The Example of Guido de Brès

I was reading about Guido de Brès - Author of the Belgic Confession earlier this evening.  This is one of the confessions that the Reformed Church of New Zealand holds to. When I picked up my JohnMac Bible later on, looking for some good verses to put in a Birthday card, I thought I would read Romans 8.  The second half of Romans 8 is an absolute goldmine of encouragement for Christians.  Here's a few excerpts...

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Guido de Brès understood these truths, and he lived by them.  He persevered with preaching from the Bible in secret, and in great danger.  Below is a description of his persecution and ultimate martyrdom by the Roman Catholic authorities. (You can read the entire brief biography at this page )

de Brès spent the first part of his captivity in a prison in Doornik, where he could receive visitors. Many of his visitors, however, were enemies who came to taunt him. But just as was the case with the apostle Paul (Philippians 1:12-14), Guido's imprisonment became an occasion for him to witness to the truth. When a princess, along with many young court ladies, came to mock, and the princess said in horror at Guido's heavy chains, "My God, Mr. de Brès, I don't see how you can eat, drink, or sleep that way. I think I would die of fear, if I were in your place," Guido responded: "My lady, the good cause for which I suffer and the good conscience God has given me make my bread sweeter and my sleep sounder than those of my persecutors." And, then, still responding to the princess, "It is guilt that makes a chain heavy. Innocence makes my chains light. I glory in them as my badges of honor."

Soon Guido was transferred to Valenciennes and thrown into a dark, cold, damp, rat-infested dungeon known as The Black Hole. In spite of the cold, the hunger, the horror of this hole, Guido wrote a tract on the Lord's Supper and letters to his friends, his aged mother, and his wife. A letter to his wife is an especially moving testimony of his faith.

My dear and well-beloved wife in our Lord Jesus.
Your grief and anguish are the cause of my writing you this letter. I most earnestly pray you not to be grieved beyond measure . . . . We knew when we married that we might not have many years together, and the Lord has graciously given us seven. If the Lord had wished us to live together longer, he could easily have caused it to be so. But such was not his pleasure. Let his good will be done . . . . Moreover, consider that I have not fallen into the hands of my enemies by chance, but by the providence of God . . . . All these considerations have made my heart glad and peaceful, and I pray you, my dear and faithful companion, to be glad with me, and to thank the good God for what he is doing, for he does nothing but what is altogether good and right . . . . I pray you then to be comforted in the Lord, to commit yourself and your affairs to him, he is the husband of the widow and the father of the fatherless, and he will never leave nor forsake you . . . .
Good-bye, Catherine, my well-beloved! I pray my God to comfort you, and give you resignation to his holy will. Your faithful husband, Guido de Brès.

Guido was publicly hanged on May 31, 1567 at the age of 47. He was pushed off the ladder while comforting the crowd which had gathered and urging them to faithfulness to the Scriptures. His body was left hanging the rest of the day and buried in a shallow grave where dogs and wild animals dug it up and consumed it.

- from www.prca.org

Romans 8:35-39 reads...
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: "For your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

That pretty much covers everything... Nothing can separate us (Christians) from God's love - whatever befalls us; even if we should die, it is God's will - and for good, so we have nothing to worry about.

A Burden in Your Hands

...is the name of a song by Christian band Underoath.  They're pretty alternative; not everybody's cup of tea, but the lyrics for this song about abortion that they have written, A Burden in Your Hands - are so true.

Confusing and scared
there is a decision made with this choice
a child has to pay
She puts it's life in her hands,
and then she destroys it's only chance to become someone in life
You should of thought about the baby before you had sex,
because you have destroyed a gift from God
You kill,
you destroyed
Never will this baby be able to grow up or show it's love
You'll never hear it say I love you, I love you
God does not give you the privilege to carry a child for nothing
When you kill,
you destroy that child's dreams and hopes
How innocent a baby is... how can you put it to death?
What if you were aborted...
you could of never had life
And now you make a choice to take this child's life
because it is a burden in your hands
A burden in your hands
Destroyed out of convenience
They put an end to your life
because you're too big a burden
and one that they can not have
So they take your life before your first breath
When will it stop, the killings continue
Babies die everyday because of a pro-choice made
Helpless and innocent they are put to death
Then why did the parents choose to plant a seed and then destroy it?
Pray for the people who are killing the kids of tomorrow
How desperately they need Jesus Christ in their hearts
So they take your life
because you're a burden in their hands
Destroyed out of convenience
They put a end to you life
because you're too big a burden and one that they cannot have
So they take your life before your first breath,
so they take your life before your first breath.

Yes, it's hard-hitting, uncompromising and confrontational.  But this should be no surprise, seeing as it is a song about the biggest holocaust of all time; the silent holocaust which dwarfs all the other genocides and natural disasters in the history of the World, put together.

