Author Archive
Attacking Mitt Romney
Look at this attack ad aimed at US Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney (below the fold) with NO mention of who its producers and publishers actually support. It’s just a smear of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (vomit) ilk. We don’t have a lot of this type of political advertising in NZ … do we? […]
A new song from Leonard Cohen
The Darkness — by Leonard Cohen from his upcoming new album Old Ideas For me, Leonard Cohen is an example of someone who produces life-affirming inspiration from behind the cloud of a life blighted by bouts of depression. Good on him. I’ve been listening to his music all summer in my car. More here: Leonard […]
Liars can be truthful?
The weakest part of Piers Morgan’s attempted refutation of his former employee’s allegations that he (Morgan) must have known about phone hacking at the Daily Mirror while he was editor … Morgan, 46, has already dismissed Hipwell’s claims as the “unsubstantiated allegations of a liar and convicted criminal.” Trinity Mirror Group lawyer Desmond Browne also […]
Just like ol’ times — NZ Herald tells us what we’re interested in
This from the NZ Herald earlier this week: Wednesday’s article “How to get RICH — 10 steps to becoming a millionaire” (written by a freelance writer whose net worth isn’t stated) is sooo reminiscent of the boom days and the breathlessness of the pursuit of money. And we can see how that worked out. Question: […]
Denouement of Dean Letfus
This has been a slow train coming down the track, and I take no pleasure in recording it. Almost a year after the wheels fell off the Shaun Stenning-Dean Letfus-Steve Goodey hyperbole machine, reality is sinking in with attendant finger-pointing and blame shifting. As you will see if you care to follow discussion and comments […]
So emotionally real
I’m really impressed with the emotional honesty and fairness of this song by Gotye featuring Kiwi songstress on the rise Kimbra. Terrific. And what a beautifully directed and shot video!
Hitchens on Clinton
He’ll say anything. He’ll try anything. He’s a complete solipsist and completely without scruple. Christopher Hitchens RIP
Trying to find our own truths
This, from Deborah Hill Cone’s farewell column Black-and-white thoughts on a world of grey in the NZ Herald today echoes something … I just write because I’m trying to work out things for myself, which is shamefully indulgent. So I really should be thanking you, Dear Fabulous Readers, after all. Thing is, we’re all just […]
Paris Review: Hunter S. Thompson
As I noted, I’m reading (and thoroughly enjoying) Gonzo. So I looked up his Paris Review Interview: Hunter S. Thompson, The Art of Journalism No. 1 – Interviewed by Douglas Brinkley, Terry McDonell A great read. -P
Losing the shine? Maybe. We’ll see.
Post mortems don’t always render a conclusive or even useful diagnosis, especially when tackling multi-faceted puzzles like an election campaign, but I nodded as I read TV3 political editor Duncan Garner’s round up of the political year … in which he shares some of the same conclusions I expressed in my pre-election post Teflon John […]
Stop asking
Excellent article on the blogger claiming rights of a journalist controversy by Rebecca J. Rosen at The Atlantic … Perceiving attack, the Internet’s collective fur shot up on its back: Do bloggers not merit the same protections as journalists? Many people have argued that the medium in which you publish should have no bearing as […]
Think like a man?
I spotted this on a friend’s tumblr. Does it make sense? Blogger Cactus Kate wrote a little while back that she thinks like a man, as part of a serious and worthwhile exploration of the single female’s social scene but somehow I don’t think she meant this: Look like a girl Act like a […]
‘YOU don’t say who or who isn’t a journalist’
Here’s an article worth reading, which relates in a peripheral manner to our recent discussion about definitions of ‘news media’ vis-à-vis bloggers. I Was Arrested at Occupy Bronx—for Writing About It – Carla Murphy, The Daily Beast 10 Dec …While the four protesters left, I stayed behind to complain to Captain Garcia. His flank, as […]
Wishful thinking about MMP. From both sides of the debate.
Predictable comments after the MMP referendum result, I guess. What caught my eye about this piece from Radio New Zealand is that it’s basically a platform for Jordan Williams to kvetch about how unfair it all was. His point, shared by his rabbit shooting buddies, appears to be that the anti-MMP debate was ‘lost’ because […]
