Don't be too surprised that the rather trivial show "The GC" is returning. A rather small, select group of people fervently watch the show with unwavering passion and enthusaism. They envision themselves as those characters living there. Characters because reality television has an entire assembly of writers.
Most people wouldn't actually know half of what goes on when the camera is not rolling. Supposing 50% of it is actual drama, 50% has been prepared for or premeditated. Too much emphasis seems to be placed on a rather ostentacious diaply of wealth and frivolity. There is more character development in a season of the American sitcom "Friends" than in season one of "The GC."
Watch out for it though. Just in case this season is worse than the last one, maybe it could be enough to see the show scrapped for good.
Thursday, 28 March 2013
Wednesday, 27 March 2013
There is no "lesser of two evils" party
With each passing day, more people are dreading election day next year when it comes around. A worrying trend is that more and more eligible voters are not going in to cast their vote.
If anyone is curious as to why that is, they need only look and see how heavily Winston Peter's call for a referendum was silenced by sly conniving politicians, who prefer placing their own self interests ahead of their voters, whom many secretly despise.
The funny story I get from those who did go and vote is this suspect talk about National or Labour being "the lesser of two evils." Whilst you could make a case for or against both, voting for either does little to resolve something which is present. Many people do not believe either party is better or worse than the other.
Both parties are eager to increase government control, each one prefers having New Zealand in a politically correct mindset, both do nothing more than talk tough about punishing criminals-Labour's sentencing was weak and National introduced a warning for first time petty crime offenders-, each party supported the war in Afghanistan and will continue to do so, both parties cannot prepare a sensible budget.
Whilst my party of choice is not in parliament yet, I'd rather hold hope for it to get in than vote National or Labour.
If anyone is curious as to why that is, they need only look and see how heavily Winston Peter's call for a referendum was silenced by sly conniving politicians, who prefer placing their own self interests ahead of their voters, whom many secretly despise.
The funny story I get from those who did go and vote is this suspect talk about National or Labour being "the lesser of two evils." Whilst you could make a case for or against both, voting for either does little to resolve something which is present. Many people do not believe either party is better or worse than the other.
Both parties are eager to increase government control, each one prefers having New Zealand in a politically correct mindset, both do nothing more than talk tough about punishing criminals-Labour's sentencing was weak and National introduced a warning for first time petty crime offenders-, each party supported the war in Afghanistan and will continue to do so, both parties cannot prepare a sensible budget.
Whilst my party of choice is not in parliament yet, I'd rather hold hope for it to get in than vote National or Labour.
A response to IDIOT
Some of you may know that I'm a contributor to Getfrank, an online mens lifestyle magazine. Some of you may know that occasionally I write about political issues. One opponent of mine actually happens to be a contributor who calls himself IDIOT/Savant. A self professed liberal, he spouts out tirades of scorn towards anyone who does not agree with him. Even on his blog, he says he's irreversibly liberal. In other words, closed minded. Something which was rather unsettling to see was how much he claims to enjoy liberty but is completely in favour of forceful totalitarian measures.
"Speaking of amendments, in addition to the expected referendum clauses (two versions each from Winston Peters and Brendon Horan),Louisa WallSu'a William Sio is also trying to expand the scope of her bigot amendment to give religious institutions the right to discriminate in the provision of services. That is unacceptable, and MPs should vote it down. The whole purpose of human rights law is to remove bigotry from the public sphere. If religious organisations don't want their buildings "polluted" by same-sex marriages, they have a solution: don't offer them to the public, and keep them solely for the use of their members"
As some may now see, newswithmorenews has ceased using the word "human rights" unless its in quote marks. This is borne out of a disgust in the measures it places on the liberty of free speech. Governments already have impeded our private lives enough. Nobody needs more of it. If a religious institution does not want to conduct a homosexual marriage, they must have the liberty to make the choice, rather than be bullied by the state into conducting it against their will. Sound familiar to East Germany, the Soviet Union and North Korea?
A little bait and switch here. Does IDIOT want to be told what clothes he can wear? If he says no and persists with this "human rights" view, why does he continue to buy clothes which are made in China? Isn't that bigotry against New Zealand clothes producers?
