Kids these days

I saw a vid by these cats from Kerikeri a week or so back, when it was featured on You Tube and I've since been following their vlogs etc. They are basically a bunch of teenagers mucking about with a camera and iDVD and the main guy clearly has a knack for editing and direction. I was so impressed by their latest effort that I thought I would share it - the preparation and care that's gone into cutting this is pretty good.

It's 8 minutes long - and has obvious nods to the Blair Witch Project, but check it out - its worth a look and is a decent reminder that not all young people are tagging and stirring shit.



I particularly loved the "I just wanna eat, I'm so hungry!" line at the most inappropriate moment lol- genius!

Nosey

If you're anything like me, you will have been dying to be nosey and have a look inside the Shipping Container House down Ohiro Rd on the way to Owhiro Bay from Brooklyn.

Well now you don't have to get yourself arrested for breaking an entering - they have posted pics here

It actually looks way cooler than I even expected. For those of you not familiar with it - its basically three shipping containers, stacked to form a house - simple and cool!

Damn hippies

I got an invite in my letterbox tonight for an organic soup evening that one of my neighbours is organising. They're gonna have someone talk about their Community Supported Agriculture scheme in the Wairarapa... man.

Lol I know, I know - I shouldnt be so cynical, but FFS an organic soup evening?

Cashback!

Well after being robbed a couple of weeks back - we hit the big time at the Shepherd's Arms Quiz tonight, not only did we place, but we also won the bonus round jack pot - which is three extra questions at the end - if no one gets them all right, another $10 is added to the pot.

So for second place we won a $50 bar tab, for getting 10/10 on the TV/Cinema round we got another $10 tab, and for the jackpot - $220!! That's right baby a $280 bar tab for 2 hours work!

So what were the three bonus questions you ask?

1. In the last 10 years, who has won the most Hong Kong Sevens Rugby titles?
2. What human anatomical part features on the flag of the Isle of Man?
3. By what name is Terry Bollea better known?

If you are like the rest of those fools there tonight and said Fiji for the first one - you're wrong chump - the answers are England, Legs and (of course) Hulk Hogan. Yeah Baby.

How did I not think of that sooner?

After talking about what a ridiculous idea personalised plates were the other night, I think I may have thought of one that I might just get.

KAL EL was taken so it would have to be K4L EL or KAL 3L.



Now many of you will not get the reference... but those of you who do will be quickly realising what a closet nerd I really am, as of course Kal El was Superman's Kryptonian name (duh). But seriously - how cool would that be??? Ahh you know it!

Some people call it a Sling Blade

Well after watching the Big Lebowski again the other day, I thought I'd revisit some of my other favourite filims, starting with Billy Bob Thornton's powerhouse - Sling Blade.

I first watched Sling Blade in 2002 - six years after its release, following incredibly strong recommendations. Thornton not only stars in the inconic role of Karl Childers, but he also wrote and directed it, earning him the 1997 Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar and an acting nomination also.

The story begins with the scene below of Childers, now a grown man, about to be released from a psychiatric hospital where he has been since the age of 12 for the murder of his mother and her lover, telling his story to a college newspaper reporter. He later returns to his hometown and gets a job fixing lawnmowers at local garage. Karl befriends a young boy, Frank (Lucas Black in his best role) and is soon invited by Frank's mother, Linda, to move into the family's garage. As a strong connection builds between Karl and Frank and his mother, confrontation occurs with Linda's abusive and violent boyfriend Doyle (Country musician Dwight Yoakam). Ultimately it builds to a stunning climax that is hard not to be moved by.

Check out the video below - you get a pretty good idea of the intensity of Thornton's performance

Communication Breakdown

Just watched a Wolfmother track on Alt, and it reminded me of how much they can sound like Led Zep. So what better way to demonstrate this than to post a vid of Wolfmother covering Communication Breakdown - crank it!

New! Instant Messenger! It's the latest!

I really have nothing to add today other than that Facebook has possibly taken the cake now it has added a messenger chat whatsit. WTF? Don't we already have these?

