w h o a r . c o . n z

“…His philosophy inspired a generation, then drifted out of fashion.

Now, 100 years after his birth, the life and work of Jean-Paul Sartre are once again highly relevant - and bitterly controversial.

Jean-Paul Sartre’s grave is a modest affair, befitting a man who (so he claimed) hated monuments and cared nothing for his own legacy.

Beside the plain, white marble tombstone in the Montparnasse cemetery in Paris this week, well-wishers had left a vase of plastic flowers, a pot of geraniums, five roses, a pigeon feather, scores of pebbles and five unused Métro tickets.

On the grave - also the last resting place of Sartre’s lifelong “companion” Simone de Beauvoir - there was an anonymous, scribbled note: …

…”To JPS and SB, for your sincere writing and for the meaning you gave to life.

Thank you for leaving your mark on history.”

What the Métro tickets were for is unclear. Perhaps Le Petit Homme (the little man) and Castor (the beaver) might like to return to the Café de Flore to drink coffee, smoke Gauloises, discuss their many infidelities, mock their friends …

… and ponder, from a new perspective, the difference between “being and nothingness”.

Jean-Paul Sartre - philosopher, novelist, playwright, polemicist, political activist … the secular messiah of existentialism …

… the prototype of the “engaged” French intellectual - died 25 years ago this year.

He was born 100 years ago next Tuesday.

His funeral in April 1980 provoked an outpouring of grief more usually associated with actors than with ugly, chain-smoking, foul-smelling, squint-eyed philosophers.

More than 30,000 people took to the streets of Paris to follow his coffin …

…and - in the phrase of one fan at the time - to “demonstrate against Sartre’s death”….”

go to source/story>>>The Second Coming Of Sartre - Features, Books - The Independent

“…An exhibition of paintings by Bob Dylan opens at the National Gallery of Denmark this week.

Around 50 previously unseen acrylic paintings, called the Brazil Series, will be available to the public in Copenhagen from Saturday until early next year.

Dylan told the gallery that his paintings fulfil the shortcomings of expression he finds in music.

He said: “If I could have expressed the same [things] in a song, I would have written a song instead.” …”

go to source/story>>>Bob Dylan paintings at Danish National Gallery - News, Art - The Independent

“…Forty years ago, Charles and Maurice Saatchi founded the advertising agency that was to become one of the most glamorous and influential forces in the land.

But for Saatchi & Saatchi, the London advertising agency founded 40 years ago next week … you mightn’t be reading this page.

Indeed, there just mightn’t have been an Independent at all – something in the time-space continuum could’ve gone slip-sliding away.

That’s the way The Independent’s original 1980s’ founding Gang of Three – Andreas Whittam Smith, Matthew Symonds and Stephen Glover – tell it, anyway.

When they originally conceived the paper, Maurice (now Lord) Saatchi was one of just two people Whittam Smith rang in 1985 for a sanity check.

(The other was a banker, of course.)

Maurice put him on to John Perriss, Saatchi’s media director (later to head the Saatchi Group’s new media-buying agency Zenith).

In no time, the three had a Saatchi team of 16 –

- the agency had just lost a big newspaper account and, according to Symonds, wanted to have a high-profile new one – and a deal.

The deal was basically that S&S would help them to raise the money they needed from investors on a “no win, no fee” basis …

… (if it worked, they could start spending on advertising).

Saatchi would do research among potential readers and advertisers to help develop their pitch …

… and they’d rehearse and sharpen the presentation.

They also said, crucially: “We’ll come with you, if you like.”

“We walked in,” recalls Whittam Smith, “with the glamour of Saatchi beside us; it really helped.”…”

go to source/story>>>How to get ahead in advertising - Advertising, Media - The Independent

“…3D television has dominated the early agenda at IFA, Europe’s largest consumer electronics show …

… with Panasonic and Sony both announcing flurries of new products and initiatives.

Panasonic showed off what it claimed was the first genuine 3D consumer video camera, the HDC-SDT750.

This will allow users to shoot their own footage in 3D.

Makoto Nagura, director of Panasonic’s video camera business unit … said this would put 3D firmly into the hands of consumers.

“There is still one thing missing [today]…That is to keep your precious moments in 3D,” Nagura said.

The SDT750 will go on sale in October.

UK pricing was not available but it is expected to be priced at $1,399 (£908) in the US.

Most of Panasonic’s press conference in Berlin was devoted to 3D – one indication of how keen the electronics industry is to persuade consumers that they should embrace the new technology …

… and spend considerable sums of money upgrading their home electronics set-up.

Alongside new 3D televisons and Blu-ray players, Panasonic also announced a new service to deliver 3D movies and films directly to users’ living rooms.

This could fix one of factors that is holding back 3D – a lack of content.

Panasonic said that around 2,000 films would be available to be downloaded over a broadband connection to one of its TVs or Blu-ray players.

News, sport and music channels would also be supported…”

go to source/story>>>3D TV dominates IFA consumer electronics show | Technology | guardian.co.uk

“…With one band Nick Cave has a carefully built musical legacy.

With his other, he can visit his ‘lower self’ and make chaotic noise.

Alexis Petridis meets Grinderman…”

go to source/story>>>‘It’s OK to embarrass yourself’ – Nick Cave and the return of Grinderman | Music | The Guardian

“…Ray Winstone plays troubled hardmen with such conviction … it’s easy to believe he’s not acting.

