So, I'm packing my bags for the Misty Mountains...

The new mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, has declared a state of emergency in Hollywood.  Too many films are being produced in the UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.  Seriously. You can read the article in The Guardian here. Apparently his campaign was largely funded by members of the entertainment industry so that he would take a firm stance to keep work in Hollywood.  After seeing how they make films in New Zealand it's no wonder why people are choosing to shoot and edit them there.

It's supposed to be illustrating it's a windy city with the "o" and "n" being blown away but most residents wanted it to read "Wellywood" 

First of all, New Zealand and the other countries mentioned usually give tax incentives.  Then there is Sir Peter Jackson.  He was born and raised near Wellington so when he won the rights to film the epic trilogy of J.R.R. Tolkien's classic, Lord of the Rings, he knew exactly where he wanted to film it.  New Zealand has a large amount of diverse locations and climates all within a small geographical distance.

He and his friend, Jamie Selkirk, along with their friends Richard Taylor and his partner Tania Rodger (aside: people in NZ and Australia call their spouse a partner. Another reason I have no idea why gay marriage is not legal in Australia.) had already created the Weta Workshop to help create their movies.

The nondescript entrance to Weta Digital and Weta Workshop

Windows of Weta Workshop exhibit entrance

It seems like more people in New Zealand have the gift of foresight.  Maybe it's because they are stuck on an island and have to figure out how to do things differently.  Peter Jackson and Richard Taylor definitely have the gift of foresight.  Instead of doing things only to create whatever movie they were working on at the time they thought, "why don't we build a workshop so we can expand as our movies expand."  What an idea!  This idea carries over into every aspect of Peter Jackson's vision for Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.  This is why it looks different to other movies we see today.  Because it is.  It's because they don't just CGI a tree in a scene when they can have someone staple, by hand, 400,000 maple leaves to a tree to make it feel more like autumn.  That tree might not even make it in a scene but the actors know it's there and it helps things to be more 'real'. Then they still add things with CGI later.

Some people call it crazy.  Okay, most people call it crazy but you can't argue with the results.  Jackson knew he needed to find locations for filming but he decided to take the allotted monies and build a database for future reference.  So, he sent out location scouts to take pictures of almost everywhere in New Zealand and then built a computer program to help Directors find exactly what they needed.  This foresight is partially why it's so attractive to film in NZ now.  They didn't just film Lord of the Rings, they built an industry.  They built Weta Workshop, Weta Digital, Park Road Post Production, Wingnut Films, Wingnut Interactive Video Games. Created MASSIVE, a high-end computer animation and artificial intelligence software used for crowd-related visual effects and developed on the idea of motion capture into a completely new artform for actors; performance capture.

The newest building so it's the nicest looking.  They have money now. 

Academy Award-winning Director, James Cameron, just moved to Wellington and is preparing to film the next Avatar movies so the work just keeps expanding.

The Weta workshop and Park Road have now worked on the following films:
     Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Elysium, Man of Steel, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Prometheus, The Avengers, The Adventures of Tin Tin, Emperor, Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away, Boogeyman, Without a Paddle, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, X-Men: First Class, Gulliver's Travels, King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia, The A-Team, Robin Hood, The Lovely Bones, Under The Mountain, Avatar, Daybreakers, District 9, The Day The Earth Stood Still, Jumper, Enchanted, 30 Days of Night, The Water Horse, Bridge To Terabithia, Fantastic Four, Black Sheep, X-Men: The Last Stand, Eragon, The Legend of Zorro, Hellboy, Van Helsing, I Robot, Peter Pan, Master and Commander, Perfect Strangers, The Last Samurai, Contact, Heavenly Creatures, The Frighteners, Braindead.

Not to mention all of the TV shows and art sculptures.  In 2000, there were almost no movies made in New Zealand.  That list is all in the last ten years and is growing faster every year. Peter Jackson and his team pride themselves on not cutting corners.  Jackson is extremely meticulous even to the point of reshooting footage for the extended versions after Return of the King had already been awarded the Oscar for Best Picture.

But this is evident in everything they do.  I can't say how much I love this.  My favorite ol' ballcoach John Wooden said, "If you don't have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over." This is why filming in Hollywood is in trouble. It's not just tax breaks and scenery, it is attitude.

