Posts by Robyn Gallagher

  • Hard News: Obscuring the News,

    The Herald has not let me down. Presenting The maths question dividing the internet. It's a Daily Telegraph article based on a shitpost. It is art.

    (And of course I tried to work out the answer. But I couldn't, which left me feeling really bad.)

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Obscuring the News, in reply to Simon Lyall,

    The things is that the Daily Mail is a lot better at these sort of stories than the Herald or Stuff. They usually have lots of great pictures attached to the stories and nice summaries that don't get picked up by the NZ sites:

    Yes! I have a friend who writes for the Mail Online and I have learned so many fascinating tricks about how to create good, fun, sticky articles. The Mail knows how to make their trashy entertainment news coverage very enjoyable.

    My absolute favourite type of empty Herald web story is "The internet is scratching its head over this latest optical illusion", describing a meme that your auntie shared on Facebook three days ago.

    And the kind where Lorde makes a Tweet and the Herald publishes 300 words on it.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Friday Music: The Gaffer Departs,

    Last week I left this comment: "I've always thought that Golden Harvest's seductive "I Need Your Love" would just need the lightest remix to sound like a cool track of 2016."

    This week IT HAPPENED!

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Friday Music: Sweet Inspiration,

    I've always thought that Golden Harvest's seductive "I Need Your Love" would just need the lightest remix to sound like a cool track of 2016.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Legal Beagle: The law to make it easier…,

    After reading this, I want to give the question-asking Graeme a hug and tell the question-answering Graeme to be a bit kinder.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: All right, then – take me to Rio,

    I would have mocked the uniforms of the teams from Norway and Sweden, but as a New Zealander I’m not in a position to mock anyone’s kit.)

    I will not hear a bad word spoken about the Swedish uniform. Designed by H&M, it was bold and athletic and oh-so-Swedish.

    Sure, New Zealand doesn't have a bright colour like yellow in its national palette, but we could have done so much better than the lacklustre my-first-job suits that showed up at the arena.

    Btw, there's something very cool about New Zealand's Olympic team this year. We have two openly gay athletes, one male, one female. Given how conservative NZ sport is about sexuality, it's just lovely that Robbie and Katie are proudly representing their country, hopefully making the path a little smoother for other LGBT athletes.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Strange times with Starboy,

    I think Bowden came across ok. He's an eccentric - and he likes steampunk - so he'd have to majorly shut down his personality to come across as anything but a bit of a weirdo.

    My favourite part of the video though - that the legal highs spokesman had to have his mumbled Kiwi accent subtitled.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Friday Music: The Soft…, in reply to Logan O'Callahan,

    So someone streaming Led Zeppelin on his I-Phone is now influencing the singles and album charts

    I believe there's a three-year age limit for streamed tracks, so golden oldies will only show up if they've been purchased in big enough numbers on iTunes, which tends to happen when a popstar dies or when a documentary screens on TV.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Friday Music: The Soft…,

    That looks like it’s going to be more difficult now, with big acts and back-catalogue works likely to fare well courtesy of streaming listeners who don’t react so swiftly to new releases.

    This is similar to what has already happened in the singles chart. Music by New Zealand artists just doesn't chart in the top 40 anymore. This year there has been one (1) new New Zealand single chart. It's "Free" by Broods, an amazing track, but heartbreaking that it's the only one.

    In previous years local content in the top 40 has been boosted by The X Factor (from both contestants and guest performers), but this year we're on our own. Obviously Lorde needs to hurry up with her new stuff.

    There's a top 20 singles chart of New Zealand artists and it's good for discovering new music that has just missed out on the top 40. But each week, literally half the chart is songs by Six60, another sign that people just like listening to the same familiar tunes and are less comfortable with new music.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Southerly: Høstens Vemod,

    Jag älskar hösten. Det är min favorit säsong eftersom Nya Zeelands vintern är inte olycklig. (Ja, det är svenska och inte norska. Jag tala inte norska!)

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 195 Older→ First