That grinning, villainous mayor and some other thoughts

I had to laugh when I saw that Len Brown had won an award for 7th best mayor in the world. What exactly he did to earn such an accolade remains a mystery. His transport ideas are terrible, his promise not to increase rates to heftily has failed, nothing has come about from the supposed supercity benefits and many people do not know who to contact if they have an issue with the city ie lousy sidewalks.

Obviously Mr. Brown has a very good public relations team, who have made him look like a superstar, when he's nothing more than a flat pancake. Of course, not many people will pick up on it. He's never been incredibly bright and his ideas for a good city bring to mind words such as "idealist" and "utopia." Free swimming pools for all. Never happened. A great place to run a business. Not seeing many small businesses flourish. Are you? Better public transport. It'll be a grand day when that happens. Time and time gain, supposed experts praise Mr. Brown for his "developments," many which nobody has even the faintest idea about.

Whilst I could name several candidates more worthy of being in the top 10, here's one. Patrcia De Lille. Google her. Hopefully that hideous, grinning Len Brown does. He might learn a thing or two about how to run a big city...properly.

A joke minister 

Is there anyone out there who actually think Hekia Parata has served them well. Deluded old school principals have a soft spot for her mediocrity. However, for many concerned parents, this isn't so. Almost every big proposal Mrs Parata has put forth have either damaged the education system, or been the wrong idea to begin with.

I feel sorry for her, mainly because she doesn't know if her party has a conservative or liberal attitude towards education. But when you're in those situations, you have to make do with what you have. Plenty of opportunities have come up to better education. Mrs Parata has failed to act on any of them.

Only one NZ industry can match Australia for pay packages

Yes, believe it or not, you can make a reasonably good salary in the dairy industry in New Zealand. Lined up against Australia, it is the only job sector which can match salary and work packages. There are no surprises whatsoever behind many farmers choosing to change across to dairy. Opportunities seem to be created almost daily. Most of the demand has come from booming economies overseas. Try and guess which nation's demand is growing the fastest? Your guess is probably right. A previous marketing manager for Fonterra tole me he earned around $150,000 a year. Westland's sales team would be on packages in this area as well. After checking the job hunter website Seek, very few differences in pay exist, if any.

For New Zealand workers, that is reason to stay optimistic. Last week an anonymous blogger tried making a laughable comment on Australian weather extremes, without addressing my other points, particularly why so many young kiwis leave. In a backhand whisper, careerist politicians will tell you "Easy, they can't afford to live here anymore."

Serile a decende Com - Romance Novel - romance

For anyone who likes seeing the names of characters changing mid-chapter, have a read of this. Not a bad storyline though.
Serile a decende Com - Romance Novel - romance

"August" by Bernard Beckett will challenge all your thoughts about free will

“For some people hate was all they had left.” Bernard Beckett has a gripping writing style, which focuses on the ethical issues surrounding the lives of his simple, yet complex characters. In his latest philosophical melodrama “August,” the book cover sums up the situation.

A young man and woman are stranded upside down on the roadside, unable to move due to the injuries which they have sustained. One is (name), a young philosopher who has been dealing with the issue of free will. The other is a whore, who he picked up only hours earlier. Through a gurgled depiction of a tragic accident, Beckett introduces the grim reality many stranded car crash victims have. Fight hard or give up.

So both characters decide to fight. The boy begins to share his story and the girl follows suit. It is a gripping tale. Analysing the length of the stories, one can be forgiven for thinking the author originally intended only to tell the guy’s story. Yet, like any fine novel, the story seems incomplete without the girl’s tale.

Finely written from a third person narrative, it was gripping to see ethical issues dominating the forefront of almost every page. Centred around Christianity and free will, anybody who wants to have their 

predispositions on the matter rattled, reading through ‘August’ will provide them with a fresh perspective. On many occasions, both characters feel trapped inside their own minds, unable to determine if their own actions are done on their freewill; or if what is happening is intrinsically human nature, which can be predicted after extensive observations. 

