Weekend social 28/06/2013
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2:00 pm, June 28th, 2013 - 18 comments
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Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever.
No politics, no aggro, why can’t we all just get along?
18 comments on “Weekend social 28/06/2013 ”
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Pacific Media Watch newsdesk Human Rights Watch (HRW) has criticised the Indonesian government of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo for its weak health response to covid-19 which has brought Indonesia to its knees since March 2020, reports CNN Indonesia. The assessment is based on Indonesia’s poor rates of testing and tracing ...51 mins ago - Expatriate in PNG tests positive with covid and admitted to private hospitalBy The National in Port Moresby An expatriate who tested positive for the covid-19 coronavirus last week has been admitted to a private hospital in the Papua New Guinea capital of Port Moresby, an official has confirmed. Pacific International Hospital (PIH) chief executive officer Colonel Sandeep Shaligram toldThe National the ...2 hours ago
- The Pfizer vaccine may not be the best choice for frail people, but it’s too early to make firm co...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nathan Bartlett, Associate Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, University of Newcastle Reports of about 30 deaths among elderly nursing home residents who received the Pfizer vaccine have made international headlines. With Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) expected to approve the ...4 hours ago
- Curious kids: how do gills work?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Culum Brown, Professor, Macquarie University How do gills work? Tully, aged 7 Great question, Tully! Animals on land breathe air, which is made up of different gasses. Oxygen is one of these gases, and is made by plants (hug ...6 hours ago
- Here’s the chance for Fonterra to play a leadership role and spur the others with its milk price
Dairy prices increased by 3.9% across the board at the latest Fonterra global auction. The lift followed rises of 1.3% and 4.3% in the December auctions which took dairy prices to their highest level in 11 months, defying those analysts who believed Covid-19 had disrupted dairy markets. In the latest ...8 hours ago - American Magic will 'live to fight another day' after capsizing
America's Cup team American Magic has spoken publicly after their boat Patriot capsized when on its way to their first win of the Challenger Selection Series yesterday. Patriot dramatically capsized yesterday, becoming temporarily airborne before crashing back into the water and tipping. The boat, helmed by New Zealander Dean Barker, could not be ...8 hours ago - It’s going to be 20 years before Auckland’s shitty beach woes go away
It’s a seemingly age old question: why do Auckland’s beaches become unswimmable after every single downpour? Stewart Sowman-Lund investigates.Ah, the beach. A staple of the New Zealand summer. Unless, of course, you’re based in Auckland and it’s raining. The start of 2021 has been a lot like every other New ...8 hours ago - Squatters at Shelly Bay learn from the PM’s Ihumātao intervention and hunker down for the long ha...
We have opened a book, among members of the Point of Order team, on how long it will be before the PM offers to sort out the land dispute at Wellington’s Shelly Bay and (to win the double) how much the settlement will cost taxpayers. Just a few weeks ago ...9 hours ago - All the weird, wonderful moments from the return of Breakfast and The AM ShowBreakfast TV news is back for 2021, and Tara Ward got up early to watch. “Thank god it’s almost Christmas,” John Campbell said during the opening minutes of Breakfast’s premiere episode of the year. “2021’s been rough so far. I’m buggered”. We’re all buggered, to be fair, but I’m worried that ...10 hours ago
- There’s no such thing as ‘alternative facts’. 5 ways to spot misinformation and stop sharing i...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Pearson, Professor of Journalism and Social Media, Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, Griffith University, Griffith University The blame for the recent assault on the US Capitol and President Donald Trump’s broader dismantling of democratic institutions and norms can be ...11 hours ago
- The progressive fault lines facing New Zealand in 2021 and beyondDespite a popular and unifying leader of the governing party, divisions both in policy and culture will test the progressive movement, writes Peter McKenzie.‘I think we’re confused.” Marlon Drake is an organiser for the Living Wage Movement. His job takes him all over Wellington, trying to convince businesses to increase ...13 hours ago
- Covid-19: New Zealanders have to wait their turn for vaccination – Chris Hipkins
Covid-19 Recovery Minister Chris Hipkins says vaccinations should be available to the public by the middle of the year, but other countries are prioritised. ...14 hours ago - 150 years on, Dunedin is still the tertiary education capital of New ZealandIt’s as true now as it ever has been: nowhere else offers an education experience like that of Dunedin. But rather than resting on their laurels, the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic have plans to make the city an even more inspiring place for students.From high in the summit ...14 hours ago
