Friday, December 10, 2010
it's week 9 of term 4
so anne tolley...current minister for education...why, if i only work 9-3 and have so many holidays, am i still working a full 6 hour day on a saturday?...please explain.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
cos i've seen...
...blue skies, through the tears in my eyes...
here are my reflections on the latest installment of RH (no P for the stage version) S.
while i do enjoy my boys big and brown...i prefer my frank n' furters to be a bit less muscly and a bit more camp.
having said that...they could all sing and they all performed more than adequately. the costumes were great, the set was simple and the transylvanians who moved the stuff around were funny.
i'm with the dompost reviewer though (sorry can't find the link) and was a bit bemused by the ladder thingy going on. don't think this show needed a gimmick...it had richard o'brien. that was enough.
ah...our richard...what can i say. loved the denim tuxedo. he did a nice job...not that he had to do much...he's richard o'brien. and sure, he's a one hit wonder...but what a hit... and i know he's not the best of singers...but i'm going to forgive him that...he's richard o'brien.
i enjoyed it, but it was all over too soon (it is after all only 2 hours and 5 minutes long...and that included a 20 minute interval).
the encore was great. i am not among the (i'd like to think few but really) many who can say they've done the timewarp with richard o'brien. he received a fantastic welcome. and despite the government's best efforts to keep him out i'm glad he came back. he makes me almost nearly get over missing rob muldoon as the narrator cos i think he went and died or something (can't remember but check out the wiki link here and go down to the 80s bit...russell crowe was in it and steve from shortland street) and we ended up with john banas as the narrator and not even the better super sub billy t.
and he proves that there is at least one interesting thing to come out of hamilton (apart from our dan).
here are my reflections on the latest installment of RH (no P for the stage version) S.
while i do enjoy my boys big and brown...i prefer my frank n' furters to be a bit less muscly and a bit more camp.
having said that...they could all sing and they all performed more than adequately. the costumes were great, the set was simple and the transylvanians who moved the stuff around were funny.
i'm with the dompost reviewer though (sorry can't find the link) and was a bit bemused by the ladder thingy going on. don't think this show needed a gimmick...it had richard o'brien. that was enough.
ah...our richard...what can i say. loved the denim tuxedo. he did a nice job...not that he had to do much...he's richard o'brien. and sure, he's a one hit wonder...but what a hit... and i know he's not the best of singers...but i'm going to forgive him that...he's richard o'brien.
i enjoyed it, but it was all over too soon (it is after all only 2 hours and 5 minutes long...and that included a 20 minute interval).
the encore was great. i am not among the (i'd like to think few but really) many who can say they've done the timewarp with richard o'brien. he received a fantastic welcome. and despite the government's best efforts to keep him out i'm glad he came back. he makes me almost nearly get over missing rob muldoon as the narrator cos i think he went and died or something (can't remember but check out the wiki link here and go down to the 80s bit...russell crowe was in it and steve from shortland street) and we ended up with john banas as the narrator and not even the better super sub billy t.
and he proves that there is at least one interesting thing to come out of hamilton (apart from our dan).
Saturday, November 13, 2010
long time no see...
this interweb thing is truly amazing. via message boards i have found out things about family members that i didn't know about and i have known them my whole life, even lived in the same house as them on and off for about 25 years! and since this information has been published on the internet it must be true. who'd a thunk it!
Friday, October 8, 2010
musings upon the comm games
who is sick of advance australia fair?...i know the tune is way better than our national anthem but guys…too many golds already…
we have at least four tin medals. i think tin should be a legitimate medal…we won enough at the last games (19 from memory).
we so need a new flag. when one is peering at the telly it needs to be more clearer and less subtle than a slightly different blue that it is not in fact ‘those bloody aussies’
gymnastics…boys..great muscles…girls…way too much glitter
aussie cycling uniforms…sweat has been unfriendly to you..or at least the illusion of sweat… it looks like you have rampant and out of control pubes…just an observation
and wrestling…how homoerotic is it?...’nuff said me thinks
john macbeth (mcbeth…unsure of spelling and who really cares apart from him)…commentating on the swumming…new zild accunt rules…and i quote…it’s the swum team…really, past tense?
my bro had it right…cyclists are mormons in lycra…i like it
dear paul henry…there are two members of the gymnastics team who may not be ‘real’ new zealanders. one has a slavic sounding name and the other looks a bit asian…and the coach doesn’t look like a new zealander either
still on gymnastics…a japanese handstand?...seems to be flavour of the month. back in my days of being a gymnast it was a handstand…none of this wide arms nonsense…we were just straight up and down…whether we liked it or not. bring back the punch front
and on another note…the asian looking kiwi mentioned above did a proper handstand…i like him already!
and we are at 5 silver, 3 bronze and 4 tin…for those who are counting…
we have at least four tin medals. i think tin should be a legitimate medal…we won enough at the last games (19 from memory).
we so need a new flag. when one is peering at the telly it needs to be more clearer and less subtle than a slightly different blue that it is not in fact ‘those bloody aussies’
gymnastics…boys..great muscles…girls…way too much glitter
aussie cycling uniforms…sweat has been unfriendly to you..or at least the illusion of sweat… it looks like you have rampant and out of control pubes…just an observation
and wrestling…how homoerotic is it?...’nuff said me thinks
john macbeth (mcbeth…unsure of spelling and who really cares apart from him)…commentating on the swumming…new zild accunt rules…and i quote…it’s the swum team…really, past tense?
