Dressed to bore

Interesting article in the listener from Douglas Lloyd -Jenkins on why New Zealand men dress so badly.

His contention is that our bad dress is due to gay panic. The logic seems to be

a) Only poofs dress stylishly
2) Therefore if I dress stylishly, people will think I’m a poof

If this is the case, I suspect that it’s a subconscious thing, but I don’t thing he’s right.

First of all, it assumes that men actually think about what they dress like, and I’d suggest that most of the time they don’t. Their main concerns on clothes would be comfort and cost. It would be a hang up from childhood that your “good” clothes a re always uncomfortable, so if you have a choice, why wear them? There is also the imperative that you’ve got to keep your good clothes looking “nice”, which often seems like a bore.

Dressing well for men often means wearing a tie. I can’t speak for all men, but I hate ties with the passion of a thousand suns and only wear them when I have to.

Then there is the issue of cost. I remember being horrified when a colleague at work bought a $400 shirt, not least because at the time, $400 was close to my weekly wage. And it was just a shirt. Why spend a lot of money on a shirt when you could get something that is conceptually the same thing for cheaper.

Then there is the shopping angle. Most men, I would suggest, think that buying clothes is like shopping for groceries-it needs to be done, but you don’t need to spend a lot of time on it. I can spend hours in book or DVD stores, but just going on memory, I think that over the last year I have spent less than an hour shopping for clothes.

As for dressing to emphasize my heterosexuality, I don’t think I’ve ever done this. I’m a firm supporter of Albert Einstein who claimed that he had several identical suits in his wardrobe so that he didn’t have to think what to wear in the morning.

Douglas Lloyd-Jenkins’ article was a precusor to his book on a History of Fashion. I suppose that a theory of gay panic will sell more copies than a theory that men just don’t care about fashion.

things are tough all over

NEW ORLEANS – Bullet-makers are working around the clock, seven days a week, and still can't keep up with the nation's demand for ammunition.

Shooting ranges, gun dealers and bullet manufacturers say they have never seen such shortages. Bullets, especially for handguns, have been scarce for months because gun enthusiasts are stocking up on ammo, in part because they fear President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress will pass antigun legislation — even though nothing specific has been proposed and the president last month signed a law allowing people to carry loaded guns in national parks.

Gun sales spiked when it became clear Obama would be elected a year ago and purchases continued to rise in his first few months of office. The FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System reported that 6.1 million background checks for gun sales were issued from January to May, an increase of 25.6 percent from the same period the year before.

"That is going to cause an upswing in ammunition sales," said Larry Keane, senior vice president of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association representing about 5,000 members. "Without bullets a gun is just a paper weight."

The shortage for sportsmen is different than the scarcity of ammo for some police forces earlier this year, a dearth fueled by an increase in ammo use by the military in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"We are working overtime and still can't keep up with the demand," said Al Russo, spokesman for North Carolina-based Remington Arms Company, which makes bullets for rifles, handguns and shotguns. "We've had to add a fourth shift and go 24-7. It's a phenomenon that I have not seen before in my 30 years in the business."

Americans usually buy about 7 billion rounds of ammunition a year, according to the National Rifle Association. In the past year, that figure has jumped to about 9 billion rounds, said NRA spokeswoman Vickie Cieplak.

Jason Gregory, who manages Gretna Gun Works just outside of New Orleans, has been building his personal supply of ammunition for months. His goal is to have at least 1,000 rounds for each of his 25 weapons.

"I call it the Obama effect," said Gregory, 37, of Terrytown, La. "It always happens when the Democrats get in office. It happened with Clinton and Obama is even stronger for gun control. Ammunition will be the first step, so I'm stocking up while I can."

So far, the new administration nor Congress has not been markedly antigun. Obama has said he respects Second Amendment rights, but favors "common sense" on gun laws. Still, worries about what could happen persist.

Demand has been so heavy at some Walmarts, a limit was imposed on the amount of ammo customers can buy. The cutoff varies according to caliber and store location, but sometimes as little as one box — or 50 bullets — is allowed.

At Barnwood Arms in Ripon, Calif., sales manager Dallas Jett said some of the shortages have leveled off, but 45-caliber rounds are still hard to find.