It is said good books make you think, great books make you feel. Sure enough, Beckett makes you feel drawn into each situation. No longer can you merely be a passenger. Every time there’s a cut or shift, the time comes to refocus and try understanding what each character is feeling. If not, then the characters pass along without much thought. Trying to understand each characters intentions is often too difficult, which may upset readers who are looking for a light read.

Something which irked me was how lethargic certain sections of the book felt. Often, so many days, or actions were overwritten. Gaining momentum after an exciting opening also seemed a bit hard for Beckett. To his credit, he comes back with an engaging roar.

The cliffhanger at the end will leave you thrilled, excited and hungry for more. Bernard Beckett is a shining talent and in his book August, he deliver a masterclass of smooth, eloquent and polished writing. 

Rating 8/10

Cameras are on the way out as the smartphone cult tightens its grip on our lives

You may not notice how cheap stand alone cameras are these days. Parallel imported has a 10 megapixel camera with 4x optical zoom on sale for a meagre $150. The Warehouse sells photography hi-res cameras at $500-$900. Not something many people would take too much notice over now, considering a frightening death march towards the smartphone cult is taking more and more people with it.

With these clunky pieces of metal now containing built in cameras, which can send photos to an email address, upload them to Facebook and Twitter, as well as sharing them with out smartphone holders, life has never been so easy or convenient.

Has it?

People seldom realise something bad has happened until its too late. These smartphones are evil and there is a very good reason to see past the pathetic advertising Apple and co put forth. At hindsight, it makes life easier. The contrary to that is simple. We begin to worship small pieces of metal. Its power to do so many amazing things mesmerizes people. Slowly, our banking is done on them, all our photos are taken with them, thousands of ridiculous applications are smacked on to alleviate boredom. Before one realises it, a lot of their life exists on the smartphone. If it fails, we fail. If it gets lost, so does much of our life.

If everyone wants to continue towards total dependency on a smartphone, they are more than welcome to do so. For those who have seen this is all one big money making gimmick and mere materialism which advocates anti-social behaviour, you can hopefully avert this cult for just a little bit longer.

Welcome to Australia. Better pay, better weather, better value for money

How Mr. Shearer can stand in front of all New Zealanders and proclaim that he is able to fix New Zealand's mass exodus to Australia is rather surprising. For those who cannot remember, the immigration problem had been a cornerstone rally cry by Mr. Slippery during his election campaign during 2008.

Since 2008, net migration has seen a sharp increase towards the lucky country. 54,000 people bought a one way ticket to Australia, citing a better overall lifestyle as their reason for moving. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/economy/news/article.cfm?c_id=34&objectid=10852505 The fact that Australia has a better climate cannot be argued about, or changed by any rabble which comes from National or Labour. You won't see Mr. Key lobbying either for companies to pay their employees a bit more fairly. Salaries in Australia have been recognised, on average to be 36.41% higher than in New Zealand. Until the fat corporate piglets at the top stop worshiping money (and themselves), expect to see the mass brain drain continue.  http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=Australia&country2=New+Zealand

As for those who want my recommendations towards fixing the problem, simple. Pay your workers more, offer them competitive work packages which are reasonable enough to keep them in New Zealand and keep their morale up. It seems to be your best chance at keeping skilled workers.

Even the most loyal followers know now

Anybody who still thinks Lance Armstrong did not dope need only watch his interview with Oprah Winfrey. Spanning a healthy 90 minutes, it seems clear as day Armstrong has finally lifted the lid on his use of performance enhancing drugs. Among them were EPO, testosterone, blood transfusions, cortisone and steroids.

Perhaps now, those who idolise Armstrong can understand that you could not win a Tour De France in his era without doping. Former US Postal teammates Tyler Hamilton and Frankie Andreu made that clear during an interview on 60 Minutes. "If you weren't taking EPO, you weren't going to win."

To give a comparison, Bradley Wiggins, the most recent winner of the famous French race, rode at an average speed of 39.9 km/h, a far cry from Armstrong's 41.016 km/h in 2004.

