Hard News: A few (more) words on The Hobbit
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chinupandapun as well
Xin Xin... -
Pinchandapunch, Sofie.
backatya :)..... Ian?
Here's to a bit of sanity
May we all follow suit. -
Business correspondent Roger Kerr
'scuse me while I throw things at the Herald.
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Just wondering...and Jacqui, you might know...how are the teacher's doing? Have they abandoned all hope, lost in the noise; or are they still negotiating?
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On strike one day a week for the next five weeks (website), one student year each time.
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Just wondering...and Jacqui, you might know...how are the teacher's doing? Have they abandoned all hope, lost in the noise; or are they still negotiating?
Don't really know, Petra. My sister reported back that her union wasn't as big and boisterous as PPTA. Still, around a thousand rallied in the drizzle. They got a bit of TV coverage though.
There are fears that the Nats will push through closure of special schools - for the sake of mainstream children, and of course, those special little ones, I hope not. My sister works extremely hard to get some good results, but sometimes she comes home absolutely exhausted, and says it was a dreadful day - and she's got only six students. Even one more child added to the mix throws the whole of her careful work out. So if those children are thrown into mainstream schools, it will be disaster for all.
EDIT: Oh, I should say my sister teaches small autistic kids. We're not talking secondary teachers - well, at least, I'm not.
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Oh, good. Best of luck to them!
What can the 'average Jane/Joe' do to help?
And re the Sanity Rally: here's a bitter blog post for you to merrily (and moderately) point and laugh at - http://exiledonline.com/the-rally-to-restore-vanity-generation-x-celebrates-its-homeric-struggle-against-lameness/ -
Jacqui, thanks for the reply. I did note, at 3 News website, the closure of special schools and integrating special kids needs into mainstream classes.
I think it could work for some - my daughter has a pair of Down Syndrome twins at her school, one of which she is "buddy" to at school sports events. It was lovely to see her chatting with them at the supermarket yesterday.
But for others it would be an absolute disaster. Teaching special needs takes special training, and many teachers just won't have that training. It's not fair on the special needs children, not fair on the teacher, and not fair on the class as a whole. It actually reminds me of the move to close mental health facilities, citing that touchy feely phrase "community care". Now, of course, our prisons just house them. Very sad.
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3410,
Perfect Day
When 3's campaign with that song was winding down, we petitioned them - unsuccessfully - to switch to this:
(ps. it's "Nilsson", not "Nillson")
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So if those children are thrown into mainstream schools, it will be disaster for all.
Not wanting to get into an in-depth debate about segregated vs inclusive education for disabled children, but if the needed resources aren't applied then I guess "thrown" is fair.
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3410, I'm a huge fan of Nilsson. He moves so easily from jaw-droppingly gorgeous, to gut-bustingly hilarious. Randy Newman, too. Great songwriters - far too underrated.
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3410,
Indeed. Anyone who can go from "The Lottery Song" to "I'd Rather Be Dead" on the same album has got my vote.
Okay, back on-topic, you lot! -
Business correspondent Roger Kerr
'scuse me while I throw things at the Herald.
Not the same Roger Kerr who heads the BRT, but even then, not that much better.
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OK. At the risk of confirming PA's traitorous reputation amongst certain cloth-cap champions, Spada responds to MEAA's newsletter to members. Avert your eyes, children of the Ponsonby proletariat.
Yesterday the Media Entertainment & Arts Alliance (MEAA) issued a newsletter to its members, attempting to explain and justify the industrial action it initiated against THE HOBBIT. A number of statements made in this communication are mischievous, misleading or false.
At a time when SPADA was hoping trust and goodwill were restored, this communication is divisive and destructive.
The continued re-writing of history by MEAA as they try and paper over their failures must stop. The MEAA must acknowledge and accept the consequences of their actions.
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Oh crap, Sacha. Thanks for that. Having just listened to that gorgeous "Perfect Day", which made me sad for Radio NZ and the long-gone Broadcasting Fee, we're back on hobbittopic.....
