Filmfestival!

The internet doesn't work too reliable here in Auckland, I scribbled this earlier:

"
I give you the NZIFF.

Today I watched 'Die Wand'. Didn't know it was a german movie untill the subtitles appeared. How Hollywood-poisoned my mind was. It was hungry for the Why, which Hollywood always explains, but rarely good.

The brochure promised 'science-fiction-elements', but I didn't got them. What I got was really good fiction. Any fiction takes a setting, no matter how ridiculus or how well explained (if at all), and lets the plot unfold naturally. If the plot itself needs ridiculus plot points, it is bad fiction. If everyone and everything acts and reacts in reasonable ways, even when confronted with a weird setting, we get good fiction. A device that lets multiple people dream the same dream? Ridiculus. But take that one thing for granted and someone gets the idea to use it as a device to steal information. Great movie. Someone can instantly teleport himself from one location to another? Ridiculus, too. Then this guy does things with his gift we can't understand; we whould act differently, it is never seen why he does what he does. Add more characters behaving unreasonably, even when we take the teleporting for granted, and we get a horrible movie. 'Jumper' is worse than 'the room', because it had so much more potential to be a great one.

But I digress. 'Die Wand' takes a setting (an invisible wall), and lets us watch as the story unfolds. No bogus technobabble to explain the wall, no aliens or government experiments. The expectation of these made my brain turn the first third of the movie into a horror thriller because I was expecting jumpers (sudden cut to something that lets us jump in the seat). Once I accepted the fact that the movie was not about the WHY does it happen, but the WHAT DOES happen, I really enjoyed it.
Look guys, I'm a movie critic!
"

In other news, I quit my job:
http://www.viruscomix.com/page491.html

Instead of writing extra stuff, I now just incorporate my opinions about the movies I watch into my diary. Before that, here is my idea for the next Batman (I don't care that the comic books didn't do that. Then again, there are almost as many comic books as bible passages, so I propably could find something to support this):

John Blake, nosy hot-head detective who is not allowed to believe in coincidence, becomes the next, more brain-reliant Batman. The best villain against a brainy Batman whould be one that likes puzzles and mysteries. Hm. Maybe someone who is already introduced, mentally scared by citizens trying to kill him because otherwise a hospital whould be destroyed. Also, he might feel guilty for a hospital being destroyed. Someone who's name conveniently happens to be 'Mister Reese'.

Anyway, here's what happens at the festival:

\paragraph{23.07.12}
After work, I go to the biggest book store in Auckland, and don't you know it, they have 'atlas shrugged' right there. However, the festival comes first. I watch the movie 'the wall'. Only in the theater I realise that the original title is 'Die Wand', german with english subtitles. The white subtitles ruin some of the gloomier scenes, but that's not too bad. It is about a woman trapped in an unexplained, invisible, inert forcefield. We see how she lives in a wooden cabin with a dog, trying to survive without knowing what is going on. My brain, poisoned by Hollywood, was expecting some kind of threat or explanation, none of which appeared. Refreshing. The acting was a bit wooden and the cuts abrupt sometimes, but that is just like 'glass plates with little bubbles and imperfections, proof that they were made by the indiginous hard-working people of... whereever'. You can see the lack of a Hollywood budget able to buy the best equipment and the longest experience. The imperfections are not proof, but byproduct. The Skycity Complex where the cinema is located is impressive. An indoor balcony lets me watch over the casino. Out of curiosity I ask the guy at the entrance if my clothing meets the needed level of 'neat and tidy' required to enter. Which it is, minus the hat. 'For social or religious reasons', right. Not because of the cameras. We laugh. I leave through the vast yet labyrinth-esque entrance hall.

\paragraph{24.07.12}
After work I went to the Civic Cinema, to find out that I missed both screenings of 'cabin in the woods'. A pity. I watched 'Faust', a russian interpretation of Goethe's original. Again, to my surprise, the movie is german with english subtitles. It was interesting to watch, but a person who has read the original and knows about all the characters and sideplots can propably get even more from it. Is anyone even reading this? Anyway, the Civic Cinema is even more impressive than the Skycity Cinema. It is built the style of an indian temple without a roof, the ceiling and openings are covered by round, set back, concrete surfaces, illuminated in blue. There are various smaller rooms due to the massive >1000 seat hall in the center of the building.

