Posts by Maz
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Hard News: There in half the time:…, in reply to Celia W-B,
I was just thinking of our lovely mayor, and there she was.
Celia W-B often passes me with an encouraging "Mads, you need electric power!" - and that's me on a decent road bike going 30+km/h. It's both a joy and a pain in the arse to experience.
I give myself another 7 years; at 60 yo I've decided that I'm allowed a little ease and luxury on my hilly Welly commute, which often starts at 5.15am.
Thanks for a good read, Russell. And well done, Mercury.
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Southerly: Høstens Vemod, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
Hi Ian.
That’s Swedish; maybe that’s why you couldn’t quite get your head around it :-)
Oh, and it was supposed to be a response to the poem you posted much earlier...
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And Richie McCaw is a commercial pilot...
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I don't mind at all that players in general, and McCaw in particular, have opinions and ideologies. In fact, I'd like to see them stand up and say, "this bothers me, but that is great". What really bugs me is the silent just-standing-there-smiling, tacit backing of the Gubmint. The I'm your mate - yness. Handshakes and parliament events.
Be your own person, and stand behind your opinions, but leave all the sleaze.I'm afraid that McCaw might be remembered not just for being an outstanding player and captain, but as a toadie and dirty player.
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Daman, I was having a go at you, so don't for a second think that we agree.
My point is that we do have the resources, that we do have room, space, ability to take many, many more refugees. Net migration is 50000+, gross figures near 100000/year, so we could so easily take tens of thousand refugees.You could argue that people who emigrate via the usual channels are the queue jumpers; that they get in via money, nice western education etc. Why could we not substitute some of them for far more in need Syrians and Afghani? We could and we should.
This is about being human beings and helping out where the need is great, and people are suffering. Screw our solipsistic pettiness.
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Net migration to NZ was approx 60000 last year. "Where are they all going to live? What will they do? What about the language barrier?"
And we're squabbling about a few hundred refugees; shameful and pathetic. We could take tens of thousands, if we just cut back a little on normal immigration. -
"You see to me, it isn’t enough they want to be “exemplary citizens”. They have to want to be New Zealanders as well, or I’m in favour of keeping them out."
Meanwhile, 1.7mio Syrians and 300000 Iraqis have fled, and Turkey is hosting most of them…
And what you mean by being New Zealanders? Do they have to become arch conservative, binge drinkers; rugby lovers who can’t drive, etc etc? Or maybe just good citizens, with their own religion, own world view, who contribute to a real NZ.
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How about all the "queue jumpers" who arrived here in the 19th century? It turned out that they never had death sentences hanging over their heads back in the old country after all; they were merely "economic refugees". Your ancestors - Steve Curtis - were probably among them.
All migration has been in search of a better life - sometimes just of life.
87th is beyond pathetic, and truly shameful.
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Just get on with it - for a million reasons.
We have two (main) languages, two cultures, and we should be proud of both. How can you do that without learning Maori?
It's not a myth that children learn faster/easier. For instance, my god daughter, who lives in Denmark with her Canadian mother, Danish step dad, and visits her German father, spoke three languages fluently before she turned three. She was never taught, she just picked them all up like you'd normally learn only your mother tongue.
It opens your world to other languages, and other cultures, making you a citizen of the World, not just some backwater. You will connect with people and open your own mind. You may even learn to pronounce French place names with emphasis on the correct syllable.
It's fun! Did you see those over joyed pupils on Campbell Live Thursday evening? They were engaged, thrilled, soaking up knowledge, learning and laughing.
It's shameful to let Te Reo Maori languish or even die out.
There's huge intrinsic value in learning other languages. We're so incredibly pragmatic in NZ; everything has to be "good for something", "have practical value", etc. No! Do it just because it's a pleasure, it's fun, it makes you laugh and smile. -
A few glasses of wine is one thing, but stress is definitely a big factor. Oh, and staring at a laptop during the evening.
I can recommend meditation, as even a little bit makes a big difference, staying away from the laptop during the evening, and only using the bed for sex and sleep.
I'd also avoid tea and coffee, not so much because of the caffeine, but because of the diuretic effect; having to get up in the middle of the night is obviously not conducive to a good sleep.
Good luck