***Is it really a big ask to get Police to fight Petty crime more. Surely, patrolling the streets on foot would go a lot further in reducing crime statistics, than loafing around on motorways with radar guns. Although National pretends to be tough on crime, many criminals have little regard for new governments. Crime seems to happen more often, reading about murderers in the news is more frequent and so called petty crime appears to happen more and more. Whizzing by in cars will not make any difference. Being immediately available to prevent a crime from happening does.***

My trip to South Africa, Jacob Zuma’s questionable quotes and other things South Africa related

With my journey back to South Africa at an end, reflecting on what has become of the country since I left in 1997 is often painful, always interesting and never dull.

The country has become a non-stop comedy show. You want something to laugh at? How about the fact that just about every road in the country has potholes? How about corruption running rampant in every single political system? Top that off with the rather inept workers and the comedy is complete.

The sad reality about South Africa in the 21^st century is that nothing ever seems to get done on time. When it does get done, it’s a half rate job.

You cannot help but feel sorry for the people who are still magnetically attached to the country. For many, the lifestyle is still quite attractive. The opportunity to earn a good salary is very high; the social events are almost weekly, the weather unbeatable. So not everything here makes people grumble.

Crime remains a big problem, yet since hosting the Soccer World Cup, the non-existent police have at least managed to keep a tab on dangerous criminals. At least people can see for themselves how many brutal robberies, rapes and ransacking’s are taking place each day. On such example took place on Boxing Day, when my Uncle’s neighbour’s house was burgled in broad daylight.

Corruption, as mentioned earlier also remains a problem, especially considering it runs right from the top. Every second political book in Bargain Books seems to cover corruption in quite extensive details.

This corruption also happens to include affirmative action policies. If you are black, your chances of getting a high paying, high responsibility are very good. You can open a KFC franchise, from which you can turnover millions of rand a year; life will be good for you. Conversely, a white male holds up the list, sitting right at the bottom. Unsurprisingly, many white people start their own businesses.

If South Africa wants to continue going down this path, unwilling to work with one another, the problems will remain. Should they get over past transgressions and give each person an equal opportunity, maybe progress can be made.

The face of corruption and the voice of ignorance

Rest assured, four presidents later and the Republic of South Africa has yet to elect a leader capable of creating a trustworthy government.

Yes, Nelson Mandela did a lot of good work to unite the nation but he was not apt enough to create enough jobs for the millions of blacks who were living in the new South Africa. Most can only make a guess at what Thabo Mbeki tried doing. Whatever it was, nothing came to fruition under him.

Jacob Zuma is, without a doubt, the worst president South Africa has ever had and he leads the worst ANC elected party the country has ever had. I have no sympathy for the fascist crackpot Afrikaans dominated governments who instigated and supported apartheid. At least the roads were good, there were jobs available for most people (unemployment was at least 50% lower than now), you had police who actually fought crime.

Zuma has been in court so many times, facing multiple counts of corruption, four counts of rape and three counts of racketeering. Al Capone would have been proud to call Mr. Zuma a friend on Alcatraz. Yet here is a man who allegedly (because it is highly unlikely) runs the country.

A man who builds a massive home on land which doesn’t belong to him, earns a higher income from bribes than his official salary or R2.7 million per year.

He says black people should “not be like whites and take their dogs to the doctor when your family members are sick.” No effort is made on his behalf, or that of his cabinet, to hide their blatant racism.

And they wander why people are leaving by the masses every hour.

Easily the best tourist destination in the world

I regularly have a good debate with people when they say England, the USA, France and Italy are the best tourist destinations in the world. South Africa by far, surpasses each one. While it may not be able to match these countries with historical landmarks, other elements make it far superior. The landscape is so incredibly diverse. There are beaches, mountains, deserts, jungles, rain forests  beaches and sprawling cities. Each province has activities which you will remember forever. Safaris, the view atop Table mountain, white water rafting on grade 5 rapids, swimming on golden sand beaches, the peace and quiet in the Drankensburg Mountains and so much more. The activities are endless and so is the good weather.