Coffee Part 4

Read: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

"Yeah.  You know how our sceptic tank caved in with the rain.  Yeah, we're gonna get it filled in, need to dig a bit of a hole to sink another tank mate."  Brian chuckled again, "haha, you're having a pretty rough run of it aren't you".  Blimmin rain, how much could a phone take? The other day it had come up saying "cannot read SIM card" - he was always giving the thing a hammering, maybe time for a new phone. "Yeah" he responded.  "How does say, Tuesday, no... Monday next week sound?"  They agreed on the date, "alright, look after yourself" came the Rural-Auckland drawl again.  "Yeah, see ya".

He sheltered the phone in his hands, drying it on the underside of his jacket, slipping it into his right-jeans pocket.  His hand ran over his left pocket and his eye twitched as a strange, sullen smile lit up his face.  Shoving a hand into each pocket and hunching his shoulders, eyes down he made his way down the rough gravel road.  The rain was annoying but entrancing; the steady drum of the rain on the back of his jacket, the regular stride as his boots muddied the clear puddles of rain-water.  Looking ahead down the path into the misty oblivion he could make out the old dog-kennels.

The wire door of the second dog-kennel was hanging open.  Looks ok, pretty dry.  He sat down in the little doorway of the kennel - it was just high enough to let him sit back in the kennel without having to bend his neck.  He sat for a while, motionless, silent, taking in the scene before him.  There was dead-man's hill, hard to make out with low-clouds obscuring it's soaring peaks a matter of meters above sea-level.  A few forlorn looking sheep huddled together by a clump of trees near the newly erected fence at the bottom of the hill.  He could hear the water rushing down the water-raceway.  Resting his shoulder against the side of the door-frame he pulled a packet of smokes from his left-pocket.  He flipped the lid of the box open and pulled out a cigarette between his forefinger and thumb.  That smell, heck, what is it?  He dropped the pack down beside him, proceeding to pull out a lighter from his other pocket.  Leaning back into the kennel for shelter from the early-morning breeze which seemed to be driving the rain down south, he lit up.  Breathing in steadily as the cigarette caught light, he breathed in the smoke and then exhaled.

Closing his eyes he grinned wanly, teeth clenched together.  They'd kill me, yeah... He slipped into a subconcious stream of thought, cycling through a large number of unpleasent scenarios in the space of a few seconds.  He looked ahead blankly, taking the occasional draw from his smouldering cigarette - his mind otherwise unoccupied.  His chin resting on his chest, the cigarette held loosely between fore and middle-finger, he felt the threat of a post wake-up sleep-in overcoming him.  Sitting up sharply, he flicked his flickering cigarette out into the wetness.  Yawn.  He stretched his arms, massaged his shoulders a bit and then pulled out another cigarette.  One for the road.

What the heck.  A gold-coloured Nissan Sentra was parked out in front of the house.  They must be back already.  He strode quickly towards the house, pulled off his jacket and hung it on the peg in the sheltered area by the front-door.  Must be about time for a coffee.  There was good music playing as he opened the door.  Sarah Brightman's O Mio Babbino Caro was playing on decent volume to do the song justice.  Yeah, a bit early in the morning, but real good.  "Hi!" Lizzy's eyes lit up with a very-much-awake smile.  He grunted good-morning as cheerfully as he could, and moved over to throw a log on the fire which was starting to burn down.  "What's the smokey smell?", Jane was pouring coffee from the perculator jug into four retro cups which were lined up on the bench.  "Oh, yeah, motorbike playing up..." his voice trailed off as he quickly changed the subject.  "Pretty decent music, isn't it.  I really want to know what the words mean."  Lizzy walked over to where Barry lay, sprawled out on his duvet infront of the fire, kicked him cruely in the ribs, and without missing a beat replied.  "Yes, that would be so cool, but I want to learn how to sing it as well, it would sounds so great!"

Barry rolled over and pulled himself up onto one elbow as he accepted the cup of coffee.  "Brian get back to you?"  Barry, he always had his mind on the job... "Yeah, he gave me a call just before.  We're going to get it sorted on Monday, should be good."  He pulled himself up out of the chair and walked inconspiciously over to the fridge, opening the door innocently.  With the skill aquired over many failed attempts, he poured a respectable amount of cream into his coffee.  "Aye!"  Barry shot him a pleading look.  Here goes for nothing.  He screwed the lid tightly on the 300ml bottle, and threw it over in Barry's direction - not reckoning for Jane's closet wicket-keeping skills.  “Hey! this is for the sconnes this afternoon! Lizzy, look, he’s stealing our cream!”  Oh boy.  Apologising profusely but with a sparkle in his eye, he offered restitution by way of cleaning up all the dishes from all the mess the two of them made.

