Archive for the ‘Media issues’ Category
Don Draper is the devil?
Here’s a fantastic review of Mad Men, by Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times, suggesting Don Draper is … the devil. While everyone has been sidetracked by tortured-soul vampires and loveable werewolves, Don has been quietly taking over the world, one manipulative half-truth at a time. She makes a good case. (Very good writing […]
Paul Henry: gracious in victory
So, in keeping with my general policy of confronting and directly answering criticism, here’s a response… OK, that’s actually what I said (sorry to quote myself) but it seems Paul Henry subscribes to the same philosophy. Henry’s acceptance speech at the Qantas Awards is worth watching (video below the fold) because his delivery is almost […]
Agree or disagree?
A Member of Parliament admits he has a criminal past. But he does it very badly, slowly, and destroys his own credibility in the process. I agree with this comment from my old Press Gallery colleague John Armstrong: When he was asked on Tuesday if there was anything else in his past which warranted mention, […]
Creative genius
I’ve been thinking about the Shepard Fairey vs AP copyright dispute I referred to yesterday. As clever as Mr Fairley is, there’s no doubt his Obama HOPE image rests as if on a foundation on the Mannie Garcia photo (copyright owned by AP, it transpires). As the side-by-side comparison demonstrates, without the Garcia photo, what […]
Nasty and devious
From the New York TImes: Above the Law Russia Uses Microsoft to Suppress Dissent By CLIFFORD J. LEVY | New York Times | September 11, 2010 IRKUTSK, Russia — It was late one afternoon in January when a squad of plainclothes police officers arrived at the headquarters of a prominent environmental group here. They brushed […]
No religious bigotry, pornography, or fart apps — OK?
Apple has published some guidelines for software developers — telling them (broadly) how it decides which Apps/programmes can be sold in its App Store. Among them, this: In the guidelines, Apple draws a line between broader expressions of freedom of speech and the App Store. “We view Apps different than books or songs, which we […]
Eight in a row!
I celebrated last week Jim Parsons winning an Emmy for his role as Sheldon Cooper in The Big Bang Theory. Cool. This news that Jon Stewart and The Daily Show won an EIGHTH Emmy for Best Variety Show somehow slipped past me. That brilliant, vital show deserves them all. Dumb sentence of the week award goes to […]
‘Vendetta’ and ‘hate campaign’?
Interesting to see Brian Edwards recently accused of these ‘failings’ with respect to Paul Henry by anonymous commenters on his blog. (Unless ‘Dwossie Bleu-Bleu’ is a name?) My own views of Paul Henry and his (un)suitability for TV are summed up in Say goodbye to Paul Henry the abusive try-hard. But I’m not running a […]
Cameron Brewer — a fresh face
I had the pleasure of Cameron Brewer‘s company at a looong lunch at the Auckland Club a while back — a gaggle organised by David McEwen. (Thanks again, David.) He’s an ebullient, engaging guy — and pretty clean-cut, it seemed to me. Just like his well-designed billboards, one of which I spotted yesterday. I may […]
The truth can be harsh
Respected business journalist/commentator Rod Oram’s assessment of the collapse of the HUGE South Canterbury Finance and supremo Allan Hubbard’s role in the demise is less confrontational than Bernard Hickey’s Please say sorry and thanks ‘open letter’ piece — but in its way, just as scathing. Failing to respond to criticism has become one of the […]
The worst stuff isn’t even in there?
Wow, I thought the ‘It came from Wasilia’ profile on Sarah Palin by Todd Purdue was eye-opening. She also came off pretty badly in that book I hoovered up over a wet weekend Race of a Lifetime … but read this piece from the current Vanity Fair – ‘Sarah Palin: the Sound and the Fury’. […]
A denial and a clarification … well, not really
Just as well some people have such a GREAT sense of humour! It all relates to my ‘A little backlash?‘ post here on www.thePaepae.com … where I suggested a possible interpretation of some innuendo-laden bloggings by property spruiker Dean Letfus about holding back dirt on a ‘white knight’ was that they referred to me. [Or […]
The future?
I saw Andrew Kirtzman’s book BETRAYAL at Wellington airport recently. Striking cover. We’d already discussed Harry Markopolos’s frustrating experience in Tall poppy syndrome: last refuge of the scoundrel? Gee, I thought, what has Madoff had to build inside himself to handle this level of opprobrium? (Assuming he IS ‘handling’ the ignominy OK.) I wonder if […]