It is a terrible pity New Zealand does not import Savannah Dry cider. Not only does it taste amazing, it far exceeds any Kiwi made ciders. Whether that is down to its long history as South Africa's top rated cider or the brewers ability to taste quality, supermarkets should consider it. Old Mout cider has nothing on Savannah.

*****Yes, customs and security at South African Airports is incredibly lax. Only half filling in my arrival card, the women stamped me through, without considering that many compulsory areas were incomplete. What about the baggage check and metal detectors? As easy as 1,2,3. In fact, some of the officials even had their mobile phones out during this time. Only in South Africa!*****

If New Zealand police are worried about the road toll reaching double digits, they need to pause. The latest statistics show how 1300 deaths have happened since December 1^st.Now, the police need to stop being so fixated on writing people going 5km over the speed limit during the New Year. Instead, they can do their job and patrol the beaches and busy areas during the holiday season. It will go a long way towards stopping so called “petty crime.”

Anybody who believes the propaganda of recent South Africans can rest easier knowing that most of this is in fact false. Crime does not happen on every street corner and you will not be mugged if you walk around with valuables in your hands. Plenty of women walked along the beachfront, hands full of shopping bags, without attracting any attention. Mercedes cars parked outside flash houses were not broken into. As long as you act normal, don't flash money and cameras around, you will be unlikely to run into any trouble. 

The usual anti-conservative abuse

It isn't uncommon for conservatives to be labelled as people who are selfish and do not want to help those less fortunate. There is something rather ironic about this position. Namely, it labels all people who associate themselves on this side as tight, neglectful people who do not care about poorer people. So having a tirade of abuse towards Colin Craig saying school lunches should not be handed out comes as no surprise. Labour/Green Party Headquarters talks about New Zealand's desperate need for it, but today the focus will be on one particular person who goes by the name "Paul Le Comte." He writes...

You evil piece of shite. Everyone who agrees with you are evil pieces of shite, I'm not mixing my words with you tossers any more, I'm sick to death of bloody so called 'pull-your-socks-up' do gooders. You're small minded, have no capacity for compassion, have even less capacity for empathy & have the most incredibly ability to tarnish everyone with stereotypes. You have no idea why or how people's lives are affected by poverty - stories from the 1900s have utterly no relevance to New Zealand 2012. You people ask where is the personal responsibility? I ask you, for the 96 Hillside railway workers laid off 1 week before christmas, what part did they play in their economic hardship - none what so ever. But that doesn't stop you narrow minded tossers for playing the high and mighty. I ask where was the Governmental responsibility in giving the wealthy in NZ a $2B tax break & raising GST on every product in NZ - when the arguments for exemptions on fresh fruit & vegetables (as done elsewhere). Colin Craig is a despicable politician influenced by & seemingly willing to support even smaller minded & economically offensive twats. Hope you are all happy in your condemnation of others whom you have no idea of the individual circumstances. Funny my Gran taught me compassion and empathy are the greatest gifts of humanity, funny, the very same Christian values apparently Colin apparently is signed up to.

I shall break down everything which Paul has said and put my riposte underneath
You evil piece of shite. Everyone who agrees with you are evil pieces of shite, I'm not mixing my words with you tossers any more, I'm sick to death of bloody so called 'pull-your-socks-up' do gooders. You're small minded, have no capacity for compassion, have even less capacity for empathy & have the most incredibly ability to tarnish everyone with stereotypes

To begin, Paul makes personal attacks towards people whom he is unfamiliar with, offering up mindless abuse, and labeling conservatives as evil. When people often begin by insulting their opponents, it is often a sure sign of insecurity on their own behalf for their position. He believes that because the Conservative party does not approve of lunches in schools, it means they lack compassion. Why is that? In what way? Does a disapproval of this policy mean they are not compassionate in any kind of way?