"We've been in business for 32 years and I've been here for 10 and we've never seen anything like it," Jett said. "Coming out of Christmas everything started to dry up and it was that way all through the spring and summer.

Nationwide, distributors are scrambling to fill orders from retailers.

"We used to be able to order 50 or 60 cases and get them in three or four days easy, it was never an issue," said Vic Grechniw of Florida Ammo Traders, a distributor in Tampa, Fla. "Now you are really lucky if you can get one case a month. It just isn't there because the demand is way up."

A case contains 500 or 1,000 bullets.

At Jefferson Gun Outlet and Range in Metairie just west of New Orleans, owner Mike Mayer is worried individuals are going to start buying by the case.

"If someone wants to shoot on the weekend you have to worry about having the ammunition for them. And I know some people aren't buying to use it at the range, they're taking it home and hoarding it."

With demand, prices have also risen.

"Used to be gold, but now lead is the most expensive metal," said Donald Richards, 37, who was stocking up at the Jefferson store. "And worth every penny."

.

no, this isn't scary at all

how can you tell?

Men lie twice as often as women, fibbing an average six times a day to their partners, boss and work colleagues, while women told just three, according to a new study.

Common porkies told by men included "This will be my last pint," and perennial favourite "No, your bum doesn't look big in that."

According to overseas reports, the poll of 2000 people in Britain revealed the most common lie was the same for both sexes: "Nothing's wrong, I'm fine".

But Victoria University senior lecturer in psychology Marc Wilson said you can't always trust how much a liar says they lie. Women were less likely to admit to it than men, he said.

His online study of 4000 New Zealanders, showed women told more white lies.

"Men are happier to admit they engage in self-promotion, lying to make themselves look better," Wilson said.

And there's no reason to feel bad about stretching the truth, lies serve an important purpose.

"It's a social lubricant because it helps smooth over some of the cracks in our every-day interactions," he said.

Men lied about missing phone calls and being stuck in traffic, while women were more likely to be evasive about their spending habits. Both sexes were prone to playing down how much they'd had to drink.

But we're not really fooling anyone: four fifths of those polled said they could tell when their partner fibbed.

And more than half admitted to being caught stretching the truth.

And think again the next time a colleague says it's "nice to see you" - it was the most popular workplace porkie.

TOP 10 LIES

Men

1. Nothing's wrong, I'm fine
2. This will be my last pint
3. No, your bum doesn't look big in that
4. I had no signal
5. My battery died
6. Sorry, I missed your call
7. I didn't have that much to drink
8. I'm on my way
9. It wasn't that expensive
10. I'm stuck in traffic

Women

1. Nothing's wrong, I'm fine
2. Oh, this isn't new, I've had it ages
3. It wasn't that expensive
4. It was in the sale
5. I'm on my way
6. I don't know where it is, I haven't touched it
7. I didn't have that much to drink
8. I've got a headache
9. No, I didn't throw it away
10. Sorry, I missed your call

online study. it must be accurate.

missing the point

from the herald

A

New Zealander has been crowned Australia's fastest reader after she became one of the first people in the world to read Dan Brown's eagerly awaited novel The Lost Symbol.

Carly Palmer, originally from St Heliers but living in Sydney for the past five months, churned through Brown's 509-page book in two hours and 34 minutes.

Her prize for beating 26 others in a competition: a $500 collection of books and transtasman bragging rights.

"We were told it would take about four hours to read the book. I guess I was lucky there were no real speed readers among them," said Miss Palmer.

The 23-year-old administrative assistant said the hype surrounding its release - a million copies were sold in the United States, Canada and Britain on the first day of sales on Tuesday - was justified.

The new tome was "definitely a better read" than Brown's controversial The Da Vinci Code, which has sold more than 80 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 44 languages since it was first published in 2003.

i know that reading dan brown is something that you'd like to get over with as quickly as possible, but still...

isn't reading a new book one of the great pleasures in life? something you want to savour?

i've got the new reginald hill and as soon as i finish my internet stuff today, i will be taking it into the garden and slowly drifting through a couple of hundred pages.

i can think of no better way to spend a sunny sunday afternoon

ha

Book titles, if they were written today:

Then: Romeo and Juliet.

