Posts by Kyle Matthews
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Fuck - aren't we over the "all Aucklanders are wankers" and all Southerners are "True and Honest Kiwis" shtick? Please?
It would be appropriate to point out that, no much of the 'world' isn't over it. Hence why it's relevant to poke fun at it at both ends.
I wanted to add how nice it is to have a blog talking about the South Island and being in it. PA is largely a north island blog. There are a couple of contributors from 'the south', but except for David's posts from Southland, neither of their blogs tend much to be about place, whereas the north island gets placed a lot more front and central. Hayden posts about local sports and roller derby. Russell and Graham post about music and events, Auckland politics and transport get a whole heap of play. Nice to hear about things down this part of the world.
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My music discoveries have all been local this year, my money has largely been going into DVDs and debt, so I've only picked up bands that have come through Dunedin.
The Eastern: Great twosome from Lyttleton, but I believe they also play with more. Played lead-in for Steve Earle when he played here earlier this year. Country rock and a great live act.
A floating group of bands which seems to be everyone playing in each other's bands:
Sam Prebble who goes under the name Bond Street Bridge, plays mandolin and guitar but primarily fiddle, uses a pedal to loop music over so he builds up instruments and percussion over the first couple of minutes of a song. Fantastically talented.
Reb Fountain, of American origins but been here for a while. Her album Holster, which came out last year has been on high repeat on my car stereo. Lovely song writer, beautiful singer. My favourite song of the year:
Also in the mix, Broken Heartbreakers, Dylan Storey and band, Sleepy Kid (ex Shortland St serial killer).
Best live act I've seen all year: Beyondsemble. Folky swing. Four incredibly talented musicians with foot thumping music.
The keyboardist always makes me think he's playing a fin heater, and the percussionist like he's playing his seat.
And their guitarist, Mark, has an album entitled Acoustic which I'm buying for my mother for Xmas.
Best TV discovery - The Wire. Thanks for everyone who recommended it here. Fantastic TV, started watching Generation Kill the other night. Seven Days was also very good.
Cheers PAS for another year.
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Mataura. There are a startling number of people originally from Mataura.
I think they're all All Blacks half backs.
Mataura is too small. You'll meet one of the other five hundred people who've live there and they'll sure as hell know that you didn't grow up there because you said you wrote goats at the local AMP day as a kid and they'll have been to every one for fifty years and know that the little kids always ride sheep.
For real local knowledge, say you were born at the Invercargill McDonalds. Before it was the McDonalds it was the site of the maternity hospital. Except then you'll be admitting that you're a Southlander, and an "Invergigglian" at that.
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That's interesting Islander. Maybe West coast has warmer water flows than the East?
Still, from Wanaka, he ain't getting any of those sea fish without a drive :)
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The only catch is that it takes at least five years before you're thought of as a local, and even then there's no guarantee they won't resort to calling you a wanker should the occasion arise.
Ha, no, it's not that easy. David has got it better.
The fastest way there is to just be there long enough, and after about 20 years people will think you've been there so long that you were born there.
Or use a transitional point or five. Move to Wanaka, then move to Queenstown. Say you're from Wanaka. Actually no, that won't work, no one is really from Wanaka, I don't think they allow births there, just tourists. You'll have to transition through Cromwell or Alex or Clyde or something. Fudge around the "so where did you grow up?" question.
I'm sure you'll have a good plan within the next decade to get yourself localised.
Some other recipies to try - lemon baked snapper, trevally with tomato & olives, kingfish in garlic butter.
I'm not sure about trevally, but he's going to have to drive a fair bit north to get snapper. I saw a couple bagged in Mistletoe Bay in the Marlborough Sounds, but not often south of that. Snapper are apparently wusses for warmer waters.
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It's not Christmas unless you're eating ham for the next fortnight because the person responsible for ham purchasing bought an enormous one in a moment of over-enthusiasm. At least, that's how it always worked in my family.
My family is developing a tradition of trying to cook the ham on the BBQ, letting the fat run off to the tray, which then catches fire, cooking the lid of the BBQ, flames six feet high, almost setting the house on fire.
But each to their own I guess.
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Did you find anything in the films that didn't look just like you thought in your head that it would look when you were reading the books?
Pretty much all the locations except Hobbiton, Moria and Mordor. And The Dead were awfully done in the movie. The Elves remained pansies.
Then I'd question why make the bloody film in the first place.
Because a movie is something completely different than the book. That's like "why write a song when it's already a poem". You're adding entirely new elements to it.
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Does anyone have any thoughts on this Matt McCarten opinion piece in The Herald that suggests the next supercity bill will have a provision for landlords to have an extra vote for each property they own?
I'm looking for the evidence - a reference to the bill or law. Without that, it's big scary smoke signals, I'd struggle to see even Hyde try to return voting rights to property owners only.
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What's the point of adapting the Lord of the Rings if you draw everything exactly as Tolkien had described it?
You clearly haven't read Kyle's big list of 50 changes from the books to the movies which didn't work out.
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And the main addition to the "special edition" is a long sequence
Wait, that's the only version of Aliens that I've seen. There's a version without showing the family going out to the ship? You're messing with me!