Friday, 30 October 2009

The Kererū so fat...

.
... it makes Big Bird look like a rubber duck.

The Kererū so fat, when it hauls ass it has to make two trips.

The Kererū so fat, it can lay down and stand up and its height doesn't change.


Here are pics of a couple of visitors I got today. Click on pics to see larger versions.

You may think I am mean, but I swear I heard the branch cracking!


More on the subject of The Kererū here.

A special ladybug


Pics taken by moi, October 2009

Wednesday, 28 October 2009

Woss that then, an old dial-up modem?

=^..^=

Nooooo, it's a tui singing!

Although they still advertise dial-up on TV over here.

But back to today's topic... It's a truly wonderful day, and after all the rain we've been getting, it would be a sin to stay indoors.
And when I go out, I take my camera...
...just to take a few pics, you know, if I see something truly amazing...
...by no means do I take over 40 photos during my 20 minute walks up and down the road...
...it's 39 photos *cough*.

Besides, I blame it all on my alter ego!

Let's have a look at the photos then.

Click on photos to view larger versions.

Wild lilies (?) in bloom all along the roadside, in white, pink...

...and orange.

A kingfisher! I never saw one back home, but there's plenty in NZ.

A fat & happy bumblebee.

Auckland central smells kinda like the armpit of NZ,
but the view from Waitakere almost makes up for it :D


Really awesome vegetation.
Mind you, NZ is so very green because it rains all the friggin' time.


A tui eating nectar from a pohutukawa tree .

Back on the subject of tuis, I have mentioned them before in my blog dedicated to The Kererū.
What I forgot to mention then is that tuis are kinda special, too... If you consider aggressive and completely nuts special, that is.

Besides the fact that the noises they make are sooo far out (computer/electronic noises, chirps and screams), they are also the biggest bullies in the world of birds. And the reason is alcohol.

That's right, alcohol.

Here's a short copy-paste from Wikipedia:

"... nectar sometimes ferments, resulting in the Tui flying in a fashion that suggests that they might be drunk. ... Male Tui can be extremely aggressive, chasing all other birds (large and small) from their territory with loud flapping and sounds akin to rude human speech. ... They have even been known to mob harriers and magpies. ..."

Magpies?! They're twice the size of tuis!

They don't stop at birds though, sometimes they fly dangerously close to my head as well, trying to get some sort of a a message through.

Here are two videos (not mine this time).
The first one is a video of a tui talking - I just love it how it mimics the person's thick Kiwi accent and even cough!
The second one is a video of tui singing like a little drunk robot.






Pics taken by moi, October 2009

Tuesday, 27 October 2009

Video I

=^..^=

As I have mentioned* many times, I have a very temperamental third world internet connection that seems to work in pulses and uploading even the shortest of videos is a painstaking process.

In this short video, Jason (indirectly) calls us idiots, heh... Might I add: idiots with sun-burnt scalps and noses! I look like an old alcoholic.

*and by "mentioned" I mean bitched and moaned plenty of times to anyone willing to listen




Video taken by moi, October 2009

Sunday, 25 October 2009

Jason cast as Drogo in Game of Thrones

=^..^=

...which is probably the biggest news for any fantasy and Jason fan out there (especially if you're a huge nerd who also happens to like Jason, like me!)

I am so freakin' pressed for time lately, will be spending the next two days working my ass off (wish it would be getting smaller in the process but it doesn't seem to work that way) so again, this is just a brief note, videos coming later, etc... Boy do I need a long holiday :D

Here's a nice blog about the whole Jason/Khal Drogo story (I am sure they/he/she won't mind me linking up to the blog considering they/he/she snurched my photo XD):

http://winter-is-coming.blogspot.com/2009/10/jason-momoa-talks-about-thrones.html

Saturday, 24 October 2009

Armageddon Expo, Stargate Atlantis and Jason Momoa

=^..^=

First off, I must explain the lack of blogging this month. I have a new job and it's keeping me pretty damn busy.

Today was a very special day for me. I have never been to any kind of convention, and to get the Stargate Atlantis hotties to my door step seems so freaking unbelievable! But here they are, Jason Momoa, Joe Flanigan and Paul McGillion - for the whole weekend and a day more :D

I made the mistake of not getting the tickets beforehand so I spent an hour and a half queuing up outside, which resulted in missing out on the 11:30 Jason Momoa photo session. Luckily, I was in by 12:00 and went straight to his discussion panel where I got to sit in the second row right under the stage and I took heaps of neat videos (will post links once I put them on youtube). Jason's very sweet, very tall and a lot skinnier than he looks on TV. Jeannot was with me and he enjoyed himself immensely, although he will never admit it.

I also have Jason's autograph, got to chat with him shortly, mostly about my name. He says he likes my name a lot, something something ex girlfriend, oh he REALLY loves the name "Danika". Hmmm... Shy as I am, I was too freaked out to get into a discussion about the pronunciation and the origin and how it is extremely unlikely his ex had a Slavic name, but hey, who's complaining :D Frankly, I think he was a little bit bored and just happy to see a woman under 50 come his way (all the teenagers went straight to the guy who plays in the next Twilight movie and the Atlantis guys were left with a bunch of grannies.)

Since I missed out on the photo session, I asked Jeannot to get a pic of me when I get my autograph, but it didn't turn out too well. Ah well. Hopefully, the guys will be back next year and I will have a lot more money to spend on pics and autographs.

Some pics from the event (videos coming soon).

Seth Green (is so short!) and Michael Winslow discover Kiwis dress like crap.

Jason Momoa discussion panel - he really wanted a beer.

Celebrity wranglers preparing them for the signing.

Jason Momoa and Joe Flanigan

Jason killing time with music.

Me getting my autograph! Jeannot did his best taking this pic (but his hand was shaking...?)

Pics taken by moi and Jeannot, October 2009

Tuesday, 13 October 2009