Don't wake up with a hangover

Great ad from the UK Labour Party's 2005 campaign

Weekend of wins

Well other than Warriors - but they were always going to come up short.

But anyway having sat through some absolute shockers this year the Phoenix finally delivered on their promise at the weekend, the Lions defended the Ranfurly Shield (even if it was close) and Hawthorn won the AFL... you're wondering why I care that Hawthorn won right?

Well I ended up going down to Four Kings (the redeveloped Lab Bar) to watch the the AFL Grand Final with some of the Aussies and I have to say it was a gas. There were around a hundred fans there (who knew there were Aussie Rules followers in Wgtn?) and most seemed to be wearing Geelong scarves and jerseys so I backed the underdogs - the Hawthorn Hawks, who ended up winning after a large third quarter.

While I was at Four Kings (and admittedly after a few lagers) I put my money where my mouth was and put $10 on the Phoenix to beat the number one ranked A League side Sydney FC - meaning I banked $46! We're currently planning on watching the NRL final at the Four Kings too - they have a great set up with a row of 10 or so lazy boys in front of a wall of big screen TVs, booths with private screens (70 screens in total) and a solid range of beers. I hadnt been there before but its definitely a great place to watch the footy.

1000 Greatest Rock Songs

Daft radio station The Rock recently compiled a list of the 1000 greatest rock songs according to their fans. Hilariously they included easy listening acts like fucking Phil Collins and U2 as well as lame uber-stoner band Sublime and one hit wonders like Skid Row.

But I guess when you are doing a 1000 song list, you're really just going through albums listing absolutely anything that catches your eye.

But anyway here is their top 20 - no prizes for guessing who got number 1.

20 FOO FIGHTERS - Best of You
19 METALLICA - Fade to Black
18 PINK FLOYD - Another Brick in the Wall
17 PEARL JAM - Black
16 AC/DC - Thunderstruck
15 METALLICA - Nothing Else Matters
14 PEARL JAM - Better Man
13 GUNS N ROSES - Sweet Child O' Mine
12 PINK FLOYD - Comfortably Numb
11 SHIHAD - Home Again

10 LED ZEPPLIN - Stairway to Heaven
9 FOO FIGHTERS - Everlong
8 QUEEN - Bohemian Rhapsody
7 NIRVANA - Smells Like Teen Spirit
6 RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE - Killing in the Name of
5 FOO FIGHTERS - All My Life
4 GUNS N ROSES - November Rain
3 AC / DC - Back In Black
2 METALLICA - ONE
1 METALLICA - ENTER SANDMAN

First of all I'm not convinced Foo Fighters should make the top 100 let alone have anything in the top 10. Shihad shouldnt be that high either - who are they kidding? Actually if you drop those three out and spread the Metallica out a bit its not a bad list by moving the next ones up - its ridiculous that Pink Floyd and The Who don't feature.

So here is my top 10

10. The Who - Baba O'Reilly
9. AC/DC - Back in Black
8. Led Zepplin - Stairway to Heaven
7. Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here
6. David Bowie - Under Pressure
5. Metallica - Enter Sandman
4. Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody
3. Neil Young - Hey Hey My My
2. Guns N Roses - Sweet Child O Mine
1. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit

Silverman on Obama

See more Sarah Silverman videos at Funny or Die

The Heart Attack Grill

Well at least they can't be criticised for pretending they're anything other than shocking for you.

The Heart Attack Grill in Arizona - "Taste worth dying for" - check out their menu here (pictured below is the Quadruple Bypass) it features a whole lot of meat patties, 'flatliner' fries and cigarettes. Nice.

Art for Art's & Victor's sake

Last night was the IHC Art Awards out at the Dowse. I was bidding on behalf of the chair for two or three in the main auction - only managed to get one, but we drove the price up in the others anyway!

But after the high of bidding we all got a bit carried away and started bidding in the silent auction (which we were running!) .

At first I tried to buy this one - which I like to call Shagging Penguins. But then Victor Bright came over to help sell his untitled painting - by the end it hadn't reached the reserve - so I chucked a bid in and ended up buying it (pictured).

