Weekend social 30/01/2015

Written By: notices and features - Date published: - 30 comments
Categories: weekend social

Christmas truce 1914Weekend 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?

30 comments on “Weekend social 30/01/2015”

  1. 1

    I bought some stories about Moaville by David Hill. This is an example of his gentle humour in the Preface to Moaville Magic. I think we need to pursue the vision of life as he has described here rather than the glitzy one of the early 21st century.

    ‘THE first time i drove through Moaville, the draper’s shop had one of those bald-headed wax female dummies posed provocatively in its front window wearing a black negligee and matching gumboots. The first time i went to the bank in Moaville, there was a notice on the counter reading ‘Kumara Plants Now Ready. See Mavis.’ The first time I rang up the plumber in Moaville, there was a series of clicks at the other end and a voice intoned, ‘Ah yeah, this is Bernie Klenner’s answer-phone thing here. How are ya?…’

    Then David Hill says he wants to say in Moaville ’till I rot’. and ‘any resemblance in these stories to persons living or dead is intended as a tribute. ,,,If you recognise any of them, I’ll be delighted. If you know any more about any of them, then please let me know. That way i can get another book started.’

    That sounds like a place a person could be happy in. They might even still have civil servants who wear hand-knitted cardigans, the object of past derision by Bob Jones. They did need a shake-up, I know because I worked with some of them. But they got thrown out in the name of productivity which we never have managed to capture, like looking for the end of the rainbow. Those who want to make something good of NZ as in the old days, but dusted off and more efficient, better think about how we can give the humanity back to the NZ humans of the Decade Rua.

  2. 2

    In a couple of weeks the Dr Who spectacular will be on in Auckland. Here’s an interesting take on the cultural degeneration of a time lord, how the good Dr has gone from being an anti-establishment figure to very much part of the status quo:
    https://rdln.wordpress.com/2013/11/29/doctor-who-degeneration-of-a-time-lord/

    And again I’ve got to put in a plug for my favourite gigging musician, Seth Lakeman:
    https://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/12/30/seth-lakemans-workers-lives-review-of-tales-from-the-barrelhouse-and-word-of-mouth/

    I must say I’m disappointed so few people in this part of the world seem interested in his sinewy 21st century folk music.

    Phil

      1. 3.1.1

        I’ve flown on them once before, and even in sardine class they allow a bit more room. Bigger sardines can fit comfortably in the can.

    2. 3.2.1

      New tourist promotion for NZ to replace 100% per cent Pure? Bali Hai only with Ao-tea-roa for the place.

      Some Bali Hais
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ8zf5hR13Q (with lyrics)
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNc8MBq-X3M
      Charlotte Church version –
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6Rnx1igRMk

      Someday you’ll see me floatin’ in the sunshine,
      My head stickin’ out from a low flyin’ cloud,
      You’ll hear me call you,
      Singin’ through the sunshine,
      Sweet and clear as can be:
      “Come to me, here am I, come to me.”
      If you try, you’ll find me
      Where the sky meets the sea.
      “Here am I your special island
      Come to me, Come to me.”

      and perhaps also Hayley Westenra – The water is wide
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6Rnx1igRMk
      and given the Enya and Church treatment (without the polar bear)

  4. 4

    A short way from Rangiora, -just,
    You’ll encounter the wee town of Cust.
    But I’d like you to know
    Its not far to go
    Beyond to Oxford, -a must!

    1. 5.1

      Had 13 mm in Taumarunui in last couple of days not out the woods yet dry wise but its a good start

      1. 5.1.1

        The metvuw.co.nz 10 day forecast currently has the main tropical systems just missing the north island, yet again. But a few cooler fronts into the south island.

  6. 6

    The main tropical systems just missing the North Island yet again.
    Thanks Ad. You remind me that we used to get really heavy summer downpours in Auckland in past years but they seem to be a thing of the past now. Climate change ?? Welcome rain last night though.