He talks about his violent past … happy-go-lucky nature … and love of westerns…”

go to source/story>>>Ray Winstone: ‘I used to be a raving lunatic’ | Film | The Guardian

“…The trailer for Charles Ferguson’s new documentary “Inside Job” has been making its way around the web…

… (hat tip to Nouriel Roubini’s Twitter feed).

The film has been getting serious love from critics, including winning the top award at Cannes this year.

Roger Ebert called the the film “devastating” summed it up this way in May:

“From Roosevelt until Reagan, the American economy enjoyed 40 years of stability, prosperity and growth.

Beginning with Reagan’s moves against financial regulation … that sound base has been progressively eroded.

The crucial federal error … (in administrations of both parties) … was to allow financial institutions to trade on their own behalf.

Today many large trading banks are betting against their own customers.”

“Inside Job” is due out in October. Watch the trailer:…”

go to source/story>>>‘Inside Job’ Trailer: New Documentary Investigates The Financial Crisis (VIDEO)

“…Few people get rich from PBS’s highly-rated Antiques Roadshow, but that doesn’t stop thousands of people from scouring their grandma’s attic for that one shot at finding a hidden treasure among the mothballs.

In fact, more often than not, the old paintings, family Bibles and china tea cups — the most common items brought to the Antiques Roadshow events — are not worth much.

“Most objects we see are worth only about $100,” says Judy Matthews, the show’s senior publicist.

Antiques Roadshow, which got its start in the U.K. in 1979, debuted in the U.S. 14 years ago.

The premise of the show is simple: owners bring in their stuff hoping that an appraiser says its worth big bucks.

Appraisers usually start by explaining the object’s historical significance — or lack thereof —

– and bring the segment to a climax by assessing just how much that object is or isn’t worth.

That payoff moment is the part that every participant and viewer waits breathlessly for and, on the odd occasion, the appraisal is indeed pretty breathtaking.

Take, for example, the collection of jade from China that one woman brought to the show’s taping in Raleigh, N.C. in 2009.

It turned out that the collection, which her father brought home from China during the 1930s and 1940s, was valued at as much as $1.07 million —

– making it the first million-dollar appraisal on the American show…”

go to source/story>>>The Antiques Roadshow’s Five Most Valuable Finds - DailyFinance

“…Books like Diet For A New America, Skinny Bitch and the film Earthlings had a profound effect on Ellen’s decision to avoid animal products…”

(recommended-watch..)

go to source/story>>>Ellen DeGeneres on why she went vegan - Vegsource.com

“… As the evil Mr Burns would say: Excellent …

The creators of The Simpsons have finally revealed what Wellington duo Flight of the Conchords will look like when they guest star in the long-running show in the United States this month.

The cartoon of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie, signed by Simpson’s creator Matt Groening, is a Simpsons-style makeover that includes yellow skin and one fewer finger on each hand.

The pair guest star in the first episode of the new season, Elementary School Musical, to be broadcast in the US on September 26.

In it, Lisa enrols at a special band camp where she runs into talented singers, including Lea Michele, Corey Monteith, and Amber Riley from television show Glee.

Flight of the Conchords play two free-spirited, artsy camp counsellors.

A TV3 spokeswoman said the episode would probably air in New Zealand next year…”

go to source/story>>>Bret and Jemaine’s guest turn | Stuff.co.nz

“…TVNZ workers’ days of splurging on company plastic have ended …

… as the state broadcaster cuts up hundreds of credit cards to avoid “misleading” publicity.

Nearly everyone from celebrity presenters to senior executives will be affected.

Chief executive Rick Ellis has told staff that following a review of company practices, they will have their cards taken away.

TVNZ has hit the headlines in recent years for credit card spending.

More than 470 of its 900 or so staff have had cards, and in the six months to January this year - a time of cost cutting -

- they spent $3.18 million.

Almost 100 of the cards had a monthly cap of at least $10,000.

Mr Ellis racked up more than $140,000 on his own company plastic in two years - including $32,000 entertaining.

He and senior executives will be among those losing their cards … and soon there will be as few as 50 left at TVNZ…”

go to source/story>>>TVNZ staff lose credit card perk - National - NZ Herald News

“…The new documentary “Psywar,” featuring CMD founder John Stauber, explores corporate and government use of propaganda and public relations to manipulate American people.

The movie explores how the U.S. government staged events to manipulate public opinion about the Iraq war …

… like the rescue of Private Jessica Lynch …

… the supposedly spontaneous mob that pulled over the larger-than-life statue of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

It also discusses the Pentagon pundit scandal … and the hidden activities of the Rendon Group … a PR firm specializing in spinning war.

The film exposes government and corporate activities to blur the lines between real news and fake news …

… as well as the development over time of public relations misinformation campaigns …

… strategic corporate campaigns to generate goodwill … and the perception of good works …

… the use of staged photo-ops …

… and other manipulative PR tools that have turned the land of the free and the home of the brave into a place where citizens are now manipulated with great efficiency …

… and on a massive scale…”

(Watch the entire film for free online..in link..)

go to source/story>>>Psywar Film Reveals The Hidden Battle for Your Mind | Center for Media and Democracy

“…The continuing woes of the book industry were underscored today when the US retail chain Borders, which pulled out of Britain last year …

… said its losses had increased amid sharply falling revenues.

American book retailers, who have been struggling to compete with online rivals and supermarkets, now face the threat of digital books …

… which have begun to appeal to a wider audience.

In Britain the picture is little better, and investors have begun to put pressure on HMV to rid itself of Waterstone’s …

… the only remaining large high street book chain.

Borders said like-for-like sales at stores open for more than a year had dropped 6.8% in the second quarter.

