Monday, July 27, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
HAL 9000
After months and months of trouble with the Peugeot it looks like we might finally have a solution.
for those who don't know, transmission has been playing up for ages and would occasionally go into what's called 'limp-mode' which means you basically lose acceleration, and you have to restart the car (which I had mastered, meaning id slot it into neutral, turn the key off, turn it on again and slip it back into drive - while still moving).
Peugeot said its an electronic issue, and you'll probably need to replace the transmission - looking at $2000 plus for a fix in short. But the old man of one of my colleagues, Hal, got wind of this and did a stack of research and came up with a genius plan involving new transmission oil and filters and a bit of good old jiggery-pokery.
And it worked!
This morning I had to re-start the car 12 times between Aro Valley and the Basin on the way to the mechanic. Coming home tonight and during the test runs this afternoon - it didnt go into limp mode once. Not once!
I felt like Renton finding the opium suppositories in the bottom of the toilet in Trainspotting - YES! You fucking dancer!
for those who don't know, transmission has been playing up for ages and would occasionally go into what's called 'limp-mode' which means you basically lose acceleration, and you have to restart the car (which I had mastered, meaning id slot it into neutral, turn the key off, turn it on again and slip it back into drive - while still moving).
Peugeot said its an electronic issue, and you'll probably need to replace the transmission - looking at $2000 plus for a fix in short. But the old man of one of my colleagues, Hal, got wind of this and did a stack of research and came up with a genius plan involving new transmission oil and filters and a bit of good old jiggery-pokery.
And it worked!
This morning I had to re-start the car 12 times between Aro Valley and the Basin on the way to the mechanic. Coming home tonight and during the test runs this afternoon - it didnt go into limp mode once. Not once!
I felt like Renton finding the opium suppositories in the bottom of the toilet in Trainspotting - YES! You fucking dancer!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Cactus Day Monday
See what happens when you intern with me?
The Family Cactus was on Radio NZ's Music 101 yesterday - clip below, and on Monday the 13th their album Come Howling is out... on Sony Music no less, and will be on iTunes.
Download it bitches.
The Family Cactus was on Radio NZ's Music 101 yesterday - clip below, and on Monday the 13th their album Come Howling is out... on Sony Music no less, and will be on iTunes.
Download it bitches.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
How cool is this?
Just seen this over at the Eye of the Fish (Wellington urbanism and architecture blog)
The Wellington City Council has agreed to put over $4million towards cycleways and as part of this they are going to explore building a 70km cycle and walk way from Pencarrow point right around to Owhiro Bay. Yay!
I think this is an awesome concept.
Obit
In the last week or so we have seen the passing of two totally different but oddly, equally significant figures from the last 40 years - Robert McNamara and Michael Jackson - figures from wildly different backgrounds and accomplishments but both saddened me all the same.
For people around my age group, you couldn't help but be a fan of Michael Jackson. I grew up immersed in his music - the first two albums I ever owned were Thriller and Bad - I can remember going to the movies to watch the glorified music video that was Moonwalker, and making lame attempts at the Smooth Criminal lean (that link is totally cool btw) and of course moonwalking. But for me personally, after Dangerous (and the arrival of grunge!) Jackson's relevance dimmed somewhat and in a funny kind of way, for all intents and purposes, he passed away long ago which has meant his passing has had far more of a tragic tinge rather than a shocking one.
On Robert McNamara, upfront I'll say that I believe that ultimately the expansion into Vietnam was LBJ's doing but also that McNamara should have gotten the hell out of there far far earlier. For anyone who doesn't know, McNamara was Kennedy and Johnson's Secretary of Defence. He remains the longest ever serving Defence Secretary and up until Rumsfeld, the most controversial.
But he is also one of my all time favourite political figures - there is something beautiful in politics when someone so powerful openly acknowledges and discusses their failings. I maintain that he is one of the smartest people to have ever held a Cabinet position in the US (or anywhere probably) and to this day I have his eleven lessons pinned above my desk. I still think that his first lesson of war - to empathize with your enemy - to understand their thinking and where they are coming from is his most important and is so applicable to politics - yet tragically missing from so many political strategies. It was Kennedy and McNamara's empathy with Kruschev that avoided nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis and as he notes in the video below, it was the lack of empathy that allowed the Vietnam War to get so far out of control.
This is a clip from the fantastic 2003 McNamara documentary, The Fog of War. For anyone interested in conflict and politics its an absolute must watch - his insights into the WWII fire bombing of Japan is especially mindblowing.