I just don't get it, so I thought i'd share this video which Emma sent to me (on facebook FFS!) a month or so ago

Yacht Rock

I got put on to this by a rock n' roller mate (who just happens to be playing with Phoenix Foundation this weekend!)

very funny stuff -

Scoop Election Site

Just found this on Spare Room - Scoop has set up a dedicated Election 08 site.

Looks simple and good. All going well it should be a good source of analysis which is sadly lacking both in our lame mainstream media and blog echo-chambers.

Check it out

Blackbird Singing Abides

Recently I picked up a copy of "I'm a Lebowski, You're a Lebowski" which is a book by fans of my favourite film, The Big Lebowski.

I always knew the film had a weird cult following, especially amongst University students, but I had no idea that there are annual Star Trek-esque conventions. The next LebowskiFest is being held in July in Louisville, Kentucky (obviously they got sick of California?), I think I should aim to get to one of these one day.

On the LebowskiFest website they sell some badass stuff too - quote T shirts and bumper stickers - all the best ones are there: "At least I'm Housebroken", "I can get you a toe", "This aggression will not stand, man" "It don't matter to the Jesus" etc etc.

If you aren't familiar with the film - its basically about the laziest man in Los Angeles (The Dude) and how he gets caught up in a case of mistaken identity, which leads to his rug (which really tied the room together) being pissed on, abduction, bowling, cars getting stolen, pederast latino creeps, toes getting cut off, an insane vietnam veteran, and Donny. It remains one of the Oscar winning (Fargo and No Country for Old Men) Coen Brothers best works, so I suggest you get hold of a copy, pour yourself a caucasian*, light yourself a J and sit back and check it out.

*Blackbird Singing's guide to making a Caucasian or White Russian.

You will need Kahlua, Vodka and Milk - basically pour in three equal parts of each ingredient and stir - i prefer a tad more Kahlua, so I add a little more of that than the Vodka.

Square One

Well I went and checked out the Suzuki Swift today, and I have to say I was definitely underwhelmed. It didn't seem to have any of the nifty interior touches of the Jazz, and just seemed to be lacking something.

So I guess the 206 might be hanging around a little bit longer!

And it's about time too!

You know some scientists are confronting the great battles of our time - finding cures for awful diseases etc... but not all of them.

Apparently some Austrian scientist has come up with a laser that can make a female fly act like a male fly. Brilliant.

I've been wondering when someone was going to do that. This has to be up there with the hairless kiwifruit and the seedless watermelon.

Worst trailer ever gets done

I recently went to see the excellent No Country for Old Men again and in the trailers was one for upcoming comic book remake - Iron Man. Now in general I am a fan of comic book related films, I think I'm one of the few people who thought Daredevil was wicked. But this just looks like rubbish - so much so, that the friend I was with (not naming any names... James) was literally belly-laughing out loud - causing the people in front of us to do that "sure it looks crap, but I think you're being a bit harsh" turn around and look.

But anyway - it turns out that they're actually going to make a feature length movie of this rubbish! Very funny video below.


Hat tip to the Onion

That's helpful

Well after struggling with the unique electrics of my Peugeot 206 for some time, we hit rock bottom this morning, when it just decided not to work.... at all.

The calendar and clock has reverted to french and 1999. Brilliant. Oh and did I mention that it didn't work.

So anyway at work today I said I'm going to get a new car and I got some really helpful suggestions, so helpful that I thought I would share...

First off - the car with the worst name ever - the Nissan Cedric



Hmmm maybe not - how about this - granny mobile, the Honda Jazz, yes I know they're good but it still looks like a granny-mobile.



But why stop there - how about an '80s BMW Convertible - "those are wicked"



This has to be the ultimate/most ridiculous idea. No prizes for guessing who came up with it. Its the International Trucks, MXT. Grrr - the US military have just given the contract Hummer had to International.



But no its likely to be a Suzuki Swift I think (kind of the polar opposite of the MXT!) - they look wicked. Mind you even when I said that, the useful ideas didn't stop - apparently I should get some fat black 17" rims and paint it mat-black - "how sick would that look??"

