Posts by David Haywood
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Steve Withers wrote:
The comment that caught my ear from Brown was the speculation that most of the Asians coming into New Zealand won't speak English. The reality is that as of 2 years ago, the English language requirements for immigration to New Zealand are of a sufficiently high standard that many if not most native born Kiwis would be seriously challenged trying to achieve it...
... we shouldn't kick [Peter Brown] for being ignorant. We should instead address the ignorance, point by point, fact by fact. Patiently. Until he and others who just don't know catch on. Rinse and repeat for any other issue where beliefs and attitudes are at odds with the verifiable facts.The truth will set them free.
I see where you're coming from, Steve, and this approach would be all well and good for the doofus you work with or play football with.
But the fact is that Peter Brown is a Member of Parliament. He serves on a select committee, and could have a real influence over the running of this country. And he is the Associate-Spokesman for Immigration for his party, for crying out loud.
It is inexcusable that he -- allegedly -- isn't aware of rudimentary facts like the English language requirements for immigrants. It is inexcusable that he describes the prospect of an increased Asian population (many of them New Zealand born) as "horrible".
I expect my elected representatives to be a bit better than that... and I sure as hell refuse to feel sorry for this idiot.
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simon g wrote:
I say Cyprus is not in Asia. Everybody take sides NOW.
Ho ho. Okay, I'll bite (I once won a game of trivial pursuits on the basis of knowing the answer to this question). According to the UN's drawing of the continent boundaries (and most, if not all, geographers), Cyprus is in Asia -- see this UN map reproduced at Wikipedia.
Cyprus is the green blob just off the southern coast of Turkey.
But I'll grant you that many Cypriots seem to consider that culturally Greek-speaking Cyprus is part of Europe (and they are, of course, a member of the EU).
On a similar tangent, can anyone speculate on why it has become standard in New Zealand to say 'Afghani' rather than 'Afghan'. As far as I know, and also according to my OED (2005), an afghani is the unit of currency in Afghanistan (with 100 pul = 1 afghani). My OED doesn't even mention 'Afghani' being a synonym for 'Afghan'.
Of course, by default when we refer to 'afghans' in New Zealand we are talking about a delicious crunchy biscuit.
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Very nice post, Keith, you are so much kinder and more generous with your hugs than me. Given that I don't engage in hugging rituals even with my closest relatives, the chances of anything going to Peter Brown are exactly zero.
Angus Robertson wrote:
The losers of the immigration equation are low wage natives who do not own property. They get the a*se end of increasing income disparity and see property prices & rents climb out of their reach. And for the purposes of this discussion we will call them close-minded racists who are insufficiently culturally sensitive, but in a nice way like Obama does.
I've received a couple of emails along these lines today. Let's not forget that Mr Brown (an immigrant himself) isn't opposed to immigration per se -- only the immigrants he doesn't like. Oh, and the children of some of the immigrants already here.
I don't have any problem with a discussion on immigration -- I don't think either Keith or myself are trying to 'shut down debate' on the subject. But I do object to politicians who make massive and unsubstantiated generalizations about groups of people (and their descendants) in order whip up division, friction and resentment and thereby win themselves a few lousy votes.
Fair enough to talk about immigrant numbers (even including the number zero). It's even been suggested to me that we should accept the fact that a significant proportion of New Zealanders are xenophobic, and devise a pragmatic immigration policy that will frighten the xenophobes as little as possible. I don't personally agree with that, but it's a valid point to raise for discussion.
But let's not just make up shit in the manner of Mr Brown...
**ADDENDUM:** oops I see that Mr Simon G has already made my point while I was typing. Apologies for that.
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Don Christie wrote:
If Russell can keep asking the right people hard questions in his show and John Campbell is remains willing to take these guys on there is hope.
I don't have a telly so I hadn't seen John Campbell's interview -- thanks for bringing it to my attention, Don. Slightly freakish that the intro is so similar to my own.
And maximum respect to John Campbell for taking Brown to task so thoroughly.
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For users of Firefox, you should be able to view the episode by following these links:
You should also be able to save the episode for later viewing by right-clicking on the above links and choosing "Save link as..."
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Go somewhere godforsaken (such as, for example, New Lynn) and duct-tape them to the railway lines. I have done this with toy cars etc. as a child and they squash in a very spectacular manner.
Oh, Mr-Person-from-the-Railways-reading-this, I mean a bloke I met in the pub said he thought this would be a good idea. Can't remember which pub. Might not have even been a bloke, come to think of it.
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Bloody nice work on your energy analysis, Keith. I am slightly reassured to know that we have at least one clever journalist in this country.
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Kyle Matthews wrote:
My experience... is that parents fall into two categories.
1. OMG things are so good...
2. OMG it's so stressful...
In my experience, the second people are the same ones who have two hour conversations in life about how busy they are and how stressful that is, rather than... doing whatever is it they need to do.
My granny has the same theory. But I think the problem with this concept is that it ignores the fact that all babies are different. While parental attitudes will have some effect on a baby's behaviour (and/or the parents' perception of their baby's behaviour), there's no getting round the fact that some babies are much more difficult than others -- as a consequence of medical conditions or just plain personality type.
I've seen loads of people who have a super-easy first child, and are then bowled over by a super-difficult second child (ask Jolisa Gracewood about this). I've also seen the opposite, with parents getting down on their knees and thanking God that their second child is such a breeze.
My complicated scientific explanation for all this is that -- mainly -- it's just luck of the draw.
David Haywood wrote:
Metallica and the SF Symphony Orchestra... holy fuck.
Pauline Dawson wrote:
... that Mettalica album is 'interesting'. I guess if you have money you can buy the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.