This vision has seen Sir Peter Jackson get just about every award and distinction possible in New Zealand.  They even wanted to name the airport in Wellington after him.  In true NZ style, he declined and said, I'm paraphrasing here, please at least don't do it while I'm alive I'll never be able to go there again. And for that matter not while my kids are alive either because they wouldn't be able to fly anywhere.  So, they had to settle for renaming the terminal "The Middle of Middle Earth".  It has a huge sculpture of Gollum done by Weta.  Awesome!

Sean said it was kinda creepy eating underneath Gollum. I said it was a dream come true. But yes, creepy. 

In fact, New Zealand is just figuring out that they have a good thing on their hands here and marketing accordingly.  It took them this long because they are a pretty laid back people.  It's part of their charm.  "You mean there are people that will come here and spend money because some movies were made here? Sweet as bro! Kia ora!"  Check out this video made by Air New Zealand.

Well, here I've gone all New Zealand-like and written too much about Peter Jackson today and didn't get to my LOTR tour.  Guess you'll have to come back tomorrow to read about that adventure!

Here's a great piece done by Rock Center with Brian Williams with Ann Curry interviewing Peter Jackson.  If you are up for it I recommend you watch the videos.

I love it when you call me Te Papa

Last week we had the chance to visit New Zealand.  I absolutely loved everything about it.  From the manuka honey to free museums, from the friendly people to the crazy silver fern sphere that hangs in the middle of the civic square, Wellington won me over quickly.  So much so that I was looking at property prices.  (Don't worry mom, it's probably wishful thinking)

On Saturday morning we had some brekkie at a Mojo Cafe (there seems to be a cafe on every corner) and headed over to the Te Papa Tongarewa museum. Te Papa Tongarewa literally means 'the repository for precious things' in te reo Māori, which is the language of the Māori.  I didn't know what to expect since the museum is free.  I must say we gave a healthy donation as we left because it was worth paying to see it.

Entrance to the museum

The bottom floor focuses on native animals and plants.  New Zealand is rare in that it doesn't really have any apex predators on land outside of man.  This has led to almost flightless birds that are either extinct or going extinct because they didn't know to fly away when humans arrived.  Oh, that crazy Darwin, what did he know? That was written in sarcastic font by the way.  You see, New Zealand is the youngest area in the world to be settled.  It only happened about 800 years ago.  A paradise of riches that no one really cared about until the Māori left their other Polynesian home and sailed to Aotearoa (pronounced ow-tea-uh-row-uh).

The Māori are amazing at wood carving

Te Papa is the only museum in the world to house a Colossal Squid.  It's creepy and amazing how big these things can get.  It also has an area dedicated to earthquakes.  Wellington sits directly on top of where the Pacific plate and the Australian plate collide.  This creates daily earthquakes.  Yes, I said daily.  Apparently while we were there they had a 3.0 earthquake but I was told it doesn't count unless you feel it.  Before any event I attended they mention, "in case of earthquake...".  But most buildings and houses are earthquake ready and they are extremely prepared.

Partially because of its youth, New Zealand has managed to blend and incorporate the culture of the indigenous Māori people and in doing so have created harmony.  Unlike Australia and the United States, British settlers in New Zealand ended fighting and strife between them and the Māori with a treaty that is still in play to this day.  The Treaty of Waitangi is on display in the archives in Wellington.  It is in a darkened room and torn and tattered due to moths and fire but signifies in essence the beginning of New Zealand as a country.

The need for a treaty was probably aided in the fact that the Māori people were big, fierce warriors that were not going to go away to any reservation quietly.  If you've ever seen the Haka that the All Blacks rugby team from New Zealand do before every match you can somewhat understand what early European settlers faced.  They scare me and I love it.  Here is a video of what I'm talking about.

Today, schoolchildren have the option of learning the Māori language in school and there are even bilingual immersion programs.  When I was walking around the Carter Observatory a gaggle of little girls suddenly appeared speaking Māori and English interchangeably.  All colors, shapes and sizes speaking both languages.  It was rather inspiring.  I almost cried.  Seriously, I am that ridiculous and silly but it was so incredible seeing a little girl talk about how she is going to go to Tū-mata-uenga (Mars) in a rocket, for so many reasons.  It gives me hope for the new world.

