Posts by Sam F

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  • Hard News: Rain on his parade,

    When I was
    a young boy
    my father
    took me into the city...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Hard News: A bit tacky, no?,

    Paul Williams wrote of Whaleoil's relationship to his lumpen-commentariat:

    ...he needs them and, IMO, doesn't always mind their gutter commentary, particularly if it saves him from saying it.

    Your "IMO" is prudent but sadly not necessary. If you require proof, witness this exchange on Whaleoil's report on the death.

    One Monty writes:

    God the thought of the bitch giving me mouth to mouth would be enough to ensure that I toughed out any heart-attack. Mind you when did she last Kiss (mouth to mouth) any male?

    Now watch the bitch try and make political capital out of this death. On the positive one less Labour voter.

    (Thank god you don’t give demerits Whale)

    To which our magnanimous and even-handed replies:

    On the contrary I’ll give you bonus points for those comments.

    Truly, a voice for freedom.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Hard News: The newest neocon catastrophe,

    The most recent historical parallel I can think of is the British Empire, which as we know only existed to bring englightenment and the benefits of civilisation to those who desperately needed it.

    Just in case everyone hasn't heard about China enough lately, the official imperial discourse out of Beijing for a large part of the last two thousand years was angled in just the same language of 'bringing englightenment and the benefits of civilisation to those who desperately needed it'. This Confucian enlightenment was so marvellously humanitarian that China generally only expected tribute payments rather than military surrender from its neighbours, except of course when obeisance wasn't forthcoming (cue numerous invasions of Vietnam and Korea over the centuries).

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Hard News: The newest neocon catastrophe,

    Aren't the Russians being neocons too in their own way? Seeking to achieve your desired economic / security situation by military bullying would be my definition of a neocon foreign policy.

    Not seeking to claim that military bullying isn't part of a neocon position, but any definition of neocon foreign policy that lets us apply the prefix "neo" to every expansionist culture in history is kind of wanting...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Speaker: It’s Beijing, but not as…,

    Come on, Mark. Let's hear from you. You're over there.

    Yep, agreed...no tongue biting

    Thirded, with a vengeance.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Hard News: Heard any good tunes lately?,

    Heh. And I thought Snoop Dogg and Willie Nelson was going to be the most unusual collaboration of the year...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Hard News: Beijing: Ignoring it is not…,

    If the intent of the show is to highlight unsolved cases, why isn't it called "Unsolved Murders"? I would have thought that would be interesting enough on its own. Dispense with the psychics (and save the program some money).

    I would tend to agree. It's a sad day when NZ tellymakers have to resort to psychics when angling a cheap, exploitative programme to the lowest common denominator. Weren't we doing a good enough job of that already?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Island Life: Let’s learn English, with…,

    Love the photo of Key's rubbish strewn across the lawn.

    *peers*

    I see a fair bit of McDonald's packaging strewn around there. Now, I'm not familiar with rubbish disposal in Helensville and welcome enlightenment from other PASers, but if we're talking plastic bags and if there are stray dogs in that electorate, I think we might have found likely suspects.

    In before Labour's running dogs, etc.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Hard News: Food Show 08,

    Indeed.

    And nowhere is the designed-by-committee PowerPointitude of Starbucks more obvious than in the miserable copywritten words printed all over the tables and the mass-produced "artworks" on the walls. These phrases and stories are meant to bring to mind the cosmopolitan culture you associate with a real cafe, which means they've been designed with all the necessary words to tick specific "evocative" boxes on a focus group questionnaire somewhere. In a word: ick.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

  • Hard News: Food Show 08,

    One of which, based on my one and only visit, seems to be hiring staff who are too socially inept to find work in high end fashion retail or silver service restaurants. While there are real improvements on that score, I wonder how many cafes and restaurants would still be in business today if they got the idea of service.

    Ouch. Perhaps I might have been taking Starbucks as an excessively low baseline for comparison. At least, several places manifestly better than Starbucks as far as I have been able to gauge over the last four years. I presume this wasn't Dunk you're talking about?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1611 posts Report

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