Now: The Teen Sex and Suicide Epidemic: How to protect yourself and your family.

Then: The Da Vinci Code

Now: Jesus Christ: An International Man of Mystery.

Then: The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

Now: Shed Your Skin!: How I gave up junk food and released the butterfly within.

Then: The Gospel of Matthew.

Now: 40 Days and a Mule: How one man quit his job and became the boss.

Then: A Clockwork Orange.

Now: Hooliganz: Ultra violence and the media.

just missed

a person at work today managed to get a screen shot of her computer showing:


09.09.09am 09/09/09

me, i was two seonds out

apparently all registry offices have been booked up today with chinese couples getting married. i saw two wedding parties getting photos taken at lunchtime, and another group heading up mt eden on my way home. (aparently nine means happiness or something)

time drives

i had to renew my drivers licence the other day

thats ten years that's passed

three cars
four pairs of glasses
sixty-four dislysis sessions
five thousand, four hundred and twenty cofeee spoons (thanks, ts)
seventy-two thousand, six hunded and forty-eight cigarettes (and isn't that a sobering thought)

ten years ago, there was no grey in my hair

unfortunatly, it was a post-dialysis day when i got the renewal. so for the next ten years, my photo will make me look as if i've been dead for two days. still as i look like that three days out of every seven anyway, i guess that's ok.

oh, and now? 72,639

woodsmoke

it is said by ....somebody, that the sense of smell is the most powerful of senses and a simple odour can trigger a memory long gone

someone around here has an old fashioned fireplace and they use it in winter. and the smell of woodsmoke drifts through the neighbourhood, mingled with the chill of winter air.

and i am sitting at my window at 5.30 on a 10 degree sunday evening listening to a warren zevon cd playing softly and wondering whether i have the energy to make a full dinner, or if only a sandwich would do and i smell the woodsmoke.

and i am sent back thirty years or more:

to the pile of woodblocks in the box in the lean-to by the passionfruit vine
to using the small axe to cut kindling
to the pine cones collected from the trees behind our place
to the lighting of the fire and the sibling critics who were alwys sure you'd got it wrong
to the secret timing of putting on the first big blocks so that they would feed rather than smother the flames.
to staring at the fire which was often more hypnotic and interesting than the images flickering on the tv screen.
to burning bread over the embers and calling it toast

i remembered all of this and started to cry.

these happy pills are doing me no good at all

a job well done

bookshelves assembled
books, cds and dvd's arranged
carpets steam cleaned
floors scrubbed and mopped
walls washed
window cleaned

it should be easy to keep cleaning and stuff up to date now

mind you, i've said that before

not today

i haven't blogged in a couple of weeks as my time has been taken up with other things.

after the inorganic collection a few weeks back, i had a lot of empty space, and cds and dvds stacked in boxes. i needed bookshelves. and fortunatly, the warehouse has kitset bookshelves at a reasonable price. and being a kiwi male, putting them together would be no problem. (and i was right about that)

unfortunately, the only day i really get to do them is sunday. and sunday is not a good day for me to anything. so i've been doing it piecemeal. two weeks ago, i went to buy them, but by the time i got them home, i was too tired to put them together.

last week, i spent five hours putting them together and then was too tired to fill them up.

yesterday i did fill them up, it took longer than i expected and it turns out that i need a few more.

last night, i came out of dialysis half a kilo under my target weight. today, its raining, everytime i stand up i get a headrush and a bit of dizziness. taking a shower wore me out. i think i've done enough for this week, so i'll be watching a terrible film (superhero movie) reading a book or two and getting an early night. at this rate its going to take another month or so before everything's squared away.

still, the stuff i've done so far looks good

wrds mttr

Television New Zealand has been forced to scrap a new advertising campaign featuring promos with text language after a backlash from members of the public.

TVNZ spokeswoman Megan Richards said the new promos, which screen exclusively on TV2, were introduced around a fortnight ago and there had been a "clear message" from the public that they were not popular.

