Posts by jon_knox
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how far off is nz from being a republic?
that is what we're aiming for I assume?I suspect it will occur if and when somebody needs an opportunity to rebrand a bunch of bureacratic stuff and requires a sense of occassion. Unencumbering some new govt, from the legacy of the past...<insert suitably enthusiastic rent-a-quote from Kevin Roberts here>. Whether NZ is a democracy under an irrelevant Monarchy, or a Republic it probably won't make a jot of difference outside the likes of No Idea and Woman's Weakly. Theatre, pure theatre.
I'll return to chanting my mantra now. inhale Circle of influence, exhale Circle of Concern ;o)
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The new model has a smaller margin, but much greater (potential) reach, significantly smaller risks (excluding promotion) and then there's the thing called "the long tail".
To what degree is the old guard still clinging to a belief about their turf and attempting to extract as much as they can out of the back catalog? And really perhaps it's the back catalog that is one of the big issues?...as the costs of the developing the back catalog were higher, being in-line with the old model and wanting to reap the benefits of the long tail on that volume of work in which the labels have much greater control. This being the old stuff that was recorded way before the internet cast it's shadow into contracts and before the lastest generations started realising that they could do some of what the labels were doing themselves using the web instead of wringing their hands....perhaps that's where the Emo's came from and another example of why the net is bad, bad, BAD!
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With regards to the numbers being down in the music industy (...well for record/CD sales), I don't doubt that they are down a lot. But I also think that the music listening public are to some degree voting with their feet regarding the perceived high price that the music sales industry are attempting to charge, just as much as the public are rubbing their hands with glee & thinking "free music".
In short it may not be a simple case of the industry being down the difference between what the industry forecast regarding extrapolated earnings and actuals are....The economics part of my brain recalls something called Ceteris Paribus. Someone with a friend in Statistics NZ could probably make a better meal of explaining what the factors are and providing some independent estimates. Else if anyone wants to pay me to do that piece of work quite independently (of both undue influence and probably rigor)...make my day ;o)
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er...typo...
and I was wished me "better luck next time"
of course means "and wished me better luck next time".
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Long time, no hear David...So this is what you've been up to!...Not in banged-up on remand as I had suspe....I mean as my totally overactive imagination had feared. Chur!
I have a question for you based on a dream that I had last night and as you're one of the more/most lucid people I've met (which is clearly evident in your writing), I thought I'd seek your opinion.
Anyway, I dreamt that I was driving a car, which is a bit odd as I haven't been a car person for a few years (I will however point out that I do wear footwear before anyone feels the need to make any "hippy" comments) and had a bit of an incident...of sorts.
The part of the dream that I can recall is having been driving a car, I nearly clipped (ok...OK chased...I'm a bit patchy on that detail...No seriously I don't recall...all that lemsip I've been taking has been making me a bit...out of sorts...yeah) a guy on a BMX just infront of a Policeman, who then pulled me over & proceeded to give me a good old fashioined telling-off as he was proceeding to write me a ticket. As the BMX rider hadn't stopped, I told the policeman that I thought the guy on the BMX was Matthew Ridge, then the policeman tore the ticket up and I was wished me "better luck next time".
Finally, getting to my question to you David, if you condone the policeman's actions in my dream, does that make you a bad parent?..or should that be a "worse parent"?
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I don’t think most Cantabrians really care about the result of a trifling ANZC final, anyway
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Though the Cantabs do have their vision deficiencies, I don't think they suffer from being that short sighted. ANZC is the prime feeder system, not to mention the premier domestic comp. If you don't have a good feeder system you end up like Man U...dependent on hairgel and very deep pockets for a sense of self esteem, with a polarising effect on the public despite playing really quite attractive football....Buying talent, rather than making it, is a bit like property speculation, it doesn't really add economic value...it just (over) inflates what is already there. Considering (football again...I know..I know..ick) Arsenal, who seem to much more into developing talent, or at least that's story their marketing guys seem to put out, seem to be far less hated, in fact respected for that approach.