Oh, I genuinely thought that the SF stood for 'science fiction'. Somehow the idea of Metallica doing an album with a musical body called the Science Fiction Symphony Orchestra seemed quite plausible to me. The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra sounds rather dull in comparison.
Rob Hosking wrote:
Other good country songs:
'Drop Kick Me Jesus through the Goalposts of Life' by Bobby Bare is a classic.
I was highly amused by the song -- but (thankfully, I guess) Bob really hated it.
Jake Pollock wrote:
The Anthology of American Folk Music is what you want. Four discs jam packed with depression-era 78s.
Thanks for the tip, Jake. I note that it contains a song by Blind Lemon Jefferson called "See that my grave is kept clean". Sounds like it should be right up Bob's alley. Jennifer is attempting to buy it online as I type.
John wrote:
Could I suggest you try 'Maple On the Hill'... made famous in NZ by The Tumbleweeds in the 50's...
Sounds interesting, John. I will try to find it in the Invercargill public library. They seem to have a good collection of such things.
Our 1st born is now in his middle 50's and I can assure you and your lady wife that the first 21 years of parenthood are the worst. Don't give up.
Oh, such cruel humour!
Lyndon Hood wrote:
Oh - it's "Folsom". Though 'fulsome' is also tempting.
Your mis-hearing is better than mine, Lyndon -- for years I thought it was "False Imprisoned Blues".
Leigh Kennaway wrote:
I suspect the angelic-faced child is imagining the millions he will be awarded when he sues his dreadful father for defamation of character.
Emma Hart wrote:
I will appear for the defense. I held Bob once. After he'd been safely restored to his father and stopped screaming, he spent the next fifteen minutes or so giving me the kind of look I'd previously only received from people's mothers and girlfriends.
Thanks for your testimony, dude. Yep, he can really stare daggers, can't he? You should see the look I get when I refuse to do a fifteenth encore of "Will you miss me when I'm gone?". The irony of his death-stare seems to totally escape him.
dc_red wrote:
I have secretly been taking some solace in stories of Bad Baby Bob. "The forthcoming 'Lil Red can't possibly be as bad as Bob" I tell myself. It is a little reassuring.
Best of luck with your forthcoming 'Lil Red, matey. We find most of Bob's antisocial antics pretty funny, really. He bit me really badly today -- hard enough to draw blood. How I laughed!
Julie Fairey wrote:
Heaven forbid that [your child and my child] should ever meet, or surely they will plot our downfall.
Yamis wrote:
My hair is to be pulled and my mouth is a vessel to be filled with any objects she can find.
All dvds and books are removed from shelves and scattered to the winds on a daily basis.
She regularly goes hunting in bathroom and bedroom draws for hair ties, shampoos, socks and underpants, which are then put somewhere else, namely the middle of the hallway floor to stand on in the pitch dark.
Hey, I'm seeing a television series here. A bunch of babies and toddlers are left alone together in a house for 12 weeks, and each week the best-behaved is voted off... maybe call it 'Little Brother'?
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Thank you all for your kind comments and worldly wisdoms. I'm just about to take Bob off for a swim, but a couple of quick words:
Robyn Gallagher wrote:
Handy hint: Print out this post and keep a copy in your wallet and bedside drawer, then you'll always have a handy contraceptive when you need it!
I believe Bob already has a significant contraceptive effect even on people he meets only briefly. Any day now I'm expecting him to be picketed by conservative Catholics.
Che Tibby wrote:
... some mojave 3 and/or calexico!
Danielle wrote:
Cash, Hank, Loretta, Waylon, Willie, the Louvin Brothers...
Curiously, Calexico has been almost the only modern music that Bob will tolerate. He adores the Carter family and Leadbelly -- but so far, Cash's "Burning Ring of Fire" (which may have autobiographical meaning to Bob w.r.t his early brush with bum crack ulcers) is the only piece of post-1936 music that he enjoys.
I hardly know anything about country, so any suggestions for Carter family-ish music (a couple of guitars, whiny vocals, songs about death) would be greatly appreciated. I can see myself playing the Carter family album for the thousandth time, and I don't want to go there...
Pauline Dawson wrote:
The theme music for my first baby (to my horror) was "No Leaf Clover" by Metallica with the SF Symphony Orchestra.
Julie Fairey wrote:
I've heard of a baby that only goes once every 10-14 days
It just goes to show that it's true what they say about there always being someone else who's worse off. Metallica and the SF Symphony Orchestra... holy fuck.
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Crile Doscher wrote:
And when do we get to see Part 7, pray tell?
Rob Stowell wrote:
Ditto- we want to see Oil! Dissected! Before it's all gone...
Alright, alright, I'm doing it already! You sounds like my producers (who are also interested in the answer to this question). I've just been enjoying a week or so of getting to bed before 3 am. But I will get onto it very soon, I promise. Oh, and thanks for the interesting link, Crile!
NigelW wrote:
Thanks for the wonderful post. Born n bred at 464 Avonside Drive... and have just spent some time on a bit of land we have in sunny Ohai, a few km up the hill north of Riverton... and my stars are currently so aligned as to be drawing me from my home in the Cathedral City to (!!) Auckland.
My pleasure, Nigel. We were at 498 Avonside, which -- thanks to the vagaries of the Avonside numbering system -- is only eleven houses down the road from you (the downstream corner of Robson and Avonside to be a bit more geographically helpful). And we've just this weekend driven up to Ohai, too. A very lovely spot indeed, and a delicious smell of coal.
Auckland's not too bad... so long as you don't mind sitting in traffic jams, and can train your mind to blank out the architecture.
Sofie Bribiesca wrote:
... he got the t-shirt from here.
Thanks, dude. Hopefully they go down to size '00'.