Hello everyone! Welcome to dicksblog.net from me and my endearing friend, "Sparky" the fur seal, who is pictured above. Jody and I met Sparky while living in New Zealand in 2014. He is an enduring, loving tribute to the curiousty of nature and our need to love and protect our environment. You can find more about Sparky's and our story on the blog pages that follow. His picture and story always brings joy to my heart and I pray for a long and happy life for Sparky.
For background, this blog was created in December, 2013 as Jody and I prepared to move to New Zealand for eight months where Jody would be completing an Ian Axford Fellowship administered through the U.S. Fulbright Foundation. Her duties were primarily to work with New Zealand's Ministry of Business in asessing and making recommendations for their refugee program. That blog was great fun and we returned to New Zealand in September, 2015 for another brief stay.
This blog has now morphed into a greater travelogue as we are at this moment, April, 2017, in Hachioji, Japan, home of Soka University, where Jody is a guest professor teaching Global Issues in Education. I remain a lucky man to be privileged through Jody's work to visit these other cultures and to enjoy these fabulous countries.
Last summer, July and August, 2016, Jody and I were able, again through her work, to travel through the European countries of Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Germany, and Italy and to spend 10 days in Beijing, China. What wonderful trips they were. We took many pictures, but unfortunately I have not taken the time to add them to the Blog. I may attempt to do that while in Japan as I do have downtime while Jody teaches and attends to other professional duties.
Below is my original introduction to this blog which I havre retained. Again, enjoy the show!
"Hello everyone and welcome to Dick's Middle Earth Blog. J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth Trilogy, The Lord Of The Rings (LOTR), has always been very special to me since I first read it in 1966. Many have called it The book of the Twentieth Century. Although my first love is Tolkien's written LOTR, my second love is the LOTR movie trilogy made by New Zealander, Peter Jackson. The fact that I'm visiting the country that spawned such a fabulous cinematic triumph is a dream come true. As Jody is a big Tolkien fan as well, we will be visiting many of the filming locations during our stay in New Zealand.
I initially created this blog on December 24, 2013 while Jody and I were beginning our adventures in Seattle/Everett, Washington. I have only recently been able to return to it for further posts. Since our arrival in New Zealand on December 28, 2013, Jody and I have been very busy tramping around Wellington (New Zealand's capitol located at the bottom of the North Island) both sightseeing and looking for a permanent apartment. We are now circumnavigating New Zealand's South Island for two weeks. I'm writing this on January 15, 2014 from Fox Glacier which we are visiting for three nights. I'm finally getting the hang of blogging and hope to start publishing up-to-date blogs soon. One thing I have had to accept is that current posts are always at the top of the blog, something I was unfamiliar with. On subsequent blog pages, please feel free to scroll down to the bottom of the page, select "PREVIOUS," and work your way back to the beginning to follow our travels chronologically.
I have plans for this blog. Initially, it will showcase some family photos in Seattle/Everett. We will then move to pictures of Wellington and our two week travels around the South Island. This initial phase will last through January, 2014. On February 2, 2014, Jody will start working at New Zealand's Ministry Of Business. At that time, I will begin my new career as a Wellington House Husband. I also intend to begin processing just actually what is going on in New Zealand with a particular emphasis on how New Zealand's quality of life ranks alongside America's (or at least the America I know). I have a hypothesis that things are significantly more civilized in New Zealand based on what others have told me and what I have read. However, seeing is believing and I intend to make my own independent and objective judgement. I hope to speak with a range of local residents, both the indigenous Maori citizens, as well as other New Zealanders (Kiwis). Whatever I discover, I hope to share that information on this blog. Through cultural knowledge and sensitivity, I hope that whatever insights I gain can be put to good use to better our own lives in America. I hope that you enjoy the show and I look forward to your comments. I remain a very lucky guy to have found such a woman in the wonderful Jody McBrien as without her I would not be going on this late-in-life adventure."
DICK'S MIDDLE EARTH BLOG
Flash Forward - A vision of things to come as we tramp around New Zealand..