother. Uncle Tupelo our knights of the roundtable. Lucinda Williams’s Car Wheels on a Gravel Road is the stone tablet of perfection handed down from the mountain. I think some Kiwi artists fit right in.The Warrarahs and Holly Arrowsmirh are great. What’s so exciting about the latest Marlon Williams album is that it’s conversant in that sound as he always was but utterly its own Aotearoa thing!
Great write up Dan. I thought there were four litres in a gallon though?
Hi Lucy! Glad you enjoyed it! I thought us four liters too, but turns out it’s only 3.78 liters to a US gallon. Makes no sense, really. UK gallons are bigger! So I took the cheapest gas here at NZD 3.48 per liter x 3.78 = NZD 13.27, which at last night’s rates a US gallon is US 7.58. Eye-watering to this cheap gas gringo. Will clear that up above!
Aha! My apologies, I didn’t notice that you’d done the currency conversion either. *internet reader jumping to conclusions*
I think the numbers are still a weak story. America is BUILT on cheap gas, so the pain point is lower (bigger cars, bigger sprawl.) Hard to compare apples to apples. But I do love to scare to the folks back home.