URRRRRRRR

Another Empire List

Empire Magazine have done a vote for the 500 greatest films of all time... again. The Godfather has taken the top spot off Star Wars - but Empire Strikes Back still rated highly. Can only assume that the Godfather's renaissance is linked to its recent re-re-release on DVD, but all the same it remains in my all time top 5 and is great today as it ever was.

The top 10 is as follows:

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
3. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
4. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
5. Jaws (1975)
6. Goodfellas (1990)
7. Apocalypse Now (1979)
8. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
9. Pulp Fiction (1994)
10. Fight Club (1999)

So Spielberg (Raiders/Jaws) and Ford-Coppola (Godfather/Apocalypse) take two a piece - its a pity FFC has made a load of bollocks in recent years huh? I'm not sure what the hell Fight Club is doing in that company - its lightweight and shouldn't be there - all it is, is American Beauty for kids. Singin' in the Rain is the only one I haven't seen too so thats not bad.

The description of the Godfather is classic too: A wedding. A horse’s head. A gun in a restaurant toilet. Sicily. Another wedding. A car bomb. A toll-booth. Orange peel. A baptism. A closed door.

But anyway - other notables

100. Network (1976)
91. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983)
85. Blue Velvet (1986)
68. Annie Hall (1977)
61. The Usual Suspects (1995)
46. On the Waterfront (1954)
45. Psycho (1960)
43. The Big Lebowski (1998)
34. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
31. Gone with the Wind (1939)
28. Citizen Kane (1941)
26. Dr Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
22. Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)
20. Blade Runner (1982)
19. The Godfather Part 2 (1974)
18. Casablanca (1942)
11. Raging Bull (1980)

Fanta Pants to perform in the Bay

Well New Plymouth might be many things but it has exposed its ginga-phobic attitude with Simply Red set to perform into the safe haven of Napier.

Mind you as God said to Tony Wilson - "You were right about Mick Hucknall, his music is rubbish and he's a ginge."

But anyway below is a video which shows the sort of refuge Simply Red may well be staying at in Napier.

Kubrick revisited

I ended up catching the end of 2001 the other day which brought on all sorts of nostalgic feelings for my two favourite Kubrick films - Full Metal Jacket and Dr Strangelove and so today I watched both!

It's easy to forget what a master Kubrick was and if you havent watched these for a while, you should definitely check them out. Either that or get your hands on some mind altering substances and freak yourself out by watching 2001 again. To whet your appetite I have the closing scenes of both - which of course are some of the most memorable sequences in cinema history.

Back of the net!

It may not be CNN - but all the same I think this is almost as good!

You will remember how we found a dumbass candidate who had set up an online poll and that we were ensuring accurately reflected the mood of the electorate?

Well it somehow got drawn to the attention of the local media and well... (click on it for a big version - its worth a read)

I just love how it quotes whole passages from the comments section like "I don't trust Nathan Guy" and how he acknowledges that his Facebook "hadn't had the big pick up that we thought." Brilliant.

McCain/Palin 08

Holy shit - they made CNN! - and to mark the occasion, here is my favourite campaign image so far.

First Church of Sarah Palin and Jesus Christ

Diana and co are doing some of the funniest shit on the interweb right now. This one just cracked me up.



You can see loads more of these over at Diana's blog

The Umbilical Brothers

I spent the evening at the Umbilical Brothers excellent first ever show in Wellington.

If you aren't familiar with the brothers - they are a pair of Australian comedians who combine Michael Winslow style sound effects with mime. Their tap dance routine was awesome as was most of the show. Below are a couple of clips - the first is the tap dance and the second is the 'Klaus' Solo Show' from their European humour bit.





The brothers have a couple of other dates on this tour, and will be back early next year with their other show - if you get a chance you should check them out.