- Ten rules for hosting a successful Burns supper in AotearoaHaggis, neeps and tatties and whisky may not be a traditional spread for a summer gathering in NZ, but trust Auckland city councillor and Kiwi-Scot Cathy Casey on this one. Gie it laldy! Rule one: Hold it on (or near) January 25Robert Burns was born on January 25, 1759. Since the ...15 hours ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – January 17 2021Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. Today’s content Housing Bernard Hickey (Stuff): The ‘brutal’ catch-22 politics of trying to move to affordable housing Bernard Hickey: Why work when you can just own houses? Miriam Bell (Stuff): Consents are up, but ...15 hours ago
- Love in the time of algorithms: would you let your artificial intelligence choose your partner?Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Tuffley, Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity, Griffith University It could be argued artificial intelligence (AI) is already the indispensable tool of the 21st century. From helping doctors diagnose and treat patients to rapidly advancing new drug discoveries, it’s our ...16 hours ago
- As Trump exits the White House, he leaves Trumpism behind in AustraliaSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Kenny, Professor, Australian Studies Institute, Australian National University Through recent natural disasters, global upheavals and a pandemic, Australia’s political centre has largely held. Australians may have disagreed at times, but they have also kept faith with governmental norms, eschewing the false ...16 hours ago
- It’s crucial we address COVID vaccine hesitancy among health workers. Here’s where to startSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Holly Seale, Associate professor, UNSW Health workers are at higher risk of COVID infection and illness. They can also act as extremely efficient transmitters of viruses to others in medical and aged care facilities. That’s why health workers have been prioritised to ...16 hours ago
- Biden’s Senate majority doesn’t just super-charge US climate action, it blazes a trail for Austr...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jim Orchard, Adjunct Lecturer, Monash University Last week, somewhat overshadowed by the events in Washington, the Democrats took control of the US Senate. The Democrats now hold a small majority in both the House and the Senate until 2022, giving President-elect Joe ...16 hours ago
- Disaster season is here — do you have a Resilience Action Plan? Here’s how the small town of Tar...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mittul Vahanvati, Lecturer, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT University Heatwaves, floods, bushfires: disaster season is upon us again. We can’t prevent hazards or climate change-related extreme weather events but we can prepare for them — not just as individuals ...16 hours ago
- Is your child anxious about starting school for the first time? Here’s how you can helpSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mandie Shean, Lecturer, School of Education, Edith Cowan University Starting school is an important event for children and a positive experience can set the tone for the rest of their school experience. Some children are excited to attend school for the first ...16 hours ago
- To get ahead as an introvert, act like an extravert. It’s not as hard as you thinkSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Spark, Postdoctoral research fellow, Queensland University of Technology Leadership is a human universal. It can even be seen in other species, which suggests it may be an evolutionarily ancient process. A common personality trait of “natural” leaders is a higher than ...16 hours ago
- Social service providers sound warning over toll of emergency housing conditions
Some families in emergency housing are reporting their children are becoming emotionally distressed because of their living conditions. Demand for emergency accommodation has escalated this past year with the number of emergency housing grants increasing by half. Data showed nearly 10,000 people were given an Emergency Housing Special Needs Grant between ...17 hours ago - On the Rag: The murky world of wellness and influencersSummer reissue: Michèle A’Court, Alex Casey and Leonie Hayden are back for a second season of On the Rag, and where better to start than with the mysterious, exhausting world of wellness?First published June 23, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is ...18 hours ago
- Slow Government response to Covid-19 variants puts NZ at risk
With few Covid-19 infections and negiligible natural immunity, New Zealand faces being a victim of its own success when it is left till last to get the vaccines, argues Dr Parmjeet Parmar. ...18 hours ago - Corrections bans Jared Savage's gang book
Steve Braunias reports on a literary cancelling. The Corrections department has refused to allow Jared Savage's best-selling book Gangland inside prison on the grounds that it "promotes violence and drug use". An inmate at Otago Corrections Facility in Dunedin was sent a copy of the book – but it was ...18 hours ago - COVID And Bullying Hit Workplaces Hard, Huge Support For Increased Sick Leave – CTU 2021 Work ...