my bro had it right…cyclists are mormons in lycra…i like it
dear paul henry…there are two members of the gymnastics team who may not be ‘real’ new zealanders. one has a slavic sounding name and the other looks a bit asian…and the coach doesn’t look like a new zealander either
still on gymnastics…a japanese handstand?...seems to be flavour of the month. back in my days of being a gymnast it was a handstand…none of this wide arms nonsense…we were just straight up and down…whether we liked it or not. bring back the punch front
and on another note…the asian looking kiwi mentioned above did a proper handstand…i like him already!
and we are at 5 silver, 3 bronze and 4 tin…for those who are counting…
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
you have spoiled me
the best coffee ever...no argument...i will spread your message far and wide (context...i have barely survived the last four days with bad coffee...bad bad coffee...rotovegas...you need to sort out your coffee, and everywhere else i've visited, and this includes foreign climes)
Sunday, September 19, 2010
last night I considered building an ark
we were in the grips of a fierce storm which decided to schedule itself when i had to drive up-country. i was staying at a place i haven’t been before and should have been fairly easy to spot due to the fucking big sign posted. but i missed it. i drove a couple of clicks up the road to the lake alice turn off. then had to double back in sideways rain. not pleasant.
i had a moment of nostalgia though cos my paternal great-grandfather was confined to the lake alice psychiatric institution (now closed down) when it was decided that he and my great-grandmother needed to be separated because she had some sort of medical condition (which at under 10 i was not privy to and was possibly just old age). he was mentally normal but there was nowhere to put him in the late 70s/early 80s nz that could cope with someone separated from the love of their life and not brought up to cook and clean for themself as the men of the time weren’t. they went from their mother’s care to their wife’s care..it was just how it was.
anyway. finally found my way to marton and my bed for the night despite the sideways rain. when i eventually got to said bed i was confused. now, i live in ‘windy’ wellington and palmerston north, which was where i was staying by day, is actually far windier than wellington but welly always gets the bad rap. the reason why i was confused was due to arriving in the dark and not actually being able to visualise my surroundings as i had never seen them in the clear light of day. there was a stand of trees outside my boudoir. the wind whistling through them sounded like the rain i hear on my roof back home so i was confused as to which sound was only wind and which was wind AND rain.
the first night was loud. the second was also so. on the first night i knew i must of slept cos i dreamed. i dreamed of flooding. the second night i also must of slept cos i dreamed about building an ark…in between being aware of maybe actually building one. i know i was awake cos the budgie in the next room screamed the whole night. it (i never asked its name or gender cos it was only being baby sat) seemed to be distressed by the storm and then rarked up the cockatoo which also began screaming for attention. in my experience it has learned to scream at approximately 7am and is a good alarm clock (on a weekday…no weekend sleep in allowed it seems). i also never knew its name or gender. in between that and the yelling lambs (i’m pretty sure I’m a true blue townie despite having visited a farm in hawera (or hara according to the locals) cos i was awoken by that too) many times in my formative years (my first ciggie was inhaled in the hay shed on said farm, not the most appropriate place i know).
on the second night there was much rain. in fact there was rain then nothing then more rain. this makes me think it was a hurricane. i made note of this between ‘sleeping’. i was woken by rain. then i was woken by not rain. and then again by rain. so. storm (build an ark). not storm (everything’s alright…JCSS reference). storm (build an ark).
on the journey home I was tailed by a police officer. i love driving but this was the most stressful piece of driving i’ve ever done. (bucket required for the next part). i have never received a fine for anything. i anally stick to the speed limit and the road rules much to the chagrin of people i know and the other drivers who like to break the law. so to be tailed by a cop for at least half an hour was not a thing i enjoyed even though i was very careful to not put a foot wrong. i was very pleased when he decided to break the speed limit and overtake me. however, approximately five minutes after tailing him (slightly less stressful cos he could now dictate the speed at which we travelled) he pulled over suddenly and i had to overtake him again. then to add insult to injury he turned on his lights as another two cars passed him. i hadn’t done anything wrong so i was ok. but now i wanted to know who he had pinged. since it occurred at the top of a rise and i was now at the bottom i never saw.
lastly. the storm first made its appearance at school on friday afternoon . i was in the gym with 60 students. they screamed at the flashes and bangs. i love thunderstorms so i was ok. it was loud and i wanted to preserve my hearing (family history of deafness and all) so with five minutes until lunch and a break in the weather i decided to take all the children back to their classrooms. when we were walking back to said classrooms there was more lightning. in nz we usually get sheet lightning. therefore i was blown away by the forked lightning bolt that descended from on high and hit the ground about 150 metres away from me (well that’s what it looked like). one of my students said he was going to come back over the weekend and see if there was a burned patch. i’ll ask him about that tomorrow. that was the best piece of lightning i’ve ever seen in nz. the production dress rehearsal was cancelled so we watched billy t and then played games. a good friday all round.
this has been a long post so laters.
i had a moment of nostalgia though cos my paternal great-grandfather was confined to the lake alice psychiatric institution (now closed down) when it was decided that he and my great-grandmother needed to be separated because she had some sort of medical condition (which at under 10 i was not privy to and was possibly just old age). he was mentally normal but there was nowhere to put him in the late 70s/early 80s nz that could cope with someone separated from the love of their life and not brought up to cook and clean for themself as the men of the time weren’t. they went from their mother’s care to their wife’s care..it was just how it was.