Paul again
You have no idea why or how people's lives are affected by poverty - stories from the 1900s have utterly no relevance to New Zealand 2012. You people ask where is the personal responsibility? I ask you, for the 96 Hillside railway workers laid off 1 week before christmas, what part did they play in their economic hardship - none what so ever. But that doesn't stop you narrow minded tossers for playing the high and mighty

Again, Paul assumes his opponents are completely ignorant and void of knowledge. This is both wrong and inaccurate. He is more than welcome to present objective evidence of right wing people who have no idea about how their life has been affected by poverty. Like Paul, I have a heart for the poor and help where I can to provide help for him. If he wants my solutions to the situation he can read the post "Let us help the children," which includes a brilliant harvest fruit picking initiative which Di Celliers runs. So far, many boxes of fresh fruit have been delivered to low decile schools. A majority of this funding has been by private donors. Unlike Paul, who believes helping those in need cannot be achieved without the government dictating it, these clever initiatives shows that plenty of organisations exist to help parents provide food for everyone.

Paul continues
 I ask where was the Governmental responsibility in giving the wealthy in NZ a $2B tax break & raising GST on every product in NZ - when the arguments for exemptions on fresh fruit & vegetables (as done elsewhere). Colin Craig is a despicable politician influenced by & seemingly willing to support even smaller minded & economically offensive twats

The fresh fruit and vegetables debacle is a farce away from the main issue in the tax system. It was a shambles under Labour and continues on in the same face under National. If Paul wants fresh fruit and vegetables to be tax free, then it creates a difficult scenario? What is fresh? Does it count if it's canned fresh fruit? What about imported fruit? Frozen fresh veges? I know Paul isn't stupid, so he'll know that the GST tax lost here will be regained in another area, most likely in the form of personal income tax. If he is content to have lazy, incompetent and selfish politicians squandering his hard earned income that's fine. Conservative party supporters have had enough of the inept spending of our income taxes and the overly socialist generosity towards completely undeserving people. 

Paul takes a jibe at Colin and his supporters. He is again making assumptions on two accounts. One, that Colin is a politician (he is not), and second that he uses ad hominem arguments, rather than actually giving a rational, well reasoned argument for his need to support lunches in schools. His prejudiced slurs are a testament to his lack of reason.

 Hope you are all happy in your condemnation of others whom you have no idea of the individual circumstances. Funny my Gran taught me compassion and empathy are the greatest gifts of humanity, funny, the very same Christian values apparently Colin apparently is signed up to.

He concludes by stating a position he knows is neither true, or reflective of conservative voters. Following on, Paul concludes by telling us a grandma lesson, quite similar to Colin's and then jumps on bashing Colin for not being 'Christian' enough to adopt to his beliefs in what a Christian must say or do. Is Paul were to read the Bible book of Proverbs, he'd see that there is plenty of instruction from God about working hard. "Proverbs 14:23 - In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips [tendeth] only to penury." 

Paul asserts, in a rather smug way, that only his perspective is right, without providing any measurable rationale.

Going to New Zealand’s got talent, the alcohol debate and another long season

New Zealand’s got talent was quite an interesting experience. Whilst I have been sworn to keep the outcome a secret until the final was broadcast live on TV (Sunday night), experiencing it live was quite a special experience.

For anyone who doesn’t know by now, Clara Van Wel won. Without question, Clara was the best performer. Talented, intelligent and mature beyond her years, she outshone her competitors during top three's rendition of Gotye’s ‘Somebody that I used to know.’ Her song ‘Where do you find love,’ which she performed in the penultimate week won her the competition. As great as some performances were, nobody could match the dashing young girl from Marlborough. 

Seeing a television show being filmed became rather strange. After four hours of watching patiently, sitting in anticipation, the show came to an end. Even for a finale, everything was rushing by rather quickly. There was a double take gone on almost every sequence, except for Dane Rumble and Evermore’s performances, which was a pity, considering how brilliantly they performed. Whilst management people whizzed around everywhere, a rather hyperactive emcee was bouncing off the walls with all sorts of whimsical festive energy. It was also his job to get everybody up clapping, doing standing ovations and the sort. Some people seeking a microsecond of fame would have found this filming quite the experience, although I can’t see myself going back to a filming like that anytime soon. Far too fake and overhyped for me. The three judges were also receiving non-stop attention from makeup after every single take. Like most television related things, a lot of the requests made on us as an audience were plasticised rapturous applause, jingled stare fests at Tamati Coffey talking, or peeping through 

As it was my first time watching it (aside from seeing a few blotched auditions), it was promising to see that New Zealand does have some very fine performers. Many felt that J Geeks had been cheated out of a finals spot but playing with fire can only get you so far. New Zealand’s favourite singing granny put in a commendable effort…on a highlights reel.