A well-aimed, tightly rolled-up tea-towel, damp from drying dishes hit him in the shoulder, making him slosh his strong creamy coffee over his hand...

A Tradition of Infant Genocide

As we sit around our warm living-rooms this Christmas opening presents, reading letters from distant friends and relatives, and filling ourselves with all kinds of extravagant delicacies, let us be sure not to forget just how privileged we are.  In a society now more than ever conditioned to embracing the culture of death, we must count ourselves fortunate to have survived.

When Pharaoh, king of Egypt realised that the enslaved nation of Israel was growing bigger and stronger, he employed two methods - one after the other, in an attempt to cut down on the Israelites' population growth.  Pharaoh said the the Hebrew midwives, When you do the duties of a midwife for the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstools, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live."  The midwives trusted God however, and disobeyed Pharaoh, claiming that by the time they got to the women, their babies were already born.  Pharaoh stepped up his assault on the people of God, with an evil command... “Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.” - Exodus 1:15-22
As we know, Moses escaped the fate of so many other baby boys at that time; he was adopted by the Princess of Egypt and later came to lead the people of God out of the land of bondage, and into the Promised Land.

Approximately 1,500 years later when Herod, king of Israel heard of the birth of Jesus Christ, he immediately ordered all boys aged two and under to be put to be killed. He hoped this way to be able to have Jesus killed and thereby destroy Christianity.

[King Herod] sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:
“A voice was heard in Ramah,
Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted,
Because they are no more.”
- Matthew 2:16-18

Again, God ruled over this situation and baby Jesus was rushed off to Egypt until news came of the evil King Herod's death, at which time Joseph, Mary and young Jesus moved back to Galilee.

And today in the country that our National Anthem declares is Our Free Land, more that fifty babies are being systematically murdered everyday.  Worldwide, 120,000 unborn babies have their lives brutally cut short by the machine that is abortion.  It will come as a surprise to most people, to hear that the abortion rate in Russia , for instance, is 60 abortions per 100 pregnancies.  As in the past, so to in our time, it is widely acknowledged that abortion is wrong, that it does indeed take the life of an innocent child.  However, this truth is forcibly ignored for the sake of convenience, and an end which is seen to justify the means - however awful or immoral.

Whether a baby is killed before it is born (abortion), during birth (partial-birth-abortion), or after birth (infanticide), it is unquestionably wrong. I struggle to even put these poor words together; how can my mind even begin to grasp the unbelievable horror of abortion?  You can disagree with abortion, but to leave it at that is unthinkable.  2009 is just around the corner.  I encourage you to make a New Years' resolution to stand up for the helpless innocents , to do whatever is in your power to bring an end to this greatest injustice in the history of the world.

"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." - Albert Einstein

A Christmas Meme

I was tagged by Isabella and the Editrix so I suppose I'll give it a go..

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your family and friends.
Okay, here's what you're supposed to do, and try not to be a SCROOGE!!!
Change all the answers so that they apply to you.
Then tag a whole bunch of people you know. Tis the Season to be NICE!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Definitely wrapping paper.  If it's a girl, wrap it nicely and put a ribbon on it.  If it's a guy, just mutter something incoherent and shove your gift into their hands.  Newspaper is good too.

2. Real or fake tree? Real trees are best, but perhaps fake ones have a lower long-term carbon-footprint? ;)

3. When do you put up a tree? Sometime in December; and it isn't me, it's the others in the family.

4. When do you take it down? Early January...

5. Do you like eggnog? It's overrated.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? That's going back a bit far... I can't remember.

7. Hardest person to buy for? Dad

8. Easiest person to buy for? Probably Lydie or Si

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Nope.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? You can't beat a good ol' fashioned Christmas card.  I made an eCard for Christmas in 2007 , but as a rule, just say no to eCards as they are usually ridiculously overdone.

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I've had bad ones, but I couldn't pin one down in particular - anyway, you might be reading this, and that wouldn't be any good would it!

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Those Magnificent Men and their Flying Machines

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? About a week before the first day of Christmas.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Always .

15. Favourite thing to eat at Christmas? Chocolate Santas, ham & mustard sandwiches, cherries.

16. Lights on the tree? Yep.

17. Favourite Christmas song? Oh Holy Night, O Come, O Come Emmanuel, Silent Night and What Child is This (No, I didn't copy you , they are my favourites!)

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Sleep.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Sorry to burst your bubble there, but neither Santa nor his reindeer exist.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? A star of wonder.

21. Open presents on Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning of course.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The many different ways that retailers capitalise on Christmas with cut-throat time prices, to compete at this important time of the year.

