Public Address | Cafe | Island Life: Difficult to swallow https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/ en-us Copyright (c) 2026 Public Address Sam F https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=78780#post78780 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=78780#post78780

Has anyone noticed that this is the 1000th Public Address post?

You're just tricking me into posting another meme, aren't you?

]]> Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:51:17 +1300 Paul Litterick https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=78733#post78733 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=78733#post78733 Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:41:27 +1300 Sacha https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77421#post77421 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77421#post77421 Tue, 04 Nov 2008 10:13:40 +1300 Joe Wylie https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77378#post77378 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77378#post77378 Tue, 04 Nov 2008 08:25:09 +1300 Craig Ranapia https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77376#post77376 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77376#post77376 Meh... If we're drawing analogies, Mistah Kurtz always struck me as more Winston than Meurant:

"Kurtz discoursed. A voice! a voice! It rang deep to the very last. It survived his strength to hide in the magnificent folds of eloquence the barren darkness of his heart. Oh, he struggled! he…

]]> Tue, 04 Nov 2008 08:06:39 +1300 John Farrell https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77373#post77373 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77373#post77373 Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:27:39 +1300 dc_red https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77372#post77372 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77372#post77372

littered with talk of "his mission to destroy his enemies".

No wonder he worked well with Winston, then.

Although the Kurtz metaphor threw me at first, upon reflection Rodney is so far "up river" it's the kind of place a master tactician such as Meurant might just go a little…

]]> Tue, 04 Nov 2008 06:45:16 +1300 ARVNranger https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77279#post77279 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77279#post77279 > Red Squad. Move Move Move he said.

"Eat more, root more, sink more piss" was the Red Squad 'haka' used to get their blood rising so they could stand up to the HART thugs and those evil clowns, so I'm told. Years later, in a Listener article, Meurant was…

]]> Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:21:11 +1300 Gareth Ward https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77200#post77200 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77200#post77200

And when you're 10, that's all you need, really.

10? Hell, that's all I need at 30 :>

]]> Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:07:42 +1300 Gareth Ward https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77199#post77199 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77199#post77199

IrishBill at The Standard muses on the reference to ACT in the Dunne story. The way it's written, it seems the Velas thought they had special friends there too

To be fair, it could just mean that ACT's policy views were the only ones closely aligned with the Vela's interests…

]]> Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:07:01 +1300 Robyn Gallagher https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77194#post77194 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77194#post77194 In 1985, my standard 4 class's end-of-year fun-day barbecue was held at the Vela's house in Tamahere (not too far from the site where the fiery coldstore inferno would happen 23 years later).

From memory, we weren't allowed inside the house, but we had the splendid surroundings of the kidney-shaped…

]]> Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:50:36 +1300 Craig Ranapia https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77186#post77186 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77186#post77186

IrishBill at The Standard muses on the reference to ACT in the Dunne story. The way it's written, it seems the Velas thought they had special friends there too ...

Well, considering The Standard was playing The Joker to "Batman" last week, I'd treat its musing with more than usual…

]]> Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:35:29 +1300 Russell Brown https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77183#post77183 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77183#post77183 muses on the reference to ACT in the Dunne story. The way it's written, it seems the Velas thought they had special friends there too ... ]]> Mon, 03 Nov 2008 11:26:22 +1300 Che Tibby https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77167#post77167 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77167#post77167

Meurant possibly got confused with certain colorful mafia executions.

more likely he's remembering his own contribution to politics.

he helped someone make the tea.

'odious' is a word i'd freely use in relation to meurant. racist is another, but this isn't the place for that.

]]> Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:55:18 +1300 giovanni tiso https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77165#post77165 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77165#post77165

He recalled how then Italians had finally turned on Mussolini by stringing him up by his feet, hanging him from a steel girder and stuffing his mouth with his testicles

The last part never happened, though. Meurant possibly got confused with certain colorful mafia executions.

]]> Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:47:05 +1300 Ian MacKay https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77164#post77164 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77164#post77164 Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:29:42 +1300 andrew llewellyn https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77163#post77163 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77163#post77163

You don't want to end up with anyone's testicles stuffed in your mouth.

Not that there's anything wrong wioth that of course.

I recall a Tom Scott cartoon in the Listener which had a fly proudly navigate from one of Meurant's ears to the other, emerging with a defiant "Didn't…

]]> Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:20:31 +1300 Public Address https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77162#post77162 https://publicaddress.net/system/cafe/island-life-difficult-to-swallow/?p=77162#post77162 Discussion from blog post.

]]> Mon, 03 Nov 2008 10:20:31 +1300