Posts by Russell C
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Was a favourite spot for my old cat to sit on a sunny day (pity if you wanted to put some rubbish in the bin though).
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Po the cat (RIP) on Po.
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How about the following slightly meaningless government faves 'shared services', 'back office' and it's companion 'frontline'.
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Hard News: Introducing: The New Zealand…, in reply to nzlemming,
To be fair, the bulk of the damage to that document occurred before it ever reached Archives New Zealand.
In my informed opinion, the main issue with Archives being part of DIA earlier was being a small cog inside a large wheel, and not a very squeaky one. Being a separate department meant being able to make appropriate professional and technical choices that did not have to intermesh with the rest of DIA, and was not subject to the internal political prioritization that large omnibus departments like DIA (and MED, to a large extent) are prone to. This has made Archives a very effective agency, over the last decade.
One should also remember that Archives New Zealand is the memory of government, not just a repository for anything old. National Library is the place for non-governmental archiving. There is still much concern in the library, archives and recordkeeping communities (another division most people don’t think about) about the impacts of the merger, especially around skilled staff leaving and some absurd technical decisions that I, for one, keep hearing about. Lotus Notes, FFS! And a old version to boot.
Yes, I wasn't referring to damage to the Treaty, that was far far far earlier and another story completely. This whole issue is largely a rerun (albeit one they pushed through second time around) of the then National Government's attempt in 1999 to merge ANZ with Heritage & Culture. Now there's another one that is likely to hauled back into the mothership sooner rather than later. I'll have no problem with it if there is a transparent and accountable reason for it to happen, but I'd be surprised...
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Hard News: Introducing: The New Zealand…, in reply to paynter,
Yes, I certainly recognise that NatLib already had a big change programme underway long before the merger was announced. My point is that in the absence of any measurable criteria for the success or otherwise of the merger and the Minister’s own acknowledgement that there was nothing wrong – that the agencies concerned were doing a good and effective job, that the only driver for it seems to be idealogical. There do not seem to be any rational drivers for it and as there are no measurable goals, there can never be a review point against which to determine whether it was in fact of benefit to the public. History shows us what occurred when last ANZ was part of DIA (and NatLib even longer before that) – let’s hope things will be better this time but I’d like to see some measures associated with the merger to reassure me that my tax paying dollars are being spent wisely in this regard and that we’re not all just subsidising a public sector bashing/vote gathering political stuns that undermine effective services to New Zealanders.
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The government has already brought the two big heritage archives – the National Library collection and Archives New Zealand – together by moving the library, previously its own government department, into the Department of Internal Affairs. I don’t know enough about the issues there to comment, but I haven’t really heard any cries of distress.
Just to change tack a bit and return to another bit of the original post. I’m not so sure the absence of ‘cries of distress’ re Archives and Natlib being merged back in DIA is by itself any sort of good omen. It’s simply not possible for the public servants themselves to speak publicly and I’m sure that the professional bodies (ARANZ, RIMPA etc) are no more enthusiastic now it than they were when it was first mooted. Remind me again what the country gains from the merger? Savings? Where? what are they, where is the post implementation review that outlines the efficiencies and savings? Though not, this merger and others like MFish always smelt like rampant ideology which rarely ever has a good outcome.
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Blake's Seven, anyone?
Funny how they all turn up on each other's programmes - Colin Baker was near the bottom of my favourite Doctors but he's kinda great in this.
apologies, haven't got the hang of embedding youtube in these postings.
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Donna not so much.
You're kidding. You weren't moved by the tragedy of a woman who saves the universe at the cost of forgetting it all, and once again becoming a nobody? You're a brute, sir.I know I know, but the character was so whiny and annoying it made me wish Nissa, Tegan and Adric came back, heck maybe even Turlough.
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Robyn great story,
BTW, my first Doctor - Tom Baker.
Therefore I am tickled by the Pop Bitch story that he is known to shout "Tom's coming!" at the point of orgasm.only disappointed he didn't mention that in in otherwise odd autobiography - Who on Earth is Tom Baker? He is one rather odd man but gotta love his work - wasn't he also in the Narnia TV series as a mudwiggle?
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Have just been rewatching 'the Eleventh Hour' - the first time around I was somewhat underwhelmed by Matt Smith or more likely perhaps the weakness of the alien story. But have to say that on second viewing I'm finding lots to like about his characterization of the Doctor - fish custard brilliant ! Does feel somehow more engaged then Tennant but it's most likely Moffat's script.
Although I too regard Tom Baker as 'my doctor' Eccleston was fantastic with an edge that Tennant never had. In the end I felt that the Tennant doctor was really struggling under the weight of all the emotional baggage that Davies had him carrying. I lost track of all the teary farewells to Rose in the end, were there three or four?
Agree with the others that Amelia Pond "like a character in a fairytale.." is shaping to be a great companion already - as striking in performance as Sally Sparrow (Carey Mulligan) was in Blink. The new Who has certainly not been short of great female characters and performances - Mulligan, Georgia Moffett (is she really Peter Davidson's daughter?), and even Billy Piper did have her moments. Martha and Donna not so much.
Shaping up as a great DW year other than the awful thing they have done to the theme music.