anyway. finally found my way to marton and my bed for the night despite the sideways rain. when i eventually got to said bed i was confused. now, i live in ‘windy’ wellington and palmerston north, which was where i was staying by day, is actually far windier than wellington but welly always gets the bad rap. the reason why i was confused was due to arriving in the dark and not actually being able to visualise my surroundings as i had never seen them in the clear light of day. there was a stand of trees outside my boudoir. the wind whistling through them sounded like the rain i hear on my roof back home so i was confused as to which sound was only wind and which was wind AND rain.
the first night was loud. the second was also so. on the first night i knew i must of slept cos i dreamed. i dreamed of flooding. the second night i also must of slept cos i dreamed about building an ark…in between being aware of maybe actually building one. i know i was awake cos the budgie in the next room screamed the whole night. it (i never asked its name or gender cos it was only being baby sat) seemed to be distressed by the storm and then rarked up the cockatoo which also began screaming for attention. in my experience it has learned to scream at approximately 7am and is a good alarm clock (on a weekday…no weekend sleep in allowed it seems). i also never knew its name or gender. in between that and the yelling lambs (i’m pretty sure I’m a true blue townie despite having visited a farm in hawera (or hara according to the locals) cos i was awoken by that too) many times in my formative years (my first ciggie was inhaled in the hay shed on said farm, not the most appropriate place i know).
on the second night there was much rain. in fact there was rain then nothing then more rain. this makes me think it was a hurricane. i made note of this between ‘sleeping’. i was woken by rain. then i was woken by not rain. and then again by rain. so. storm (build an ark). not storm (everything’s alright…JCSS reference). storm (build an ark).
on the journey home I was tailed by a police officer. i love driving but this was the most stressful piece of driving i’ve ever done. (bucket required for the next part). i have never received a fine for anything. i anally stick to the speed limit and the road rules much to the chagrin of people i know and the other drivers who like to break the law. so to be tailed by a cop for at least half an hour was not a thing i enjoyed even though i was very careful to not put a foot wrong. i was very pleased when he decided to break the speed limit and overtake me. however, approximately five minutes after tailing him (slightly less stressful cos he could now dictate the speed at which we travelled) he pulled over suddenly and i had to overtake him again. then to add insult to injury he turned on his lights as another two cars passed him. i hadn’t done anything wrong so i was ok. but now i wanted to know who he had pinged. since it occurred at the top of a rise and i was now at the bottom i never saw.
lastly. the storm first made its appearance at school on friday afternoon . i was in the gym with 60 students. they screamed at the flashes and bangs. i love thunderstorms so i was ok. it was loud and i wanted to preserve my hearing (family history of deafness and all) so with five minutes until lunch and a break in the weather i decided to take all the children back to their classrooms. when we were walking back to said classrooms there was more lightning. in nz we usually get sheet lightning. therefore i was blown away by the forked lightning bolt that descended from on high and hit the ground about 150 metres away from me (well that’s what it looked like). one of my students said he was going to come back over the weekend and see if there was a burned patch. i’ll ask him about that tomorrow. that was the best piece of lightning i’ve ever seen in nz. the production dress rehearsal was cancelled so we watched billy t and then played games. a good friday all round.
this has been a long post so laters.
Sunday, September 5, 2010
random thoughts and yeah
not very exciting i'm afraid (unless i get told otherwise).
i have my own back up singer...i am really enjoying one of my year 8 boys...i break into song (which i do at every opportunity) and he joins in...he rocks and improves my street cred.
what is it with saying like every second word...it's not like we're all like valley girls...like get over it already.
christchurch has an earthquake that destroys a lot of stuff...huh?...it wasn't meant to happen there...and the only fatality was a lemur...my thoughts go out to the lemur's keepers. still not sure i believe it. and i've seen the all days news broadcast and all.
i saw at least two dead seagulls on the motorway today in the same area. one was still anatomically correct so was probably fresh...it was less so when i drove past it 6 hours later. but i thought (the first time through)...if seagulls eat their own when they are roadkill...does that make them cannibals? which links in to my most favourite outrageous fortune sequence from last week's episode...ted's missis (whose name i forget)...i love a good piece of lamb; loretta...if you're mutton, does that make you a cannibal?...a great line from an unusually disappointing episode.
i have my own back up singer...i am really enjoying one of my year 8 boys...i break into song (which i do at every opportunity) and he joins in...he rocks and improves my street cred.
what is it with saying like every second word...it's not like we're all like valley girls...like get over it already.
christchurch has an earthquake that destroys a lot of stuff...huh?...it wasn't meant to happen there...and the only fatality was a lemur...my thoughts go out to the lemur's keepers. still not sure i believe it. and i've seen the all days news broadcast and all.
i saw at least two dead seagulls on the motorway today in the same area. one was still anatomically correct so was probably fresh...it was less so when i drove past it 6 hours later. but i thought (the first time through)...if seagulls eat their own when they are roadkill...does that make them cannibals? which links in to my most favourite outrageous fortune sequence from last week's episode...ted's missis (whose name i forget)...i love a good piece of lamb; loretta...if you're mutton, does that make you a cannibal?...a great line from an unusually disappointing episode.
