Posts by Scott A
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Bernard Hickey summarised it well:
decided not to challenge a generation of voters who are now rich because of the property boom and don't want to give it up.
He is cementing in place the biggest transfer of wealth between generations in New Zealand's history.
Options to the left, options to the right, something needed to have been done and could have been done. Key was even muttering about losing some of his "political capital."
But, when the speech hit, National decided their political capital and own personal financial situationz were more important than the capital or finances of the country.
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If Apple can engender real passion in their customers, more power to them. It wasn't so long ago the the personal computing industry was characterised as one massive effort to catch up with Apple. As of Windows 7, Microsoft may have finally caught up.
I like the wow factor of some of Apple's products...
Yeah, I agree. But to speak as someone who doesn't feel the need to be a tech-leader, an early-adopter, a gizmo-hound then Apple just hasn't done it for me any time in the last decade.
Worse, it smells like "fashion." It smells like the "to be cool, you've got to have this shit."
Nah, not me. I do like whizzy stuff, but I want it cheap, I want it easy, I want it easily replacable when it dies, I want it to be my tool, not I its.
And, truthfully, everytime I see a new Apple product I go "cool," and hang out a while for the cheap easy knock-off version with endless amounts of free software online, or a completely basic utilitarian version that costs very little and yet still seems to last a lifetime.
And thank god for that, eh? Where Apple leads others follow, meaning all us who don't really care and just want stuff that works can coast along following the crest listening to our 600 albums and reading out fifty books without even thinking about it...
That all said, Stephen Fry could see me anything...
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A pretty good PC World summary of what's wrong with the iPad.
My word. I think I have a pair of old cargo pants that would make perfect iPants. Perhaps it's a sign?
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Some sections of Australia's "army" do indeed have nuclear missiles. We have had for years actually. If you were a 'clearance diver' then you'd know what I'm talking about.
Well, clearly, we're not clearance divers; so please explain what you are referring to here. Does Australia have nuclear weaponry?
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fucking hell, is about all I can say about that. As Islander said: so much to comment on, so little physical abilty to do so.
But, well, all I can say is that Bindel sexually degrades me. She debases me. Fuck it, she rapes me.
I feel soiled, and fouled, and awful. After reading what she writes.
Honestly, let me call a spade a spade. She is evil. Wicked. Nasty. Dire. Foul. Bad, just bad.
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To add insult to injury, it's Sir Doug, for services to business and the community.
Well, the National Party is part of the community, one guess.
But this is all small beer. Sir Jean-Luc? Make it so!
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Some favourites of mine for this year include:
Rosy Tin Teacaddy The Homeward Stretch. Gorgeous, sumptuous, folksy melodies, the aural equivalent of snuggling up under the duvet on a cold winter's night with someone you love. Beautiful.
Rhian Sheenan Standing In Silence. Now, I'm not a great devourer of instrumental and/or electronic music, or film soundtracks, but this soundtrack for a film that has never existed swooped in earlier in the year and stayed on high rotate ever since; drenching with it's soaring guitar whirls and organic noodlings amongst the electronic grounding. Profound.
The Decemberists The Hazards of Love. Not a popular album, it seems, but I loved this prog-folk concept album from first hearing. Musically and thematically it's like one of the secretly awesome concept albums of the 70s but there's also enough simply amazing songs to remove any residual cringe factor. One to savour and ignore what those "cool" people say about it; leave them to their Animal Collective murk.
Killswitch Engage Killswitch Engage. Hey. I like to rock out now and then. In fact, in recent years I've begun to acknowledge that the NWOBHM music I listened to as a teenager is still hugely enjoyable; now that I don't have to be all "cool" about it like I was in my twenties. And Killswitch Engage are a band who clearly love the same era of heavy metal, but bring it forward to the noughties. And not with introducing pointless bits of hip hop or electronica, rather by mixing in the lessons of nineties hardcore both lyrically and vocally. But this album, self-titled as a bit of self-invention, smooths some of the rougher edges from Killswitch's metalcore sound and lead to an album most metal fans will enjoy as a stonking positive riff-raging double-kick drum marvel.
