Posts by Craig Ranapia
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Hard News: A few (more) words on The Hobbit, in reply to Jonathan King,
Might be a non-trivial distinction to point out to *cough* certain folks who've been accusing Richard Taylor of various things I'm not sure it would legally advisable to repeat here.
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Hard News: A few (more) words on The Hobbit, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
Not wishing to stir but whateva. I learnt that National are still the Party that I still can’t stand.
And that's fine - I'm totally with Russell that the latest documents 1) probably aren't going to shift anyone's mind on this, and 2) don't reflect particularly well on any of the parties in what was a fraught and unpleasant moment in industrial relations. (See point one above.)
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Hard News: A few (more) words on The Hobbit, in reply to Russell Brown,
As Lew Stoddart put it at the time, they brought a knife to a gunfight.
Instead they’re now bringing a knife for a shanking.
Particularly disappointing – and bitterly ironic:
"When an actor performs in a screen production, quite often that will be a very short period of filming. There might be a lot of preparation required beforehand, but the filming itself will take a very short period of time.
“So now what the Government has done is they’ve changed the immigration law so that any actor from anywhere in the world can come to New Zealand as long as they’re not here for longer than 14 days. To give you an example, Dame Judi Dench won an Oscar on a performance that took a day-and-a-half to shoot. There’s an example of what it means to work in the film industry.
“So allowing actors to come into New Zealand for no more than 14 days is taking jobs. It’s taking many jobs off New Zealand performers. It is taking Kiwi jobs."
Judi Dench did that 8 minute cameo in Shakespeare in Love because the set was a half hour commute from her home, she was between theater engagements and the director and writer were friends. Anyone who thinks she’d have come 12,000 miles to steal a day and a half’s work off (say) Elizabeth Hawthorne is tripping balls.
So, bullshit example bolstering a crappy argument designed to fig-leaf a disturbing “eeek! dirty foreigners stealing our jobs” spin. I'd love John Campbell or Alison Mau to ask Actor's Equity how many of their members have "stolen" jobs off Australian, British and American actors over the last ten years.
Is everyone determined to learn abso-fucking-loutely nothing from this mess?
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Up Front: In Committee, in reply to Kumara Republic,
This? Yeah, Garth is being somewhat disingenuous. (In other news: Fire is hot, water is wet, and bullshit smells nasty.) Of course, he can hold personal opinions but all the media exposure was due to his position as High Poo-Bah at the Insensible Flogging Club or whatever it’s called.
When I was secretary of the Wellington Young Nats, I had a letter published in The Evening Post (ironically enough, on marriage equality), and some helpful sub noted the fact in a postscript. I’m the one who ended up getting a knuckle-rapping from the rest of the executive, and ended up asking the EP to run a clarification that a letter on my personal letterhead and not signed over an official title was my personal opinion.
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The dissenting, minority opinion noted in a couple of cases boils down to “you have civil unions, that’s good enough surely.”
Just saying no - but I'll have to sit down and properly digest this evening. Emma's summary suggests there's going to be little (if anything) to substantively quibble with, so time to go draft a letter to my local MPs urging them to hold the line. And in a few cases, get on the right side of history while they've got the chance.
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Hard News: Media3: Bad News for the Force, in reply to Matthew Poole,
Nope. Read it very carefully. It says the author hopes the thugs’ womenfolk get subjected to the same treatment at the hands of other badge-wearing jackbooted thugs, and then goes on to suppose that said womenfolk get that treatment at the hands of these jackbooted thugs when those thugs get home.
FFS, Matthew, can you acknowledge that there are PASers who’ve been on the receiving end of domestic abuse who really really shouldn’t be expected to micro-parse that kind of shit.
But wait, Emma, I’ve got some words for you too…
But my gut on the ones you quoted is that the first three stay and the fourth one goes, because it advocates domestic violence. And fuck, not to put too fine a point on it, that shit.
And advocating burning anyone to death isn’t fuck-that-shit-out-of-here worthy? Really? REALLY? I don't think it's a terribly fine ethical question for Counties-Manukau Police to say "if we're going to have a Facebook page, it's not cool to have content that contains threats of physical abuse against anyone."
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Hard News: The Wogistan form book, in reply to Chris Waugh,
Mana Party leader Hone Harawira made a sensible observation. A fellow with his own track record for causing offence, he disagreed that people are best not to openly express provocative views. When people hold views as extreme as Mr Prosser’s, Mr Harawira said, “it’s best that we hear them”. He’s right. Otherwise, they conceal what they really think.
Well, yes, I agree, but….. kinda missing the point?
By a privileged mile, Chris. Most of us don't say every fool thing that flits across our brain pan -- that's called functional adult socialization. It's really easy to disagree that "people are best not to openly express provocative views" when you're not being told every damn day you bear collective blood guilt-by-association with every shitty thing your co-religionists do. (Or that you're just "asking" to be raped if you go out at night in a short skirt. Or you're casually equated to child molesters and animal-fuckers just because you're GLBT and support marriage equality.)
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Hard News: The Wogistan form book, in reply to Johnny Canuck,
Customs/Border Security proceeded to go berserk at absolutely everyone. I had a fair idea what was coming as I overheard the poor guy in front of me in the queue getting a going-over.
I know a *cough* "confirmed bachelor" who, returning home after a particularly strenuous Sydney Mardi Gras, had great difficulty containing his smirk while his bags got tossed. (Strangely enough, Customs seemed more than usually interested in the flaming queens.) No drugs or hard core porn (you know what those people are like), but a matching butt-plug and cock ring ensemble for every occasion...
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Hard News: The Wogistan form book, in reply to Lucy Stewart,
I got a pat-down coming through Sydney last year while *transiting between flights*.
My weirdest airport security experience was in Canberra, heading to a domestic flight to Melbourne the day after the delivery of the federal budget. I was pulled aside for a not-really-voluntary (i.e. you can decline, but you’ll be escorted from the airport by security if you do) “bomb residue test”. I’m sure scores of banking and mining lobbyists slept easier that night.
On a domestic flight, Jetstar(!) objected to my having a lighter in my handbag. So I took it out, in front of the screeners, and put it in the pocket of my jeans. And that was fine.
Weird thing while overseas. I always made a point of saying I'd have no problem binning the cheap disposable lighter I was carrying if there were security/safety issues, and there weren't. But more than once, I not only had to completely unpack my laptop case but put the battery back in, and turn it on. Which really takes up time when you've got a long line of (understandably) bored and exhausted people behind you doing a crappy job of concealing their irritation. :)
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Hard News: The Wogistan form book, in reply to Russell Brown,
And because NZ First voters traditionally have no clue who the hell they’re voting in when they vote for Winston.
True -- then again, I'd like to think I'm a pretty informed voter and looking down the National caucus I find myself having a few "who the fuck are you?" moments. If you're reliant on the lamestream media that seems determined to reduce every election to a holiday camp Miss Lovely Legs of 1956 pageant, it's not only substantive policy analysis that goes begging. It's a little digging into what you're going to get with your party vote.
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