Monday, August 30, 2010
i like my students
i think they may actually understand me and some weird shit i do.
here is my evidence. they loved the original 'under the mountain' and i doubted they would. they watched it and enjoyed it and picked up some of the culture. and are now making some connections.
today we watched some billy t james and fred dagg stuff on youtube (cos i very carefully left the dvds i'd borrowed off my dad at home). one of my boys was putting in requests. he's seen all the billy t stuff and loved it and was asking for it. we're studying nz and nz icons. i told the boss we were looking at fred dagg and billy t today. she said i hope you're looking at more than the humour. well to you...of course...cos i know how to baffle you on that stuff...but really, just the entertainment value with a bit of social commentary for added value.
i'm sure they didn't get the same out of it that i did, having lived through that nz era. i will be asking them whether they liked it and what they like and 'get' about it. that comedy is simple and subtle and does not employ any foul language. i hope they recognise and appreciate that.
and on a side note. i've had a kid dumped on me that has been kicked out of two other classes. someone told me to put him to the side and forget about him (but i expect no more from this dinosaur). another refuses to believe that he can change and be 'normal'. he may prove them right in the end but i'm prepared to give him a chance and have seen changes. what is really scary is the two that doubt him are in positions of power. now i know that they've had to deal with his bad behaviour and are probably a bit sick of him. what irks is one writes most of the naughty brown students off (and blames their families for it and will not try to find out why or empathise) and the other knows all the stuff (having nearly completed a masters in leadership) and doesn't practise it...grrr...
here is my evidence. they loved the original 'under the mountain' and i doubted they would. they watched it and enjoyed it and picked up some of the culture. and are now making some connections.
today we watched some billy t james and fred dagg stuff on youtube (cos i very carefully left the dvds i'd borrowed off my dad at home). one of my boys was putting in requests. he's seen all the billy t stuff and loved it and was asking for it. we're studying nz and nz icons. i told the boss we were looking at fred dagg and billy t today. she said i hope you're looking at more than the humour. well to you...of course...cos i know how to baffle you on that stuff...but really, just the entertainment value with a bit of social commentary for added value.
i'm sure they didn't get the same out of it that i did, having lived through that nz era. i will be asking them whether they liked it and what they like and 'get' about it. that comedy is simple and subtle and does not employ any foul language. i hope they recognise and appreciate that.
and on a side note. i've had a kid dumped on me that has been kicked out of two other classes. someone told me to put him to the side and forget about him (but i expect no more from this dinosaur). another refuses to believe that he can change and be 'normal'. he may prove them right in the end but i'm prepared to give him a chance and have seen changes. what is really scary is the two that doubt him are in positions of power. now i know that they've had to deal with his bad behaviour and are probably a bit sick of him. what irks is one writes most of the naughty brown students off (and blames their families for it and will not try to find out why or empathise) and the other knows all the stuff (having nearly completed a masters in leadership) and doesn't practise it...grrr...
Friday, August 13, 2010
green jello (jelly) doesn't really suck
i'm thinking they really were ahead of their time and i was too young to appreciate them. and if anyone has the album (and i know plunge has it, not that he's likely to read this) i'd like a copy for my ipod...little pig little pig is on you tube if you want to check it out...i like it...but then i'm a bogan metal fan...not the smartest of music i know...but a strong guitar and bass line gets me very time.
and metal versions of common nursery rhymes, that the parentals read to us (if they were literate) can't be all bad surely.
and metal versions of common nursery rhymes, that the parentals read to us (if they were literate) can't be all bad surely.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
i love queen
the band that is. i also think that brian may wrote the best songs. here are the words to one of my faves (you can substitute he for she and it doesn't change the meaning i think).
I love
She makes me
She is my heart
She is my love
She is my love
I know
I'm jealous of her
She makes me need
She is my love
She is my love
Who knows who she'll make me
As I lie in her cocoon
And the world will surely heal my ills
I'm warm and terrified
She makes me so
I know the day I leave her
I'll love her still
She is my love
She is my love
Who knows where my dreams will end
I'll follow as they grow
But the world will know how long I'll take
And if I'm very slow she makes me so
She is my love
She is my love
And i'm not getting soppy in my old age. i've loved this song since i first heard it a long time ago.
I love
She makes me
She is my heart
She is my love
She is my love
I know
I'm jealous of her
She makes me need
She is my love
She is my love
Who knows who she'll make me
As I lie in her cocoon
And the world will surely heal my ills
I'm warm and terrified
She makes me so
I know the day I leave her
I'll love her still
She is my love
She is my love
Who knows where my dreams will end
I'll follow as they grow
But the world will know how long I'll take
And if I'm very slow she makes me so
She is my love
She is my love
And i'm not getting soppy in my old age. i've loved this song since i first heard it a long time ago.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
jumped the shark
for those of you that don't know...jumping the shark is a reference to when seemingly good shows go bad. it was named from when the fonz literally jumped the shark. please note that he is still wearing his leather jacket and that ron howard still has hair. that was when it was decided that the show had gone bad. it is a seriously stupid episode and what were they thinking...but now it falls into the it's so bad it's now good category. upon trying to locate the jump the shark website i find it has now itself jumped the shark. you used to be able to peruse its vast collection of programmes and find when each and every one had jumped the shark (in the author's opinions) and now it seems you cannot.
anyhoo...the point of this treatise...and there is a point, believe it or not, but last night on shorty a league character called sonny bellville appeared. is it co-incidence that his name is similar to another ex-league player now featuring semi-heavily in our sports news?...or am i just being a conspiracy theorist?
and how many times has shorty 'jumped the shark'?...at least ted mcginley hasn't appeared in it...yet...
anyhoo...the point of this treatise...and there is a point, believe it or not, but last night on shorty a league character called sonny bellville appeared. is it co-incidence that his name is similar to another ex-league player now featuring semi-heavily in our sports news?...or am i just being a conspiracy theorist?
and how many times has shorty 'jumped the shark'?...at least ted mcginley hasn't appeared in it...yet...
