Public Address | Cafe | Field Theory: Fight Club

NickG

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 15:18:13 +1200

This is comment is a little late, but perhaps still an interesting tale. I had a very similar experience to the author's about 10 years ago. Except I was paying attention to the traffic and along with two other friends was crossing Taranaki St, on a green cross signal when…

Lucy Stewart

Sun, 08 Apr 2012 10:18:55 +1200

I never found that to be the case in Christchurch though. If I was needing to get through town quickly they were a godsend, but at the same time they were still comfortable and easy to negotiate and fed logically to most destinations if I was going somewhere in town.…

Biobbs

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 20:11:44 +1200

Gerry will decide for you.

Gerry-built...

Gerry-mandered. Don't you worry about that, son.

Sacha

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 18:46:52 +1200

it's being pushed from the urban planning side of the council

that particular aspect seems professionally uncontroversial, yes.

Keir Leslie

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 18:28:35 +1200

Two-way streets are seen as so clearly a Good Idea it doesn't make sense for them not to start from that point. Hardly a Gerry-ism, it's being pushed from the urban planning side of the council.

Sacha

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 14:47:51 +1200

Gerry-built

Brilliant. You could build a good campaign around that. Tilt-slab wasteland, etc.

Ian Dalziel

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 14:38:14 +1200

Gerry will decide for you.
Gerry-built...

Rob Stowell

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 14:19:45 +1200

I cannot understand why they want to make this expensive decision now, when whatever money is available should be going to help people who’ve lost their homes. Yeah. I'm fairly agnostic on whether we end up with one-way or not (and I use it a LOT so I'll end up…

Sacha

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 13:44:03 +1200

when we haven't even finished the discussion about what the city centre should end up looking like

Gerry will decide for you.

Biobbs

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 09:10:48 +1200

The key to the great hate of oneway is that they effectively bypass whatever they go through. Where as a normal two way street has a cross pollination and assists in the creation of a neighbourhood.

I never found that to be the case in Christchurch though. If I was…

Just thinking

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 22:46:39 +1200

The key to the great hate of oneway is that they effectively bypass whatever they go through. Where as a normal two way street has a cross pollination and assists in the creation of a neighbourhood.
Two way streets will also slow your journey across town, which is considered desirable…

tussock

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 21:03:14 +1200

I've heard that story before, only it was different people, and the voluminous creative insulting competition was through the car window after it reversed.

It seems people really don't like being almost run over by someone who doesn't see them, and equally don't like people appearing from nowhere and nearly…

Ian Dalziel

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 07:34:47 +1200

Flight club...
Contractors still drive the wrong way on our horrid oneway streets.
Yeah, I noticed that the other day, too – what's that about?

re the one way streets – I don't mind them and think they should wait till we have a centre city again – and see…

DexterX

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 21:07:17 +1200

Rugby-head, for sure. ;)

It ain't necessarily so.

Just thinking

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:52:06 +1200

I grew up just after Disco & round my streets there were Skinz or Bootboys. Essentially a class divide. Many of the Bootboys are now Executives of large public companies. The skinz, not so much.

Just thinking

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 17:43:10 +1200

I'm sure you are right. I was at one end of the continum of intolerance and am probably still on that side as opposed to tolerance of deadly idiots (whoops).
Another bonus of the quakes are all the lowered boy racer cars have moved out of town. You can't ride…

headasunder

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:35:02 +1200

I suspect most men have been in a similar situation and if they haven't it probably means they ain't lived long enough, 20 years ago the bird would have been followed by a screech of tyres then grunts as the punches flew...now we have dialogue. I consider that progress

Rich of Observationz

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:01:59 +1200

No Riots ever happened to Disco.

You clearly (and fortunately) didn't grow up in provincial England in the late 70's / early 80's.

Most towns featured (and probably still do) one or two 'nightclubs' where young men would glower at each other and perv at young women to a soundtrack…

Lucy Stewart

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 10:20:48 +1200

Its about twice as long as his other books and is not 'poop science' by any means, but if you want to look at the social and psycological details involved its a fascinating read.

Some of his numbers are right dodgy, especially involving large-scale warfare in pre-modern periods. But certainly…

Andrew Stevenson

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:44:19 +1200

At the moment I'm reading Stephen Pinker's book "The better angels of our nature – the decline of violence in history and its causes" which, in a nutshell, says as a species we are getting better at avoiding and disengaging from violence – for a variety of reasons.
Its about…

BenWilson

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 08:18:11 +1200

I'm really glad the conclusion to this story was that no fighting ensued (which shows why you broke the first and second rule of fight club by even mentioning the episode). It's got a way of getting really out of hand, really fast. I can understand how the situation evolved,…

Lucy Stewart

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 01:03:07 +1200

Then he called me a faggot. I turned and told him to fuck himself. Then he made a comment about my mother. I walked back; it was, in the mildest sense, on.

That's the only part I don't personally get; getting angry, definitely, telling them to do something anatomically improbable,…

FletcherB

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 23:10:02 +1200

I've never quite had my coordination together to be successful... but on more than one occasion I have attempted to kick or slap a passing vehicle when I'm on a pedestrian crossing....

It doesn't really help, except in understanding a situation you can't change... but in my experience, a significant…

Islander

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:36:04 +1200

I guess as Hadyn notes, the boundaries are different when people think they won't have to deal with the consequences.

For a lot of drivers – especially males – their physical boundaries are actually the outside of their vehicles...

izogi

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 22:04:07 +1200

I now offer open hands an questioning eyebrows as a more diplomatic move.

I don't think I'd even want to do this. If I made any eye contact I'd try to be smiling or laughing it off at the time, just to get their attention on what happened. Sometimes if…

Just thinking

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:15:29 +1200

It has been in the past my habit to slap the bonnett of the car in such situations to say "hey I'm here".
I don't recommend this course of action, just state my past habit.
I now offer open hands an questioning eyebrows as a more diplomatic move.
Since the…

izogi

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:19:29 +1200

I also find that not expressing insults at people is a good way to reduce the likelihood of them insulting me back. He was probably at fault in the first place and maybe even realised that as he nearly hit you, but I doubt he turned around and started arguing…

Ross Mason

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 20:13:03 +1200

I find it helps to at least act like an arsehole. That way you get to see both sides.

Raymond A Francis

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:34:58 +1200

I think Greg has the best response
I note in some that anger can be quite addictive and a great way to bully reasonable people

Morgan Nichol

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:25:24 +1200

But would we actually slap them?

Nope, just ridicule.

Will de Cleene

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:03:58 +1200

Pressure valves are OK as long as nothing gets broken. Better out than in, eh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axkjkD0PcOU

Greg Bodnar

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:59:02 +1200

My favourite play against rage is utter calmness. It's much more infuriating that getting hit with witticisms. I can be quite a dick about it, too.

"Sir, you can save your insults for the police officer who investigates you for dangerous and negligent driving. Thank you, now be off."

3410

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:35:26 +1200

Rugby-head, for sure. ;)

Lilith __

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:28:13 +1200

I think fright easily translates into rage — having a near-miss as a pedestrian is very shocking. So I wouldn't beat yourself up too much!

Kumara Republic

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:17:54 +1200

Did you get his number plate?

Public Address

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 14:17:54 +1200

Discussion from blog post.