Author Archive
Neutral Tones
I heard an extract of this poem on Radio 4 recently, and was struck. Wow. It’s not that it resonated with any application or relevance to my own life (well, not presently) … I just admired the power of Hardy’s use of language to convey his melancholy. Here’s Sarah Cookson reading it from a 1992 […]
Time to say goodbye … (Alas iPhone 3G, I knew thee well.)
I bought this trusty white 16GB iPhone 3G the day they were launched in New Zealand in July 2008. It survived a few close calls while in my care, but I passed it, virtually unscathed, to my darling wife … who used it for a couple of years until she inherited my iPhone 4 last […]
Leave Duncan Garner alone! (And stop blaming the weed.)
Let me say, first of all: I don’t know how long it takes to get synthetic cannabis out of your system, but I think it is grossly unfair of people who take issue with the accuracy of Duncan Garner’s use of statements of ‘fact’ (and his political sources) to keep referring to this: The latest […]
Amanda Palmer is a genius! (‘Dear Daily Mail’ song)
I like/love Amanda Palmer. You already know that if you read my post: The gutsy Amanda Palmer: The Art of Asking (TED). Here’s her answer to the Daily Mail‘s consistent misogyny. Unmissable, but perhaps NSFW: Genius. And courageous. What a great human being, and media critic, she is. Hooray. – P Lyrics: (via pastebin) Dear […]
Astonishing use of Photoshop to bend reality (John Key edition – episode 2)
Remember this?: …well I thought that was amazing use of Photoshop. But look at THIS: Astonishing! The image appeared in my Twitter stream. I don’t know who the artist is. (If you do, drop me a line in comments below or at this address, and I’ll update it.) In an effort to locate its provenance, […]
Must-read essay on John Key’s proposed spying laws
New Zealander of the Year Dame Anne Salmond has used Prime Minister John Key’s own warnings while Leader of the Opposition about ‘threats to democracy’ to condemn his planned law changes empowering the country’s spy agencies. In an essay published by the NZ Herald today, the highly respected author accuses the National Party-led government of […]
Perhaps Judith Collins’ mysterious Wikipedia chimney sweep is a shy hobbyist #WhoisClarke43?
The question: ‘WHO is trying to clean up Judith Collins’ Wikipedia “reputation”?’ continues to intrigue. (See my earlier post: Suppressing free speech and editing Wikipedia. Is that why we pay taxes, Mrs Collins?) Tonight, investigative reporter Phil Taylor had this to say in the NZ Herald … Is that a drawbridge I hear being pulled up? […]
Juxtapositions — David Shearer’s ‘price of power’
If you read The Paepae much you’ll know I’m often struck by humorous or ironic juxtapositions. This, from the latest Auckland Today giveaway, popped out at me. Just the headlines: ‘The personality profiles of top salespeople’ and David Shearer’s column ‘Addressing the price of power’. I don’t know Mr Shearer. I talked with him briefly […]
Do you find John Key’s case for expanding the powers of the GCSB convincing?
Courtesy of the NZ Herald, Key: Cyber attacks, espionage targeting NZ Do you find that clearly-scripted (by whom?) statement convincing? Because it seems the New Zealand Law Society (hardly a bunch of far-left conspiracy theorists) doesn’t appear to: Here’s the New Zealand Law Society’s view: Summary 3 The Bill changes the Government Communications Security Bureau […]
A short course in comparative religion
I’ve seen this before, but it’s still funny. (Thanks to my friend Turi Hollis.)
Plain sailing?
Pretty sharp cartoon from Emmerson in today’s NZ Herald: But last night’s Campbell Live report on the GCSB bill featuring an international observer* expressing astonishment at the Key Administration ‘kissing the feet’ of Washington DC, tells a different story. Watch it: Dissecting the GCSB bill The team Campbell Live is doing a sterling job … […]
Steve Jobs movie trailer
I missed the Facebook movie, The Social Network, mainly because of disrespect. (I’ll catch it sometime.) But yeah, I’ll definitely go and see this one. – P
Public versus private forgiveness. And unforgiveness.
It’s been a while since we’ve discussed forgiveness here, although this post, “Do I believe in the forgiveness of sin?” and this one, Remembering Karla are never far from me … especially when I consider what I’ve learned and observed about the toxic effects of ‘harbouring’ unforgiveness. Last night I read of journalist/blogger/writer Andrew Sullivan’s […]
Samsung Galaxy S III explodes in girl’s pocket, burns her leg badly
Back in the 1990s, like today, I was the proud owner of a procession of Apple laptops including, for a while, a PowerBook 5300ce — the model that was dubbed ‘the FireBook’ after a widely reported incident where one of them burst into flames on a desk when its battery (manufactured by Sony?) overheated. My […]
