Every holiday comes with ridiculous levels of consumerism with overstocked kitchens resulting in wasted food (Christmas, New Year, Easter, Thanksgiving etc) unnecessary gifts (Christmas, Mother's Day, Fathers Day), and unnecessary decorative items (Christmas trees, Christmas lights, Easter bunnies, etc) but the contrived celebration of Halloween is the worst with the ridiculous costumes, decorations and paraphernalia that are poorly made from plastic and synthetic materials and are environmentally unfriendly. All this results in needless household expense usually made by families who can ill afford it.
The crap - actually utter crap - that is bought and used usually once gets junked after a day and, if kept, gets junked at the next house move or spring clean. All for what? An American (borrowed from European traditions) consumerism concept that really has no meaning. Who thinks it a good idea to send children around neighbourhoods soliciting unhealthy and maybe dangerous confectionary from strangers?
I'm quite surprised at Robert the sanctimonious catholic supporting this nonsense. Here's what he said in his latest post:
Yes, apart from the fact that the old guy got a bit confused about calendars there, he is also a bit conflicted as to whether this is a churchy thing or an excuse for a knees up. Maybe he can look to Il Papa for inspiration and guidance?
The thing I've most noticed in the Women's World Cup Rugby I've been watching has been the reliance on video replay. This is TMO (Television Match Official) which is supposed to help referees and assistant referees make accurate and consistent decisions. The TMOs use video replay technology to show specific plays like:
the grounding of the ball for a try
whether players were in touch before grounding the ball
whether a kick at goal was successful
confirming if an infringement has occurred in the build up to a try
considering acts of foul play and others.
The referee is supposedly the only person on the field of play who can call on the TMO to assist in a decision being made and is the final decision maker - if they have awarded a try they have until the conversion is taken to consult the TMO. If the TMO finds a reason to not give the try, the referee can disallow the previously awarded try.
I note in at least one game I watched that the referee reversed a decision on a try after the conversion was taken. This is getting ridiculous. In all the games I've watched the ref calls for TMO after every try. This disrupts the flow of the games and suggests that the actual referee cannot be trusted to follow their own instincts and rely on their own abilities.
On far too many occasions, linesmen and assistant referees call the referees attention to incidents that happened way before and the game stops for a TMO review. I understand that this can catch dangerous play and deliberate indiscretions but where will it end up? Players already have GPS trackers sewn into their shirts (the lumps you see at the back of their necks). These are to monitor players' speed and distance during a game which is why the commentators can quickly throw out statistics.
This to me has shades of Steve Austin and the Six Million Dollar Man to it.
If players can be so easily monitored by computers maybe in future their actions can be controlled by computers.
It's all becoming too technical. Where will it end?
Maybe the video and film recordings of all rugby test games, particularly those whose results have been in dispute like the final of the Rugby World Cup in South Africa in 1995 where The all Blacks were 'beaten' by South Africa, will be digitally remastered and then TMO will be used to make rulings on tries, foul play, knock- ons etc.
I started this blog back in 2008 just after I finished working full-time and became semi-retired.
I was doing contract work and part-time work for the next 8 years (with a couple of years in-between where I did nothing except charity work) until 2016 when I gave up work completely.
The 'blog archive' report on the home page of this blog shows the number of posts published each year from 2008 to year to date 2022:
It clearly shows a significant increase in posts since 2016 with 2022 being the most frequent and there are still two months to go.
Looking at the figures for 2022 the number of posts per month are about the same but there was a spike in June:
Digging further and looking at the June posts here''s a list of the topics of these 68 posts:
Now that I've got your interest here are links to these 68 posts for you to re-read and enjoy all over again .............................
.................. Just kidding.
I don't know if that was of interest to you but it's a really dull and rainy day up here and I've got nothing to do. The second lot of rugby quarter finals don't start until later ........ but ...... hold on. As Richard can't or won't watch the rugby he might like to re-read these posts. In that case here are links to all of those 68 posts ...................................