New data from the CTU’s annual work life survey shows a snapshot of working people’s experiences and outlook heading out of 2020 and into the new year. Concerningly 42% of respondents cite workplace bullying as an issue in their workplace - a number ...19 hours ago - TINA says There Is No Alternative to equities – but TINA is wrong
Equities seem the only option when property is unaffordable and interest rates are low. But there’s a risk. ...19 hours ago - Patriot games: the grim rise and fall of American Magic
The dramatic capsize of American Magic brought out the best in the America's Cup sailing fraternity. But, Suzanne McFadden asks, what does it mean to the crippled New York Yacht Club campaign and to the Prada Cup? It was a scene as unreal as it was calamitous. Right at the moment the ...19 hours ago - Where is she now? Penny Kinsella
An international player, selector and self-confessed cricket stats nerd, Penny Kinsella has now played a hand in recording the rich history of the women's game in New Zealand. Penny Kinsella’s cricketing career was perched on the cusp of change for the White Ferns. “My first tour to Australia, we ...19 hours ago - Unpopular but true: New Zealand should have more MPsThe current number of members of parliament is starting to get too low for the job we expect them to do, argues Alex Braae. As a general rule, with the possible exception of their families, nobody likes backbench MPs. But it’s nevertheless time we accepted that parliament should have more of ...19 hours ago
- Siouxsie Wiles: The Plan B implosion – what Brazil teaches us about the herd immunity hogwashThe experience in the Brazilian city of Manaus reveals how mistaken, and dangerous, the herd-immunity-by-infection theory really is. As families around the world mourn more than two million people dead from Covid-19, the Plan B academics and their PR industry collaborator continue to argue that the New Zealand government should stop ...19 hours ago
- Why we can't plant our way out of climate change
As New Zealand gears up to fight climate change, experts warn that we need to actually reduce emissions, not just plant trees to offset our greenhouse gases. ...19 hours ago - Online safety laws lagging by a decade
Government needs to do more to keep the laws governing Kiwis online safety relevant and effective. ...19 hours ago - Majority Of Kiwis Want Continued Monitoring Of AbortionsA nationwide poll has found majority support for the government to continue to closely monitor abortions in New Zealand and the reasons for it, despite the Ministry of Health recently suggesting that there is not a use for collecting much of this information. ...1 day ago
- Gangs And Guns: Govt Failing To Keep Our Community SafeThe out-of-control growth in gangs, gun crime, and violent gang activity is exposing our communities to dangerous levels of violence that will inevitably end in tragedy, says Sensible Sentencing Trust. “The recent incidents of people being shot and ...1 day ago
- Productivity is the key to our economic recovery
Successive governments have paid lip service to our productivity challenge but have failed to deliver. It's time to establish a Productivity Council charged with prioritising efforts. ...1 day ago - Some advice for ‘long Covid’ sufferers, from the chronic fatigue communityUnderstanding the connection between chronic fatigue syndrome and ‘long Covid’ might be helpful in treating symptoms that doctors will find all too easy to dismiss.When people began to report signs of “long Covid”, characterised by a lack of full recovery from the virus and debilitating fatigue, I recognised their stories. ...2 days ago
- Amid the chaos, I createdNadine Anne Hura, who never considered herself an artist, reflects on what art and making has taught her.I couldn’t clean or cook or wash the clothes, but I could sew. That’s a lie, I’m a terrible sewer, but I left work early to fossick around in the $1 bin of ...2 days ago
