Posts by Geoff Lealand

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  • Hard News: Heard any good tunes lately?,

    I have a growing collection of cover-mount compilations from music mags Uncut and The Word. Once I have put them on my iPod, they gather dust.

    I made the same offer last year but if you would like a free bunch of these, just email me at lealand@waikato.ac.nz and I will send a padded envelope full.

    You often find little treasures in such compilations--it was were I first heard Arcade Fire.

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report

  • Hard News: Heard any good tunes lately?,

    [in between running Friday tutorials]
    Not local music, I know, but someone passed me on a CD called 'A Flowerdance Collection', which features duets by Nick Cave and Tom Waits. Can't find out much about it but it seems to be live concert recordings--including a wonderful version of 'Jersey Girl' by Tom and Bruce Springsteen.--and Nick dueting on 'Tam Gszie Bosna Dzi', which appears to be a Polish version of 'Where the Wild Roses...'

    I have it on repeat on my iPod but I would welcome any info on this collection.

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report

  • Hard News: All your Trade are belong to us,

    One of my uni lecturers has announced that using Wikipedia as a reference means you will automatically fail the assigment.

    Yes, too harsh--and possibly counter-productive. A better strategy is to tell students that it cannot be the sole source, and needs to be set alongside other sources.

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report

  • Hard News: Food Show 08,

    Probably not a good thing to generalise about the quality of American food. You need to seek out 'hypenated' food ie Tex-Mex, German-American. I found a wonderful Mexican restaurant in St. Louis, MO last year (named 'Alicias'). The waitress recognised me, on my third visit. The cactus strips were special (kind of like green peppers) and the taco baskets were extra special (you ate the whole lot). Down the road was a Cajun restaurant, which served alligator (tasted a bit like pork).

    Have a great weekend.

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report

  • Hard News: Food Show 08,

    Hey, this is sort of cruel and unusual punishment for those of us who haven't had lunch yet!

    I agree with the comments about coffee snobbery--the assumption that drinking coffee somehow makes you a more interesting sort of person. Give me a decent cup of tea any day!

    There is an interesting story in Yarrows. My old dad used to own a little bakery in the South Taranaki town of Hawera (I still remember the crusty pies he made), until he was bought out by Yarrows, on their way to something bigger (Manaia is a short drive from Hawera).

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report

  • Hard News: Not actually satire,

    or tainted by association with (David Round,...)

    Could you expand on this a little? I knew David Round when I was at Canterbury and he was a reasonable sort of chap. A bit of a greenie too. When did he turn into a raging reactionary? Staying in Christchurch all your life seems to do something to some people viz Dennis Dutton, the Wizard, the +Zenith mob..

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report

  • Hard News: Part of nearly all our lives,

    I'm already board with most of what rapidly is resembling 'normal' media.

    ...and normal spelling?

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report

  • Hard News: Part of nearly all our lives,

    a sneaking suspicion that educational levels and gender are well skewed over at kiwiblog, and *slightly* more even here.

    I don't know how skewed (or screwed?) my gender is but I do agree that this is an educated readership here. It is all about niche audiences, I guess, and the general lack of a satisfying space for debate in the mainstream media (or 'The Public Sphere', as Habermas might argue*). In my particular case, I have come this way as a result of a growing disgust with the NZ Herald.

    * thus confirming our pointy-headiness?

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report

  • Hard News: Part of nearly all our lives,

    morena, Russell. I have just been running off the NZH story on the survey, to use with my students this morning. The Report may be more restrained than the NZH report but it would be interesting to know a little more about the research method. It seems to have been a phone survey. Was it using land-lines, or did it include cell-phones owners? This is emerging as a real constraint on research accuracy.

    Probably need to look at the sample size too. The Nielsen Online 2008 survey, for example, report that 54% of New Zealand households are broadband connected. This is 12% below the figure mentioned in the NZH story. Which figure should we trust more?

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report

  • Hard News: Wild is the Weekend,

    So, should we rename them "Whack Your Family First (Before the Teachers Have a Go)?"

    Screen & Media Studies, U… • Since Oct 2007 • 2562 posts Report

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