Posts by Russell Brown
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Hard News: Media Take: Crime and punishment, in reply to Ian Dalziel,
One also wonders if the tests may be finding something else that might trigger a positive result, and at what proportions?
Possible in the case of lead.
But it’s more that the crude tests most of them use in the first instance aren’t actually capable of telling whether the MoH standard has been exceeded. And they’re certainly not telling property owners what the toxicologists told the Science Media Centre – that traces of methamphetamine itself are extremely unlikely to have any negative heath effects, or any psychoactive effect.
It was kind of amazing that the Newshub report on Saturday about the couple spending tens of thousands having their house stripped out didn’t say who told them they had to do that. To be fair, there was evidence their garage had been used for a lab.
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Hard News: Media Take: Crime and punishment, in reply to BenWilson,
Wow, I had no idea that upwards of a million NZers are involved in the production of P. That really is a crisis. Or bullshit. Hmmmmm.
The best one was the crazy extrapolation on the Meth Solutions website that suggested hundreds of thousands of properties used as meth labs.
Or, several meth labs for every user. You'd think the bloody price would come down.
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Last night's show is on-demand here.
And there's also an interesting online-only Q&A session with all the panelists answering questions from Toi and me, and from the audience.
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Speaker: Her outdoors, in reply to Morgan Nichol,
I’d forgotten about the flower guy. I never thought of him as a boy, perhaps because I was so young the last time I saw him. He always seemed old to me. Or are we (as unlikely as it seems) talking about different people? He couldn’t walk, yes?
On reflection, "flower guy" is more appropriate. I remember him being youngish, but let's not diminish him.
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Hard News: Friday Music: Making the…, in reply to Mike O'Connell,
and a chap called Lance ‘Tribal Thunder’ Strickland
Ah, Lance. Lovely man. He had the room next to mine in Grafton Road when he was learning to play guitar. That last part wasn’t always lovely, but fair play.
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Speaker: Her outdoors, in reply to Robyn Gallagher,
and it had some properly hilarious lolz in it.
I'm pleased some people have picked up on this. It totally does.
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Speaker: Her outdoors, in reply to Joe Wylie,
When tapped on the shoulder he instantly spun around and let rip with his trademark line at max volume. The poor guy nearly jumped out of his pants.
To be fair, flower boy was fucking loud.
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Speaker: Her outdoors, in reply to Brett Holak,
Thanks for signing up to say so, Brett.
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Speaker: Her outdoors, in reply to Joe Wylie,
In the early to mid-80s the nearest thing I recall to a regular “street person” in central Auckland was the “flower boy”, who sold modest bouquets from a bench on the Smith & Caughey block. He’d often startle passers-by with his foghorn-volume “YOU WANNA BUY A FLOWAH?”
Here’s the thing. People laughed at him and there were times when his interactions with passers-by – women – were inappropriate. But he also read up at the Globe Tavern’s Tuesday poetry night – movingly, I was told.
That poetry night continues 30 years on, Tuesdays at the Thirsty Dog, where I was introduced to Six.
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Well. This has been quite an afternoon. Twitter has gone justifiably nuts over this post and I’m really pleased about that.
This part:
“No, not this morning Six. I just called by to return your portfolio. I’m sorry, Six. I really went to bat for you but the reality is it is just a very competitive industry. And I hate to say it but you don’t fit the profile. You’re not female, not under 25 and still living with your parents at home in Remuera. That’s the truth of the industry unfortunately,” says L.
I am female.
My god, this is an acute assessment. It’s an industry with a shrinking workforce and shifting priorities. The ability to write well, insight, wit and street connections – all demonstrated in the post – aren’t valued as they might once have been. The pay isn’t good. It's in danger of becoming a middle-class hobby. And someone like Six is at the back of the queue.
My definition of success out of this is Six getting paid to write.
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