It made losses of $46.7m (£30.2m), compared with the $45.6m loss recorded in the same quarter last year.

Revenue fell 12% to $526m.

US rival Barnes & Noble is also deep in the red … and reported losses of $62.5m for its fiscal first quarter, ending in July.

Borders arrived in Britain in 1998, promising to revolutionise book-buying … and opened a chain of 45 stores.

But by 2007 … the company admitted it was considering a sale of the UK division…”

go to source/story>>>Borders sees sharp fall in revenue | Business | The Guardian

“…I wanted this book to be different from the traditional political memoir.

Most, I have found, are rather easy to put down.

So what you will read here is not a conventional account of whom I met.

There are events and politicians who are absent … not because they don’t matter ….

…. but because they are part of a different story to the self-serving one I want to tell!

No, seriously guys, this is going to be well different.

How many other world leaders use so many exclamation marks!

And it is as a world leader that I’m writing for you about my journey.

And what a journey!

When I started in politics I was just an ordinary kind of guy.

And you know what? I’m still an ordinary kind of guy – albeit one who has become a multi-millionaire and completely destabilised the Middle East!

You know, I had a tear in my eye when I entered No10 for the first time in 1997, though it wasn’t, as the Daily Mail tried to claim, because I was choked with emotion at how far I had come since I was a young, ordinary boy standing on the terraces of St James’ Park, watching Jackie Milburn play for Newcastle.

It was because Gordon had hit me.

Ah, Gordon!

He meant well, I suppose … in his funny little emotionally inarticulate way.

I guess some of you will find it hard to believe … but I never really wanted to be a politician.

But sometimes courage is about taking the difficult decisions and when Cherie said, “God is calling you to fulfil your destiny”, I knew I had to listen.

So it was with a heavy heart that I outmanoeuvred Gordon over the leadership of the party after John’s death –

- and whatever Gordo says there was never a deal struck at Granita where he could take definitely take over after my second term.

Because I had my fingers crossed!…” (cont..)

go to source/story>>>Digested read: Tony Blair A Journey | Politics | The Guardian

“…Arianna has griped about its misuse before and, frankly, the number of misplaced apostrophe’s — oops, we mean apostrophes — out there has become downright frightening.

Thankfully, the people over at CoolRules.com have made light of the situation by recording “The Apostrophe Song.”

A sort of “Schoolhouse Rock!” for the internet age, “The Apostrophe Song” comes in four different flavors:…

… “Hip Hop,” “Pop/Dance,” “Rock” and “Acoustic,” available at the Cool Rules website.

Only one, so far as we can tell … comes with its own outstanding video…”

go to source/story>>>Can New ‘Apostrophe Song’ Cure The Apostrophe Crisis? (VIDEO)

“…Tony Blair regrets banning fox hunting … but not invading Iraq.

He was captivated by Princess Diana … intimidated by Queen Elizabeth II.

He heaps praise on President George W. Bush … but calls his close colleague Gordon Brown a man of “zero” emotional intelligence.

He acknowledges that some find him delusional … and says he possibly drank a bit too much.

Blair’s long-awaited memoir hit bookstores Wednesday …

… and the revealing, self-justifying 700-page volume provides plenty of fodder for the former British leader’s supporters – and detractors…”

go to source/story>>>Tony Blair: Gordon Brown Has ‘Zero’ Emotional Intelligence

“…The sixteenth-century French writer Michel de Montaigne, inventor of the modern essay, once remarked that “there are more books upon books than upon all other subjects.”

It’s still true, judging from the hundreds of titles published every year on the art of writing.

Most can be divided into two categories: “inside-out” — spiritual, philosophical, emotional, psychological, or “outside-in” — grammar, punctuation, style, technique.

The best of them instruct, inspire, and encourage. (Writers need lots of encouragement.)

Fortunately, writing is one skill you actually learn from books.

Here are some of my favorites:..”

go to source/story>>>Jon Winokur: Advice To Writers: The Best Books On Writing Books (Writer Wednesday)

“… Simon Cowell is furious after reality show contestants trashed his luxury rented Spanish villa over the weekend.

The 50-year-old music mogul is hosting several finalists for UK talent show The X Factor at his lavish 20-bedroom mansion in Marbella.

The singing hopefuls are in Spain to be “mentored” by Simon …

… but some members of the group have reportedly taken advantage of the millionaire’s hospitality and partied hard …

… causing thousands of dollars worth of damage after discovering Simon’s private supply of vintage champagne and imported beer.

The problems reportedly started on Sunday night … when several contestants raided Simon’s private bar before going for a swim in the ocean.

They then stumbled back to the house - which Simon is renting at a cost of £15,000 a day -

- destroying a £5000 Persian rug and staining designer and antique furniture with sea water and sand.

“It was chaos. It is thousands of pounds of damage.

They were just very excited and things got out of hand,” a source told British newspaper The Daily Mail.

The contestants made so much noise they even managed to wake Simon, who was asleep in his private quarters on the other side of the property.

He was furious … and said he is planning to dock the singers’ first pay cheques to cover the damage…”

go to source/story>>>X-Factor hopefuls trash Simon Cowell’s villa | Stuff.co.nz

“… Simon Cowell is furious after reality show contestants trashed his luxury rented Spanish villa over the weekend.

The 50-year-old music mogul is hosting several finalists for UK talent show The X Factor at his lavish 20-bedroom mansion in Marbella.