This morning I was browsing through my old secondary school magazines:
The Patrician
I have 5 of these covering my secondary schooling from 1966 through 1970.
Just before putting them back on the bookshelf I looked at the advertisements in the back. These were pretty much the same over all 5 years so the 'advertising manager' on the school magazine committee didn't push the boat out much. In addition to the expected ads for school stationery, sporting equipment, confectionery and shoe polish there are useless ones for cement products, cars, building materials, real estate and carpet cleaners. What really cracks me up though are these ones:
Maybe the 'advertising manager' was a wannabe, alcoholic priest who played for the other team.
Many people have nicknames that are used to identify and sometimes to describe them.
Most are created and used in their schooldays and get left behind as they grow older. Some endure and sit uncomfortably when the person's physical attributes change:
Curly for someone who once had curly hair and is now bald.
Red or Rusty for someone who once had red hair but has now turned grey.
Bunter for someone who had been a bit fat but now is lean.
Speedy for someone who was once a fast runner but now uses a walker.
Specs or Brains for someone who once wore spectacles but now uses contact lenses
etc.
Of course people's actual names are often shortened or changed and these endure:
Al for Albert.
Kate for Katherine.
Rick or Rich for Richard.
Reb or Bob for Robert
Pete for Peter.
Larry for Lawrence
etc.
Often when people at an older age get into relationships and/or marry are given or choose nicknames out of (hopefully) affection.
I refer to Lynn as The Old Girl or Her Indoors or She Who Must Be Obeyed in some of my blogs and often call her Hoss at home. She in turn calls me Matey. This has been the case for over 30 years now and has kind of stuck - but only for each other in private.
I remember my father calling my mother Jimmy! I don't recall her having a nickname for him but she did often say to us kids "your dad's a heathen".
I've overheard my sister calling her husband Binky.
I don't know if Richard or Robert have 'at home' nicknames other than probably, Hey You or Stop Thief.*
Maybe they can share that with us sometime.
When I was a kid the daughters of my fathers business partner used to call me Petey Pops. It used to embarrass hell out of me.
"SMOKE AND MIRRORS is a metaphor, originating from 18th and 19th-century phantasmagoria shows, for a deceptive, fraudulent or insubstantial explanation or description."
You've read my witterings and complaints before on vaping but it is a serious problem.
No doubt that unless you're a Catholic* or live under a rock you've seen the news about the vaping labelling misrepresentation that's been going on in New Zealand.
"A copy seen by Fair Go shows the Vaping Regulatory Authority says in some cases, notifiers appear to have provided false or misleading information in their product notifications with regards to the quantity of nicotine in a product."
Well, no shit Sherlock. Call me old Mr cynical pants but why should we be surprised that the tobacco industry which, in the background controls the vape industry is putting 'misleading information in the product notifications'? It is, after all, in their interests to capture new users and to get them hooked as quickly as possible, providing a lifetime of addictive purchasing.
I listened to National Radio (not all day Robert, just while driving) and heard someone bleating at how many vape outlets there are and what can be done about it. If it was up to me I'd close the whole lot down and not allow new ones to open up. Every week new vaping shops are given licences to operate whether near schools or not.
Another person wondered how long it took for the misrepresentation (packaging stating lower nicotine levels than are actually in the product) to be noticed. If anyone had bothered to ask the schoolkids ingesting this crap they would have learnt that the kids know which products have the higher amounts of nicotine - the 'hot stuff' and eschew the namby-pamby 'safer' stuff.
This sort of breast beating, after the event isn't new in this country. I remember when there was parliamentary discussion on the admission of pitbull dogs into the country. We didn't have these dangerous American cross breeds once and then an arsehole MP (from Taranaki I think) put a bill forward promoting the idea probably after lobbying by his pig-hunting constituents. As a result our 'esteemed' parliamentarians passed the bill and now we have dangerous animals that rip kid's faces off.
