The past is a different country, for sure.

provoking ... "test match sized" audiences

First thought: so stuff-all people watched it? Weren't one-day matches introduced because no-one watched test matches?

Then: Oh.

I do vaguely recall lots of people staying up really late to listen(?) to the Cavaliers games from South Africa.

First thought: so stuff-all people watched it? Weren't one-day matches introduced because no-one watched test matches?

Then: Oh.

Graeme: assimilated. Tick.

Wikipedia – George Grey

I do vaguely recall lots of people staying up really late to listen(?) to the Cavaliers games from South Africa.

The first rugby test match to be televised was
the England-Scotland match at Twickenham in 1938(!) and the first to feature the All Blacks was a match at Murrayfield in?

Hope they also dig out that old Glyn Tucker/Ernie Leonard vehicle from the same era, 'The Club Show'.

That was beaut.

PJ Montgommery did the commentary, Keith Quinn did the pre-match sideline bit. Yup; TVNZ has come a long way alright.

First live test via satellite was?

This was because the Rugby Union was worried attendance at the games would drop off.

So the TV schedules in the Listener etc would have something?

PJ Montgommery did the commentary, Keith Quinn did the pre-match sideline bit. Yup; TVNZ has come a long way alright.

Why is it that NZ is ageist in this way?

I caught the final story on 60 Minutes last night. Not only was it an interesting human interest story (somethin?

There will be optional name-tags on which you may write your screen-name

Oh, goody. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to come as Whaleoil, Redbaiter, or Dad4Justice.

I'd go as Craig. Now, where's my top hat and monacle?

Dude, that's Tom.

Just In: Phil Spector has been found guilty of murder.

That dude has been unstable for forty years. I remember reading he made Ronnie drive with a life-size male dummy in the passenger seat of her car so no other guy would try to pick her up. And didn't he?

And in these days of extra choices, I can?t really see it being beaten.

BTW, to be pedantic, pretty sure the test in 84 was in Australia. Better viewing time for general public.

You'll know Sam by his robe and wizard hat.

Dude, that's Tom.

I'm afraid to say that I have yet to find a monocle that suits me.

Dude, that's Tom..."

Wot, this Tom?

I wouldn't wear a monacle. Or a monocle. And definitely not any manacles.

Just trying to remember, was the 1975 water polo test at Eden Park the first test televised in colour?

And didn't he threaten practically everyone in the studio with a gun? John Lennon

Are you saying we ought to reopen that case?

(what? too soon?)

That was my first all black memory. What a try that was, you should watch it again some time.?

Matches from the UK before that were screened here in colour.

How lovely, Russell. I'll go if some other PAS womens' XV go. I'm just afraid I'll make a dick of myself otherwise.

Make what arrangements you need to Jackie, but I'm looking forward to meeting you. Don't let me down now ;-)

I say we all wear monocles.

I say we all wear age-appropriate and reality-based underwear, and let everthing else take care of itself.

Whaleoil's actually registered here, so there's the delightful possibility that he'll attend as himself.

He has previously declined to attend other blogger drinks on grounds of refusing to fraternise with "the enemy" (yeah, seriously ...), so I don't expect we'd be seeing him.

Don't let me down now

Hmm. Now I guess I'll have to promise not to
pinch any bottoms.

There will be optional name-tags on which you may write your screen-name

Make sure there's also space for people's Twitter name. Damian Christie can use the space to express his lack of excitement.

And Wellingtonians: stay tuned. We're working on a similar meet-up in the capital too.

Hurry up, ehoa!

Hmm. Now I guess I'll have to promise not to
pinch any bottoms.

Just ensure you engage in equal-opportunity bottom pinching. That's what I'd do.

If, y'know, people set up a fund so I could commute to Thursday drinks...

You'll know me by my smoking jacket.

You'll know Sam by his robe and wizard hat.

If this is going to be Sci-Fi/Fantasy dress-up, then I'm quite happy to bring along my spare set of BSG Cylon battle armour for you, Paul.

It's no trouble, really.

You'll know Sam by his robe and wizard hat.

This is so people can recognise me from the copyright thread as a high-level Master of the Obvious.

a high-level Master of the Obvious

Sam, I would like to buy the rights to that phrase as a variant title for my biopic.

I think it would be fine if people came dressed as their avatars.

Great. Now I have to find a chihuahua in a tuxedo.

