You're not going to find any disingenuous angst here!
Sue Bradford has stepped down, she threw her toys from the cot, spat the dummy then bit the boob.
After being spankedbeatendisciplined timed-out by Metiria Turei for the co-leadership of the Green Party she brooded, asked herself, "What would Stalin do", thumbed through a dog-eared copy her ideal party's manifesto and with an anguished moan from between parched lips cried, "Josef... why hast thou forsaken me?".
But make no mistake; she's a dangerous person and that's not going to change, in fact she now has "celebrity" which I'm sure will give her access to platforms before she could only dream of.
I've been around politics long enough to know that her leaving was strategically timed to try and lessen the positive aspects for John Key's stellar week.
But at the end of the day one of the most self-aggrandising, egotistical, deceptive and philosophically corrupt wind-bags ever to emerge from behind the protesters megaphone is due to slither from our hallowed halls. In my mind that only adds to the potency of John Key's week (and he's about to deliver an "I told you so" speech at the UN).
Doctors' in the UK have uncovered a hither-to undefined genetic condition which they have labeled "MJS' or Michael Jackson Syndrome.
It is a genetic condition (of course) usually brought about by too many sympathetic X chromosomes, although in rare cases "MJS" has been known to spontaneously mutate in the presence of an abnormally dominant XY pair. While other chromosomal mutations are less obvious, a rare hormonal steroid - "Estro-testostorone" is produced in trace amounts and is often the most noticeable pathology of this abnormality.
The symptoms of the condition, although clinically benign at first, invariably result in a malignant pathology as the physiological changes encourage certain psychological traits. The first definable stage of which is being surrounded by (and surround yourself with) "yes men".
They will tell you EXACTLY what you want to hear. They will do EXACTLY what you tell them to do. They will inflate your ego to the size of a small blimp, all the while sharpening their knives.
It usually attaches itself to those in powerful positions and although easily treated with generous doses of equal parts reality and humility, if left untreated leads to inflated self-worth, extreme hypocrisy, delusions of grandeur and eventual death.
In later stages of this condition. a spastic colon develops a intestinal-like tract which connects with the oesophagus, causing fecal matter to violently erupt from the sufferer.
Whether you like fast food chains or not, they are growing, no pun intended, and becoming an insidious aspect to the Kiwi diet. When McDonald's opened a new store in Gore, excited residents applauded the opening and even went as far as to give the store a Maori Blessing. Perhaps the cautionary documentary 'Supersize me' wasn't screened that far South. However in contrast to their South Island neighbours, Balmoral residents, perhaps being more exposed to the negative aspects of fast food, don't want to be 'cursed' with a McDonalds in their area.
The very first fast food store in New Zealand was Kentucky Fried Chicken, which opened in August 1971 in Auckland's Royal Oak. Today, fast food restaurants are so well patronised nationally that there is literally one in every town. McDonald's alone has 143 existing stores and plans to expand to 173 stores by the end of 2011. The popularity of fast food stores is growing but like all addictions it is taking a heavy toll. Due to the massive increase in consumption of refined foods, the number of obese people in New Zealand has correspondingly risen. New Zealand has the third highest obesity rates in the OECD which is a result of changes in our lifestyle and diet since the 1970s.
If you doubt that fast food is damaging our health, consider the number of calories a double quarter pounder burger with large fries and a large coke has: 1530. Even the standard Big Mac Meal with medium fries and medium coke has 992 calories, which is approximately half of what your body needs for the entire day. (The Estimated Average Requirements (EAR) is a daily calorie intake of 1940 calories per day). In America, there is no escaping the link between obesity and fast food outlets, one in five Americans visits an outlet each day and 35% of the population have a BMI (Body Mass Index) of over 30, which is the clinical definition of obesity.
Modern society is more focused on the ends rather than the means. The utility of food, i.e. how easily it is obtained and consumed, has become one of the main factors in deciding what to eat. Fast foods have given us an effortless answer for what to have for dinner but it has also made us more disconnected from each other. It has encouraged us to be more anti-social over food by no longer chatting as much as 'wolfing' down our rapidly cooling takeaways. Hardly the highlight to the end of a hard working day!
One of the reasons why parents give their children foods high in sugar and fat is because it has been normalized by society. Energy dense foods have been made more desirable by the aggressive marketing campaigns paid for by the fast food industry with a virtual blank check. Kids don't know what is best for them and companies specifically market their products with peer pressure. If their friends say McDonald's or KFC are 'cool', of course they will want to go there too. It may start with smiling clowns, happy meals and adventure playgrounds but it ends with spare tires, high blood pressure and hospital stays.
