Posts by Russell Brown
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Hard News: Democracy Night, in reply to Sacha,
They used to justify it partly by on-ground campaign support. Wonder how that’s faring?
Not well in New Plymouth, I gather.
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Hard News: Democracy Night, in reply to HenryB,
Couldn’t agree more. I shudder at the thought that Darien Fenton can make it to 18 on the Labour list and Carmel Sepuloni and Iain Lees-Galloway to 24 and 37 respectively. Both have done really well in the electorates they had to fight for.
I know a couple of longtime Labour activists who basically sat this one out because of the list and because they didn't like Goff and Little. They both also mentioned Fenton.
I do think that there's a reckoning coming for the unions' privileged place in Labour Party affairs, because at the moment they don't deserve that place.
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Hard News: Democracy Night, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
Did boundary changes in Wellington Central do Prebble any favours in 1999? No, but frankly I think it was utterly disingenuous of him – and unfair to Marian Hobbs and a pretty slick and disciplined campaign – to paint himself as the victim of boundary creep.
Prebble did way worse than that. It's one thing to say significant boundary changes will make it harder for you to hold your seat; that's more or less a statement of fact.
But Prebble -- with the protection of Parliamentary privilege -- lost and then accused the Surveyor General of corruption. What an arsehole.
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Hard News: When A City Falls, in reply to Hebe,
The “clunky” bits were a deliberate attempt to raise the audience’s eyes from what had happened to what could be, so people – particularly in Christchurch – would walk out of the movie feeling stronger and uplifted not traumatised by reliving some of the hardest days of our lives.
Yes, and I know that was a very important element of the film, but I think it could have been achieved better. Maybe just via one compelling figure saying it, rather than the detour off to three other places.
I read the reviews and think “yeah that’s a valid quibble” but that’s an intellectual exercise; not really relevant to living through it all. I’ll be one of those old bats who harks back to the Blitz; it wasn’t the best of times, but it was a tranformative time and showed what sort of person I and the people around me are at core.
Very nicely put.
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Hard News: When A City Falls, in reply to Emma Hart,
Ah… My partner and I are considering going to see it on our anniversary on Thursday. Which would be kind of appropriate, because our first ‘leaving the house’ date? Was a screening of Once Were Warriors
Good lord.
But you’ll be okay, I think. You’ll cry, but you’ll be okay.
Warning: the film was mixed down at Park Road Post, which has the most awesome sound facility in the Southern hemisphere. You may find the actual noise of the earthquakes disturbing.
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Hard News: When A City Falls, in reply to Sacha,
Did you say when and where the screening was? Must have missed that.
Yes, but who can remember anything for four weeks these days?
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Hard News: When A City Falls, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
YMMV, but it’s not good enough that too many damn good documentaries are lucky if they do the Film Festival circuit and eventually wash up on DVD.
Oh, quite. But here's one, and important one, that actually got nationwide theatrical release. That seems worth supporting in itself.
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Hard News: When A City Falls, in reply to Sacha,
Uh, zero publicity about the screening?
Poorly timed publicity, perhaps. Media7 and Campbell Live covered it weeks ago, and while Gerard talked to Kim Hill on Saturday, listeners may have had other things on their minds.
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Hard News: Democracy Night, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
Also, to be bloody minded about it, the National-led government (with ACT & UF) has a majority but not a huge one.
That's not bloody-minded, it's true. That's why John Key gets to form a government. But National didn't win "a huge majority", or a majority at all. Stonking plurality, yes, majority no.
Turning on the radio to hear the Prime Minister again apparently not knowing what words mean was vaguely dispiriting this morning.
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Hard News: Democracy Night, in reply to Craig Ranapia,
The dead heat in Christchurch Central is one hell of an election night WTF, but it would have just been a little classy of Burns not to bring red flight into it.
And you'll give him a good lecture about it from Auckland?
After all those suburbs have been through, I'm pretty sure they can stand Burns making a demographic observation that is likely to be true.