The singing hopefuls are in Spain to be “mentored” by Simon …

… but some members of the group have reportedly taken advantage of the millionaire’s hospitality and partied hard …

… causing thousands of dollars worth of damage after discovering Simon’s private supply of vintage champagne and imported beer.

The problems reportedly started on Sunday night … when several contestants raided Simon’s private bar before going for a swim in the ocean.

They then stumbled back to the house - which Simon is renting at a cost of £15,000 a day -

- destroying a £5000 Persian rug and staining designer and antique furniture with sea water and sand.

“It was chaos. It is thousands of pounds of damage.

They were just very excited and things got out of hand,” a source told British newspaper The Daily Mail.

The contestants made so much noise they even managed to wake Simon, who was asleep in his private quarters on the other side of the property.

He was furious … and said he is planning to dock the singers’ first pay cheques to cover the damage…”

go to source/story>>>X-Factor hopefuls trash Simon Cowell’s villa | Stuff.co.nz

“…Opening tomorrow, Guys & Dolls is an exhibition hosting a collection of works by photographer Terry O’Neill.

Born in 1938, O’Neill has achieved worldwide success documenting the fashion, style and celebrities from the 1960s.

His pictures are now highly collectable … and feature many of the style icons he captured in unconventional or candid settings..”

go to source/story>>>Iconic photographs of 1960s celebrities on show in new exhibition - News, Art - The Independent

“…Being a child of a rock legend brings kudos, travel and famous friends –

– but fatherly wisdom and bedtime stories are rarely part of the deal.

Having a babysitter called “The Sulphate Strangler”; being forsaken by your tour bus;…

… having a father who’d rather grease party-guests’ palms with opiates than grip your mother’s clammy paw during childbirth.

If you thought everyday kid-rearing was difficult … then blaze through a guide to rock’n'roll parenting and prepare to baulk.

Except, well, there is no official guide.

If only there was an instruction leaflet prescribing parenting tips to famous musicians;…

… the best they have is How’s Your Dad?, a new book by the rock journalist Zoë Street Howe …

… which outlines the excesses of rock stars … and how they impact on their sprogs…”

go to source/story>>>The children of rock dads - Features, Health & Families - The Independent

“…With Amazon’s recent announcement that digital e-books outsold hardcover books for the first time …

… and paperbacks destined to a similar fate in the near future …

.. we can safely say the e-book revolution is upon us.

That doesn’t necessarily mean, however, that the devices upon which we read those books — digital e-readers, tablet computers, smartphones — are anywhere near their final form.

Last December, we took a look at the most popular e-readers on the market, and, while many companies have made only incremental alterations to their lineups since then …

… a few new additions and serious price-drops among others have vastly changed the landscape.

And, oh yeah, there’s that whole iPad thing.

At first blush, the iPad seemed like it would radically alter the e-reader market.

In the months that have passed, it has sold like hot cakes, but, then again, so have E-ink e-readers.

So in putting together this revisited roundup, we found ourselves in a curious dilemma: whether to include the iPad or not.

The iPad, as you’ve undoubtedly heard, is billed by Apple as a new device category altogether (one that involves magic!).

All hype aside, we’re inclined to agree.

Unlike virtually every e-reader on the market, the iPad is, first and foremost … a multimedia device that happens to have e-reader capabilities.

And if one were to be honest in analyzing the iPad strictly on its merits as a dedicated e-reader …

… it’s woefully lacking compared to much of the competition.

The brilliant, glossy color screen is difficult to see in bright light … and can strain the eyes over long periods.

It’s also relatively heavy (about three times the weight of many e-readers) …

… and its battery life is around 10 hours … versus a couple weeks or more for most e-readers.

And, well, it costs at least twice as much as dedicated e-readers.

In short, if you’re primarily looking for an e-reader … you’d be better served elsewhere.

By the same token, if you’re looking for a full-featured multimedia experience … the iPad currently has no real competition …

… and dedicated e-readers simply don’t compare.

In light of that schism, for this piece, we tested what we think represent the cream of the ever-burgeoning dedicated e-reader crop…”

go to source/story>>>The Best e-Readers Compared: Kindle, Kobo, Nook and Reader Throw Down

“…One of the funniest moments of the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards last night involved Ricky Gervais.

When he came out to present two variety awards, Gervais didn’t leave the stage until he mocked Mel Gibson …

… and gave half the people in the two front rows a tall, cold one.

After complaining that they don’t serve alcohol at the Emmys like they do at the Golden Globe Awards …

… Gervais joked that there weren’t any erratic actors present who would get too drunk … mentioning Russell Crowe and then Mel Gibson.

He stepped back at first, saying he wasn’t going to “have a go” at Gibson because he’s “been through a lot.”

In true comedic fashion, he finished the thought a second later, saying “Not as much as the Jews though.”…”

go to source/story>>>Ricky Gervais Mocks Mel Gibson, Hands Out Beer At The Emmys (VIDEO)

“…This list of books for dog lovers is one that I’ve been compiling for a while …

… waiting for an opportune moment–the right doggone moment–to let it of the leash for all of you to enjoy…”

go to source/story>>>Best Kids Books For Dog Lovers

“…His empire has hit lean times as another of his London pubs is up for sale. Pavan Amara reports on the TV chef’s own kitchen nightmares.

The controversial restaurateur Gordon Ramsay is poised to call last orders on another outpost of his empire after suffering the same collapse in custom as some of the chefs he berates on his Kitchen Nightmares television show.

His latest troubled outlet is The Warrington, a pub in north-west London that he has run since 2006.