23. Favourite Ornament theme or color? Blue stars and silver streamers hung over a nice Christmas tree would look pretty flash.  Or the other way round, maybe a touch of gold too, a gold star at the top would be nice.  Definitely stars, candy-canes and not too much colour.

24. Favourite for Christmas dinner? Sleep off Christmas-lunch.

25. Favourite Decorations? Real holly would be nice!

26. What do you want for Christmas this year? I just want opportunities to speak up for the unborn, and also to share the Gospel with people.  Anything else is yeah, ok...

I don't know anyone I should tag, I think everyone I know who would do it has done it already...

Santa Fail

check out more failures at FailBlog

Prolife Christmas Video

The latest video from Prolife NZ

The Unravelling of the Electoral Finance ACT

In response to the many erroneous claims that have been made regarding Rodney Hide's feeling towards my complaint against his yellow jacket, here is an excerpt from Hansard today...

Hon Lianne Dalziel: Can the Minister advise whether the ACT Party has requested that the repeal bill contains a retrospective provision to annul the ACT Party supporter’s complaint about the Hi-de-Hi! jacket that has caused the Hon Rodney Hide to be embarrassed and has led him to concede that the public had a right to be furious about what was nothing more than a stunt?

Hon SIMON POWER: I can advise the member that I have no knowledge of such a request.

Hon Rodney Hide: I raise a point of order, Mr Speaker. There is a requirement under the Standing Orders that questions are to be factually accurate. I was furious, but I was not furious with the supporter of the ACT Party—I love them all. I was furious about that crazy law that Lianne Dalziel and the Green Party passed.

- Excerpt from Hansard, 16 December 2008, Question 9

Even if the Electoral Commission were to fine ACT up to the maximum of $50,000, it would be worth it. The public has been able to see just how pedantic and restricting the Electoral Finance Act is, to freedom of speech in election year.

All Pretty for the TV

Welcome to the fresh new look for StarStuddedSuperstep.com The new design is less cluttered, and hopefully, easier on the eyes. Have had a pretty solid break from blogging - about time to get back into it.

Tag!

Right, I've been tagged by Trevor and Scrubone.

The rules are:
1. Link to the person who tagged you
2. Post the rules
3. Share seven random or weird facts about yourself
4. Tag 7 random people at the end of the post with their links
5. Let each person know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1. My first run-in with the police occured when I was about fourteen-years-old. I was dressed in black, wearing a balaclava and weilding a full-size medieval sword. I wandered down the driveway, scared a couple of ladies across the road, and then headed back to the house. Sure enough, a few minutes later a couple of armed policemen walked down the drive and found my balaclava hanging on the sword which I had stuck in the ground. Scared doesn't even begin to describe my feelings as I saw them coming down the driveway. They told me not to do anything like that again, but didn't give me too much of a hard time.

2. My sibblings and I often make elderflower champagne. This time we put elderflower berries in the recipie. The stuff was undrinkable, and the 1.5L PET bottles swelled up like you wouldn't believe. We blew them up in the back-yard. We got a board, stuck a nail in one end, and rode over the board on our bikes to pop the bottles. The sound was ear-shattering, louder than your uncle's .303 anyway. The next morning we came out and there was a dead rat lying by where we'd been blowing up the bottles.

3. My internet avatar is Gerry (Matt Damon) from the movie Gerry (2002). The guy in the background with the star on his t-shirt is also called Gerry (Casey Affleck). It is one of my favourite movies and is directed by Gus Van Sant.

4. Whenever I go to Auckland, I love the smell of the Pennyroyal which seems to grow wild up there. I never knew what it was - it was so mysterious, but now I know, so I can even have a cup of Pennyroyal tea - Mum grows it out in the garden.

5. Most V I've had in one day is 1.2L. That was Friday 14 November, the last day of our pro-life stall at the A&P Show.

6. I use two monitors. Could never go back to just one. Dual 19" widescreen Viewsonics.

7. I virtually never watch TV. What a waste of time.

I'm tagging: Lydie, Jono, Theresa, John, Simeon, Liz, Michael

Electoral Commission Targetting ACT

The Electoral Commission has ruled that Rodney Hide's yellow jacket jacket was potentially in breach of the Electoral Finance Act and has passed the matter on to the police. If the police decide to prosecute Mr. Hide, he will face a fine of up to $10,000, while the ACT Party will also face a fine of up to $40,000. What I find intriguing, is that the Electoral Commission has ignored all the other complaints that I have submitted regarding possible breaches of the Electoral Finance Act by other political parties. Below is a short summary of each of these complaints.