\paragraph{25.07.12}
[Resigning from my job here]. Afterwards, the Auckland air tastes like adventure again. I am free to do whatever I want at any time once more. But first, I head to the Travelworks office and claim my letter by the tax department of the government. [boring tax stuff]. They also want me to record my voice for voice recognition, for the safety of my data. As I decline, I am told that it whould not matter because it will become mandatory in not too short notice. I walk another way back to the hostel and miss it. I take a detour of more than one hour, around suburbs and more suburbs. At the hostel, I view through the rest of the film festival program and go to watch 'moonrise kingdom'. Beautiful. A downscaled escape from the oppressing system, a (somewhat downscaled) love story, a beautiful film. And even on an island with a single cop, he has to be played by Bruce Willis. It is a supporting role that does not steal attention from our heroes, our outcasts. I don't even feel like watching 'crazy horse' after this. Turns out, I can't, because it's sold out. Back to the hostel, I talk about movies, politics and more movies with some german guys. They haven't seen 'the dark knight rises' yet, but they can't find the enthusiasm to go right there and then. We agree on tomorrow. Lazy bunch.

\paragraph{26.07.12}
Today I watched 'beasts of the southern wild', which was not too bad. Not entirely my genre, but an intense portrait of a girl living in the bajou swamp. I also watched 'platige image', a short film compilation by the polish animation studio of the same name. Amongst them a trailer for 'witcher 2', an impressive 3d camera pan through a historical painting (a war scene with horses, various weapons, etc), an animated history of Poland for a museum and the usual amusing and thought-provoking short films.

\paragraph{27.07.12}
Today I watched 'the shining'. Kubrick at his best. No cheap jump-in-your-seat horror, but genuine psyching of the mind. And it works best in a cinema filled with genuine viewers. In the evening, I picked up some of my books and realised that I might as well start 'Atlas Shrugged' despite the heavy movie input.

\paragraph{28.07.12}
The film festival continues. Today I went to the box office at the Civic too late and missed the last screenings of 'toons for tots' and 'the boy who was a king'. Instead, I booked 'in the fog' and 'the sound of my voice'. There were four hours to kill beforehand, so I went to Britomart. I discovered a Samsung Olympic Area, with screens repeating the opening show. I watched the larger part of it, though I took a walk during the walk of the athlets. The three 'international olympic athlets' i.e. the people without a nationality, without a flag to bow and honor and carry in front of them, seemed the most extatic. Propably because no government told them to behave and not to make their country look bad. I didn't see the large red sculpture, which I presume is the torch, ignited. I only saw the one assembled from the copper bowls in the middle of the arena. Nice try to embed a social media love story into the show. After the show, I went to the cinema and marveled at the bizarrchitecture of the complex. The movie 'in the fog' itself was a tranquilizer. The prospect of minute-long shots made me think 'the one in 'avengers' was impressive, it might work here, too'. But in the two-minute shots of this one happened less than in the average three-second shot of 'avengers'. I literally struggled to keep my eyes open. But my failed scheduling reawakened me because I had to get from the Queen Street cinema to the Rialto in Newmarket in 30 minutes. I hurried to Britomart and took the Inner Link bus line. I overshot one bus stop and hurried back. When I found it, I was about five minutes late, but I only missed most of the preceeding animated short film, 'abiogenesis'. Still, a pity, the ending of that looked impressive. The movie itself, 'the sound of my voice', was a great one. I may not have labelled it 'science-fiction' entirely, but I understand why they did. The Hollywood idea is that every movie develops towards a 'why', and if it's a good and plausible 'why', it's a good movie; if it's a ridiculous and constructed 'why', it's a bad movie. Here, you have to understand that there is no necessity for why. You simply enjoy the 'what' and make up your own mind.

"Batman?" "Yes my Lord." "RIIISSSEEE!"

