Posts by Rob Hosking
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Never got to the Nation's Van bit - its submerged in that vast unexplored hinterland of the national anthem, beyond the first verse, where most of us go "nrr nrr nrr nrrr/nrr nrr nrr/ GAAD DEFEND NU ZEE-EE LAND"
But if the nation had a van, it would be a white Ford Escort.
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But then of course Santa perpetuates class division by giving expensive presents to rich kids, cheap presents to poor kids. All these fabled creatures are clearly inveterate Tories - with the possible exception of the Verruca Gnome.
And the Oh God of Hangovers. He's a definitely a Socialist. And you lefties are welcome to Him.
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I had a ball and came home telling myself I really need to get out more.
I owe a beer to several people whose cigarettes I bludged. Mouth like a mountaineer's sock when I woke up though.
Great to put some faces to names, too.
The Don Abel thing...loved it. I doubt that in any other country someone holding a position like Assistant Reserve Bank governor would come along to an event like that.
I find it difficult to get nationalistic and chest-beaty about the usual things (not even the ABs, these days) but I do feel a swell of national pride when I see examples like that of a kind of low key unforced Kiwi informality.
Ummm.. a swell of national pride in a sort of informal, low key way.
If you see what I mean. You probably don't.
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Favourite Muppet: the Swedish Chef. No idea why, he just cracked me up.
This despite being nicknamed Kermit at High School, for reasons which were only recently explained to me.
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Two very loud gigs, two very very different bands, same venue, same summer.
The Great Unwashed (as the Clean were then calling themselves) and Auckland Walk, at a hall on Ohope Beach, summer 1983-84.
I think it was the acoustics. I'm sure the bands had different gear but they were both nose-vibratingly loud.
We didn't stay for Auckland Walk, ('cos they were crap) - went into town, drank Depth Charges and played space invaders.
Stayed for The Great Unwashed 'cos I wanted them to play 'Anything Could Happen' but they didn't.
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You know, I just knew someone was going to mention the Speakers Chair.
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Paul Kelly, Wellington, mid 1990s, with great dignity, to a heckler who kept yelling for 'Darling It Hurts' -
"A man is not a juke box."
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After all, isn't truth still about the only complete defence against libel out there?
From memory, malice can trump truth but there's a fairly high bar to jump (on behalf of the plaintiff) to prove that.
Truth though is, as noted, not just (usually) effective legal defence, its also a damn good defence agaisnt getting fired, not to mention against breaching the Ability To Look Oneself In The Mirror Act.
A question for the other journos here: have you ever had an employer, or a journalism tutor, give you a list - verbally, let alone in writing - of types of people who are most likely to sue?
I haven't. And I'd have been astonished if I'd ever been given such a list.
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No, but as I've noted elsewhere part of the Auckland Theatre Company's 2010 season is a new production of Romeo and Juliet -- a jolly little play that starts with the kind of gang brawling that gives Michael Laws a woody, goes through what would now be considered statutory rape and ends with a horrible teen suicide pact.
Yeah but... the good writing aside, weren't Romeo and Juliet the two earliest candidates for the Darwin Awards? (check her pulse, you idiot. Hold a mirror in front of her mouth. Check to see that she's warm. Jeez....)
It is probably one of the biggest probs I had with Shakespeare - the number of plots which required the audience to believe the main characters could spout some of the English language's finest phrasology while being, simultaneously, as dumb as a sack of spanners.
Othello - Why Was He Such a F+++Wit? was what I wanted to call one Stage II English Essay...
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I'm intrigued by it and would like to know more about the context in which the message was sent.
Because most of it is Boilerplate Journalism training, of the kind you get just after they've shown you you will spend most of your time covering councils and courts - if you're lucky.
Well, we did in my day. I think they now just jump straight to post-modernism.
But I digress... Two exceptions to the above comment: : the opening statement about taking a 'more conservative' approach.
Mind Game here for fellow journos: you see that sort of line in a report or release from a business or a government agency, what are you going to conclude? You're probably going to conclude there has been a change of some sort.
Secondly: the bit listing 'people who are more inclined to sue if they are the subject of adverse publication'.
I've never seen that sort of thing given to journalists before. Not even in my days on provincial newspapers.Talk about Chilling Effect.
As I said, I'd like to know more about the context of this missive.One un-addressed question: the terms of APN's Defamation Insurance. I'd love to know if they've changed in any way recently. I suspect they have.