Posts by Amy Gale

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  • Island Life: A 'music buff' is a stereo type,

    What I did however find most disturbing was the quiz show was called "W3" and now I'm finding myself haunted by the mental image of his smiling face, whenever I see a URL beginning "www". Though this says more about me than Dr Smith.

    Wasn't W3 Selwyn Toogood? And It's Academic Lockwood Smith?

    tha Ith • Since May 2007 • 471 posts Report

  • Up Front: A Word From the Ministry for…,

    By a strange English-exam coincidence, I noticed in last week's Time Out New York that there is a current production of A Man For All Seasons. Which apparently is being staged without the Common Man character.

    Part of me wants to tear out the review and mail it to my high school English teacher just to torment her (or possibly give her something to torment the current students with, if they still study it these days).

    Another part is just baffled. What happened? Did the building inspector come and insist that a fourth wall was necessary under the earthquake code?

    tha Ith • Since May 2007 • 471 posts Report

  • Up Front: Just Answer the Question,

    4/ All the current leaders of New Zealand's political parties are on a plane. It crashes into the Andes with no hope of rescue for weeks. Whose delicious corpse do you save for last?

    I think this question is worth discussing in its own right, because I think your logic is flawed. I think you should eat the most delicious person first.

    Ah, see, I think that it's important to consider keeping quality. There is no point saving someone for last if they have the kind of corpse that's going to putrefy before you get to it.

    That said, I'm not entirely sure how to judge that (not being especially carnivorous). Are we to make a judgment based on who is closest to a ready-made confit? Or on who is closest to a stick of jerky?

    tha Ith • Since May 2007 • 471 posts Report

  • Southerly: Life at Paremoremo Boys' High,

    I don't know, And what exactly do you mean by that?

    That it doesn't seem out of the question that people applying for a an arts-related grant might occasionally try put their own edgy, artistic - "creative", as it were - spin on it.

    If not, is a lost opportunity and the first person to try it will probably succeed. But if so - which was what I am contemplating - it is regarded as wildy avant-garde? or just boring?

    tha Ith • Since May 2007 • 471 posts Report

  • Southerly: Life at Paremoremo Boys' High,

    __Until they invent time machines, time spent stressing over clothes IS going to be lost to other pursuits.__

    simply isn't true: because I've DONE it. There was no uniform, there was no stressing over clothes. Okay?

    I'm not denying your experience, and my quote above doesn't contradict it - the time in question is just zero.

    As a disclaimer, I was the only person to make it to 7th form in our school and not be made a prefect. I was subject to prefects,...

    Oh, gross. The entire role of prefects should be to participate in the win-win situation of saving staff from various bits of school admin while learning Responsibility and Time Management. Sort of like being a TA, except that you don't get paid (boo) but do get to represent the school at every exciting event that comes along (yay).

    (I wasn't a prefect either.)

    tha Ith • Since May 2007 • 471 posts Report

  • Southerly: Life at Paremoremo Boys' High,

    The concept of leaving one particular child or group of children "in charge" with "responsibility" over other children is irresponsible and unwise

    I wouldn't define "responsible for" as "boss of" or "in charge of". It's more of an obligation than a power.

    Don't know much about sports teams (didn't know gymnasts didn't wear uniforms! they always seem to have them on TV!), but I kind of assumed there would be sport related parallels to things like

    - delegating to a 17 year old the task of checking that the junior choir have their music ready to go on stage

    - having the senior students in each voice part run sectional rehearsals

    Aren't there?

    tha Ith • Since May 2007 • 471 posts Report

  • Southerly: Life at Paremoremo Boys' High,

    There was a module that involved applying for arts grants, when I was at art school.

    This may be the most splendidly sensible thing I have ever heard of.

    Although I must confess to being a little disappointed not to be regaled (yet) with tales of creative projects and their grant applications. Do lots of people do "creative" applications, one wonders? And if so, do the governing bodies find it increasingly tedious to sit through an operatic recitation of one's previous awards, or to page through a budget written in jam?

    tha Ith • Since May 2007 • 471 posts Report

  • Southerly: Life at Paremoremo Boys' High,

    Like how to file out a creative NZ grant application form, for instance.

    Wasn't there a module on that in Bursary English? ;)

    But seriously, go on, tell us more.

    tha Ith • Since May 2007 • 471 posts Report

  • Southerly: Life at Paremoremo Boys' High,

    But you can't see how it might be equally offensive to make an assumption and a blanket statement like this about the effects of letting kids choose their own clothes??

    Actually, no. Until they invent time machines, time spent stressing over clothes IS going to be lost to other pursuits. Nobody attributed the roots of high school difficulties to the wearing or not of uniforms, and common sense suggests that you will see some degree of hierarchical stress in any large group of people who are just at the stage of life where they are figuring out who they are and what they want.

    Besides which, I didn't say that, and yet I was the one you rounded on[*]. Like, say, a bully might.

    Did none of your gymnastics teams ever have uniforms? That you were expected to wear to a certain standard? Did senior team-mates never have some responsibility for junior ones? How is that different?


    [*] I did say that "There is also a counter argument that every minute students spend picking out clothes is a minute they don't spend learning. ", and I apologise to anyone whose feelings were hurt by this cruel and un-nuanced statement.

    tha Ith • Since May 2007 • 471 posts Report

  • Up Front: First Footing,

    Heh, I stubbed my toe the other day. That hurts! I really don't remember it hurting that much when I was a kid.

    You know what else really hurts? Bee stings! Yow!

    It's not that I don't remember it hurting, more that I'd come to assume that it was because children are more sensitive and/or dramatic. Nope. Painful.

    Also, soap in the eyes, although this is nor so closely related to the practice of going barefoot.

    tha Ith • Since May 2007 • 471 posts Report

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