There are three official languages of New Zealand: English, Māori and New Zealand sign language.  This means that all official documents are available in all three languages.  It is fascinating and seems to have been woven into every Kiwis DNA and identity. In contrast, the United States of America does not have any official language.  Our founding fathers did this on purpose.  The U.S. is a melting pot of many cultures and wanted to be welcoming to all languages.

In the Māori language, they use the same word for land and placenta.  It is called Whenua and shows just how close they consider the relationship between the earth and man.   Human beings are made from earth, Papatūānuku (earth mother) and after birth they actually placed the placenta and umbilical cord of this first human in a special receptacle and ritually buried it back in the earth.  Leading to the origin of an old Māori proverb: 'What is given by the land should return to the land', ‘He taonga nō te whenua, me hoki anō ki te whenua’.

This is what they place the placenta in to be buried

This being said, when they arrived they proceeded to destroy a large chunk of the forests to create space for their people to live.  When the Europeans arrived they destroyed even more so that image of rolling hills dotted with sheep is man-made.  They brought the Pākehā, sheep, along with them.

Illustration of the evolving land of Aotearoa

As you move to the upper levels of Te Papa they explore more of the Māori and other Polynesian cultures.  

A waka, the large boat they sailed on to Aotearoa

Creative hand-woven sails

They would store food in this

This place was sacred so they didn't allow pictures inside but it featured unbelievably articulate wood carvings and light.

If New Zealand was in the center of the globe. 

I found Wellington to be a breathtaking waterfront city that truly lives up to its motto; Absolutely Positively Wellington.  It's a shame Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington and the namesake of the city never visited the "coolest little capital in the world".  Stay tuned for more blogs on Welly and New Zealand.

Who Says You Can't Go Home

Long time no write.  Lots of things have occurred since the last time I wrote one of these.  We went back to the States for the first time since being in Australia and are already back in the thick of things. Here are some highlights and lowlights of the trip and beyond:

  *Things I thought I really missed but actually my body hadn't missed it at all and let me know every time I tried to eat it.   American bacon.  Boo.

  *This whole time I've been missing a normal cup of joe from a regular place like Denny's.  In reality, Australia had actually been reformatting my brain to realize just how awful it actually is and rewarded me when I finally had a proper cuppa.  Well played, 'Stralia.  Well played.

  *Last week we ran the City2Surf 14k (14.8 by my calculations thank you very much) race here in Sydney.  It was a lot of fun running with 85,000 of our closest friends from Hyde Park to Bondi Beach. I just kept thinking of how many cities I've been to with a smaller population than the race. Basically almost everywhere.

Lots of random people were along the course with hoses spraying you down with water, handing out oranges, water, and cookies.  I didn't partake of anything as I already had my race plan down and didn't want to mess with it.  But one guy who took a cookie at the top of Heartbreak Hill proclaimed that it was the best biscuit he'd ever had.  I'm sure it didn't hurt that it was hot and we had been steadily climbing over 280 ft for about 2km by that time.  But they were cute, little girls handing them out so maybe they were the best biscuits ever.  Maybe next year I will try one.

*We went to barrack for the Swannies at the footy in the SCG on Sunday.  American translation:
We went to cheer for the Sydney Swans Australian Rules Football game at the Sydney Cricket Grounds on Sunday. It was a lot of fun and I've officially changed allegiance to the Swans.  After being here I have found that I'm not really a Collingwood fan so they can bugger off.  (See how I'm using colloquialisms now)

I found that it oddly reminded me of being at an American high school football game.  It's such a huge field of play when the action is at the other end of the field you find yourself staring at the big screen or not paying attention at all.  There are lots of people there kind of paying attention and lots of people totally engrossed in every play.  There are random kids running around with footballs throwing and kicking them as if they were "under the bleachers" back home.  Parents just let their kids take off and find other seats.  This was more amazing from the father that had what looked to be two 4 and 7 year-old boys.  He would occasionally crane his neck up and look around so he could still kinda see them and every once in a while the older boy would turn around and give a thumbs up.  I'm fairly certain that this was one of those "don't tell mom" moments but here in Australia, I'm not quite sure.