For people around my age group, you couldn't help but be a fan of Michael Jackson. I grew up immersed in his music - the first two albums I ever owned were Thriller and Bad - I can remember going to the movies to watch the glorified music video that was Moonwalker, and making lame attempts at the Smooth Criminal lean (that link is totally cool btw) and of course moonwalking. But for me personally, after Dangerous (and the arrival of grunge!) Jackson's relevance dimmed somewhat and in a funny kind of way, for all intents and purposes, he passed away long ago which has meant his passing has had far more of a tragic tinge rather than a shocking one.
On Robert McNamara, upfront I'll say that I believe that ultimately the expansion into Vietnam was LBJ's doing but also that McNamara should have gotten the hell out of there far far earlier. For anyone who doesn't know, McNamara was Kennedy and Johnson's Secretary of Defence. He remains the longest ever serving Defence Secretary and up until Rumsfeld, the most controversial.
But he is also one of my all time favourite political figures - there is something beautiful in politics when someone so powerful openly acknowledges and discusses their failings. I maintain that he is one of the smartest people to have ever held a Cabinet position in the US (or anywhere probably) and to this day I have his eleven lessons pinned above my desk. I still think that his first lesson of war - to empathize with your enemy - to understand their thinking and where they are coming from is his most important and is so applicable to politics - yet tragically missing from so many political strategies. It was Kennedy and McNamara's empathy with Kruschev that avoided nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis and as he notes in the video below, it was the lack of empathy that allowed the Vietnam War to get so far out of control.
This is a clip from the fantastic 2003 McNamara documentary, The Fog of War. For anyone interested in conflict and politics its an absolute must watch - his insights into the WWII fire bombing of Japan is especially mindblowing.
Monday, June 29, 2009
A Ryan Adams treat
Was over at the Cardinal Cave earlier (which kind of isn't really a cave or blog anymore) and I discovered that Ryan has done new versions of a couple of tracks from Cardinalogy - Fix it and Magick. You can listen below - they're quite different and little more funky, but they definitely grow on you.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Prickly downloads
Big ups to Adam's band, The Family Cactus, who have finally released their first single - Kingmaker.
You can listen to Kingmaker and two other tracks including my favourite, In Transit, on their MySpace site or download Kingmaker at iTunes - go on spend the $1.79!
Otherwise the Family Cactus are playing Mighty Mighty on 3 July.
You can listen to Kingmaker and two other tracks including my favourite, In Transit, on their MySpace site or download Kingmaker at iTunes - go on spend the $1.79!
Otherwise the Family Cactus are playing Mighty Mighty on 3 July.
Stupid people = stupid questions
At the moment I'm selling off my Nintendo Wii and all the games etc on Trade Me and in doing so I have discovered a whole new world of stupidity - the idiotic questions you get from people about the item you're selling.
Some examples:
On the auction it says - Seller allows pick-ups, Seller is located in Wellington City, Wellington.
So why would you ask "Where would pick up be please?" - why do you think I would be anymore specific at this point?
Or this one: "do u interest to sell ur wii fit and star war for 100$?" Uh no, if that was what I was interested in selling... that would be what I'm advertising.
"May i ask why you are selling please??" How about because I want to? I felt like answering, I'm selling because its hot and I need to shift it asap.
So anyway at work we were talking about the inane questions you get and one of my colleagues mentioned that his old man sells all sorts of junk and given his temper - he hates getting daft questions too... So what else were we to do...
The latest auction he is running is for beer bottle openers - which come in packs of three and are coloured Red, Black and Green (black ones pictured). But we had some (infuriatingly obvious) questions as follows -
Q. Do you have 5 packs of these available? Also how many bottles could you expect each one to open?
A. They are auctioned in lots of three.In regard to the number of opens I really have no idea. Cheers
Q. Do you have a full range of colours? Do you have Yellow? or Red?
A. No yellow. Red listed. Cheers
Q. How many colors r there? Will u sell just a red one?
A. We do not list this item in single units. Cheers
I like how he kept hiding his rage by adding 'cheers' to each one.
Childish prank for the week? Check!
Oh and if anyone wants a Wii - the auction closes monday night.
When blue meets gold
Former Vermont Governor and DNC chair, Howard Dean spoke at the Liberal Democrat conference in the UK earlier in the year. He talked about how the Democrats had to actually learn how to communicate their values better and not be afraid to campaign in all states and all areas.
