Posts by st ephen
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You say Timaru, I say Christchurch...
Just for Mr Mark's benefit, where we got to with the whole Christchurch thing is that there is a myth that Christchurch is very class-conscious, exemplified by the “what school did you go to”, “most English city” and “first four ships” memes. Whether the myth was originally based on fact or not is largely a moot point – the idea is very widely distributed both in Christchurch (where it is sometimes used ironically) and in the rest of NZ (where it tends to be used pejoratively).
There is conjecture that this all lends a certain tacit societal approval to the antics of racist munters. However, no evidence has been presented for this, and it has also been suggested that the degree and expression of racism in Christchurch is exactly the same as anywhere else in NZ.
So it is entirely possible that there are reasons other than snobbery and racism for Christchurch being so sucky. -
..."all threads eventually lead to copyright"
damn. i was rather hoping that all threads led to slagging off christchurch...
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And of course by "others" I mean the teacher. I was That Kid.
(But weren't we all? All of us in this room, I mean?)You'll find out if you follow the example elsewhere: list 200 books that any self-respecting hipster should have read in 2009 and ask people to vote. And throw in a few fictitious titles to catch out the wannabes.
Skipping straight to the screenplay now.
Our backers just love ( love! ) your work, especially the small change you're about to make where the simple case of plagiarism is revealed as something far more sinister as our feisty-but-attractive heroine is joined by a pompous and aging but strangely irresistible Professor of Symbology...
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...would be as good an example of writing about what you don't know as you could get.
I think that's the point. Vintner's Luck = unexpected = good. Novels by and about 20-something BA grads... a little bit meh.
But I was merely passing on received wisdom - I know stuff-all about NZ lit and I bet all those (I assume there were a bunch?) BA-chick novels will be fascinating in another 20 years time. Like ads for stubbies or something.Personally I am very much looking forward to Jolisa's novel (is she 20 yet?) about the overworked grad assistant who stumbles across a blatant case of plagiarism by a Famous Author, and then has to stay one step ahead of the author' evil henchmen, the sinister and shadowy publisher, gutter-press journos, rival authors, the Writer's Union, university PR hacks and conspiracy theorists, all while musing on the nature of creativity in a post-modern world and responsibilities to readers, writers, Art and self.
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Those links illustrate my beef with NZ fiction, of which Witi Ihimaera is part - everything is nostalgia, mysticism or nostalgic mysticism.
That's funny, 'cos I though the thing wrong with recent New Zild literature was that it was all written by 20-something-year-old BA chicks about 20-something-year-old BA chicks. Often musing about Big Themes while abroad. Which is why we all latched onto the one about the Gay Angel in France.
I believe Bill Manhire now casts an eye over each fresh intake of young gels and tells them "Write about what you don't know". -
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Tracey Nelson's stats are up and have Smith as the no. 2 tackler...
Of course, Tracey's stats have been known to support a Mr R. Thorne in comparison to a Mr. J. Collins. I think it was Richard Swain who topped the NRL tackle count for a couple of seasons, provoking much sneering from other players. The point was that players would pick out Swain to run at, knowing that while they might be tackled, the tackle wouldn't be dominant, they wouldn't get hurt and they could play the ball quickly. Similarly, with Mr Thorne at No. 6 you might frequently take the blindside option. With Mr. Collins lurking down that particular dark alleyway, the open side looks far more inviting...
Having said that, if the French were deliberately avoiding Nonu and Sivivatu, they won't make that mistake again. Conrad rules.
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Dunno about Word of the Year, but my vote for Post of the Year goes to the guy who took time out in his 2nd-ever PAS post to give Craig a few tips on netiquette...
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Is there a cooler way of doing it?
Gravatar tags.
I'm hopeless with names, but I'd recognise a dugong across a crowded room.
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The thing is Tom, you're not going to get someone in the New Zealand camp to soberly state that qualifying is all very well, but the focus from now on has to be on how to avoid turning South Africa 2010 into an embarrassing repeat of the Confederations Cup. Because the reality is that this isn't Day 1 of World Cup preparations at all - the team will now be dispersed to all corners of the world and will not play together until a couple of warm up games in June next year. So let everyone go off on their bender - for NZ soccer this is as good as it gets.
As for how low the hurdle was - it doesn't get any lower than qualifying from Oceania, but I believe we've been dicked by Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands in the past...