Ramsay is believed to have put the property on the market just weeks after poor trading forced him to shut another pub, The Devonshire, in Chiswick, west London.

His woes compound what has been tough time for his empire overseas.

Last month, the chef was forced to close his exclusive Cape Town restaurant Maze in South Africa … which was believed to be losing £10,000 a week.

In the 12 months to August 2009, Ramsay’s international restaurants lost more than £8m …

… despite the chef’s £5m cash injection into his business at the end of 2008 to save it from administration.

One-off costs for the group rose to £5.8m after the company wrote off investments in venues in New York, California and Florida….”

go to source/story>>>Last orders for Gordon Ramsay? - News, People - The Independent

“…It’s not as attractive as the iPad … but Amazon’s formerly derided e-reader is cheap and, most important, efficient.

The newest version of the Kindle e-reader is out.

And guess what? “Due to strong customer demand,” says the Amazon website, “Kindle is temporarily sold out.

Order now to reserve your place in the queue… orders placed today are expected to dispatch on or before 17 September.”

This is interesting, is it not?

It’s not all that long ago, in the fevered run-up to the launch of the Apple iPad, that conventional wisdom held that the Kindle was a dead duck –

- roadkill for the iTunes/iBooks steamroller on the highway to the future.

I mean to say, the Kindle was sooo clunky: you had to press buttons just to turn the page and how 1980s is that?

With the iPad, you just swooshed your finger and – hey presto! – the page turned.

Cool.

Then there was the impact of the iPad on publishers, who saw the Apple iBook store as a way of breaking Amazon’s stranglehold on sales –

- and, more important, the pricing – of ebooks.

And so it came to pass that the Kindle was consigned to the role of brave but outdated pioneer.

Amazon might have triggered the ebook revolution … but it would be Apple that would wind up running the show.

The problem with this kind of thinking is that it is based on an elementary schoolboy mistake …

… namely the assumption that, in a networked world, it is the hardware that matters most.

According to this view, because the iPad, viewed purely as a device, was seen as incomparably superior to the Kindle …

… it followed that Apple would triumph in the ebooks market.

Let’s deal with the hardware issue first.

The iPad is indeed a much more powerful and versatile device than even the latest Kindle.

But as an e-reader, it has some major deficiencies.

First, at 730g, it’s pretty heavy, so any extended reading session requires support from a lap or table.

Second, its reflective screen makes it difficult to read in bright light.

And it’s damned expensive.

On these three factors, the new Kindle wins hands down.

At 247g, it’s much lighter …

… the screen is readable even in bright sunlight …

… and it’s much, much cheaper —

– £149 for the model which comes with Wi-Fi and free 3G connectivity.

You can begin to see why Amazon might have trouble meeting consumer demand for its new baby…”

go to source/story>>>As the reborn Kindle proves, looks don’t count for everything | Technology | Technology | The Observer

“…While its sister festival in Reading became a mudbath, bright sunshine helped the northern leg of this year’s veteran rock event in Leeds get off to an unusually civilised start.

With the infamous “urine alley” finally replaced by chemical toilets, posters of “nu folkies” Mumford & Sons provided a convenient alternative for anyone caught short by the main stage.

Urinary issues have a history at Reading and Leeds, with bags of the stuff hurled at performers — such as Meat Loaf and Bonnie Tyler in 1988 —

– who the crowd decide don’t rock hard enough.

Rapper Dizzee Rascal proved wise to such risks and tailored his set accordingly by rapping over Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit …

…. a wheeze first attempted on a single by Credit To The Nation in 1994.

Mr Rascal then introduced his signature hit asking “Are you ready to go Bonkers?”, a question already answered by Cribs shouter Ryan Jarman …

… who marked the occasion with a haircut seemingly achieved by placing a pudding basin on his head … and cutting round it with a saw.

It can sometimes feel that this festival favours bands who soundtrack the act of pouring lager over your head …

… perhaps the one thing beyond Arcade Fire.

On the back of their number one album, The Suburbs, Friday’s headliners delivered a consummate show with strobes, special effects, Herculean energy and all those darkly euphoric anthems, culminating in an epic Wake Up —

– everything, in fact, except much of a crowd to see it.

Wrong slot or wrong festival?

It is a reasonable assumption that at some point during the weekend you will be soaked to the skin and confronted by a drunken man in a dress.

The tents provide a means of avoiding both — and the sobering realisation that Saturday’s aged rap metal act Limp Bizkit and generic punk pop bands such as All Time Low pulled twice the audience of Arcade Fire.

The tents are also the best means of hearing new forms of music …

… with brilliant sets from Mercury-nominated operatic guitar band Wild Beasts, Los Angeles Hebrew-singing afro-beat pop band Fools Gold …

… and a transcendental, hymnal Band of Horses …

… whose songs about loss, bewilderment and confusion surely summed up many a punter’s festival trajectory…”

go to source/story>>>Leeds festival 2010 | Review | Music | The Guardian

“… Some farmers have written to Fonterra’s Shareholders’ Council and Fonterra chairman Sir Henry van der Heyden to complain.

The company has shut up shop … refusing to say whether its Tip Top division will continue to sponsor Auckland’s prestigious St Kentigern College …

… where chief executive Andrew Ferrier has his children enrolled.

Mr Ferrier, who earns $4 million a year, forwarded a sponsorship request from the school to Tip Top.

The prestigious school charges up to $24,000 a year in fees for a day pupil.

Otorohanga farmer Noel Hurley said a group of farmers were writing to Fonterra’s Shareholders’ Council, unhappy about the deal.

