Let the Outrageous Fortune come

Almost any New Zealander will recognize this image: a cast photograph from the long-running TV series Outrageous Fortune.    When I first heard of this show from Antonia Prebble, before she started filming, I have to admit I didn’t think the premise would see it last five years (and counting). But for New Zealand television […]

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Chatting to TV, radio and internet journalists for the mayoral campaign

There have been a few times in the history of this blog where I stepped away from writing regularly. At the end of 2006, I had a pretty good excuse: I was in France. This time, my reasons for stepping away for a few weeks do not include: (a) I was spending too much time […]

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A guide to writing an Alarm für Cobra 11 episode

  Since my campaign fund-raiser on the 15th, I’ve had to take a back seat from blogging, though there is a lot to discuss about work, our city and other matters. And I would get back in to serious mode but for a nasty stomach bug that has kept me down—and taken away a bit […]

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A tribute to Mission: Impossible’s nice guy

Maybe I plain did not watch the news on the 15th—goodness knows what I was doing to have missed that Peter Graves, best known for his portrayal of Jim Phelps in Mission: Impossible, passed away, after suffering a heart attack. Today would have been his 84th birthday.    I am a huge fan of Mission: […]

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Toyota’s recent “30-degree” scandal in China

Sam Flemming in Advertising Age mentioned the scandal that Toyota has been embroiled in inside China, before a lot of the bad press it received in the occident over “unintended acceleration”.    This involved a netizen, an owner of a Toyota Highlander Sport, filming that his SUV was unable to get up a 30-degree incline, […]

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Funny how the war keeps coming up

I could guess the entire storyline but my goodness, I still think this is hilarious. (Courtesy Chris Young at C7 Design in New Plymouth.) You may also like Doctor Who’s Christmas ’10 special: US trailer On the subject of copying Steve McQueen, advertising spokesman, 1980 to date Is your favourite 1980s’ celeb here? Starting Upstairs, […]

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First trailers for Alarm für Cobra 11’s next season

Is it just me, or does it feel like the budget for Alarm für Cobra 11: die Autobahnpolizei has been cut even more? This preview does not seem as spectacular as the last two seasons’ (and last season felt cheaper already). And where are Dieter and Horst?    Back on March 11 on RTL. You […]

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Embrace life

I may be later than many in writing about this, but I only saw it in my Tweetstream today.    What a welcome departure from the blood-and-gore approach of many road safety public announcements, from the Sussex Safer Roads Partnership. You may also like Drivetribe will be a mecca for motorheads—Autocade readers welcome Finding the […]

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Best quotation on the Howard Stern–American Idol tie-up

The best quotation in the American media this week? In my opinion, it would have to be this: Howard Stern is being considered to replace Simon Cowell when he leaves “American Idol” after this season.    Apparently Satan was out of Fox’s price range. From Tony Hicks in the Contra Costa Times. You may also […]

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On the subject of copying

Saw this old Mikado commercial a few days back: and, after searching on YouTube, it appears that it was repurposed in Germany for a completely different product. Either that, or this came first:    The top one seems to work better, probably because of the idea we have about conservative Japanese management.    Any idea […]

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