Posts by Lucy Stewart
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That's my point - when even the most mainstream end of the comic spectrum is in that territory, it speaks positively for the whole medium.
It's really that old argument again - genre work (whether comics, TV, books, or films) cannot be Serious because it's genre. And it's always been bollocks. The best examinations of the Iraq occupation on US TV have been sci-fi shows (BSG and Jericho). The best examination of the Spanish Reconquista I've ever read was a fantasy novel (Guy Gavriel Kay's The Lions of Al-Rassan.)
Genre work is made for examining serious social and political issues because the displacement of them into a fantastical context permits them to be re-interpreted and observed without the baggage of their real-life context and all the assumptions that come with it. And yet; if you like genre fiction, you're a geek/nerd/unfulfilled adolescent. Gah.
< / hobby-horse >
(Of course, not all comic books are serious looks at socio-political-economic issues, and I could give you a seminar on issues with stuff like race and gender in mainstream comics. But when they do this stuff well, they do it really, really well.)
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As Sir Humphrey Appleby would say, the Minister has adopted the tactic of playing the (wo)man not the ball.
But she Googled the Privacy Commission before she did it, so, uh, that's okay then. Or something.
I kind of thought that checking these things was what Ministers had staff *for*, but I guess with all those cuts to bureaucracy they've got to do their own work these days. Clearly there are some bugs still to be worked out.
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I appreciate that Clayton has a right to speak in his own defence, but I don't accept that all tv-news needed to broadcast all his ramblings. It was obscene.
It was obscene, and the worst bit is that he would have enjoyed it, because he's exactly that sort of egotistical bastard.
I never quite understood where that defense was supposed to be going - it boiled down to "I'm so special you shouldn't convict me of murder. Also, my victim was a slutty bitch." It made an excellent case for him being locked up forever and ever - because if this made him snap, what else would? - but not much else. Just...weird.
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I think the Old Gold range is actually better than the Whittaker's dark chocolate - there's something a bit off about the 72% Ghana, though I couldn't tell you what. But Dairy Milk has been crap for *years*.
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So Lucy just as you state it wrong for me to remind us there is a precedent for this in the animal kingdom, just as you insist it is wrong for me to suggest that elucidation rather than shame will take us closer to solving the problem, and similarly as you imply it is distasteful for me to suggest that would be child molesterors are provided with an outlet to deal with their problem before they touch their first victim, you perpetuate that cycle of shame.
No, that's cool, I just couldn't tell from the quotes given whether you were saying that or making the old gays = pedophiles argument. The former has much merit, the latter...really doesn't. I withdraw and apologise.
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I'm not sure exactly what you're trying to say there, Mark, but I find the implications distinctly distasteful and just plain *wrong*.
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The Great Strikethrough Debacle on LJ made me *very wary* of allegedly well-intentioned but unannounced attempts to censor child pornography. This is...less than optimal.
Anyway, couldn't they just publish a list of the *names* of sites (not addresses?) Then they wouldn't be encouraging access to objectionable material (well, not without a few seconds of Googling) and people would have a shot at noticing when sites are unreasonably censored. It's not like it's a big ask.
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And to combine fair coverage and the previous discussion, free wireless at Wellington Airport = win; both my Air NZ flights this trip being delayed by an hour = fail.
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Or finding your flight has been over-booked. But I've also seen alleged grown-up behave towards check-in clerks (who don't control the weather, or have a say in their employer's booking and check-in policies) in ways that would receive a Wimbledon-worthy backhand if directed at me. And I wouldn't need much of that before reverting to my "fuck you" default setting.
Dude, I work retail; you don't need to convince me the customer is barely ever right, and usually only by sheer coincidence. I'm just reporting my experience of *good* airline behaviour in such a situation, which no-one seems to have had with Jetstar - and I've heard stories about Jetstar in Australia which don't make it sound any better.
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Just to stir the pot a bit, anyone else think the next sin-sational expose of Jet Star not being able to disperse fog with a mystic hand-wave should be lead by a disclosure of Air New Zealand's ad spend on TVNZ?
No, they can't disperse fog with a wave of their hand. But they *can* change how they treat passengers when fog interferes with their flights, and my experience of Air New Zealand has always been that they are extremely accomodating and helpful when weather intervenes with their schedule. By all accounts, Jetstar are not. That sure as hell counts for something.