Hard News by Russell Brown

Wow. Thank you, Blair Parkes. It's so atmospheric, so familiar. And it also seems like long, long ago; I'm glad you made this record when you did.

I think I may need an icecream and a walk in the sunshine, now.

That is outstanding. Fantastic evocation of the harsh realities of life after the 'quakes. I liked the intricate details of day-to-day life, too.
The 'quakes may've dented his house, but clearly not his sense of humour: "Portents of doom include Into The Void gigs...".

And it also seems like long, long ago . . .

Magically so.
Thanks so much for this, and thanks for putting it up.
Gorgeous soundtrack, but.

I'd recommend watching Chimney Book full-screen in a quiet environment. If you have been living with the earthquakes, as Blair and his family have, it may trigger some powerful emotions.

Srsly. As we know, I eat candied puppies for fun, and Chimney Book made me cry in public.

Just get the words Flash Flash in place of the video when browsing on Chrome on Mac here.

Just get the words Flash Flash in place of the video when browsing on Chrome on Mac here.

Ditto Firefox 6, Windows 7 Pro 64bit. Link to NZOA and video there works fine though :)

Just get the words Flash Flash in place of the video when browsing on Chrome on Mac here.

Ditto Firefox 6, Windows 7 Pro 64bit. Link to NZOA and video there works fine though :)

Gah. Fixed now, I think. ClicktoPlugin re-enabled itself during my last editing pass, which buggers up the code. Most annoying.

A wonderful piece of work, Blair.

Just... thank you Blair.

Thought I would just have a quick look. 15 minutes later ...
Powerful.

Thought I would just have a quick look. 15 minutes later …
Powerful.

You can imagine how it was on a big screen in a dark room, through a PA system.

um. wow... that's beautifully expressive, personal yet representative. Wish I'd been there to see it on debut, but thx so much for posting it, & to NZonScreen for hosting it. I'll be sharing this round... such a poignant way to capture the emotional realities of life.

If I may briefly thread hijack (well, it is kinda related) - I'm currently running a survey on the media use and communication methods of Canterbury residents as part of my post-grad studies. I'd really like the thoughts/responses/opinions of Canterbury PA peeps.

Now, as an ethical researcher I can't say exactly why I'd dearly love your opinions, or on what particular topic... however, I'd appreciate it if you'd consider doing the optional 2nd section as well - it has opportunities for longer comments on eq/media-related subjects of your choosing...

linkey: UC qualtrics quake survey

now if you'll excuse me, I seem to have something in my eye...

Hey Kris, you can consider that completed and distributed through my networks. Fabulous.

much obliged, Emma... my hat is tipping in your general direction :)

media massaging services...

I’d really like the thoughts/responses/opinions of Canterbury PA peeps.

Your media selections for info received during quakes doesn't include the helpful A4/A3 sheets from the Government - I found those really helpful (and no power needed to access them), the DHB did some as well - and using petrol stations and supermarkets as distribution points (as well as home delivery) in lieu of the usual libraries, etc, meant they had good community saturation - it always annoyed me how many info sources needed access to websites (and therefore power) fine for some but not useful for many others.
those with Press home delivery were well served, but many who only casually bought the paper had severely diminished access to paper sales (many dairies, malls, etc not open or gone)
The free radio sent out by Meridian (before september I think - an uncanny act of corporate prescience?) was our only source of info for a coupla days and well useful beyond... and National Radio was brilliant.

From Auckland it was always difficult for me to get an emotional understanding of what the earthquakes felt like. Chimney Book went some way towards that achieving that for me. It really did work at a deeply emotional level in a way I could never have imagined possible.

On the night I was left in sheer awe of Blair's talent and still am.

That video was awsome (sorry for the use of an overworked word)... it's just so amazing, and well, thought provoking in a way I hadn't been before. Thankyou Blair.

Living in Auckland it's hard to get a handle on what Chch was all about, but like Bart, Chimney Book gave me a glimpse...

I'm struggling to express how Chimney Book affected me...

Your media selections for info received during quakes doesn't include...

...there's always the 'other' option ;)

anyways, it's good to hear that some useful communication went on in your neck of the woods.

Living in Auckland it’s hard to get a handle on what Chch was all about, but like Bart, Chimney Book gave me a glimpse…

Absolutely. I've been in Christchurch twice since September and once since February, and the second time I got a fairly ground-level look. But the first-person experience communicated by Blair, that was something different.

It really does help a lot in capturing the intensity of the quake and the aftermath. The imagery in this, and in photos from David and others on here, seem wholly more poignant than much in the main stream media.

Oddly, one of the most affecting of the post quake images to date for me has been Emma's Snow Dalek. It seemed to represent an admirable strength and resoluteness, that you can throw bricks, extreme weather and Brownlee at us, but by damn we will still get out of the house and make the best of the situation we are in.

. . . you can throw bricks, extreme weather and Brownlee at us . . .

When that last one repeatedly misses, it's not hard to flip the finger at fate.