The players run out through banners made and held up by the club's supporters.  There are no player introductions other than announcing and showing pictures of the home team on the big screen.  There was no national anthem.  I was bummed about this because I've been practicing along with the events we watch on TV.  I was really excited to be able to sing it live.  Oh well.  They just ran out onto the field and started the game.

The game itself was great fun though and I think I've talked Sean into becoming members next year.  That's a fun way of saying we get season tickets.  We become "members" of the team.  Sweet!  Plus, I loved the mascot Cyggy.  It's named Cyggy because swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus Cygnus.  How nerdy!  I love it! And Cyggy came out to "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins and anyone who knows me knows that the song has a special place in my heart being the theme song to the greatest movie of all-time, Top Gun.  I feel the need.  The need for speed!

We got there super early because we wanted to see the early game.  Our chiropractor coaches Sydney University and they were playing the Sydney Swans Reserves.  He used to play footy for the Fremantle  Dockers in Perth, another AFL club.  Welcome to Australia!  They coach and play because they love it because most people aren't really making a lot of money.  I must say it's rather refreshing especially considering how much the country loves sport.

Now that I'm back new adventures are already in the works so make sure you keep coming back and checking for new posts!  Thanks for reading!

Me at the SCG

They are in the middle of renovating the entire side closest to the CBD

Footy players are typically good looking.  Makes it fun for the whole family :)

Cyggy!!

St. Kilda entering under their banner

These guys are seriously athletic

Kurt Tippett kicking one of his FIVE goals on the day

Final scoreboard and I actually know what all of those numbers mean.  Basically Swans win 118-59!

A Seven Nation Army Couldn't Hold Me Back

Right now it's a Thursday night and I'm watching the Ashes live on TV.  Cricket, people.  Let me paint this picture for you.  Britain vs. Australia.  This is the second of five days of the first test.  There are five tests in England throughout July and August.  Tests can last eight hours a day.  Last night, I watched a couple of hours and then headed to bed.  When I went to sleep Australia was doing pretty well. When I woke up I found that things had turned badly.

It's kind of like if you could watch paint dry. You'd be watching for a long time and very little happens and then boom, it's dry!  Wow, what a turn of events.  But seriously, I am fascinated by it.  Of course, I can watch baseball and golf on TV as well so I don't think I'm the average sports viewer here.  They literally zoom in on the pitch to show the cracks in the field.  They use incredible technology to show where the batter is hitting or the spin of the ball or an infrared heat cam to show if it hit the bat or their legs.

Australia is crazy about sports.  We are talking about a country that just went over 23 million people in population.  They rank 53rd in the world and make up about .33% of total population.  I say this because they also rank 14th overall in total Olympic medals awarded.  There's not a lot of snow here so let's just say that they finally won their first winter Olympic medal in 1994 and have nine total. They are basically 14th overall based on the summer Olympics only.  They are so disappointed in their swimming performance in the London Olympics there are articles almost weekly about what went wrong and how they are fixing it.  I wondered at the time, "Why is Emily Seebohm crying? She just won the silver medal?"  Yeah, I get it now. For those of you that don't remember, Emily was beaten by the American phenom Missy Franklin.  While we were all cheering Missy in America this was happening in Australia.  Like I said, they take their sports seriously.

Just another article about how mad they are about swimming. No pressure or anything.

The Ashes come immediately after the Australia Wallabies just lost to the British and Irish Lions in rugby.  The Australians are huge underdogs here even though they have dominated the last couple of decades in cricket.  Despite being few in number they expect to win everything.  The Ashes started in 1882.  It's called the Ashes because after England lost the first test an English newspaper printed the obituary of the British Cricket team and said that "the ashes" would be sent back to Australia with the victors.

When England came to Australia to play again a group of Aussie women presented their captain with a tiny urn filled with ashes and that became the trophy that is awarded to this day.  It's said that the ashes are from a burnt cricket bail, which is the top piece of small wood that is put on top of the stumps that make up the wicket.  Easy, right?

British captain Alastair Cook and Aussie captain Michael Clarke hold the coolest trophy in sports
Courtesy of http://www.guardian.co.uk/

The Aussies wear the Baggy Greens, the same style of hat they've been wearing since the beginning. There is no greater honor for an Aussie cricketer than to be awarded a baggy green.

