Posts Tagged ‘hyperbole’
Ask not for whom the bell tolls. (Betteridge’s law of headlines.)
Almost never a good sign: Anyone familiar with Betteridge’s law of headlines knows how that works … But Bill English says calm down, it’s OK. Well, for him, anyway. (That’s too bad about Paula Bennett, then, eh?) Personally, I don’t think Bill English did enough ‘wrong’ in the last New Zealand General Election to deserve […]
Xero. Things that make you go ‘Hmmm…’
It can’t be just me that reads a line like this … It’s been less than three weeks since Xero’s valuation passed through the $3 billion mark. [Now it’s $4 billion] … and thinks, Hmm. Bubble-ish? I’ve got no insider or any other knowledge of the Xero company nor do I own any shares in […]
‘Space gray’? Where have I heard that before? Oh, yes.
Apple has announced a new iPhone model — discontinuing mine in the process. (Does that make it a collectors item? Yep.) The new iPhone 5S comes in three colours: Silver, Gold, and Black, er, Slate, er, ‘Space Gray‘. What? I knew I’d heard that colour description before … Ah. Stickin’ with the top end marketing programme […]
Steven Joyce’s hyperbolic response to an Opposition policy announcement
Wow. I heard and saw some response from NZ government figures to the joint Labour/Green announcement of policy concerned with electricity market reform. Ministers Steven Joyce and Simon Bridges apparently couldn’t wait to slam the policy vociferously, taking the opportunity of ‘stand-ups’ in Parliament’s hallways to foam at the mouth issue a comment. Having paid no […]
Applying Banksy to election advertising
This, [allegedly] from brilliant UK street artist Banksy, made me think. The sentiment (“any advert in a public space that gives you no choice whether you see it or not is yours. It’s yours to take, rearrange and reuse.” … “They have rearranged the world to put themselves in front of you. They never asked […]
Justifying the dodgy
Mitt Romney seems to be indulging in the “I hit him first but it wuz self defence because I could see he was gunna hit me” justification I expect of a six year old. After reportedly outspending Gingrich five-to-one with ads that were overwhelmingly negative, and explaining his philosophy as “when you’re attacked you’ve got […]
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? […]
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: […]
Gonzo
I’m reading this oral history-style biography of one of my heroes, Hunter S. Thompson which I picked up at Real Groovy in Queen Street last weekend. Good book. I’ve been reading Thompson since being astonished by Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas in the late1970s. I always found his writing worthwhile, particularly his political reportage […]
Watchdog issues warning about Sean Wood Property Tutors enterprise
UPDATE: This situation has developed further. See Property Tutors’ Sean Wood is ‘not of good character’ – according to Authority & Judge 26 April 2012 — Remember this?: Calling all gullible gamblers! Here’s the latest badge of honour … And how it’s being reported … It’s also covered in the NZ Herald. Something else to add […]
Whale Oil truth FAIL? A note to the Standards Committee
Ms Spanish Bride Standards Committee Whale Oil website Dear Spanish, Thank you for your correspondence of 15 October received yesterday ‘Hypocrite, your name is Peter’ which followed my requests for True Blogger Cameron Slater to advance a single shred of evidence for his allegations of ‘illegal’ campaign advertising and ‘vandalism’ which I quote below. In […]
A wittle bit of hyperbole? Or not?
There’s a saying in newsrooms which goes something like: “We’d better hope when the End of the World comes there won’t be a sports reporter on the newsdesk … because they’ll have used up all their superlatives.“ Look at this great lead paragraph regarding a Rugby League star: Last night’s game redefined the word irreplaceable. […]
Hunting for a word
I mentioned in my earlier post about ‘Black hat’ techniques that What I need is a better word for spin doctor. It seems too passive for the propaganda campaign aspect. ‘Spuiker’ is close in spirit, but not quite right. … Any ideas? The definition I quoted in the tweet above is from wisegeek.com … whose […]
Psychic TV
Oh My God. I just watched the classic Bond movie From Russia With Love which finished just before half-past midnight. At the end of a satisfying, anachronistic and nostalgic motion picture experience, and as Matt Monroe started to croon through the theme song (er, no thanks Matt), I flicked around the other channels and came […]
