Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: You can't moan

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  • WH,

    I didn't see Bond's opening spell (I heard it on the radio) but I saw the replays of his caught and bowled in the last match. What a champion that guy is.

    Good to see Taylor play so well, and Fulton and McMillan repay the faith that has been shown in them. Was that our first ever one day series win against AUS? In any case it was one of the truly great NZ performances. Go Kiwi.

    I made the drive from Thames to Coromandal township on the weekend, which was almost as apectacular as the cricket. No signs, but lots of trees.

    Since Nov 2006 • 797 posts Report Reply

  • Graeme Edgeler,

    PS: Oddly enough, Parore got snotty when people insisted on pronouncing his name correctly ...

    I'd have gone with Parore's name being pronounced however Parore wants it pronounced. If Stephen O'Regan thinks Stephen is pronounced Tipene, or Steven Colbert wants to be French I'm not going to stand in either's way.

    That said, I've wondered a number of times how my surname is correctly pronounced. Now some of the pronunciations I've gotten I know are wrong, but I've never even figured out how many syllables may name has, let alone where they split!

    Any suggestions?

    Wellington, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 3215 posts Report Reply

  • Haydn Thomsen,

    One quick question for your esteemed readers.

    Why does NZ only get credit for only 337 Runs? They were tied for 336, and then Mccullum hit a 4 so shouldn't they get 340. This would make it an even greater victory for NZ, and an even higher score in NZ for the record books.

    And what's weirder - the batsman gets credit for 4.

    What's up with that?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 5 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    Apparently, the theory is this. They just changed the rule so that, if the batting team needs one run to win, but the batsman hits a four, if the batters RUN a single before the ball reaches the boundary, the game is over the instant they complete that single, so the four doesn't count. If the batsmen stayed in their creases and didn't run, the whole four would be counted.

    However, I would have thought that meant the batsman didn't get the runs either.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Robert D'Lures,

    Since Feb 2007 • 4 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Robyn:

    Remember when 'facardism' was a briefly - though not briefly enough IMO - fashion in architectural vandalism? That's went you leave "significant architectural features" visible, when you've demolished everything behind the façade and put up an arse-ugly tower block. There's some fine examples on Queen Street and around Wellywood.

    In the end, I'm with Russell. Even when you're focused on 'urban design' issues, I think there's a lot more important (and more complex) matters for the ACC to address than the billboard non-crisis. IMO, it would contribute more to the beautification of Auckland - or Aotea Square anyway - if the Aotea Centre & the ACC's Adminstration Building fell into a black hole

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

  • merc,

    Well dear old Bruce is probably working to the same formula that's worked for years..."hehe, let's ban billboards, and while they're all fretting over that..."
    Oh dear, that's what the trees in Queen Street was all about. Meanwhile, why did we buy the Vector Stadium?

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report Reply

  • merc,

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report Reply

  • the E,

    such a shame for aucklanders to do away with bilboards when it is surely inevitable that Ross Taylor will appear on one soon, clad in only a pair of pants.

    wellington • Since Jan 2007 • 42 posts Report Reply

  • Don Christie,

    Graeme Edgeler == Grim Udler

    Three is about as short as I can get it - any other takers...

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1645 posts Report Reply

  • Joanna,

    It's when billboards take up the front of (usually interesting, old) buildings that I don't like. Look at 223 Symonds Street - there's actually an old building under that giant Telecom billboard.

    Bring back the rolling boobs of the click bra days!

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 746 posts Report Reply

  • LegBreak,

    RB,

    Don’t get me wrong I think it’s great that Taylor’s made it, as is the fact that this current NZ team has a far more cosmopolitan and more reflective of NZ society look to it these days which is a great thing.

    Which gets me thinking, why is Jeetan Patel (also born in NZ) not referred to as Indian, where (unlike Taylor) he is ethnically a full-blooded Indian?

    It just doesn’t add up to me (although I do take Emma Hart’s point that the media does seem to like finding an easy tag and sticking to it)

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1162 posts Report Reply

  • casahuia,

    Hard News?

    Such were the batting heroics yesterday, it would be easy to forget how… the real and important issue of the day in cricket slipped under the radar in recent weeks. Not a jot was mentioned recently about how South African cricketing hero Herschelle Gibbs was able to abuse the racial heritage and degree of evolution of his Pakistani hosts, have this broadcast to an international audience via stump microphone, and receive only a paltry suspension such that he missed but one test match and 2 ODIs before being allowed back to play these same opponents? In a world where taking diuretics results in a season’s stand down, how can such vile and archaic attitudes be met with such diluted consequences and go unnoticed. No wonder international sport has such problems in this area.

    Don’t get me wrong, our victory over Australia is amazing and I can barely remove the grin from my face today, but I couldn’t help thinking is this Hard News or a Woman’s Weekly cum Sports Café feel good piece?

    Since Feb 2007 • 10 posts Report Reply

  • the E,

    casahuia, that sounds most distasteful. didn't know about that...

    It strikes me that Taylor's heritage is highlighted because a Black Cap cricketer of Samoan heritage is unusual - and a novelty. RB points out that there has only been one other.

    Indian / Pakistani heritage players are not so unusual - they live in NZ, a cricketing nation, & their heritage is cricket also.

    Irene vD's nationality is also unusual given that she moved to NZ & plays for NZ. That's probably why people go on about it.

    Just novelty value... if we had a succession of Samoan NZers playing for the Black Caps from now on, it probably wouldn't be mentioned so much.

    wellington • Since Jan 2007 • 42 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Don’t get me wrong, our victory over Australia is amazing and I can barely remove the grin from my face today, but I couldn’t help thinking is this Hard News or a Woman’s Weekly cum Sports Café feel good piece?