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
my favourite word
here's what wiki says about my favourite word.
and check out the fulcher reference part of it...poetry.
and check out the fulcher reference part of it...poetry.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
it's been a while
what have i been up to? not much...it's still same old same old and since the only person who added my blog to her list is in hiatus i guess i'm back to where i was...no one reads me. meh, whatever. this thing may be here for my own ego anyway.
so, what's the haps?...not much. got my master's. did choir school. survived the 11 week term. i think i now no longer care what my boss thinks...what's she gonna do?...fire me...yeah right.
i do have one concern. a friend of a friend has a blog. she's an english teacher. she has spelling errors in it. should i be concerned? i am in despair about the standard of our english and i will not accept text speak. that is not negotiable.
so, what's the haps?...not much. got my master's. did choir school. survived the 11 week term. i think i now no longer care what my boss thinks...what's she gonna do?...fire me...yeah right.
i do have one concern. a friend of a friend has a blog. she's an english teacher. she has spelling errors in it. should i be concerned? i am in despair about the standard of our english and i will not accept text speak. that is not negotiable.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
11 weeks is too long
this term has been hell and there are two this long next year!
i'm picking that the near on 6 weeks of rain we had didn't help either.
weird things have happened over the last couple of days but i'm not sure if it's due to 11 weeks or not. one of my boys got shot by a high school kid on his way to school. it was only a BB gun but still. i think he got a bit upset when i reported it. the high school kid, who was one of our ex students and actually a good kid, was stood down. the police were informed but nothing has come of it yet.
yesterday my class watched while three high school kids tagged the back of their classrooms. we reported it and no one went out to do anything...they had a good 15 minutes to do something about it. by the time we went inside there were 6 of them out there.
and in the afternoon one of my girls got beaten up on her way home from school. fun times!
on another note, apparently the burglars leave post-it notes on your door saying you have a parcel to pick up. they leave you a number to call and give details to. several of my neighbours got one but i didn't. i guess i don't have the good stuff in my house.
roll on tomorrow 2.45pm!
i'm picking that the near on 6 weeks of rain we had didn't help either.
weird things have happened over the last couple of days but i'm not sure if it's due to 11 weeks or not. one of my boys got shot by a high school kid on his way to school. it was only a BB gun but still. i think he got a bit upset when i reported it. the high school kid, who was one of our ex students and actually a good kid, was stood down. the police were informed but nothing has come of it yet.
yesterday my class watched while three high school kids tagged the back of their classrooms. we reported it and no one went out to do anything...they had a good 15 minutes to do something about it. by the time we went inside there were 6 of them out there.
and in the afternoon one of my girls got beaten up on her way home from school. fun times!
on another note, apparently the burglars leave post-it notes on your door saying you have a parcel to pick up. they leave you a number to call and give details to. several of my neighbours got one but i didn't. i guess i don't have the good stuff in my house.
roll on tomorrow 2.45pm!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Saturday, June 19, 2010
i just washed my gym gear
and that's the most exciting thing i've done all week... how sad is that?...one day i'll publish the list of banned words on my 'plain language' report list.
oh...and just for the record...the new combat release sucks and tomorrow i'll do the new pump one providing terry has learned it...he hadn't learned the full combat new release. he is extremely lucky he's hot...
oh...and just for the record...the new combat release sucks and tomorrow i'll do the new pump one providing terry has learned it...he hadn't learned the full combat new release. he is extremely lucky he's hot...
Friday, May 21, 2010
the case for letting sleeping dogs lie (with apologies to the judge).
and pun intended.
we watched under the mountain today. and in my opinion…what a pile of crap!
spoilers may probably follow…you have been warned. I’m afraid I don’t have as much discretion as the judge. firstly. it was either way ahead of its time in 1982, or maurice gee was embracing the feminist revolution, but what was wrong with having rachel as the strong one? secondly. was it necessary to have a love interest for ricky? I mean please…he spent the whole movie trying to get his end away (and I was disappointed he didn’t die in the end, he was a dick). thirdly. wtf was it with mr jones? he was not very likeable at all.
I think watching the 80s series which stuck pretty closely to the book was wise in retrospect. now I know that there was way more time in a tv series to develop characters etc, but I think they departed too much from the story line. it was nearly unrecognisable as the same story.
one positive and one nice touch. I did like seeing the original mr wilberforce in the movie (I did hear the original theo and rachel were in the movie too but I must say I was not watching that closely). and it was interesting seeing the britomart in the opening part seeing as it was the same station that was in the original…just a bit flasher.
i think all of us preferred the original (shame they couldn't resurrect billy t. he was fantastic!).
we watched under the mountain today. and in my opinion…what a pile of crap!
spoilers may probably follow…you have been warned. I’m afraid I don’t have as much discretion as the judge. firstly. it was either way ahead of its time in 1982, or maurice gee was embracing the feminist revolution, but what was wrong with having rachel as the strong one? secondly. was it necessary to have a love interest for ricky? I mean please…he spent the whole movie trying to get his end away (and I was disappointed he didn’t die in the end, he was a dick). thirdly. wtf was it with mr jones? he was not very likeable at all.
I think watching the 80s series which stuck pretty closely to the book was wise in retrospect. now I know that there was way more time in a tv series to develop characters etc, but I think they departed too much from the story line. it was nearly unrecognisable as the same story.
one positive and one nice touch. I did like seeing the original mr wilberforce in the movie (I did hear the original theo and rachel were in the movie too but I must say I was not watching that closely). and it was interesting seeing the britomart in the opening part seeing as it was the same station that was in the original…just a bit flasher.
i think all of us preferred the original (shame they couldn't resurrect billy t. he was fantastic!).