"We have learned in that period that vowels are extremely important to New Zealanders."

The ads featured abbreviations for upcoming shows, using 'TON' for 'tonight' and 'TMW' for tomorrow in the style of language usually used in cellphone text messges.

TVNZ were aware of the Facebook site created to fight the vowel-free promos and had received "dozens of letters and emails" on the matter, Ms Richards said.

More than 6000 people have signed up to the 'I hate TV2's new abbreviations' Facebook group.

"While TV channels don't stand still and we'll try new ideas and look for points of differences, there is no point in having a point of difference that people don't like," she said.

"It was an idea that was obviously not appreciated."

Ms Richards said the promo campaign had been created "in-house" and had involved "no extraordinary cost".

The new-look promos would be phased out in the coming days, she said.

"Progressively, over the next few days and weeks it will return to the way it was and you will see vowels once again."

A blog by Moata Tamaira on Stuff.co.nz about the ads received more than 100 comments, most of them negative.

"It took me ages to figure out what 'TON' and 'TMW' meant," said one poster.

"I think it's ridiculous. 'TON' annoys me the most - it's like they forgot the rest of the word. Bring back the old format," said another.

to be honest, i hadn't even noted the changes, and now they're gone.

i just can't get to grips with this new text lenguage though; even when i send i text i tend to write the words out in full

i'd be useless on twitter

inorganic weekend

yes its that time of year again when the detritus of a consumerist society is sprawled over the grass verges of the neighbourhood. the end result is that today, mt eden looks like a rubbish tip

about two weeks ago i got a note through my letter box from the auckland city council warning me that this was coming up on the weeked of the 6 and 7th of june, but not to put any rubbish out before then, or i would be prosecuted.

so over the last two days i have eschewed my usual packrat tendencies and not only got rid of a lot of my rubbish, but sold an old steroeo and playstation to cash converters, a bunch of books to the book exchane and found about fifty dollars in notes and coins.

oh, and taniwha? the bed you left with me when you moved to england? sorry dude, out on the road.

there has also been the ususl inorganic dance. no sooner do you put stuff out for collection, that others come around and pick through it. fair enough, you know, one person's trash is another person's treasure, but i ntried to be considerate to the collectors and put my smaller stuff out in boxes and bags. the collectors open these to rummage through them and do they replace the things they don't want? no, of course not.

fortunately, i was able to get a lot shifted yeaterday but there was still plenty to take out today. this is not an activity designed for a post-dialysis day.

my home now looks substantially larger, and i am officially stuffed

can't cook anything too complex for dinner, thank god for sardines on toast

so very cold

first frost of the year reached mt eden last night

5 degrees when i got up this morning

was tempted to leave the heater on while i was at dialysis last night, but didn't. when i got home at 10.45pm, the place was freezing

just because it sounds like a good idea

A primary school has caused an uproar by asking students to come to school dressed as a disabled person as part of a fundraiser. Ramco Primary School in South Australia wrote in a newsletter that it would hold a "disability day" fundraiser. The aim of the dress-up is to raise money for a clinic in Bangladesh that repairs cleft lips and palates in children. Its newsletter stated: "There will be prizes for the best students dressed as a person with a disability. Get your thinking hats on and see what disability you can represent." (Source: News.com.au)

no, nothing could go wrong with this idea

you've got to think these things through, people.

i wonder if they have any kids that are already disabled. they would surely have the inside track for the prizes.

i think that if i was in the contest, i'd go as an autistic person. that way i could dress in my ordinary clothes and i wouldn't have to speak to anyone

swine flew

what happened to the big swine flu panendemic? it seems to have vanished.

does this mean we can go back to panicking about the recession?

why not?

from yahoo news

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Award-winning entertainer, businesswoman and education advocate Dolly Parton has a new title.

"Just think, I am Dr. Dolly!" she said Friday after receiving an honorary doctorate of humane and musical letters from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.

Always joking about her buxom figure, she added, "So when people say something about 'Double-D,' they will be thinking of something entirely different."

The audience of 1,069 new graduates from the College of Arts and Sciences roared with laughter and gave Parton a standing ovation.