Sam, I would like to buy the rights to that phrase as a variant title for my biopic.

I'm pretty sure any phrase that's been made into an image macro is in the public domain, so knock yourself out.

Great. Now I have to find a chihuahua in a tuxedo.

Hey, I'd have to practice significant self-harm in the form of some extreme piercing by means of a giant pencil. But fortunately this thing's in Auckland.

And Wellingtonians: stay tuned. We're working on a similar meet-up in the capital too.

Hurry up, ehoa!

The current ETA is May

I think it would be fine if people came dressed as their avatars

Hmm. I will have find out how Tom Hanks did that age-reversal thing in Big. Don't think I could squeeze into that lovely woolly jersey any more

pretty sure the test in 84 was in Australia.?

He has previously declined to attend other blogger drinks on grounds of refusing to fraternise with "the enemy" (yeah, seriously ...), so I don't expect we'd be seeing him.

I'd not rush to disabuse him of his prejudices... they might work to everyone's benefit.

He has previously declined to attend other blogger drinks on grounds of refusing to fraternise with "the enemy" (yeah, seriously ...), so I don't expect we'd be seeing him.

I didn't think 13-year olds were allowed in licensed bars, unless he could persuade a parent to attend.

I didn't think 13-year olds were allowed in licensed bars, unless he could persuade a parent to attend.

Perhaps we could change the venue to Valentines or Cobb & Co.

Perhaps we could change the venue to Valentines or Cobb & Co.

Cobb & Co. Disappointingly flimsy pirate ships full of fries for all!

Perhaps we could change the venue to Valentines or Cobb & Co.

I've always wanted to try both of those places. My partner won't let me until I'm seventy and become of age again.

Perhaps we could change the venue to Valentines or Cobb & Co.

Cobb & Co. Disappointingly flimsy pirate ships full of fries for all!

And everyone gets a free Traffic Light

And everyone gets a free Traffic Light

This is the only time you'll ever hear me say this, but I'd prefer a Jedi Knight instead please.

Perhaps we could change the venue to Valentines or Cobb & Co.

Perhaps we could just tell the Oily One that's where it is, while we all go somewhere more sophisticated.

Like the McCafe.

I've always wanted to try both of those places. My partner won't let me until I'm seventy and become of age again.

You don?t need to wait that long.

Valentine?s is perfect for 8 year-old birthday parties.

(Disclaimer: I enjoy a good beetroot salad)

I think it would be fine if people came dressed as their avatars.

Ain't shavin' my skull Gio :)

And I've just noticed that The Quadrant is, in fact, the old Intercontinental. Who'd a thunk it?

Isn't the Intercontinental now the Hyatt? The Quadrant is next door.

I think it would be fine if people came dressed as their avatars.

Sorry. Can't come – I've just given my cat suit away to the Sallies.

personally I just don't want to be arrested for being naked ....

Actually Paul, if someone who looked like your avatar turned up I would really freak out ...

Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed?

You will not provoke me with your claims of topicality.

Besides, those of us?

I find it slightly disconcerting that adults now read stories written for children, while adult fiction is largely unread.

Adult fiction is read just as much, and very probably more, than it ever has. But a lot more people read, and watch. And what we read, and watch, is largely?

E M Forster, in Aspects of the Novel, responded to the claim that a novel was a good story with "oh dear."

Yes, gods forbid anyone should read for pleasure. Make the peasants work for it.

LOTR... Proving that lawyers can take anything and pick it to pieces my property law lecturer – the Completely Frickn Awesome Richard Boast, do see him?

E M Forster, in Aspects of the Novel, responded to the claim that a novel was a good story with "oh dear."

I kind of like Philip Larkin's idea of "A beginning, a muddle and an end"

E M Forster, in Aspects of the Novel, responded to the claim that a novel was a good story with "oh dear."

I kind of like Philip Larkin's idea of "A beginning, a muddle and an end"

E M Forster, in Aspects of the Novel, responded to the claim that a novel was a good story with "oh dear." By which he meant that a novel should be so much more than its story, which he regarded as something of an unfortunate necessity.

I remember a young?

I don't know whether anyone will still have the?

I kind of like Philip Larkin's idea of "A beginning, a muddle and an end"

I come to PAS for the oysters, but I stay for the pearls.