"Speaking of amendments, in addition to the expected referendum clauses (two versions each from Winston Peters and Brendon Horan),
As some may now see, newswithmorenews has ceased using the word "human rights" unless its in quote marks. This is borne out of a disgust in the measures it places on the liberty of free speech. Governments already have impeded our private lives enough. Nobody needs more of it. If a religious institution does not want to conduct a homosexual marriage, they must have the liberty to make the choice, rather than be bullied by the state into conducting it against their will. Sound familiar to East Germany, the Soviet Union and North Korea?
A little bait and switch here. Does IDIOT want to be told what clothes he can wear? If he says no and persists with this "human rights" view, why does he continue to buy clothes which are made in China? Isn't that bigotry against New Zealand clothes producers?
Poor old Jesse Ryder. Just one among many
With the recent news of Jesse Ryder going into a coma, one cannot help but wander if alcohol was a potential contributor to the lead up to these events. Why was Ryder out in a bar to begin with? If he'd had problems with alcohol before, would the self control to simply say "no" and move on not be enough? If so, then there's a small chance he may pay for this decision with his life. What about the thugs who decided to assault Ryder without cause? No doubt when this case is eventually processed these men will appear in court. The sentence will not be harsh and a "sorry" will win them a reduced sentence. Yet they may have avoided such date with justice if they had carried their drink more sensibly, instead of marching around in slobbering drunk fashion.
Once again, I'd like to refer any readers interested to my post about alcohol last year
http://newswithmorenews.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/a-generation-that-is-stupid-enough-to.html
This post debunks the myth that alcohol abuse has always been a problem in New Zealand youth culture. Perhaps they'd like to look back to as recently as the 1970's. Was endless intoxication, massive bar spillovers and brain dead decisions to abuse alcohol dominating news headlines. No.
Raising the drinking age will not make a huge difference in our attitude towards alcohol. But it will make access to such beverages just that little bit more difficult, particularly towards that 13-19 year old age bracket, where many bad drinking habits are formed.
Once again, I'd like to refer any readers interested to my post about alcohol last year
http://newswithmorenews.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/a-generation-that-is-stupid-enough-to.html
This post debunks the myth that alcohol abuse has always been a problem in New Zealand youth culture. Perhaps they'd like to look back to as recently as the 1970's. Was endless intoxication, massive bar spillovers and brain dead decisions to abuse alcohol dominating news headlines. No.
Raising the drinking age will not make a huge difference in our attitude towards alcohol. But it will make access to such beverages just that little bit more difficult, particularly towards that 13-19 year old age bracket, where many bad drinking habits are formed.
Thursday, 21 March 2013
The Te Houtaewa Challenge and personal change
Some of you may know I enjoy running. Yes there has been a long lost relationship between me and running.
The Te Houtaewa challenge is based on the legend of Te Houtaewa, who stole kumura from a local tribe and outran any opposition who tried to catch him. From a legend a race was born. Athletes come from around the world to live up to the legend of the man.
Tomorrow I will become one of those people. What has been memorable throughout the last sixteen months of preparation hasn't been the immense fatigue, mental pain or any other such challenge. None of those ever really last. Right through each training session, various people have volunteered their time to train alongside me.
Seeing some people develop extra willpower, finesse and toughness has been the most inspiring. Something which stands out among these people is courage. It's a really admirable quality of pushing through difficulty, even if it results in extraordinary pain.
One friend could barely run a kilometre when he first started. Now he's comfortably putting in 6km a week. Another had never set foot in a gym; they are now a regular attendee. They chose to transform themselves and have done a great job.
Pushing the envelope is difficult because today we often expect convenience to the easiest route toward happiness. Since beginning these races, I've found its the contrary. Pain and sacrifice are a necessary requirement in achieving long term goals. What is your goal and how badly do you want to achieve it? If you aren't willing to dedicate yourself completely to the goal, start thinking about ways in which you can be. Whether you want to run a marathon, climb a mountain, write a book, get a university degree or release a music album. As infamous cyclist Lance Armstrong says "pain is temporary. If quit though, that lasts forever."
To everyone who has trained with, helped and supported me in the last 16 months, thank you very much. This race has been difficult to prepare for but I feel ready and hopefully you too are ready to take on great challenges. Ultramarathons are about overcoming challenges. You go through pain which is truly horrific but come out the other side a new person. Ttfn and see you at the finish line.
