USA

OHMYGOSH SO CLOSE. Why, Oklahoma, WHY.

Educating myself for a US trip that I’ll ensure happens in my lifetime

California (1935)

A 1935 travel video by Carl Dudley about California

Mia in Santa Barbara

Just realised Mia moved to Santa Barbara! The sun is precisely why I loved it.

I.V. I Love You

This past week has been one filled with sadness, pain, and horror at the terrifying events that took place in Isla Vista, Santa Barbara; the same streets and neighbourhood I called home last year. Through all the dark talk about the NRA, misogyny, and politics, has shone the beautiful light of I.V. and UCSB’s community coming together in love and support. It hurts not being there, but you are all so inspiring and I love you so much. I will always believe that guns have no place in everyday society, and feel upset and angry that in some places the fear is made very real. The gunman’s actions cannot in full be blamed on his weapons, but the ease at which he could legally obtain three firearms and over 400 rounds is astounding. His twisted ideology highlights the importance of women’s rights, not for the quick call upon feminism, but because blaming his actions on insanity is not enough. He felt entitled to women, and there is something so devastatingly wrong with that. It is something that must be universally addressed, here in New Zealand too where groups like the Roast Busters are not dealt with seriously enough. To honour these victims and others worldwide we must change our mentality and the way we treat and talk about these cases, and in doing so, help prevent more atrocities from occurring.

President Obama Delivers His Second Inaugural Address

President Obama Delivers His Second Inaugural Address

Some photographs of Barack Obama's second inauguration into Presidency of the United States of America.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

‎'Whatever career you may choose for yourself - doctor, lawyer, teacher - let me propose an avocation to be pursued along with it. Become a dedicated fighter for civil rights. Make it a central part of your life. It will make you a better doctor, a better lawyer, a better teacher. It will enrich your spirit as nothing else possibly can. It will give you the rare sense of nobility that can only spring from love and selflessly helping your fellow man. Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in.'

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day xx

Blues

I have been in Santa Barbara for exactly one week, and have been kept very busy up until today, with readings and study to be done, meeting lots of new people, getting things organised, going to parties, and  hiking. I'm sitting inside my dorm with my roommates, talking about boys and clothes, sipping strawberry wine. I was looking through old photos of home when I get an email from a really good friend who lives far away. Someone who understands what it is like to live away from home, to feel like everything is new and exciting, but also that there must come a time when the travelling, bohemian lifestyle, and dreaming must change; because there are responsibilities that we have to keep.

I love and adore being here so much; and am so grateful for this opportunity, but this is the first time I have felt truly homesick, I'm tired, I miss him so much, and all I can do is sit here and cry. Maybe it is goodbye, I really don't know.

But tomorrow is a new day, and for that I am excited.

Bizarre

Americans don’t use/know what a washing line is… And in some states they are illegal. BIZARRE.

Santa Barbara

Arrived in Santa Barbara on Sunday! Can't believe this is actually happening - it all feels very surreal. Have already met many wonderful people and adore the Spanish inspired architecture of the whole town. For some reason I have managed not to be too affected by jetlag (yet?); went to sleep at 9pm local time and woke up at 6am. I hope this lasts! Excited for a new day exploring.

The Most Unusual Christmas Trees

Conde Nast Traveler's collection of The Most Unusual Christmas Trees

Source

AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, NEW YORK CITY

What this 13-foot-tall tree lacks in stature it makes up for in history (the tradition goes back more than 30 years) and workmanship: Preparation starts in July, when volunteers begin folding the 500-plus origami ornaments into shapes inspired by present and past exhibits.

KAUNAS, LITHUANIA

This tree may be green, but it’s no ordinary spruce. The tree in Kaunas, Lithuania, is made of more than 40,000 recycled plastic bottles.

LISBON, PORTUGAL

In lieu of decorations this 90-foot-tall techie tree (Europe's tallest five years running) uses real-time video projections of passersby and images of bells and angels.

MOUNT INGINO, ITALY 

Nearly 3,000 lights are strung together to form a Christmas tree shape on the slopes of Mount Ingino, just outside of Gubbio, Italy. The giant tannenbaummeasures nearly 2,130 feet tall.

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL 

The view of Rio de Janeiro’s harbor alone is usually enough to draw in a crowd, but during the holiday season it’s the 280-foot-tall floating tree that commands attention. The tree—as tall as a 28-story building—floats in the middle of the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon. During a light show, the tree's design changes to represent the four seasons: Simulated falling leaves signify autumn, stark white stands in for winter, flowers illuminate for spring, and bright yellow portrays a sunny summer day.

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL 

It's hard to ignore this 190-foot-tall tree in Sao Paulo's Ibirapuero Park: A total of 500 bulbs and 12,000 feet of LED lighting give the holiday icon a futuristic glow.

TOKYO, JAPAN

This insanely decadent Christmas tree took 10 craftsmen two months to complete—and it's no wonder. The eight-foot-tall revolving tree is made of 40 kilograms of pure gold and is decorated with the silhouettes of 50 popular Disney characters. Jeweler Ginza Tanaka will sell it to you for $4.2 million. Not in your budget? A 10-inch version has a $240,000 price tag.