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
ta hua ee la
well this is the spelling of the words i've been led to believe are true...i'm open to other interpretations.
this is the hawaiian war chant (please don't cringe at the english lyrics...they are not a translation, just a reflection of the times) and i'm discussing the muppets' version (google hawaiian war chant muppets). it rocks. and following on from my under the mountain thing my students liked it too, but for different reasons. for the reasons that i liked the muppets. they were entertaining and they were funny. but as an adult i realise that they were entertaining and funny and also decidedly subversive. i realised this while watching the vikings...who were pigs...literally for the muppets, figuratively in real life...singing in the navy. fabulous. and ironic. i'm tempted to buy the full muppets on dvd and just watch it. twice. once trying to recapture the youthful innocent love i had for it. and again to try to see what lies beneath. but i'm thinking that maybe i shouldn't bother with the second reason. just let the muppets be the muppets. funny and entertaining.
for the record, my favourite muppets are animal and beaker.
this is the hawaiian war chant (please don't cringe at the english lyrics...they are not a translation, just a reflection of the times) and i'm discussing the muppets' version (google hawaiian war chant muppets). it rocks. and following on from my under the mountain thing my students liked it too, but for different reasons. for the reasons that i liked the muppets. they were entertaining and they were funny. but as an adult i realise that they were entertaining and funny and also decidedly subversive. i realised this while watching the vikings...who were pigs...literally for the muppets, figuratively in real life...singing in the navy. fabulous. and ironic. i'm tempted to buy the full muppets on dvd and just watch it. twice. once trying to recapture the youthful innocent love i had for it. and again to try to see what lies beneath. but i'm thinking that maybe i shouldn't bother with the second reason. just let the muppets be the muppets. funny and entertaining.
for the record, my favourite muppets are animal and beaker.
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
happy non-mother's day...
...to all of us out there who are child-free either by choice or circumstance.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Saturday, May 1, 2010
we're watching under the mountain...
...80s stylz...and i can't believe how much my year 7s and 8s love it. we're reading the book and i was going to watch the new movie afterwards to do the old compare and contrast. i thought that the 1982 series would be too naff for them so didn't bother trying to find it. boy was i wrong. one of my boys got it out from the library and they were keen to see it. they think they're 'getting out of working' by watching it. little do they know they are actually doing some learning.
a few observations...the shirt slashed to the navel look is interesting in a show for children. and what is the difference between the short shorts they wore then and the ones they wear now? i guess calling them 'canterburys' makes them more appealing. i forgot that billy t james was the traffic cop. he was channelling eric estrada and doing a great chips impersonation (of course that was lost on today's youth). despite the special effects being 1982, the students still think they're cool. the acting is appalling (even compared with the actors on shorty st) and the accents are ever so slightly british sounding. auckland has no sky tower. there were a lot of vivas back in the day. i loved my viva.
one of my boys remarked that the twins just went with mr jones even though he seemed like a pervy old man (i can't blame them though, he was wearing his pants very high). in fact they asked if there was no stranger danger back then. i replied, in a quote from the show, that they should just tell a policeman. they also thought it was weird that another old man was following them round in a hearse. i remembered that my 11 year old self would have thought nothing of it. another reminder of how the times have changed.
we had an interesting discussion about how when this was made homosexuality was actually illegal (context...the weird driver dude for the wilberforces who is not mentioned in the book. the students wanted to know if they were gay because a wife is mentioned in the book but she hasn't been in the show yet). they wanted to know if they would go to a female prison if they were arrested (!). i explained no because they were still, in fact, men.
there are pauses for ad breaks. the ads have been removed. my class would have loved for the ads to still be in there so they could watch them. they have a point. the ads would have been fascinating for them to watch.
we're going to do a threeway now. compare and contrast the book with the series with the movie...(what were you thinking?)
a few observations...the shirt slashed to the navel look is interesting in a show for children. and what is the difference between the short shorts they wore then and the ones they wear now? i guess calling them 'canterburys' makes them more appealing. i forgot that billy t james was the traffic cop. he was channelling eric estrada and doing a great chips impersonation (of course that was lost on today's youth). despite the special effects being 1982, the students still think they're cool. the acting is appalling (even compared with the actors on shorty st) and the accents are ever so slightly british sounding. auckland has no sky tower. there were a lot of vivas back in the day. i loved my viva.
one of my boys remarked that the twins just went with mr jones even though he seemed like a pervy old man (i can't blame them though, he was wearing his pants very high). in fact they asked if there was no stranger danger back then. i replied, in a quote from the show, that they should just tell a policeman. they also thought it was weird that another old man was following them round in a hearse. i remembered that my 11 year old self would have thought nothing of it. another reminder of how the times have changed.
we had an interesting discussion about how when this was made homosexuality was actually illegal (context...the weird driver dude for the wilberforces who is not mentioned in the book. the students wanted to know if they were gay because a wife is mentioned in the book but she hasn't been in the show yet). they wanted to know if they would go to a female prison if they were arrested (!). i explained no because they were still, in fact, men.
there are pauses for ad breaks. the ads have been removed. my class would have loved for the ads to still be in there so they could watch them. they have a point. the ads would have been fascinating for them to watch.
we're going to do a threeway now. compare and contrast the book with the series with the movie...(what were you thinking?)
Saturday, April 17, 2010
a volcano erupts
and the world as we know it now implodes upon itself...cool...your thoughts please...
