KateR wrote:I've now added the video of RDA's Sunday panel at Armageddon.
Hopefully I'll get a few more pictures uploaded this afternoon, once I've finished all the other chores.
Kate
There was one very brief moment around the 1:28 mark that caught my eye. It reminded me of something I've seen before - one of Kat/Pat's cartoons she posted after MTM. Life imitating Art?
Well I went along to the Armageddon Expo to meet Rick and he seems to be having a great time over here. He said that he loves our countryside and that we Kiwi's are a polite and friendly bunch of people. I have heard those same sentiments hundreds of times over in my lifetime from people of other nationalities, I wonder if it is because we are somewhat disconnected e.g.: not joined to other countries that perhaps NZ is so often called paradise untouched and we also don't have outside influences and trends setting us apart from other countries perhaps.
Rick has appeared on quite a few of our channels over here since he arrived and radio stations as well. I doubt that he envisaged just how popular he was and still is over here. Dating back to "MacGyver" and that specific character is actually how a lot of Kiwi's are. Ingenuity is HUGE over here and so is DIY (do it yourself) we have this thing which we call a No.8 wire mentality. No.8 wire is actually fencing wire used for paddocks over here but the theory is that if you have a piece of No.8 wire then you can do and make anything. And believe me... we actually do. Kiwi's are full of "can do" attitude and in some respects perhaps that sets us apart from others. We seriously do have a clean, green NZ and that is the way that we like it – Rick noticed this! I've heard many a person stipulate that NZ is so beautiful, yet I've never really left here so I don't have that experience. We don't have the crime, graffiti, rubbish, gangs, overcrowding and as for guns over here they are usually used for vermin hunting in the country or just plain target shooting within a shooting club.
The expo itself was bedlam, 3 days later and my back is still killing me - I am running out of painkillers. We left home early enough but did not envisage that the motorway would be stopped for kilometers because of the show; there was also a near miss accident beside us in another lane. That was scary; a truck loaded with logs nearly took out a car beside us who had decided that it was a good idea to stop dead on the motorway – of all the crazy things to do!
When we got to Greenlane Road where the expo was all of the parking was full and there was no entry. We drove a couple of kilometers up the road and finally found some parking then it was a seriously long walk back to the expo entry. I took a photo of my car so that I could find it when we eventually left.
We spent from 10am until well after 5pm standing without being able to move at all most of the time and no seating at all. Hours of not being able to move more than a foot every so often. No chance of being able to get to a restroom or something to drink or eat at all, you could not get out of the doorways and if you did then your chances of getting back inside were nominal to say the least. The queues for Rick went backwards and forwards several times in loops, I don’t think that I have ever seen so many people crammed into buildings like that in my life. Auckland is the largest city in New Zealand and I have seen a lot of crowds before but never like this, it was way over the top. I was talking with many people in the line and they were all awesome, most seemed to be from the MacGyver era, the photo on this website of the guy standing with Rick dressed as MacGyver and holding that missile was just in front of us. A lot of people had their photo taken with him as well – he was very authentic and looked the part.
As for Rick himself, he was awesome, he endured a hell of a lot this past weekend and I don’t think he could have ever envisaged how popular and revered he was going to be over here. I truly hope that he has enjoyed himself immensely but I bet he is completely tired out. Somehow I don’t think he will forget NZ or New Zealanders for quite some time. I heard him say that he would like to spend an extended month over here just being a tourist by the sound of it. That would be great but to see NZ properly you really need a few months, we may look like a tiny country but in between places there is hours and hours of vehicle driving with nothing for miles. I heard Rick saying something about a short trip from Australia to New Zealand, presuming it was just a short boat trip, not so – it’s actually a minimum of a 3 hour flight on a good day depending on which part of Australia that you are coming from, some areas it is a 7 hour flight. I believe he knows this now! LOL
Finally got to the photo session queue and there were loads of awesome people to talk to. There was really nothing to do at all but really get to know the people that were in the queue as well. We were certainly having fun and making the most of the hours of waiting, joking, laughing and talking. I was giving stick to one of the Armageddon staff members standing beside us because Jenna Coleman (from Doctor Who) walked up to us and was asking the staff member who we were waiting in line for albeit the staff member didn’t even recognize her. I think Jenna asked because the RDA photo shoot was supposed to be finished ages ago but it was still going.
Afterwards we headed for the autograph session and I’m afraid I think I really confused him, I didn’t mean to at all and if he ever reads this then “Rick I’m truly sorry” in fact you got me all confused as well. I think I had too many photos and other things in my hands and he didn’t know which he should be signing, we finally got it sorted and he was a gentleman. I told him I was great at multi-tasking and we both laughed.
It was fantastic meeting Rick for a couple of seconds and I’m glad that I went along. However I don’t believe that I could physically ever do it again with my back broken the way that it is. I doubt that I could stand this much amount of pain from standing and queuing again, (people who know me, know what this is about). I am normally so careful that I have no problems at all but all the standing and the queues were too much. As for Rick – I bet he is exhausted to say the least, even when I got to the autograph portion of the event he was looking somewhat tired and this was only the first day, he had two more days of this to come yet. Awwww
T
Clean/Green NZ
Take only photos, leave only footprints.
Stoneridge - how nice to read your awesome report over on this thread!....Thank you for putting it here and on the Richard Dean Anderson Armageddon NZ thread.....your post deserves to be read by all because it truly gives the flavor of what you went through to see "The Man".
I am so glad you got to see him and talk with him - even briefly....but am sorry about your back being in such pain afterwards. I hope it improves soon.
Yes, I imagine RDA is quite tired from his weekend but hopefully he will be home to rest up now and reflect on the awesomeness of New Zealand and its MANY RDA fans.
THANK YOU so much Alexandra. Incredible pictures from many events. Thank you for sharing the link. I can't get enough of looking at all these gorgeous photos of our man.
...thank you for letting me know .
