the blog and turfs and the brandywine bankrompers

I was seriously considering throwing in this blogging thing earlier today - as an experiment, it's essentially failed (if you take aside its initial incarnation as a diversion while at work and the brief flurry while I was at school).

That was until I read an old compadre of mine this afternoon that incensed me for no apparent reason. It's an innocuous entry that makes a small contribution to the ongoing battle between Lew and Chris Trotter over the future of the country's political left.

Yet it was this simple statement that got my goat (my emphasis added):

Lew at Kiwipolitico has the kind of post up at the moment that reminds me why mainstream media is such an unsatisfying read/consume when it comes to political commentary.

There's a common refrain in the blogosphere that the mainstream media has failed, yet I remain unconvinced - yes it has its short-comings, but it can't be everything to everyone.

And that seems to be the over-riding concern for a number of my friends - it doesn't coin things in a paradigm that they've bought into.

For every lament as to why our top political commentators aren't delving into the growing divisions of the Labour Party movement, we get insightful pieces from the likes of Colin James, Pattrick Smellie (I'm contractually obligated for this one), and Fran O'Sullivan as to how political language is being re-written, why Don Brash is a naive idealogue rather than the spawn of Satan, and what the government is doing wrong in addressing youth wages.

They are doing what they do, and the majority of them do it very well, even if it doesn't touch on a number of keystone issues that the blogosphere wants to enter the main lexicon.

To be honest, the internal politicking of the wider left-wing movement in New Zealand isn't actually that important when it doesn't have any power, or prospect of taking power in the next five years (just saying).

What I'd be much more keen on seeing would be the internal divisions of the labour movement, which will have a lot of power in the coming years.

So I guess this is really just a gripe, and I've fallen into that trap that so many bloggers (and New Zealanders) do of identifying a problem without providing an answer. So let's pull a Kevin Smith a la Zack and Miri and tack something into the credits: ummmm, bloggers can do thier ultra-specialised commentary that will be taken with a vat of salt and MSM columnists (why am I even getting worked up over columnists - excepting Garth George, Michael Laws, Jim Hopkins, Richard Long, etc etc etc) can stick to their turf of churning something out in 40 minutes as deadline looms.....

Oy vey...

PB.

Blood, most certainly, is thicker than water

I like to think that I can be a productive kind of guy, but honestly, I don't know how some people are able to maintain a viable social life, keep on top of work, and keep a blog that's interesting and relevant. Mine most certainly hasn't been for quite some time.

Check out what I've been up to at NewsWire and Scoop - I've got a reason for being a tardy blogger... honestly. (Actually I don't - I'm just lazy - which you would be aware of had you delved back many many months.)

Since this is an effort to ease myself into the fine art of blogging, I wanted go to my favourite lobby group... Family First.

Today they put out this press release on the BSA ruling upholding a complaint about a gay sex scene on Shorters.

I'm going to leave the actual issue to far better minds than mine in explaining the problems with both of these pieces of literature.

I have but one problem facing me that one could possibly construe as a Monday night rant.

Go up to the Family First press release, scroll down to the fifth paragraph and read this stupid, stupid line:

"Television viewing is an integral part of family life"

There is something tragically wrong when an organisation that proclaims itself as putting the family before anything else, makes a statement like this.

It's reminiscent of Newmarket Business Association GM Cameron Brewer's wonderful phrase: "shopping these days is a favourite family leisure activity."

Bob McCroskie and Mr Brewer are not unintelligent people - why they believe such drivel will be bought by a media savvy public I do not know. Perhaps that's why they're earning the dark dollars of public relations, and I'm pursuing the relative hardship of journalism...

Anyways, when a lobbyist can convince me that watching television or exchanging currency for goods or services (most likely goods) makes an integral family leisure activity, please inform my nearest and dearest that they may need to have me committed.

If you can drag them away from the telly or the mall that is...

PB.

To all the blogs I've loved before.

When I read Vernon Small's blog on blogging and journalism this morning I pegged it as rant worthy for later in the day. Unfortunately, being a baby journo, I hit the bar with some of my classmates instead, and now I've found every half decent (yes, it's an exaggeration) blogger has already covered it in much greater depth than I would have. So instead of reading my rants and raves, check out Dim, DPF, Idiot/Savant and Adam Smith, and make sure you wade through the comments too. My 2c go to Dim, purely because I/S sounded way too smart for me at this time of a Friday night.

Oh, and check this out on stuff, it's the best news for a poor beleagured (rich) girl in a long time (hey someone's gotta have a soft spot for the gal).

REDUX: Thank the blogging gods for this thread! It's finally given Queen Bee the opportunity to write something worth reading - something she's been struggling to do for quite some time (it's all Winston's fault naturally). Her coverage of Georgia is keeping me optimistic...

Gratuitous plug numbers 2, 3 (and kind of 4)

Well, I guess I have to do this one (I tried yesterday, but my stoopid interweb decided not to work): if you have passing interest in the media and how it operates, subscribe to Tuckr. I know what you're thinking, he's his tutor so he's got to do this, but hell, everyone knows you've got to sign up to a site where the author actually knows what they're talking about (a rarity at the moment). Kind of forces us lesser mortals to lift our game as well (three posts on his first day - I think it took me three weeks to manage that effort).

Plug number two goes to Dave Lee dot backslash dot net dot ad infinitum - as most of my friends will tell you, I often lament about anyone who's younger than me (I figure I'm struggling enough so they can't stand a chance), but this guy's summat else. If you just wanna read this one post and nothing else, you'll be the better for it (and able to set up your own news website).


And just for laffs on governance issues, keep an eye on this one. Richard Westlake seems
to know what he's talking about, and I'm coming around to the point of view that what goes on in the boardroom (and occasionally plays out in the media) has as much melodrama as parliament.