Posts by Paul Litterick

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  • Hard News: America: Chill out!,

    I heard somewhere on the BBC that over 60% of personal bankruptcies in the USA are the result of healthcare costs. I suppose that is the Price of Freedom.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1000 posts Report

  • Hard News: Screen Wars,

    I am with TV3 on this one: if TVNZ does not want to take its turn to tape the show, then it should not complain when it cannot broadcast the results. Then again, if this tedious dross is not a ratings winner, then why bother taping it?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1000 posts Report

  • Hard News: Detritus,

    Wow. A searchable online catalogue where you can't link to what you find because every URL expires after 20 minutes.

    Rad, isn't it? What's more, search results are not compatible with EndNote, the industry-standard referencing app.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1000 posts Report

  • OnPoint: Gotcha?,

    It rather looks as if Mr Spondre has left the building.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1000 posts Report

  • OnPoint: Gotcha?,

    Curiouser and curiouser: the Brian Spondre post of 30th August, to which Cactus Kate linked in her apology, has been removed. All that remains is Spondre's last comment:

    Russsell – can we shake hands and start again ? I am not hung up about Public Address. I apologize for my flippant remark about left wing intellectuals over at Lance Wiggs that has got us off on the wrong foot.

    I still think that Lance made some excellent points about the complexity of your site.

    What did I miss, and what did Kate mean about Spondre liking to watch? And isn't the third 's' in Mr Brown's name a little excessive?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1000 posts Report

  • Island Life: On the waterfront,

    The sails should be beige. This design could hardly be accused of being adventurous. Architects have been doing this sort of thing for the last twenty-five years. And it is no wonder, since the designing requires so little effort: it is not much more than a sketch.

    In this case, the sail concept is ideal for the client and the brief. The client, Rt Hon John Key, has a vague but cheerful feeling about what might happen at Party Central, but no specific requirements. So the brief is more or less open: give my visitors somewhere to Party. For a project as vacuous as this one, designing a real building would be folly. The solution is to design a folly.

    Of course, it is all speculation on the part of Copeland. Nobody asked their opinion and they probably would not be in the running for a project this size, so throwing their hat in the ring can do no harm. The hat is unlikely to be picked up but it will let everybody know they are there.

    Can we now have a proper architectural competition, where architects submit real designs to meet a detailed and coherent brief? I guess not.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1000 posts Report

  • Hard News: Where your money goes,

    We had a copy of that poster at the Ministry of Defence. here is a modern version.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1000 posts Report

  • Hard News: Where your money goes,

    Is it free advertising? Probably, but they do look chuffed to have a little black raincoat with a silver fern on it. And the schools seem happy to have shoes to they can give to kids who turn up in with no shoes (that are visibly branded I don't think) in winter

    Yes, but do they need this clothing? Would they be otherwise coatless and discalced? Does the charity identify need or is it just handing out branded goods?

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1000 posts Report

  • Hard News: Where your money goes,

    Interesting that Maxim beneficiaries are listed as "children/young people"

    Someone is having a quiet joke here .

    No, at least not a funny one. Maxim officially is an educational charity, a status it justifies by publishing pamphlets on the state of education.

    Note also that the location at 49 Cape Horn Rd Hillsborough is the former home of Keith Hay and one of the officers is Jeanette Hay.

    The Keith Hay Family Trust provides his place free of charge to Maxim.

    Their fourth biggest donor is Middleton Grange School.

    Guess what? Bruce Logan was Headmaster of Middleton Grange. When he set up Maxim, the school provided offices. These were closed after that unfortunate business of Mr Logan's essays being largely written by others

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1000 posts Report

  • Hard News: Where your money goes,

    Has anybody identified any need for the raincoats and shoes that KidsCan provides? It looks to me like another opportunity for Adidas (which supplies the branded coats) to obtain yet more free publicity.

    There is a big difference between charities like Oxfam which are committed to addressing broad issues of poverty and those like KidsCan which have rather limited and (in my less-than-humble opinion) rather simplistic aims: give them coats and shoes and self-respect. Poverty is a big difficult issue, which will not be solved by sentiment and sponsorship.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1000 posts Report

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