Hard to find that groove when the fascists cramp your style

For the middle of winter, we’ve enjoyed some clear, peaceful days at Warrington. However, I haven’t been able to enjoy my walks along the beach because of the screeds of ugly, fascistic junk that seems to be filling the media in recent days.
I sometimes wish that I could just ‘turn off’ and ignore the crap, [...]

Dating Godot

I was alerted to a music show on National Radio last week featuring an interview with old friend and bandmate Andrew Spittle, now lost in the mists of the far north somewhere.
The half hour interview was great, and some long overdue coverage for the man who puts a new meaning to productivity. However the interviewer [...]

Skeptics

Purely by chance, later in the evening following the Chavez screening I got to see a rare live video of the last ever performance of New Zealand music group The Skeptics.
I have long regarded this group as certainly the most interesting band to come out of New Zealand. Their music is strange, dark, magical [...]

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Hugo Chavez documentary

After a busy few months, it’s been good to do a half-week of work and spend some time getting mind, body and soul together.
My friend Peter has been helping to organize screenings of videos and films at the Arc in Dunedin for Indymedia with some success so J. & I headed into town to [...]

How low expectations mean Government’s can do what they like

It’s a constant surprise (and a disappointing one) how so many New Zealanders have such a low expectation of their collective future. The recent “Labour” Government budget was hailed as some kind of major breakthrough for “struggling Kiwis.”
How wrong can you be? After decades of right-wing, dishonest politicians saying one thing and doing another, it [...]

Eye of Sauron versus Plan of Alpha

Yes, the rumours are true – the Alpha Plan have finally managed to crack the soundtrack game. New short NZ feature Bogans is a movie about three bogans (overseas readers – this is New Zealand vernacular for petrolheads/boy racers/young men with V8s) who decide to head to the Big Smoke (Wellington) to land work as [...]

Reagan

Media Lens analyses the Reagan funeral and associated media hysteria
I’ve taken this article below from the latest Media Lens website. It echoes some of my thoughts on the matter in an articulate and reasoned way. Death does not make someone ‘a good guy’ when their actions led directly and indirectly to loss of life, oppression, [...]

Wintering

Horizontal sleet from south meets my window. Sole outdoors activity today – cutting kindling with a blunt axe.
Time for a reading list:
China Mieville (Perdido Street Station and the even better sequel/companion volume The Scar)
Iain M. Banks (Look to Windward was my scifi book of year 2003 – now I’m rereading Feersum Endjinn)
Jeff Noon [...]