Posts by Robyn Gallagher

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  • Hard News: I'm marking Youth Week by…,

    In 1987, aged 12, I wrote (under a pseudonym, for some reason) to RTR Countdown magazine asking about how the singles charts were determined.

    I thought it seemed silly that the chart was determined by sales of singles because no one bought records anymore, let alone 45s.

    The answer was that the chart was determined by sales of 45s and cassingles, and also radio play.

    I remember feeling uneasy about this truth. Why should radio playlists get to shape the charts?

    Now, 20 years later, something has been done about it.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • Hard News: A Banner Evening,

    OK, I like the idea that Hard News is part of the mainstream media, but is still really cool and a bit wild. I like that it's powerful and influential, but there's still a large percentage of the population who still have no idea what a blog is.

    I made u an award. But I eated it ...

    :D

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • Hard News: A Banner Evening,

    I unexpectedly have strangely mixed feelings about this.

    Looking at the winners of the Qantas Media Awards website section, all of them seem to be websites run by professional writers, trained journalists.

    It's not the grass roots blogging of the olden days. It's mainstream media.

    Not that there's anything wrong with that! But it's caused me to subtly shift how I view the Hard News blog and Public Address.

    It's like rather than pretending that Russell is just another blogger, suddenly it's been underscored that Hard News is much more than that. It's like a different sub-genre of blog has been created.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • Random Play: Nothing, if not critical,

    A few years ago I reviewed a documentary about old two men who'd run an exploitation film studio. I wrote that the film seemed like it couldn't figure out if it was a biography of the men or a doco about the genre of films they made.

    A couple of years after that, the film-maker emailed me and told me I was wrong, and they were actually trying to make a film about both things and he most certainly wasn't confused.

    Oh dear.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • Hard News: Random,

    What on earth possessed people to look at [civet] cat shit and think "a bit of roasting and that'd go great with my [indonesian equivalent of] croissant in the morning?

    "Oh, man, the civets keep eating all our coffee berries. All that's left is a pile of pooey berries, wasted! :( :( :("

    "But, dude, there's still, like, a bean in the middle. What if we just roast it like normal."

    "And make what? Civet poo coffee? And try to sell it to the poor people in the village? That won't even cover costs."

    "Dude - we sell it as an exotic blend. Coffee for the the extreme connoisseur."

    "All right! Let's do it!

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • OnPoint: Spoonfuls of sugar,

    And, serious question seriously meant, how many folks around here actually finance their consumption old skool: You know, saving rather than putting it on a credit card or HP?

    Hey, I do! I always pay off my credit card by the end of the month and I save up for big purchases (but I haven't actually needed to buy anything big lately).

    It's a lot easier than it seems, but perhaps these days it requires something akin to a Zenlike state of being freed from desire.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • OnPoint: Spoonfuls of sugar,

    I was looking at the Herald's readers' comments, and there were a few claiming that this budget would send people migrating to Australia. But, really, who wants to live in a country racked by drought?

    This might explain why there were others threatening to move "overseas". Oh, where would that be? Botswana? Poland? The Czech Republic? Tuvalu?

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • "Man on the Radio" - a delightfully…,

    MrJudkins on YouTube says:

    This is hands down one of the most terribly hilarious music videos I have ever come across - I found it on a vhs tape passed on to me by an old flatmate. Filmed in Hamilton, NZ (shot around well-known locations), this is well... watch it and see for yourself.

    From the fashions and hairstyles, I'm picking this is from the late '80s, but given that it's from Hamilton, that could actually mean it's from the early '90s. (Shut up! I grew up in Hammo!)

    No one yet knows who the band is, but if you recognise them, do share. This hard-working bogan pop-rock unit deserves recognition for this ground-breaking piece of Hamilton music video history. (Seriously)

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • Cracker: LOL,

    I've just seen the poster for Brendan Lovegrove's new show. It's called The Emperors New Show so presumably its new material?!

    Or maybe he's telling is it's new, but really it's old, but we believe it's new because he says so.

    So we need a boy to say, "But I heard the one about polytechs offering degrees in buttons at the comedy fest six years ago!" and the truth will be revealed. Or will it...?

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

  • Speaker: This ain't a scene,

    Well, I'd rather look at pictures of his penis than listen to his music, that's for damn sure.

    Wait - he's in a band or something as well?!

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report

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