Especially this:

have the sanitary towel disposal unit behind the loo or as a built-in fitting

I am so over banging my knees on the wretched things while I take a pee.

To my shame, I completely forgot the needs of the alcoholic... room to kneel in front of a loo should be added to your list!

Actually I have a relative whose fortune is being made laying and resurfacing marble in commercial buildings. He tells me those clients are…

You sound like a chap with finer feelings. Thank you for anything you can do.

Why thank you, but in my current position I can't set curricula – I'm part-time and low rank while I concentrate on my Piled Higher and Deeper (in English Lit, of all things... you want…

Incidentally, all of the roads around there sound like they were named by someone's mother-in-law....

As a general rule, don't street names get dished out by a dull-but-worthy sub-committee of the relevant local authority? So I guess the mother-in-law analogy is fundamentally accurate. :)

Shakespeare, Tennyson, Masefield, Wordsworth, Dryden, and so on. It was known locally as "Poets' Corner". It was not, shall we say, a very poetical area.

We also have this area in Chch, just south of the central city. It's hard industrial.

Forget all the weeds and tacky architecture, didn’t anyone notice from the Herald on Sunday story that Key's bach is on a road called 'Success Court'? Isn’t that an example of 'nuff said'?

Interesting – that's actually the less wanky part of Omaha, in a sub-division that's been there since…

Really, Connor, I've got to side with Ben and Don on this. Stick a fork in this property snob crap, 'cause its done.

You might be right Craig, but I think there is a genuine discussion to be had as to why developers feel the need to name things in…

Oh yes, dale, yes. And those toilets that are only big enough for the loo, so that when you sit down, your knees almost touch the walls? I don't think so.

OMG, yes! The morning bowel movement should be a moment for peaceful contemplation and unity with the great cycle…

Forget all the weeds and tacky architecture, didn’t anyone notice from the Herald on Sunday story that Key's bach is on a road called 'Success Court'? Isn’t that an example of 'nuff said'?

Yes, just not in the sense you think. FFS, I live in a suburb that bears the…

Kracklite, pet, could I crave a boon?

We tried for a year to buy a…

And didn’t anyone think to tell Key that he didn’t seem very prime ministerial crapping on about…

John Key's pad is really a simulation?

If only it were virtual reality, then I could turn it off and watch something just as artificial but more edifying, like a twelve-hour Andy Warhol film of astroturf (not) growing.

There is something uncanny about it, as if it were an 80s…

'Even Better than the Real Thing'

the story I heard was that Bono orginally had "better than the real thing" which Eno took exception to, too earnest, and suggested adding the "even" for the irony.

I seek the Unsnob,

Ah, but being a snob is just so much fun if done with sufficient irony and humour (not the same thing). Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons is a snob with neither... and I've met people like that. Saint Oscar was a snob with those qualities.…

someone used this situation...

Umberto Eco. Wasn't the term Pomo first used for the archetectural style of Las Vegas?

There's also The Death of The Author stuff.

Masochism only goes so far

My eyes saw "Machismo" and it was my first double take in years.

Kracklite, so if I get you, John Key's pad is really a simulation? I thought I saw jaggies...Is Key himself one too? A mere Avatar (note pomo capitaliSation).

Kracklite: "No more than…

And I must say, this all reminds me not to engage with these people at all.

If its any comfort Russell, you're much better at staying off the crazy-go-round than I am. (And I'm not talking about PAS – which is more like energetic fencing with the occasion trivial duelling…

clash of ideas at cloud 9.

As someone said... and I can't remember who... the one thing worse than a snob is an inverted snob.

Oh yes, it's postmodern to put quote marks around everything.

And I can't resist this quote, from The Belly of an Architect, from which I…

"No one can tell you what postmodernism is"

It's rather like the one about Deconstruction: Deconstruction is not what you think it is.

If only I could see what was postmodern about it.

Well, as I said, I don't like pomo per se. Anyway, bearing in mind varying interpretations and…

You give out Camerons address then point to the fires set by D4J – smooth.

At this point I should say I back Minto on his words and deeds to date but none of the others mentioned.

However – $300 a day for roaming data in OZ is…

It looks to me like John Key's hat tip to wanting to have a nice time at the beach, and it looks like it would serve that purpose admirably.

Sure, hence my comment in the previous post. "if Key doesn't give a stuff and he likes the place, all power…

And God, can people stop obsessing with Key's taste in houses and crabs. Talk about snobbishness.

C'mon, Don. We've gone from agreeing it's a bit crap to discussing Ionic volutes. It's PAS in action.

Oh, it's practically Pavlovian at this point, Kyle.

True. But Pavlov worked with (ie, did horrible things to...) dogs, so it's clearly a training issue. In my instance, that means a squirt with the water bottle, so stand still Craig. You play nice, you'll get cut up sizzlers as a…

Hone Tuwhare is OUR Te Mata Poet Laureate.