“I’ve talked to a few farmers out there who are brassed off about it.”

“I bet if Otorohanga College applied for $5000 for their musical they would be turned down.”

He said farmers did not think $5000 spent on a school production was wise use of company money …

… especially for an affluent school…”

go to source/story>>>Show handout has cockies seeing red | Stuff.co.nz

“… Pacific Fibre may charge internet providers a fee per customer to use its proposed international communications cable …

… rather than charging for a set amount of bandwidth … to encourage them to offer generous or unlimited data caps to broadband users.

The company aims to lay a cable between New Zealand, the United States and Australia in 2013 in conjunction with Asian partner Pacnet, at an expected cost of US$400 million.

Co-founder Rod Drury said carriers had to guess how much capacity they might need on the existing Southern Cross Cable.

Pacific Fibre’s approach would be to avoid a situation where consumers faced restrictive data caps while most of the bandwidth available on subsea cables went unsold.

“We don’t want to be `Southern Cross minus 5 per cent’.

Why don’t we flip the model around and go to a per-person charging model and then try to give internet providers as much bandwidth as we possibly can for that?”

The charges could be segmented by customer type.

“You could do it for mobile connections, home connections, schools, hospitals and businesses, and set a reasonable price.”

Telecommunications Users Association chief executive Ernie Newman welcomed the approach.

“The way the world is moving is towards all-you-can-eat-type plans and any move like that has got to be the way of the future.”

Southern Cross marketing director Ross Pfeffer said it was not clear what the approach would achieve.

Restrictive data caps were not being imposed because of the cost or availability of international bandwidth, he said.

Instead, New Zealand internet providers were using data caps to segment the retail market and maximise their own revenues…” (cont..)

go to source/story>>>Pacific Fibre set to ‘flip model around’ | Stuff.co.nz

“…Now, I’m not suggesting the men of “Mad Men” should be puritans.

Heavens, no.

And everyone is at least a small product of the environment in which they swim.

We all make mistakes … and have our dark sides … as we navigate through life.

But the naked cruelty and overwhelming insensitivity manifested by the show’s male characters sometimes takes one’s breath away.

Why is the show so stacked against women?

Why are these men so unworthy and sadistic?

Was male behavior so despicable across the board in the upper echelons of the advertising industry in the mid-1960s …

… that the writers and producers of the show couldn’t produce a single mensch …

… one man of character … one person with something akin to enlightened values?

After all, this year’s show takes place in 1965, not the stone age.

Betty Friedan wrote The Feminine Mystique in 1963.

Or more to the point: was the advertising business so sleazy, so lacking moral compass, so hungry for success …

… that almost everyone was a manipulative ogre … and it was truly a bad man’s world?

Does “Mad Men,” the show everyone thinks accurately depicts the advertising industry of the ’60s, have to be this way?

George Lois doesn’t think so.

Sometimes called the original Mad Man … Lois is an eminence grise of the creative forces that transformed advertising in the 1960s …

… and he thinks the show gets it all wrong.

Lois writes in an essay in Playboy that there was a true revolution in advertising during the period of “Mad Men,”….

… started in the 1950s by one of creative advertising’s firsts, Bill Bernbach.

It was about joining talented copywriters with visionary graphic designers, “giving birth to the first truly creative agency.”

“Power had been taken away from the account executives and the business men … and transferred to the talented people who actually made the ads.”

Lois suggests that “Mad Men” misrepresents the advertising industry by ignoring this revolution …

… which changed the world of communications forever: …

…”The mortal sin of omission makes ‘Mad Men’ a lie.”

According to Lois, the show’s creator, Matthew Weiner, disagrees, saying that “George Lois is a legend…but Sterling Cooper is not cutting edge; it’s mired in the past.”

To which Lois responds: “Huh?”

He wonders why the producers “go whole hog to depict the scum of the industry … rather than the upbeat world of cultural creativity.”

Lois, ever colorful with his copy, calls the men in “Mad Men” “phony, gray, flannel suited, male chauvinist, no talent, WASP, white shirted, racist, anti-Semitic, Republican SOBS.”

“‘Mad Men’ has given the world the perception that the scatology of the Sterling Cooper workplace was industry wide.

In their advertising, the show’s creators have the balls to proclaim that ‘Mad Men’ explores the ‘Golden Age of Advertising,’ …

… but they surely know they are shoveling shit.”…” (cont..)

go to source/story>>>The 7 Worst Men of Mad Men: Do They Have to Be Such Jerks? | Media and Culture | AlterNet

“…New Zealand’s biggest city boasts one of the strongest claims to have devised the flat white as we know it …

… thanks to an explosion of espresso-drinking in the mid-80s.

No one is quite sure where it all began … but the boho DKD was generally considered the first Auckland venue …

… though Sydneysiders reckon they beat the Kiwis to it.

In one hangout, I speak to Jackson, who roasts beans in his own garage, and speaks fondly of those times.

“I was a student and I remember drinking flat whites back then,” he says.

“We used to watch subtitled films at the Civic Theatre and have coffee and cake after.”

DKD is long gone … but its legacy and that of other pioneers remains in a thriving cafe society.

Aucklanders use coffee shops as social venues … as we might pubs … for business meetings … to catch up with mates … or simply read the paper.

And they take coffee seriously, with 140 roasters in New Zealand, many based in this city.

Even if most Kiwis do not roast beans themselves … many buy them freshly ground to supply their own gleaming Italian machines.