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
who'd have thought it
i've heard they are smelly...but deadly? they were laughing on the news about this...and i'm pleased i'm not the only one who found this story funny...and yes, i know this was serious...but really?
Sunday, April 4, 2010
i dreamed a dream
last night i dreamed i was batman. actually i dreamed i was bill murray being batman. robin williams played robin. consequently we were a crap crimefighting team. there were some good things however. the batmobile rocked. the process whereby our costumes were spraypainted on was great too. and i had a really hot girlfriend (as bill murray playing batman so in a completely non-gay way!). the batcycle was a piece of rubbish though. the toxic smoke button didn't work and as a consequence the little kids on the treadleys managed to catch up with me (loved the 80s video game influence here).
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
i should not watch ads
surely this is an unrealistic claim. how are we expected to believe that by buying your product a two year old can learn 'cause and effect' (that was the claim)? the product is a pretend flip-top mobile phone. and i'm sure the two year olds of today are no different from me when i was two. i didn't have a pretend flip-top mobile phone and i learned cause and effect well enough. are today's parents really sucked in by that mumbo jumbo? and i'll bet that product has a stupid price tag.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
just make up a word and hope no one notices...
...or just throw a big long one out and sound impressive. is moisturisation an actual word? i just heard it on an ad and i'm not convinced.
on another note and to pick up on a previous post and what a friend blogged...i love the kereru especially their white singlets (though if they were black they'd be even better), but just cos you have a big gun (mm hmm...) doesn't mean you should shoot something and then post it on the internet. sometimes boys are dumb...(but we still love you...goodness knows why!)
on another note and to pick up on a previous post and what a friend blogged...i love the kereru especially their white singlets (though if they were black they'd be even better), but just cos you have a big gun (mm hmm...) doesn't mean you should shoot something and then post it on the internet. sometimes boys are dumb...(but we still love you...goodness knows why!)
Friday, March 12, 2010
phil the greek
i quite like the royal family but i don't take them that seriously. wish they were as exciting as henry's lot. do you reckon the queen goes home and says... phil, honestly, today you made a dick of yourself? i'd like to think she does.
Friday, March 5, 2010
just because you have the right to...
...does it mean you have to? in the states they have the right to bear arms. but do they have to? it has been banned at sports games and some other stuff i can't remember. but why do you have to take your gun with you when buying the foul stuff they call coffee at starbuck's? i know why i would...but a poor coffee is not a reason to shoot someone.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
channel surfing
the other day i was channel surfing (as you do) and i happened to stumble upon TVNZ7 which shows retro stuff that we used to love, back when new zild was simple. i found 'a dog's show' which the husband of a friend has mentioned in his blog. there were two dogs that i was watching. one was called dick, the other peter. the farmer spent his time saying up dick, down dick, in dick, out dick...and then the same for peter. i think he saw the irony in his dogs' names.
speaking of dogs...three of my 12 year old boys are having a pissing contest to see who is top dog. it has lasted four weeks now. why do the rest of us have to suffer? and when will they realise that in my classroom i am top dog?
speaking of dogs...three of my 12 year old boys are having a pissing contest to see who is top dog. it has lasted four weeks now. why do the rest of us have to suffer? and when will they realise that in my classroom i am top dog?
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
a more few musings
is multiple personality disorder (or dissociative identity disorder, DID, cos we love acronyms) the new flavour of the month for american tv programmes? and i love tara and also loved sybil but i'm thinking lie to me, while a great show (especially now that mekhi phifer has been added, thanks wiki), is one step too far.
were the nz judges for masterchef picked to make donkey look good? their eccents are way more worser than his. is it ok to hate that the nz show is based in the aussie show? and anyway, who cares.
FB is being a shit at the moment. i hate that i've been sucked in...(showing your age statement alert...like the sybil one wasn't!...).. i remember the time before FB. it was a simpler time. we talked to each other. so if you've done anything interesting in the last few days, sorry i missed it. but seeing as the internet is forever i'm sure i'll catch up.
still hate the first day back. i'm hoping to recapture my title as meanest teacher ever. yesterday (day one) i had three year 8 boys on time out at morning tea and one at lunch. i gave the first detention of the year today. i don't want a repeat of last year's shit class for the whole year. i'm being a hard-ass.
my current least favourite word...cheftestant. a contestant in a cooking show. meh.
and on a positive note. assignment three handed in and 8,000 word lit review pretty much done. yay me!
were the nz judges for masterchef picked to make donkey look good? their eccents are way more worser than his. is it ok to hate that the nz show is based in the aussie show? and anyway, who cares.
FB is being a shit at the moment. i hate that i've been sucked in...(showing your age statement alert...like the sybil one wasn't!...).. i remember the time before FB. it was a simpler time. we talked to each other. so if you've done anything interesting in the last few days, sorry i missed it. but seeing as the internet is forever i'm sure i'll catch up.
still hate the first day back. i'm hoping to recapture my title as meanest teacher ever. yesterday (day one) i had three year 8 boys on time out at morning tea and one at lunch. i gave the first detention of the year today. i don't want a repeat of last year's shit class for the whole year. i'm being a hard-ass.
my current least favourite word...cheftestant. a contestant in a cooking show. meh.
and on a positive note. assignment three handed in and 8,000 word lit review pretty much done. yay me!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
more words of wisdom...
...from our great leader, aka donkey. apparently the media should be more careful with the pitchers (sic) they publish. i've always wanted to use that term by the way. at least helen, while manly sounding, was not as koiwoi with her eccent as he is. not sure if that is endearing or cringeworthy yet...i guess time will tell.