I kind of like Philip Larkin's idea of "A beginning, a muddle and an end"

Note that this idea applies equally to 3rd-year essays, particularly those on the RMA. And even more particularly to those that are due soon & whose authors shouldn't be arsing about on the internet.

classics of genre fiction

I love how a thread getting diverted onto televised scifi is the work of the devil, but literature is just fine thanks...

That is not a fact; it is an opinion, and you know it.

Ah, but Giovanni didn't say which was which, which takes it from an opinion to a truism, which is truer than any fact, and that's a fact.

Peter, Amazon have now removed adult books from their rankings. They say its a glitch but a hacker claims credit

But I don't think I will.

"We are grey, we stand between the darkness and the light"

I am now just woried that I knew where that came from without looking it up. It is going to worry me all day!

That is not a fact; it is an opinion, and you know it.

Of course it's an opinion. It's also an opinion I shall take to my grave. And I'm not the only one who holds that our contemporary mythologies, that you group under the rubric of "genre literature" and?

Well, I call it a star. It's a gold-painted baseball bat drilled out and filled with concrete, but the principle is much the same.

Gio, you can have my Gold Star.

Well, I call it a star. It's a gold-painted baseball bat drilled out and filled with concrete, but the principle is much the same.

I went from yay, gold star to oh, please don't hurt me.

Butting in: on Thursday is it okay for those of us from Wellington to attend if we are in town? If so, do we have to wear something that identifies us as visitors to the city? A Hurricanes away strip for example?

I hate fancy dress, so no need for?

do we have to wear something that identifies us as visitors to the city?

Some visual representation of a stiff breeze?

Great. I'll be there. I may be slightly late as I have to transport a bunch of opera singers into town from Onehunga

There's a joke in that somewhere ...

so if a free drink could be saved for me (bloody free-loading arts practitioners) I'd appreciate it!

Done.

I hate fancy dress

Never been into wearing it, but enjoy talking about it and watching others participate in it. Having said which I'm likely to be too tired to make it tomorrow no matter what I'm wearing. We'll see.

Lordy, what did you do -

Ask for a Heineken or Steinlager?

... although Italian scribes at dawn would hardly be my weapon of choice for the bash.

Giovanni, you are still doing that fact and opinion thing again. The fact of Eco liking pulp doesn't close the case. It is just another opinion.

It's a very cogently argued opinion that most people have come round to and that is pretty much the foundation of contemporary cultural studies.?

I'm feeling a strong sense of deja vu, and it's harshing the buzz I get from simply being alive.

Oh, I note that Jack Ross has written a truly amazing post over at the Imaginary Museum about unpacking his comics library. Sensational stuff.

Thank you for that Giovanni. Some bloody nice memories in there...

At the risk of mischief, Nick Lowe's 'The Art of the Well-Tempered Plot Device

Wherein you will find a new sport involving books everyone can agree to hate, which can be played at the pub:

Clench Racing

This is a social and?

They said it would never happen. They even said the original didn't exist any more. But there it is, freshly uploaded to NZ On Screen: Episode 1 of The Governor.

Great news. And there's an excellent game of "spot the producer/journo/politician/now-famous actor etc" to be enjoyed while watching the series.?

Great news. And there's an excellent game of "spot the producer/journo/politician/now-famous actor etc" to be enjoyed while watching the series. Damn near everyone in the country was in The Governor as a bit part player or an extra. Oooh, the agonies of those corsets...

Are you in Ep 1? I?

Pretending to BE me is optional.

For Wellington I nominate Giovanni. I have a dress he can wear and everything.

Yes, but is it floral and does it expose my upper arm flab?

No, and yes. I was going for sleeveless on account of that pencil.

If I say I will, do I get 2 drinks? :)

Yes if you wear two nametags? Not really up to me, I guess.

Yes if you wear two nametags?

In that case I'll go with your tag and have one drink.It will be my pleasure.;) I get a bit messy after a few anyhow.(benefits of medication)

Just come back from Hammy town so I'm having a short break and then heading out.

Could you swing by Berhampore while you're at it?

Firstly – if I don't immediately recognise people and remember their entire posting history at a glance, please be patient. It's one thing discussing things on screen, and another in real life.

Secondly – if anyone lets any 'BSG' or 'wire' spoilers slip, then there will be blood.....

Time management skills: I do not haz them.