    Well, pardon me not finding something unhappy to say about cricket. But to be honest, I haven't even followed the Gibbs controversy. Why should I?

    If you want detailed commentary on world cricketing controversies, start your own blog and write about it yourself. Seriously.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Leigh Kennaway,

    Yep, it would be great if businesses actually put up a nice clear street number to save all that pesky slowing down in heavy traffic trying to locate one amongst all the clutter of signs with everything but. Currently the multitude of signs in most of our shopping strips resembles the late-night noise in a crowded bar – there are so many voices raised over one another it is difficult to actually focus on what is important to you.

    The billboards themselves may be located on private property but the whole point of them is that they can be seen by as many people as possible in public places - the streets, parks, shopping precincts etc. One of the benefits of the review is that we all now get a chance to say if that is a good or bad thing - or if we'd prefer to enjoy our cityscape without Coca Cola and Vodafone pushing their consumer goods at us. So, write a submission!

    Western Bays • Since Feb 2007 • 79 posts Report Reply

  • LegBreak,

    J Patel is the first player of Asian extraction to play for NZ who was born here.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 1162 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Williams,

    J Patel is the first player of Asian extraction to play for NZ who was born here.

    That's a little surprising. And will you look at that, Dipak was born in Nairobi. Cool.

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    But seeing as you're asking, I think there's doubt about whether Gibbs' comments, while in breach, were actually racist in intent.

    At the game in Gauteng (ie, in South Africa, not in Pakistan), a group of Pakistani supporters were abusing Gibbs and his team-mates and throwing objects from the crowd. There have even been claims that they were racially abusing South African players and Ntini had been hit on the head with a Pakistani flag the previous day.

    So it was clearly a test match being played in an unpleasant spirit. Gibbs apparently said: "they're like bloody animals", in reference to the spectators, then "go back to the zoo", then "fucking Pakistanis," which will have been the part that really got him into trouble.

    Gibbs is a trouble magnet: he's been disciplined for taking bribes (but not going through with it), smoking pot, and now verbal abuse. It's not clear to me whether he was abusing on the basis of skin colour (he's "coloured" himself) but it seems fair enough to say he's a dick.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Williams,

    The South Africans also had some grievances when they were in Sydney at the begining of '06 - Andre Nel was a target but so too was Ntini.

    Sydney • Since Nov 2006 • 2273 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Yep, it would be great if businesses actually put up a nice clear street number to save all that pesky slowing down in heavy traffic trying to locate one amongst all the clutter of signs with everything but. Currently the multitude of signs in most of our shopping strips resembles the late-night noise in a crowded bar – there are so many voices raised over one another it is difficult to actually focus on what is important to you.

    Really Leigh? I can't recall ever having that problem. Obviously, there should be boundaries, but the council's own before-and-after example seems completely over the top to me.

    The billboards themselves may be located on private property but the whole point of them is that they can be seen by as many people as possible in public places - the streets, parks, shopping precincts etc. One of the benefits of the review is that we all now get a chance to say if that is a good or bad thing - or if we'd prefer to enjoy our cityscape without Coca Cola and Vodafone pushing their consumer goods at us. So, write a submission!

    But you're talking about a commercial business district - it's where commerce, including the pushing of consumer goods, is meant to take place. I don't see business as a bad thing.

    What I wonder is if anyone will have the nerve to take on Ike Finau over his forest of abusive and defamatory signs next to the West Lynn shops. When the council said it was going to enforce the environmental bylaws he's flouting, various people, including the Water Pressure Group and the Green Party, were up in arms. (Now, of course, he has signs abusing the Green Party too, along with Brian Rudman and others.)

    The council wimped out there. But they're still prepared to nail someone for putting a sign outside their shop ...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Nais,

    Leigh
    I shall be writing a submission. For those of you keen to participate in the democratic process.... here's the link

    Auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 22 posts Report Reply

  • Nais,

    Leigh

    Do Community Board members and/or their decisions have any influence on Council decisions?

    Does your Community Board have a view on this issue? Have you communicated it to your fellow City Vision colleague and Counciller. Bruce Hucker?

    Will you also support no billboards during local authority and national elections?

    Auckland • Since Dec 2006 • 22 posts Report Reply

  • Leigh Kennaway,

    Hi Nais
    The Western Bays Community Board has decided to set up a working party to make a submission, and yes Councillors Hucker and Sefuiva - and the Mayor, were present when we discussed it... and I believe most other Community Boards will be doing the same, and encouraging members to make their own submissions.

    We try to live by what we preach, and so Election hoardings are subject to a triennial review, and that was last done in June 06. Each Community Board gets to review the list of hoarding sites in their own ward and decide if there should be more, less, or none at all. I don't think any of the Boards, this term or last, made any changes. Every election we have a debate over the effectiveness of hoardings... I'd love to give up on them and get two months of weekends back instead of erecting and repairing them, but I think the Left does them because the Right does them because...

    Ike Finau's signs?!?! Well, some argued that free speech shouldn't be constrained by the same rules that govern the advertising of beer and cars... I'm just glad I wasn't involved in that debate.

    Western Bays • Since Feb 2007 • 79 posts Report Reply

  • Craig Ranapia,

    Ike Finau's signs?!?! Well, some argued that free speech shouldn't be constrained by the same rules that govern the advertising of beer and cars... I'm just glad I wasn't involved in that debate.

    Well, if you're standing for re-election this year I'm sure someone is going to ask you whether you have a position on Auckland City's own environmental bylaws being enforced rigorously and without fear or favour. Will be interested in your answer. I think that's a little more important than the billboard non-crisis, because nothing is more destructive of respect for the rule of law than the perception of bias on the part of those who make and enforce them.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report Reply

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