Little Big Man was antiestablishment, as is big man Little: straight talk is what Labour needs

28.11.2014/13.10

The Hon Andrew Little MP has had a good first week as Leader of the Opposition. Some are saying what a breath of fresh air this straight-shooter is. He’s been an MP for three years. And in the context of Labour, which has factions within, that’s a good thing. A guy who isn’t tainted […]

Brand Kim Dotcom: what has changed?

22.09.2014/12.22

Equal access: an audio recording of this blog post can be found here. It’s disturbing to see so many Kim Dotcom jokes post-General Election, with plenty of Kiwis happy to ridicule the bloke because of Internet Mana’s terrible showing in the polls, and the loss of Hone Harawira’s seat. Yet not too long ago, […]

When the parties uploaded their opening statements to their YouTube accounts

26.08.2014/05.25

This is when each political party uploaded their opening broadcasts to their ofﬁcial YouTube accounts. Ideally, they should have gone up on Saturday night, when they were broadcast on television, as that was when those of us online were hunting for them. (TVNZ did not have these up on demand on the night, either, but […]

I thought political division got you nowhere in New Zealand

23.08.2014/03.00

A week and a half ago, I appeared on Back Benches to talk about Winston Peters MP’s “two Wongs” joke, and confined my comments to that. My response, ‘There are still people who enjoy watching Rolf Harris, just as there are still people out there who enjoy listening to Winston Peters.’ And, ‘We have […]

Does Google advertising continue to track you after opting out?

03.07.2014/04.38

Consistently, for the last several weeks, the ads I would see on YouTube have been for Hyundai. I didn’t think much of it, other than Hyundai going through an advertising blitz. After uncovering Google’s outright deceptions regarding its former Ads Preferences Manager, where the company promised not to track people when they opted out—but […]

The TV and ﬁlm ideas that Ireland pioneered

02.06.2014/03.46

My friend Lou, who I enjoy winding up, just arrived in Belfast on holiday with her ﬁancé. I wrote on her Facebook the following slice of forgotten Irish television and ﬁlm history. If I was in Belfast, I would be rapping. I pulled up to the house about seven or eight, And I yelled to […]

Cuba’s automotive time warp

29.05.2014/12.01

My friend Stephen Smith filmed the following in Cuba, looking at the pre-1959 US cars that are still running (mostly on non-original engines) there. It’s also interesting for the odd non-US car that you see: various Ladas (the original Zhiguli shape), a Volkswagen Gol in one scene, and an Emgrand EC8. Steve and his wife […]

Sherlock Holmes, US-style

27.04.2014/03.34

There’s a good reason (other than time) I do not watch Elementary, though I did try about 10 minutes’ worth before giving up. The last time I watched the US make Sherlock Holmes, it was the above: The Return of Sherlock Holmes (though I believe it was 4:3). CBS updated Holmes to the modern […]

Flashback to 2002: Australia’s ﬁrst Winter Olympic gold

09.02.2014/03.23

This is the sort of thing I would throw on my Tumblr but the Olympic Committee won’t allow embedding there. Ergo: It’s from the 2002 Games, where Steven Bradbury takes home Australia’s first gold in the Winter Olympics. The last lap is at around the 1′30″ mark. Fast forward to 2014 and remember […]

Frack away, IGas Energy: the Metropolitan Police has your back

06.02.2014/10.10

The spirit of Gene Hunt is alive and well in the Greater Manchester Police, in the form of Sgt David Kehoe. Arresting someone over drink driving when he has neither drunk nor driven reminds me of The Professionals episode, ‘In the Public Interest’, about a corrupt police force in an unnamed English city outside […]