Shiny Brute Website

In order to maximise the film exposure we are in a process of designing a website to compliment it. However, the opportunity to create a 'Mystery Cat NZ' one-stop shop is too tempting to ignore. Hence, we are wanting to collect all the information that we have gained through our research and present it in one place. Furthermore, we would like the site to be interactive where interested contributers can post details associated with the phenomenum. In the meantime we are mocking up some designs to see which will gain favour with our vision and potential users. Please feel free to comment on the three mock-ups of our home page featured below.

Exciting New Poll

Well its official, according to 52% of respondents I officially look like that ginger freak out of Simply Red.

Ah well.

So, it is time for a new poll and this time it will be related to the film. So much so that we want to solicit feedback on possible titile options for the film. While we still have a very hectic couple of months pulling this thing together, a title at this stage would give us some focus and direction (or provide us with one less headache later).

So, please vote (on the right hand side of this page) and more than once if you feel so inclined. Of course any comments or suggestions will also be gratefully accepted. There is no money or prizes associated with this activity, just the knowledge that you might in some way influence the final product.

As for the film itself I have discovered one major detail during this process of editing. It is a lot easier writing a review every week about film and providing a critique than actually making one of them.

Both Pip and myself and have become so close to the images and the personalities involved that it is often difficult to stand back and give an objective appraisal. Thankfully we have no shortage of people wanting to give their two cents worth which is just what we need.

Mystery is alive and well

One of the questions that we commonly ask ourselves when making this film is "how likely is it that a 'big' cat could be alive and well in the mid-Canterbury area and only be seen sporadically over the last six years"? O.K. we are talking about an expert in stealth and deception, the most cunning carnivore possibly, but surely we would know more about the creatures in our midst and have more tangible proof?

Maybe not, this week those bastions of all things rational and explained (Scientists) have had to admit that a clouded leopard native to the islands of Sumatra and Borneo are actually a separate 'brand new' species. Wow. Read about it here.

Its hard to fathom how this could be the case with the wealth of genetics knowledge and all the people who are involved in protecting the diverse range of animal and plantlife in this pracarious part of the world. But happen it has and we should delight in discovering that maybe we don't have all the answers and just maybe our levels of perception are clouded or blocked to all the potential possibilites. No doubt 'Crypto Nuts' will be delighting in this information, now if only we can get some more information on the mystery New Zealand otter.

Photos from the film

I have decided to make a few extra photos available through this forum so have added a link to some photos that I have uploaded to Flickr.If you haven't used it then give it a go, a great way to back up photos and make them available to persons everywhere. The link is in the right hand tool bar under Cat Film Photos.

Cunstables

Apologies to all those readers outside of NZ (and I know there are a few of you) as this post concerns some thoughts concerning a high profile rape case involving three NZ policeman. The media have been all over this like a rash, but I feel the national print media have failed in comparison to some of the on-line bloging concerning this issue. As usual Russell Brown gets it spot on and really sums up for me how sad the three 'Cunstables' were and continue to be.

However, it really struck a chord to find out what Mr Right Wing himself (Ian Wishart) had to say concerning this sorry episode. Having met Ian recently when I interviewed him for the film, I found him to be a very pleasant, well thought, and engaging individual. So it shouldn't have come as such a surprise to hear him lambast the legal system and refer to the coppers as "violent rapists". Yes, his column is well worth a read.

Here's the thing, back in the 80s it wasn't a crime to sport a huge slug of a moustache and engage in consensual group sex involving introduced apparatus. However, if the person(s) supposedly consenting to such activities were young females, pressured into the act through falling foul of the law then one has to ask themselves, how consensual was this. These sad men abused their power (and batons) to procure sex which quite obviously was being denied to them through other means. They had a right racket going and probably thought they were invincible! Based on two court hearings to date that would seem to be the case. Now, I'm also not opposed to having sex on the bonnet of a police-car (as long as the fuzz was holed up in a doughnut shop), but, I'm not a policeman and Mr Rickards was. I just hope he doesn't get his job back as I would hate to think we are putting our trust and money in the hands of wankers like that.

I was not able to secure a video clip of the Back of the Y masterpiece 'Cunstables' but I did come across an amusing flash animation that sums things up quite nicely (especially for fans of Viz). The 'Real' Cunstables, Enjoy.