1. Greens campaign website carries no authorisation statement - 26 August 08
The Green Party's (now defunct) campaign website address was www.votegreen.org.nz. For a screen-shot of the website, click here (as at 11:30pm, 25 August). It is very clear from this screenshot that there was no authorisation statement on the website - which, is encouraging people to vote "for or against" a political party. The response from the Electoral Commission can be summed up in this extract from an email I received, "...the url [www.votegreen.org.nz] did not appear on the page itself, and indeed would only have appeared in the address bar (which you control, not the Green Party) when you typed it in." Such a response is very subjective; the matter deserved further investigation rather than simply a *clever* answer from the Commission.

2. National campaign video - 10 October 08
The Electoral Finance Act states that authorisation statements must be visible and readable. The authorisation statement at the end of National's latest campaign video on YouTube did carry an authorisation statement at the end, but it was very fuzzy, and impossible to read, and thus breached the act. The response from the Commission read,

"We have considered the YouTube page and note that while the promoter statement on the video was blurry, did think that it was just readable, at least on the monitors we are using. In addition, at the top of the page on which the video appears is a National Party banner with an eminently readable promoter statement (a copy of which I attach). This would conclude the matter from our perspective."

This response ignores the fact that on the page for viewing the video, there is no authorisation statement. As for the statement being "just readable", that is pathetic.

3. Labour Online advert - 10 October 08
The Labour Party purchased a package of Google adverts - one of the most common adverts you will see online. The breach is detailed here at the Don't Vote Labour blog. In this instance, Labour has placed a Google Ad which promotes the Labour party, and yet carries no authorisation statement. The Commission's response to this complaint was,

"As you will be aware, the Electoral Commission's primary focus in its role of overseeing political party advertising in election year is assisting participants to comply with their obligations under the law. As you point out, Labour Party google ads now contain promoter statements. In light of this we will not be taking further action on this matter."

It would be better if the Commission would tell us what is really going on. They are in fact, assisting participants to comply with the law - so long as they are not the ACT Party. I have made more than just the three complaints listed above. However the Commission has demonstrated incredible leniancy with these other parties, offering trite reasons as to why they had decided not to pursue what were quite obviously potential breaches of the new Electoral Finance Act.

Herald of Lies

I need to respond to the false reporting in the Herald over the issue of my complaint to the Electoral Commission about Rodney Hide's yellow jacket.

1. The Herald claims that Mr. Hide and I planned my complaint to the Electoral Commission together. "Act leader Rodney Hide's indignation at the Electoral Finance Act is nothing but a jacket jack-up." - 5 Nov 08. This claim is completely without founding, and categorically untrue. Both Mr. Hide and I have told the media that neither of us spoke to the other about the complaint at any stage. Further, I did not discuss the complaint with any member of the ACT party until the story came out in the Dominion Post on 5 November. Interesting to note that the then Prime Minister Helen Clark was quick to misrepresent the incident, claiming that it was a "stitch-up" and saying, "Act complained wanting their name to be kept out of it, so that they could create a fuss around the Electoral Finance Act." - 5 Nov 08.
I emailed the editor of the Herald, asking him why the Herald was not being truthful. All he could say was "Thanks for your email. We stand by our story". He had no answer as to why his newspaper had lied about myself and Mr. Hide.

2. Following the news of the Electoral Commission handing the case over to the Police, the Herald states that I "proudly posed in photos with a yellow-coated Mr Hide and posted them on the internet." - 4 Dec 08. The Herald is certainly doing its best to live up to its maxim, "never let the truth get in the way of a good story". It may seem inconsequential, however the Herald has intentionally spun this sentence in order to make me appear ridiculous. Fact is, I posted one photo of myself and Mr. Hide on my blog (not multiple photos as the Herald states) - and who's to say that I "proudly posed" with him?
It is also unprofessional, and potentially unlawful of the Herald to not only take the photo from my blog and post it on their website, but also to neglect to reference its source.

It would appear as if the Herald is quite willing to sacrifice truth for the sake of a sensational story, and in doing so, are attempting to compete with the tabloids.

Inspiration on Wheels

Sixteen-year-old Aaron has invented a sport that he calls "hardcore sitting" - using a wheelchair to perform moves more often seen done on skateboards or BMX bikes. - Telegraph

Don't Delay for a Minute

Ah, good to be back blogging again.  Had my last exam at the cruel hour of 9:30am this morning, so good to get that out of the way - just in time to catch the tail end of the election campaign...


Sometimes Cry
by Poor Old Lu

don't delay for a minute
cause if you do i'll know you're too far into it
i mean the world around us
the world around

to keep your head above water
to be humble amidst tears and laughter
sometimes we need to hide
sometimes cry

run away
far away
to Yahweh
He's my hideaway

*star-studded-super-step*
yeah, you've turned around again
well i can feel it inside
in His side

and i'll tell you what He sees
but first i must fall down on my own knees
let me hold your hand
holding our hands

i need to lower my head
i don't know if i can
i've been so lost
i don't know if i can
i really have to fall
i don't know if i can
i'll say it again
i don't know if i can

and now we're losing time
no, we can't say we never got a sign
the love is all around us
and it surrounds us.