- Alice Snedden’s Bad News: How racist is New Zealand really?Summer reissue: In the final episode of this season of Bad News, Alice is joined by Billy T award winner Kura Forrester to look at how well we’re honouring Te Tiriti o Waitangi in 2020.First published September 3, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The ...2 days ago
- Meet the residents: Huia Books publisher Eboni WaitereLucy Revill’s The Residents is a blog about daily life in Wellington that has morphed into a stylish, low-key coffee-table book featuring interviews and photographic portraits of 38 Wellingtonians. In this extract, Revill profiles Eboni Waitere, owner and executive director of Huia Publishers. The Residents features names like Monique Fiso ...2 days ago
- Confusion reigns over real reasons for burning of missionary plane in PapuaPacific Media Watch correspondent The pro-independence conflict in West Papua with a missionary plane reportedly being shot down at Intan Jaya has stirred contrasting responses from the TNI/POLRI state sources, church leaders and an independence leader. A shooting caused a plane to catch fire on 6 January 2021 in the ...2 days ago
- Shelly Bay Shows The Dangerous Side Of Kindness“Last year ACT warned that rewarding protestors at Ihumātao with taxpayer money would promote further squatting. We just didn’t think it would happen as quickly as it is in Shelly Bay” says ACT Leader David Seymour. “The prosperity of all ...2 days ago
- The PM announces a relaxation of border controls – but only Cook Islanders will be able to benefitOur kindly PM registered her return to work as leader of the nation with yet another statement on the Beehive website, the second in two days (following her appointment of Anna Curzon to the APEC Business Advisory Council on Wednesday). It’s great to know we don’t have to check with ...3 days ago
- The history of the n-word in New ZealandA Pūhoi pub is refusing to remove a piece of memorabilia bearing the n-word from its walls. Dr Lachy Paterson looks at the history of the word here, and New Zealand’s complicity in Britain’s shameful slave trading past.Content warning: This article contains racist language and images.On a pub wall in ...3 days ago
- Why is it so hard to find lemons right now?Supermarket shoppers looking for citrus are seeing a sour trend at the moment – some stores are entirely tapped out of lemons. But why? Batches of homemade lemonade will be taking a hit this summer, with life not giving New Zealand shoppers lemons. Prices are high at supermarkets and grocers that ...3 days ago
- Joylessness to the world You’re born either a cheery soul or a gloomy one, reckons Linda Burgess – but what happens when gene pools from opposite ends of the spectrum collide?In our shoeboxes of photos that we have to sort out before we die or get demented – because who IS that kid on ...3 days ago
- Alice Snedden’s Bad News: Shouldn’t everybody have the right to vote – even from prison?Summer reissue: Prisoner voting rights are something that few in government seem particularly motivated to do anything about. Could a catchy charity single help draw attention to the issue?First published September 1, 2020.Independent journalism depends on you. Help us stay curious in 2021. The Spinoff’s journalism is funded by its ...3 days ago
- Glamorous alcohol ads hide ugly truth
NZ deserves a far more robust framework controlling how this drug, that causes so much harm to so many, is being marketed and sold. ...3 days ago - Far-reaching impact of Cooks quarantine-free travel
Hundreds more Cook Islanders are expected to begin criss-crossing the Pacific, Air NZ will triple the number of flights to Rarotonga next week, and about 300 managed isolation places will be freed up for Kiwis returning from other parts of the world. When Thomas Tarurongo Wynne took a job in Wellington at ...3 days ago - Controversy over renaming Tahiti’s hospital after Chirac amid covid crisisSPECIAL REPORT: By Ena Manuireva in Auckland It seems a long time ago – some 124 days – since Mā’ohi Nui deplored its first covid-19 related deaths of an elderly woman on 11 September 2020 followed by her husband just hours later, both over the age of 80. The local ...3 days ago
