Hard News by Russell Brown

"Te Qeada" a very worthy winner and thankfully not one that reminds us of what a lemon the year's been sports-wise.

Not a bad result!

... aside from the typo in the title (unless of course you're going for a late entry: 2007? huh, word that for a year!) ...

... aside from the typo in the title (unless of course you're going for a late entry: 2007? huh, word that for a year!) ...

Sigh ... and once a headline is set on System I can't change it. I'll get the CactusLab guys to fix it soon.

But anyway -- I'm discussing it on Morning Report at 8.50am today. I made the end-of-show novelty slot!

thanks for making the "ironic" point

thanks for making the "ironic" point

Yes. I googled around yesterday and noted that it's been used as ironic shorthand by people on both sides of the debate.

end-of-show novelty spot

hey! you weren't best blog in 2004...

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0411/S00187.htm

<uote>hey! you weren't best blog in 2004...

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU0411/S00187.htm</quote>

Oh, you're right. Some librarian chick was.

So ... we were 2003? And 2007 and 2007 definitely. Did we win it in 2005 too? I've lost track ...

Just checked: we did win in 2005.

I thought there was no awards at all in 2005?

Pretty sure you won in 2003.

The whole of the year thing kinda leaves me at a loss most of the time. For several years there was a sign above the "Open Late Cafe" informing us that it was Metro's night spot of the year 1995 I guess that was ok if your idea of a night out was a "Special Coffee" and a plate of overcooked mussels but I'm sure there were much better places, just not known to all those Metro readers that had just bought overpriced property in Ponsonby ( I guess they couldn't afford to get out much) Squid bar springs to mind as do several others. Maybe retrospect takes a little longer than "well it's December, what shall we vote for as of the year"
However I think Te Queda is a likley and honourable winner, so far but this time next year we could all be thinking "Filibuster" should have been the word or maybe "undemocratic"

Note to self. Must remember not to use double* twice in a post

From a sporting perspective I am relieved to note that “Reconditioning” rated higher than “Rotation” given that it was the more destructive of the 2 crimes.

The trimmed-down version of this on the Sportsfreak forum (no lavish prizes for the best post :) ) returned “choke” as the winner.

I thought there was no awards at all in 2005?

You might be right. This confused me ...

http://interface-7.net/20060520/

yeah, I think they refer to the 2006 awards, which were confusingly held in May, meaning the best of 2006 was decided before half the year was even out.

And nice work on the valid HTML. ;)

Interesting (Netguide award winners 2005)
It may not have been the big awards but you trounced the "Big Boys" on HTML validation ;-)

Public Address Passed HTML validation
Xtra Streaming Failed HTML validation, 170 errors
TVNZ Failed HTML validation, 254 errors
XtraMSN Failed HTML validation, 239 errors
and last but by no means least
David Farrar Failed HTML validation, 101 errors

Fnaa fnaa

This just in, Global Language Monitor has announced its word of the year at http://languagemonitor.com/

Obviously not as geo-topical as the NZ version, but it's "hybrid", which just edged out "surge" in the final months. Not surprising, since GLM tracks words and phrases in the media and on the Internet.

The top smiley is ?-) Pirates rejoice!

And the most understood word on the planet is OK.

Here's GLM's MO:
The analysis was completed using GLM’s Predictive Quantities Indicator (PQI), the proprietary algorithm that tracks words and phrases in the media and on the Internet. The words are tracked in relation to frequency, contextual usage and appearance in global media outlets, factoring in long-term trends, short-term changes, momentum and velocity. GLM’s global network of language observers have nominated English-language words throughout the year from the world over.

Note to self. Must remember not to use double* twice in a post

Could be worse. Here's a wonderful twist on handy grammatical advice.

Don't never not use a triple negative

I thought the cultural relevance of the Open late cafe was good and properly diluted by 1995.

The other legendary Auckland late-night eatery, Brucies burgers, just recently closed. There's now something like a pawn shop in its space, bringing even more class to Victoria Street West.

Where will UB40 and Iron Maiden get their burgers now?

Might you be looking for the word "pawn" by any chance?

it turned up in blog discussions without hours of the news breaking

__Within__?? (and you were dissing S.S.Trusts PR? tsk tsk!)

Must say this word worked me up somewhat.

"Some prominent blacks, like Julian Bond, call ''niggardly'' a ''perfectly good word.'' Others, like Mr. Wilkins and Jesse Jackson, feel that Mr. Howard should get his job back, but that such a confusing word could be avoided. ''You've got to be pretty heavy to get into the Scandinavian roots of a word from two centuries ago,'' Mr. Jackson says. "

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06EFDC1738F932A05752C0A96F958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1