After a break I'm back with a vengence

Kia ora 2009 and readers of my blog - whom I hope will grow in numbers, both through word of mouth, and breeding. I hearby commit to you that 2009 will be a year of regular - though not neccessarily prolific - blogging. I will continue to cross-post onto g.blog where I see fit.

A couple of thoughts to start the year from my new years road trip, which took me to Rhythm and Vines in Gisborne, and north to the Coromandel afterwards.

1) We have a serious drug problem in this country in many ways (and remember, when I use the word "drug" when referring to recreational drugs, this always includes alcohol, which is the worst of the worst.) Having travelled around quite a bit last year, I saw that it's the same in many senses in many countries, but stastically we are one of the worst countries in terms of alcohol abuse. We just drink so much so quickly, and among many people, we lack the ability to have a beer or two or a glass of wine for the enjoyment of it. It's all or nothing. Many of us - especially of my age, but definitely not exclusively - also lack the ability to think beyond drinking as the only option for a Friday or Saturday night. I have my own opinions about how to deal with this - and raising the drinking age is not one of them. We need a shift in our thinking, especially in seeing alcohol as the harmful drug that it is. We should have fun with drugs, expand our relationships and our minds, but not over-indulge.

2) Greater wealth and the accumulation of stuff is the driver of so many people - Whangamata being case and point at this time of year. It definitely is not the driver for me, but drives our current economy. We need to snap out of the dream and focus on what's really important, and realistic. Our environment is in dire straights, but there is currently enough to go around. So freakin' share already!

(The picture above is at Whangamata harbour. What is it that you desire in the photo - the jetski and the "biscuit", or the pristine environment, and the protection of the rare and sensitive ecosystem below the water? What do you think we'll be thinking in 50 years time? It's about having fun, but not over-indulging.)

(Due to a lack of enthusiasm for photography this year, above and below are from a year ago at BW Campgrounds, where my friends and I stayed again in Gisborne for Rhythm and Vines. It was pretty much the same though. Above is New Years day and one of the casualities recuperating from the night before. Below is the workers, paid about $14 an hour this time, predominently brown, many quite young, cleaning up mountains of waste for rich white folk).

Disclaimer: I go to Rhythm and Vines because it's such a huge gathering of my friends and people I know. There's good music and lots of good times. But I ache when I see the mountains of waste from our throw-away existence, even if I may not show it so much at the time.

May your 2009 bring you greater consciousness in your relationships and your understanding of all those things that are bigger than us.

Yes ladies I am single... But I only date girls who vote Green

On Friday 26 September the Young Greens of Auckland embarked on one of the most epic and original nights of campaigning this country has ever seen. We went on a pub crawl.

The popular feature of said pub crawl was our "I only date boys/girls who vote Green" stickers, coasters and badges. Yes, that's right, it says "I only date girls who vote Green" not a girl. Hence the above photo...

We had a good team, shown in part above, though some other left early. We had a good reception overall as well, though of course it depended on the venue. A few drinks and people can get quite rude and direct! We went around about 12 or so bars. We our message out, and had some good conversations in the process, in some cases changing perceptions of the Green Party and winning over voters.

So we got our message out, and had a whole bunch of fun doing so. Perfect. Thus, this week's poll is about the effectiveness of innovative campaigning. Do you think it makes more of a difference if it's clever and fun? I believe it made one for the above backsides and their respective partners, if any. They are sporting our "I only date boys who vote Green" stickers.

Keep your eyes peeled for more great Young Green campaigning coming very soon to a place near you!

Party time!

Last night I had my official leaving party for my trip. It was three weeks out from it, but still a good excuse to party and drink binge-ing-ly. The collection of bottles wasn't majorly impressive as you can see, but as usual some people had too much to drink. Silly kiwis.

Sorry for those of you who should have been invited but weren't - I'm only human. But there's still time to say good bye. And thanks to all that came - great to see you (slash meet you in a couple cases).

But yes, party time is such a great human invention. Connections with others are so vital to our lives, and it's fantastic to be able to talk to so many people in one night, as well as just generally have a good time and have a beer (or two...). There's so many good people in this world, and we are so lucky in New Zealand. I will miss everyone and I will miss Wellington.

For those who still aren't in the know (and for those who have never met me), here is the run-down of my trip that I published for my party's "Information Table" so that I didn't have to talk about it over and over last night:

Zack’s Trip

(So that you don’t have to ask him about the details ‘cause he’s already talked about his trip heaps).

Zack leaves on 26 April to Sao Paulo in Brazil. It is here he will be attending the second Global Green and Global Young Greens Congress. This is a body of over one hundred associated Green Parties around the world. The theme of the Congress is Climate Change, though more issues will be discussed.

He then has two weeks of freedom during which his only plans are to make it to Rio de Janeiro, which isn’t too far north of Sao Paulo. From here he will start a tour, which will take him up to the Amazon River and into Venezuela, ending up in the capital Caracas.

From Caracas he flies on 1 July to Guadalajara in Mexico where his sister currently resides. He will spend a month of QT there. From here he flies on 1 August to Ottawa. This is where most of his extended Canadian family lives, and he will spend a month of QT with these simple, friendly Canadian folk.

Finally, after spending a few days in LA with some random peeps, he will return to NZ on 5 September 2008AD, after spending over four months on the trip the that would later be regarded as the journey that made him great, and that would subsequently lead him to change the world forever. (Perhaps a wee premature, but just you wait).