Check it out below - a really good watch and loads of parallels to NZ.
Check it out below - a really good watch and loads of parallels to NZ.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Don't judge me
So I've been a bit shit on the blogging front of late. I have actually had stuff to talk about but finding the time and dare I say it, inspiration, to blog has been hard.
But anyway I will attempt to start transmission again this week.
And to kick off - He's Barack Obama - the new vid from Jib Jab. Love the pirate ass kicking and cigarette smoking reference.
But anyway I will attempt to start transmission again this week.
And to kick off - He's Barack Obama - the new vid from Jib Jab. Love the pirate ass kicking and cigarette smoking reference.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Internets are awesome
I think these videos are what the interwebs were invented for... I give you face plants
Sunday, May 24, 2009
If you still don't think it's torture
From MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann on Friday - Rightwing Radio shock jock, Erich 'mancow' Muller allowed himself to be waterboarded to prove it's not torture. His reaction after lasting only 6 seconds of waterboarding:
"I do not want to say this. It's absolutely torture, absolutely. I mean, that's drowning."
And as Keith says - this was the Rolls Royce version. Muller could stop it at anytime, he didnt have to go through sleep depravation in advance and not know whether they would stop. He also didn't have to go through it 180 times.
"I do not want to say this. It's absolutely torture, absolutely. I mean, that's drowning."
And as Keith says - this was the Rolls Royce version. Muller could stop it at anytime, he didnt have to go through sleep depravation in advance and not know whether they would stop. He also didn't have to go through it 180 times.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Systemic Failure
So there has been a bit of talk around the forthcoming MMP referendum. Labour seems to be leaning towards the idea that we should stick with MMP - people are now largely used to it and we've had stable government for the greatest part of the last 13 years - well aside from the messy break ups of NZ First in 1998 and the Alliance in 2002.
But MMP isn't perfect - if anything it gives minor parties something of an advantage (that's what it was designed to do for post-Nazi Germany so no one party would dominate) and at times they can dominate the landscape. Mind you, that isn't always negative - if it wasn't for the Alliance's influence on Labour, we would not have paid-parental leave to the same extent as families now enjoy and KiwiBank would not exist.
No one at this stage is calling for a return to first past the post - which does show that we have at least matured a little. John Key has said he likes the idea of Supplementary Member (SM) and I must admit I'm reasonably partial to that system in the New Zealand context. SM is similar to MMP in that you have two votes - one for the candidate you prefer in your electorate, and the other for your favourite party, however, under SM the party vote doesn't determine the make up of the whole house, only the list seats. Basically what this does is put more emphasis on winning electorates - which I like.
But what would have happened had we had SM since 96 instead of MMP? Well honestly the actual result wouldn't have been too different. 1996 and 1999 the results would have been similar, 2002, Labour would have easily governed alone and 05 would have been about the same as follows: (the standard has the 2008 example - Nats govern alone)
The way I see it though, is that we could basically achieve the same thing by making a few alterations to MMP instead of changing system entirely. The one seat threshold (where a party gets its party vote allocation if it wins one electorate) could be raised to something more akin to the German system like 3 seats - so parties like ACT can't just leverage off one electorate seat and have disproportionate influence. I would also go back to the Royal Commission's original recommendation of a 4 per cent threshold on the party vote.
Also, why not remove the safety net of the list? So you either stand as a list or an electorate candidate. This would mean the hacks that get rejected by their electorate are truly gone. It would also serve to rid us of the lazy attitude so many current list MPs who once held electorates took to their local constituencies - they would either lose and be gone, or stand aside and let someone who really wants to represent a particular constituency have a go.
As I said late last year, I think Labour reconnecting at a local level has to be the number 1 priority for this early part of opposition. I think we should stick with MMP for a while yet but there are potentially some real positives that could come from reforming it - both by halting a lot of the wagging of the dog by minor parties, but also by pushing MPs to stay in touch with their constituencies. By just making a few tweaks and balancing things a bit better we could actually come up with a system that satisfies most of us.
But MMP isn't perfect - if anything it gives minor parties something of an advantage (that's what it was designed to do for post-Nazi Germany so no one party would dominate) and at times they can dominate the landscape. Mind you, that isn't always negative - if it wasn't for the Alliance's influence on Labour, we would not have paid-parental leave to the same extent as families now enjoy and KiwiBank would not exist.
