Posts by Amy Gale
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Note the aside in the NY Times article about the sledding doctor who sued the city over a broken ankle -- what a dick! When Busylad careered off the local sledding slope face first into a thorn bush last winter, we didn't sue the city, we just slathered him with Savlon.
I broke my collarbone sledding a few years ago. Several of the forms emanating from my insurance company afterward included questions about whether anyone was "to blame", which I can only presume were there in case they wanted to do a bit of suing.
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I'm in two minds about the Greenwich thing.
Kids playing wiffleball on public land? Seems entirely reasonable and wholesome.
Kids putting up fences and "pouring concrete" on said land? Can't say I'm in favour.
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Speaking of americanisations, I have to say that I detest using the word "store" to denote shop. Hate it. Or vacation, which is slowly creeping in.
Vacation vs. holiday is actually a useful distinction, I guess. (e.g. Valentine's Day is a holiday, even though you don't get the day off.)
Did have an excellent moment when my sister asked my Jeopardy-winning friend whether his prizes had included a holiday. He couldn't quite comprehend why anyone would think that would be a typical prize, awesome though it might be. ["Vacation", I clarified. "Oh, no, that's more of a Wheel of Fortune sort of thing", he said.]
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We once took and American friend (yes some of them are nice it is a big country after all and there are bound to be some nice ones) to lunch in Auckland city and she looked around and asked "why is everyone wearing black? Did something bad happen?"
My mum says that in the olden days shops used to advertise that they had clothes in "American colours".
Obviously I find this hilarious and work it into as many sartorial reviews as people are foolish enough to solicit.
(But also: has said friend not been to NYC?)
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Dick Weir was an integral part of my childhood - waking up and listening to his weekend show in the mornings.
Absolutely. Sitting in my sofa-cushion fort singing Herbert the Hedgehog, dissolving in floods of tears over The Selfish Giant, wondering if one day I'd get to be a co-pilot (short answer: no).
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I'm unsure what a cardamon pod is, but the seeds I have are about a cm long and very fibrous. Because they don't decompose in the cooking, they're bastards to find in your mouth, and they're really hard to identify before you've eaten them.
That's a cardamom pod, all right.
My next innovation will be a wee muslin bag in which I can put the bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, and cardamom pods during the cooking, so they'll be easy to fish out.
Various authorities suggest using the foot of a nylon stocking. I have done this from time to time, but must warn everyone in the strongest possible terms not to use one straight out of the packaging - boil it first. Dye can come out. I know whereof I speak.
[Was that my turn? Spice identification and a warning against "natural tan" coloured soup? Well, damn.]
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OMG, I totally want to be able to smack bad parents!
(So I hope it's part of the general election, because that's the only kind I vote in from over here.)
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There's one thing I did not expect to get from this thread, and that's a Zager and Evans earworm.
If that's all you got, consider yourself lucky. I got a Jennifer Sky flashback...
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You can move house using just a bicycle.
Pfft. You can move house using just the postal service. I was behind just such a person at the post office on Saturday. I wish I were making this up.
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I think the provenance of the photograph is a distraction, however it's precisely this kind of distraction that you'd expect to avoid by either using an agency, who'd manage this for you, or being directly assured of the origin of any photos.
Oh, I disagree. I think that if someone wants to make a fuss about the photo, they'll find a way to make a fuss about the photo.
- the woman in the photo got a detention at school! She's a poor role model for our youth!
- the woman in the photo never got a detention at school! This is just more evidence of elitism!
- the man in the photo is a vegetarian! Think of our exporters!
- the man in the photo is a meat eater! Think of our health care costs!
- etcOr maybe they'll complain that the font wasn't designed in New Zealand (our typographers need work too!), or that the colours used were Pantone ones instead of from a Good Honest New Zealand Colourspace.
(hmm, these all come frighteningly easy to me)