Posts by Robyn Gallagher

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  • Hard News: Some things you may not know,

    folks tend to forget her Room of One's Own, came with enough money to hire an ill-paid servant to clean it.

    I have several rooms of my own and I can barely be bothered cleaning any of them, which, um, must provide a great background for me to be fruitful and creative.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • Island Life: Bad Lieutenants,

    There's a funny anecdote about Sydney cops in John Birmingham's book "Leviathan: The Unauthorised History of Sydney". There was a joint drug sting going on with the New South Wales and Victoria police which resulted in a large quantity of cocaine was seized. Each state filed their own report on the seizure, and it was noted that the NSW cops had reported less coke seized than the Vic cops. It turned out that the NSW cops had taken a little for themselves (as you do, apparently), whereas the honest Victorian cops had reported the entire amount, inadvertently dobbing in the NSW cops.

    "Leviathan" is a bloody good book. Birmingham looks at the seedy dark side that has been there as long as Sydney has been Sydney. I think he concludes that the corruption of Sydney is what makes Sydney Sydney, and to clean it up would change the city into something unrecognisable.

    And as for the subject of New Zealanders in Australia, what I'd be most interested in knowing is how connected such people remain to New Zealand. There are superficial things like getting mail order Twisties and tracking down favourite beers, but how much of sweet home Aotearoa do you hold on to and how much do you need to let go of to make it in another country?

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • Hard News: Some things you may not know,

    My thoughts on the art/money thing - when you don't have quite enough money to get along, there's going to be a little friction. And art is created to soothe that friction and make things a little easier.

    And as for the art in programming and computer games, I have no doubt that in the not too distant future, programming and gaming will be recognised as a medium for art just as much as sculpture or painting or film is today.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • Hard News: Some things you may not know,

    Don't be too hard on the kids though, RB. Consider this: Expecting today's students to know about that song is the chronological equivalent of you being well-versed in the music of 1929.

    While I'm not young enough to be the kids, I did know that Rip It Up was a Little Richard song (and Orange Juice!).

    But I was wondering how I knew that because, well, I wasn't alive in the '50s. Then I realised - it was through the late 1970s rock 'n' roll retro revival. (I probably saw Sha-na-na play it on their TV show.)

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • Stories: Bastards I Have Met,

    IO and Merc, this is the stories section, not the lists section, ow!

    So tell a tale, don't just grunt out a name.

    Strangely enough, the first bastard that springs to mind is my old boss who I chronicled in last month's work stories discussion.

    So I shall rack my brain and come up with either a different bastard, or another bastardly tale of the old bastard.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • Speaker: A Secret Less Well-Kept: The…,

    are you sure they weren't taking the piss?

    Sometimes, when the urge to robot dance hits, you can't fight it. Our robot overlords take over our groove circuits and you just gotta go with it.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • Nerdcore in New Zealand,

    but now you mention it, I can't recall any other newsworthy cultural offerings from here

    It's strange cos I lived in Hamilton for the first 22 years of my life, and the best thing about it was all the cultural stuff.

    You often had to search it out, but amid all the bogan-based stuff, there were really cool bands, a professional theatre company, crazy raves, and enough to keep me entertained.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • Hard News: A lot of money and a bit rich,

    I guess in the S-S universe the Mac is the dominant desktop system and consequently all software *is* ported and supported to run on it. Just like in films all messaging applications work fullscreen with REALLY BIG TEXT.

    In the early days of Shorty, Nick infected the clinic's computer system with a virus! This was obvious to all because not only did every computer screen start flashing "VIRUS" in REALLY BIG TEXT, but there was also a computerised voice chanting "Virus! Virus! Virus!" coming from each computer.

    Thankfully the upgrade to Macs appears to have put a stop to this.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • Speaker: A Secret Less Well-Kept: The…,

    We're bringin' the L.E.D.s to the people. Great Blend events, Thursday August 30 in Wellington and Saturday Sept 1 Auckland.

    I downloaded the mp3 last night. I love it so much. So I'm super extra excited to hear they've playing at the next Great Blend (and, of course, that there's another GB coming up)!

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • Hard News: The Arguments,

    Laurey, your husband wouldn't happen to be a palm oil enthusiast, would he?

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

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