Hard News by Russell Brown

I see Wayne Mapp is discussing He Toki Huna on The Standard -- in the process clarifying that he is registered commenter "Wayne".

Lilith and I will be there. Save some potato salad.

the potato salad got pretty nek-level last week.

I certainly got neck-deep in it.

Save some potato salad.

Get in early. ;-)

I see Wayne Mapp is discussing He Toki Huna on The Standard -- in the process clarifying that he is registered commenter "Wayne".

Get him along too!

A longer version of their film will screen at this year’s film festivals, but the TV cut is available for viewing here on the Maori Television website.

Someone will need to refresh my memory, but I believe Maori did something similar with Maori Boy Genius. And this Film Festival season, it might be instructive to take a close look at the credits on the documentaries. For a medium that was supposedly going to be the death of cinema, an awful lot of good feature length documentaries wouldn't have seen the light of day without a handful of TV folks (from Three and Maori here to HBO & PBS in the heart of the evil empire) who keep commissioning the damn things.

Get him along too!

At the least, I'll put what he says to Jon.

Interesting commentary from Wayne Mapp. It's always good to hear honest commentary on the thoughts of a decision-maker. I think the problem isn't so much the conclusions he reaches, as the premises he is working from - a result of New Zealand lacking the capacity (and will, but will is irrelevant without the capacity) to critically interpret the intelligence he is being fed. If it is seen as straightforward, rather than the product of interests, biases, and an incomplete ability to get correct information in the fog of complex societies and war, then it is almost certain that wrong decisions will be made, often seriously wrong ones.

, I watched a most enthralling long-length doco 'Kind-hearted Woman' on PBS (6 hours over two nights) a couple of weeks ago. A complex story, filmed over several years, about a Native American single mother seeking legal redress, the custody of her children, and a new life. I have suggested that MTS acquire it,

Then there was this tantalising piece of satire that disappeared...leaving just this behind on my reader:

"An unnamed source has anonymously reported on “rumours” of a “relationship” between Conservative Party leader Colin Craig and his defamation lawyer.
A customer at a well-known Christchurch bar says he is “in denial” about a conversation overheard from a nearby table.
“Two journalists, a member of parliament, several former Christchurch mayors, two writers, and a popular satirist were having a drink,” says the customer. “Then one of the party made a comment that I interpreted as casting aspersions on the relationship between Conservative Party leader Colin Craig and his defamation lawyer.”
“I'M ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN IT WAS SATIRE”
The customer, who…"

Did David Haywood’s recent post on Coling Craig get C&D’ed by any chance? It'd be fun to see Mr Craig try and sue Google. When things like this happen, I’m always reminded of when Jerry Falwell talked about his first time.

I watched a most enthralling long-length doco ‘Kind-hearted Woman’ on PBS (6 hours over two nights) a couple of weeks ago. A complex story, filmed over several years, about a Native American single mother seeking legal redress, the custody of her children, and a new life. I have suggested that MTS acquire it

We should pretty much just get ever PBS Frontline and PBS American Experience documentary ever produced.

Kind-hearted Woman is available for viewing (not geo-blocked) here:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kind-hearted-woman/#a

Damn that sounds a like a good show.

, I’m always reminded of when Jerry Falwell talked about his first time.

Sorry for wandering off topic here, but the most delightful defamation case I've ever heard of was Margaret Potter suing Mary Whitehouse for claiming in an interview on BBC Radio her son, Dennis, "had seen his mother having sex with a strange man in the grass.” That turned out to be a rather expensive confusion of fact and fiction (or more precisely, The Singing Detective's protagonist and author) for both Whitehouse and the BBC.

Did David Haywood’s recent post on Coling Craig get C&D’ed by any chance?

No, David took it down when it transpired that some people felt very strongly that it was homophobic – which it most certainly was not, but you possibly had to be aware of Colin Craig’s submission the the marriage equality select committee to fully get the joke. He also didn’t feel it was his best work and although I was happy for it to go up, I tended to agree.

If you’re at all interested in these issues, you should see it.

We had a pool going at work as to how you’d promote this one, I was convinced it might be something like:

"As most of you ended up forking out about $100 each to fund this war, It’s a must see"

Too objectionable? Oh well, just another $2.50 down the drain. At least I sweetened the pot.

Meanwhile the big 'sports' story in the US today.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/news/20130429/jason-collins-gay-nba-player/?sct=hp_t11_a1

Finally finding myself with a bit of spare time, I tried to watch He Toki Huna, but got a 403 - Access Denied when following the link from here, and I can't find it through a search of the Maori TV site.

But I did find a Te Reo edition of Journey to the West. But, ummm, somebody at Maori TV needs to brush up on their Chinese history....

It's down for the time being over a complaint about the way one journalist was represented. After discussions, it's being amended and will be back soon -- hopefully at the same URL.

Cool, thanks Russell.

Just in case readers have missed another gem from The Civilian and one which has captured Russell very well. http://www.thecivilian.co.nz/media-saved-from-end-of-bullshit-news-story-by-arrival-of-another/

This is loosely connected under the banner "using satire in the media". I would be keen to know what others think of this piece in the Guardian.

I think it relies on the reader considering another's point of view and regrettably I see people either do or they do not and developing such consideration usually involves an event to someone already known. One if it changes one person's mind then good.

Which was up to a point what I was thinking. then I did a double-take; Is sexual abuse and or rape really a legitimate vehicle for making a satirical point about race?

That's when I got a bit uncomfortable, that sort of ends means equivalence is easy when the concerned parties are unlikely to fight back. That point was missed altogether in most cases.

Perhaps I'm being unreasonably sensitive here.