Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Friday Gold: An email exchange with Michael Laws

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  • Sacha,

    what did you think of The Name of the Rose ?

    Connery and Slater were great.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • Bruce Wurr,

    oh my god. focault's pendulum. Completely crosseyed after that one.....and it took me 2 months......

    Auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 97 posts Report

  • Rich of Observationz,

    Does anyone actually have a mayor they wholeheartedly approve of?

    If we had council leaders indirectly elected by a majority of councillors, they'd have to have the confidence of a wider section of opinion and not just be the person who could start the biggest bandwagon.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report

  • Rich of Observationz,

    Foucault's Pendulum

    Isn't that all plagiarised from The Da Vinci Code?

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report

  • giovanni tiso,

    Heh...

    So, when can we start the book club? I have a whole thing about The Name of the Rose and Foucault's Pendulum and the limits of interpretation but I can't express it in fewer than three thousand words and I need a captive audience. By which I mean actual abductees, I'm not speaking metaphorically.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Tony Kennedy,

    CWB gets my vote too, even if I am in Ireland.

    As for Mr. Laws he would have problems over here as well.

    Then again he might be perfect as mayor of here

    BTW what happened to the Weliington Lions? go away and they cant win a game.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 225 posts Report

  • Rich of Observationz,

    Prejudice against the rural poor is legitimate in our society

    Rural poor? Or rural stupid? The mechanism of how Whanganui and similar places get their redeckness is typically that the town has no culture or interesting work, so people with a brain leave as soon as they can. Which of course self-perpetuates.

    Mind you, I just visited some towns in rural California that were nice places inhabited by nice middle class Democrats. How did that happen? Well, when the mines died, there was no welfare, so the ex-miners had to leave or starve. Hence the rednecks got flushed, and the town got populated by middle-class liberals with dollars and hobby businesses. Ironic, really?

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report

  • giovanni tiso,

    Rural poor? Or rural stupid? The mechanism of how Whanganui and similar places get their redeckness is typically that the town has no culture or interesting work, so people with a brain leave as soon as they can. Which of course self-perpetuates.

    Kindly substitute New Zealand for Whanganui and observe what an offensive argument that is. Although I suppose since you're currently in England maybe not.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    I enjoyed reading this, I like where you're coming from Giovanni.

    Laws must be the least self-aware person I've ever come across. Apart from calling putting the 'h' in Wanganui "racist"

    yeah. If he still had his debating head screwed on he'd avoid the race card and play up the antidemocratic angle.

    Seems to me this whole kerfuffle is just another case of a small country grabbing attention by getting every whucking cartographer on the planet to revise and reissue.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    o, beaten to it....again.

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/2879825/Laws-Sharples-doesn-t-get-democracy

    regardless of however much character assassination quenches the nation's thirst. The fact is that if the national Geographic board wanted to come and change my name to Tark Maslov despite me unanimously voting to keep the staus quo I'd probably be pretty angry too, and my vitriol has been known to dredge filthier depths than 'jerk, jerk, jerk'.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

  • Sacha,

    a small country grabbing attention

    Part of growing up as a nation, perhaps. And of a whimpering fear-filled backlash against the inevitability of our nation's increasingly young and brown face, and of the sheer variety of faces and voices (and possibilities).

    How can we support the scared without disowning our future?

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    While that was beautifully written Sasha, I think we're forgetting that our nation's name is a mispelling of Zeeland.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

  • Caleb D'Anvers,

    Foucault's Pendulum

    Isn't that all plagiarised from The Da Vinci Code?

    Well played, Sir.

    London SE16 • Since Mar 2008 • 482 posts Report

  • giovanni tiso,

    The fact is that if the national Geographic board wanted to come and change my name to Tark Maslov despite me unanimously voting to keep the staus quo I'd probably be pretty angry too,

    The thing is, the geographical board has simply stated what they think the name of the town ought to be according to the kind of considerations that fall within the purvey of a geographical board. They're not supposed to poll the preference of the populace or empowered to do anything other than advise the government on this matter. Now it's up to Williamson to come up with a way of implementing that suggestion, and conceivably there could be a double name or other ways to accommodate the will of the locals. It seems to me (and I may be wrong, I didn't follow it quite that closely) that it's Laws who jumped the gun on this, for obvious reasons of political gain. But he's open to the double name solution himself, and it may yet end up that way.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • James Butler,

    Foucault's Pendulum

    Isn't that all plagiarised from The Da Vinci Code?

    Yeah, and The Name of the Rose is a rip-off of the Brother Cadfael series.

    Auckland • Since Jan 2009 • 856 posts Report

  • giovanni tiso,

    I think we're forgetting that our nation's name is a mispelling of Zeeland.

    Well put, Tark.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    That's like our style man y'know...

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    They're not supposed to poll the preference of the populace or empowered to do anything other than advise the government on this matter.

    o ture bro? thanks for mentioning that, I haven't been following to closely, I just noticed a lot of 'h's started appearing in all the wrong places and I don't even particularly like 'h' nor do i like Mr Laws, but I like some people from Wanganui so I thought i'd weigh in.

    increasingly young and brown face, and of the sheer variety of faces and voices (and possibilities).

    How can we support the scared without disowning our future?

    I think we could offer more than an 'h' to the 'brown faces'.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    I think keeping it as Wanganui is better in that the original Iwi pronounced it W'anganui, and outsiders pronounced it Whanganui. The way things are with river being spelt with the 'h' seems truer to the original thing.

    But if that variety isn't enough for you Sacha, perhaps you could get behind me and my buddy Tom's movement to revert Timaru to 'Te Tihi-o-Maru'.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

  • Sacha,

    our nation's name is a mispelling of Zeeland

    The perils of having more than one thread about the same topic.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    Ha ha, i'm clearly behind the times. Still, join our movement?

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

  • Sacha,

    I think we could offer more than an 'h' to the 'brown faces'.

    For sure. And I need to hear more about the whole flag issue. Seen some saying the Maori Party are being bought off with symbolic baubles but that often seems like sour grapes from Labourites, without more context.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • Sacha,

    Insufficiently motivated by Timaru. However, there are a couple of suitably connected folk hereabouts.

    (candyman)

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • mark taslov,

    For sure. And I need to hear more about the whole flag issue. Seen some saying the Maori Party are being bought off with symbolic baubles but that often seems like sour grapes from Labourites, without more context.

    Yeah, not a week goes by when I don't contemplate the flag, last month was partial to a b/w version of the Canadian with a fern replacing the maple leaf, this month been thinking more about the some way to iconize the shape of the land, perhaps even turning the flag portrait wise so all poles had to hang off the sides of buildings and could be used for impromptu exercise ala chin ups and more advanced parallel bar work.

    Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Mar 2008 • 2281 posts Report

  • Islander,

    O, right in my area: Te-oha-a-Maru, Te Tihi-a-Maru, me Te-umu-kaha...BUT, while a lot of Kai Tahu know about this, we're not paticularly fussed about the regular useages - you see, Oamaru, Timaru, and Temuka still have meaning, and the olds were notorious for breathing (rather than enunciating) last or internal vowels (and also deeply relished sound wordplay)- I was reliably informed by a very old & respected taua, that, in her childhood Akaroa (Whangaroa elsewhere) was pronounced "ark ror"

    -new-sealand- hell, played with that idea quarter of a century ago - but ANZ will do just fine by me-

    flag issues?

    This could be whole new thread-

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

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