No one at this stage is calling for a return to first past the post - which does show that we have at least matured a little. John Key has said he likes the idea of Supplementary Member (SM) and I must admit I'm reasonably partial to that system in the New Zealand context. SM is similar to MMP in that you have two votes - one for the candidate you prefer in your electorate, and the other for your favourite party, however, under SM the party vote doesn't determine the make up of the whole house, only the list seats. Basically what this does is put more emphasis on winning electorates - which I like.
But what would have happened had we had SM since 96 instead of MMP? Well honestly the actual result wouldn't have been too different. 1996 and 1999 the results would have been similar, 2002, Labour would have easily governed alone and 05 would have been about the same as follows: (the standard has the 2008 example - Nats govern alone)
The way I see it though, is that we could basically achieve the same thing by making a few alterations to MMP instead of changing system entirely. The one seat threshold (where a party gets its party vote allocation if it wins one electorate) could be raised to something more akin to the German system like 3 seats - so parties like ACT can't just leverage off one electorate seat and have disproportionate influence. I would also go back to the Royal Commission's original recommendation of a 4 per cent threshold on the party vote.
Also, why not remove the safety net of the list? So you either stand as a list or an electorate candidate. This would mean the hacks that get rejected by their electorate are truly gone. It would also serve to rid us of the lazy attitude so many current list MPs who once held electorates took to their local constituencies - they would either lose and be gone, or stand aside and let someone who really wants to represent a particular constituency have a go.
As I said late last year, I think Labour reconnecting at a local level has to be the number 1 priority for this early part of opposition. I think we should stick with MMP for a while yet but there are potentially some real positives that could come from reforming it - both by halting a lot of the wagging of the dog by minor parties, but also by pushing MPs to stay in touch with their constituencies. By just making a few tweaks and balancing things a bit better we could actually come up with a system that satisfies most of us.
Positively Musical
Big news today that Acca Dacca are coming back for the first time in ages to play Auckland and Wellington in January - yus!
It will be ACDC's first NZ concert in 14 years - I really can't wait!
I loved this bit of the Stuff article, talking about the new vocalist -
By the time of the Auckland concert - Bon Scott will have been dead for 30 years FFS.
In other news - Wilco have a new album on the way which is all very exciting. I was a big fan of Sky Blue Sky and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and and to whet your appetite they have released a free download track on their site here. It's a cover of Woody Guthrie's The Jolly Banker - it's not actually on the new album but hey its free and awesome.
It will be ACDC's first NZ concert in 14 years - I really can't wait!
I loved this bit of the Stuff article, talking about the new vocalist -
"Tragedy struck the group in February 1980 when lead singer Bon Scott died but like true rockers the group continued making music. Scott was replaced by Brian Johnson, who helped complete their album Back in Black which featured singles Hells Bells and You Shook Me All Night Long and has sold more than 22 million copies in the US alone."
By the time of the Auckland concert - Bon Scott will have been dead for 30 years FFS.
In other news - Wilco have a new album on the way which is all very exciting. I was a big fan of Sky Blue Sky and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and and to whet your appetite they have released a free download track on their site here. It's a cover of Woody Guthrie's The Jolly Banker - it's not actually on the new album but hey its free and awesome.
Saturday, May 09, 2009
It's a small world after all
So I somehow ended up with two spare tickets to the Steve Coogan (Alan Partridge) show tomorrow night and I decided to chuck them on Trade Me. Now I had never actually bought or sold anything on Trade me so I wasn't entirely sure of what I was up to.
Anyway, so the auction happened, reserve was met etc etc and then I get an email telling me what the successful bidder's email is and how to contact her...
Turns out I recognise the name of the bidder... she's only my cousin who lives about 5 minutes away from my place.
Honestly, what are the chances?
On the plus side - at least since I had never bought or sold anything prior to this, there were no dodgy purchases to be seen by said family member in my purchase history...
Anyway, so the auction happened, reserve was met etc etc and then I get an email telling me what the successful bidder's email is and how to contact her...
Turns out I recognise the name of the bidder... she's only my cousin who lives about 5 minutes away from my place.
Honestly, what are the chances?
On the plus side - at least since I had never bought or sold anything prior to this, there were no dodgy purchases to be seen by said family member in my purchase history...
