Up Front by Emma Hart

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Up Front: Romeo Smells of Roses

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  • Rich Lock,

    Is the restraint slipping?

    If it is, then it needs tightening up before she gets free. It would never do if she escaped before they had a chance to BURN HER!

    back in the mother countr… • Since Feb 2007 • 2728 posts Report Reply

  • JackElder,

    Basically, they said that parents/schools would never allow kids to explore witchcraft in such a way...

    My eldest daughter's creche did a calendar as fundraising one year - you got a custom calendar with a picture of your child on it. They specifically asked us if we minded them using their favourite picture of her, which had her dressed as a witch. They understood, they said, that some parents might find the photo offensive.
    I thought this was funny because their emphasis was on the fact that you might find the photo offensive - not because they'd dressed your kid up as a witch, but the actual record of them having done so.

    Mind you, they did have to rename the halloween party for this year because a number of parents refused to attend it last year for religious reasons.

    Wellington • Since Mar 2008 • 709 posts Report Reply

  • Angus Robertson,

    Witch trials happened all the way from Russia, through all of Europe, England, Scotland, and into the New World colonies, over a period of nearly three hundred years.

    Also a capital crime under Sharia.

    Auckland • Since May 2007 • 984 posts Report Reply

  • JoJo,

    I think what irritated me the most was that the TCol staff wouldn't even entertain the idea that some parents would be happy for their kids to learn about it.

    I ended up teaching for a year in a small-town Catholic primary school. We all learned some pretty crazy stuff!

    Wellington • Since Jul 2008 • 95 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    it needs tightening up before she gets free

    Dude, that is a whole nother conversation.

    So how do you change the name/label they have in their mind to prevent these knee jerk reactions? (or perhaps these are two seperate things?)

    When I talked to my daughter, it went something like this. You know Scooby Doo? He's a dog, right, and dogs are real. But real dogs don't wear clothes*, walk around on their back legs or say 'ruh-oh Raggy'. Likewise, fictional witches are green and warty and ride broomsticks and stuff, and real witches don't and aren't. Discerning the second should be no more difficult than discerning the first.



    *No they frickin' don't.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Paul Henry would be first in line to stick them in the dunking basket.

    Only if his producers let him. I see an opening for further complaints if the little shit steps out of line again.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Dude, that is a whole nother conversation.

    Didn't we already have that one?

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Kyle Matthews,

    No they frickin' don't.

    Can you have a conversation with my girlfriend? Her dog wears this stupid red and blue t-shirt at night to keep it warm. I think all the other dogs laugh at it. I'm embarrassed.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report Reply

  • Andrew Stevenson,

    Can you have a conversation with my girlfriend? Her dog wears this stupid red and blue t-shirt at night to keep it warm. I think all the other dogs laugh at it. I'm embarrassed.

    It's not a real dog (see Emma's last post)
    Therefore it is an fictional dog
    Do you need to be embassed over something that has no basis in reality?

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 206 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Romeo is bleeding...

    and that's just the sticks and stones
    without the schticks and tones
    and brutish beatings of the taxognomes
    a no-mans litter of nomenclutter
    and possibly acrimonious acronyms
    the norm de guerre in a war of words?

    well that's my nominal contribution
    words and names are just recipes written
    or vibrational retrieval triggers spoken
    - we are the translation device
    (trans-sister radios maybe)
    with our own unique fine tuning

    I gotta say though that BLTG
    sounds like a sandwich...
    and didn't they (them again)
    pile up faggots to burn those witches
    (well Joan D'Arc at least)
    a bundle of fun or fuel for the bonfire
    of the in(s)anities...

    the English language is a minefield

    yrs Bruise the Barbarian
    (My name is lesion)

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Andrew Stevenson,

    When I talked to my daughter, it went something like this. You know Scooby Doo? He's a dog, right, and dogs are real. But real dogs don't wear clothes*, walk around on their back legs or say 'ruh-oh Raggy'. Likewise, fictional witches are green and warty and ride broomsticks and stuff, and real witches don't and aren't.

    So this can work when you are in one on one conversation AND have the ability to reinforce what you mean repeatedly over time.
    When you are dealing with other people (organisations) flooding their code words/labels/names with their meanings into the world things can get complicated, particually when there are multiple conversations/stories going on.

    Discerning the second should be no more difficult than discerning the first

    Ahhh, getting people to think.
    Nah, too difficult, I'm off for a drink

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 206 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Ahhh, getting people to think.
    Nah, too difficult, I'm off for a drink

    Binge thinking!
    now there's a culture to aspire to ...

    "If you don't think
    and drive...
    you're a fool"

    oh the possibilities

    unverse, reverse and perverse

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    Binge thinking!