You don't see that every day on Aro St No.9

Well the bus company Go Wellington (Infratil hiding behind a friendly local name) really out did themselves today.

First of all neither the 8.10am (my regular) or the 8.30am Aro St bus turned up - meaning I had to walk to work in the rain... good start.

But on the way home tonight they really provided some entertainment. Halfway along Victoria St the bus changes lanes, and in the process today the driver cut off a motorcyclist, who honked his horn at the bus. Well the driver wasn't having a bar of that. When the motorcyclist pulled along side at the turn into Webb St, the bus driver opened the front door and gave him a spray. "Fuck you I indicated way back up the road. Fuck you. Fuck you, you fuckin cunt. Fuck you. I'll shoot ya. I'll blow your fucking head off, you fuckin cunt. Fuck you." The motorcyclist blowing kisses probably didn't help. Still an 8 on the fuck count is pretty decent.

Fair to say the bus clientele was either giggling nervously (clearly worrying whether they would reach their stop alive) or had their mouth wide open in shock. I was kind of somewhere between the two (also thinking god I can't wait to blog this!).

One woman's reaction was funny - she was giggling happily until he pulled out the C word - then it was pure shock. I think from now on I'm going to take huge offense whenever a woman uses the word 'dick' or 'cock'.

So uh yeah, Go Wellington!

Snippets

Well I was watching trash tv and surfing the intertube webpages and I thought id share.

First snippet - funny horse racing commentary


And second - its Snoop Dogg's Fatherhood with David Beckham teaching Snoop and the kids to play the football

Outsourcing childcare

An idea for some of those expectant and current parents amongst us

My ideas

Well I spent the weekend at Labour Congress - and given there was no new policy announced - I thought I'd throw my big ideas out there...

Up skilling
In short our manufacturing sector is buggered - we cannot and should not aim to compete with low wage economies on this basis. We need to become a high skill - high wage economy. This will be achieved by increasing productivity through education and innovation. There is no reason why we cannot produce 'weightless' exports in the form of IT, legal and accounting services. To do this, I think we need to seriously look at encouraging people into the degree courses that will enable us to have a large workforce with the right skill-set to be able to offer these services. Currently the government pays around 70 per cent of students course fees - as a start, why not pay the whole lot on IT and economic/accounting degrees?

Health
Primary Healthcare should absolutely continue to be the number 1 priority. I am a firm believer that if primary care is affordable, then people are more likely to go to the doctor - and get better sooner and not let illnesses get out of hand. Subsidies in this area should continue to rise - I'd like to see $20 doctors visits personally. But there is also unquestionably a need to address tertiary care elective surgeries. Dare I say it, I dig United's new policy for over 65s - it is a guarantee that you will have your surgery done within six months - or your treatment will be done by a private provider. Eventually this should become universal. As Tony Blair once said - the Labour value is getting people treated quickly and funded by the state - this achieves that.

Transport
Well I think at some point we are going to have to bite the bullet and build a highspeed rail network that will get our asses out of the planes. In the shorter term we need more public transport - if its safe, on time, reliable and cheap - people will use it and get the hell out of their cars. Transmission Gully is a rock solid waste of money - all it will do is encourage more cars into the central city - and we don't have enough carparks as it is - a better option would be to improve the rail service to the Kapiti coast and northern suburbs - it shouldn't take a fuckin hour to go to Pram!

Pumping on your Stereo

Supergrass are back with a new album - Diamond Hoo Ha, a reference to the two-piece act Gaz and Danny were (The Diamond Hoo Ha Men) while Bassist Mickey Quinn was recovering from his sleepwalking incident (fell out a window).

Anyway, in their day Supergrass were fantastic - their first three albums were all great and then I kinda lost touch with them. Their gig during 2000 Vic Orientation was outstanding - they also did an acoustic set outside what was then Tower Music in Cuba Mall - it was great. I can remember visiting a mates hostel weeks after the show, hearing someone singing the Ah-Ya-Ya bit from Mary off their self titled album, in the hostel atrium.

But anyway below is video of the Diamond Hoo Ha Men covering Beat It - its great when the crowd realises what the riff is that Gaz is playing at the beginning.