Discovering the cutting edge

I had always bought into the idea that the 1970s was the golden age of cinema, followed by strong efforts in the 1980s and 90s that built on it. You had the greats - Jaws, Star Wars, The Exorcist, The Godfather I & II, Chinatown, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, All the President's Men, The Graduate, Apocalypse Now, Network, Annie Hall followed by the 80s greats Platoon, ET, Full Metal Jacket and so on.

But I've recently discovered a whole other time when cinema wasn't constrained by censorship and when the viewer was treated like an adult - a time that was probably the most liberal period. I'm of course talking about the 'pre-code' era of the 1920s and early 1930s.

So far I've only watched a couple but I'm loving them and if you can get hold of one in particular, Employees' Entrance, you should definitely check it out. Its the story of an amoral New York department store owner who takes delight in sacking his staff, driving some to suicide and shagging all the sales assistant, including one who uses his lust to work her way up the ladder.

The films of this era made bold references to everything and anything that was considered taboo - sexuality, prostitution, drugs, mixed race relationships, abortion, suicide, and so on and so forth. Naturally this raised the ire of the religious and morally conservative elements and the Hays Code or Motion Picture Production Code was introduced to rein productions in and indeed destroy copies of some works.

There is some mind-blowing stuff out there that would still shock today - if you're a movie buff I think its definitely worth taking look.

Fire up bitch!

What a weekend that was for NZ sport! Everything seemed to fall into place nicely.

Now if you're one of those who think sports events help political fortunes, you have to ask -are we heading towards a perfect storm? Its probably still too early to tell, but think about it - we've got interest rates dropping, petrol prices dropping, tax cuts roughly two weeks away, the All Blacks winning the Bledisloe and Tri Nations, the Warriors creating history by beating the minor-premiers, the Winston thing ricocheting off for the loss of 1 or 2 points at best and probably most importantly, dialogue reopening between Labour and the minor parties of the left.

I would also mention the Phoenix - they didnt lose tonight at least - but they gave it a decent shunt with their consistently shakey defence trying really hard to snatch another defeat.

But anyway, the grit and tenacity shown by Henry and his All Blacks last night was incredible. Henry is so similar to Clark its uncanny - dominant and successful for so long, yet widely panned for their arrogant demeanor and questionable methods. They also both face flash-harry opponents who originally hailed from Canterbury - so surely the All Blacks winning at one of the hardest venues (Suncorp) is a good omen?!?

Finally, just like Mark Gasnier's infamous phone message that the headline refers to, the Warriors sent an unwelcome but emphatic message to the other NRL finalists and Rugby League establishment - doing something no other side has done in the history of the competition - defeating the favourites and top ranked side in the first round of the finals.

So maybe the stars are moving into alignment - and it might just be on. So as Gasnier might say - Fire up bitch!

Another good idea/bad idea

Good idea - set up a facebook supporters page

Bad idea - run an uncontrolled web poll linked from that page...

Online Poll Powered By MicroPoll

UPDATE The gig might be up - links seem to have died - well at last count Darren Hughes was at 93% support and Nathan Guy 7% in the scientific poll to determine who people would prefer as Otaki MP.

UPDATE 2 Actually the link to the polls seems to be working again and the split is now 94/6 yus!

No you're it

Over the weekend One Moment Caller did the whole tag/favourite bit of art thing. So here goes nothing... no really.

I was going to take a picture of my 'Retard' plate, but then I wasn't sure where the line was for art... I then thought - well if we're going to broach that subject...

I give you a collaborative work from New Zealand's latest artistic collective - which I like to call the 'Key Chain Gang'.

The work:
Key Chain Gang, Untitled, 2008, found objects, dimensions variable.
Courtesy of Mister Minit.

The story:
We (as in the collective) bought this compelling work over the last three or four years. You will note the red key shaped element at its heart which is possibly a political symbol. The red hinting at a socialist core, being surrounded by representations of family through the placement of the keys to their homes with the large black Peugeot element almost demonstrating a cold industrial landscape behind everything. Also the representation of Master Yoda is an interesting comment on the guidance that the older members of our community provide (pointing any fingers, I am not... DO), while the Phoenix season ticket holder tag represents a cold sad hopelessness and utter despair.