Hone Tuwhare is OUR Icon Artist

He's not YOURS exclusively.

Shame on you!

PS Can someone please Youtube this for us?

I have no opinions on the Key/crab connection.

Typo.

Thank you for your attention.

The aspect of the modern "bach" that I find most striking is that they have lost any respect for their environment.

The one I find most striking is how much they've turned into McMansions. The classic batch, is, after all, something that it looks like dad and a few mates…

What it is, is a cheap imitation of modernism, an ugly hat-tip to modernism that destroys what it is trying to mimic.

The sad thing is that the great modernists all received classical training and a sense of proportion and detailling was…

can people stop obsessing with Key's taste in houses and crabs. Talk about snobbishness.

In principle, I agree. In practise, Paul Litterick makes me cackle (actually some of the comments in his post are also priceless) to the extent that I am inclined to admire the performance before I condemn…

Thanks for the Tuwhare links – much appreciated. In some ways Hone's real influence here was much more real than the Hilary one.

As the Man himself wrote

O tree
in the shadowless mountains
the white plains and
the drab sea floor
your end at last is written.

…

Craig, many of us, along with our parents and grandparents were and are inspired by Hilary's example. That is a fact.

Never doubted that, Don. As I said, I've an enormous admiration for the man myself and while scaling Everest is what put him in the history books, its the…

And the D4J stuff on The Standard is definitely creeping me out.

Ewww, never had the displeasure to visit before. It seems to work as a lightning rod for trolls?

I wouldn't get too freaked by either Burns or Slater. There is no doubt an enormous number of people already…

This is no "Lady Di Queen of Hearts" outpouring of grief, just a simple acknowledgment of that inspiration. A time for appreciation. There is nothing I have seen or…

craig, for the life of me i can't see how that first sentence relates to a political figure making downright incorrect assertions about crab fishing.

Well, che, perhaps you could enlighten me how we ended up at John Key's one man class war at Omaha Beach. It's perfectly obvious to…

If you judge it in terms of modernism then it's not a beautiful pad and that photo tells you all you need to know.

I'm not sure why I should judge it in those terms. It looks to me like John Key's hat tip to wanting to have a nice…

(This is in the 'gentle joshing' end of the spectrum, Craig, in case my tone isn't clear. I find you very entertaining.)

Josh away, Danielle. Don't want Snowy adding misogynistic disdain for uppity women to my 'pathological' traits. :) And I do like 'cant', because it drawm a useful distinction…

And I must say, this all reminds me not to engage with these people at all.

It's a bit like arguing with Christians at the door? Horribly tempting, and always a waste of time. I'm perfecting my non-engagement script – last time:

"Hi there, we were wondering if you'd heard…

There's a thesis to be written about the house as the last respectable locus for Kiwi snobbery and class consciousness

In Alain De Botton's The Architecture of Happiness book and TV series, he has a theory that people build that which represent what's missing. So in England that means that…

I'm not saying it is a beautiful pad. I don't really know, and I think no one else who is commenting here does either.

If you judge it in terms of modernism then it's not a beautiful pad and that photo tells you all you need to know. I love…

It may be a beautiful pad and a crap photo.

Could be, could be...

An idiot I may be but you guys are still writing about me. So who is the idiot now.

c'mon cameron, you can do better than "i know you are you said you are..."

And I do hope you lefties are as supportive of the unfettered rights of humble fisherfolks…

The political subtext of all this – especially given Key's careful cultivation of his supposed rags to riches life and his views on state housing in his Helensville electorate – should be obvious.

Gee, Tom, I thought the entirely apolitical text is that John Key (like everyone else, I hope)…

Some topics don't really call for snark.

Oh, it's practically Pavlovian at this point, Kyle.

1. Person expresses any kind of emotional sentiment.
2. Craig appears, in contrary mode. Is usually guaranteed to use a combination of any/all of these words or phrases: 'with all due respect', 'cant', 'excuse me…

What disturbs me about Mr. Slater's blog posting is that it suggests to me that Minto paid half a million dollars for a rather ordinary green wooden villa with a skylight in the roof. Ouch! That's a reminder why I don't want to live in Auckland.

More than half of…

And just to complete…

If you'll stop hyperventilating for a moment, I'll actually take you at your word. But take some fucking responsibility for what you publish --exactly the same kind of accountability I'd expect Ruusell to man up and accept as the owner/publisher of Public Address. Hell, I'm also legally and ethically…

I will do Dusty at your next event for a modest fee. :)

Dusty rocks! And no, that's not another reference to John Key's holiday pad.

An idiot I may be but you guys are still writing about me. So who is the idiot now.

I don't know you or your blog or whatever you've posted, and don't care.