Parton, a Tennessee native who is the fourth of 12 children from a poor Appalachian family, is well-known for her philanthropic work. Her Imagination Library sends a book to about 500,000 children each month from birth until they start school.

ha ha. imagine giving dolly parton an honorary document. i have seen some comments on this, most of it sneering.

however, i country music circles, she is actually well respected-not for her crossover stuff, but for her hardcore bluegrass albums. amongst fans of serious country music, she's up there with alison krauss and gillian welsh.

i was never a fan of dolly parton-dad had a copy of her duet with kenny rogers "islands in the stream" which is horrible. plus all i ever really saw was her public image-how could you take that seriously.

then, a couple of years ago i heard a documentary on national radio about an album that she was making where she was returning to her bluegrass roots. it was something of a revelation. skilfull playing, hearing her as part of a group rather than as a star. her interviews showed that she did know where she came from, as it were.

another surprise was hearing her original version of "i will always love you." if you're used to the bombastic diva version done by whitney housten that infested the airwaves a few years back, then parton's original version is actually listenable. its a wistful afterthought of a song.

ok i'm not rushing out to buy any of her albums, but i would suggest that in terms of her skill, her knowledge of appalachian music, and most of her songwriting, yhe idea of giving her a doctorate is not as ridiculous as it sounds

the greatest thing before sliced bread

Apparently, the answer is the toaster.

The first commercial toaster went on sale 100 years ago this week.
Originally called the D12, it only toasted one side of bread at a time, and you needed to watch it to prevent the toast from burning (I think we've all had a similar model at one time or another).

The toaster became popular because toast is an ideal way to keep stale bread edible for another couple of days, and this way, you didn't have to make a fire every time you wanted a slice

It soon appeared that it was diffiult to cut the bread to the right size for perfect toast-too thin and you got a mouthful of croutons, too large and the outside would be burnt black while the inside was still cold.

So, bakeries began to pre-slice bread so that they would be the ideal size for toast.

I love little bits of history like this.

hallelulla

Former brothel becomes a church
A former Queenstown brothel has a new owner - a Christian church group.
Queenstown Christian leaders Chris and Janet Barraclough have moved their
Vineyard Church into the former Candy's Gentlemen's Club in Shotover St.
The former brothel,which offered spas, sauna and massages, closed in December when the building's lease ran out.
The first Vineyard church was founded in California in 1974 and there are now more than 1500 churches globally.
A sign outside the building described Vineyard Churches as "orthodox and
evangelical in belief, while at the same time practising Pentecostal power

I suppose they can use the spa pools for baptisims

bad reputation

just been watching campbell live. lead story was on the upcoming university games and the difficulties students are having finding accomodation

after the mini riots that resulted from otago university's undie 500 and toga parade, there has been quite a media moral panic over young people's binge drinking

the university games is an annual event where students from the various institutions get together and play touch rugby, netball and so on. naturally, there is a certain amount of socialising which tends to involve a certain amount of alcohol, which in turn results in a certain amount of unfortunate behaviour.

campbell interviewed a couple of motel owners who had the pleasure of the students coompany last year. at the end of the games, they found that seveal of the rooms had been trashed, with vomit and other bodily excertions. they had sued the (canterbury, i think) sstudents association but lost a case in the disputes tribunal when the referee ruled that the students association could not be held responsibility for the actions of a few students.

the motel owners are not renting their rooms to any students this year. their quote:

"rent your rooms to the mongrel mob or black power. don't rent to students"

do you want fries with that?

LINCOLN, Nebraska - Residents of a small southwest Nebraska town have a question for state officials: You're not doing anything with that old electric chair, are you?

The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled last year that the state's use of the electric chair was unconstitutional.

Some people in McCook - population just under 8,000 - think "Old Sparky" could be a tourist attraction and have offered to take it off the state's hands.

Fifteen men were executed in the chair, which is about 338 kilometres east of McCook at the Nebraska State Penitentiary in Lincoln.

Corrections department spokeswoman Connie Nemec says there are no immediate plans to move the chair.

I can imagine a whole museum, detailing the lives and crimes of the fifteen men who were executed. And just imagine what the gift store would be like