Archive for the ‘Encouragement’ Category
Visiting hours
I’m happy to see this morning at home today (above). My thoughts are with some friends not as lucky. I spent yesterday travelling in Waikato and navigating two very different sets of ‘visiting hours’: Waikeria Prison and Waikato Hospital. Two good souls presently being acquainted with confinement and pain. I wish them and their loved […]
A strong religious faith and a strong desire for liberty
One of my regular pleasures is a BBC podcast called Witness. I recommend it. Details here. This morning I listened to the episode ‘JFK in Ireland’. And, as often happens, a passage of his words jumped out at me: When my great-grandfather left here to become a cooper in East Boston, he carried nothing with […]
Consequences of our thoughts
Via my (very beautiful) niece* … Twee, but true. – P * This has kicked around in my wife’s family (therefore my kids’ grandparents) for ages. Good advice. from The Twits
Synchronicity. When random song ‘choice’ makes you chuckle …
One of the cool things about having plenty of memory in your iPhone (and why I got a 32GB one) is you can put heaps of music on it (as well as my podcasts etc). Then, as happened today, occasionally the shuffle in my Nike+ Running app tosses up a song I haven’t heard for […]
Pretty civilised, really.
I was with my wife (She was driving, officer. It’s her car!) on our recent trip to Wellington when we popped around a corner in Newtown and followed the car in front of us … right into, apparently, a Bus Lane. We spotted a bloke in a hi-visibility jacket (I think that’s the whole point […]
This is what I mean by ‘chilling’ …
Here’s NZConservative blogger Lucia Maria, replying to [public] correspondence with the successful applicant in the recent internet take-down and gagging order case I referred to in Is this what we want? Internet ‘take down’ and indefinite gagging orders? and Steven Price: ‘wider factors to consider’ in recent online gagging order. As I do (and others […]
‘I am Bradley Manning’ video
‘It’s time to stop the war on whistle-blowers.’
Life is a series of ‘LIVE crosses’
As some of you may know, I’ve worked as a radio journalist over many years, and got my ‘skills and training’ (that’s just a wee inside joke) with Radio New Zealand, first covering local news (2ZB), then network news (National Radio, Morning Report and Checkpoint etc) then in the Parliamentary Press Gallery. I’ve also worked […]
Adding value
If anything, I underestimated the impact of the iPad when I declared in my January 2010 post iPad? Yeah. OK, probably. Why not? Yes, I’ll probably get one of these. It looks useful, and some of the applications seem like an improvement. Apple does lead the world in industrial design (the ‘cool’ factor), and this […]
Whoa! As a critic, this popped me between the eyes.
“Every time I assume a talented person isn’t painfully aware of the flaws in their work, I am wrong.” That’s a line in the middle of a thoughtful review/first impressions account of the pre-release iPhone/iPad software iOS7 by Frank Chimero. But as someone who is critical, sometimes repeatedly critical, of various people and institutions, his […]
Space Oddity (Chris Hadfield cover)
Commander Chris Hadfield has been a brilliant ambassador for Space exploration on board the International Space Station. His personality and engagement has shone through. This ‘cover’ of David Bowie’s song Space Oddity is wonderful. Millions have seen it and enjoyed it. I put it here as a tribute to Hadfield and Bowie. – P
‘What the hell is water?’
Wonderful video based on part of David Foster Wallace’s 2005 commencement speech at Kenyon College. [UPDATE: Oh, the video has been removed, due to “a third-party notification by The David Foster Wallace Literary Trust claiming that this material is infringing: THIS IS WATER – By David Foster Wallace.” No lack of acknowledgement, but should have got […]
Nice – Positive compilation of Russian dash cams
via @CateOwen
#NativeAffairs: well-paced TV current affairs, following issues that matter
I watched Maori TV’s Native Affairs again last night: their first live debate for 2013 with politicians from all parties (except Peter Dunne) discussing a wide range of issues. I really enjoyed it. (You can see it here at the Maori TV website. I recommend you do.) I described Maori TV as “this country’s last […]
‘Any extreme is the wrong place to be.’
I saw this interchange on Twitter today (that doesn’t make it ‘news’) and agreed with the conclusions. Having myself just said to a commenter here: It’s foolish to judge a ‘side’ by its extremists, as I’m sure you agree. A beehive staffer I follow on Twitter reported her Minister received an “Email from the NZ […]