It has been a while since I last posted, I was hoping Ginger Diamond would take the hint & post more here, but her interests seem to be skewed towards leaving erudite comments on the asinine topics offered by other bloggers.
So I am going to offer up a review of "District 9"; Directed by some obscure South African dude and produced by Peter Jackson.
District 9 is filmed in a documentary style, set in a South Africa in a make-shift refugee camp designed to hold Alien refugees.
Now, on the whole I liked the movie - although every time the word "Fook" was said my sphincter clenched involuntarily. The film, in my opinion, was too much hard work to follow, too jumpy and too South African. The main character was a bi-polar mixture of "Tickle-me-Elmo" and Sylvester Stallone being tortured.
It seemed to shout, "Cautionary tale", and whisper, "Science fiction"
Ok, Now on to my soon to be patented “Sore-bum” rating system: The better a movie is the longer it takes me to realise that my bum is getting sore, on my scale, 1 bum is pathetic, 10 bums are excellent. District 9 scores 6 and a half bums, five bums for the movie, 1 bum for Peter Jackson & half a bum for all the cool CG effects!
BTW - Whoever stole half of Peter Jackson just give it beck... no questions asked...
Generations after The Diary of a Young Girl was written, her relationships and struggles are still as relevant to teenagers today as when it was first written.
Anne describes the reaction of Annex members when she tells them that they are wrong. Not surprisingly telling them the truth doesn't make her any friends and she is subjected to their anger. This is partly because the residents of the annex resent being shown up by a precocious child. One of the things we learn from Anne Frank's experiences is that being confrontational is not always the best way to deal with an issue. She admits this herself, "But I can see that a little hypocrisy gets me a lot further than my old method of saying exactly what I think".
Anne Frank pens so many entries in her Diary about her dislike of the other residents in the annex that at times her diary seems full of pent up rage. She finds a lot to dislike. Equally though, she frequently complains that she has to put up with their constant reproaches. What a place! They had to live permanently inside the annex of a building for two years as they were in hiding from the Nazi regime and couldn't go outside. Living in such close proximity with others, has to test anyone's patience of another person's shortcomings.
Nevertheless she was able to endure it and she uses the stories of her experiences as anecdotal evidence to support her opinions. The confinement of herself, family and others in the hidden rooms shows the resilience of the human spirit. The descriptions she gives of her cohabiters are not sentimental; instead they are like the gritty representations of a 19th century realist painter - an incredibly vivid portrayal of the vices and mannerisms of characters. She was a talented writer, her book was so well written that people have questioned whether she could written it (the diary was started when she was only 13).
Although I think most people would think the most interesting aspect of The Diary of a Young Girl was what it said about the horrors of the war, I found that Anne Frank's self-confidence, her insights into other people's characters and her desire to learn how to be persuasive were the best parts of the book.
I can't get back the thousands of dollars I've spent on cellphones. When I first got a cellphone I waited until it became truly affordable, or at least I THOUGHT it was truly affordable. The fact was that it was a cheap handset that lured me into a plan which became a monthly Albatross around my neck. It gave me a few bragging rights and it was useful, but it hurt me financially.
Then came that quantum leap, text messaging, closely followed by Pre-paid.
Cellphones moved from being a semi-handy luxury into a must have necessity.
Then it really "clicked".
Cellphones were really the new frontline in computing. Being a geek, once my mind had bridged that gap, the utility of the ubiquitous little microwave generator became something I could see on a different, more familiar level.
That is my background, I've never really been in the position to be a heavy user, so as I said: pre-paid seemed perfect for me.
But I don't live in a vacuum. It would be hard for me not to have heard the many, many complaints about how Vodafone & Telecom were gouging us.
When 2° announced that they planned to enter the market, like tens, nay hundreds of thousands of other users my ears picked up, when they assured that their prices were going to be much more in line with International standards a lump formed in my throat.
When the actual prices were revealed I literally could hardly contain my enthusiasm!
Now it is wise not to be the first to take up new technology, but this is all tried-and-true gadgets, widgets and thing-a-me-bobs.
