Author Archive
Writing
“Writers, really, are machines that convert caffeine into words.” Eric Weiner quoted in The Washington Post Via @evgenymorozov
Tariana Turia has made a mark
There’s a worthwhile profile of Maori Party co-leader Tariana Turia in the Dominion Post today. Ms Turia announced her intention to retire before the 2014 election recently. I’ve always respected this thoughtful, courageous woman … who is much more than a politician. I remember interviewing her during last year’s general election when her former colleague, […]
Take it easy this Christmas.
Best wishes. – P Pic: One of the old Pohutukawa trees at my place. Its red signature appeared, suddenly, over the last few days. (I feel so lucky to live where I do.)
Ha! Who would be a politician, huh?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so the proverb goes. It seems it’s the same, too, with perceptions of political ‘performance’. (Whatever that slippery term means.) This week, I made a judgement about Justice Minister Judith Collins and her handling of the Bain compensation report. See Current affairs through partisan filters. David Bain […]
Dealing with sensory overload. Find some empathy.
Being primarily an auditory learner (as well as linear, logical ‘left brain’, blah-blah) has served me well. It seems the traditional education system is built for people who display those preferences, like me. But that ‘sound sensitivity’ can be a curse too, and far more than just a physical thing — as this video snip […]
Lighting a candle versus cursing the darkness
A friend I respect asked me today why I write here about some of the subjects (and people) I do. What do I hope to achieve? Coincidentally, I saw this (below) in the latest Parachute music festival magazine just this morning: That’s a different spin on Edmund Burke’s much-quoted saying: ‘The only thing necessary for the triumph […]
Current affairs through partisan filters. David Bain in limbo.
It’s been intriguing to watch the messy political debate in New Zealand about the findings of the independent inquiry, conducted by an internationally respected justice, into the case for compensation for wrongful imprisonment of David Bain. I personally, largely ignorantly, thought David Bain was the killer of his family. A jury convicted him. But then […]
A small update: now I am ‘a sanctimonious twat’, too, apparently.
Earlier this year, in discussion with Cathy Odgers (Cactus Kate) about certain RWNJ’s affecting to foam with outrage (see Wailing about death threats, forgetting what they’ve written themselves) I noted National Party hate blogger Cameron Slater’s marked tendency to spit insults at those who disagree with him rather than make the effort to mount an […]
Unspeakably good article about a family murder and alleged miscarriage of justice
Read this: Since 1979, Brian Murtagh has fought to keep convicted murderer Jeffrey MacDonald in prison by Gene Weingarten, Washington Post. – P
Interesting human behaviour w.r.t. paying for something you can get for free
From Techdirt People Will Pay To Support Creators, Even When Free Is An Option … The thing we noticed right away was that a lot of people were choosing to pay, even though you can download all the books for free. Almost half of all book downloads were paid, with most people choosing the default […]
*Chuckle* @JudithCollinsMP in an apron. (But what an apron!)
@JudithCollinsMP has the self-confidence to carry this off. Respec’. I say good on her. (Apparently it’s a cow shed safety apron.) I wonder how others see it? – P PS Nasty, hateful comments will be deleted, so leave them out.
The non-sense of political labels and cutting friends because of their conclusions
From a wonderful article on recent US politics (Really. Please read it.) Revenge of the Reality-Based Community: My life on the Republican right—and how I saw it all go wrong by Bruce Bartlett. The final line for me to cross in complete alienation from the right was my recognition that Obama is not a leftist. […]