One of the young stars of the British team is Joe Root.  Australians find this particularly awesome because in Australia, "root" is slang for the "f" word.  This is why when Americans say they are rooting for a team you will see an Aussie smirk and chuckle.  Every time.  They can't help but laugh when they hear Root's name.  It's really funny how people become twelve-year-old boys when they hear "Joe Root" is bowling.

They are really good at the sport of drinking too.  This is an Aussie Fanatic beer snake made from their plastic cups yesterday.
Courtesy of http://news.speedtv.com/ 

Well, things aren't going well but the rookie Ashton Agar is putting on a masterful debut so far.  Britain got 215/all out yesterday but it's now Australia batting for 192-9.  I still can't believe I understand what I just wrote.  I used to read Agatha Christie novels and would glaze over the cricket references.  Here I am watching cricket and drinking tea.  My grandfather's family would be proud except that I'm rooting for, nope, cheering for the Aussies.   I can't go to bed until Ashton finishes batting.  Paint drying has never been so interesting.

Abra-Abra Cadabra, I want to reach out and grab ya

I can usually tell another American from a mile away.  A couple things give us away.  First of all, you can tell a lot about a person from the shoes they wear.  I am usually in flip flops, tennis shoes, or Tom's.  If I get the choice, this is my choice of footwear.  I think this is a good representation of myself: laid back, comfortable, with a small hope of changing the world for the better.  I have never been one of those girls that gets excited about shoes.  For whatever reason, that gene was shifted towards jackets.  I love jackets and sweaters.  But I am still fascinated by shoes.  Just because I don't necessarily want to wear them doesn't mean that I'm not secretly in love with them.

So, on most days when I find myself enjoying my coffee, watching the crowds of people wander by, I am looking at people's feet, trying to ascertain where they are originally from.  It's a little game I like to play.  Americans are easy.  We all wear name brands, usually tennis shoes and usually comfortable.  This is probably because most Americans are tourists so they have packed ready for adventure.  The only reason I say this is because if you want to look at how much we have compared to the rest of the world you simply have to look no further than a person's foot.

Most people don't wear elaborate shoes and the rest of us make up for it by wearing incredibly intricate masterpieces.  What a weird world.

I had another didjeridu class last night and once again it did not disappoint.  I'm getting better at producing an adequate drone sound but still working on the rhythm breathing aspect.  It takes a lot of air and pressure in your diaphragm.  Quick lungs and a strong diaphragm is what you need to be a good didj player otherwise you end up making yourself hyperventilate.

The class is really fun because only about half of it actually involves the didj.  The rest is Charlie telling stories or answering questions.  He says we can only get better with practice so then he just has us drone away.  He told us a story of him coming across a tribe that consisted of nine people that were all one family.  When he reached them (because of water boring) that was the first contact they had from the outside world.  The father had been into the nearest community just to keep up with what's going on occasionally but the rest of them had no contact with the modern world.  This was in 1984.

It's easier to understand their mythology and stories from dreamtime when you imagine them all sitting around a fire telling them for entertainment.  They don't have phones, TV, even radio but they have their stories. It kinda reminded me of hearing older ladies talking about watching their "stories" which ended up being a soap opera.  "Gotta see what's going on in my story."  I wonder if the younger generation ever even realizes that everything comes from an idea which is put into written word and then made for TV.  I guess that's a foreign concept now.  I fear we are becoming a generation of consumers and not creators.  But that's a different blog now, isn't it?

The most amazing thing to me about the Aboriginal culture is the emphasis put on the power of music. Charlie said our word "music" isn't powerful enough.  To them music is magic.  A lot of them are very superstitious.  Being overly spiritual can come with a price if you let the spirits control your actions.  Aboriginal justice means that if you do something really bad like kill someone, the elders can "point the bone" or "sing you".  If you have been "sung" it means that you will soon die. You have been cursed.  It's black magic that they conjure up through song to tell the spirits to take you away.  According to one of Charlie's stories, the belief can be so powerful that one man who had been "sung" ended up in the hospital in Alice Springs.  A few of the tribal men felt bad because they did not think he had killed his wife (she had actually died of breast cancer) so they went to the hospital to "unsing" him.  Sure enough, he immediately recovered, checked out of the hospital and went back to the village.   The mind is so impressive.

