Aro-Mind

Last night my wife Tania and I went to the Auckland Theatre Company's production of 'Long Day's Journey into Night' by Eugene O'Neill, the great American playwright. What a wonderful production ! If you love theatre I highly recommend this tragic tale of a family gripped in lost dreams, resentments and the tyranny of memory. O'Neill's writing is sublime as it quickly cracks the thin veneer of civility between the family members to dive into the emotional layers within. The cheapskate, land owning father who mourns for a lost dramatic career; a declining mother who once fought valiantly against her addiction only to succumb yet again; an embittered elder son who's seen it all before and rails against his parent's expectations of him when they themselves have fallen so far short; and an unwell younger son, weakened by the prospect of an early death through 'consumption' (tuberculosis) now curable if his father would only pony up with the money,...

Working independently as a composer, researcher and advisor is my thing. After working in a number of institutions (Te Wānanga-o-Raukawa, University of Auckland, Te Papa) I now work independently and am grateful that I am able to do so. I love the freedom of being myself in my work and not being constrained by structures and constraints around me. I am free to think deeply about Mātauranga Māori, for example, and seek advances for it on its own terms. Being independent does mean taking a risk and being comfortable with uncertain income levels. However, I love being independent, working for myself and the freedom it provides.  Having said that, however, I do maintain a part time role as an advisor at Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures at the University of Auckland - and I maintain this role for three reasons: First, as its name suggests, the Centre is dedicated to thinking about the future. It is a place where productive discussions and debates about significant issues can take...