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Not wanting to get into an in-depth debate about segregated vs inclusive education for disabled children, but if the needed resources aren't applied then I guess "thrown" is fair.
The experience of one of my austistic rellies rather underlines that, what with the ongoing battle for his teacher's aid's hours to be used on his needs, rather than the principal's view that they're a freebie 20 hours to be used whereever the principal sees fit.
I wouldn't be surprised if this is the norm rather than the exception, alas.
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Campbell also has some ideas about leveraging opportunities out of this situation for our screen industry.
What LOTR offered was an opportunity to build an entire industry off the back of what Peter Jackson had achieved. We could have created a wide ranging knowledge industry of a sort that bypassed the usual tyranny of New Zealand’s distance from its markets. Almost by accident from a national planning point of view, the film industry could have become exactly the sort of business cluster that Harvard University marketing guru Michael Porter had – decades ago – urged New Zealand to create.
Did we take full advantage of that opportunity? Hardly. Jackson built Weta Digital alright, but the government copped out of its side of the bargain.
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The strategy now should be to seriously fund and foster the growth of spinoffs – in gaming, in animation, design shops etc – that will enable the industry to expand out horizontally. To pull its weight properly in this process the Film Commission needs more funding – under conditions that ensure it meets cultural and commercial objectives from micro-budget features to mainstream theatrical releases. Unfortunately, Jackson did not provide that framework in his recent Film Commission review. After paying lip service to writers and directors, he then advocated funnelling most of the money to fewer of them, and virtually neglected the digital realm altogether. But that’s another story.
Oddly enough, the government would probably get bipartisan support for a national planning initiative based around building our film industry, in order to ensure that the opportunity presented by The Hobbit is not, once again, lost.
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Spada responds to MEAA's newsletter to members
Fairly damning.
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virtually neglected the digital realm altogether
Which is a bloody stupid area to neglect, imo. Combined internet and television is just a stones throw away of being in shops. Which is why I have held off investing in a new tv to replace my very old dodgy one. I'm holding out for the new, fully internet enabled and integrated, system. It's not too far off now, and it's one wave that we could really ride all the way to the bank. No need for expensive shipping of that export to foreign lands - just upload it through good broadband.
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The experience of one of my austistic rellies rather underlines that, what with the ongoing battle for his teacher's aid's hours to be used on his needs, rather than the principal's view that they're a freebie 20 hours to be used whereever the principal sees fit.
Yes, especially dangerous with autistic kids because they're often quite happy to be left alone, and will sit in a corner not making any trouble. And they'll still be there in 10 years. To actually help them is highly specialized and requires a lot of work, in many cases one-on-one.
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good broadband
You mean the type that Steven Joyce has spent an extra two years negotiating and which we still haven't even seen the start of work on?
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That's the one, Sacha!
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Campbell also has some ideas about leveraging opportunities out of this situation for our screen industry
I really liked that last Gordon Campbell article for a great many reasons:
Perversely, the delays – and the beat-up over the Union Threat– worked in this country’s favour as the location both by virtue, and by default. Given the details in the final deal, some on the left will be happy to believe Jackson was working in a tag team with Warners all along, to ramp up the production subsidies. I don’t share that view. One could just as easily make the argument that Jackson had been working against Warners all along, to counter their plans to move elsewhere – and by that logic, he could be seen as inflaming the dispute at a crucial juncture to foreclose Warners’ options, while on the side helping to compensate them with extra millions from the government. Such conspiracy theories are a dime a dozen and a complete waste of time – given the dearth of proof either way, and the lack of transparency.
This especially. Anything to tone down the conspiracy Jackson hate rhetoric that has floated about. Hasn't been helpful at all to anyone. By the same token people like Holmes could obviously take it down a notch or 12. At the end of the day though, even though I haven't completely agreed with some of his previous articles on the subject, GC has simply put a lot more effort into thinking about the complexity of the issues than 95% of the NZ media.
It's a pity that some people seem to havr turned his points into some kind of crazy conspiracy theory issue. It's good to see GC specifically addressing that in his last couple of articles.
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