Author Archive
Another good graphic #4
This works as a headline, as far as I’m concerned. Reproduced here as part of my occasional series about graphics that communicate. I saw a comment about a pile of a billion (or was it a trillion?) dollars stretching to the moon and back. This pic helps visualise a pile of money. Well done Huffington […]
Well said, and good on you for speaking up
Ben Gracewood, explaining why he took a stand and quit his Breakfast TV gig rather than ‘condone racism’: So when I read this morning that a Breakfast presenter [Paul Henry] has made yet another trolling statement (this time barely veiled racism), I decided I’ve had enough. Previously I’ve had to be circumspect about my responses […]
There’s sometimes a price for HOW you state your opinions
No, actually, I’m not talking about Paul Henry. Over the weekend CNN anchor host Rick Sanchez was fired after a misguided book promo/radio show appearance turned into a rant where he accused The Daily Show‘s Jon Stewart of being a ‘bigot’ towards Hispanics, of working with the ‘north east liberal elite’ to keep ‘people like Rick’ […]
Being Paul Henry
What a tosser. Paul Henry does not represent the New Zealand I want to live in, or see reflected on TV. About our Governor General, Henry the supposed ‘royalist’ asked the Prime Minister this morning “Is he even a New Zealander?” ”Are you going to choose a New Zealander who looks and sounds like a […]
Being Glenn Beck
There’s a REALLY interesting profile on Glenn Beck in the NY Times magazine. Totally worth reading. – P
Rahm Emanuel
Well, the mediagasm was right. He’s outta there … Too bad. “Rahm Emanuel, Barack Obama’s White House Chief of Staff, was given a dead Asian carp as a farewell gift from colleagues before the former presidential aide resigned in order to run for mayor in his home town Chicago.” — Telegraph.co.uk “The mantra in the West […]
Bishop Eddie Long — the unravelling of bling theology
Last week as I referred to in Shame, not shock, we learned that the cult-leader Bishop Eddie Long, the ‘spiritual father’ of Destiny Church’s Bishop Brian Tamaki was being accused of sexual abuse of young men in his ‘flock’. Here’s an insightful article — harsh, in parts, but fair, it seems to me — about Bishop […]
Spooky. Is privacy passé now?
Following up on our discussion about how people can be ‘tracked’ through Facebook, Facebook leaks like a sieve, here’s another twist. Ars Technica reports research which found: “a significant number of popular Android applications transmit private user data to advertising networks without explicitly asking or informing the user.“ Um, by golly. I don’t like the […]
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 […]
OMG is the ‘inter-generational wealth transfer’ meme gaining currency?
The cover of the current North & South magazine features a young bloke wearing Jed Clampett-inspired depression couture with the headline: Ripped off by baby boomers? / The Broke Generation / or a bunch of wingers? I haven’t read the article yet, but it probably has some roots in the same ideas Bernard Hickey promulgated […]
What you say ‘No’ to
Sometimes the ‘opportunity’ isn’t worth the cost. Earlier this month there was some discussion about Apple and Facebook not agreeing terms for co-operation… … both Facebook and Apple had spoken about integrating more closely with the new iTunes social network Ping, but Facebook asked for “onerous terms that we could not agree to” regarding Facebook […]
Shame, not shock
I wish I could express the same shock and astonishment at the allegations of sexual coercion by the leader of a religious sect that Destiny Church’s Bishop Brian Tamaki does (“Sex claim against mate stuns Bishop Tamaki”). Like many others I’m sure, the news that a persuasive ‘spiritual’ figure is being accused of multiple cases […]
Sailing or just being blown?
Overhead at the Bucklands Beach Yacht Club… … At that point you’re not sailing, you’re just being blown. Interested to know more, I stopped and asked the slighty battered-looking yachtie what he meant … He recounted how he’d recently been sailing in heavy weather and found himself with too many sails rigged. (He gave me […]
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 […]
