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Metropol Parasol by J. Mayer H.

metropol parasol

Moving To Christchurch | Post Earthquake(s)

christchurch-earthquake-dust-rising-from-the-city

On the morning of February 22nd 2011 I was in Istanbul and got a text from a friend simply saying “have you heard about New Zealand?”…

Thoughts immediately went to my brother who lives on the North Island and after logging into BBC News a wave of relief settled my nerves as the earthquake I was now reading about was in South Island.

This emotion was quickly followed by one of compassion and concern for the community I had visited a little over a year ago and then a pang of selfish worry””Christchurch was the destination of my outstanding immigration application.

Over the next few hours and days the sad story unfolded as strangers, contacts and the general media tweeted, blogged, and covered their experiences.

A week later my application was approved.

The city is still getting aftershocks, the business district is a no-go area and needs to be rebuilt plus a few of the surrounding communities are still without water and sanitation.

So (the question from my Gran), why am I still moving there?

Apart from falling in love with the country and city, the basic reason for my emigration is adventure.

There was/is nothing wrong with my life other than the nagging feeling of wanting to explore new challenges and opportunities—moving to the other side of the planet creates that situation of starting again, establishing a home, a friendships, a business, a career, a life etc

In some way there’s a synergy between that and the city as it strives to rediscovers itself again. Christchurch will have to be re-imagined. Rebranded. Rebuilt. Relaunched.

Who knows what my attitude will be like when those aftershocks test my metal and I’m under no illusions it will be challenging to be in a place which has experienced such loss and devastation. It is not my city or home yet but it will be soon, and I don’t know how but in some way I’m hoping to positively contribute to the redevelopment.

So here goes nothing.

“When a great adventure is offered, you don’t refuse it.”
Amelia Earhart

Image linklove

Ken Robinson On Passion

The master at work.

Aggrandize The Damage | Make It Beautiful

“When the Japanese mend broken objects they aggrandize the damage by filling the cracks with gold, because they believe that when something’s suffered damage and has a history it becomes more beautiful.”
Barbara Bloom

Via thinkexist.com

ANTHONY BURRILL – Wallpaper*

work hard and be nice to people

Via ffffound.com

“We Should Have Sent A Poet Not A Pilot”

earth

50 years ago this month, Yuri Gagarin broke beyond earths gravity and floated around in space for 108 minutes. He orbited once and then returned, a hero, a legend.

Here’s how he described what he saw and felt :

“I can see clouds. I can see everything. It’s beautiful.”

“The feeling of weightlessness was somewhat unfamiliar compared with Earth conditions. Here, you feel as if you were hanging in a horizontal position in straps. You feel as if you are suspended.”

Getting the first man in space was and still is a monumental achievement in human history, although, Sergei Korolev, chief designer and scientist behind the whole Soviet space adventure, once remarked, they “should have sent a poet not a pilot”.

Reminds me of discussions with my clients around rethinking social media, especially away from just another broadcasting channel (ref : golden rule). Instead I get them to focus on exploring the opportunity to be themselves (humanisation of brands) and describe the process not product of their offerings.

The big hurdle is reversing the trend that social media sits within marketing or public relations, who, with their specific set of monologue communication skills around crafting messages for the masses or the gatekeepers of the many, fail to be conversational.

I’m not dismissing these professions just challenging the assumption to truly capture experiences you need more than simple descriptions and statements of fact but instead emotion, lyricism and sometimes (dare I say it) poetry.

(Extension and personal followup to my recent article on Why Social Media Shouldn’t Be Outsourced.)