Note: Spoilers are written backwards, you can turn your head away without accidentally reading them. Also, they are fake. Yes, /b/ got me again. Spoilers in an unrelated thread made me angry but reminded me not to surf the web for fun between a movie release and me watching it. As it just turned out, the boards are still the same: The info was complete bogus. find the bogus backwards at the end.

That movie is awesome! And I saw it both in the cinema on the big screen and in english! You guys have to take your pick between the two. Which is a pity, really. As with Avengers and Brave (even with Pixar giving their masters a Disney princess as main character). Even the death of a great actor does not make his movie the best of the trilogy. Which cannot end as a trilogy, not with that ending.


Hype, hype, statement how great the movie is, ..wait, you have to wait for another week?? How about you all come to live here, so I never have to go back!


Bogus spoilers from the boards:

1. emutsoc namtab sdnif ttivel
2. dedeen tub enog si namtab esuaceb ti sraew
3. sevil enyaw dna mih sllik enab

tdpe!

That is the explanation! And I was worried Bielefeld finally ur[..classified..]led, with the result tha[..classified..]o be made into a movie by Michael Bay.

Good news, by the way. This week I'll have regular Internet, so after work I can phone home. I'll be home by roundabout 8pm. That is 10 am for you (You have daylight savings in summer, we in winter). If you are too busy at that time, I can get up early on saturday.

Greetings from Hamilton,
Patrick

ps. Since I got the job in Auckland, I was travelling on a weekly basis: Auckland, Wellington, Hastings, Fieldings, Kerikeri, Hamilton.

quaking

what a rumble. especially when you are as close as fieldings. it was shaking for about a minute, never had one that heavvy. but all is ok with me and my coworkers.
free wifi and lunch break right now. cheers.
mobi

'sup

Update from low-on-internet Hastings. The job has up's and down's, one up being the travel aspect, another the regular team shifts that prevent you from ending up with people you don't get along with.

I had a short burst of 'I really miss you guys!' some days ago, but with the days getting longer again, I hope I get into the spring mood.

Jonas mailed me that some of you found out that the two of us write mails and thus you told him to greet me from you in his mails (Imagine this said by cpt. Jack Sparrow). Now Jonas is telling me that the next step is to tell you to mail me yourself. Which is not the right thing to tell you. If you want to greet me, leave me a comment right here. In the blog. If you need extra motivation: for every comment on this entry, I'll throw in one crazy dream I had over the last weeks.

Patrick
--
Empfehlen Sie GMX DSL Ihren Freunden und Bekannten und wir
belohnen Sie mit bis zu 50,- Euro! https://freundschaftswerbung.gmx.de

New Things Happening!

\paragraph{23.05.12}
The bus started at 1030. Before that, I called Bunty to ask him why he still did not show up. I instruct him to give the paper to Felix, so he can give it to me when he travelles up north. The bus brings me to Auckland. There, I stay for two nights to rest and enjoy urbanity.

\paragraph{24.05.12}
After the first night in the 'Freeman's lodge', I take a walk in Auckland. I go to the harbour, the workntravel office to check my mails, the metro center, a cinema and entertainment complex designed by a madman (everything is bent in some way, gangways from one floor to another, hallways without straight angles, general bizarrchitecture). I watch 'the avengers' yet again, this time in 3d. Near the university, I discover a stand selling 'gamja' or 'ugly hotdogs'. Picture a german frankfurter on a stick, covered in korean pancake dough and rolled in potatoe pieces that turn into french fries when the whole thing is deep fried for five minutes. Ugly, but delicious. I inquire about buses that can bring me up north. I also snatch some interesting books from the exchange shelf that need appreciation, Schaetzing and others.

\paragraph{25.05.12}
I travel to Kaitaia, a town up north. The busdriver makes long and elaborate speeches about the bus company, the route, the passenger numbers, etc. He obviously should have chosen a job where he can put that hobby of his to better use. In Kaitaia, I look at the hostels, buy supplies in the pak'n'save and take the local bus to Ahipara, an even smaller town located near shipwreck bay. I check in and book for two nights.