That's one of my favourite songs by Poor Old Lu.

enjoying some fish and chips before they make them illegal.

Well, they've said that Rodney's yellow jacket is probably breaking the law.  But Rodney's going to ignore them, and heck, good on him.  Not sure if our new Act on Campus t-shirts are breaking the law, but we don't care either.  Nanny state is moving back to China on Saturday, to be followed shortly thereafter by her hideous spawn, the Electoral Finance Act.  A National/ACT government will also ensure that we dump the economy-destroying Emissions Trading Scheme - which they quizzed us on in the exam earlier today.

EFA Threatens Rodney's Wardrobe

"Act leader Rodney Hide's canary-yellow jacket has fallen foul of the Electoral Finance Act.  The Electoral Commission wrote to Mr Hide yesterday, saying that under the act the jacket might be an "election advertisement" and therefore required an authorising statement." - NZ Herald, 4 Nov 08

The article in the Herald continues... "The letter quoted the query as saying the garment that "contains the Act logo [and] the slogan 'the guts to do what's right' was worn in public by you in Newmarket and does not contain a promoter statement". The person who made the query also gave the commission a newspaper article about the jacket and two photos of Mr Hide wearing it."

Huh.  Now, who could that have been?

Christian Vote 2008

It's been almost a month with no blogging. I seem to be coping. I'm just quickly posting a link to an article I have written, discussing the options for Christian voters in New Zealand's 2008 election of it's 49th Parliament.

I'm looking forward to returning to blogging again after my last exam on 4 November.

To the days.

</Blogger>

I'm going to take a break from blogging.  Hopefully I'll start up again after exams are over - some time around the end of October, beginning of November.

Between now and then I've got quite a bit on.  Helping out with FAB Club in the school holidays.  Helping organising a couple of stalls (pro-life and Christian) at the A&P Show (early November).

Possibly got a bit of a campaign against one of the political parties brewing, we'll see what happens there.  Got to help out my two fave political parties, The Family Party and ACT "the guts to do what's right".  I'm hoping for a good strong National/ACT/Family party coalition.

I'll just leave you with this devestatingly poignant quote from Albert Einstein...

"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

Labour Burns

www.dontvotelabour.org.nz

Thanks to Brendan Burns' campaign team who put the billboard up. They are going to be devestated on Sunday 9 November when they hear that Nicky Wagner of National has finally torn the strong Labour seat of Christchurch Central off them.
Thanks to Ian Wishart for the photo of the billboard.

Walk This Way

Heheh well I thought it was funny at the time anyway...
(thanks to Jono for the photo)

January 1973

And another excellent video from Abort73.com...

Weekly Joke

Las Vegas Churches

This may come as a surprise to those not living in Las Vegas, but it is a very spiritual city, with more Catholic churches than casinos!

Not surprisingly, some worshipers at Sunday services will give casino chips rather than cash when the donation tray is passed.

Since they get chips from many different casinos, the churches have devised a method of turning the chips into cash.

They send all their collected chips to a nearby Franciscan monastery, where the patient and detail-oriented men sort and count the chips. The chips are then taken to the casinos of origin and cashed in.

This is done by the chip monks.

You didn't even see it coming, did you?

A Lecture on the Brain

Si showed me this short piece of brilliance from John Cleese on his iPhone.

Getting Smart with the Law

"Suddenly, a couple of coppers approached him, "Now then sir, just what in the heck do you think Your doing?", "well" replied Kitiki "what do ya think it looks like?", "ALL RIGHT!" the cops shouted "we'll have none of your cheek" "Too right you wont" answered Kitiki "its mine, and I would'nt look so hot if it was took, aye?". Now by this time the policemen were getting prtetty fired up..."now you look 'ere you jis put your hands up, or else we"ll hafta use "un-reasonable force, d'hear". "Ohh look" said Kitiki "would ya push off, its my flippin job...anyway do'nt ya have a "car" to attend to?"..." - Nathan's blog

Crying with laughter inside... I'm looking forward to part 2!

Bioethics Questions put to McCain, Obama

Nancy Gibbs at TIME puts a couple of good bioethic questions to McCain and Obama.  "Imagine if the presidential candidates were willing to talk frankly about the things that affect us most: not just guns and butter, but also life and death..." she says.

For Barack Obama: Democrats have long argued for greater reproductive freedom. Do you think that should include the right to choose the sex of your child? The same genetic tests that screen for terrible diseases could in theory target many other predispositions. What if prospective parents could screen for short or shy or gay or blond? This is a largely unregulated universe of treatment; should it be?