    I love this phrase, because it covers not just intense overload brainstorming thinking, but also those bullshit sessions you have in bars and those things that seem like a good idea when you're trashed. You know, that 'screw it, it's only twenty ks, I'll just walk' thinking you can only do when you're pissed.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Sofie Bribiesca,

    Paul Henry would be first in line to stick them in the dunking basket.

    Record most complaints made to TVNZ. Still complaining also:)

    here and there. • Since Nov 2007 • 6796 posts Report Reply

  • Jackie Clark,

    Mind you, they did have to rename the halloween party for this year because a number of parents refused to attend it last year for religious reasons.

    For that, and for so many other reasons, I am eternally glad to have never worked in a kindergarten where the predominance of parents was, how shall I put it? Oh, yes, that's right. Middleclass. And white. And neurotic.

    Mt Eden, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 3136 posts Report Reply

  • JackElder,

    For that, and for so many other reasons, I am eternally glad to have never worked in a kindergarten where the predominance of parents was, how shall I put it? Oh, yes, that's right. Middleclass. And white. And neurotic.

    Just for the record, the specific parents who refused to attend the Halloween party were none of these things (well, neurotic, maybe).

    Wellington • Since Mar 2008 • 709 posts Report Reply

  • Greville Whittle,

    It's not often I cheer and roar at new stories and felt I had to share this snippet:

    Justice Bryant told The Age: "In the end, it wasn't a particularly difficult issue because the only real issue was, 'Would he (Alex) have it at 17 or once he's 18?' Then, he doesn't need permission.

    This is from a news story on Stuff:
    http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/2381395/Court-allows-girl-17-to-have-breasts-removed

    The tone of the article is pretty crappy, however all the quotes from the Judge in the case are awesome. In all her language the Judge affirmed Alex's gender positively. In her mind she was sure Alex is a 'He' and not a messed up 'She' or 'It'.

    Hamiltron • Since Oct 2008 • 50 posts Report Reply

  • JackElder,

    The thing I like about that transgender teen article was the way that the news service had to really scrabble to find someone willing to go on record to say that it was a bad idea. In the end, they found an ethicist willing to speak out in favour of denying someone psychologically important surgery during a crucial time in their life and which they will get in under a year anyway. I just wish that they'd made it slightly more explicit that this ethicist has a certain potential bias. Like, if they'd actually mentioned that he's an associate professor at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family.

    But still, all the people who actually mattered in this case seem to have had their heads screwed on right, and that's what counts.

    Wellington • Since Mar 2008 • 709 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Binge thinking

    I love this phrase

    Here at The Idea Orphanage we believe a young idea should be raised by a village (more Reggio Emilia rather than Midwich though) and given many mentors and shapers especially when it is such a "Screaming Meme*" like "Binge Thinking"

    The vetting panel has approved the whole Public Address System community as early adopters and adapters..

    Set your phrases on stun!

    Let the Binge Begin

    *the idea of a "Screaming Meme"
    is humbly dedicated to Simon Grigg
    for his "propulsive" impact on our culture : )

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • Emma Hart,

    But still, all the people who actually mattered in this case seem to have had their heads screwed on right, and that's what counts.

    Indeed, that was highly happy-making. And Mr Tonti-Filippini's actual background makes this statement:

    He said it was a psychiatric disorder qualifying under American guidelines as a psychosis because "it's a belief out of accordance with reality".

    simply hysterical. A belief out of accordance with reality is a psychosis. Trans-substantiation, for instance.

    Set your phrases on stun!

    Let the Binge Begin

    My man, I like your attitude! I've always felt language should be like that friend you have who, just when you're crawling off to bed at four a.m., says 'hey, I know! let's drive to Taupo! It'll be great!'.

    I may or may not be keeping a secret record of PA's linguistic inventiveness.

    Christchurch • Since Nov 2006 • 4651 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    Dalziel, yr a genius. Thank you.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Genie-ish, shurely...

    amazing what rubbing alcohol will get you...

    They burn wishes don't they?

    in the words of the immoral bard (Tom Waits)
    "I'd rather have a bottle in front of me, than a frontal lobotomy"

    Meanwhile back at the random checkpoint:

    "Have you been thinking at alll tonight sir?"

    "well I just had the one thought before I left work, officer."

    "Good, two would have been better, but it all helps curb
    thoughtless behaviour in society."

    c'est la vie
    - sacha's life!! : )

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report Reply

  • giovanni tiso,

    I'm going to need a widget of some sort that alerts me whenever Ian posts a comment. Get Cactuslab on it, Russell, won't you please?

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report Reply

  • Sacha,

    I want what he's having.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report Reply

  • Mrs Skin,

    He makes me want to have what he's wanting. Is there anything sexier than words?

    the warmest room in the h… • Since Feb 2009 • 168 posts Report Reply

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