Posts by Josh Addison

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  • Speaker: ACTA: Don't sell us down the river,

    And with regard to movies, it may or may not be worth mentioning that the biggest downloaders of torrents that I know are also the biggest purchasers of DVDs.

    Onehunga, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 298 posts Report

  • Speaker: ACTA: Don't sell us down the river,

    Matthew, get real; customers are not screaming for legitimate product. Non-customers are taking stuff for nothing, stuff they would never pay for. People are carrying thousands of songs on their iPods, stolen media which they would never have considered buying.

    Have we not worked out that generalisations are the enemy here?

    Some people are taking stuff for nothing and aren't interested in paying; others, like myself, are more than happy to pick up singles off iTunes, when I wouldn't have bothered buying them on CD. I'll admit to having downloaded songs illicitly in the past, but in those cases, they were songs I couldn't find elsewhere and would have happily paid for. I am in the minority? No idea, but iTunes' profits suggest I'm at least part of a very large group of people, even if it isn't larger than the group of "thieves".

    Onehunga, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 298 posts Report

  • Speaker: ACTA: Don't sell us down the river,

    I'm guessing that what happened with vampire fiction was less "OK, it is decreed that Vampires are going to be the Next Big Thing!" and more along the lines of "This new Twilight series is going to be the next Harry Potter - quick, we need knock-offs! Lots of knock-offs!"

    I forget where, but I once read someone talking about the success of March of the Penguins, and how it should of resulted in movie people saying "wow, a simple nature documentary making big bucks - maybe endless blockbusters aren't the only option, maybe we should be looking in new and untravelled directions," but would instead almost certainly result in movie people saying "quick - we need more penguin movies!"

    And lo and behold, along came Happy Feet and that other one about the surfing penguins...

    Onehunga, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 298 posts Report

  • Hard News: Body image and the media,

    What exactly does "look like geeks" mean?

    Fine, how about "where the geeks look like average human beings who don't go to the gym every day, as opposed to chisled Adonises"? Doesn't quite roll off the tongue - how about "where the geeks look like me", which was the point of my original post.

    Onehunga, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 298 posts Report

  • Hard News: Body image and the media,

    I'll give you the middle three (I've never watched According to Jim, but I'll take your word for it), but the other ones are more in the realm of parody - in fact, out of Beauty and the Geek and the cartoons, I'd say the geeks in Beauty and the Geek are actually the more cartoonish of the two...

    Onehunga, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 298 posts Report

  • Hard News: Body image and the media,

    I'd be interested in knowing if many males feel the same pressure that many females seem to feel?

    I don't feel any pressure, but I do notice that there are bugger all men on TV my age who look like me. Big Bang Theory is about the only current show I can think of where the geeks look like geeks. I saw an episode of Ugly Betty the other day, where her geeky, bespectabled boyfriend took his shirt off to reveal that he was almost cartoonishly ripped.

    Onehunga, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 298 posts Report

  • Hard News: Of swine and cows,

    I keep seeing free screenings of something called Zeitgeist advertised around campus. Haven't seen it but it's available online and looks fairly crazy.

    Yeah, pretty crazy. I've only seen bits, but it seems to be in three parts. Part One is all about how Christianity is just a cut-n-paste from older religions, which would be a reasonable thesis if it weren't for the absolute bollocks they use to try to prove their point; Part Two seems to be standard 9/11 conspiracy stuff; and Part Three is something to do with New World Orders and whatnot.

    Onehunga, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 298 posts Report

  • Hard News: Miracles just rate better, okay?,

    I think I did this last time we had a thread on the topic of alternative medicines/psychics/etc, but Tim Minchin's "Storm" is always worth a read/listen.

    Onehunga, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 298 posts Report

  • Hard News: I'd just like to thank ...,

    He used to crash parties and Maseratis.

    Surely one of the greatest rhymes in the history of Pop.

    Not sure if it counts as Pop, but the best rhyme ever has to be from the "Be a Dentist" song in Little Shop of Horrors, where "bicuspid" is rhymed with "maladjusted"...

    Onehunga, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 298 posts Report

  • Something Completely Different,

    The 1978 Shatner 'Rocket Man' is possibly the peak of western civilisation.

    Followed closely by the Nimoy "Ballad of Bilbo Baggins" (no time to go hunting for it on YouTube - one of you lovely people will doubtless have it bookmarked...)

    Onehunga, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 298 posts Report

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