Posts by Tom Semmens
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But it fits the narrative of standing up for Auckland against bloody-minded government interference.
It might seem that way if you are an Aaron Bhatnagar who fancies himself as a fiendishly clever Mordor McCully clone, plotting subtle combinations that will undoutably lead to Bankie's re-election and the end of whaling in the Southern Ocean.
Most people just blame the incumbent, and think killing whales is a bad idea. -
If the reaction of the people I know was any guide - a quizzical "but HE has been the mayor for six-seven of the last ten years??" - Banks has scored an almighty own goal grandstanding on Mt. Eden prison.
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Actually, we are told those young kids get it for free - what gives?
I 'spose their mums buy it for them.Clearly you weren't paying attention, so here it is again - I'll even use a big red crayon if it makes it easier.
So what's filling the gap? Paid digital downloads
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Sorry but people do still "buy albums".
Possibly 18-21 year olds prefer singlesYou do know what market segment buys almost all the music, right? Here is a clue: A lot of them have a crush on Justin Beiber.
I still (almost exclusively) buy albums.
But you are from Dundein, they still serve scones on two tier plates down there.
There is always going to be a niche for the collectors, the chin strokers and the true believers, but for most consumers of music the album, the music store and vinyl have gone the way of the Yangtze River dolphin.
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Also, I'd be happy to see Flash die.
The technology isn't the issue. The issue is whether or not you are comfortable with Steve Jobs deciding he is king of the world.
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Ohhhh I see U2 have pulled out of Glastonbury...
I suppose that is what happens when you carry the weight of the world on your back...
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Selling us garbage like Lady Gah Gah (sic) does a disservice to music.
I LOVE Lady Gaga, she rocks!!!
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But a recent slump in music sales could see The Warehouse back away from CDs.
One of the chief victims of digital downloading has been the 12-18 track album, since people are now just downloading self-selecting top 40 compilations. No one buys albums anymore. In a sense, we are going back to the era when the three minute radio single dominated the airways.
The sale of physical music media from a store is now hopelessly obsolete; If you hanker after the physical properties of the CD jewel case art then you can download that as well, and the cost of getting it professionally printed is just a few dollars.
Music has proved to be the perfect medium for the internet.
the ubiquity of music in modern life, it no longer has a rarity value and sadly, is becoming more like wallpaper, however good it is.
Once I knew and coveted every CD I owned and had an opinion on them all, and bloated record companies could afford to rent a 747 to fly the Auckland music media around the Hauraki Gulf to release a Bee-Gee album. Now, I have no idea what I own - I have so much - and the record execs get around in a Toyota Corolla, if they are lucky enough to still have a job. As a consumer, I know which is better.
Oh, and it looks like they are coming for iTunes, and good job to, ever since Steve Job's decided to go go after Flash his arrogance has creeped me out. -
Ye gawds. You mentioned two politicians who couldn't be more different. And what you insist in calling Hide's Fascism is in fact is avowed neoliberalism
Hah! Why I should I listen to you? Because you come from Italy and you clearly fancy yourself the world expert on the subject? The trouble is the track record of your countrymen would indicate very poor judgement when it comes to spotting fascists until it is to late.
If both fascism and Hide's neo-liberalism are incompatible with democracy, and both favour authoritarian governance, what's the difference?
Neo-liberalism is just fascism in a business suit. -
Calling Rodney Hide a fascist might make people uncomfortable, but his behaviour and decision making has been the central and most disturbing aspect of the supercity fiasco. It should by now be clear to everyone that Rodney Hide considers democracy to be an impediment to "efficient" governance and, if given the opportunity, he always prefers corporatist, authoritarian and technocratic solutions to democratic ones. To my mind, this makes him at least fascist in tendency, and I have no doubt on his performance so far that when push comes to shove, his fascist inclinations run a whole lot deeper than his democratic ones. As far as I am concerned, Rodney Hide is "new era" fascist in the Berlusconi mode and he does not believe in the primacy of democracy. He is an utterly unsuitable man to sit in our parliament. One only hopes the voters of Epsom will finally rid us of him next election.