Monday, January 18, 2010
today was a shallow day
golden globes (and i don't mean fake norks, but i'm sure there were many of those on display). thanks to the miracle of sky I was able to watch said awards. I surfed them cos really they aren’t a must watch. stick insects in awful frocks…and that’s just the boys! here are some of my thoughts. sandra bullock should lay off the botox. and don’t get me started on mickey rourke. he is unrecognisable and not in a jennifer grey way. at least we can still tell who she is. mickey should’ve stopped about 20 surgeries ago. what was chloe sevigny wearing? and how boring was scorsese? if ever you craved wrap up music it was then. i found leonard maltin’s delayed picks on entertainment tonight amusing seeing as I had seen the show so knew the results for what he was predicting. he was wrong on nearly every single account. hilarious.
and. another note. as someone who fits into the cougar category…I am not offended by the air new zealand ad. those who are (in my opinion) need to get a life (and sorry i couldn't be arsed finding the ad...but here's one someone else found for me earlier...hope it still works and seeing as i only have dial up i can't check...and no...not getting broadband so stop your nagging :P).
and in the good grief stakes...the spokesperson for kia kaha (charmaine love) thinks it is 'fentestuc' that prince william wears her clobber...elocution lessons from donkey methinks.
and. another note. as someone who fits into the cougar category…I am not offended by the air new zealand ad. those who are (in my opinion) need to get a life (and sorry i couldn't be arsed finding the ad...but here's one someone else found for me earlier...hope it still works and seeing as i only have dial up i can't check...and no...not getting broadband so stop your nagging :P).
and in the good grief stakes...the spokesperson for kia kaha (charmaine love) thinks it is 'fentestuc' that prince william wears her clobber...elocution lessons from donkey methinks.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
are people really that fick?...
i mean seriously. last night there was a docudrama on the tv about an 8.2 earthquake hitting wellington. now i know that the timing wasn't the best but they probably had scheduled it months before haiti. it sparked a war of the worlds reaction. people were ringing the emergency services in real distress about our "quake". and i know at least one person who had a message on her FB wall saying i heard there was an earthquake and i couldn't reach you hope you're ok please call me. couple of points. the newsreaders reading the 'news' were not people we have ever seen on the news before...that would've been your first clue, and secondly...it was a repeat...it's screened before...go be stupid somewhere else for goodness' sake.
on a different note. my new favourite word is a word that means to go really fast in a vehicle and ring the guts out of it. i'm just not sure how to spell the word. is it fang...phang...or whang...?
on a different note. my new favourite word is a word that means to go really fast in a vehicle and ring the guts out of it. i'm just not sure how to spell the word. is it fang...phang...or whang...?
Friday, January 15, 2010
news from the 'fun' division
this guy should be congratulated. if you can get your treadly up to that speed then more power to you. mean police.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
i'm sure his parents like his name...
is anthony head most famous for...
a. being the brother of murray (one night in bangkok) head?,
b. that buffy thing,
c. being the PM in little britain,
d. being hot,
e. all of the above,
f. another thing i haven't listed but someone else can contribute to...
p.s. apparently tony can sing too.
p.p.s. he's not bad for an old guy...old fullas can be hot too.
and a segue...my favourite musical is les mis. love that they have changed it as i saw when in london. love that my favourite javert is an australian (philip quast).
have read the book twice and hate that the gavroche connection to eponine was deleted. when i saw les mis in the uk i was surrounded by antipodeans. loved that. i will see les mis in as many different cities as i can. so far it's only three.
a. being the brother of murray (one night in bangkok) head?,
b. that buffy thing,
c. being the PM in little britain,
d. being hot,
e. all of the above,
f. another thing i haven't listed but someone else can contribute to...
p.s. apparently tony can sing too.
p.p.s. he's not bad for an old guy...old fullas can be hot too.
and a segue...my favourite musical is les mis. love that they have changed it as i saw when in london. love that my favourite javert is an australian (philip quast).
have read the book twice and hate that the gavroche connection to eponine was deleted. when i saw les mis in the uk i was surrounded by antipodeans. loved that. i will see les mis in as many different cities as i can. so far it's only three.
Friday, January 8, 2010
the best names in cricket today…
...in my humble opinion, are onions and morkel. if anyone can tell me what a morkel is then i’d appreciate it…(i think it’s a device used to aid breathing while doing something rude)…any other ideas?
Friday, January 1, 2010
this just to hand...
(image is of news reader with furrowed brow, finger firmly in ear as he delivers very important news, yes, i know, sexist, but the mispronounciation was by a man).
...today on three news a new country was invented. its name is finn-land. the founders of finn-land are a little bit strange. they all have musical talent. the elder statesmen of finn-land dress in strange attire and have friends who play the spoons. the most prominent member of the next generation of finn-landians has a strangely irish name and a beard like a rhododendron bush that you could lose a badger in. he also has a brother called elroy. more later…
happy new year (but not new decade, that is next year)!
p.s…spot the homage.
...today on three news a new country was invented. its name is finn-land. the founders of finn-land are a little bit strange. they all have musical talent. the elder statesmen of finn-land dress in strange attire and have friends who play the spoons. the most prominent member of the next generation of finn-landians has a strangely irish name and a beard like a rhododendron bush that you could lose a badger in. he also has a brother called elroy. more later…
happy new year (but not new decade, that is next year)!
p.s…spot the homage.
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