Author Archive
A guide …
TOP TEXTING FAVOURITES – ‘ZOMG’ from AAP via NZ Herald The top 25 “Teenglish” buzzwords for 2009, as nominated by 2000 users of the teen social networking site Habbo Hotel: 1 diss – Disrespect. 2 fail – Expression of disapproval for something or when someone does fail at something. Sometimes spelt with a ph and […]
Dan Conover: Advertising is not enough
Very excellent and insightful piece on the past and future of “news and advertising in the 21st century” by Dan Conover at Xark … What I’m challenging is the prevailing wisdom that because advertising shaped and subsidized journalism in the 20th century, the reinvention of journalism in the 21st century is simply a matter of […]
Facebook = ‘public’
And here is a ‘definitive’ answer from the Poacher’s Union Press Council … Facebook ‘public’ says watchdog 27 February, 2011 The Press Council has rejected a complaint against the Herald on Sunday by a man upset a picture off the social networking site Facebook was used in print. Api Hemara said the picture, run in […]
James Arthur Ray on trial for being a bully-boy
You may or may not be aware of the manslaughter trial under way in Arizona of personal development guru James Arthur Ray following the deaths of three people during/following a sweat lodge exercise on a pretty intense ‘Spiritual Warrior’ course led by Mr Ray. Here is a document from the prosectors which forms part of […]
In the cross-hairs: low quality, low value websites
A comment today on the Is this how Shaun Stenning handles a request for a refund? thread implies the dissatisfaction with his snipr ‘product’ is widespread: Re: SNIPRscam’ Hi, is anyone else in Melbourne/Australia interested in forcing a refund from Shaun Stenning for his Snipr scam? It seems that asking him nicely doesn’t work. I’ve […]
Christchurch earthquake
Gut-wrenching stuff. If you want to help, donate to the NZ Red Cross relief efforts.
Miracle escapes and sad fatalities
My family and I are feeling pretty subdued by the disaster in Christchurch. Miracle escapes and sad fatalities. We humans are resilient and fragile (another paradox). One can’t help but be positively impressed by the bravery and determination of some of the rescue workers … and co-ordinators/spokesmen, like Christchurch’s eloquent mayor Bob Parker. These are […]
What matters
I texted some of my friends in Christchurch earlier this afternoon. There was a big earthquake there a couple of hours ago. One of them, Mark, replying to my query/wish that he and his family are OK replied: Yes we are my office fell down while i went to get coffee saw buildings collapsing before […]
Paradox
I’m big on perceiving paradox and contradictions, quoting the already oft-quoted Walt Whitman from his Song of Myself: Do I contradict myself? Very well, I contradict myself. (I am large, I contain multitudes.) I see this everywhere. It’s OK. And I acknowledge that if I reach for the comfort/licence of that philosophy (which I do) […]
A friend’s lament – from FB to newspaper
A new version of the clichéd reporter’s question: ‘How do you feel?’… I don’t know the background, but I observed this morning that a young woman’s lament on Facebook about her friend’s death in a car crash was reproduced on a news website, along with a photo purportedly of the two of them from the […]
A profile of John Gruber
If you’re a blogger, or interested, it’s worth reading this erudite guy’s thoughts … One of the things I like about John Gruber is his economy of language (‘not a single wasted word’) as I pointed out in my post last year Inspiring clarity of purpose from John Gruber. Mark Webster interviewed John Gruber for the […]
How the smear works: Now Assange = ‘lothario’ … as a given?
This super sleazy opening line from Marcus Baram (maybe we can blame his subeditor?) illustrates the lazy acceptance of a smear … or is he just trying to be a colourful writer? FAIL. NEW YORK — A super-secret organization led by a white-haired, cold-blooded lothario that uncovers revelations exposing the wrongdoing of the world’s most […]