Friday, May 08, 2009
The Terminator Paradox
Time travel in films always messes with my mind. I think I over analyse it a bit - but it really never makes sense to me. Take The Terminator for example - Kyle Reese is sent back to the past by the resistance movement to protect Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), who will later give birth to the leader of the resistance, John Connor, from the T800 aka Arnie. But while Reese is back in the past he fathers John Connor when he gets it on with Sarah Connor... which means that if the machines hadn't sent the T800 to kill Sarah Connor (and stop John Connor being born) in the first place, then Reese wouldn't have been sent back and John Connor would not have been conceived... The Terminator Paradox.
On that note, tonight I watched the new Star Trek flick - its a pretty good watch, there are a few too many cheap gags in the form of comic relief (not quite Jarjar but still) and actors like Simon Pegg (Scotty), John Cho (Sulu) and Karl Urban (Bones) are all way underutilised to the point that Pegg basically is just comic relief late in the film. But anyway again it was the time travel that pissed me off here - I won't ruin what happens, but basically when you think about it the story doesnt make sense and Uhura's line that it's a new alternative reality - which supposedly explains everything is as bad as god botherers saying the lord works in mysterious ways. Like Spock, I just need a little more logic.
Oh and PS for Home and Away fans (don't lie you know you love the omnibus) Kim (or Keeeeeem as it was pronounced on the show) plays Kirk's old man. Oh and the dude that plays Chekov in Star Trek, also plays Kyle Reese in the new Terminator film.
Live long and prosper.
On that note, tonight I watched the new Star Trek flick - its a pretty good watch, there are a few too many cheap gags in the form of comic relief (not quite Jarjar but still) and actors like Simon Pegg (Scotty), John Cho (Sulu) and Karl Urban (Bones) are all way underutilised to the point that Pegg basically is just comic relief late in the film. But anyway again it was the time travel that pissed me off here - I won't ruin what happens, but basically when you think about it the story doesnt make sense and Uhura's line that it's a new alternative reality - which supposedly explains everything is as bad as god botherers saying the lord works in mysterious ways. Like Spock, I just need a little more logic.
Oh and PS for Home and Away fans (don't lie you know you love the omnibus) Kim (or Keeeeeem as it was pronounced on the show) plays Kirk's old man. Oh and the dude that plays Chekov in Star Trek, also plays Kyle Reese in the new Terminator film.
Live long and prosper.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Ugandan coup at UN
Great timing by the Onion to take the piss out of the UN right now huh.
Ugandan ambassador carries out a coup on the UN - who knows what he will do with all those powers at his finger tips??
Ugandan ambassador carries out a coup on the UN - who knows what he will do with all those powers at his finger tips??
Monday, May 04, 2009
Planet black guy
I got told the other day that I'm a merchant of doom and gloom when it comes to the Labour party. So I thought - maybe I should be positive an put forward yet another idea for what Labour should be doing and offer up RNC Chairman, Michael Steele's approach for the Republicans in opposition.
As he says - it's beyond the cutting edge! It's all about taking their principles into "urban-suburban hip-hop settings." In his latest outing he talks about how he wears his caps backwards - apparently that's how he rolls...
More video below of Rachel Maddow and Melissa Harris Lacewell of Princeton analysing this... and taking the piss obviously.
I think Goff needs to show a little Steele and go beyond the cutting edge to Planet Black guy - it's bound to work, right?
As he says - it's beyond the cutting edge! It's all about taking their principles into "urban-suburban hip-hop settings." In his latest outing he talks about how he wears his caps backwards - apparently that's how he rolls...
More video below of Rachel Maddow and Melissa Harris Lacewell of Princeton analysing this... and taking the piss obviously.
I think Goff needs to show a little Steele and go beyond the cutting edge to Planet Black guy - it's bound to work, right?
Rock n Roll, Orphans and a bit of war
So during my temporary blogging hibernation it wasn't all work and beer, although there were unhealthy amounts of both, there were also several films.
First off we had The Boat that Rocked - now most of the reviews I read didn't rate it, but frankly I think they were looking for a bit much, it was like they were after something like 24 Hour Party People. It follows the goings on of a fictional pirate radio station off the coast of England and the government's attempts to shut it down. Anyway I thought the boat did indeed rock and while the ending is a little hammy there are some hilarious bits along the way and it features a stunning ensemble cast including Rhys Ifans, Bill Nighy, Ken Branagh, Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz), Rhys Darby (Murray) and the man himself - PSH, Philip Seymour Hoffman. I was looking for a few laughs and a decent distraction when I saw it, and it didnt disappoint - Nick Frost's character's description of the time he got diarrhea during sex almost had me in tears!