\paragraph{26.05.12}
The first day, it is raining, so I stay in the hostel and play monopoly with the other guests. Again, mostly germans. When the rain stops, I take a walk up the mountain slopes and to the shipwreck bay.

\paragraph{27.05.12}
Today I went to the giant sand dunes with a sled from the hostel. They were indeed huge. It took me at least fifteen minutes to climb them. Up there, I left my sled behind and wandered over the dune plateau which looked like a desert bordering a forest with the ocean at the horizon. I walked around for hours, dune after dune, watching the sculptures formed by sand with an amout of iron and wind containing salt water. The whole scenery reminded me of the video game myst, a beautiful and varying but ultimately empty landscape. When I decided that there is no point in walking on, for behind the next dune will be another, I turned and walked back. When I reached the slope down to the beach, it took me a while to find the sled because it turned out that I took a very different route back. I slided down the slope, climbed back up and slided again. But the slight but steady rain wetted the sand, slowing me down, which is why I headed back to the hostel. There, I listened to Molyneux 'against the gods' (I especially liked the part explaining why agnostics are cowards), played cards and listened to travellers stories about Laos, Thailand, Bali, India and the whole asia region.

\paragraph{28.05.12}
Today I went to the dunes again. The sand had the exact right concistency to slide. But I didn't slide too often because it was quite exhausting to climb the dune.

\paragraph{29.05.12}
Today I had a lazy day in the hammock listening to Molyneux, though I had to go in a few times because of slight rain which made it uncomfortably cold outside.

\paragraph{30.05.12}
I sat on the front porch in the sun and discussed politics with a german guy who has a shot on all sorts of conspiracy theories. He is of the opinion that all decisions in worldwide politics and economics are made by five to thirteen families who have been in charge for centuries. They started the global warming myth, organized 9-11 and decide about presidents and popes. His ideal political system is derived from the origin of the word 'democracy', something like 'rulership of the village' or something. His model has a nation-wide set of basic rules (murder etc.), but government, police and justice are organised by every village for themselves. That way, the rulers know the people they rule over personally. When I asked for specifics about the election and police systems, it quickly grew out of his hand. But we agreed that his system can easily be implemented as part of an anarchocapitalistic society. He made me rethink the systems of crime and punishment.

\paragraph{31.05.12}
Today discussed with two british girls about religious models, god and the concept of a 'good-intended cosmos'. One of them believed in some 'higher energies' (try to talk to a scientific person about energy). When she agreed with several scientific principles I proposed, she got cornered and got to interesting compromises. Since conscience without matter is not possible, god has a body, it is just not flesh (?). This matter is in another dimension, since it cannot be outside the universe if it affects us. If the matter is restructured (by, crude example, a bullet), the conscience ceases to be, ergo: god can die. When she said that the 'creation' had to be created by someone, I asked who created god, since he consists of matter and is thus a creation. She then mentioned the late hour and what a long day she had. Her co-traveller claimed not to believe in a god, but took a counterposition when her friend ran out of arguments.

\paragraph{01.05.12}
Today I met an older couple that came over to see the hostel that once belonged to them. Peter Roberts, an impressive person with long hair, sunglasses, shirt and leather jacket, has his own post-production studio, his wife owns a high-class designer clothing store. All of their three sons have their own businesses, one of them some coffeehouses. They tell me that he is in constant need of baristas, so I ask them where to apply. Peter gives me his business card and tells me that he can forward my application to him. He tells me about his own year abroad, from which he ultimately returned after three years of travelling the world. He mentions that two times he had a gun pointing at him. I think about all the people that tell me about how beautiful asia is and how I could add some months of travelling the coast of Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and India. Later that day I prepare my curriculum vitae for the barista job.