VENICE, ITALY 

No surprise here: Venice is home to the largest glass Christmas tree in the world. Internationally renowned glassblower Simone Cenedese, known for his Murano glass sculptures and installations, designed the 24-foot-tall tree with 1,000 multicolored tubes.

One Month

In exactly one month I will be in the United States of America for the very first time!

Kaleidoscope

'Los Angeles is far from possessing the beauty of New York or the depth of Chicago, and I understand why some French people spoke to me about it with such distaste: without friends, I'd be lost. But it can be enjoyable as a kaleidoscope - with a shake of the wrist, the pieces of coloured glass give you the illusion of a new rosette. I surrender to this hall of mirrors... The French consul has invited me to dinner with N and M. In the entrance hall there is an exhibition of Hawaiian jewellery, shell necklaces, leis, and softly coloured seeds. I have never seen such an enchanting restaurant: it's as beautiful as the Palais des Mirages in the Musee Grevin. Greenhouses with luxuriant plants, aquariums, aviaries where birds coloured like butterflies swoop, all bathed in a murky, submarine light. The tables are glass pedestals in which the gleaming ceiling is reflected; the prismatic pillars are faceted mirrors in which space is infinitely multiplied. We dine under a straw hut at the end of a lake, in a forest, in the middle of an enormous diamond. The waitresses' costumes are a modest version of Hawaiian dress. In cylindrical glasses, which hold nearly a pint, we are served zombies (cocktails made from seven kinds of run poured on top of each other: the amber liquid is layered from dark brown to light yellow). The meal transports us, unexpectedly, to China. The dishes don't have that overly visual aspect that often discourages the palate in America; instead, the look very appealing. And if French cooking is 'thoughtful', as Colette says, this cuisine seems the fruit of a thousand years of meditation.

At midnight we are alone on top of a hill. We sit on the ground and smoke in silence. Los Angeles is beneath us, a huge, silent fairy-land. The lights glitter as far as the eye can see. Between the red, green, and white clusters, big glowworms slither noiselessly. Now I am not taken in by the mirage: I know that these are merely streetlamps along the avenues, neon signs, and headlights. But mirage or no mirage, the lights keep glittering; they, too, are a truth. And perhaps they are even more moving when they express nothing but the naked presence of men. Men live here, and so the earth revolves in the quiet of the night with this shining wound in its side.'

from America Day by Day - Simone de Beauvoir

The Pacific Ocean Never Runs Dry

'But oh, San Francisco! It is and has everything... The wonderful sunlight there, the hills, the great bridges, the Pacific at your shoes. Beautiful Chinatown. Every race in the world. The sardine fleets sailing out. The little cable-cars whizzing down the city hills. The lobsters, clams, & crabs. Oh, Cat, what food for you. Every kind of seafood there is. And all the people are open and friendly... Everyone is connected with the Universities hard-up. But that doesn't matter. Seafood is cheap. Chinese food is cheaper & lovely. Californian wine is good. The iced bock beer is good. What more? And the city is built on hills; it dances in the sun for nine months of the year: & the Pacific Ocean never runs dry.'

- Dylan Thomas from a letter to his wife Caitlin

UCSB

This afternoon I received my acceptance letter from the University of California, Santa Barbara for an exchange for the 2013 Winter and Spring quarters! Extremely excited but nervous for the adventure; have spent hours making pro/con lists about each of the halls. Leaning towards either Manzanita or San Rafael because there will be less freshmen, but still unsure. Any recommendations?

9/11

It's hard to believe that the devastating September 11 attacks happened eleven years ago, it still seems like just yesterday. We were talking today at uni about where we were at the time when it happened. Here in New Zealand, it was the early hours of the morning before school; Dad was leaving town for a work conference, so we were awake earlier than usual. I think my parents had heard something on the radio and I remember them calling me out of my room to watch the news. Everything was chaotic and no one could really tell what was happening on the screen; it seemed so surreal and so awful, and as a child I could barely register the reality of it. We went to school like normal, but unlike every other day, we all spent the day in the school Church; everyone was praying and just in complete shock. The teachers were crying and all of us students were in a daze, because even though we were in a country so far away, the fact that this horrifying attack happened to every day people had such a massive impact on the way we began to view ourselves in this world. We lost our childhood naivete as we realised that the politics of larger nations had such an affect on us, but more awfully, we realised that people could be this violent and hateful to one another. What a terrible, terrible day.

Americans

A hilarious video about what Americans know of New Zealand

Jarring Notes of Colour

'Paris is a very graceful and beautiful city, almost too formal and sweet to the taste after the raw disorder of New York. Everything seems to have been planned with the purpose of forming a most harmonious whole... Not even one jarring note of colour... The climate seems very mild to me, I do not believe they have the biting cold of New York nor do you see here the deep blue sky and gorgeous sparkle of colour we have at home.'

- Edward Hopper