Next up we had Defiance, the true story of the Belorussian jewish family, the Bielski's during the war and how they fought back against the invading Nazis and saved 1200 fellow jews by setting up several camps in the forest. It's a harrowing story and the cast again is the real strength here with Daniel Craig playing the eldest brother and leader, Tuvia, the under-rated but excellent Liev Schreiber as Zus and Jamie "Billy Elliot" Bell as the youngest brother Asael.
Unfortunately the film is let down by some of the writing and directing - with too many blunt rushed scenes that feel like they've been dropped in to tell you things that they'd forgotten to mention, along with crude passages of dialogue with some lines that are on the verge of being laughable. But on the whole its a worthy film and as I said the performances carry it through, but I can't help but think that with a little more polish it could have been so much better.
Finally the last film I wanted to mention was Spanish ghostly horror tale The Orphanage. Its the story of a woman, Laura, who grew up in an orphanage and who later moves back there as an adult with her family to set up a special school. Along the way her son inadvertently welcomes a few dormant spirits back and then himself goes missing. Ultimately its more sad than scary as it follows Laura attempting to unravel what has happened firstly by dealing with the Police and psychologists and then by trying to communicate directly with the spirits. I won't spoil it but the ending is pretty shocking and given Guillermo Del Toro's involvement as producer, also quite graphic.
First off we had The Boat that Rocked - now most of the reviews I read didn't rate it, but frankly I think they were looking for a bit much, it was like they were after something like 24 Hour Party People. It follows the goings on of a fictional pirate radio station off the coast of England and the government's attempts to shut it down. Anyway I thought the boat did indeed rock and while the ending is a little hammy there are some hilarious bits along the way and it features a stunning ensemble cast including Rhys Ifans, Bill Nighy, Ken Branagh, Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz), Rhys Darby (Murray) and the man himself - PSH, Philip Seymour Hoffman. I was looking for a few laughs and a decent distraction when I saw it, and it didnt disappoint - Nick Frost's character's description of the time he got diarrhea during sex almost had me in tears!
Next up we had Defiance, the true story of the Belorussian jewish family, the Bielski's during the war and how they fought back against the invading Nazis and saved 1200 fellow jews by setting up several camps in the forest. It's a harrowing story and the cast again is the real strength here with Daniel Craig playing the eldest brother and leader, Tuvia, the under-rated but excellent Liev Schreiber as Zus and Jamie "Billy Elliot" Bell as the youngest brother Asael.
Unfortunately the film is let down by some of the writing and directing - with too many blunt rushed scenes that feel like they've been dropped in to tell you things that they'd forgotten to mention, along with crude passages of dialogue with some lines that are on the verge of being laughable. But on the whole its a worthy film and as I said the performances carry it through, but I can't help but think that with a little more polish it could have been so much better.
Finally the last film I wanted to mention was Spanish ghostly horror tale The Orphanage. Its the story of a woman, Laura, who grew up in an orphanage and who later moves back there as an adult with her family to set up a special school. Along the way her son inadvertently welcomes a few dormant spirits back and then himself goes missing. Ultimately its more sad than scary as it follows Laura attempting to unravel what has happened firstly by dealing with the Police and psychologists and then by trying to communicate directly with the spirits. I won't spoil it but the ending is pretty shocking and given Guillermo Del Toro's involvement as producer, also quite graphic.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
In Transit
Over the past few weeks I had been wondering what the Council and Sculpture Trust were constructing on Karo Drive (the bypass). Initially I was a little worried that it would be yet another kinetic wind sculpture... but I'm really not sure about what is going up - it looks a little too shantytownish for my liking.
Don't get me wrong - i'm loving most of the works put up by the trust since it came about in the 1980s - so many have become icons of Wellington (the fern ball, albatross fountain, sky blues (the neon lights), Per Capita (the silhouette one) and so on), but this one looks like it should have one of those wacky sign things where you poke your head through a hole and get your photo taken, or some stocks.
I'll reserve judgement till we see the final thing - I really do hope it works.
Don't get me wrong - i'm loving most of the works put up by the trust since it came about in the 1980s - so many have become icons of Wellington (the fern ball, albatross fountain, sky blues (the neon lights), Per Capita (the silhouette one) and so on), but this one looks like it should have one of those wacky sign things where you poke your head through a hole and get your photo taken, or some stocks.
I'll reserve judgement till we see the final thing - I really do hope it works.
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