- 75% of Australia’s marine protected areas are given only ‘partial’ protection. Here’s why th...Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By John Turnbull, Postdoctoral research associate, UNSW A global coalition of more than 50 countries have this week pledged to protect over 30% of the planet’s lands and seas by the end of this decade. Their reasoning is clear: we need greater protection ...3 days ago
- Orr’s 3pm Friday Apology For Data Snafu Anything But UpfrontThe Reserve Bank Governor’s apology and claim he will ‘own the issue’ is laughable given the lack of answers and timing of its release. Jordan Williams, a spokesman for the Taxpayers’ Union said: “It’s been five days since they came clean, ...3 days ago
- Too much information: the COVID work revolution has increased digital overloadSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Olga Kokshagina, Researcher – Innovation & Entrepreneurship, RMIT University Are too many online meetings and notifications getting you down? Online communication tools – from email to virtual chat and video-conferencing – have transformed the way we work. In many respects they’ve made ...3 days ago
- Bank Governor personally apologises for data breach
The Reserve Bank acknowledges information about some of its stakeholders may have been breached in a malicious data hack. The Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand has commissioned an independent inquiry into how stakeholders' information was compromised when hackers breached a file sharing service used by the bank. “We ...3 days ago - Ammonite: the remarkable real science of Mary Anning and her fossilsSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Caitlin Syme, PhD in Vertebrate Palaeontology, The University of Queensland This story contains spoilers for Ammonite Palaeontologist Mary Anning is known for discovering a multitude of Jurassic fossils from Lyme Regis on England’s Dorset Coast from the age of ten in 1809. ...3 days ago
- Review: WandaVision is the first artistic triumph of the Marvel Cinematic UniverseA tribute to the sitcoms of old? In the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Yup. Sam Brooks reviews the audacious WandaVision.Nothing sends a chill up my spine like the phrase “Marvel Cinematic Universe”. Since launching in 2008 with Iron Man, the MCU has become a shambling behemoth, with over 23 films (not ...3 days ago
- Why social media platforms banning Trump won’t stop — or even slow down — his causeSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bronwyn Carlson, Professor, Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University Last week Twitter permanently suspended US President Donald Trump in the wake of his supporters’ violent storming of Capitol Hill. Trump was also suspended from Facebook and Instagram indefinitely. Heads quickly turned to the right-wing ...3 days ago
- Why online platforms banning Trump won’t stop — or even slow down — his causeSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Bronwyn Carlson, Professor, Indigenous Studies, Macquarie University Last week Twitter permanently suspended US President Donald Trump in the wake of his supporters’ violent storming of Capitol Hill. Trump was also suspended from Facebook and Instagram indefinitely. Heads quickly turned to the right-wing ...3 days ago
- Why the alt-right believes another American Revolution is comingSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Corbould, Associate Professor, Contemporary Histories Research Group, Deakin University The alt-right, QAnon, paramilitary and Donald Trump-supporting mob that stormed the US Capitol on January 6 claimed they were only doing what the so-called “founding fathers” of the US had done in ...3 days ago
- Parker should brace for lobbying from guardians of the swamp after housing project is given fast-tr...
