Posts by Evan Yates

Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First

  • Island Life: Bring Out Your Dad,

    His name was Hoppy Nick, before he had it lengthened by modern medical procedure.

    What was it afterwards? Monopedal Periodic Ambulatory Nicholas ?

    I would have thought deed poll would have been more suitable than anything medical.

    Hamiltron, Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Nov 2006 • 197 posts Report

  • Island Life: She Will Try Not To Sing…,

    Shouldn't that be: Who WAS Melissa Lee?

    Hamiltron, Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Nov 2006 • 197 posts Report

  • Hard News: F**kin' Choice,

    We are lucky that there is no charge for awesomeness* or we would have to pay extra to watch ' Fortune

    Yes, I still read the Listener. I agree with other commenters about the Friedman interview. The condescending tone just rankled.
    His point about us having no effective navy to protect "our" trade shipping made we wonder... How many NZ flagged shipping lines still exist? I thought most of our goods went to their markets on ships with flags of other countries flying off the stern.
    Score! Once again we get to freeload our maritime security from someone else... ;-) We are getting pretty good at that trick.

    * once again quoting Kung-Fu Panda

    Hamiltron, Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Nov 2006 • 197 posts Report

  • Hard News: Playing Nice?,

    I refute those alligators, sir.

    We all know that alligator skin makes fine quality boots and shoes.

    Boots and shoes are made by cobblers.

    Young people these days don't want to learn the demanding skills, so fine shoes are mostly made by aging artisans.

    So what you are effectively saying is that the allegations are a load of old cobblers.

    Makes sense to me...

    Hamiltron, Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Nov 2006 • 197 posts Report

  • Hard News: Dear Prudence,

    America hate-radio meathead Michael Savage

    His middle name isn't Joseph by any perverse chance? That would be just too antipodal for words...

    Hamiltron, Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Nov 2006 • 197 posts Report

  • Hard News: It would be polite to ask,

    I didn't realise that Eric Watson was so popular in Turkey.

    The way the photos were presented, there seemed to be a pre-ponderance of (I assume) Turkish celebs present. The question is whether they were the equivalent of rent-a-slebs who are paid to turn up at swarrays like this to guarantee press coverage.

    Or is Eric really the toast of the town in Constantinople? (Now Istanbul)

    Hamiltron, Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Nov 2006 • 197 posts Report

  • Field Theory: He's the voice,

    he ate Turducken at Thankgiving

    No matter how thankful I was, I would still refuse to eat any dish whose name starts with the syllable "turd"

    Hamiltron, Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Nov 2006 • 197 posts Report

  • Random Play: Reality Bites,

    I think you're underselling yourself. If your word-count was 698 then you are doing yourself out of $20.40 by not pursuing it.

    I'm coming from a position of having had exactly one unsolicited article published in a magazine in 1994. I was so chuffed that they had accepted it and paid for my scratchings, that I didn't even bother to think by what rationale they determined the compensation.

    One question, do hyphenated words count as one or two words? Are things like "tight-fisted" ,"sad-arse" and "mother-pus-buckets" worth $2.80 or $1.20?

    Hamiltron, Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Nov 2006 • 197 posts Report

  • Field Theory: Things that go bump in the…,

    @haydn, I agree compeletely.

    Sin, Punishment, Redemption/Salvation - is a whole horror sub-genre all by itself.

    Hamiltron, Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Nov 2006 • 197 posts Report

  • Field Theory: Things that go bump in the…,

    There are a few common factors to horror and suspense movies that I have thought about over the years. Some affect me more than others.

    Warning - Here be spoilers

    1. Made you Jump! - example : the hand-from-the-grave in Carrie , any of the Friday the Thirteenth series. Good for an adrenaline shot but almost always followed by a laugh.

    2. Corruption of the Loved - example : The Omen . This one really gets me. I know my son can be a handful, but even if he was actually the spawn of Satan, could I bring myself to do what Damien's father tries to do? (See, I can't even type it out un-euphemistically)

    3. Corruption of the Body - example : The Fly . The original scared the bejeesus out of me as a kid. The remake (with Jeff Goldblum) was more revolting than scary. But as a metaphor for the inevitable breakdown of the body due to the aging process, it becomes more scary as you get older.

    4. Who Can you Trust? - example : The Thing . With no outside help available how do you tell who is the monster when they all look like normal people? Don't fall asleep or you'll find out the answer... most unpleasantly.

    5. The Unseen Threat - example : Alien , of course. Unfortunately the monster can never remain concealed and this spoils 99% of monster movies as the revealed creature is usually a bit of a laugh.

    I'm sure Geoff Lealand in his expert capacity can expand on this brief list.

    Hamiltron, Te Ika-a-Māui • Since Nov 2006 • 197 posts Report

Last ←Newer Page 1 3 4 5 6 7 20 Older→ First