Overall, being part of a live studio audience had both good and bad elements to it. Good because you got to see everything being done in its raw footage. Seeing Tamati blotch his lines, watching the drama unfold live, alongside the raw, unedited reactions of the finalists, the performances; everything. As I've explained above, there were some down sides too.

Watching the show live makes you appreciate the slick television editing that much more, although the editing has a fair way to go before matching the likes of X-Factor and American Idol.

The information Statistics New Zealand conveniently leaves out

The other night at a friend’s 21st, I bumped into the charismatic, rather pleasant Sean Topham. He will go far in politics if he stays loyal to the National Party.

Like most people associated with the Young Nats, I disagree with Sean on many things, especially the centre-right political status. Nonetheless, it was rather enjoyable arguing with him about important issues. Most prefer to dismiss conservatives as old fashioned and antiquated but Sean listens carefully and puts his points forth convincingly (even though I disagree).

There seems to be irony aplenty . The alcohol drinking age consensus is quite divided among people within National and Labour.Like many of his cohorts in the young Nats, Mr Topham seemed taken aback when I told him I believe that many 18 year olds are providing alcohol to their younger schoolmates. To him, this figure was “less than 10%.” I beg to differ and believe this statistic is far higher and with a proper investigation, this statement can be properly backed. Teenagers are not often pinching liquor from their parents’ personal stash. Often they source out older friends to provide them with cheap booze.

Alongside the sheer ignorance of many 18 and 19 year old teenagers, who often flock to the overrated Freguson bar at Massey or Deep Creek Brewery in Browns Bay, there is a consensus young people can do fine under the current alcohol laws. Yet again and again, it is young people causing trouble. Again and again, young people who are involved in the drunken driving car crashes. If these statistics were recorded, maybe those supporting a lower drinking age would be a bit more questionable of how irresponsible young drinkers are. The problems may begin at 15, 16,17, but they carry on far past those blissful years of ignorance.

What’s that, no one’s watching the Rugby?

Obviously, gambling money away is no longer sufficient for that shrivelled, manky Rupert Murdoch. With his empire’s decision to prolong the rugby season and have it run almost non-stop from February to December, the player’s wellbeing is barely intact. Injuries are no longer one off occurrences from heavy contact. Not getting injured is seen as weird. Super Rugby only stops in July (rather than May for Super 14). Who’s benefitting from it?

Many great rugby stadiums struggle to fill up halfway to capacity. Eden Park, which was stuffed with 60,000 people for last year’s Rugby World Cup Final, became the laughing stock of the competition, struggling to seat more than 10,000 for the Blues games. Then again, the Blues were awful this year.

The quality of Rugby has not gotten better either with an extra team competing. Get rid of the Rebels and Lions (or Kings) for good. 13 good teams competing in the toughest domestic rugby competition will revitalise an interest in New Zealand’s national game.

Rather than hearing “Right, time to watch the footy,” it’s “Oh, more rugby.”

Lose the money spinning stupidity or lose an audience of loyal viewers Murdoch. You decide what’s better.

I hear that the alleged comedian Russell Brand made an appearance in New Zealand. He’s never struck me as somebody who has a genuine wit about him or a particularly funny person. It was funnier hearing that hundreds of people had bought tickets to his show. Too often, his jokes are nothing more than a slew of stupidity. Some people may genuinely find it funny. I can concede that. Everyone has a different sense of humour. But Russell Brand has his own sense of humour; one which he picked up on some distant planet, well outside the Milky Way.