Posts by Ben Austin

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  • Hard News: Radio New Zealand: changing…,

    The BBC gets sufficient funding to chase the entire audience range and so attempts to do so (whether it does so successfully, or should attempt this is another question). RNZ does not. If it won't be funded properly, then it should specialise, focusing on what makes it different from the commercial broadcasters (which seems to be less inane chatter-banter).

    Whilst I want RNZ to be across the whole country too, I am slightly worried that without more funding, any efforts to do so simply means running down the central bureau in Wellington, which could undermine the current quality.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Hard News: The People's Poet is dead!,

    I found the Bad News CD in Queenstown one summer for a tenner, which was quite a bargain. Dammed if I know what happened to it though

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Hard News: The People's Poet is dead!,

    I think I first saw the Young Ones at primary school, sometime in the late 1980s - early 1990s, probably about the same time as the the New Statesman. He was a huge early influence on us at school - I think someone taped it on TV and we shared around the tapes as well.

    I blame Rick for me having an aversion to taking sociology at university.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Hard News: Illegal Highs,

    So this story popped up this morning in the national news. Apparently a group of legal high retailers have started to organise and lobby in favour of a system like the new regime discussed in this thread.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Hard News: Jones: The contender leaves,

    This is a pleasing narrative though, as if a Shane Jones can be acclaimed as an ordinary bloke and every- man, there is hope for all of us who grew up in the Sticks, then went to uni in a big city and never really left!

    Seems a bit like the "everyone is middle class now". Everyone is also an every-man bloke's bloke.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Capture: Sculpture Vulture,

    Attachment

    I visited a statue park in Moscow a couple of years back and encountered the Russian version on Pinocchio , Buratino. I'm still not quite sure what he was doing with the statues of tanks, Lenin and other Soviet stuff, but it was a pleasant enough park so I guess it beats being through into a landfill

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Feed: My Life in Curry, in reply to BenWilson,

    I always found Wellington butter chicken too sweet, so stopped ordering them long since.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Feed: My Life in Curry,

    Speaking of Butter Chicken, a friend and I went for lunch one weekday to one of the Cuba Street Indian restaurants and as we walked in the door, the waiter's first words to us were "Butter chicken, beer?".

    I'm not sure what that says about him or us, but we didn't order either, which seemed to disappoint.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Feed: My Life in Curry, in reply to nic.wise,

    Nic, I understand that the Lahore Curry/Kebab House of E1 may have recently closed. Grim news indeed.

    I also thought that London curry was a bit off when I arrived, but I think now that is because I was relying upon Zone 1 but then I later when to places in Southall or Tooting and the quality there was rather better. I actually started liking butter chicken!

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

  • Hard News: We're back!,

    Congratulations Russell.

    So I guess we do have a public service broadcaster after all! Good work to Maori Television.

    London • Since Nov 2006 • 1027 posts Report

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