Have fun, you lot. I can't come, because I am pathetically writing a Dumb Library School assignment, due tomorrow. Which I haven't started. Naturally.

Time management skills: I do not haz them.

Fff, Danielle, you didn't make the boat, either. I'm starting to think you don't really exist.

Have fun,?

Can't spot my starring nano-second in this ep, and it's so long ago I can't remember which one it was. But there a good number of familiar (and very young) faces in there. NZ politicians had kittens that TVNZ was making a series that cost?

Fff, Danielle, you didn't make the boat, either. I'm starting to think you don't really exist.

Argh. Please don't mention the boat. It's a source of neverending regret (but I had a really good reason, honestly). I think Russell is deliberately timing these things to coincide with my other commitments.?

A few of us tottered off to have great, cheap Malaysian food. But if I told you where, Tze Ming would have to kill you ...

I look forward?

You'll recognize it easily – it's the one that Nabokov never lived in/lived near/visited.

You live in that house? Cool. But seriously, I've always been fascinated by Ithaca. It must be a groovy place except when you leave for a holiday it takes ages to find the way back and?

I've always been fascinated by Ithaca. It must be a groovy place except when you leave for a holiday it takes ages to find the way back and by the time you finally return only the dog will know who you are.

Also, you have to keep a really sharp?

Is Tze Ming still in town?

No, in London. But she provides remote intelligence.

Craig – I can confirm that my breasts are all natural, just in case there was any lingering doubt.

Linda and all the other lurkers: come, join usss......there will be no more struggle or pain. All you have to do?

Cool bar too.

Emma, you were fantastic company by proxy. You and I had a number of drinks and quite a few ciggies together. You were also impeccably behaved, and I think you may have enchanted a few people. Sofie did you proud.

Excellent. Obviously I should not-go to things more often. My?

It's already begun.

>>>>
NZPA
>>>>
17-4-2009 8.43am

First sites shut down.

2 websites claiming additional assaults were committed by Broadcaster Tony Veitch have been shut down following an initial injunction obtained by?

It is interesting, though, because I would have thought to commit defamation a person's good name would have to be harmed. In Veitch's case, the previous?

It is interesting, though, because I would have thought to commit defamation a person's good name would have to be harmed.

Ah, but how many bloggers can afford that level of lawyer to fight him?

I found the original thread, all 53 pages of it about ten minutes ago. By and large I think people were commenting on what was being reported in the media and it was fairly civil towards him. Just not so civil towards each other at times ;)

It?

http://publicaddress.net/system/topic,1487,hard_news_history_is_now.sm

Ah, but how many bloggers can afford that level of lawyer to fight him?

Indeed. Veitch's defence has always been well funded. But he has probably spent just as much on PR.

This shiny new one:

http://publicaddress.net/5822

Although by the same token I was hoping for more tales of debauchery. What's with this civilised and urbane nonsense?

Things did get a bit out of hand when the hot-buttered dwarves escaped from their cage, but we managed to round them up fairly quickly.

Philip, I'm inclined to agree. This is my memory, and Trish talked to many other people who were around at the time. TVNZ had a?

Jackie/Paul/ et al – great to meet you all..
Thanks Russell for a lovely night.
Ughn [Lurking curtain falls...]

Things did get a bit out of hand when the hot-buttered dwarves escaped from their cage

Dwarves – another thing to hate Tolkein for.

And Rich, we're not allowed to call them dwarves any more, remember?

Although "hot-buttered little people" doesn't quite work.

Dwarves-with-a-v are the hi-ho-hi-ho-very-fast-over-short-distances fantasy-only variety.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080922220419AAnHTcI

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050501/COMMENTARY/50429001

(I do exist IRL, though, because someone originally from Italy is my Facebook friend. And Kyle went to school with me! Didn't you, Kyle?)

I can indeed confirm that Danielle was real up until about November 1991. She might have turned into an AI programme or a zombie since then?

It should however be noted that I have made up for my sad non-attendance last night by following our host's lead and sampling te Talisker o Point Chev, so my?

What on earth were you doing in there?

Scandal! Now we're talking..

18yrold Lagavulin

For that, I suspect Russell would be tempted to schedule a special gathering in your rohe.

There will never a PAS gathering at Big 0

Don't see why not, they hold McGillicuddy gatherings there. Seems like the very place for whisky and fun.

(bugger my link doesnt work...)