Posts by George Darroch
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
manner-cow
My favourite fatted calf is being slaughtered, so that one Orcland will rule them all.
Manukau, and the identity it has generated in the last several decades, is about to regress into "South Auckland", with all that is associated in the psyches of New Zealanders the length and breadth of the country. Manukau is a great place to live, South Auckland much less so.
I can't say the same for Waitakere, since "West Auckland" (etc) has its own meanings and values.
-
Newspapers need to make money. But TV News doesn't need to make money, TV networks do. Newspapers would be in a much better position if all that needed to happen was the printers/publishers needed to make a profit, so that newspapers could be support by books and magazines, etc., as TV news is supported by reality TV and comedy.
I don't want to discount your argument, because I think it's an interesting one. But I think that to an extent this already happens. Newspapers have traditionally run sections that cost more to make than they bring in from advertising. Without these and the cachet of being a 'newspaper' they bring, they wouldn't be able to sell their real estate and other profitable sections.
Edit: what Marcus said above.
-
Yet many, even in Wellington, are excluded from all this because they cannot afford to access it, as even the public library charges an hourly rate which is too much for a beneficiary with no spare cash. So the next step is the real democratisation of information by making it accessible to all.
It's dismal, really. Especially when we make light of the fact that 'even' people in 'really poor' countries are accessing internet and information technologies at what are very rapid rates. I think that this is the silent story of the first part of this decade, one which is being ignored and will have very real effects.
I can't be bothered doing a roundup of articles on this transition, but it's an phenomenon that's been presented quite strongly on Ethan Zuckerman's blog. That blog, and the myriad of things he links to, have opened great new worlds to me. The internet we see and use is one small fraction of an ever-expanding and continually changing universe.
-
"Young man. Where are your aspirates" Asked the Master.
Our Prime Minister claims 'e 'as 'em. Aspirational for New Zealand.
-
Most stupid series I have ever had the misfortune of watching.
I saw the first few episodes and the infuriating plot holes wide enough to fly planes through drove me off - what interested me was the promise that they would resolve it all.
I watched the final episode, and it turns out they didn't. It was nonsense from the get go.
-
My grandmother was moved to tears to see my grandfather's autobiography finally finished; and then moved to tears again when she discovered that he'd dedicated it to her.
Love. What a beautiful relationship, and despite the sadness I'm sure there's a lot of warmth being remembered right now.
-
Another thing we (I) take for granted - that we can watch amazing short films like this one with little effort.
-
So while its true that they're unknown by most of the blogosphere they're certainly 'top bloggers' in terms of audience size.
That makes sense, if the numbers and diversity of comments are anything to go by.
-
I had to explain to him about these devices called pub-a-lick tell-a-fones.
They seem to be disappearing - 2600 's project of documenting payphones is rapidly moving towards memorialisation as mobile devices take over all worlds (1st, 2nd, and 3rd).
-
Yes, and, as you mention in your later comment, those who only know the internet era will never understand the kind of social and informational isolation that many of us experienced in the pre-internet era (which sounds kind of mauidlin, but I only mean it literally).
That's true. A few years ago while hitchhiking through the Wairarapa I had the privelege of being driven by an old man who had lived in the region his entire life. He told me of how differently people started to think about time and place once the motorcar made its way into people's lives. It was an absolutely fascinating discussion with someone who grew up in the age of the horse.
I think our conception of place is also being altered in the same way by cheap international air-travel. I don't like to assume that the internet will have the same impact, or subscribe to arguments that The World is Flat, but I think we're already seeing some of those kinds of impacts on information.