Once we had sensible firearms legislation that licensed each and every rifle (not shotguns for some reason but at least pistols and revolvers were illegal) in the country and banned automatic weapons. Some 'wisemen' decided to change this and the legislation was drastically changed to only license the gun owner and not the individual firearms. A gun owner can buy and store as many of these killing instruments as they like now. In addition the law was changed to allow semi-automatic (easily adapted to full automatic) guns into the country of a type used in the Christchurch mosque murders. What fuckwit thought that was a good idea?
I could go on with examples of stupid law changes - allowing dangerous second hand and over-powerd vehicles in for example but I know that it's Saturday and Robert has to clean a church, go to Mass or photograph another statue of the virgin Mary. Richard has to ....... well, whatever he does on a Saturday I guess.
Goodbye.
* Catholics seem to ignore real news, preferring to get their information from Sunday church sermons and antique publications.
It's been a few months since I've had a haircut as I'm forever putting it off. I hate sitting in the barber chair listening to stuff from someone I have nothing in common with while they snip away. Todays barber was a woman who believes that Jacinda Ardern is a communist, that Covid is overrated and that it'll be great when National got back in power.
To be honest I didn't converse much with her but listened to the conversation she was having with a previous customer - a big, fat, objectionable, rich fascist racist. I just about walked out but it seems that this is a very busy time for barbers (leading up to Christmas and after winter) so stayed. First thing this morning I went to my 'regular' barber but all the waiting seats were full and there were people waiting to get in. I went away for an hour (Mitre 10, Countdown and The Warehouse (to return a piece of crap wireless mouse and keyboard). When I returned all the waiting seats were full and there were people waiting to get in which is why I drove off down to the one that cut my hair. That place was also full and I had to wait for 50 minutes listening to drivel that, no doubt, Robert would have enjoyed and bought into.
I've been trying to find a hair cutting tool that I can use at home to cut my own hair but have had no luck so far. I bought a hunk of junk on-line ($24) that doesn't work at all. I was looking for a razor comb like I remember from the 1960s. It was a simple plastic comb with a razor blade in it that you could buy from McKenzies. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be on the market anymore.
Last night the first 10 minutes of TV One's 6 O'clock (prime time) news was dedicated to a silly story about a couple of New Zealand 'influencers' being released from Iran.
These over-privileged and entitled bozos had been detained (not locked up) by Iranian officials after they were suspected of photographing military targets. It's very unlikely that they did (willingly) photograph any military targets but I believe that they willingly ignored and made fun of Iran's religious rules and protocols and civil and military laws. As professional and experienced travellers they would have known of the requirements but chose to ignore them because, well, they feel themselves to be entitled.
I'm disappointed that our government stepped in to assist these idiots and wish that they'd been left there. This just creates precedent for more 'look at me' idiots to do similar things in other 'sensitive' parts of the world.
"Fuck 'em" I say.
Topher Richwhite is not new to privilege and entitlement being the son of David Richwhite of Fay/Richwhite fame - the now near billionaires who raped and pillaged New Zealand resources like Kiwi Rail back in the 1980s and 1990s.
"If these two rich social media influencer wankers weren’t the well connected rich wankers that they are, would we really have had the corporate media self censor themselves while trapping the Government into not criticising Iran?
These two pompous arsehole social media influencers shouldn’t have been in fucking Iran at the time! There was a clear warning not to go there from MFAT and yet they chose to go there for their fucking social media audience!"
"We're so important, normal rules don't apply to us and our families are rich enough to lobby government to help us if it all turns to shit."
I must have finished my period in purgatory as Robert has renamed his links list:
Remember that this was what it was before:
Clicking on the 'someone who is not to believed (sic) link took me to my own blog.
I thought that this was unfair as The Curmudgeons Inc.ⓒ takes pride in being at least approximate in its information promulgation as the disclaimer on the home page of THE CURMUDGEON attests:
I guess that Robert was concerned that his readership, already dangerously wavering at about two, might slip.