It's a cryptid world

Thankfully the weather in Dunedin has come right for a couple of days, just in time for Pip and myself to hunker down in the bunker-like editing suite and start meshing together a few sequences.

However, I am still finding time to indulge in the odd distraction like listening to one-day cricket (go the black caps) and reading the odd blog. So it came as somewhat of a surprise to learn that our wee film project is being mentioned elsewhere on the net.

The following website dedicated to all things cryptozoology features news of our film. Please read about it here. As if that isn't freaky enough, a big cat expert in Great Britain has been emailing me a whole host of useful information related to tracking urban big cats. His name is Danny Nineham and he authors a very interesting website.

However, in the interest of balance there are others who totally discredit the work of Mr Nineham. The following report details efforts by Canadian trappers to prove/disprove the theory that there are big cats in the United Kingdom.

Sacrilege and SUVs

This blog is proving harder than ever to keep updated as my feet very rarely sit in front of my trusty laptop in Dunedin.

The last week has been spent conducting a couple of interviews for the film in Auckland and then taking five days to travel around the wonderful far north. I have posted a couple of photos below from the last trip into Mid-Canterbury and some of you may notice a hand that looks like it is attached to my arm holding a can of C.D. No, I haven't given up on my beloved Emersons but when in Rome and all that..

Now, as many of you may know, I'm not a fan of S.U.Vs .However, I have to admit that during our film trip thus far we have witnessed them being used properly and in the hands of some very skilled operators (thanks David and Al). They have a purpose and place and dropping off the kids at school is not it. The term 'cafe tractors' springs to mind after trying to negotiate Auckland streets clogged with monster SUVs that have never seen some mud let alone a rocky hillside. But, there is an even bigger menace on the road that is driving us insane, the 'people movers'. I can't count the amount of times that travelling up and down the country that we have been cut-off and slowed down by these silly looking mini-buses. It would appear that they come factory fitted with neither rear view mirrors or indicators.

On a slightly more positive note, I'm regretting that we aren't filming in Christchurch this weekend as Dramfest 07 is taking place. Tickets are already sold out, but it looks like a fantastic event, big ups to those folk that appreciate Kiwi tastes don't stop at Speights and Jack Daniels.

Actually getting some air, can you see the front wheel off the ground!

A land transport sign that we spotted driving through the inland scenic route!

Drinking the local amber with David Wightman on Winterslow Station

Trying to kick start the bike, where is that damn electric ignition!

Plenty of Ins and Outs

Just like one of my all-time favourite characters in cinema history, Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski says: "There are plenty of ins and outs" as his doped out Marlowe investigates the loss of the rug that "tied the room together". Yes, this tale of the cat is proving quite intriguing with twists and turns at every corner, and the more we film and research it seems that we have more to film and research.

For all you long suffering devotees of this blog, I have decided to keep this post light-hearted as we are just about to set off another week long filming mission to Twizel this time and then next week we will be up in Wellington.

While the many long hours of driving have facilitated heated discussion on many topics between myself and film-making partner Pip, they usually involve a disagreement about our favourite characters in the ace British comedy Green Wing. Pip is a big fan of Dr Guy Secretan
whose famous line "Drink my pee, pull like me" turned me into an instant convert to this most excellent series. My personal favourite is Mac because he has finally proved that guys with ginger hair in the public eye could be cool, and he rides a very cool Ducati.

While we are debating the merits of these two excellent characters, please observe the images I was recently emailed. Three candidates for man of the year, I felt their individual contributions to masculine endeavour should not go unrecognised:

What the F%@K was that?

Well its now official, (for the time being anyway) the title for our film will be "What the F@%K was that? It seems to fit best with the general story flow that we are working on. After countless interviews the most common statement we hear is....you guessed it!

The past week has been great and spending 6 days in mid-Canterbury filming and meeting with locals was invaluable. One thing is for sure, great hospitality is alive and well in the provinces. We were chauffeured up mountainsides ala Barry Crump style in a Toyota Landcruiser, had fruit muffins baked for us, were given free meals and drinks at the pub, had our laundry done and were lent a television.

However, by far the most interesting aspect to the trip was the amount of media interest shown in our documentary. We were photographed by the Ashburton Guardian who wrote a short piece about us. Click here. After this piece featured in the paper we were contacted by TVONE, RADIO LIVE and THE ROCK. We agreed to enter into some interviews with the two radio stations who both tried to push us into a corner and see if we honestly thought there was a 'panther' out there. Lets just say that we have uncovered some fascinating material and do not want to give any of this info away before the film screens.