Ok piss taken. Your turn.

Reason number 61425 to love the interweb

People seem to have way too much time on their hands. Makes me wonder what people did before the information superhighway enabled them to make stop motion videos of Metallica using Lego. Let's not question it any further and rock out.

Told you it was good!

Well I survived Beervana - although yesterday was incredibly dirty and fair to say we didnt make it back after a large night at the Malthouse afterwards.

I tried all sorts of beers including Wellington's newest - Yeastie Boys - Pot Black Kettle (a dark porter-esque brew), Epic's Pale Ale and Lager, Dunedin's Green Man Keller, Stout and Pilsener, Three Boys Golden Ale, Whitecliff's Lager, Renaissance Stout and of course the full range from Tuatara.

Now you will remember Tuatara from our trip out to their Waikanae brewery in May when I raved about it.

Tuatara were almost head and shoulders above many of the other breweries and it showed with the boys picking up Best French & Belgian style ales for their Ardennes and Best UK and other European style ale for their Indian Pale Ale along with the overall Gold prize being crowned New Zealand's Best Brewery.

After we finished up at Beervana we headed off to the Malthouse for a few rounds of Tuatara's limited edition Belgian Ale and Epic's range with Dion (Tuatara's master brewer) and Malthouse owner Colin (the dude serving on their homepage) talking hops and all things beer till the early hours.

All in all it was a ripper of a night - tried some great beers from right across the spectrum and waxed lyrical about beer all evening - what could be better??

Help a brother out

My hero, Larry David's bit for the Stand Up to Cancer thing - the chemo-induced baldness is stealing the limelight (and sympathy sex) from the rest of us bald brothers... so we need a cure for cancer. Enjoy

Linkages

Some new links on the side bar this week. I've added a link to Jacinda's campaign site - vote bro for ex pats. She got 20 on Labour's list so will become an MP later this year which is really great - and when I chatted to her the other night she seemed really humbled and overwhelmed by the ranking (ahead of several current cabinet ministers) which I think is a very good sign.

Also we have Sexy People - a site where people send in their hideous 80s portrait photos - funny stuff.

Finally its the next best thing out of Wellington - the Family Cactus, otherwise known as young Adam's band who have been recording at Lee Prebble's studio and will be mixing etc up at a certain Mr Finn's studio.

What I'm listening to at the moment

After loving The Phoenix Foundation's Happy Ending and the soundtrack they pulled together for Eagle vs Shark, I've been checking out Samuel Flynn (son of Tom) Scott's solo album Straight Answer Machine.

Its a good listen and I've chucked the first track, Llewellyn below. It has some really good tracks such as Stolen Egypt, the toe tapping - Leave Me Alone and All My Dreams. However it does lack the polish of the Phoenix Foundation andt at times it does seem a little underdone - even a little bit like a collection of b-sides.

If you haven't listened to Wellington's finest before, then I would suggest starting with an album like Happy Ending before jumping into Straight Answer Machine.



For a taster of the Phoenix Foundation you can watch the video of my happy song (directed by Taika Waititi) from Happy Ending - Bright Grey here or watch my favourite music video (obviously because of the cricket content and cameos by Dion 'hash-pipe' Nash and Lou Vincent - I love the Hadlee shrine too lol) Bleaching Sun below.

'That' Jim Hickey video

A classic moment from the TVNZ archives - The rain is a goneburger. But the showers and a bit of frost well they're ah...

Almost there

The Hobson St Posse has moved ever closer to the $1000 mark for the years work at the Shepherds Arms Quiz.

Another $70 to the kitty tonight with $50 for second place and two 10/10 rounds.

So all in all a good night taking us to $865 with about 5 weeks left for the year.

Your weekly pop quiz is - If you list all the names of countries in alphabetical order - which country is the fifth one beginning with the letter L?

Hmmm... we listed all the L countries we could and actually got this -

Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya (almost everyone answered Libya or Lithuania - even forgetting Liechtenstein!).