Posts by Russell Brown
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Hard News: This is your government on drugs, in reply to Lynn Yum,
This is like I, Daniel Blake, except it is real and it is happening right now in New Zealand
That's a good comparison.
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Just noticed this brilliant Martyn Pepperell interview with Jordan Arts, aka High Hoops (and also a member of Leisure), about having a hit with Kids of 88, falling in an emotional hole – and getting back out again.
It comes with a link to the New Zealand Music Foundation's Wellbeing Service, which got a big boost today out of the sale of one of Neil Finn's unique Maton guitars for $27,500.
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Hard News: Friday Music: Who is the head…, in reply to Jeremy Andrew,
Looks like Taika is pulling ahead – being headhunted for Star Wars gives him double-extra-bonus space Maori points…
Unassailable lead, you'd think. For a generation at least.
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Gary Steel has just posted a tribute to Ron Kane.
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Most of the restaurants here seemed to base their fare on that of England’s version of curry. This is as much a story of English descendants demanding a particular style of food as it is of Indian cuisine. Restaurants from Auckland to Invercargill had identical menus and served chicken tikka masala, which – even though it hails from the north of England – is one of New Zealand’s favourite curries. This homogenised cuisine does little to reflect the incredibly rich culinary heritage of India or any of its regional or religious culinary ideas.
But the explosion of immigration is relatively recent and we can see two things happening already. A more diverse range of Indian restaurants is beginning to open, from the fine dining of Cassia in Auckland to the street food of Mumbaiwala in Christchurch. The proliferation of Indian food stores means it is now easier to get the ingredients and required spices. We can already see the influence of Indian cuisine as it is quickly being integrated into home-cooking.
We also had the New Zealand sausage curry, which typically contained pineapple, apple and/or sultanas. I've wondered whether there's a link to the sweet Cape curry style of South Africa.
And yes, we're certainly seeing the different Indian regional styles in Auckland, including the hot, dry Hyderbadi ones. But on the other hand, there's the juggernaut which is Paradise in Sandringham, which serves a variety of styles. And the ingredients, even fairly obscure or specific ones, can generally be bought.
We discussed all this at great length under an earlier Feed post three years ago.
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Access: GTFO of Our Accessible Bathrooms, in reply to Anita Easton,
Woah there, this has made me really uncomfortable, which may not have been your intent.
I have a disability, but it is not a visible one. I sometimes need to use a disabled bathroom, and sometimes will be in there for a while.
Thanks Anita. Chelle has heard you and rewritten parts of the above to take account of your point. I've dropped in the improved version.
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or if you are using the bathroom, alone or with friends, as a backdrop for a photoshoot for social media – Seriously, WHY do people do this??
This … is a thing?
There are two exceptions, of course: If it is a shared “parents’ room”/accessible facility, which is not ideal but not your fault, or if it is the ONLY bathroom available. In these cases, use the facility without guilt but be mindful of the time you are taking and whether or not you really need to use this space. I don’t mean to say you should ‘hold it’ until you find somewhere else, that’s not healthy. When you gotta go, you gotta go.
This is very reasonable of you.
I recall feeling a bit sorry for Polly Gillespie when she wrote about her toilet emergency – until I actually read what she’d written and realised she’d taken the disabled loo when others were available, to spare her own blushes, and that she’d been a total dick about it (“legal right”, etc).
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Hard News: Harkanwal Singh: What really…, in reply to James Ting-Edwards,
Hell yeah to all of that.
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Hard News: Friday Music: The unusual…, in reply to JacksonP,
And the wonderfully elegant and musically gifted Julia Deans. Her little set was a genuine treat, and so great to have those videos.
I think she really enjoyed it as a setting to play those new songs in.
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Hard News: Harkanwal Singh: What really…, in reply to WH,
The recent movements in our housing market are a matter for real regret. Contrary to what you have repeatedly implied, the worst of the damage is likely to be inflicted on those least able to take it.
I have in fact repeatedly made that very point to people who object to any discussion of the pressure on housing in Auckland. And I think that some of the price pressure is coming from non-resident buyers.
But the point here is that what Twyford presented was a poorly-conceived statistical adventure which seemed designed to create a certain response. It simply wasn’t valid.