Of course there were bound to be teething problems, the website being hacked until it crashed certainly didn't help but only a fool wouldn't expect Vodafone & Telecom to come out swinging. Not to say they were responsible, maybe 2° underestimated their popularity - But I seem to recall a certain telco snapping up a Autistic hacker the specialised in Denial of service attacks with a zombienet a while ago...
Vodafone & Telecom have had months, if not years, to strategise their response to 2°, my guess is they'll start out slow then try to out spend the new comer.
But my guess is that 2° is keeping their powder dry too as their investors include a large US multi-national, A UK venture capital company and several other private investors; who have so far pumped in $250 million into the fledgling Telco - a small fraction of that at their disposal (a fact that undoubtably send shivers down Vodafone & Telecom collective spines) .
It's going to be extremely interesting to see how this unfolds.
I think I've got to clear something up: I think Journalism, used correctly, is brave, courageous and even heroic. That's why I lament the lack of it in New Zealand.
Digging into an issue, researching it, bringing it to life is as much an art form as the highest form of poetry.
But the lack of it in this country is almost laughable and to make matters worse seems to have become far more lacking in the last ten years. The occasional piece of investigative of journalism that creeps through the minimal tabloid test seems to suffer as once the story has been broken, the issue is dropped like a hot potato with little in the way of back up. The subject of the story is shelved and the next toy is thrown into the play-pen.
The irony is the all too rare NZ journalist that CAN dig is effectively neutered as the media outlets sales test is applied to their research.
For all budding journalist, here are a few tips I have gleaned from reading/watching these rags.
If the story has one (or as many as possible) of these subjects it seems to sell like hot cakes:
Sex (hopefully a scandal too)
Breasts
a Court case
Any item over one million dollars (also a poor person winning a lottery)
Celebrity sex/breasts/crime/wealth
Bizarre death
War
Sports personalities (often confused with celebrities)
So diddums if the MSM get a hard deal from bloggers, they only get one tenth of what they deserve.
But I do feel for Novice Journalists, it must be so soul destroying to find that the high moral and ethical ideals that lured them into their degree in Journalism so quickly crumble under the weight of the unspoken MSM mantra that is all-pervasive in New Zealand; "Quantity not quality".
In the hopes that a newbie journalist wants to learn about real investigative journalism:
Arguably one of the best pieces of investigative Journalism from Messrs Woodward and Bernstein when they broke the Watergate scandal (unwittingly inflicting us with the postfix "-gate"). The fact that this took place in America over 30 years just goes to show that there is always a need for good ol' fashioned journalism.
Edward Bernstein's book, "The secret man" will give you all the facts. Robert Redford's movie, "All the Presidents men" is a great dramatisation of the events centering around Washington's Watergate hotel.
Every now and then a new journalist will poke their heads above the parapet. Not to have it shot off but to have their ego stroked so much that eventually they are not able to lift it up above the trenches any more.
Let's take a look at the news items that our illustrious MSM don't give us:
They didn't tell us about the fraudulent behavior of recent DPB beneficiaries,
They didn't tell us about expenditure of ex-Prime Ministers now at the UN,
They didn't tell us about rapes/assaults even murders by sports celebrities,
They didn't tell us the real reason for coups in other pacific countries,
They didn't tell us of sex-crimes committed by an ex-PM's spouse,
The list could stretch on for pages.
We all know what they have told us: fluff pieces, canned press releases and advertising disguised as news items.
You're not going to find any disingenuous angst here!
Whether you like fast food chains or not, they are growing, no pun intended, and becoming an insidious aspect to the Kiwi diet. When McDonald's opened a new store in Gore, excited residents applauded the opening and even went as far as to give the store a Maori Blessing. Perhaps the cautionary documentary 'Supersize me' wasn't screened that far South. However in contrast to their South Island neighbours, Balmoral residents, perhaps being more exposed to the negative aspects of fast food, don't want to be 'cursed' with a McDonalds in their area.
Generations after The Diary of a Young Girl was written, her relationships and struggles are still as relevant to teenagers today as when it was first written.
I can't get back the thousands of dollars I've spent on cellphones. When I first got a cellphone I waited until it became truly affordable, or at least I THOUGHT it was truly affordable. The fact was that it was a cheap handset that lured me into a plan which became a monthly Albatross around my neck. It gave me a few bragging rights and it was useful, but it hurt me financially.
I think I've got to clear something up: I think Journalism, used correctly, is brave, courageous and even heroic. That's why I lament the lack of it in New Zealand.