  7. 7

    Check it out – language is interesting and perhaps a bit cyclic

    “Shun all oaths, great and small, for they gain a terrible hold over people,” writes James Wells in “Tarbell’s Guide to the International Sunday-School Lessons for 1907.” “I earnestly advise you to shun all little minced oaths, such as ‘by Jove,’ ‘by George,’ ‘good-gracious.’ Love pure, sweet, simple Saxon, and avoid everything that seems to unhallow or dishallow God’s name or make it hollow.”

    http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/stories/gadzooks-the-truth-behind-not-so-innocent-phrases

  8. 8

    There are some great collections of quotes. And sigh, people had everything all worked out centuries ago. If only we could catch up earlier. Here are some that caught me.

    Quotations by Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman Statesman, Born 106 BC. … The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living. … Let us not listen to those who think we ought to be angry with our enemies, … The wise are instructed by reason, average minds by experience, the stupid by necessity and the brute by instinct.
    http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/marcus_tullius_cicero.html

    http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/poverty
    “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”
    ― Mahatma Gandhi
    “Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.
    This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.”
    ― Dwight D. Eisenhower

    Churchill seems so RW and yet contrarily comes out with things that speak truth and understanding as well. A complex person.
    9. A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.
    11. A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.
    12. Once in a while you will stumble upon the truth but most of us manage to pick ourselves up and hurry along as if nothing had happened.
    14. It is a good thing for an uneducated man to read books of quotations.
    15. You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life.
    http://listverse.com/2007/11/22/top-25-winston-churchill-quotes/

  10. 10

    We had a discussion in OM yesterday about the powerdown as action in the face of CC and peak oil etc. This being the idea that we need to go back to older, useful technologies and behaviours to find the ways of being on the planet that are sustainable and resilient and that detach us from the paradigm that is wrecking the planet.

    I’m wondering if people would like to share any things they are doing over the weekend that are part of the powerdown and stepping out of the consumerist society/perpetual growth economy. It could be big (deciding to start/starting a garden) or small (repairing a piece of clothing instead of throwing it out, choosing to not drive to wherever and to walk/bike/public transport instead).

    I hope this is ok in Weekend Social. I’d like to stay away from the politics and focus on the ordinary, at home, in our daily lives stuff many of us are already doing but don’t talk about so much.

    I’m going to repair a top that’s been sitting around for a few weeks waiting for me to decide whether to repair or send to the opshop.

      1. 10.1.1

        Savemart are a boon. I didn’t realise they were all over the country, and thanks for the link because I see they are NZ owned 🙂

    2. 10.2.1

      salvaged old cool shoes that would have ordinarily gone to the dump and been replaced by the next set….. gave them a good scrub, bit of dubbin, then a gold old polish with black nugget….. et voila, a cool pair of shoes that look so good even the younger and more fashionable have commented on them.

      did that a few months ago but you have inspired me to dig out another old pair of goodies I have been meaning to do the same to

      …

      another downpower is not weeding the garden – you know, saves the dumpster some additional weight….. not sure of this one though, despite its allure

      1. 10.2.2

        I just found someone who can repair shoes, so got some sandals done recently. I’m so chuffed about this, because anytime I buy new shoes I think about people in shoe factories getting their health destroyed for bugger all money 🙁

        Do you have a compost? You can put weeds in a bucket of water for a month and make a compost tea too. Water it down before putting around plants, and use the gunk as mulch.

    3. 10.3.2

      Yeah, very cool.
      The recycle store in Amberley has a box of 200 or so knives which they sell at 50 cents each. Around 1 in 20 is a high quality piece and over the years I bought a number of them (primarily kitchen knives).

      Its been enlightening reading online info concerning their brands. These days I use them cyclically in the garden, kitchen, fishing and shed, always maintaining the blades with a formidable edge.

      This weekend I’ll put fresh binding on the handles of some of them, using quality cord and finishing off by sealing with varnish. Good for grip, appearance and that ‘personal’ feel.

      1. 10.3.3

        Some of the best knives I’ve ever used were made out of steel from Ford Escort leaf springs, They have a high carbon content in them & will keep a keen edge on them for ages, in fact they can be to sharp as I found out taking the tip of my thumb one day & not even feeling it till I saw the blood.

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