I need to listen to some Fred Dagg before I go on

To be confirmed is an interview with the BBC, in my politician guise. I have not been on radio in the other hemisphere for something like seven years, and that time it went to some of the most way-out places (it was UN Radio). I have one reservation only: my accent goes all over the […]

Read More… from I need to listen to some Fred Dagg before I go on



The Downfall of ‘Wellywood’

Necessity is the mother of all invention. I never thought some of the Der Untergang (Downfall) parodies could be topped, but I think this just happened. You may also like Live from Level 3 Chatting to TV, radio and internet journalists for the mayoral campaign Cities are, or at least should be, driving globalization The […]

Read More… from The Downfall of ‘Wellywood’



Do schools kill creativity?

Stefan Engeseth pasted this to his blog over the weekend, and it’s one of the best TED talks. As Stefan has investigated child behaviour himself, I can see the relevance. But even for the rest of us, it’s a thoroughly entertaining talk by Sir Ken Robinson in 2006 that has some wonderful touchpoints—and humour. It’s […]

Read More… from Do schools kill creativity?



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, […]

Read More… from Funny how the war keeps coming up



Trading identities in the personal branding space

The day the current mayor, Kerry Prendergast, announced her intention to stand for a fourth term, I was asked by a few media colleagues what I thought. The wittiest reply I gave to Salient, as it was an email interview, and I seem to be cheekier in writing than I am in speaking. I won’t […]

Read More… from Trading identities in the personal branding space



Back on Firefox 3·0: I have had enough of the daily crashes

As of today, I am back with the reliable Firefox 3·0 on my desktop machine as well. Firefox 3.5 would generally crash daily, though I remember there was once a three-day period in January when it did not crash at all. (There were other days when it would crash two or three times, just to […]

Read More… from Back on Firefox 3·0: I have had enough of the daily crashes



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 […]

Read More… from Best quotation on the Howard Stern–American Idol tie-up





The Investigator: one that didn’t take off

Not hard to see why this series, conceived by Gerry and Sylvia Anderson, never took off. According to the YouTube description, The Investigator was a pilot from c. 1973, and no series was ever commissioned. The combination of live action and puppetry do not work nearly as well as in UFO, and the idea of […]

Read More… from The Investigator: one that didn’t take off