Back in the 80s, cafe owners aped continental mores, a practice continued by Auckland’s finest city centre institution, Reslau (39 Elliott Street).

Its narrow space barely provides room for a handful of tiny tables and just one banquette.

The coffee is perfect (I am an expert now) …

… Reslau offers a rare slice of chic in Auckland’s drab central business district … an area that many locals avoid.

The city’s industrial waterfront lacks charisma – there’s a motorway running through it –

- and many of the suburbs are livelier, with quirky, original cafes…” (cont..)

go to source/story>>>Caffeine hit: Auckland coffee culture | Travel | The Guardian

“…Now, the kind of journalist who makes it all about themself is of course objectionable …

… but these are objectionable circumstances … so forgive me.

My first ever gig as a festival reporter was Leeds 2002 … when Guns N’ Roses turned up two hours late … but smashed it out of the park nonetheless.

I may have mentioned that Axl was “as big as a house.”

He may just have called me out onstage in London a few days later … naming me a “pussy” … who owed him rent for “living in my ass for so long.”

It was a career high, yes, but those also feel like kinder, more innocent days.

This was when Chinese Democracy was still an illusion we could all use.

But now we’ve heard the dowdy reality … and tonight we got the worst of both worlds.

The band took the stage just a measly hour late … had their set cut marginally … but not dramatically …

… and turned in a show that was the ultimate insult to the Gunners dream … in being simply unmemorable.

True, the magic of hearing the likes of Welcome To The Jungle, It’s So Easy and November Rain live cannot be diminished.

But last night Reading was challenged to judge whether this was enough … and Reading judged “no”.

There was no charisma, no chemistry and actually …

… so little vocal that the rumour of the night was that Axl had drafted in Mickey Rourke as a body double.

Certainly, the boos negated his vocals down to nothing.

And when history is written, it shall be told that the GNR dream ended with an unedifying sit in -

- in which Axl tried to whip up a disinterested crowd into voicing outrage over the shortened set.

After such a mess, it’s perhaps not surprising that the rumour of the festival today is that the band were not paid for their performance …

… and will not be appearing on Sunday for the Leeds leg.

And so after all that … it gives me no pleasure to diss GNR online for a second time.

But rather than a boyish jibe about his girth … this was about insulting their fans and, worse, their legacy.

So c’mon Axl.

Bring it.

Do your worst.

Oh! You already did…”

go to source/story>>>Guns N’ Roses fail to ignite Reading festival 2010 | Music | guardian.co.uk

“…If you’ve ever invested even a slither of emotion in the Libs … then this show paid you back ten-fold.

If not, well, there’s always Ash.

They don’t half go on about Leeds at Leeds.

You can’t even sit in a long drop without someone shouting across the lagoon of human discharge how glad they are they’re not at Reading.

It’s the only festival in the world plagued by sibling rivalry.

In fact, Leeds is almost exactly the same as Reading … just with better weather, worse clothes and more chips.

Besides, it’s not location that’s setting the tone for today … but the return of two bands who have a permanent place at the top of a generation’s CD pile.

For the Libertines, this could be the defibrillator that brings them back from the dead.

For Arcade Fire, a headline slot provides the opportunity for them to take the next step to becoming a world-beating concern…”

go to source/story>>>The Libertines rekindle the good old days at Leeds festival 2010 | Music | guardian.co.uk

“…The rich are different than you and I.

They are in fact more special.

That is why they deserved to be bailed out by trillions of our dollars.

That is why we happily allow them government welfare … while the poor have to face homelessness.

This trash is what most people subconsciously believe.

After all, we have been programmed from youth to see the rich as deserving …

… and the rest of struggling humanity suffering because they are not deserving.

The “Rich are Special Lie” is sold to the American psyche in a variety of ways.

But recently someone decided to put it all down in a book.

So you can read it to reinforce your already conditioned psyche about the rich being better.

Steve Siebold is the author of “How the Rich People Think.”

In his book he contrasts the rich .. and their special abilities with the rest of us common losers…” (cont..)

…Middle class focuses on saving. World class focuses on earning.

Middle class believes hard work creates wealth. World class believes leverage creates wealth.

Middle class believes money is earned through labor. World class believes money is earned through thought.

Middle class worries about running out of money. World class thinks about how to make more money.

Middle class operates from a fear based consciousness. World class operates in a consciousness of abundance and freedom.

Middle class sees money through the eyes of emotion. World class sees money through the eyes of logic.

Middle class believes getting rich is outside their control. World class knows getting rich is an inside job….

Siebold is right about getting rich as an inside job.

It helps if you can have the government give you tax credits, bail out your investments, control the market for you …

… and allows you to operate in a near global monopoly.

According to Siebold, one of the things we can all do to be like the rich is to think positive.

Don’t let people tell you the truth and don’t dare believe in the truth.

You need to minimize your exposure to the fear based thinkers.

It is always best to believe in fairy tales about wealth and wealth creation.

That way it is easier for the super rich to screw you.

If people were to actually use their reasoning … and examine the system …

… the rich could no longer screw you …

… with the help of their government…”

go to source/story>>>How the Rich Want You to Think « Bodhi Thunder

“…Microsoft co-founder and billionaire Paul Allen is suing nearly a dozen major companies, including tech giants Google Inc. and Apple Inc. …

… alleging they infringed on four web technology patents held by his company Interval Licensing LLC.

Interval said Friday it filed the suit in a U.S. District Court in Seattle against the companies.