According to the Aborigines, music should never be played without purpose.  It is too powerful.  Charlie laughed and said that one tribes words for "rock and roll" literally means to play with wire for no reason. Yep, that's pretty much it.  But to quote the Rolling Stones, "I know it's only rock and roll, but I like it."

So, when creating our own rhythms for the didj, Charlie encouraged us to give them all names that reflect what we are hearing.  He has rhythms named Stone Road, Scrambled and Butterfly that adequately describe what they sound like.  That way it gives them purpose and character and you will remember them and they can grow.  And here I thought I was just learning to play another instrument.  Not so my friends.  I am creating magic.

When You Gonna Learn?

I had my first didjeridu class last night and I'm still excited about it.  I figured while I was here I should get to know how to play an indigenous instrument.  I think one of the best ways to truly get to know a culture is to learn about their art and music.  For having such a strong history of Aboriginal culture here it seems like most modern day Australians are playing catch up in acknowledging and learning about it.  But they are trying.

The class is held at the Tali Gallery in Rozelle through the Sydney Community College.  I've just gotten used to getting on a bus that I'm not quite sure where will end up.  Last night, I got on a new bus to a place I'd never been, in the dark, by myself, headed to a class where I feared I might be the only female.  It was rather exhilarating.  Super scary though but I'm pretty good at just jumping into something and seeing what happens.  What's the worst that could happen, right?

I got there the same time as one of my fellow students so we became friends right away.  He is a backpacker from Estonia with a thick accent.  That caused quite a laugh when our instructor thought he said "bagpiper" instead of backpacker.  It took a while to get that sorted out and it ended with Charlie, our teacher, making a joke at his expense about the community college offering English classes too.  Ah mate, good on ya, that means he likes you already!

Our class is taught by the didjeridu legend, Charlie McMahon.  You can check out his website at www.charliemcmahon.com.  It's amazing and so exciting for me.  I'm learning the didjeridu from the world's foremost authority on the didjeridu.  Outside of original Arnhem Land musicians, Charlie is your man.

Charlie grew up in the Blue Mts. and still lives there today.  He catches the train in and out of town, almost an 1.5 hour commute.  Now that's someone dedicated to teaching about the didj.  He has no Aboriginal ancestry but became fascinated with the culture after seeing the movie Jedda when he was was a little boy. As a teen he blew off his right hand experimenting with rockets in his backyard.  So he has a type of grappling hook for a right hand. I'll take pictures of everyone next week to update you on my progress.  To be honest, I was too busy trying to find my bearings and get a solid tone to be taking pictures.

Charlie went through a little about his history and the history of the didj.  Some of you may have seen Charlie perform and not even know it.  He played with the Midnight Oil during their heyday and toured around the world with them. He's recorded with the Oils as well as Jane's Addiction, Keith Urban, The Angels and many others as well as his own bands.  I love that he downplayed this when he was explaining his story.  He worked out in the bush water boring which is basically like an oil rigger that is looking for water.  He casually shows some pictures of him with the Oils (that's what the cool kids call them) and says, "Yeah, it was fun.  I played with the Oils a bit in between water boring."  Awesome.  He toured with one of Australia's most famous bands and he's like, whatever, it was fun.

Charlie and his collection of Didjeridus
(courtesy of charliemcmahon.com)

I think Charlie is more interested in being appreciated by his Aboriginal contemporaries rather than any of us.  Yet, at the same time, he has taken the instrument into contemporary music and done things with it that many never imagined could happen.  For example,  I am practicing on what he calls a Didjeribone.  It's an instrument that he invented.  Bascially, it's a hybrid of a didj and a trombone.  This allows you to change keys and create different "horn" notes that can actually harmonize.  

But hold on, I'm getting ahead of myself.  First a quick introduction to the didjeridu.  I will try to add more history and theory as the weeks go on.  I'm sure you will all be either thoroughly engaged or bored but I'm going for extremes here!

