Posts by Geoff Lealand

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  • Hard News: Reasons to be cheerful,

    Arcade Fire playing Springsteen! This is some kind of nirvana for me!!

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: It's not OK to just make…,

    That, for me (& I've studied, and indeed, practised "religions" for over 30 years before realising I was being a nitwit & abusing my brain)

    Leonard Cohen said something similar during his mid-concert patter at his Auckland concert on Thursday night,
    I have plunged myself into many religion and philosophies...but cheerfulness kept breaking through

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Reasons to be cheerful,

    It's amazing how the cold seems to seek out any exposed skin at those temperatures.

    I feel for you, Jake. Presumably you have double glazing, hay bales are stacked along the base of your house, and a gas furnace roaring. A famous moment for me was when the-person-is-now-my-wife came to visit me in midwinter in NW Ohio, when I was doing my PhD. She had a shower and stepped out into a minus 29 afternoon (with wind-chill factor). Her hair froze solid and had to be carefully thawed out.

    About the bike vs car battles. It is not so much cars as continuously dodging broken glass. Presumably it is idiot car drivers who toss the bottles onto cycle paths.

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Reasons to be cheerful,

    Reason to be cheerful: Revolutionary Road-- not a terribly good film, but it's strangely hypnotic watching Kate Winslett and Leonardo De Caprio rediscover the lost art of performative smoking

    Craig: You really need to watch Madmen to see it done with aplomb. I agree that Revolutionary Road is not great but Kate Winslet does magnificently in her role. There is something ill-formed about De Caprio--it is as if his baby-face features struggle to express adult emotions. But the the strongest roles are supporting--Kathy Bates as Helen Givings, and Michael Shannon as her 'insane' son John. He really brings something terrific to the film.

    There are some excellent movies around this summer. Frost/Nixon was a great surprise (given it was directed by little Ronnie Howard), and My Brother Is An Only Child (a good Italian melodrama). Benjamin Button is worth going to, if only for the ramming-the-submarine sequence. But there are many to avoid eg Hotel For Dogs (an absolute dog of a movie), and Tom Cruise saving the world from Hitler, in Valkyrie.

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: It's not OK to just make…,

    I've noticed public radio mentioning studies warning of the ill-heath effects of television on children.

    Really? When did these pop up? At best, it should be phrased as 'the alleged ill effects..' (I do know a thing or two about the research literature, and the weaknesses of US-sourced 'effects' research)

    I think John Drinnan would serve his argument better if he hadn't invoked the tired old cliche of 'the Nanny State'. So, with the change of government we no longer will have state intervention in social issues. Perhaps have instead a 'Ninny State'?

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: It's not OK to just make…,

    Also, I believe that one day there will be a (possibly reggae) gig called "Rockfree Smokequest"

    ..and we could have "New Zealand's Next Top Role Model"?

    Is 'Chuck Bird' a pseudonym, or an instruction?

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

  • Obamania, For Real,

    (He also mentioned atheists. Baby steps, I suppose.)

    The actual term was 'non-believers', which is rather a demeaning term. I don't believe in anything?

    Still, I was pleasantly surprised by the coverage on Sunrise--especially Oliver Driver's sharp comments.

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

  • Current Status: Holidays,

    Saw a sign "Boysenberryries for Sale" in Upper Moutere a few weeks ago.

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: It's not OK to just make…,

    Like Tom, neither have I. Two each way--does that make it statistically valid?

    More importantly, though, has there been any increase in criminal charges or convictions?

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

  • Current Status: Holidays,

    It's not okay to beat a flounder

    Nor flound a beater (see discussion thread on Bill Ralston and the It's Not OK campaign)

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report Reply

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