The Point of Order Ministerial Workload Watchdog and our ever-vigilant Trough Monitor were both triggered yesterday by an item of news from the office of Conservation Minister Kititapu Allan. The minister was drawing attention to new opportunities to dip into the Jobs for Nature programme (and her statement was the ...3 days ago - Tuberculosis kills as many people each year as COVID-19. It’s time we found a better vaccineSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andreas Kupz, Senior Research Fellow, James Cook University In July 1921, a French infant became the first person to receive an experimental vaccine against tuberculosis (TB), after the mother had died from the disease. The vaccine, known as Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG), is ...4 days ago
- The Friday Poem: While you were partying I studied the blade by Rebecca HawkesThe first Friday Poem for 2021 is by Wellington poet Rebecca Hawkes.While you were partying I studied the bladeI your ever-loving edgelord God-emperorof the bot army & bitcoin mine subsistingon an IV drip of gamer girl bathwaterfinally my lonelinessis your responsibility………. you seeI need a girlfriend assigned to me by the ...4 days ago
- Arming Police In Canterbury Inevitable: Tip Of The Iceberg For Protection Against GangsThe arming of police officers in Canterbury was inevitable with the growing numbers and brazenness of the gangs across the country – this should be a permanent step, says Sensible Sentencing Trust. “It is unfortunate that we have come to the point ...4 days ago
- NZ Celebrates Global Nuclear Weapons Ban, 21 And 22 January 2021Celebrations in Aotearoa New Zealand to mark the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will begin on Thursday 21 January with ICAN Aotearoa New Zealand’s Wellington and online event, and continue on Friday ...4 days ago
- Five ideas to fix NZ’s completely pathetic Covid QR scanning recordHardly anyone is using their Covid Tracer app. Something needs to change.As the mercury approaches 30°C in Aotearoa, there is a good deal of slipping and slopping, but, let’s face it, piss-all scanning. As few as around 500,000 QR codes are being scanned by users of the NZ Covid Tracer ...4 days ago
- Tolaga Bay businesses are innovating beyond brick, mortar and distanceOn the East Coast, a group of Māori-owned enterprises is innovating to create new revenue streams while doing what they love.New Zealand’s remote and sparsely populated regions are typically not the best places to create thriving brick-and-mortar businesses. In small communities miles away from any major centres, there are so ...4 days ago
- Don’t Skip Your Gas Bottle Check This SummerAs we reach the height of summer, it’s not too late to do a safety check on your gas bottle. The Environmental Protection Authority’s Safer Homes programme has some tips and tricks to keep in mind before you fire up the grill. "If you’ve ...4 days ago
- The Unity Books bestseller chart for the week ending January 15The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Troy: The Siege of Troy Retold by Stephen Fry (Michael Joseph, $37)If you’re in any way unsure about ...4 days ago
- Judge Releases ‘Vicious’ Wife-beater On Home Detention – Makes Total Mockery Of Justice System“We may as well knock on the gang headquarters around this country and tell them we all give up," says Darroch Ball co-leader of Sensible Sentencing Trust. “It is simply outrageous that violent offender, James Tuwhangai, has been released from ...4 days ago
- Keith Rankin Chart Analysis – Covid-19: Worst Countries in the New YearAnalysis by Keith Rankin. Ireland, Israel, and Lebanon. Chart by Keith Rankin. The countries with the most recent large outbreaks of Covid19 are those with large numbers of recent recorded cases, but yet to record the deaths that most likely will result. In this camp, this time, are Ireland, Israel ...4 days ago
- Newsletter: New Zealand Politics Daily – January 15 2021Editor’s Note: Here below is a list of the main issues currently under discussion in New Zealand and links to media coverage. Today’s content Tiwai Point Smelter deal Tom Pullar-Strecker (Stuff): Aluminium smelter deal – who caved? Hamish Rutherford (Herald): Power play: Meridian Energy reaches deal with Rio Tinto over Tiwai Point Smelter No Right Turn: Paying the ...4 days ago
- There’s a new quaranqueen in town – and her name is RuPaulRuPaul is in Aotearoa, kicking back in managed isolation to await the filming of an Australasian version of her hugely popular reality show Drag Race. But not everyone is happy about, explains Eli Matthewson. The world’s most famous drag queen, RuPaul, is in New Zealand, the government confirmed earlier this week ...4 days ago
- Is it curtains for Clive? What COVID means for populism in Australia Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gregory Melleuish, Professor, School of Humanities and Social Inquiry, University of Wollongong What can we make of Clive Palmer? This week, he announced his United Australia Party (UAP) would not contest the upcoming West Australian state election on March 13. After a ...4 days ago
- Birds that play with others have the biggest brains – and the same may go for humansSource: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Gisela Kaplan, Emeritus Professor in Animal Behaviour, University of New England Have you ever seen magpies play-fighting with one another, or rolling around in high spirits? Or an apostlebird running at full speed with a stick in its beak, chased by a ...4 days ago
“Will you still love me when I’m no longer Young and Beautiful “
What ever happened to Plastic Bertrand?
touche pas ma planete (Poupee de cellophane, chiveux chinois).