Anyway, we have been busy snapping some of our progress and have selected a few images to show you how busy we have been.



Filming our Steve Irwin stand-in



Always get good talent (and get them to carry your equipment



How low can you go?



Possibly the most important role in filmaking: "The Fluffer"

Christmas and Coffee

Hi All,

I have to admit, the blogging has been slow in recent times and I would like to blame it on the festive season, everyone needs a break! I trust you all had a great Christmas and good New Year celebrations. I was lucky enough to find some sun in lovely little Clyde in Central Otago.

Anyway, the filming is well underway on the 'Stealth Cat' documentary and photos of the field action will be posted here soon. However, with the majority of activity centred on the Mid-Canterbury district we have had ample opportunity to sample local wares and hunt out the odd coffee. The results have been quite disturbing so I would like to offer this blog as a public service announcement for any caffeine conscious persons setting out on the road in the South Island.

Tips:

1. Do not trust an automatic coffee machine to deliver anything other than mud. It is a crime when coffee merchants are charging $3.50 for what is essentially a cup of nescafe with heated milk powder.
   
2. If the cafe attendant has more upper lip hair than yourself then turn around and walk out. No males (or females) with moustaches can brew a decent blend I have discovered.
   
3. If the coffee machine has an old tea-towel draped over it retrace your steps. This is a definite indication that not many coffees are served and the machine is likely to spit out regurgitated mess from a cup brewed a week ago.
   
4. Double shots should be paramount so be concerned when the machine is stocked with single-shot porta-filters.
   
5. Check the grinder, if the beans have already been ground then its a sure sign that things will not be that fresh.
   
6. Any signs outside cafes that read "Stewarts or Robert Harris" indicate a foul tasting brew.
   

These are but a few tips for spending money wisely in the pursuit of a pure shot of black gold.
While I am on the subject of spending money wisely, it has not escaped my radar that coffee merchants have upped their prices recently and the average price for a sit-in flat white is $3.50. For some reason, takeaway cups seem to be larger than sit-in cups and therefore the rationale seems to be $4.00 for a flat white even though the patron will not be using the facilities?

While I am perplexed by that I am quite annoyed when asked to pay the same prices for a long black! This is can not fathom, the long black contains the same amount of caffeine extracted from the same quantity of beans and is often topped up with 'hot water'. NO MILK. Even with my challenged arithmetic I can work out that Nil Milk =$0. Since when did hot water cost the same amount as 400 mls of milk?

Just so you are all aware, a perfect flat white should look something like this:



Lets just say I will make my own long blacks at home on my machine that consistently produces a better brew than some of the gruntier commercial machines being operated by coffee novices. It seems that living in Dunedin we take it for granted that a good coffee is only one block away, there are dozens of great places to sample a brew.

Legends in our own lunchbox

With the film project hardly underway we are certainly whipping the folk of Canturbury into a fenzy over our topic.

Last Friday The Press ran an article about the project and my phone ran hot over the weekend with people coming forward with information. Please click here to read the item in full.

While there were a few dubious stories, by and large we now have a wealth of information and quite a bit of interesting evidence. We have a filming trip booked for the end of this week with a Backcountry guide from Methven. Over Christmas and New Year we will be researching and processing the footage that we have (with a wee bit of a break of course). Early January will be a busy time for the film as we base ourselves in Mayfield and film a lot of the main sequences that will tie the film together. I'll take a stills camera on the next shoot and post some progress photos on the blog afterwards.

Speeding in Denmark-The Speedbandits

At first I thought this was an elaborate spoof, but aparently it is true! I'm not sure it would work in New Zealand as I doubt motorists would grasp the concept . Got to hand it to those cunning Danes, it certainly is innovative. I doubt Danish women are too impressed, what do the authorities have in mind to stop women speeding, male strippers?

Because the video clip caused frustration for persons trying to follow my blog from work computers with over-sensitive obscenity filters, I have put the link here for you to have a look at.

The Danish Speedbandits

Beware, the video clip contains nudity. If you are offended then please visit another blog.

Last Man Standing

My blogging has been a bit lapse recently, so it occured to me that I should use some of my newspaper music reviews to pad things out for those people who don't have access to the O.D.T. Of course, I only plan to feature reviews of albums that are any good, and this one from Jerry Lee Lewis is great.

