I've always said if you've never been to Asia before, South East Asia especially – it's a good place to start. You get the heat without the filth,…

Since September 9 – have had to fly NZ to UK via LAX once – and it was with work. Will never do it again if I can help it.

Singapore Airlines…

If it doesn't arrive, On Singtel send an SMS to *9434 and they'll send you a login and password.

I've used it probably 30 times with no problem..blisteringly fast too...you may need to…

Singapore isn't quite as repressed as i've been led to believe.

my favourite sign in Singapore is on a park just off Scotts:

Permitted Activities- Hip Hopping

During my ex-pat days my boss referred to Singapore as 'a cross between East Germany and Disneyland'. I've never heard it summed up so well

William Gibson called Singapore 'Disneyland with the death penalty' which might have its charms, but I'll be stuffed if I can see them.

Take them to Bali....and for heavens sake take them out of Club Med if you do....Nusa Dua is probably the last place I'd subject a family to, nasty, horrible sterile place where the only locals you encounter are the staff.

Day to day,…

so we shouldn't just take the kids to Bali for the school holidays then? won't it be dangerous taking them out of Club Med? wife doesn't want a repeat of that Portugese nastiness.

Apa?

Don't diss Singapore. It's a nice enough place, despite the Lees

for about 72 hours...the foods better in Bangkok, KL RI & Vietnam, the beer is cheaper anywhere in the world outside Scandinavia, the electronics are much cheaper in Jakarta, and the people are better mannered anywhere else in Asia.

Its…

A bit of a 2 horse race this time (usually a foregone conclusion) Bob Parker (Mr TV) & Dr Megan Woods (Phd in History).

He's with the National Democtratic Party…

About Vietnam – my take on it was that it has to be about the most capitalist communist country on the planet

Yup, in that strange Sony-Wegas-piled-on-the-pavement sort of way.

Checked into my hotel in Ho Chi Minh City about an hour ago, and it's very, very hot and I…

any country where the main sign of beauty is a pale skin that shows you don't work in the fields

I'm always bemused and rather disturbed by the range of Skin Whitening products advertised and, I guess, sold in South East Asia. They seem to dominate the TVCs in Singapore…

Craig Y

I voted for ACT once, sometime before 2005, when they were only slightly mad and acted more like a "keep the bastards honest" party. At some…

The market can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent...

But in the same swear I have vowed never to let an instance of ignorant destructive prejudice pass without comment…

I'll put it this way, how many ministerial spin doctors or PR flacks have you seen leave the profession and go back to journalism,

Well, there's Richard Long, although I'd be inclined to characterise his tenure as editor of the Dom as spin doctoring and political PR, anyway. David Kirk…

So WTF was Bollard thinking when he spent $1.5 Billion of our surplus funds on this dumbRs attempt to devalue our dollar? Surely he knew what happened when the British tried the same in 1992?

There is a fairly key difference between Black Wednesday, and Bollard's little play. That is,…

I was listening to the item with one ear, and I don't think Ryan was doing any of the above – just stating a…

Can't find any link for video of DC's story on the linked-to Close Up page.
A little help, please?

To the right, under Related Video: 'Melting Pot or Not?'

Sigh ... Phil Wallington has now weighed in on the Press Council story, declaring ""That article was absolutely fine – it's freedom of speech".

is this guy the worst media commentator RNZ has ever dug up, or what?

nine-to-noon is bad enoughas it is...

At 54 is Coddington still the oldermans MILF?
At least she can't stand on a right economic platform or can she – Rodney hocked off dodgy Fijian Timeshares.

From Wiki on Coddington
"I find it difficult…

like the rest of that island nation, Singapore's coffee shops are quite odd

If ever a nation had no soul....

No, it's a Vietnamese coffee shop. Much more soulful.

but I do have quite a busy itinerary, which includes, if I'm up to it, meeting some local bloggers at a coffee shop that holds swing dance classes on Wednesday nights.

like the rest of that island nation, Singapore's coffee shops are quite odd

If ever a nation had no…

Let me explain this in terms simple enough for a former Holmes producer to grasp.

ACP publications, including North & South, voluntarily subscribe to Press Council standards.…

Russell, I believe you have linked the Time story on Vietnam by mistake where you intend to link the Panal podcast.

Thanks. Fixed now.

And got thoroughly spanked by Spring Awakening – another left-field winner, so double justice!

Can you imagine a major New Zealand exporting sector having its most important market closed down while a foreign regulator keeps its counsel? Yikes.

What ? Like exporting apples to Australia ?

Aust willing to let in NZ apples, except in WA

In our house, we did 'violent tv is bad for kids'... via Futurama.

'Bite my shiny metal ass'!

Us too...

really fine story on the issue for Close Up last night

And to think I watched Campbell Live's combo of... Kids are obese and worried about their image.

The world is going a bit funny I think.

In our house, we did 'violent tv is bad for kids'... via Futurama.

really fine story on the issue for Close Up last night

And to think I watched Campbell Live's combo of... Kids are obese and worried about their image.

The world is going a bit funny I think.

Xanadu: The Musical is in previews (based on the film the director of Outfoxed etc. quietly leaves off his CV nowadays, and tests even my appetite for high camp)

Olivia Newton-John stars as Terpsichore, the Muse of Dance, who appears in order to help some dude start a roller disco.…

You don't have to be barking mad to be a former Act MP, but it clearly helps.

In my experience, it helps to be barking mad before you become an Act MP as well.

I sort of wish I hadn't been so rampantly unshaven throughout, but apart from that,

Um, most times I've met you "somewhat unshaven" would be a good description. :)

And not in a bad way. Part of the charm etc ;-) Can't wait to see it – be a ncie…

The Coast of Utopia, Tom Stoppard’s eight-hour trilogy about intellectuals in pre-revolutionary Russia, has won seven Tony Awards to become the most acclaimed play in Broadway history.

The British playwright’s epic topped the previous record of six Tonys for a…