Earlier in the evening, I was checking up on the latest stadium news at the Herald’s website, when I noticed this list of headlines in the “Latest News” column:
Just keeping readers informed of market fluctuations.
Archive for November, 2006
On the left, the Mulberry Alana bag. On the right, the New Zealand 10 cent coin.
I don’t normally do those so-called meme things, she said, but this one’s all right cos it’s not about ticking boxes but coming up with real things. It’s the “10 weird things/habits/little known facts about yourself” one.
- In late 2000/early 2001, I was the co-host of the Computer Chat show on Radio Pacific. I didn’t mean to. It was an accident, I swear. I haven’t mentioned much it because I used to be horribly embarrassed by it.
- I was saddened to discover that my favourite orphan from the “Annie” movie has grown up to be a fat housewife in real life.
- I have grade eight in choral speaking from the Trinity College in London. You’ll have to take my word for it - there was only one certificate and a dozen of us in the group.
- I have seen all the James Bond movies. However, as it was done as part of a completionist splurge, I only Bonded with about half of them.
- I can recite the name of all secretaries-general of the United Nations in chronological order. I cannot, however, guarantee that I’ll pronounce their names properly.
- I can write backwards, and upside down. I’d demonstrate, but it doesn’t work with a keyboard.
- When I was at tech, a visual arts tutor wanted me to switch from the communication stream into the visual arts stream cos I had the skillz.
- When I was 5, I entered a colouring competition in the Waikato Times and won tickets to see the Village People’s motion picture debut “Can’t Stop The Music”. It remains one of my favourite films, even though it is nine different shades of awful.
- I never learned to ride a bike. I had no motivation - everything was either within walking distance or too far to bike.
- Even though I’m a gangsta, sometimes I like to sit down and do cross-stitch kittens designs.
Jack Black and Kyle Gass of Tenacious D are interviewed in the Guardian’s Film & Music supplement.
6. Choose a nemesis
Black: Right now, I would say our arch-rival is Borat because he’s too fuckin’ funny and his movie’s coming out the same time as ours. That is a source of much fear and dread.
Gass: I saw those new whippersnappers from New Zealand, The Flight of the Conchords.
Black: They’re basically a folk version of the D. And I hear they’re way better-looking than us. Which isn’t saying much. But still.
And “whippersnapper” was used, which is, like, totally my favourite word du jour.
The NZ Herald is the source of some great comedy today with Readers’ views: Text language in exams. Everyone is outraged!
Apparently the New Zealand Qualifications Authority is going to allow txt-style abbreviations to be used in exams. But the important thing is that this won’t extend to English exams.
I’ve sent in the following comments:
People have been abbreviating written language for thousands of years. Many of the English words we write today are shorter versions of older, longer words.
Is it really such a big deal that a teenager writes “bcoz” instead of “because” in an exam answer about, say, population growth?
Being able to write clear English is still a valuable skill today, but surely the way to test this is in an English assessment, not geography or maths.
I feel like I may be set upon by a mob of angry ppl.
But I’m actually more excited about this really cool news: Ikea is coming Aotearoa in 2008.
I cleared my post office box today and found a rather strange letter there for me.
It was an anonymously written, three-page photocopied letter regarding a New Zealand elected public official - who I will not name, for I have read the Defamation Act - and it makes various allegations about him/her.
The letter was trying to present evidence that this person was a pedophile, but most of the evidence seemed to involve stuff overheard at a local pub - lots and lots of hearsay.
Not only that but it seems that almost everyone of importance in the area where this person is from was involved in a vast cover-up - police, media, community groups and even - gasp - Maoris.
The letter notes that as well as this person having “a history of bankruptcy, pedophile [sic], drinking, smoking, dope, [and] sex abuse,” he/she is also “an irresponsible slob.” It also noted that “some of the prostitutes are getting fed up.” Oh, I bet they are.
The third page gives a list of people who I am apparently required to talk to. It insists, “Many individual people are well aware of the situation but you can’t just question them on the phone as 20/20. You need to win them over before they will open up. This is the [location] way.” 20/20?! What, they want me to contact these people pretending to be from a glossy current affairs TV show?
What perplexes me the most is how I came to receive this letter. It seems to be written for someone in the media who can do some of that investigative journalism stuff, but that’s not me and never has been. I don’t think I know anyone from this place, I hadn’t even heard of this person before I read the letter, I don’t really have any media clout that I can wield, and I’m certainly not going to ring up some brothel owner demanding to know about dirty goings on.
It’s a very unusual letter to have received.