In addition to Google and Apple, the defendants named in the suit are: Facebook Inc., eBay Inc., Yahoo Inc., Netflix Inc., AOL Inc., Office Depot Inc., OfficeMax Inc., Staples Inc. and Google-owned YouTube LLC.

Interval owns patents from Interval Research, which was a technology research and development company that Allen started with David Liddle in the early ’90s.

Interval said that the patents it believes are being violated are key to how e-commerce and search companies work.

The patents described in the suit refer to technology used for things such as web browsing and sending alerts over the Web.

“This lawsuit is necessary to protect our investment in innovation,” Allen’s spokesman, David Postman, said in a statement.

Interval is seeking unspecified damages for the alleged infringements …

… and an order that the defendants either stop infringing on its patents or pay royalties for doing so.

Several companies named as defendants did not return requests for comment.

Netflix, AOL, Yahoo and Office Depot had no comment…”

go to source/story>>>Tech billionaire Paul Allen sues Google, Apple, Facebook, YouTube, Yahoo and eBay, amongst others. - Asia, World - The Independent

“…The tone deaf Tom Mitchelson used Auto-Tune – favourite of ‘X Factor’ contestants – to spectacular effect.

I have just recorded my first single.

The thing is – and don’t put this about – I’m not much of a singer.

I was inspired by the row over the use of voice-improvement technology – otherwise known as Auto-Tune – on Simon Cowell’s talent show The X Factor.

This computer software has apparently been editing out bum notes and putting singers in tune since the series started … we are told.

Now this has come out … the producers have promised that tonight’s final edit will be without electronic enhancement.

I want to see how good this technology really is …

… and if it can turn me from a shambolic shower singer … (who has received complaints) … to a Pavarotti…”

go to source/story>>>How a machine turned me into Chris de Burgh - News, Music - The Independent

i am just watching the re-run of ‘the nation’…

and sean plunkett starts up with a follow-through from a previous week..

..in that plunkett had been ‘hard’..on some leftys…(much as labour likes to be seen to be ‘hard’ on benificiaries..and didn’t they succeed at that..?..eh..?..)

anyway..plunkett did this rigorous interview with a lefty-group putting together a blockade-breaking convoy for gaza..

apparantly george galloway heard/saw this piece…and it pissed him off…

and he asked/demanded(?) an appearance on the show…to rebut the theses of the plunkett..

..and plunkett/the nation said ‘no!’…(?)

i mean..w.t.f. are they thinking..?..

aside from any ideological-consideratons…and just on a pure telly-level….

..it would make great television…

a smackdown between plunkett and galloway…?

whoar…!

(were i a producer at the nation i wd have fallen upon that offer with sobs of gratitude….’yes please..!’..)

..as i said…w.t.f. is wrong with them..?…

..that they can’t seem to see that…?

“…Lady Gaga caused a stir when she admitted to Vanity Fair that she occasionally does cocaine …

… and now she defends her drug use to Q magazine (via Contact Music) … on the basis that it helped her creatively.

“[Using drugs] I really figured out the art I wanted to make and was inspired,” she said.

“Some people find inspiration in dark places.

I guess I’m one of them.

What always made me different is that if I was doing drugs I was also making music.

I wasn’t just doing drugs.”

Though drugs helped her get her start, now Gaga only does cocaine “a couple of times a year,” she told Vanity Fair.

“Once you open those doors they’re open for ever,” she said in the Q interview.

“People who say they need [drugs] to be creative are full of s**t.

I’m not some chick on the road getting high and f***ed up every night.

I wake up, drink coffee and get on the phone to talk about the creative direction of the next video.”…”

go to source/story>>>Lady Gaga: Drugs Inspired Me

“…Ahead of the release of his new album, Band of Joy, Robert Plant talks to Andy Gill about the move from fronting the biggest band in the world …

… to his success in exploring a diverse range of styles, from vocal harmony and country to North African and Arabic.

For a star of his magnitude, once the singer in the biggest band on the planet, frontman of the only group to seriously challenge the Rolling Stones’ perennial claim on being the raunchiest of rockers …

… Robert Plant has managed to retain an admirably down-to-earth attitude to life.

Matey and approachable in circumstances to which most stars react with bristling petulance, Plant seems to have mellowed well with age –

- as too has his music, which, over the years, has developed a burnished grain and texture comparable to that of the folk and blues heroes who originally inspired him to pick up what he calls “the great flaming torch of rock’n'roll” and run with it.

These days, he’s more fascinated with the acoustic subtleties of North African scales and North American harmonies than with the bludgeoning power of electric blues-based rock music.

Indeed, when Plant went to see his former Led Zeppelin bandmate John Paul Jones’s new rock supergroup Them Crooked Vultures at the Royal Albert Hall a few months back …

… he admits his ears “bled for two days” after the sonic assault…”

go to source/story>>>Robert Plant: ‘I feel so far away from heavy rock’ - Features, Music - The Independent

“… New Zealanders can make free calls to the United States and cheap calls to the rest of the world through an internet phone service now available through Google’s email service, Gmail.

Telecom’s revenues from phone calls have fallen by a third in the past six years as consumers have found other ways of bypassing traditional toll call charges …

… including using pre-paid phone cards and other internet telephony services such as Skype.

However, the ability to make calls to any phone through Google’s email service quickly became the talk of the web.

It is free to set up a Gmail account.

People can then make calls by downloading an application to their computer and plugging in a microphone.

Calls to the US and Canada are free.

Calls to New Zealand, Australian and British landlines all cost US 2 cents per minute…”

go to source/story>>>Gmail gives Kiwis free US and Canada calling | Stuff.co.nz