a sad day

'Tis a sad day for those who tend towards the left in New Zealand.

Helen Clark's resigned, and John Key is our new prime minister.
I don't care how straight his teeth are, you must admit, his inflection is shocking.

Hmf.

On a more positive note, Winston Peters is gone.
Gone gone gone!

If politicians were cars:

The 'John Key' – a flashy, sports model that was left over from an era of cheap oil and empty roads. Has loads of horsepower and a flashy exterior - but wears out fast if taken on longer journeys.

Aside from power, the John Key’s biggest selling point is a flashy front grill and comfortable seats for corporate passengers.

Prone to strange whining noises.

Initial reports suggest that the John Key’s steering is extremely vague and may swing to the far fight without warning. Unsuitable for beneficiaries.

Straws.

How are straws made?

By extrusion moulding, presumably, but what about the little red lines?

For that matter, why put little red lines on them at all?



The mysterious articles in question.


A very complicated version that is of no use:
http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Drinking-Straw.html

A (very) short history of drinking straws:
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blstraws.htm


I can find no answers.

the meaning of life

I'm never going to be the best.

Not the best cellist.

Or poet.

Or composer.

Or blogger, for that matter.


An aside for those who are semantically aware.

Should I have used nor?
Nor pianist.
Nor poet.

Nah. Reminds me too much of nori.

Take that, conservative prescriptivism.

We are all forever paled (dodgy word use blog of the year) by those who have gone before us, and will come after us.

We are specks.

Tiny, tiny specks.

Small, insignificant
(suspensive pause)
specks.


I continue because of God.

What would I continue for if I wasn't Christian?

What do you continue for?

If only I'd read more Camus...



He wrote a book about this, you see.

Labour vs National

Blue or red.

Liberal or conservative.

It's election time.

The Obama vs McCain battle has overshadowed NZ's own little democratic battleground, and some analysts are going so far as to suggest the liberal victory in the USA might cause voters here to follow suit - but I'm really not sure.

I'm firmly a Greens supporter, and would pick Labour over National every time.

In previous years, I have always shied away from political discussions, only having a very brief outline of different parties and their policies - but this year, I decided it was time a took a serious look at politics in Aotearoa. After several hours on the internet, I reached the aforementioned decision.

I found 'If politicians were cars' particularly enjoyable.
http://www.decision08.co.nz/Features/IfPoliticianswereCars/tabid/209/Default.aspx

If only I were voting age...

Man as a Political Animal - Aristotle strikes again

Are we best served to follow cutlure or nature?

Or are we naturally cultural?

I, at first glance, I would side with Aristotle in that man is not an animal in cultural chains but a cultural animal. Our moral and intellectual faculties make it imperative that we live in a structured society.

At second glance I would observe that perhaps the kind of city-states, with under 100,000 people, that Aristotle spoke about made this rule more relevant then than now.

Is law really natural? Since the earliest times, man has formed a circle and judged criminals with the aid of a chief. So, yes.
But have we taken it too far, with our modern systems, to reliant upon written laws and too little on human judgment? I'm not sure if there is a way to have an ideal, or near ideal, law system for such large groups of people as we try to today. After all, is not any system of law based upon the fundamental moral values of a society? How, then, can we expect this to function for a society that has such a diverse range of value systems?
I don't think we can.

Aristotle - 1
Jessica - 1


Related books to read:

Aristotle's Politics
Alan Harding's A Social History of English Law

a thought from Lewis Caroll

Is all our Life, then but a dream
Seen faintly in the golden gleam
Athwart Time's dark resistless stream?

Languages, languages everywhere ...

Wouldn't it be amazing to be bilingual.
Depending on which theory you fancy, you are either able to experience the world in two completely different ways, or experience two completely different worlds. Which is the same thing, I guess.

That's a gourmet vegetarian sausage for thought, that is.

The Economic Meltdown

I have spent the last week listening to podcasts from the BBC featuring economists, not so much disappointed at the recent meltdown, but who seem thrilled at these exciting events which have turned the global spotlight on their once-obscure theorizing, and transformed them from the "chartered accountants" of Monty Python to pioneers in a field that is undergoing a "scientific revolution", as one economist put it.
I must admit, until recently, I have taken as little interest in the economy as everyday living will allow, cringing at the brief mumblings about how many points each company has lost or won that interrupts what is otherwise a perfectly enjoyable six o'clock news. I still have no clue what in the world they're on about. But I must say, behaviourist economics, happiness economics, networking economics... they are simply fascinating! It seems to me that as soon as economists break away from the traditional, and obviously false, assumption that consumers are perfectly informed machines making rational decisions, a much more lively subject emerges.
I do suggest listening to the BBC podcasts on the subject. Fascinating.

Mes Images

So there.

I am finding pictures, on the internet. There is no, no something, to words a go a get....

Sorry, just ignore my little song there :P