First of all, you may notice that I am spelling the instrument, "didjeridu" and not "didgeridoo".  I don't think it's that big of a deal especially when you realize that each culture had a different name for the instrument.  But, didjeridu is more accurate and is what Charlie and other Aboriginals use so therefore I will use it.  When I first thought of learning this instrument I was met with intrepidation.  "What? You're American, and white, and a girl..."  Ah yes, the myths of the didjeridu.  There are a lot of "Didj Dogma" as Charlie likes to call it.  He pointed me to an online article called, That didjeridu has sent them mad, that helps dispel some common myths.  Please feel free to check it out if you like.

So, let's fix some of those incorrect myths right now, shall we?

Didj myth #1:  All Aboriginals played the Didjeridu
Reality:  Nope.  It originated from the Arnhem Land people in the very top of the Northern Territory and has only very recently made its way throughout Australia.

Didj myth #2:  The Didjeridu is a sacred instrument and must only be played by Aboriginal men.
Reality:   Wrong again.  It is an instrument that was primarily played at diplomacy exchanges and funerals.  The sacred instrument is called a Bullroarer. It's like a spinning blade at the end of a rope that they swing above their heads to create a sound unlike anything else.  This was part of the men's secret business and therefore only sacred men played it.  Women had their own secret business too but that's a different story.

Didj myth #3:  The Didjeridu is one of the world's oldest instruments.
Reality:   As exotic and inviting as the thought may be this is false.  The Aboriginals may be one of the oldest living tribes in the world but that does not mean that the didj is that old.  In fact, since it was only played in the very top of the Northern Territory the oldest rock paintings featuring a didj date back only 1,500 to 2,000 years old.  Oh well, that still beats the electric guitar for age.

Didj myth #4:  Aboriginals don't like other people playing the Didjeridu
Reality:   They only care if you are trying to pass yourself off as being an authentic Aboriginal player and you are not.  They don't mind any one playing it as it is just an instrument.  But, if you start telling people and more importantly "selling" people that you are authentic, this is wrong.  I fully believe this in all things people.  Just be who you are, say what you mean, and do what you say you will do.

Didj myth #5:  Authentic Didjeridus are played by themselves and mainly produce a drone sound
Reality:  Arnhem Land musicians used the didjeridu as an accompaniment to a singer.  The emphasis was always on the singer and you would never find someone droning by themselves or with other didj players for that matter.   If you see this and they say they are playing the "authentic" sound of the didjeridu and there is no singer?  Wrong, this is what the Arnhem Land people are talking about.  This doesn't mean that you can't drone and invent things by yourself.

Didj myth #6:  If you find a Didjerdu in an Australian tourist shop and it says "authentic" it is.
Reality:   Well now, we've all heard of buyer beware.  Now that the didjeridu has become a symbol of Australia you can find a didj in almost any shop you wander into.  Technically, the only "authentic" didj would be made by someone from the Arnhem Land and this is very rare.  However, there are good didjeridus being made out there.  Actually, my friend from Estonia brought in one made of bamboo that he bought in India and Charlie said it was quite good.  Just be careful and realize that because of the newfound popularity people are cutting trees in an alarming fashion.  There is the traditional way of finding a tree that is already hollowed out and cutting it to allow new growth.  This is not what most people out for a quick buck are doing and because of it the Gouldian finch is now threatened. So, be careful what you buy!

Adult red-headed male Gouldian Finch

Ok, enough info. for today.  I'll add more in the coming weeks.  Feel free to ask questions or comment!  Now off to practice my circular breathing.

A Whale Of A Tale Or Two

This weekend everyone in the Commonwealth celebrated the Queen's birthday. Basically that means that we get a three day weekend!  Hooray for the Queen.  I believe that's the best way to get anyone to like you; give them the day off.

We booked our GoGet car and headed down the coast to Jervis Bay.  It's whale watching season here!  We had heard that the Queen herself proclaimed the sand at Jervis Bay to be the whitest sand in all of her dominion.  I figured that would be as good a place as any to celebrate her birthday.  Although, I can't find any actual facts to corroborate this claim and I haven't seen them in person but the Whitsunday Islands look to have a lot whiter sand than Jervis Bay.  Hmm, maybe more research will have to be done on this matter.

