Posts by Tom Semmens
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Twitter is to social media what the Kim Dotcom is to politicians.
I dislike Twitter. A whole bunch of people who are not half as clever as they think they are desperately trying to be relevant in 140 characters of one upmanship or less. I can’t imagine a platform better designed to generate more heat than light.
I play in a couple of MMO games and the stuff that gets said in the battlechat would make your eyes water. Internet culture is like that. Several websites post up the rages of the week and the trolls of the week for everyones amusement. Raging is just plain funny, the trolls more a name and shame exercise. Either way, posting it up draws the venom from most of it. Maybe someone ought to do the same sort of thing at TVNZ.
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What do you expect? the Herald is the mouthpiece of an Auckland, white, good old boy plutocracy that is so bereft of moral compass and balance that one of it’s members – prime minister John Key – thinks nothing of regularly phoning another – sociopath Cameron Slater – for cosy chit chats about politics.
Seen in that context, the Herald’s toxic editors are simply indulging in business as usual in their elite echo chamber.
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And I doubt my dear friend Tom…
Dude, it is election year.
Imagine all our politicians as being in a political St. Patricks day parade, with a particularly drunk crowd of Orangemen and Irish Catholics watching from either side of the street.
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Pretty easy for Labour to paint Key as an irresponsibly desperate man willing to do deals with any chem trail crank (the so-called Conservative party), Potemkin party (Peter Dunne’s joke United Future) re-tread or front for crazies and criminals (the ACT party) who offers him hope of a chance to cling to power. Such naked desperation from a multi-millionaire who we are constantly told doesn't need the job and is doing it as favour to us all.
Compared to Key’s preferred partners, the Greens look like pillars of Western Capitalism, and Kim Dotcom towers over Colin Craig and John Banks as a sane man unjustly accused.
If Winston Peters does end up the King maker I hope he goes with Labour, because that would mean he recognises that he should count himself very, very lucky that he can leave parliament gracefully in 2017 after three years as minister of overseas travel.
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It was about 15 minutes before someone asked what I was doing backstage and I was asked to move on
Saw this happen to someone at a big US festival, only he wasn’t asked politely to leave. From the reaction, I’m guessing his parents only found out what happened to him from Edward Snowden. NZer’s are so laid back. My South American friends all took pictures of the big signs that said “keep left” as well, they that was really funny.
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Cameron Slater using a duck caller? It is nice to know he also realises he is completely quackers.
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Many/most large European events have used chipped cards pre-loaded to a certain $ amount ($20, $40, $60, $100 etc) for at least a decade now. You can purchase when you arrive or from vending machines. When you purchase anything, the amount is deducted from the card. Speeds things up no end.
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The queues for a drink were beyond a joke. They were lucky the crowd was polite New Zealanders. the sort of logistical incompetence on show when it came to getting a drink or trying to use a loo would have caused any other crowd to riot in disgust. It isn’t like it was the promoters first gig, either. And what drongo puts the VIP lounge where you can’t see anything? We trucked in about $900 or so in cash amongst seven of us. We trucked out the exact same amount, it was impossible to spend our money. Luckily, there was enough illicit booze and drugs smuggled in for the crowd to have a good time regardless of the nincompoops in charge.
The promoter has to work out how much money was taken away from the gig from people with cash to spend vs. how much he thinks he makes on under-18 year old ticket sales – especially as the kids pre-load like crazy anyway.
Still, it was a great venue and less than 2km from my house, and we had a great time. Despite be right at the front I still don’t see what all the fuss about Arcade Fire is, much to the disgust of the Chileans I was with. I was happy with Pearl Jam, Liam Gallagher was as reliable a cock as ever but well worth watching. I wished I had seen more of the Hives, they looked like something. After Pearl Jam I couldn’t cope with the dance stuff but I saw the Swedish House Mafia & Major Lazer at Ultra last March anyway so went home.
Now to prepare for Splore…
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Of course, we all know that Kim Dotcom was never planning to do his launch at the Cloud, it was the old book two venues then "ZOMG!!! Our venue is to small! Lucky this bigger one is available!!!!" trick.
He is a canny and natural politician.
Dare I say it, Dotocm has exactly the same appeal as John Key - the anti-politician politician - and he appeals to same sorts of demographics.
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I spy that Jeremy Clarkson is being a plonker again. I wish someone would buy a Paddington bear and stuff it down his throat until he chokes to death on it. It would be such a deliciously ironic end. The writer notes the British also have little idea of what the road rules are as they relate to cyclists. If the British - who are better drivers than us by a distance of several parsecs - have a grey area around cyclists, what hope have cyclists here given that our motor vehicles are driven by Orangutans with a permanent hangover?
Here are the safe cycling guidelines from London Transport. They are a world away from the hostile attitude of AT. Note in particular:
– Stay central on narrow roads. Try to ride away from the gutter. If the road is too narrow for vehicles to pass you safely, it might be safer to ride towards the middle of the lane to prevent dangerous overtaking by other vehicles
– Stay away from parked cars. Ideally, keep a door’s width away in case the door opens suddenly. Also, try to ride in a straight line past parked cars rather than dodging between them.
Imagine all the wailing, nashing of teeth and renting of clothing from motorists that would go on if AT came out and said ALWAYS keep a door width away from parked cars, and if to do that it is safer to ride down the middle of the road to prevent people overtaking, we give you our legal blessing.