The lower level comps are a platform from which bigger achievements are built. Deans, Smith, Henry they know this, as perhaps do the senior NZRFU guys when they're not distracted by deciding what colour sports stripes to put on their latest sponsored vehicle, or making sure they're getting what their worth.
It worries me that if the lower level comps are not healthy in strong provinces, even with regards to crowd turnout, then the next tier of players won't be gettng the support & exposure that is required to peform at the top level. If the players aren't being exposed to healthy (yet hostile..a contradiction of sorts) crowds at home, how do you think they will go if the get to South Africa where the crowd will really get into them. The opportunity to build a bit of pressure that will test the metal of these young players should be considered really valuable, in addition to putting them in a place where they can impress and entertain too. With each opportunity missed, the opposition and other competition (such as league) gets closer.
ANZC would be a prime opporunity to have afternoon games, which I think are great, in terms of a diferent offering from evening only games. Afternoon games as I recall are a bit more family & less drinking orientated than the games a few hours later. Being out in the stands during daylight hours and the ability to undertake a non-rugby activity in the evening (such as boozing or putting the kids to bed) is also handy, though this perhaps clashes with club rugby and going to the mall. (I wonder how they managed 20 years ago when it was all afternoon games?) I'd think there was less pressure from TV to have the games at night without the interest from the foreign audience, but then again those smart fellas at the NZRFU might have sold away that descision to foreign pay TV long ago. (being without a TV and being on the other side of the planet, I'm unsure if the most of the games were afternoon games and just the semi's & final are being played under lights???)
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hobby
I think that would mean I actively enjoy disliking Wellington....It's much more passive/subtle than that.
Whereas the schadenfreude I experience when an English sports team snatch defeat from the jaws of victory is much more....frequent is perhaps the word, but there's also an essence of active enjoyment about it. I read the sports pages over here, not because I'm interested in the likes of football, more that I've paid money and enjoy a good meltdown (especially one outside of the economy/financial sector). The English press does irk me a bit with the whole, single victory by an English athlete or team and suddenly they're the "Best in the World", quickly followed by "we've been saying so for ages". If Fabio Capello is reading this, which is perhaps possible with the speed by which the PA media empire is growing, please refer to the response in Arkell v Pressdram and spoliling the rest of the football world's fun.
Similarly if the All Blacks have a patchy couple of wins and (woe betide) a loss or a draw (particularly against the English like they did in '97), or the Aussie cricketers lose a test then even normally pretty sensible newspapers get their knives out....I guess it's more about trying to create a story, rather than telling it as it is.
Anyway I've tried to fathom my dislike for Wellington, which truth be known I've had a few good trips to.
They've got the shield.
Ma Nonu and eyeliner. WTF?
I didn't rate Tana as a centre. His distribution skills were poor and it was a case of trying to turn a big winger into the next Frank Bunce. (Not sure if this was cause or effect)
Stuart Wilson.
Conrad Smith and use of the phrases such as "silky skills".
Duncan Garner. (was an Aucklander, but moved there).
If Parliament wasn't in Wellington, the place would be vastly smaller and consume much less funding.
And the fact that I've got better reasons for supporting Canterbury, Otago and Auck-Harbour....(and I blame Super-12/14 for bringing about that Franken-union, despite the postive impact on the game, particularly in the late 90's) -
I don't really know why I dislike Wellington more than anywhere else in NZ, but I do. .There's part of me that quite enjoys disliking Wellington.
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Microsoft in Oz is making some noise about software piracy at the moment.
Then off-topic there is another article which I think is about supply side volatility for another great kiwi....er output.
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and when I indicated
this is not to say the terms, or other details couldn't be altered a bit to make it more relevant/satisfactory for the modern age, reflecting interests of the artists and modern society
I also meant tweaking the infringement/rectification process.