Posts by Hugh Wilson
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Record shopping is indeed one of the greatest joys of travel!
I posted packages back every week when in the US for a month not too long ago - worked out at $5 per album .... well worth it over the longer run given the range / price differences which a place like London would offer, enjoy
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Hard News: The Boom Crash, in reply to Rich of Observationz,
The rail system is radial whereas Punt road is 'cross city' - there is no parallel line as such, but buses ply the route .... buses are seen as very much so the poor cousin in Melbourne, and after catching them daily in Sydney for years I found it was a solid 5 years plus of residing here before I actually caught one ...
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Bit of a tangent, but on the sort of scenario which Auckland might want to avoid, lo and behold an excellent piece on Melbourne's Punt Road & its terrible traffic, prompted by the author being stuck in gridlock at 11 pm one night:
"Punt Road's calcification has rendered families strangers to each other, left parents and children irrevocably alienated. Tell close friends "We're moving … to the other side" and you might as well say "adieu" forever. Each year the St Kilda Festival feels less like a celebration, more like a Korean peninsula family reunion when people separated by politics weep in each other's arms before being forced back to their respective sides."
The above isn't simply dramatization, its pretty much reality ....
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A link to the Metro piece, 'A dream for St Heliers' mentioned above (from a couple of years back):
http://metromag.co.nz/current-affairs/unitary-plan-battle-city-we-deserve/
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Hard News: The Boom Crash, in reply to BenWilson,
Lots of good points, and yes you are right the 'family contribution' isn't available for everyone ... its also worth noting that there is an element of false economy to AKL prices, in that existing owners are only in a position to benefit from recent capital gains if they relocate elsewhere or downsize - selling up to buy in the same 'hot' market is unlikely to improve one's net position drastically (and thus the term 'rat race' ... )
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Hard News: The Boom Crash, in reply to Sacha,
I meant 'lives' in more of a community or lifestyle sense, which are not entirely dependent on cars ... its difficult to articulate in a few brief words, but perhaps you recall that metro article/feature from a few years ago where the author basically described one vision for Auckland which entailed bustling suburban hubs (in this case St Heliers - long anything but bustling) and options for using public transport to get between them (in this case high frequency ferries to the CBD). Put another way, a future where citizens aren't forever tied to their cars on account of where they live and/or a lack of viable PT options ...
For whats its worth, I avoid driving in Melbourne as much as possible, and you are highly unlikely to find me on the roads after 11am on a Saturday- why? because gridlock pretty much envelopes the city every weekend, especially in places like Fitzroy, and you're unlikely to find a car park at your destination anyway ...
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Like some others I watch Auckland’s property market developments from afar, but not that afar, Melbourne. There are a couple of things which perplex me about Auckland prices, including where on earth folks get the $ from. Russell’s opening observation about what is in store for future generations is spot on – picture yourself as 25, fresh out of uni with a $30K student loan debt and ready for a bit of personal indulgence on your $60k p.a salary after years of hardship. Forget the big OE or the nice sports car, for you need to cobble together circa $70k for a deposit quick pronto. Say you can save $10k a year, perhaps a touch more, you might get to that $70k in say 5 years. But by that time prices have jumped up another 12% or so. Continuing for a moment, you’ve reached $70k, hooked up with someone who was semi- responsible as well and has $50k, so you have $120k – if the house you like (by now 2019) is $800k, you’ll more than likely be looking at a mortgage of over $600K for your first property, which means huge monthly repayments of $4k+ dollars minimum in your early 30’s, about the time you might have been contemplating having a child and going to a one income house. A parental contribution will help, but unless its really large it may not make a material difference to the maths. Difficult marco economic balancing act too – the economy slows, and unemployment jumps but lower rates could be more fuel on the housing fire / the economy grows and interest rates need to go up to cap domestic pressures, with collateral impacts...
Anyway, what to do? Haven’t seen any references in the comments to the unitary plan, the cross town rail project or proposed motorway tax. Unfortunately density does need to increase because theres not enough $ to provide the pan-regional infrastructure which will enable the sort of lives that Auckland’s citizens want to lead. It seems that lots of people have tried to have/start this discussion, but it has only made it so far ….
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Big fan of that Tornadoes track (got it on 45), but think it goes in the straight dirty funk drawer as opposed to afrobeat ... anyhow, enough quibbling, good work, and heres a tight funk mix of Kayne samples: 40 records, 20 minutes, 2 turntables
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I enjoyed the Entrain post Russell, having attended one of those south west of Nelson in 93 or 94 … don’t quite recall, but it was in the days of parties like Hura (I think that was it), labels like ‘Flying Rhino’ and shops like Cyberculture. Followed up my sole Entrain attendance with a couple of the early 'Gatherings', and recall the Pitchblack guys camping next to us at one of those !
One a slightly different tip, heres a mix exploring “the spirits of vintage funk and jazz records which have found their way into contemporary rap music” from talented DJ & designed Mike 2600 that I’ve been enjoying & some might like:
https://soundcloud.com/mike2600/music-haunted-by-the-ghosts-of-records-past-vol-iAlso enjoyed Peter Mac’s NZ music mix, which he posted up this week: http://dubdotdash.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/move-on-up-mix-1.html
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Quiet applause here for interesting radio stations. I’ve been delving into internet radio a bit more in recent times having acquired a nifty standalone Rotel component & while I haven’t fully harnessed it’s capabilities as of yet (i.e. one’s PC ‘anchor’), I have been noticing some differences in the level of investment different stations make re: the availing of streams etc. For me the ‘on demand’ facility is key, and in this respect BBC is the standout, allowing me to check the latest shows from the likes of David Rodigan, Benji B & Gilles Peterson whenever I like (typically whilst cooking dinner!).
Dubber tweeted a link to an interesting piece on the growth of digital/internet radio in the UK not long ago (which I can dig up if anyone is interested) & that seemed to underscore what a growth (renaissance) area this currently is thanks to technological advance. I have looked at the WFMU (and Cali’s KRCW ?) but they’re not as advanced as BBC options, nor I suspect – sadly – are the Base FM & BFM ones. Something to keep an eye on, and support should any investment proposals emerge in the near term.