Sunday, July 31, 2011

Sunday, July 24, 2011

ground zero


They are re-building the World Trade Centre.
And also they are building a memorial scheduled
to open on the tenth anniversary of 9/11 (September 11 this year).
Seems like a crazy idea to me.



I'm not sure why they are six storeys less than the original towers.


If you look up, there is an obvious gap in the skyline where all the towers lean in guarding over some sacred space. But the space is occupied by cranes and orange plastic tape, so it is not truly empty. Or sacred.

On a sunny day with people walking back and forth and the hum of machinery it is hard to believe that such tragic events took place, though it was a long time ago.

There is a fire station right across the road.


One of the new towers under construction is reflected in a puddle which runs into a grill, my shadow adds to the palette of grey.

I was nine when the twin towers collapsed. 13 days before my tenth birthday. I heard about it all day over and over and got really pissed off that no-one would shut up about this event. I got sick of people asking me, "did you hear?", "have you heard?" YES I KNOW ALREADY. EVERYONE KNOWS. As if they has some exclusive news that no-one else could inform me of but them. Then I got home and saw the footage on TV and actually understood what had happened. And I felt small and silly.

Someone told me 7,000 people had died, but it was actually 2,753 plus the 19 hijackers.

In the aftermath of 9/11 a Sikh man was murdered. His murderer assumed he was a Muslim, because of his turban. Other people have died from illness attributed to toxic dust from the wreckage of the burning buildings. In the twelve months after the attacks, the road death toll increased by 1,500.

I was looking through a book at the memorial centre and there was a photograph of a leg on the ground. Just a leg. No body attached. Also photos of bodies in motion, self-hurled down the side of the building. Pretty crazy feeling, in these moments, viewing these photographs.

Strange, strange world we live in.

hypocrite

On Grafton bridge the bus driver beeped at someone who ran a red light.
Beeped angrily.

On the corner of Pah and Manukau roads the bus driver ran a red light
I thought, "bus driver, you are a hypocrite"
I thought, "Natalie, you are a hypocrite".

sick

I'm sorry if my breath smells
I have a terrible cold
including sore throat
stinky sore throat.

Monday, July 18, 2011

new york, new york

 in the subway
you are being watched

 i love lady gaga/thank you for not

 WET PAINT WET PAINT WET PAINT WET PAINT

 actually legit yellow school bus

 I pop pills!!!/WOMPWOMP

 DO
           DO

keep new york city clean

 risque automobile rendezvous affair/dad

 SO MUCH YELLOW

canbagman

hello my name is iii hilly???
(suggestions welcomed, I cannot decipher)

 that human looks whipped
++ unusual squat-bending position

bird extravaganza on hatched metal gate

 large uncuddle-able teddy bear/small people
WHY IS IT ALL YELLOW

 starbucks rules the city
KING ew
so many starbucks in my life

 I actually don't know exactly who david letterman is oops
I know you have to enter a ballot to get a ticket to his show
I know you cannot defer your winning ticket

could be rotorua geyser but it is not

Saturday, July 16, 2011

thank you panorama function

 graveyard in NYC = one of few grassy patches

 wall st

 mama flag baby flags (flag jr)

 market + musicians

<-- corner -->

 strange vacant place amongst crowded concrete jungle

could be forgiven for thinking this was times square (it is not)

dad is lunching






 so serious


Yes Caitlyn there is a bottle of oil on EVERY table.

disintegration




 fail art/rubbish

seasonal conflict

I am in summer brain now, and it is winter.

When I am arguing with you, confronting you or questioning you please don't be offended - it means I feel more comfortable with you than other people.

He gestured to me to step down. I said no you have to come up, I like the view here.

Like, I used to be an upstairs dweller. Now I am a cave dweller. Semi-literally.

Potential events about 40% more likely if I had a phone.

I am not lonely always but I am very aware of my aloneness. Things are generally more enjoyable when I can do them by myself exactly how I want to do them at the pace I would like to do them and experience them in the way that I want to. This is problematic and what people name 'selfish' but that's why I want to do them alone, so no-one else has to be affected. There should still always be people surrounding me but they should not be 'with' me or connected to me. This is why I like the city and being amongst large crowds and to-be-individually-completed activities.

I ate a 10 pack of Twizzlers on the way back. An average of one every 1.3333333 (recurring) hours.

On the back of the Canadian $20 note it says, "Could we ever know each other in the slightest without the arts?" which is a quote from Gabrielle Roy. Wikipedia tells me that she is a Canadian author. It made me feel like Canada cares about me. Canada wants to take care of me. Canada will look after me. I am electing myself as Canada's adoptive daughter.

Jamie wore an NZ shirt especially to pick me up from the airport. But actually just fell asleep wearing it last night.

The first thing I did when I got out of the airport was buy a coffee. America does not do espresso or soy milk. America does terrible freeze-dried burnt-tasting instant machine coffee with 'half-and-half' "milk" substitute which is really just cream and chemicals. Sick.

I never liked coffee until I started working as a barista.


Large amounts of tags in one post. Scatter-brain.


Back in the Kingdom of Bel Air.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

toe-ron-TOE

 Hermann. German. On phone. Walking. Smiling. Talking.

 FUCK
= ultimate rebel

 Flower. Rail. Large mosquito bite.

 Camera versus camera.

Many stands, one bicycle.

 Aesthetically pleasing stair rail alignment.

 Piece of car, not on car.

TORNTO MAPLE WAFFLES
we are all about the maple here

25 Dates with a capital 'D' in ONE NIGHT!

 TREATS TREATS TREATS for every meal

Very apologetic. Very polite. 
You are excused.