Posts by Jacqui Craig

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  • Island Life: The longest last time,

    I just had to go and hug my little girl extra extra tight. My heart goes out to that family, I can't even begin to imagine losing a child under any circumstances.

    Auckland • Since Apr 2007 • 28 posts Report Reply

  • Island Life: BP-Fuelled Rage,

    I don't regret a drop of the Octane I've burnt in pursuit of pleasure, and I certainly don't begrudge anyone else having a good time. Reminds me of the sanctimonious attitude of the anti drink / drug / yoof whiners: as Douglas Adams pointed out (sort of) I'm sure it's basically that the whingers are pissed off that other people seem to be having more fun than them.

    I don't really think the two things are comparable - if someone chooses to get high or OD or drink too many beers, it doesn't really have much impact on me personally if I don't know them. But if someone chooses to drive "a bit quick", or aggressively in a SUV, or be a boy racer and I happen to be on the road then yes, it might have quite an impact on me. There is fun that doesn't hurt anyone but yourself, and then there is fun that takes out innocent people who just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time no matter what car the various parties are driving.

    I would be very interested to know if there has been any research done into how the type of car a person chooses reflects their driving style and attitude towards others on the road and how this might factor into accident statistics. While SUVs seem to attract a fairly diverse drivership, cars like Commodores seem to be driven by a very specific demographic with a very common driving style. Are certain types of car represented more in accidents than others?

    Auckland • Since Apr 2007 • 28 posts Report Reply

  • Island Life: The worst that could happen,

    more and more often these days there are times when i think i must have walked through a tunnel of light in my childhood for these type of things to not befall me

    I wonder this too, and why, as far as I know, they didn't befall my friends either. Kinder, gentler times? Sheer blind luck? It was Canada but I don't think things were much different there in the 70s than they were here.

    I think Deborah's post really summed up how it feels to be a parent sometimes. Someone told me that having kids is like taking a piece of your soul and sending it out it to the world and I do feel that - the sheer terror of letting my toddler even leave the house. I don't know how you fight it becoming all-consuming, especially given the news about the students killed in the flash flood yesterday. All the seat-belts in the world can't protect against something like that. I've actively started trying to avoid knowing the details of so many things that involve harm to children, simply because they fuel my anxiety. The cynical part of me says that's exactly what the media is after in some cases, fanning the fires of hysteria and fear in parents and others. I hope this exhibition goes well, Starship is the kind of place you are glad exists even if you never ever want to visit it.

    Auckland • Since Apr 2007 • 28 posts Report Reply

  • Southerly: Nine Months of Baby Hell,

    Our baby loved Metallica too - I wonder what the link is between that and country music? Could be a PhD in there for some time-rich competitive parent. Or some huge merchandise empire aka 'Baby Einstein' if you can isolate the common feature...

    I've come to the conclusion that most parents in mum's groups lie their asses off about sleeping/eating/first words/weight/height/couting to 10 before age 2 etc. etc.- or maybe it's wishful thinking. Some of those groups are downright dysfunctional. Never ceases to amaze me that instead of supporting each other we're trying to make ourselves feel better as parents by trying to make everyone else feel inadequate.

    Auckland • Since Apr 2007 • 28 posts Report Reply

  • Random Play: Sing like you’re winning,

    I think that while there might be a case to answer in terms of opera's popular appeal compared to 'fake' popera stuff, I really don't think that there is in terms of actual technical skill. I'm sure Hayley's voice is very pleasant and all that, but it has no power or 'oomph' behind it. It's not the kind of voice that can sing about lust, death, blood or dying, it's the kind of voice that has an ad on tv with her singing on a beach looking ethereal and wistful. Of course, Kiri sounds idiotic singing popular music, so it goes both ways. Neither genre is what I'd listen to at home, although I do go to the opera a couple times a year with my husband. And yes, it's more intelligent than popular music - it has to be to have withstood the test of time. Maybe that's where the difference lies - opera will be around for a long time to come, what about popular music? Anything that is destined for the mass market will always lose out on snob appeal to something that is marketed as more exclusive.

    Auckland • Since Apr 2007 • 28 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: About a Cat,

    ... wandering around the house with the live beastie still chirping away in the cat's mouth

    When my cat does this her whiskers twitch in time to the cicada's chirps, I swear sometimes the tips meet each other over her nose. I have to remove myself from the vicinity before the crunching begins.

    She's a blotchy tabby like Colin and the stripes are really quite marvellous, there's a patch at the base of her skull that's almost Art Nouveau in detail. Apparently blotchy tabbies are a mutation of the regular tabby that first appeared in England in the 1800s, and it's gradually spreading out and taking over the regular tabby pattern. /geek

    Auckland • Since Apr 2007 • 28 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: Brown bigots etc.,

    I'd like to know how the hundreds of years of non-Christian human existance in New Zealand prior to Europeans showing up factors in to this claim that it's a Christian nation. Surely in terms of years spent worshipping something, paganism would win hands down?

    As an atheist I too am becoming increasingly intolerant of prayer at meetings and conferences and other non-religious activities. And yet for some reason I find myself cowed by it, sit meekly by while someone rabbits on about their beliefs, not wanting to insult anyone and with a desire to look tolerant. Why doesn't anyone ever worry about insulting atheists? Help help, I'm being repressed! I suppose the problem here in NZ is that we are all (generally) so quiet about our particular beliefs that you never know what you can speak out about lest you insult the person standing next to you. At least in the States you generally know a person's religious affiliations within 5 minutes and which directions the conversation can safely go.

    So which three categories do I get to check here? Woman - check. God-botherer - check (not sure if the post bothered God, I'll have to deal with that at the pearly gates). Techno-geek - ummm...using Mac, posting via Safari? Does that count? No, I've got Word running in the background so I don't think it does. :)

    Auckland • Since Apr 2007 • 28 posts Report Reply

  • Hard News: No Friends of Science,

    She basically said; Climate change is a natural process that’s been happening for thousands of years

    20,000 years I think it was - makes me wonder what was happening before that, perhaps climate didn't exist...

    I too have a hard time getting my head around climate-change deniers and their illogical arguments. I can't decided if it's just a sign of bad education and an inability to understand long-term trends (glaciers advancing this year=no warming), guilt, denial, religious mania, or basic stupidity. The mental contortions they go through to back up their arguments look painful and a lot of work! To my mind it doesn't matter if the warming is anthropogenic or not - we should try to ameliorate the impact on the offchance it is something we can change. If it's not then we can all say "whoops!" and swear at the govt. and feel hard-done-by; if it is our fault and we do nothing then we'll all look pretty stupid as the waters close in over our heads.

    Auckland • Since Apr 2007 • 28 posts Report Reply

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