Posts by B Jones

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  • Radiation: RIP Aurora,

    Van: "That's racist, man. If there's an arse-biting rule, it should be one bite for all."

    I had to stop the tears running down my face so I could laugh like a hyena at that.

    Seeing Cheryl in apology rather than righteous mode just doubled my respect for her as a character and Robyn Malcolm as an actor.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 976 posts Report

  • Radiation: Back to the 80s,

    Some people just don't do realism, and either idolise someone or demonise them - see borderline personality disorder. Of course, that would make it less likely that he'd stayed friends with Munter all those years.

    Shakespeare in Much Ado About Nothing tells a similar story, although that definitely has realism issues. I'd say history is littered with the corpses of women whose partners have had their illusions shattered all at once, but it's literally true, still happening and far too grim to be that flip about.

    I saw it not so much as unrealistic but evidence of a real break in Van's mental state.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 976 posts Report

  • Radiation: Back to the 80s,

    Munter's attempts to encourage or support him, and his obvious disappointment when they failed, were a very good and realistic foil to Van's coming unstuck. Another thing - the whole drama was precipitated by Van jonesing for pot - there is a link between heavy use and mental health issues.

    I found myself wondering very briefly this morning whether Jethro was absent from that episode for actor unavailability reasons like (I presume) Pascalle. The boundaries of reality and television are getting a little blurry here.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 976 posts Report

  • Radiation: Back to the 80s,

    I wonder if they were writing/filming/directing that bit as the Goodnight Kiwi clip came up on OurTube here? Thematically appropriate, hugely culturally resonant in New Zealand, and a wonderful way to tell a story about Van's character. I know I had tears running down my face thinking about the kiwi and the cat flipping their switches and turning the lights off.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 976 posts Report

  • Leo TV,

    I thought of the obvious mashup of Lolcats and Cthulhu, but someone got there first.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 976 posts Report

  • Island Life: Books are our friends,

    Possibly the worst "classic" to read in public if you don't want to be accosted by dodgy strangers is that famous one by Nabokov, rhymes with fajita. If I write the name, I suspect it will get this page triggering worksafe filters across the country. The number of people who actually identify with the protagonist is scary.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 976 posts Report

  • Island Life: Books are our friends,

    I was very impressed to find The God Delusion, Chaucer's Canterbury Tales and Neil Gaiman's American Gods within a five person radius on the Tube a while back.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 976 posts Report

  • Island Life: White and bright,

    The Body Shop sells a range called Moisture White,

    They're selling the same product to the same market, but have to tone down the advertising because they also say:

    Throughout the ages, women's bodies have been manipulated to fit the latest fad. We've been trussed up, pumped up, corseted and bandaged. Waists have been pinched, skin bleached, ribs removed. The fat sucked out, the silicone injected in. Wouldn't you rather be measured by your individuality, thinking and lust for life? Stand up for who you really are stand up for self esteem.

    Plus also buy our bronzers and whiteners etc.

    Lots of major makeup lines have similar ranges (if you buy from Asian-based internet retailers you quickly come across them), but despite their names and packaging, don't so much whiten as "brighten" and "even out skin tone", and include massive SPF so people don't get any darker than they already are.

    Just another variant of the Star-On/Star-Off machine in The Sneetches.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 976 posts Report

  • OnPoint: Cooked goose, chicken, etc.,

    To cook them? It's a lot more humane that putting live ones in, for a start.

    Or maybe the chicken doesn't know it's already dead and is trying to get a feed itself.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 976 posts Report

  • Yellow Peril: Are you gonna liberate us…,

    It sounds like the construction workers were teasing, both the passers-by and Manakura. This requires special defensive mental judo techniques, and it is why Emma's response worked.

    Actually that's worth considering in the context of online harassment.

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 976 posts Report

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