"Infamous for bizarre behaviour, Jerry Lee Lewis’ undoubted talent has never been in question. However, the same cannot be said for his desire to perform, largely an enigma for the last 25 years. Enticed into a recording studio by lifelong fan and film hotshot Steve Bing, Lewis reportedly arrived at the first sessions in his pyjamas. What a blessing that he did, this album makes a mockery of all the other old rockers still trying to string together a tune for a buck.

Out of the legendary Sun Recording artists assembled by founder Sam Phillips, names like Elvis, Perkins, Cash and Orbison come to the fore as musicians who helped define popular music. However, it is Jerry Lee Lewis who still burns brightly as the ‘Last Man Standing’. If there was any suspicion that Last Man Standing might be a sentimental marketing ploy to rescue Lewis’ finances then the opening salvo of “Rock N Roll” blows that theory away. Spitting out “Let me get back where I come from, the gritty riffing of Jimmy Page is matched by ‘The Killer’ frenetically thumping the keyboards while squeezing every nuance out of his vocals.

The pace rarely lets up, I doubt John Fogerty has performed Travelin’ Band at the pace cooked up by Lewis. Now 70, the performance is explosive, testament to Lewis’ status as the original bad boy of rock and roll. Whatever you think of his chequered past, it’s simply impossible not to smile when Lewis sings ‘That Kind of Fool’ with Keith Richards. Lewis typically upstages his somewhat younger collaborators. The two best tracks on the album are from two of the oldest pairings, Buddy Guy and BB King, proving that age isn’t any hindrance to real talent. Last Man Standing is a great country-blues album favouring Lewis’s love of barroom honky-tonk. Bad luck, bad decisions and badass keyboard playing, Jerry Lee Lewis is a survivor with one hell of a sound".

Rating: 4.5 stars

Stray Cat Strut

Yes, its official Pip and myself are producing a documentary based on the mystery black cat of Mid-Canterbury. This is one story that refuses to die and to date nobody has focused on some of the important facts and asked the right questions. In our research we have uncovered some fascinating information, and are quite excited about the filming that we have planned for the next couple of months. Watch this space.

If anybody reading this has their own experience of alien cat sightings or anything similar then please post a comment wiith contact details and I'll be in touch. Just to whet your appetite here is an image of a cat photographed by Mark Brosnahan in 2003 near Lake Clearwater in mid-Canterbury.

The Curse of Ulva Island

Its been a while since my last post but it would be fair to say that a lot has happened since then. I have started writing film reviews for the ODT, am putting together a shooting script for my diploma film and had an opportunity to spend two weeks on Ulva Island for my Internship.

Is it a curse being offered the opportunity to live on a pristine island for two weeks assisting in the construction of a film? Initially when given the opportunity I was extremely enthusiastic and realistic about how far out of my comfort zone I was putting myself (two weeks without my coffee machine and Green Wing!).

Anyway, three weeks ago I endured a typically bumpy crossing of Foveaux Strait to be met by Scott Mouat at the wharf on Ulva. Scott is a one-man band production house called Elwin productions and has a contract to produce a 50 minute documentary on Ulva Island, in particular the birds. I won't give all the specifics but you can see details of the work in progress if you click here.



Anyway, being met by a guy head to toe in camo fashion with rain blowing sideways I soon realised that this wasn't going to be a simple filming exercise. For the first week it was pretty much a military exercise as we humped film equipment all over the island from sun-up to sun down. Not only was it a test for my fitness, I had to get used to the idea of sitting silent in the bush for hours at a time waiting for animal behaviour. Gee, the island might be teaming with native birds but do you think they will do what you want them to. After week one we decamped to Stewart Island proper for a decent meal and a shower with some well earnt beers at the pub.
That was when trouble started.



On the Sunday afternoon, I took an axe to my thumb when chopping firewood. Determined that it wasn't going to need stitches I started doing a repair job with my new first aid kit when I collapsed on the floor, for the first time in my life I think I passed out. Anyway, this was just the beginning on a fun couple of days, that night I was bitten by some heinous bug that left 4 big welts down my left arm. To keep things interesting the next night I started projectile vomiting and when that subsided 24 hours later I had developed a runny bottom. All this time I continued to act as a pack horse for Scott and keep the shooting schedule up to speed. We actually grabbed some great footage and Scott is well ahead of schedule, if only those damn Saddlebacks would breed!




