Strange Tales - musings of a sound monkey

I remember talking to a friend of mine who lived in New York about why an otherwise preposterous movie like Independence Day seemed to shock so many people on his side of the pond (I hasten to add this was long before the events of 11/9/2001), its different when its somewhere you know so well its someone showing you what having your home ripped apart looks like, he lived 5 blocks from the world trade centre buildings and within a few short years would sadly have his comments viscously thrown in his face.

2 years ago, I spent a few of the most peaceful and hopeful weeks of my life living amongst an incredible group of people who genuinely exist nowhere else on our planet - the Kiwis. much of my time was spent in Christchurch (lovingly shortened to Chch), the residents of which seem to be a very specially distilled subspecies of the breed. the residents of Chch are some of the warmest, most welcoming, chilled, creative and hopeful people Ive ever met in one place (and Ive been to Damanhur!). if Cameron truly wants to understand what a Big Society can be, he needs to not just ring that 03 code, but go there and spend time with this remarkable breed. actually, anywhere in NZ would do, but just at the moment, he needs to be a Christchurch Kiwi.

Ive been glued to TVNZ coverage of the devastating earthquake coverage whenever Ive been in the house since it happened, mostly with tears in my eyes. infrastructure, landmarks, historic buildings, quirky little coffee houses and cafes, dingy little dairies, but most especially houses and peopleshaken to their foundations. some beyond repair or recovery. some of those places had time to become favourite haunts, some of those people became friends during my time there, though Im glad to report, messages so far indicate that most of my contacts are ok. I also met a number of fellow practitioners of my trade in my travels, and my thoughts go out to all the sound engineers, recording studios,techies, lampies, stage crews (some of whom I know are volunteering in the USAR efforts) caught up in the current chaos.

some of the most heartbreaking images however have come from outside the CTV building where almost all hope is lost in finding anyone alive now. my thoughts and warmest wishes go out to the families, friends and colleagues of all the staff of CTV, caught on just a normal day, just doing their everyday jobs. this was no malicious act, no directed atrocity of hatred, just the indiscriminate randomness of geography and geology. and remarkably, if you spend any time listening to voxpops from the hastily organised displacement camps in Hagley Park, Lyttleton and Sumner, the pragmatism of that shines through. this wasnt aimed at them, this just happened, and even now, theyre moving on, evaluating, recovering. everyone knows there are stories of tragedy yet to play out, but for now, the Kiwis forge on. peace be with you all.