\paragraph{02.05.12}
In the morning I sent the application to Beau, the coffehouse manager. The day is sunny, so I and the conspiracy guy take sandboards and drive to the beach in his car. From there, we start walking, but a french surfer couple take us with them in their van. It is a stony way for a van, but we make it to the next bay, where they go surfing. We walk to the dunes and climb them. The dunes are free of charge, but the sliding comes at the price of the climb. After one slide, conspiracy guy (what was his name??) already heads back to the hostel, he couldn't climb up again and wants to go surfing instead. I climb up and enjoy the view over the beach, ninety mile beach and the quad and dirt bike drivers climbing the dunes and rushing down again. I meet a family climbing without sleds. They run down the hills, which is propably a better idea considering the concistency of the sand today. I slide down and head for the hostel. At shipwreck bay, I meet Joseph, a backpacker from the hostel, who takes me back in his car. At the hostel, we meet four travelers from Auckland on a long weekend. They want to head home tomorrow, so I ask them if they have a place for me, since I could get a job there quite soon. They don't, but Joseph, the tzech guy, says he is heading that way tomorrow, too.

\paragraph{03.05.12}
Today, I decided to travel in the general direction of Auckland, in case Beau hires me as a barista. Joseph, a traveller from the tzech republic, was on his way to Omapere and took me along. We were searching for more huge sand dunes at Rangi Point he was told about by other travellers. We found them, but could not reach them. They were at the end of a large area recently deforested. The roads were loose gravel, nothing for his car. We saw the dunes in the distance, but decided to turn around. The view was unique, a large deforested area with flat vegetation framed by thick forest and dunes. We took the ferry over a bay, arrived in Omapere and checked in the Globetrekker Hostel. I walked to the wooden quay and watched surfers arrive from the bay entrance, where the waves were high enough. They used large, two-seated jetskis to go there and back and now, they loaded them onto hangers. They are the motorbikes of the sea (Yamaha, no less). I walked along the beach, which was sand and, at the lower points at low tide, rocks. I saw three huge boulders. When I returned, we played a quick round of poker, but I was tired and went to bed. Joseph made one of his interviews with Lauren, one of the four travellers from Ahipara. He interviews people he meets to write a book about New Zealand.

\paragraph{04.06.12}
We drove off to Auckand, stopping for the kauri forest with the 'lord of the forest', the biggest kauri tree in New Zealand, and other large and thus famous kauri trees. An impressive view. during the journey, Joseph remarks that I am not too much of a talker. I confirm, then hesitate and tell him that normally, I am more of a talker. In Auckland, we meet with one of the four travellers from Ahipara and check in a lodge with an unrememberable maori name. In the afternoon, Joseph gets us going for the city to find a shisha bar. He got directions from a guy in the hostel. At the shisha bar they wanted me to try the pipe, and as they got insistent, I explained my decision as well as my general approach to descisions like this (I don't act upon principles that whould rob me/ free me from choice, but embrace the possibility to choose and the responsibility of the consequences, in this case the short term 'taste' that I tasted before and found it not that good as well as the long term effects.) Joseph was impressed and said he now understood that I was not someone who does not talk so much but rather someone who only talkes when it is important to me ('a heavy subject' as he called it), explaining situations and opinions thoroughly. I agreed and mentioned that that was the reason I hesitated in the car about the topic of me being someone who does not talk much vs someone who talks a lot. When the topic is important to me, I usually talk more than the average person.

\paragraph{05.06.21}
I take a long walk along the city of Auckand. Stopped at the work'n'holiday office to read my mails, since the hostel has no free wifi.

\paragraph{06.06.21}
The hostel bookshelf has some strange books, 'bad monkeys' by Matt Ruff, which is surreal and gives me the feeling that I have already read it years ago. Maybe I did, who knows. A girl at the hostel tells me about her work with [charity], where you have to talk people on the street. Sounds like the job for me.

\paragraph{07.06.21}
Today I visited the office of [charity]. Bottom line is that I got the job, but until someone explained to me the exact reach of the confidentiality paragraph in the contract, I'll leave it with that.

Quick update: I am in Auckland right now, and internet is scarce. Yes, one gets reasonably-priced wifi in the remotest hostels but not in the biggest town.

I started a new job as a fundraiser for [charity] last week, and they ordered me to Wellington, I fly on monday. When I find internet that is not cut after 20 minutes or 30 mb, you'll get a bigger update.