The Te Houtaewa challenge is based on the legend of Te Houtaewa, who stole kumura from a local tribe and outran any opposition who tried to catch him. From a legend a race was born. Athletes come from around the world to live up to the legend of the man.
Tomorrow I will become one of those people. What has been memorable throughout the last sixteen months of preparation hasn't been the immense fatigue, mental pain or any other such challenge. None of those ever really last. Right through each training session, various people have volunteered their time to train alongside me.
Seeing some people develop extra willpower, finesse and toughness has been the most inspiring. Something which stands out among these people is courage. It's a really admirable quality of pushing through difficulty, even if it results in extraordinary pain.
One friend could barely run a kilometre when he first started. Now he's comfortably putting in 6km a week. Another had never set foot in a gym; they are now a regular attendee. They chose to transform themselves and have done a great job.
Pushing the envelope is difficult because today we often expect convenience to the easiest route toward happiness. Since beginning these races, I've found its the contrary. Pain and sacrifice are a necessary requirement in achieving long term goals. What is your goal and how badly do you want to achieve it? If you aren't willing to dedicate yourself completely to the goal, start thinking about ways in which you can be. Whether you want to run a marathon, climb a mountain, write a book, get a university degree or release a music album. As infamous cyclist Lance Armstrong says "pain is temporary. If quit though, that lasts forever."
To everyone who has trained with, helped and supported me in the last 16 months, thank you very much. This race has been difficult to prepare for but I feel ready and hopefully you too are ready to take on great challenges. Ultramarathons are about overcoming challenges. You go through pain which is truly horrific but come out the other side a new person. Ttfn and see you at the finish line.
Monday, 18 March 2013
Almost a year on
After one year, 8,000 page views, 122 comments, and readers from 50 different countries, its amazing how many people have taken to discussing issues which have been posted. These often contentious topics ranged from tattoos to man made climate change to Richie McCaw's memoir "The Open Side." As readers, you've helped me learn a lot and I hope I've done the same for you. Arguing with you has been enjoyable and civilized (99% of the time) and hopefully in real life these can continue.
Since November when I started working for Getfrank, it has been a challenge to contribute effectively to both them and on here, without a compromise in quality of the articles has been challenging. Now that University has gone back into full swing though, I can no longer split my time between both of them. I've decided that at the end of the this month, newswithmorenews will no longer be operational.
I will continue to write for Getfrank for as long as possible and am happy to be a guest blogger in anyone else's blog. But giving 100% in two different writing spheres has drained me.
That said, there's still 12 days left in the month. I will upload anybody who wants to guest posts in this time and discuss any topic which you the readers want me to talk about. I'll even debate something I've argued in favor of from the opposing side if you wish to hear it.
So send me your posts if you want them uploaded, topics you want discussed, and any posts you want me to change my mind and argue against.
Thanks for reading.
Stuart
Since November when I started working for Getfrank, it has been a challenge to contribute effectively to both them and on here, without a compromise in quality of the articles has been challenging. Now that University has gone back into full swing though, I can no longer split my time between both of them. I've decided that at the end of the this month, newswithmorenews will no longer be operational.
I will continue to write for Getfrank for as long as possible and am happy to be a guest blogger in anyone else's blog. But giving 100% in two different writing spheres has drained me.
That said, there's still 12 days left in the month. I will upload anybody who wants to guest posts in this time and discuss any topic which you the readers want me to talk about. I'll even debate something I've argued in favor of from the opposing side if you wish to hear it.
So send me your posts if you want them uploaded, topics you want discussed, and any posts you want me to change my mind and argue against.
Thanks for reading.
Stuart
Can a Green MP really not know who these people are?
In a short series of Facebook message exchanges, Kevin Hague proved himself to be somebody who lacked understanding about where the views of his party came from. I asked him
Who do you politically align yourself with more: Maurice Strong or Anthony Blair?
Who do you politically align yourself with more: Maurice Strong or Anthony Blair?
Mr Hague originally replied
"I don't know either of them sorry!"
After a brief explanation about who the two of them were, he responded.
"Certainly don't align myself with Tony Blair, but Maurice Strong sounds promising!"
It's still surprising that a member of parliament knows next to nothing about the history of their parties. Understanding where your party came from and why they stand for certain values is a good indicator of why you would want to align yourself with that party to begin with. If Mr Hague eventually does research up about Mr Strong, perhaps the answer would have been a lot more interesting.