Posts by Steve Barnes
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There must be a word (and if there isn't, there should be) for that peculiar lurch you get in your guts, and the associated unpleasant skin-creepy feeling, when you realise that you're fine, but a few seconds ago you were inches/milliseconds/one flip of the cards of fate from something really nasty.
There is... Life.
Which is why, when it all turns to custard people say "That's Life" -
Thank you Yamis, that lifted the spirits a little.
Now. Here's something to piss you all off again.
From todays HeraldFilm fans are fed up with getting ripped off when buying their favourite snacks at the cinema.
That rang a bell with me so I went a Googling.
A while back I came across this.SELLING popcorn for a living is an appropriate metaphor for slick privateers. Take a corn kernel, add a bit of heat and oil and - POP! - it's puffed up to twice its size, full of hot air and ready to add a sugary coat to flog for an inflated price.
So Hoyts is pretty much a readymade business for those PEPpy chaps at Pacific Equity Partners, who've been having an awkward time of late getting a deal across the line.The article bemoans the fact that grabbing Hoyts seemed like "a brave call" for PEP seeing as Kerry Packer had squeezed nearly $350 mill out of the cinema chain already. The article went on to say...
So how might PEP's Rickard Gardell, Simon Pillar and Tim Sims make a buck?
Could always charge a $10 service fee to roll Jaffas down the aisle.
Or $5 for popping the popcorn. Maybe even a tenner for the choc on a choctop.But they couldn't get away with such daylight robbery could they?
Well, according today's Herald...The price of a small box of popcorn has reached $6.50 at Hoyts Sylvia Park in Auckland, while a small drink and popcorn combo will set you back $10.90.
So, it looks like a Sunday trip to the movies may be out of your price range? Sam Goldwin once said “Why should people pay money to see a bad film when they can stay home for free and see bad television for nothing.”
Now, what's on C42, the answer to life the universe and everything? well, no. -
There is a particular trait that has been becoming more prevalent in political disclosure of late. It smacks of disingenuous denials. The number of times we have been told that "nothing has been agreed" or "there is no plan" as a way of settling public disquiet about agendas that are obscured if not hidden. As I said up-thread..
The reason for the secrecy is the same as it always is, they want the law in place before anybody has the chance to oppose it.
This may seem to be not worth pointing out, it may even seem like "Business as usual" by the more cynical amongst us, but that is precisely the point, it seems innocuous, inevitable even, part of the process.
My point is that the frequency of this kind of obfuscation over back-room dealing is becoming the norm, just like urgency.
What the fuck happened to Democracy?. -
Roger Troutman, the late founder of funk masters Zapp, recorded this killer version... ...Roger was shot dead by his brother the following year but the track is a monster.
Killer? monster?. Obviously not monstery or killery enough.
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We saw This Guy tonight I was blown away. The music just seemed to flow out of him, layering itself into wisps of magic flowing into streams of beauty weaving their way through the staccato transitions of the city street. Then we went into the Civic to witness one of my heroes slip into a regression reminiscent of a bad Sunday afternoon Jazz and Blues gig in an old cinema, the Civic was as stunning as ever but I felt lost. The hard edge of the blues for which I held Mayall in high regard was gone. I struggled for a simile but I will wait for Graham's review.
So much water, so many bridges. -
Ahh, the old days. I remember when I used to do the time for BFM. I'd have to go to London, write the time down in my best writing and post it to them, first class post. You can't cut corners with accuracy you know.
BFM has always been famous for its reliability in this respect.` -
I shall be voicing my displeasure at the decision to cut the Wire. Not so bothered about Mikey, things move on. But the WIRE... WTF We will be hearing they've been bought out by Sony next.
A year or so on The Wire and you're ready for National Radio I reckon. As for the no music in the mix, WTF again, you need that music to, a. Stop the average listener from turning off and b. To allow an interested listener time to digest stuff they've just heard.
I, for one, shall be having words in ears. -
You made up Stinky Jim and Troy, right?
Stinky Jim is gonna murder you.
And nobody could make up Troy Ferguson
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And you really think they haven't trested that by now?
I think some people at Air New Zealand are working on it as we speak.
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Propping up antiquated business models in perpetuity is the antithesis of a flourishing and prosperous business ecosystem. We can do better,
Trouble is, Sacha, that the antiquated business models that get the focus from the likes of us are not the same antiquated business models looked at by the likes of John Key and his private equity investors.
To them an antiquated model is one that exists for its customers and suppliers not its shareholders. A business is a conduit between supplier and market (consumer) once it steps out of that zone it is merely a parasite. The new model is more like a "Better" parasite.
We could, possibly look forward to an entertainment industry that doesn't rely on those pesky artists with all their different products. We will see and hear "Better" more "Popular" stuff