I note that Robert on his blog 'Robert the apathetic and sanctimonious sinner and toilet cleaner' (don't ask) has changed the links to:
At least this shows consistency in his use of grammar but you'd think he'd take more care on the home page of his own blog but - he's a Catholic so exactitude isn't part of his vocabulary I guess.
Talking about guessing can you guess which of the above applies to me and which one applies to Richard?
Remember that I said I thought that a series of interviews with interviewees who get bad press and who haven't had a chance to put their stories forward might be a good idea? Well it was and we've had seven great interviews so far. Today I thought that Judas Iscariot should get a chance to put his views forward as, for the last couple of millennia, he's been painted as the bad guy in the Christian story.
For those of you who've been living under a rock all of your life here's a snapshot of what is reported about Judas:
Simon and Cyborea Iscariot were very upset at the way that the Gospellers slated their son and, if suitable laws had been in place at the time would have sued them and their publisher - The Bible - for libel.
THE CURMUDGEON: Welcome Judas Isacariot to The Curmudgeon's Interview series.
JUDAS ISCARIOT: Thanks The Curmudgeon. You can just call me Judas if you like. There's no need for my surname since those bastards the Gospellers tarnished my name. Since then no-one ever in history has wanted to be named Judas so there's no danger of confusion.
THE CURMUDGEON: OK Judas. I'm sorry to hear that and, by the way, you can call me TC - it's also easier for me to type.
JUDAS: Thanks TC.
TC: Look Judas, I've .....
JUDAS: TC?
TC: Yes Judas.
JUDAS: I'm not happy with that picture you've used of me. It doesn't show my good side and it looks like bloody Matthew or Luke or someone has scribbled some disparaging comments on it ....
TC: (sotto voce: For God's sake!)
JUDAS: What's that?
TC: I said it's a mistake. I blame Robert.
JUDAS: Robert? Why blame him?
TC: He's responsible for all of the silly religious stuff that gets said around here. Look, moving on Judas, here's a chance for you to put forward your story about what those Christians said happened back when you were still alive.
JUDAS: Right, gotcha. Have you heard the story then TC?
TC: Well I am an atheist but I was indoctrinated by nuns, brothers and priests who force-fed me a lot of old cobblers via the Catechism and other Catholic 'teachings' and you were mentioned a few times.
JUDAS: In a good light?
TC: Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ..... what do you think?
JUDAS: Bugger.
TC: Well, they never mentioned buggery but I guess that was a bit of a sensitive topic for the Catholic Church.
JUDAS: Ha ha - they would have stoned to death any LGBQT people back in my day. I remember Jesus saying "He that's not out but in among you, let him first cast the first stone."
TC: Mmmmm ..... you don't hold Jesus in high regard Judas. Why is that?
JUDAS: Jesus double crossed me.
TC: What! Robert's Jesus who loves everybody and ....
JUDAS: Look TC, you said you know the story that those bas .... Gospellers put out so I won't go over that again but I will let you know some things that .. well, that you don't know.
TC: OK. I like circular logic, let's go.
JUDAS: After that piss-up that Jesus organised - for whatever reason - as I was leaving, Jesus grabbed me and asked me to stay until after Bartholomew, James (son of Alphaeus), Andrew, Peter, Mags, Thomas, James (the Greater), Philip
Matthew, Jude Thaddeus, and Simon the Zealot had left ...
TC: Mags?
JUDAS: Mary Magdalene - Jesus's mistress.
TC: Oh! But what about John?
JUDAS: Don't be naive TC. John couldn't make it to the party. In that painting 'John' was really Mags in disguise.
TC: Oh!
JUDAS: Yes, well after the other bozos had gone Jesus asked for a favour. He said it was a joke really - kind of a practical joke he was playing. He said that he had a plan cooked up by his dad and him to make fun of the Sanhedrin and the Romans and to cock a snoot at Herod. He said that in the morning a group of his friends would come along and pretend to arrest him. He asked that I would point him out to the 'posse' and that for my troubles he's see me allright.
TC: See you allright?
