Posts by Peter Calder
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Russell, Your "monkeys flying out of my butt" reference put me in mind of the great Bernard Levin theatre review, which it resembles rhetorically if not thematically:
"Strictly speaking, I cannot swear that being kicked in the stomach by a horse would be an experience preferable to seeing this play by Signor Giuseppe Marotti because I have never been kicked in the stomach by a horse. But I have seen this play, and I can certainly say that if a kick in the stomach by a horse would be worse, I do not wish to be kicked in the stomach by a horse. And I can certainly add that, unpleasant though the prospect of being kicked in the stomach by a horse may be, I would certainly rather be kicked in the stomach by a horse than see the play again."
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If you use Firefox as a browser (and why anyone would use IE is beyond me), you increase or decrease text size on web pages (and emails and docs and everything) by holding down control (or apple on a mac) and rolling your scroll wheel. Try it once and you will wonder how you lived without it.
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Green co-leader Tariana Turia ... I guess all those Maoris look the same.
and their funny little names all look the same too. Turei/Turia, it's sooooo confusing ...
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I'm going to vote "yes" - as I see it if the bastards don't lose we'll never hear the end of them
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Do you really imagine that the "No" vote won't prevail by three or four to one? I think our best hope is to put about the idea that voting "yes" means "yes, I can smack my kids".
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I agree with Rich's comments about the pointlessness of CIRs and would add that they are very expensive ways of getting predictable answers to meaningless questions, as the history of CIR so far shows. But I cannot for the life of me understand why the question as framed has made it onto the ballot paper. My information is that Baldock chose the wording and the Clerk of the House checked and approved it. The Clerk was required to advertise the proposed wording and take submissions. Did he receive none from supporters of the law? Did somebody who has done Semantics 101 take a look. Why can't the question say: "Do you think that children should not be protected from assault in the same way as adults are, so long as the assailant is one of their parents?"?
As framed, the question is full of undefined assumptions. What is a smack? What is good parental correction? Is it relevant to remark that, as the law stands (and depending on your answer to the two questions above) a smack as part of good parental correction is NOT a criminal offence?
Personally, I think the referendum should say "Do you want liberal chardonnay-drinking socialist namby-pamby liberals who are probably childless and lesbian and hate good honest decent working folk like you to tell you how to bring up your kids?". At least that would be honest. -
Thanks, Russell, for the bulletin about Chris. I was extremely distressed to read the SST story and, if it was inaccurate and alarmist, I am bloody pissed off about it. Perhaps Public Address readers with connections to the SST editor would like to suggest he logs in and posts an explanation. Kia kaha, kia manawanui, Chris, Barbara and family.
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Surprised that you would be shocked at Boyle's fate, which, it seems to me was entirely predictable. Her story has followed the arc of cynical tabloid sensation perfectly - and she has much more of the pack hunt to endure yet. If she offed herself, it would be ideal.
As to whether it shows that such shows as Britain's Got Talent "should" or should not exist, that's like asking whether stable doors should be bolted as the sound of hoofbeats fade in the distance. This is TV now - pillaging people's lives and exploiting their fantasies while ensuring marketing tie-ins and pay-per-message text participation fund the gargantuan profits. The public pays to be exploited.
All reality television - this no more than any other - reminds me of the Romans' gladiators vs lions. If the gladiator kills the lion, he gets to ... fight another lion. What it all says about the corruption of popular culture depresses the shit out of me.
In interviews Melvyn Bragg gave about the demise of the South Bank Show he recalled that it was prime-time TV in the 80s. Indeed it played in the slot that BGT did. Of course, anyone in television would say that they just give the public what they want ... -
A propos of which, is Tim Wilson (TVNZ's New York correspondent, who sits in a studio each night at 2am to introduce footage from partner channels) not a walking breathing example of the gratuitous live cross?
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Re: There were people with a good understanding of the challenges, requirements and problems with the news, and Paul Patrick.
It's scary that he is in charge of One News; scarier still that TVNZ saw him as a credible representative. But Langston's stuff about telling stories visually was glib and begged the question. Yes, Richard, the pix of the Twin Towers falling were better than a description. But after they had fallen?
It's interesting to listen to World Watch on RNZ and note how many of the reports (BBC and CNN) were made for TV but lose nothing by being on radio without pictures. The converse is true: try "watching" a segment of One News without looking at the screen. Then replay it and watch. You will be none the wiser.
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These four entries are not my work but I submit them on behalf of a rugby-league-mad mate who writes the old fashioned-way, with an HB pencil on a piece of paper. His name is Tom.
Time lord Stacy Jones
chips, gathers, throws a dummy
juggles time and space
Step, kick, sprint, Stacy,dance their defenders dizzy
deliver our win
Comes the time, comes Stacelittle general big man
ruling time and space
Halfback Stacy Jonesdances defenders dizzy
rules the NRL