Posts by Craig Ranapia
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
Hey, at least we can have a sour giggle about this. If I was in London right now, I'd probably be mute with shock after reading stories like this:
Gordon Brown’s election chief, Douglas Alexander, ordered his sister not to resign as Scottish Labour Party leader for fear of causing fallout throughout the Cabinet.
The disclosure that Mr Alexander put pressure on his sister, Wendy Alexander, came as Peter Hain admitted failing to register donations properly and as the Prime Minister tried to rally his demoralised party at a meeting of backbenchers.
If Ms Alexander had resigned over an illegal £950 donation, pressure on Harriet Harman to step down as Mr Brown’s deputy over an illegal donation of £5,500 could have proved irresistible. Ms Harman is further being investigated over a failure to declare a £40,000 mortgage to finance her leadership campaign. The latest embarrassment will increase pressure on Mr Brown to strip her of her role as party chairman.
It also emerged that Ms Harman’s husband, Jack Dromey, was at the top of a secret list of approved candidates to be given safe seats in the event of a snap election.
The Times has learnt that Mr Alexander, the International Development Secretary and one of Mr Brown’s closest Cabinet allies, delivered the stark message to his sister on Sunday afternoon. Mr Brown is also understood to have urged Ms Alexander to stay on.
Sources in Ms Alexander’s camp say that until Sunday afternoon she was on the point of resigning because of the turmoil the illegal donation to her leadership campaign was causing her and the party. One source told The Times: “She was completely down and incredibly angry. She wanted to go but then the message came from London: you must stay. After that we had to decide how to present her decision as a decision made by her.”
I know the 90's are so last millennium, but don't these people remember a damn thing?
At least Clark can console herself with this mantra, "At least I'm not Gordon, at least I'm not Gordon..."
-
That would be Steely Dan's "New York Minute", and The West Wing respectively. Two fine creative works.
One and a half out of two, but I can't tease any more. Don Henley not Donald Fagan.
-
Hints please, maybe genre and/or era? '70s, '80s or more recent?
The song was originally released in 1989, covered by the band the singer-songwriter also belong to in 1994 and shares a title with a more than usual vacuous Olsen Twins movie that was released to general indifference in 2004.
The show ran in the US from 1999 to 2006; is tied with Hill Street Blues for the most Emmy Awards won by a drama (including Outstanding Drama gongs for its first four seasons); and its final season was marked by the sudden death of a core cast member that lead to a radical rewrite of the final six episodes.
-
Dukes of Hazzard?
Poo, you jest - I said 'wonderful television drama'. And if I had a shiny dollar coin for every time I'd been told to make it stop, I'd have a carton of cigs and a Happy Meal easy. :)
-
I've got an idea - perhaps every political party could pool their resources and use this ditty (warning: link potentially NSFW) as a collective campaign anthem - not only catchy but full of truthy goodness about the nature of contemporary election campaigns.
-
But, holy shit, the small-arms war currently being fought between The Standard and Kiwiblogblog on one hand and Kiwiblog on the other is something to stay away from. I dread to think how that will unfold in 08.
While we're quoting song lyrics (compliant with fair use, of course), "Somebody's going to emergency, somebody's going to jail" comes to mind.
Virtual chocolate fish if someone can tell me where that line comes from, and bonus nerd points if you can tell me the wonderful television drama that lyric was an episode title for.
-
And with that, I think of next year with this lyric stuck on repeat: "Oh, it's a long, long while from May to December..."
-
The Standard is, as you might expect, cock-a-hoop over spotting the problem and layering the real 'Clocks' and the fake one over each other to emphasise their similarity.
Sure, but am I the only person who also expected - and was not disappointed - to see the usual suspects on both the loony left and the rabid right conflate this into a veritably apocalyptic issue that will resonate all the way to the ballot box next year? Waiter, bring the reality check.
Embarrassing (and deservedly so) and potentially expensive - you bet. Chances that someone at National Party HQ is being torn a new arsehole as we speak -- near certain. The End of Days? Naaah....
I guess the next stage is see whether EMI and the co-writers of the song think it's worth suing over. Who knows, but if my memory serves Lalio Schiffin and his publishers couldn't be arsed taking action against Jim Anderton's personality cult's unlicensed use of the Mission Impossible theme on a campaign website for several weeks. As I understand it (and stop if you've heard this before), the music was withdrawn after media inquiries and a licence was applied for.
And I just can't whip up an excess of righteous indignation about that either.
-
Speaking of Depp, look out for Shantaram - but read it before you see it. Especially the bits about the bears. And the stools.
Isn't that another project that's shutdown until the writer's strike is over - which looks like it will be over just in time for equally fraught contract re-negotiations with the Screen Actors and Directors Guilds. Might be time to dust off those copies of Proust and Tolstoy... :)
-
And here's another question for the ages: What the hell were the people who gave Tim Burton the greenlight to make a blood-splattered film of Stephen Sondheim's __Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street__ on? Because if the trailer is any indication, Burton is finally back on on the top of his deliciously twisted form. Who doesn't want a period slasher musical starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter for Christmas?
Last ←Newer Page 1 … 1115 1116 1117 1118 1119 … 1235 Older→ First