I liked his underground shit, before he sold out.
the lyrics to Ca Plane Pour Moi are still quite clever.
Hiroshima Mon Amour
Dangerous Rhythm
It’s great enjoying winter’s charms ( bracing walks, a roaring log burner, lots of music, spending time cooking time consuming recipes) when you’re NOT experiencing a 19 hour power cut as we were last weekend post the solstice eve storm. (Although of course the log burner kept a roarin’ the whole way through)
Power is at hand this weekend to watch a Hunter S Thompson doco I got out from the library “Buy the ticket, take the ride”. Should be interesting. That and trying a new recipe along the lines of a vego meal centred around Yorkshire puddings! Yorkshire puddings! And feeding the ducks that are returning to the lawn after being away since spring last year.They still know where their feeding stations are.
All the best to those all around the country affected by massive snows and ferocious storms last week. Hope the clean up’s are going well.
It is a humid 35degrees where I am. Long for cool days, reading by the winter fireside.
Where are you this week ianmac? A very pleasant low 20s forecast here for this weekend. Much better than last weeks mid-30s. But we’re not doing much – 3 more sleeps until the op on the man’s bad back.
Hi rosy. Not going to Vienna this time. A short sharp thunderstorm has just blasted Ho Chi Minh city here and coled the air to 29 degrees. Off to Croatia tomorrow because when my wife says go, I go quickly. But I am keeping track of nz via the standard. Afraid John key does not seem to need my advice. “Are you surprised?” Says my wife rather unkindly. Humph!
Do the words ‘Lucky Bugger” mean anything ? I’s like 4 degrees here, with snow on the hills just to keep the chill going.
Enjoy the Sun.
120F experienced in Phoenix and Las Vegas (49C); 130F (54C) possible in Death Valley. “jet- streams more erratic in past few years”.
Lovely to hear your ducks are back Rosie. If I remember correctly I told you they would be back. They spent the summer in Ennui’s back yard and beyond, but they know where the good lurks are in the middle of winter.
Each morning after I’ve fed and watered the budgies (and cleaned their
bedsperches), I let the wild winged creatures have the left overs. Problem is they now number about 50 to 100 and include grey doves, blackbirds, starlings, sparrows, mynas, two pair of thrushes and a bolshie pigeon. It’s getting a bit expensive.Ah yes indeed Anne, you did say they would be back! They’ve started settling in to a bit of a routine. Two of them came here with their mother, as chicks last year and stayed until they had learnt to fly. I remember their markings and personalities, and they know their way around.I don’t have a clue who the others are. These two young hens have brought with them two young drakes plus an older drake who is already in full breeding colours. He gives the young drakes a hard time and there was quite a scene this morning when a fight broke out.
You have certainly got your hands full with your lot – it must get noisy at feeding time. I can relate to the cost issues. Ours get poultry feed and we can manage the budget for feeding a pair but I’m not sure how it’s going to work with five of them………..
eww. Power cuts are not fun in winter. Glad my power has held up so far – not sure about the power bill though. There seems to have been a pretty virulent cold swept through my work team this week. And I had to ring in sick today for about the first time since my accident a couple of years ago.
Nice sunshine through my window though.
Glad to hear you have power now. Some people still without.
Hi Karol. I hope you’ll be your way to recovery soon. It’s great you have the sunshine. Rest up:-)
Heading out to this tomorrow, bring it…
http://www.residentadvisor.net/event.aspx?383838
It should have eben a great weekend /What with the Handel Opera at the Hamilton Lido and the sunny Cambridge weather Unfortunately our good friend and Labour Party stalwart died .Noeline Nuttall was a wonderful worker for the Labour Cause a truthfully caring person who believed in a just fair world for all . My wife and I will miss Noeline a lot but vwewill remember her with much affection.
Sincere condolences Pink Postman. Noeline sounds like a true friend and comrade who will be missed by many.