Town of "Husky"

I just loved this older gentleman painting

Sean in Jervis Bay

We stayed in the quaint little seaside town of Huskisson and naturally they all call it 'Husky'.  Since we were there during the winter months it actually wasn't too crowded.  I saw a lot of locals hanging out at the RSL, the coffee shop that served Veggie Mexican food on Saturday nights?! (it was good by the way but not Mexican) and our hotel.  Speaking of, it was a small hotel overlooking the water.  Pretty awesome.  But the Aussies can party and the restaurant/bar was directly underneath us.  Well you get the picture.  As anyone who knows me can attest I can sleep through anything.  Seriously, I fell off of the top of a bunk bed when I was little and just kept sleeping.  My husband on the other hand...well, let's just say that I was glad we were headed home that morning. Apparently an entire bar filled with Aussies singing Alanis Morrisette's Ironic does not make for good sleep. Isn't it ironic, don't you think?  No.  Get a dictionary, Alanis.  I did enjoy hearing Sweet Home Alabama and wondered how many of them had actually been to Alabama.  Fun times.

My calendar shot

View from our hotel

The Huskisson

Korean War Memorial, "Lest We Forget"

Huskisson houses on the Bay

The Jerringa clan originally inhabited this area of the coast

It was a good place to rest after a morning of driving and an afternoon of whale watching.  I say "whale" watching because we only saw one.  I think our tour guide/driver was tired as it was the last launch of the day.  We found a juvenile whale just outside the bay and proceeded to float around it for over an hour watching it come up to surface and go back down.  They are truly majestic animals and I was glad we got to see it but I was more entertained by the group of young Brits that were by us on the boat.  They gabbed about everything from what clothes they had that were "Great Gatsby" style, to random facts about whales, most of which were not true I think, and a girl would always yell "there it is, saw it first, again" every time the whale was spotted.  It was funny.

Now those are some engines

View from the water

It's a whale!

I also have to give a shout out to the guy we dubbed, "father of the year".  FOTY was very excited to see the whales. He had his telephoto lens ready and got him, his two kids and maybe his mother(?) up to the very front of the boat.  Problem is that the front was shielded from the wind.  Good for cruising, bad for his son who got seasick almost immediately.  The kid couldn't see the horizon and had no fresh air so what does FOTY do when we stop to watch the whale?  He takes pictures!  His kid is throwing up with his head down and he is smiling taking photos of the whale!  At least the mother helped but then it started his sister throwing up because she was trying to help.  Only the dad is watching the whale.  Then after about a half hour the dad comes back over and pats him on the head.  Parenting, he nailed it.

I felt so bad for the kid.  He looked to be around 10 maybe and had his head down the rest of the trip.  I almost went to try to get him and take him up near the captain so he could get fresh air and try to right himself but then I was worried I might start a chain reaction of people getting sick as I think he was covered.  So, I didn't get involved.  FOTY probably got some epic shots of the whale though.  I only have little blips on the horizon.

It was a fun time being out on the water.

The Point Perpendicular Lighthouse built in 1899

There it is, I saw it first. Again!

Calm, flat water makes for a good day

It's staying near the top feeding

The next morning we headed back towards Sydney.  We went through a little town that has taken over on our top places to retire list, Kiama.  Not sure why exactly but we both loved it.  It's on the list for another weekend adventure.  It has a mix of farmland overlooking the water.  As Sean said, "I don't think happy cows come from California. These are the real happy cows." Check it out here!

We had seen a temple on our way down near Wollongong so I researched it and found out it was the Nan Tien Temple, the largest Buddhist temple in the Southern Hemisphere.  After our revelry filled night of no sleep I figured Sean could use a little bit of peace and Zen so we stopped.  It was very beautiful and relaxing and I learned a little more about Buddhist enlightenment.  There was a free museum with teeny tiny writings on pieces of eggshell and human hair not to mention the temples themselves.  I've been trying to learn more about meditation and relaxation so it was fun to see.

Nan-Tien Temple

Beautiful view of the Illawarra region of Wollongong

Me and the Pagoda

Fall colors!

Pagoda and Gratitude Bell

Ringing the gratitude bell. 

View down from the Pagoda

View up

We made it back home safe and sound and went for a run.  Great weekend!