Busytown by Jolisa Gracewood

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Busytown: Sons for the Return Home

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  • Islander, in reply to Paul Williams,

    + alot-

    Big O, Mahitahi, Te Wahi … • Since Feb 2007 • 5643 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    speaking of accents can anyone explain to me why John Key and David Farrar have the same accent - is it some regional Auckland thing that those of us to the south don't know about?

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Rich Lock, in reply to Paul Campbell,

    speaking of accents can anyone explain to me why John Key and David Farrar have the same accent

    Our Illuminati lizard overlords occasionally have some difficulty with their skin suits. It can be difficult to fit their mandibles into a human jawline, and it affects operation of the voicebox.

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report Reply

  • George Darroch,

    The Grey Lynn drawl sounded bloody strange to me the first time I heard a couple of years ago - I'd heard a few bFM folks talk like that, but I'd identified it as a radio voice. No idea where the Key and Farrar thing comes from, but I'd hazard that because teenagers are the most proficient generators of language shifts, it originated in the 1970s and has stuck ever since.

    What strikes me, moving to another place, is how normal shifts. So many little things you end up taking for granted, and not having them leaves a hole where they would have been. Or refreshes you - you realise that a regular occurrence was causing you slight distress, but had become so part of the landscape you'd stopped noticing.

    WLG • Since Nov 2006 • 2264 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    The funny thing is that the Key/Farrar thing is almost but not quite a lisp - but the same one - it's strange. I have to guess that Key, after coming back from years in NY, had some sort of language training to rid himself of the same accent I have, so he could go into politics, maybe it comes from that somehow

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • George Darroch,

    had some sort of language training to rid himself of the same accent I have, so he could go into politics, maybe it comes from that somehow

    I think it’s genuine. Rather, it’s probably stronger than it needs to be.

    Helen Clark has toned hers down since becoming UNDP Administrator. You wouldn’t expect any different; she’s sensitive to her situation. Even as PM, you’d hear quite a variation across situation.

    (And I couldn’t put a video like this here without a plug for Oxfam or the WFP. Think about what a box of your favourite beverage costs, and then send it their way).

    WLG • Since Nov 2006 • 2264 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Paul Campbell,

    why John Key and David Farrar have the same accent

    one is apeing the other in the hopes of impressing? :)

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Carol Stewart, in reply to Paul Campbell,

    can anyone explain to me why John Key and David Farrar have the same accent

    Perhaps they're the same person, Jekyll and Hyde fashion ;-)

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel, in reply to recordari,

    Knit-picing sew & sews...

    Yarn bombing in the burbs. We’re a crafty bunch.

    Knotty, but nice - great wool looping granny's queers?

    But at the risk of casting purls before twine
    and other Aran nonsense from these fair isles
    yew are opening a whole new canopy
    with these stylish tree tops...

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    Maybe I should have said "why do John Key and David Farrar have the same accent, and no one else" .... I was sort of hoping someone would point to someone else who has that particular way of talking, and say something like "everyone from SSE Ponsonby speaks that way"

    (it's just a question that's been bugging me for a year or so)

    Then again, has anyone ever seen them together in the same room?

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    <threadjack>
    fabulous footage from The International Space Station
    Aurora underfoot over the Indian ocean
    the world's wiring revealed...
    </threadjack>

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • recordari, in reply to Paul Campbell,

    Then again, has anyone ever seen them together in the same room?

    No, but...

    AUCKLAND • Since Dec 2009 • 2607 posts Report Reply

  • recordari, in reply to Ian Dalziel,

    Aurora underfoot over the Indian ocean

    Wow! What an electrifying web we weave.

    AUCKLAND • Since Dec 2009 • 2607 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell, in reply to recordari,

    No, but...

    That's more of the superman/Clark Kent, no one notices they are the same guy when he puts on the glasses thing .... when I suspect it's probably more of a latex mask or pod person sort of thing

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen, in reply to Jolisa,

    and a few appliances that I had assumed wouldn’t work, but will be fine with transformers.

    While it is true that appliances will work on transformers you need to remember that it is a net loss of energy. Transformers get warm that tells you you are wasting energy. Also any appliance with a big current draw will need a big transformer so you need space on the bench for the appliance AND the transformer.

    So the take home message is the bread maker we brought home and still use was a worthwhile option, especially since they weren't common here back then. But several other appliances have simply been replaced with kiwi versions.

    As always, happy to provide contradictory and internally inconsistent advice :).

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Campbell,

    I would agree - bring electronics and use transformers, anything with a heater or a light probably isn't worth it

    If you are planning on using transformers bring a few US power strips and extension cords if you think you'll need them

    Dunedin • Since Nov 2006 • 2623 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    What did you make of Virginia Larson’s editorial in the latest North and South?

    I can't recall the last time I've picked up north and south - it not being freely available online and all that. Should I?

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Rich Lock, in reply to Bart Janssen,

    As always, happy to provide contradictory and internally inconsistent advice :).

    All that science training wasn't wasted, then? :)

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report Reply

  • Carol Stewart, in reply to Kyle Matthews,

    Should I?

    In a word - no.
    The editorial I mentioned was a beatup on academics in general and Auckland University academics in particular. not very edifying.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report Reply

  • Bart Janssen, in reply to Rich Lock,

    All that science training wasn't wasted, then? :)

    Well from the perspective of learning to write confusing and ultimately pointless documents, no not at all.

    And while I do get paid well enough now jeez I could have made much more money elsewhere, so yes wasted.

    It's been fun though, except for the bits that weren't fun, and interesting, apart from the repetitive boring bits.

    However, considering the data obtained thus far and after and exhaustive literature survey, I'm not sure.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 4461 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha, in reply to Carol Stewart,

    a beatup on academics

    does my mortgage look fat in this anti-intellectualism?

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Carol Stewart,

    Threadswerve - is anyone else mildly distressed at the Labour election pamphlet that arrived today in the post?
    Picture of $100 note - message that Labour policies will put more money in your pocket.
    Since when did Labour stand for naked self interest? In the last election, I seem to remember that National's schtick was that tax cuts would put more money in your pocket.
    I have voted Labour all my life but I really am on the verge of voting Green this time round, as I think they have done a far better job of articulating their values. Their 'For a richer New Zealand' campaign is brilliant.

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 830 posts Report Reply

  • James Butler, in reply to Carol Stewart,

    Since when did Labour stand for naked self interest? In the last election, I seem to remember that National's schtick was that tax cuts would put more money in your pocket.

    There's the problem right there - it worked. And with Labour so bereft of ideas and vision at the moment, "well it worked for them!" might just be a tempting strategy.

    Auckland • Since Jan 2009 • 856 posts Report Reply

  • Venetia King, in reply to Paul Campbell,

    I even went into the local NZ Immigration dept office in Dunedin asking if they had any giveaways for new immigrants ... I walked away empty handed.

    I looked for that kind of information a while back, for an English relative who didn't end up leaving the UK (so what we found wasn't tested). Local & central government seem to have got better at this, e.g. the Immigration NZ sites like the SSNZ one that Sacha pointed to, and New Zealand Now which is maybe more appropriate for returning NZers.

    Auckland Council just provides a series of links, whereas Wellington provides a fairly comprehensive PDF (although it's a little out of date, with an intro from our now former mayor, and obsolete information about the recycling service).

    There are probably non-govt sites with better information, but PA System may well be all you need :)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 117 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Still for new settlers rather than returnees and only for the Auckland region, the migrants service have launched a new website:
    http://www.settlement.org.nz/

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

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