But that's a stupid thing to say. "Hey look, a bunch of people are calling me stupid.…

Don't be so bleeding precious, Kyle. And if I've been trying to repress anyone else's expression

Just thought the comment:

Please feel free to deck yourself in sackcloth and ashes and you feel fit

was pretty unnecessary. Some topics don't really call for snark. "Oh look, person felling sad over…

Wherever you are, there are some people who think that once we've cut down those trees we'll have a nice view of the beach.

well, from my place you'd have to raze the michael fowler centre.

i'm sure that's a compromise everyone can livw with.

ps. cameron, you're an idiot.

Well, well, well Russell and his little band of worshipers have seen fit to defame, slander and lie to fit a story to the facts.

Cameron, I'd respect you more if you didn't roll around playing the victim every time you're called on one of your bizarre outbursts.

4. Russell…

Thanks to PA, I could do that Mr Slater. Just sayin'.

Thanks to the information in the domain name system, really. To be honest I just posted it in as a whois output during a pitstop at an internet cafe, and I didn't even notice that it was a home…

Wherever you are, there are some people who think that once we've cut down those trees we'll have a nice view of the beach.

If you've got a body that doesn't turn a pair of budgie smugglers into a breech of multiple UN Conventions...

The kind of body that annexes your seat on a plane? Not as yet. It's more the kind that solidly asserts that the armrest only looks like neutral territory.

There seems to be a lack of context, perhaps spartan != contextual, or is that merely a cultural artifact from a more modest era ?

That sounds like a fashion crime all right. Where are my budgie smugglers?

Well you can't really have an ostentatious display of wealth and fit in now can you?

If so, I would like to pose beneath them in my choice of beach attire – Speedos. I don't care who thinks they look like undies

Damn right too. If you've got a body that doesn't turn a pair of budgie smugglers into a breech of multiple UN Conventions you…

There seems to be a lack of context, but perhaps spartan != contextual,…

it's not just about the origin of source – it's about consent

I agree that consent is relevant with privacy considerations, not just about perceived potential for harm, which is a subjective issue.

I checked out that facebook article linked, I was surprised to note that amid the hysterical disapproval…

even with the publication on whale, I couldn't find Minto's house to egg, or call it up and leave rude messages

but somehow slater did, was able to photograph it, and could easily share that info with people who dislike minto.

not intimidating at all. not an iota.

Short answer: No. Please feel free to deck yourself in sackcloth and ashes and you feel fit, but I'd rather honor the memory of Sir Edmund by sharing a little of his impatience with cant, pretension and insincerity.

Ah sorry, my bad. I'll try and conform my way of dealing…

I prefer to swim when I go swimming, not fight gaping pockets full of water and restricted leg movements, just to convince everyone what a great conformist I am

i recommend physiotherapy.

but seriously... mr. slater lives in howick?

no wonder he's all up in arms. lefty protesting types are…

it's not surprising you fail to understand the implicit threat in Slater's actions.

Again, it's a disturbing, odd thing to do, going to someone's house to photograph it, but even with the publication on whale, I couldn't find Minto's house to egg, or call it up and leave rude messages.…

Given your m/o on this site it's not surprising you fail to understand the implicit threat in Slater's actions.

Thank you for playing, Snowy. I'm not.

I will do Dusty at your next event for a modest fee. :)

Both ways now? ;-)

Perhaps I'm also being contrary and there really are rules of good beach house taste. If so, I would like to pose beneath them in my choice of beach attire – Speedos. I…

Given your m/o on this site it's not surprising you fail to understand the implicit threat in Slater's actions.

Perhaps I'm just touchy because I'm heir to a modernist bach myself which carries with it a lifetime of happy memories. I couldn't give a shit what art critics think of it, I think it's awesome. One of my favorite places on Earth.

You asked for it, Ben! It's karaoke…

I stand by it.

I'd expect nothing less, Idiot/Savant. Just as I know I'm never going to convince the usual suspects over at Kiwiblog to stop screaming 'Stalinst' until Helen Clark finally gets around to turning Waiheke Island into a giant gulag for her enemies, engineers a famine that kills…

If I were Whaleoil I would point to the publicity over Key's bach and ask what's different.

Not much, except that it looks like it's Key's own photo, rather than some creepy stalker's. But the intention is similar, to rag out someone on account of their lifestyle or taste, when…

Stalking implies intimidation, and that's what I'm wondering about. There's no address, there's no number, no contact details, and no call to action.

Don't get me wrong – I think this is idiotic, pointless, and so on. As Russell says, creepy even. But I…

I disagree with a lot of what John Minto says these days, but Mr Oil has, yet again, crossed the creepy line.

I realise a photo is different from an address or phone number (not least because you actually have to visit the place and take a photo), but is…

i am that professional Craig

You're a nit-wit, Snowy, and I can't be bothered wasting any more time on you.

