Posts by George Darroch
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To answer your questions: No, they do not do basic research.
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They came from Overseas with millions in cash, leaving many with little but the shoes on their feet. They persuaded and cajoled and sought attention from serious players, from media, from the people, from the police.
Using their influence they gained political power in an attempt to rule a small South Seas Country. One a German entrepreneur, the other a Jewish Banker. Who could have thought they would become enemies?Take your racism somewhere else.
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Considerably more modern this time...
I keep warming to FKA Twigs' shimmering industrial R&B.
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Someone is running for Parliament, so I thought it was time to dig up the old dub.
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How about because civilised, careful, fact-based debate might work a little better without the side-order of name-calling?
As someone with an actual philosophy degree, I'm ashamed that Whyte is so tenuous in his arguments. If you are going to state a position, it is incumbent on you to bring facts to a debate. Assertions, no matter how clean and simple they are, remain assertions until they are either proved, or disproved. If you are going to make a strong claim (which a comparison to pre-revolutionary France and of strong Pakeha disadvantage is) then you need strong facts.
Whyte has no facts to bring. Instead, he is the kind of person who deals in substance-free hypotheticals.
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I don't mind bitterness. It's the hops that get me, being unpleasantly sedative. It is quite like mixing alcohol and marijuana, feeling utterly dazed and slightly nauseous. Body-hopped, if you will.*
It seems to have got slightly better around Wellington in recent months, but if I'm in a craft beer bar I'll usually ask for a beer which is low on the hops.
*I don't own a car, but I do wonder if the effect on others is sufficient to increase their risk, even at low levels of consumption.
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My experience is that political parties are actually rather keen to encourage diversity and participation. They aren't value-free vessels though, and the constraints on promoting people relate to the talents and experience, and 'fit' with the values of that party. In the Greens, 4 of 36, or slightly above 10% of ranked candidates are disabled. Two were very recent members, both encouraged and inspired by the success of a profoundly deaf Mojo Mathers, and the other was a long-standing member with a lot to give. I would encourage participation in parties, but put the caveat that only the exceptional (of any identity) get promoted quickly through the ranks.
I asked a friend in the sector recently what the sector's "minimum demands" were. He replied that there were no unified demands, as there were too many actors across a range of disabilities. As someone on the outside who would like to be supportive, I'd like to see a few clear messages and demands that crystalise political action.
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A tweet by Aaron Hawkins gives me an idea:
In the spirit of celebrating small victories, getting a bunch of @FishriderNZ tunes put up as DCC hold music cc @southernscoop
There's a lot music out there, and by now we're all entirely sick of Nature's Best (if we weren't within weeks or months). Is there any attempt from NZ labels like Arch Hill or Flying Nun to give their music to the people in this format? Hold music is hardly glamorous, but it is a source of revenue.
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It’s well established that venues make their money from alcohol (and in some places, food). Since rents are high and door takings are low, it makes sense to put the bands on later, in order to maximise revenue coming in over the bar.
The problem is that all of this has to compete with other forms of entertainment. It also has to compete with incomes that are pressured by high rents or mortgage repayments and other cost of living pressures.
Suddenly the dynamics of a live venue change, and its hospitability and warmth become important. Different things are going to work with different people, but having more formats with which to experience music is definitely a good thing. It isn’t summer time year round, but most of the time I’d rather see the same band at 7pm outdoors at Splore.
Edit:
I'm also in the position right now of organising a fundraising gig, in a traditional venue with a traditional format. In order to fill the venue sufficiently, we need a good headliner, or several relatively well known bands. We're getting there, but it's hard work - not many musicians guarantee a crowd. (The ones we know are all at a wedding that weekend...)
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This is an interesting debate for me.
I think there are a few different things happening. Firstly, music is shifting on to computers and electronic devices. There are still plenty of radios in the country, and will be for many years, but the consumption of music is an entirely different thing than it was ten or even five years ago.
When I go out to a venue to pay money to see live music, I like to know that I'm going to get quality. That comes in the form of either reputation, or having heard their music - usually on Active or bFM. I don't have a radio at the moment having come back from overseas it is a priority but nowhere near the top - therefore that sound isn't getting through to me yet. A radio is no longer an essential item for young people, and that makes a difference.
I imagine that most New Zealanders are in a position where they are affected by these. Shifting digitally, and underexposed to local music through radio. This is why things like the Audience ( which promoted here) are important, for creating spaces which people frequent and are able to expose themselves to content. That exposure then directly translates into familiarity and willingness to see musicians.
The functional death of the record store, and the end of free to air music television in New Zealand are both similarly contributing factors.