Midway through the second week the back to nature experience had lost its appeal. The weather was lousy, there is mud everywhere, the hut used by six people was smaller that our bedroom in Dunedin and having a wash outside in a hailstorm is not that much fun. This is nothing on the loo conditions, where the long drop was so full that we almost had to start poking it down with a stick before assuming the position.



Lets just say that going home was such a treat, even if the crossing back to Bluff was rougher than the way over and the car wouldn't start when I got there! My lovely partner Tracy had a great meal waiting for me and a bottle of wine, it nearly brought tears to my eyes.

I have a whole new respect for Natural History Filmmakers and the patience and determination that is needed to collect those couple of magical seconds. Scott was a great guy to learn from, he is very focused and extremely well organised. His shooting script was tight and well constructed and his ability to rough cut footage at night in the hut assisted us no end when heading out the next day to grab some shots. I'm really looking forward to the finished product and think that it will be quite stunning, especially is the sunrise that we filmed is anything to go by.




Ulva Island is a special place to visit and the sights and sounds are quite unique. If only the water was 20 degrees warmer, the sand-flies not so vicious and there was a good coffee cart! Ah well, I can now tell the difference between a Robin and a Saddleback call and know where to look for good Huhu grubs and worms.

Steam is the word-The Trainspotting Files

Steam is the word

Dunedin was steam central on the weekend as the Railway Station celebrated its 100th Birthday. To anybody who has ever visited Dunedin I'm sure the Railway Station will be remembered as the fantastic architectural achievement that it is. If you think I'm over-exaggerating, it has been rated as one of the world's 200 must-see places.

How better to celebrate than bring a whole host of steam locomotives to town. Turning back the clock to a golden age of transport, the city was inundated with train-buffs from throughout New Zealand and overseas. Trainspotter's heaven. 99% male, these guys raced from viewing site to motorway overpass to snap excitedly at the marvelously restored steam trains delivering passengers to Port Chalmers and Wingatui.

Trainspotters

The fun of recording train numbers and dressing up in train gear is not restricted to these guys. Click here for a train spotting simulator.

Cameras loaded with film (yes film), these relics of yesteryear (the trains) were a real treat as they reminded those of us old enough to remember to great romanticism associated with riding the rails. Sadly, this has been largely forgotten as we have gone highway heavy.

All Aboard

The city reverberated all weekend to the sound of steam being let off and at one fantastic moment on Saturday morning, all the locomotives sounded off at once. Munching on a bacon buttie, I nearly soiled my pants, but quickly recovered to laugh at all the children screaming and their parents frantically trying to calm them.

Here's to you Mrs Robinson

Once again politicians think they have the answer to societies ills, don't let em have it and all will be fixed. Sadly, this has never worked.

Lets give this blog some context, we have a binge drinking culture in New Zealand that seems to straddle the generational divide. I'm not advocating drinking to excess, in fact I'm getting kinda annoyed about stepping over vomit on the way home from town. However, setting the drinking age at 20 rather than 18 where it is now is rather regressive. It will not solve a few issues, namely:

1.The law is not being administered now
2.Kids will still get access to alcohol, just not in licensed premises
3.We have failed in educating people how to enjoy alcohol, without whacking some poor sod over the head!

In researching this blog I discovered out of the various NZ political parties, only the Greens Frogblog have an element of sanity. I applaud them for their 'less government, more personal responsibility' approach to this issue.
I'm 35, so I'm not too worried that I won't be sharing the pub with 16 year olds, but its not about me. I feel for the music loving fans who want to see their favorite bands and will prevented from doing so by this ridiculous legislation.
But, as with every hair-brained poorly thought-out piece of legislation there is a solution. Pair up with an older partner. Lets face it a bit of experience never hurt
anyone.

Guys, check out that friend of your older sister (tell her that dating you will be serving some form of community good), girls pick up a sugar daddy and let him buy drinks all night. A definite win-win.

However, what do we do about the alcohol binging culture inherent in the youth of today? Well, once again, with a bit of thought a better solution presented itself. Stop selling cheap nasty alcopops and bland beers with an emphasis on quantity rather than quality. These drinks aren't meant to be enjoyed socially, they are mere alcohol delivery vessels. Get pissed quick tools.

Make the kids fork out top dollar for Emersons and see how many continue drinking in huge quantities? Make top Pinots and Single Malts more available and if nothing else we might start to cultivate a culture of 'taste'.