As for Kyle:

Or does your contrary angle not have an off switch, even when people are expressing sadness?

Short answer: No. Please feel free to deck yourself in sackcloth…

No, it wouldn't, actually. That would amount to criticising things merely on the basis of who says them.

Publishing stuff about where people live is presumably problematic because…

Clearly Craig is pathologically contrarian. I guess he needs the attention.

For future reference, Snowy, I prefer to have my 'pathology' diagnosed and treated by qualified professionals I've established an appropriate therapeutic relationship with. (Hint: It usually starts by being in the same room.)

You might wish to turn your…

http://fundypost.blogspot.com/2007/12/house-fit-for-horrors.html

I can. It's called 'choosing your style' as opposed to 'letting the Victorians choose your style'.

Sure, and I can't understand why folks don't just go the whole hog and demolish the Victorian cottage — or sell it to someone who wants it, and is willing to have it removed…

Clearly Craig is pathologically contrarian. I guess he needs the attention.

"publicity over Key's bach and ask what's different"

How about one seeks msm publication while the other doesn't seek publication on a rightwing…

For God's sake

How about we let people express their thoughts about significant NZers in their own way? I think it's sad that they've both died, and they both still had stuff to contribute. Michael King was taken from us by a car accident, not old age and bad health.…

But having said that, I can't really say Idiot/Savant's little essay in Argumentum ad Nazium is any more impressive.

I stand by it. Whale Oil is acting exactly like the thugs in the National Front, and it needs to be pointed out. As for National, as I said to you…

http://kiwiblogblog.wordpress.com/2008/01/17/farrars-albatross/

http://www.thestandard.org.nz/?p=947

I mean, he couldn't have paid more than $150k for that piece of crap, surely?

Without seeing the whole thing, who can say?

Wouldn't wish it on a dog, and perhaps we should focus on the fact that Hillary and Tuwhare lived long and full lives, and they died quickly but knowing they were respected and loved for their achievements.

Indeed – food for thought. Well said, Craig.

but I can't understand the thought processes behind gutting a villa in a chi chi inner city suburb and turning it into a set from 2001.

I can. It's called 'choosing your style' as opposed to 'letting the Victorians choose your style'.

To me Key's Bach just looks like an…

And do want.

Heh, one of my colleagues had her newly purchased, highly anticipated Inspiron complete with silver racing stripe turn up a mere two hours ago.

She feels a little deflated now...

...Re: Key's Bach. Doesn't look too bad to me. Much though I love the cacophonous random cheapness of the traditional kiwi bach,

Ummmm, cacophonous random cheapness seems a very apt description for Key's bach to be honest. I was thinking how nice it is to see a multimillionaire like our…

I was going to suggest they name the new Dunedin (spit) stadium after Ed, but maybe Hone would be a better target

Someone is chopping down our giants. Very sad.

Someone? Her perhaps?

For God's sake — Tuwhare was bloody eighty five, not one to turn down a drink or a good feed that wouldn't exactly win the approval of the diet cops, and had been in pretty poor health for a…

Re: Key's Bach. Doesn't look too bad to me.

Well, I think it's absolutely hideous — but I can't understand the thought processes behind gutting a villa in a chi chi inner city suburb and turning it into a set from 2001. There's a thesis to be written about the…

King and Frame both died relatively close to each other. Now Hillary and Tuwhare, almost a week apart.

Someone is chopping down our giants. Very sad.

You mean you're not all-tidy-all-the-time? You'll have the Gay Mafia wanting their membership card back.

You have seen how I dress, Mr. Brown? The gay mafia put a contract out on my fat, Hallensteins-clad arse years ago. :)

I'm more of the Quentin Crisp school of housekeeping when it comes…

My own Ed Hillary story. I once stood next to him at baggage reclamation at the airport. I was struck by the incredible hairiness of his ears, and wondered how much of an advantage…

i mean,ffs, that piss-weak attempt to make a "leftie" out to be a "hollow man" must be starting to edge pretty near.

cameron mate, if you're reading this, you are a fukcing idiot.

And if any nutbag wants to get my home address from the North Shore electoral roll and come take pictures, at least give me some warning so I can do the windows and trim the hedge.

You mean you're not all-tidy-all-the-time? You'll have the Gay Mafia wanting their membership card…

For starters, he starts out bemoaning the whole social website thing, so he's not exactly biased.

And, Facebook owned by Silicon Valley sorts who want to make craploads of money of it. Umm, not news…

Many people said fine things about the late Sir Ed while I was away from connectivity (apart from John Key, who said something vacuous)

Oh, give it a fucking rest Russell. If there was anything 'fine' about the Sunday News patting June Hilary on the head for appropriate 'staunchness', I…