For John McCain: About 8,000 people may die this year waiting for organ transplants. Do you think the free market should include kidneys? You've said human rights begin at conception. But fertility clinics create excess embryos that are frozen and often discarded, which you've favored using for research. So are some embryos more equal than others?

Click here to read her entire article.  Click here to read Albert Mohler's comments.

Commando Bear

Wandering through town the other night. We had been down at Hagley Park checking out the gay daffodils, and then waltzed through the Arts Centre through into the center of the city.  We popped into the little dairy which is the one just past McDonalds there.  The others got some pretty stock standard drinks, but I went for a can of Commando Bear Beverage.  It was "made in flippin Thailand" as I said to my friends.  At the bottom of the can - as you can see in the picture, the customer is assured that the drink is in-fact "Non Alcohol".  On the side of the can, I was relieved to see that the drink was certified Halal by The Central Islamic Committee of Thailand.  It was however, disconcerting to discover upon finishing the drink that it had been produced on 13 December 2007.  Not exactly what you'd call fresh.  Probably had enough preservatives in it to mummify a blimmin herd of elephants.

Wow, from the first sip I was regretting I had bought the stuff.  It was just a generic "energy-drink" flavour, but absolutely flat, not a drop of CO₂ in it.  Yuck.  I was feeling pretty crook by the time I'd finished the can.  You know how it is when you spend money on something and want to make sure you don't waste any of it, even though it's no good.  I'm sure the stuff is cancer-causing, or maybe it's the cure for cancer.  I don't know, but for something that disgusting, it must be right over at one end of the scale.  How the stuff got through the border I shall never know.  Holding my stomach and groaning pitifully, I staggered up to the drinking fountain outside the Cathedral and rinsed the can out a couple of times and then re-filled it with some of the good stuff.

Anyway, I love the can.  Now if they were only to market it as the "official energy drink of the Russian Army", lose the halal verification, and pump some carbon-dioxide in there, it might actually be quite nice.

A Double-Helping of Motivation

Hah, Lyd's written a good (short) article on apathy, change, motivation and Bob the Builder.  Here's an excerpt...

"Somewhere along the line we humans bought into the idea that everyone should have their own private lives - with a big scoop of "rights" and a super - sized dish of selfishness. Upstanding citizens in our country throw a bit of money at the cancer society every year or sponsor a child in Africa and that stops the guilt. Instead of waking up to what's really wrong with the world, people appease their guilt about it by throwing their excess cash around. They don't want to know what's happening but they do want to feel better about it." - Most Tranquil

She's a Rebel, She's a Saint...

...she's the one that they call her Sarah Palin.

The Party's Over

writes Pat Buchanan at Yahoo News. Below are a few excerpts from his excellent article - well worth reading.

"The Crash of 2008, which is now wiping out trillions of dollars of our people's wealth, is, like the Crash of 1929, likely to mark the end of one era and the onset of another.

The new era will see a more sober and much diminished America. The "Omnipower" and "Indispensable Nation" we heard about in all the hubris and braggadocio following our Cold War victory is history...

..."Government must save us!" cries the left, as ever. Yet, who got us into this mess if not the government — the Fed with its easy money, Bush with his profligate spending, and Congress and the SEC by liberating Wall Street and failing to step in and stop the drunken orgy?...

...Yet, still, the promises of the politicians come. Barack Obama will give us national health insurance and tax cuts for all but that 2 percent of the nation that already carries 50 percent of the federal income tax load.

John McCain is going to cut taxes, expand the military, move NATO into Georgia and Ukraine, confront Russia and force Iran to stop enriching uranium or "bomb, bomb, bomb," with Joe Lieberman as wartime consigliere.

Who are we kidding?

What we are witnessing today is how empires end."

ACT Number 5 Announced

Scooping the story of the announcement of ACT's mysterious number five on the list, I have just got word in thatt he is Auckland Lawyer David Garrett, also a member of the Sensible Sentencing Trust.  This is a good move by the ACT Party.  With "law and order" campaigner Aaron Keown running in Christchurch Central, the addition of this "hard-line on crime" list member with such a high chance of getting into Parliament is another boxed ticked for a large number of Kiwis.  Below is a short excerpt from David's speech to the meeting,

"Our forebears didn't fight and die so that we would be too afraid to walk freely on our streets and in our communities.  They fought and died so that their children - your children and my children - could be safe.  If that's what you want too, then Party vote ACT because ACT is the only Party that will continue the fight to keep Kiwis safe." - www.act.org.nz

Update (22 September, 1:30am): David Garrett advocates non-association laws as opposed to banning gangs in The Herald, 17 September 2008

Gianna Jessen's Birth Certificate

Gianna Jessen. Born during Saline abortion 4/6/77 6:00am. Length: 39cm Transferred to [blotted out] upon birth where she remained until discharge 6/6/77.

