Poor Murdoch

In the last two days, I happened to see two opportunistic ads on the Internet at the expense of Rupert Murdoch. Here they are:

Real Journalism means…never having to say you’re sorry

Powershop ad: Same power different attitude

While finding the whole UK News of the World phone hacking scandal incredibly… well scandalous, I can’t help but feeling sorry for Murdoch. The way the newspaper gathered there information were questionable, but haven’t we heard enough about it already? Shouldn’t we give Murdoch a rest? All I hear on my media podcasts about three weeks ago were ‘phone hacking scandal’ ‘Murdoch’ ‘News of the World’ etc on mediawatch from the UK, Australia and New Zealand, those are the only ones I listen to so I wouldn’t be surprised if similar content were broadcast all over the world.

Do you think these two ads offensive?

Do you think the Powershop ad could even be offensive religiously?

LET IT SNOW~~~!

It is thundering and hailing outside as I ‘speak’! Snow storm is arriving as Metservice promised, and I cannot stress how excited I am. It’s not even solely because I have two massive essays due on this Wednesday which hopefully will be postponed, but I’m feeling spoiled by the fact that this is our second snow in one year.

A number of weather geeks have been over excitedly talking about this incoming snow storm on the net for a couple days now, one of the more memorable claim says, I might be paraphrasing here, ‘this is going to be an event that appears in future text books’. I fully understand how people, especially science people, get all excited and passionate over natural events like this. As a geography student myself, I do too, because you become part of the experience and history! Just like how I jumped up and down when I saw liquefaction in action after the earthquakes, you read and heard so much about it in text books, but they would never beat the real experience!

Enough writing for now! Heading outside!! 😀

P.S. Here’s a photo someone else taken in Rolleston right before the hail hit maybe 30 mins before. Citation needed.

Picture taken in Rolleston, Christchurch, right before the hail hit! (citation needed)

Absolutely Positively Brownlee

Many of you may not know this, there has been more than 7600 aftershocks since a major 7.1 earthquake hit the city I live in — Christchurch in New Zealand last September. One of these 7600 aftershocks was a deadly one, and it only came 5 months after the major 7.1 earthquake. Nearly 200 people died in the February ‘aftershock’, mostly due to building collapse in the CBD (central business district). Therefore, today, nearly a year since the quake, our city is still functioning (well… let’s not get into defining ‘functioning’) without a CBD.

Since the February quake, the city has been in a really bad shape (ok, ruined), however the City Council has invited citizens to get involved in the rebuilding process by setting up the site Share an Idea so everyone could put their suggestions forward. After months of gathering ideas from citizens and experts, the city has finally published its central city rebuild plan yesterday. Many people have been feeling positive and hopeful, especially our city mayor Bob Parker, because it’s the only thing you could and probably should do, be hopeful.

However our Earthquake Recovery Minister, good old Mr. Brownlee has been nothing but negative along the way. When the city plan came out yesterday and the city was feeling all hopeful once again, our beloved Brownlee once again said ‘oh, that’s a pretty big wish list‘. Oh, good old Brownlee, we all know your job is just so hard and stressful, but could you please, for once, be positive? Or even fake it, because the people need it. You don’t think for one second we all know that our city is ruined, we have lost everything we loved about Christchurch? You don’t think we all know that it’s likely going to take more than 20 years to rebuild our city, and it will just never be the same? We do, and to be honest we don’t need your negativity, not right now.

This morning I felt that I just had enough of his negativity, and one of our great Kiwi Tui beer ad came to my mind and I created a little something for our absolutely positively Brownlee.

Brownlee Speaks

Amy Amy Amy

Lately I’ve been listening to Amy Winehouse quite a bit, sadly, since she passed away. Part of me feeling shameful for joining the fandom only after she passed away, however at the same time I realised just how talented she was.

You can’t really blame me for assuming that she was all about PR packaging, anger and perhaps overdose based on all her previously appearances in the tabloids. The only song I ever listened to prior her death was Rehab, or the first line of Rehab rather. However, after listening to many of her songs, I realised how stupid of me to assume she was nothing more than publicity, she was so so talented, her music was in a way so timeless and her voice was unbelievable. I agree with what Adele said about Amy Winehouse, “Amy Winehouse paved the way for me“, yep.

So excuse my rather late realisation of Amy’s talent, may she rest in peace.

 

Someone ordered snow?

Nothing is better than waking up to a world of snow in my opinion. This morning we finally got our first snow in maybe three years and it arrived boldly. All schools, universities and most work places are closed today because, dare I say, us New Zealanders are terrible at driving in snow/ice conditions.

I went out for a walk just before on the hill, the view was just stunning. here’s a photo:

Someone ordered snow?

Snow has the magic to make everything beautiful, the light, the clean and cold crisp air, and the sound of kids shouting and laughing in distance all make it a very special day for us.

Just a quiet snow day off, relax in front of the heat pump with a book, a large cup of coffee (and rhubarb crisp)

For the people in the Northern Hemisphere suffering in the late July heat, wanna trade places? 🙂