However, people still have a right to get drunk just as long as they don't drive, defecate on the pavement and hurt somebody else, whatever happened to host responsibility and the law against serving grossly intoxicated people? Enough said.

We only have sixty years on this planet

Sixty Years-The Music Video

After a very successful screening of 12 music videos from the NHFC diploma students on Friday I have decided to see what the wider world thinks of this little ditty. Any comments, suggestions, likes, dislikes would be appreciated as I really want to learn what works and of course, what doesn't.

I had a great time making it and learnt a lot in the progress. The whole thing was put together in imovie which is pretty limited but still a pretty cool piece of software that is free for OSX users. If anything, I think the limitations of the editing process stopped me getting distracted from the flow that I was trying to create. I am learning the power of Final Cut at the moment and have instantly seen areas that my creative ideas could have been realised. However, it is really good discipline to put a lot of focus on getting images/sound right in the first place and not relying on fixing problems in post production.

This coming week will be quite interesting as Pip and myself will decide what film idea to run with. We have had no shortage of possible story threads thus far and have narrowed our pool down to three ideas. Watch this space. In the next few weeks I will also be departing for Ulva Island where I will be assisting a film-maker who is compiling a DVD of island bird life. I'm really looking forward to helping out and sapping any knowledge I can. Wildlife activity and animal behavior is totally foreign to me so this will be a good chance to get out of my comfort zone and have a go. Just one thing though, I'm a bit worried about coffee making facilities so I might just pack my mini grinder and a couple of kgs of good beans to keep me going, especially as we are supposed to be rising before daylight and filming birds waking up!

Don't underestimate the importance of music

In this whole filmmaking process that I am engaged in at the moment, I am learning some really good lessons about how to write for images and importantly how to be tight when editing our own words. The ideas for my diploma film is being shaped at the moment and images are being sorted in my head as I settle upon story threads and get them to paper. However, in all the instruction we are getting and the corresponding exercises, we have yet to work on scoring music for documentary.
Personally, from some of my favourite documentaries (and features) I tend to remember the odd static image after the film has receded from my retina, but it is the soundtrack that I can often recall in more detail. I guess where I am going with this blog is that I am now starting to think about possible sounds that will work with the visual stimulus planned for out diploma film.
This week, I was given The Veils second album to review for the Otago Daily Times and it has the distinction of receiving the first 5 star rating that I have dished out. Quite simply, singer songwriter Finn Andrews is a major talent waiting to occupy the huge void left by Jeff Buckley. Sure that's a mighty big call, but the intoxicating concoction contained on Nux Vomica gave me so many film ideas that I'd love to get this guy to score a film. Perhaps, he could be the next Damon Gough. I have attached the glowing album review below.

Bullshit!

Searching for something decent to unwind with on tv can be quite difficult, especially as the Classic Album series on C4 has finished and Top Gear only screens one night a week. However, Prime have been good enough to repeat the fantastic first series of The Office on Tuesday nights followed by Bullshit, presented by Penn and Teller. I should tattoo somewhere on my body a reminder to watch this as it is really that good. Seeking to pour scorn on all sorts of things, last night they had a go at AA (alcoholics anonymous). It was a hoot, they sent up the overwhelming Christian bias that this organisation uses to 'supposedly' clean up drunks. I say supposedly because they put forward information that demonstrated you have the same chance of cleaning up on your own as you do going to a backwards religious organisation like AA, just 5%. The crux of their argument was to dismiss the idea that addiction was a disease, and I tend to agree. Hell, cancer is a disease, but addiction? It seems that everybody suffering from some weakness in character seeks to absolve personal responsibility by labeling their weakness as a 'disease'. Try telling someone with leukemia that your addiction to over-eating is a 'disease'. Enough said. Watching this argument unfold I couldn't help think about the way Fight Club parodied American fixation with self-help groups and the 12 step process. Making oneself feel weak and worthless just so you can give yourself over to some higher power seems like a crap way to deal with addiction, gee I'd be heading straight to the bar after a meeting with some of those god squad loonies.
Speaking of skeptics, I noticed that the NZ skeptics society had their annual conference last week. Their website is a great starting point for anyone who might be curious. A notable local member is the potter Peter Lange, brother of the late great David Lange. If you see weird things in the night sky over Auckland, chances are it will be Peter and his chums setting off his U.F.O hoaxes.