JUDAS: Yeah. He said that he'd see that his pals would give me 30 bits of silver for my trouble. It was quite generous really but Jesus was never short of the readies.
TC: OK, so, that kind of fits in with the stories I've heard except that you're saying that Jesus arranged it,
JUDAS: That's right. He said that after I pointed him out we'd all have a laugh and enjoy a few bevvies.
TC: Like the wine that Jesus made at that wedding?
JUDAS: Give us a break TC. That was all bullshit dreamed up by Jesus's PR team. He'd smuggled in a few cleanskin amphora and pretended that they were water jars,
TC: Oh!
JUDAS: Yeah so, when morning came and Jesus's 'friends' turned up I pointed out Jesus and he gave me a big kiss. Yuck! He had morning breath made worse by all the plonk he'd drunk. The 'friends' carted Jesus off leaving me behind. I called out to Jesus and reminded him of what he owed me. He went into a huddle with the 'friends' and one of them came back and tossed me a bag of coins. It was done a bit rudely I thought but I was tired so went off home to bed.
TC: Right. So Jesus went off with his pals and everyone was happy?
JUDAS: As far as I know they were. Jesus seemed OK with it as if it was all part of his plan. Later I heard that the Sanhedrin and the Romans had crucified him. "Bloody hell" I thought but then a couple of days later he'd disappeared, apparently taken away by his family and was then seen walking about. I thought "Well done Jesus mate, you really fooled everyone."
TC: Really?
JUDAS: Yes, really. He wasn't dead. He must have had some inside help.
TC: OK then, Why did you get such a bad rap?
JUDAS: It was because Jesus disappeared and I was blamed for pointing him out to the posse.
TC: But you said that he turned up again and was seen walking about.
JUDAS: That's right but then he disappeared again. I found out later that he'd taken off to Gaul with Mags who was pregnant. They were running away from Mags's parents and brothers who would have, you know, stoned her to death. They established themselves there and it was only discovered much later when their descendants the Carolingians admitted it.
TC: Oh!
JUDAS: Right, But here's the problem. Jesus didn't tell anyone of the arrangement he had made with me so ...
TC: .... so everyone thought you had led him to his death?
JUDAS: Yes but with a lot of help from those damned Gospellers - Matthew, Mark and Luke who made up a hell of a story about Jesus rising from the dead and going up into heaven. Give me a break.
TC: What about John the Gospeller?
JUDAS: John was a druggie. No-one listened to him. Have you read some of that nonsense he wrote? It leaves Aldous Huxley, Hunter S. Thompson, Ken Kesey and William Burroughs for dead.
TC: Oh! So what happened to you?
JUDAS: You really want to know?
TC: Of Course. This is why we're doing this interview.
JUDAS: OK then, hang onto your hat. Do you remember what happened to Jeffrey Epstein?
TC: That New York millionaire paedophile? No one misses him surely?
JUDAS: It's Judas, not Shirley but yes, Epstein. He was got to in prison. They hanged him.
TC:You mean .....
JUDAS: Yes, those bastards who were creating that fake narrative kidnapped me and hung me from a tree and made it look like suicide. They didn't even give the silver to mum and dad but scattered it around my body to make me look complicit.
TC: Oh!
JUDAS: Oh is right matey. And Jesus didn't bother to set anyone right on the matter - in fact, I think I was just a dupe to cover his tracks for running off with Mags.
TC: You know Judas, that makes more sense than the garbage in the Gospels and the Catechism, why hasn't this come to light before?
JUDAS: Really TC? I'm dead don't you know. What other fantasist publication would print such things?
TC: Anything by Aldous Huxley, Hunter S. Thompson, Ken Kesey and William Burroughs?
JUDAS: Ha ha - good point. Oh well I must be going .....
TC: Yeah, you don't want to be seen hanging around here.
My favourite hardware store is Mitre 10 in Whangarei. It is a very large store and generally has the products and brands I want at a reasonable price. It is conveniently located. I avoid going to Bunnings because I've always perceived this brand as being an usurper and is Australian owned and controlled. It's also further away than Mitre 10. There is a Hammer Hardware store closer to us which I also use. It is smaller with a more limited range but seems to be family owned so I like to support it.