Sweet baby Jesus and the orphans!

Well after recently going on about how funny Peter Kay is, I bought a copy of series 1 and 2 of his first tv series - Peter Kay's Phoenix Nights off t'nternet.

The show is about the happenings at the Phoenix Club in Bolton - which is kind of like the Levin Cosmopolitan or "Cossie" Club... in fact its exactly like the Cossie Club.

Below is video from when they try to hold a Stars in your Eyes evening at the club - kind of captures the Club perfectly. Watch out for the Slim Shady - please stand up bit - hilarious.



My favourite quote from the series has to be this - Brian the wheelchair bound club owner inspiring the team by saying what sort of things the club could offer:
Garlic bread! That's right - Garlic Bread. It's the future - I've tasted it!

Who comes up with this crap?

The Victorian State Govt is apparently going to invest A$220 million to create a theme park outside Melbourne.

A. Does it really need it? Isn't the city already a pretty good attraction in itself?

and B. Why ruin the already fantastic Werribee Open Range Zoo by turning it into Dreamworld 2.0?

I think this could largely destroy what is a great attraction. If you get the chance, you should check it out before the bulldozers move in and while you're out there - visit the Shadowfax winery. I had one of the best glasses of red I've ever had there. The Lord of the Rings reference to the king of horses in the name, is a nod to the state equestrian centre next door.

Cashback

Well this week Borders had 40% off all CDs (if you get their emails), so I decided to pick up a few albums that id been thinking about getting for a while.

It was actually harder than you would think though, as Borders has a limited range and the way they stock their merchandise makes browsing super difficult.

But anyway I picked up the soundtrack to Control (the movie about Joy Division) which has some killer tracks by the er... Killers, Velvet Goldmine, Buzzcocks and of course it has a healthy dose of Joy Division and New Order. I also picked up Kate Bush's Whole Story best of - I've been meaning to listen to her for sometime, I had a colleague who constantly thrashed Kate Bush and Tori Amos, so I've found I already know most of this album!

But the standout was the Kaiser Chiefs last album Yours Truly, Angry Mob - Im absolutely loving it.

There are some awesome tracks - The Angry Mob and Ruby are great and ive included the Ruby video below. I did try to find the track, Highroyds, as the opening of it reminded me of the opening theme song of the Goodies.

The other album I looked at buying was Amy Winehouse's - but its now a double disc special edition whatsit - so didn't qualify for the sale. One to look out for is Wolfmother - I had a listen to their album and its pretty good, prettay prettay prettay good - and not at all the soft-rammstein I was expecting.

Anyway I'm off to the best barber in Wellington now - Groom on Tinakori Rd. Only problem is that I didnt watch the footy last night - so I'm gonna be behind the eight ball when he starts talking!

Here is the Kaiser Chiefs performing Ruby - (yes I was doing a Jools Holland thing there)

We was robbed

Well we put in a a hugely dominant performance at our regular Shepherds Arms Pub Quiz tonight - winning by a commanding 7 points, which included three rounds where we got 10/10...

Well almost three. The first round (pick which company the logo belongs to) we were given 9/10 - after we only put 'Candida', instead of 'Candida Stationery' (for the pictured symbol - obviously the wording wasn't on it!). Apparently we are splitting hairs.

But it got much worse - they allowed us to win, but we couldn't collect the $75 bar tab for winning as we had seven people at our table instead of six. Argh nevermind, we would boycott it in protest but it is a good quiz and a great pub so we'll forgive them!

Mish won't be happy

I had my first session with Mish, our office personal trainer - she basically comes around once every couple of weeks to guilt you off the curry and pies. Anyway apparently I drink too much coffee (that's the least of my worries, flower).

So Mish won't be too chipper to find out that the new Chew's Lane precinct has opened opposite work, with what looks like the highest ratio of coffee houses per square metre in New Zealand.

Chew's Lane looks like one of those great new developments they have down in Chch and I think it will bring that area alive.

There's one cafe that looks quite cool, called Gotham. To the Barista, Robin!