Posts by Jolisa
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'Alive', as in life of the party?
A buffer of supplies is always an excellent idea. Like a Mormon-style apocalypse pantry, but a bit less apocalyptic, not least for the bank account.
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Another blog to watch, created fresh out of the rubble: Rebuilding Christchurch, by musician/academic Ed Muzik/James Dann (h/t Cheryl B).
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The invitation stands always to anyone interested. (and the pizza is good)
Noted, on my wish-list.
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Thanks, Giovanni, for that bracing point, which I didn't quite know how to make myself without seeming reactionary or an apologist. And Sacha, it's hard to convey how much of a minority those chest-thumpers are, even though I know they look worse from outside.
The comparisons/echoes I was thinking of were more in the unevenness of the effect, over time and space. Not uneven in the NZ vs. US sense, but in the sense that you could be in one part of Chch (or NYC) and be relatively all right, while other spots were messier and more chaotic; some people are affected more than others; and those effects shift and intensify or diminish over time.
I'm not meaning to conflate the two events, either. The aftershocks, in particular, are their own horrible thing. As Cheryl Bernstein so eloquently put it:
When I’ve read about earthquakes previously, like the one in Haiti in 2009 which was, they say, of a similar type, and size, to Christchurch 2010, I’ve imagined the horror of the quake itself, and then the heartbreaking recovery and clean up. But what really happens in the aftermath of a major earthquake is many, many more earthquakes, some almost as big as the initial quake itself. In the past week there have been more than 300 aftershocks, many of which have sent us scurrying into doorways or leaping from bed or diving under the reassuringly solid oak of our dining table. We’ve seen that an earthquake is not a singular event but a series of terrifying revisions of the initial shock, in which you relive that moment over and over again.
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Wellington and Christchurch are on the cards for summer. We'll need to work out what our best dates are.
The ones when I am actually in town. TBA, but certainly this summer :-)
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And while I'm mentioning excellent writing by Reliable People Actually On the Unreliable Ground Besides Emma and David, these are absolute must-reads:
Harvestbird writes exquisitely on How to Be Brave.
Cheryl Bernstein delves into the bittersweet the Aesthetics of Earthquakes.
Moata Tamaira manifests an enviable sense of humour about the whole darn thing (best read in order). But where is Chewbacca?
13 Things Mike Dickison Learned from an Earthquake and his droll follow-up Aftershock Diary
Adrienne Rewi always has amazing combinations of words and images, never more so than now.
Hopefully Philip M will update his own blog in coming days.
Who else am I missing? Once assembled, I will fold this list into a new post so the rest of the world can find them more easily.
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There's a really great article by Philip Matthews in the Press, on how the quake news unfolded. Manages to be informative, funny, and humane at once.
I'm a wee bit embarrassed at being so thoroughly name-checked, for what was just an accident of timing and geography -- but glad to see such a coherent account. And HarvestBird gets the last word :-)
Amanda, thank you so much for checking in - sorry more of us weren't around for a midnight chat. I hope things are brighter in the daytime and/or that your escape plan pans out.
And Kim, that is a very useful link, thank you. So much of what's emerging from Chch is an echo of what it was like to be in NYC nine years ago; the rolling trauma, the jumpiness, the determined coping, the fiercely energetic mucking-in, the falling apart. It's useful to have a set of emotional roadmaps for what is (normally, for most of us) unfamiliar territory.
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I appear to be disbarred on four or five grounds.
It's like a public-health-sponsored Purity Test.
Would not believe that New Zealand isn't in Europe.
"It's near Iceland, right?" (Actual quote from actual Ivy League undergrad).
Could be worse; a friend of mine was repeatedly asked for her TOEFL results. Took multiple conversations between the relevant NZ and US university authorities to clear it up. All in English, of course.
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Making houses entirely of doorframe would seem the obvious solution.
Paint 'em vermilion, and the Shinto foxes would protect you.
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Golly. I would be finding out what glass they used for the Art Gallery and installing it in all my windows.
What about the glass-roofed tram station in behind the Quest Hotel? (upon which we looked down when staying in Chch a couple of years ago).