There are other branded stores - Placemakers, Toolshed and Farmlands for example but these have a limited range of the products that I want. There are also specialty stores like the NZ Safety Shop where I bought some overalls, knee pads and gaiters recently. Hey! Here's a pic to remind you:
Here's a snapshot of who owns which of these stores:
New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand
Australia
OK - no surprises there. Apart from Bunnings which is Australian owned the others are New Zealand franchises along the Foodstuffs model (Pak n Save, New World, 4 Square). They are corporately run though regardless of the individual 'family' ownership. This becomes more evident with the larger format stores. The smaller ones, if they are local and you shop frequently enough can offer a more personalised service. This is why I use Hammer Hardware in Onerahi and, when I lived in Auckland used Hammer Hardware in Point Chevalier.
Although I like the Mitre 10 Mega store I feel conflicted because, during the mandatory mask-wearing period of this pandemic, Mitre 10 corporate ran a series of odious television ads featuring a gormless D.I.Y. guy latching on to a 'manly' Mitre 10 employee who helped him make his choices. I have no problem with the message as I find Mitre 10 employees very helpful when dealing with me - a D.I.Y. schlemiel, but I do object to the fact that the actors didn't wear masks even when the gormless guy hugged the employee.
I understand how TV advertising works having been involved in creation of these in the past and accept that this ad was likely created before the mask mandates came into force but ........ I think that it is reprehensible for Mitre 10 corporate to show the ad during the mandate period and shows a disregard for rules and social responsibility. Corporate greed at its worst.
I've been getting my supplies from Hammer Hardware recently.
****************
Supermarkets have been in the news lately but not in a good way. During the pandemic they have reported massive profits which seemingly suggests that while costs have increased markedly due to supply channel difficulties, the supermarkets have continued with their normal mark-ups and haven't shared the pain. The price increases of staple items, especially vegetables is causing people to look elsewhere and will likely create another demand for independent operators as an alternative.*
Alternatives can be like farmers markets, co-op vegetable markets or the mega big boys like Costco which recently opened to much fanfare and stupid consumer response. Letting outfits like Costco (and Amazon and IKEA) into New Zealand is like inviting a fox into the henhouse or Satan into Heaven to provide some entertainment for the bored residents.
They will take your money as fast as they can, loading people up with more stuff than they need or want and meanwhile drive out any local opposition, particularly the small, owner-operated businesses. It isn't a good long term model. This is how the current supermarkets have operated.
I try to support smaller and independent operators like Bin Inn where I buy my bread-making supplies and various other baking ingredients from. If there were any decent independent vegetable suppliers and meat suppliers I'd use these but the supermarkets have pretty much put them out of business. I do go to farmers markets from time to time. I prefer to shop Foodstuffs (Pak n Save and New World) before Woolworth's (Countdown) because Woolworths is Australian owned and, in the past when I was having to deal with supermarkets Woolworths were the worst to deal with. They were greedy bullies. Foodstuffs is a New Zealand owned co-operative.
New Zealand
Australia
Foodstuffs though is becoming more and more corporately run with stocking, pricing and marketing strategies not much different from Woolworths/Countdown.
I do shop at Countdown however because the large Whangarei store is closer to where I live than the large New World store. When doing a big fortnightly shop I go to Pak n Save because over all the products are cheaper and due to high turnover the fruit and vegetables and meat and fish products are fresher. I tend to use Countdown to buy the more 'specialty' items that Pak n Save doesn't stock. We have a smaller New World in Onerahi and and even smaller 4 Square store in Parua Bay which I use for top up items like milk, cheese, cereals etc. so you can see that 90% or more of my grocery shopping is with the two main players.
It's a Hobson choice really.
* This happens from time to time until the independents get too big and the big players (Foodstuffs and Woolworths) drive them out of business or take them over.
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