Dimmer Degrees of Existence. My only regret about this album is that it could've been better. All the tracks are great, and the title track is probably my favourite song of the year, but I think the album is poorly sequenced. Too much rocky stuff at the start, leaving it trailing off towards the end; especially after the grooving instrumental pops up two thirds of the way through. Juggle the tracks around a bit this could be an album for the ages; as it is it's just a collection of great songs. But still very very worthwhile.
The Felice Brothers Yonder the Clock. This band just keeps getting better and better; and with this third album I think they know it too. Their raw cajun-country-bluegrass-rock'n'roll... f*ck, just call it american music has culminated in an album of astounding confidence where they happily swing from one track to the next changing pace, genre and feel as they go and feeling in charge of each one. The Zydeco Stomp of "Run Rabbit Run" is ther notable highlight, but throughout the album you'll hear a band who seemingly asks "can we play X" and joyfully discovers they came. Washboard blues, maudlin country ballards, even a bit of Tom Waitsian croon; they master it all.
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Speaking as a civil servant, involved in getting money to people who need it (and from people who don't want to give it), I'd also like to stress how uncorrupt our core government and social services. The mere idea that someone will give someone quicker treatment, a quicker deposit into their bank account, a reduced bill, and additional entitlement in exchange for something in return is so antithetic to our way of working that, personally, I almost felt physcially ill even typing that concept out just now.
But the abuse does come in other ways, and NZ isn't immune to the petty favouritism and antagonism that infects all people with a bit of power but not any great responsibility or reward. From both sides I think I'm seeing more this year than any in my ten years working for the government. More people thinking they can use anger, abuse, threats, emotional taunting, obtuseness to get more money than they're entitled to. But, also, more people on the other side who, due to their own frustration and fear due to workplace uncertainty and frozen wages meaning they don't help people as much as they should, picking some "winners", dismissing some "losers."
But, back to my opening point, we've initiated a "neutrality" training course at my workplace to address this very reason. Even the level of personal favourtism or dislike in the way clients are treated that we've seen increase over the last year concerns management and employees so much we want to do all we can to limit it.
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It has reached a certain... legendary status. Heh, does Nat still have a copy of what he wrote back in the day?
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'twas a fun night, indeed!
Reflecting on the awful "mainstream" coverage, I was struck again with Roller Derby's similarity with another hugely fun entertainment the mainstream will never take seriously - pro wrestling.
(and, yes, before you start; I am *well* aware roller derby is an actual sporting contest and 'rassling is not. Just so we're clear).
But the emphasis on fun, on larger-than-lilfe characters, mixed up with brilliant athleticism, watching as intriguing stories unfold during the action, and audience who gets it and gets into in a way someone who wasn't there just won't understand. IPW in Auckland has already done a combined roller derby / wrestling show, hopefully either KPW or WPW in Wellington will soon do the same. And I know there is already quite a bit of cross-over in the audience, so it won't hurt expanding it in that way (though, admittedly, it may not help roller derby's "mainsteam acceptability").
Another thing that occured to me, watching my first inter-city roller derby competition, was another possible equivilence between pro-wrestling and roller derby - the Wellington / Auckland divide. I've seen quite a bit of local wrestling, and it's apparent there is a difference between the Auckland and Wellington styles.
Auckland's style tends to be more physical, more built around 'fighting' characters, more focussed on the physical nature of the wrestling competition (i.e., the point of the match is to pin / force your opponent to submit).
Wellington's style tends more towards entertainment, towards humourous or non-realistic characters, with the in-ring competition having a bit more focus on flash and spots (i.e., showy moves, posing and taunting the crowd, rather than trying to win).
I think I saw a similar thing with the way the the two cities approach Roller Derby.