Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: Unreasonable people vote

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  • Josh Addison,

    It's good to know that the Culture Warriors of the US have identified the real problem with the country: bears.

    Truly beyond parody.

    And yet, wasn't that in an episode of the Simpsons years ago? (Not going to hunt it down on YouTube while at work...)

    Onehunga, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 298 posts Report Reply

  • Andre Alessi,

    Every Canadian I have met has been deeply ashamed. It's like their default setting or something.

    Devonport, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 864 posts Report Reply

  • Steve Parks,

    It's good to know that the Culture Warriors of the US have identified the real problem with the country: bears.

    Truly beyond parody.

    And yet, wasn't that in an episode of the Simpsons years ago? (Not going to hunt it down on YouTube while at work...)

    Yep, the one Rich was referencing.

    Wellington • Since May 2007 • 1165 posts Report Reply

  • Amy Gale,

    I don't even understand how my ancestral peeps survived in the fetid swamps of Louisiana, to be honest. Alligators, giant flying cockroaches and one thousand percent humidity. What an appealing prospect.

    Seriously. Every winter I wonder why on earth anyone settled here in the first place. In their shoes I'd be hiking south as fast as I could.

    The environment control thing really has to be seen to be believed. Heating a building enough that the pipes don't freeze and you don't have to wear everything you own is one thing. Heating it to the extent that you not only don't need a sweater but can't wear one because you'd die of heatstroke is quite another. Also - without a word of a lie - the same indoor temperature that people want in winter is typically considered unbearable in summer and addressed with heavy doses of a/c.

    tha Ith • Since May 2007 • 471 posts Report Reply

  • Lucy Stewart,

    Seriously. Every winter I wonder why on earth anyone settled here in the first place. In their shoes I'd be hiking south as fast as I could.

    I believe a lot of the Mayflower Pilgrims basically froze to death because they were expecting (reasonably, really) English-style winters. Which was somewhat not what they got.

    Also - without a word of a lie - the same indoor temperature that people want in winter is typically considered unbearable in summer and addressed with heavy doses of a/c.

    Which actually gets seriously uncomfortable in the summer because you have to keep cardigans and jerseys around indoors to not freeze to death, the a/c is on so high. Admittedly some of that is psychosomatically induced by the outdoor temperatures, but during the brief heatwave I experienced in August I actually most liked being at home, where we practiced traditional Kiwi methods of cooling: opening all the windows and putting a fan on. Cool enough to be bearable, not so cold that going outside was a complete shock to the system.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 2105 posts Report Reply

  • Danielle,

    Also - without a word of a lie - the same indoor temperature that people want in winter is typically considered unbearable in summer and addressed with heavy doses of a/c.

    I have been dying to rant about this for eight hours, because it is so true. They spend winter cranking up the central heating to ridiculous levels in some bizarre obsession with 'cosiness', giving everyone trying to sleep in the house night sweats. Then as soon as summer comes, a similar level of night-sweating is suddenly (and justly for me, because I enjoy a certain level of briskness while sleeping) cause for great concern! Madness.

    Charo World. Cuchi-cuchi!… • Since Nov 2006 • 3828 posts Report Reply

  • Petra,

    Rotorua • Since Mar 2007 • 317 posts Report Reply

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