Higher Education

Just after 7am and I was walking from Uni down the road a kilometre or so to the bakery where I used to work to score some brekkie. Just next to the bus-stop I saw a smashed windscreen and some bits and pieces of broken car on the shoulder of the road right in the driveway entrance to Uni Halls of Residence.

Coming around the corner I spotted the vehicle that was missing it's windscreen - and all the rest of it's windows.

As I stood by the car taking photos, a bus approached, slowed down and opened it's doors. "Are you ok?" came the voice of the lady bus-driver as she drove past. All I could do was laugh convulsively and yell back "it's not mine!".

If the young fools have to destroy a car, why can't they go and do it in their back yard, instead of leaving it out on the street?

Yeah... come to University for a higher education, where you can be truly inspired to new heights, and mix with other academically minded young people such as yourselves. And you can get drunk every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night and get up to mischief with "the lads".

Push Uncle Jake into the Lake (1)

It's over a year since I wrote the first part of this story.  And at the time, I promised a sequel.  I think now I'm ready to continue the saga.  I believe that my writing-style has changed since then, but I will leave such conclusions up to my dear readers. Read part 1: Canteen

"Ok, those of you who are go-carting can go and get their jackets and some good footwear..." Uncle Hamish's voice trailed off as the go-carters stampeded off towards their bunk-rooms.  "As soon as you're ready come and meet me back here" yelled Uncle Hari after the fleeing group of boys.  In a similar manner, the archers and the riflemen were dispersed to their bunk-rooms with strict orders not to muck round, but to re-assemble back at the main building "in two minutes".  "Right... you're all going kayaking then I suppose?" Uncle Hamish looked down at the boys from where he stood up on the metre-high concrete-block wall that formed the edge of a raised garden.  One of the lads launched into what sounded like it was going to be an unecessarily lengthy explanation of exactly what the current situation was.  This is us.  I looked Uncle Hamish in the eye and nodded.  "Orright, down to your cabins... make sure you've got shorts and a towel."  The boys raced off to get ready and I followed them, shoulders drooping exaggeratedly.

Walking down the path, entranced by a myriad of thoughts, I didn't notice the man behind me, catching up...  SLAM.  An unseen hand thumped me twice between the shoulder-blades and I thought the end had come.  My lungs felt like balloons that haven't been blown up yet and I gasped for breath.  The hand roughly massaged my shoulder and I turned round to see who it was.  "How are you finding camp so far?" Uncle Jake looked at me as I turned my head around.  Yeah, she's good.  We entered the cabin.  Two boys were trading lollies.  One was singing in a raucous voice some unearthly tune.  Another was hitting the soloist across the face with a pair of jeans, and in the corner one of the lads was attempting to change into a pair of shorts behind a towel which he held between his teeth.  I yawned and lay down on my bunk and pulled the sleeping bag on top of me.  I groaned in agony as the pain started to come to my upper back, and I wondered if the vertebrae in my neck had been cracked with the force of the blows I had just so recently received.  Ohhh, it was so nice and warm... maybe John and Jake would look after the kids and I could just sleep through the rest of the afternoon...  My thoughts blurred and sleep came.

Argh!  I instinctively clutched at my sleeping-bag as one of the lads yanked it off me.  "Uncle Andrew, we need to go..."  I pulled myself to my feet.  There were only two boys left in the cabin.  The others must all be outside ready to go.  I rubbed my eyes hard and ran my fingers through my hair.  Yes.  I spoke as in a drunken stupor as I followed the last two boys out of the room.  My boots were sitting outside the cabin and I pulled them on as I walked along, laces undone, my feet tripping over each other, still pretty much half-asleep.  As I passed the tap at the side of the building I pulled up and turned the water on full blast.  Throwing a couple of handfuls of water at my face with one hand, and drinking some from the other, I was wide-awake in two seconds.  Right, we good to go?  I jogged up to the crowd of kayakers.  Uncle Jake was sitting on the steps of the main building, picking up stones and tossing them into the driveway.  Uncle John took the last bite of his apple as he opened the door and headed for the twin-cab Nissan ute.

"Who wants to go with Uncle John in the car and who wants to walk?" Uncle Jake stood up and looked around.  It was a bit of a catch22 for the boys.  They had to decide between walking down to the lake (which could be very exciting), or ride down to the lake with Uncle John, which was pretty cool.  Five of the kayakers dashed for the truck.  One jumped into the passanger seat and the other four squashed into the back.  Uncle John sat down on the steps and began slowly lacing up his tramping boots.  Uncle John and I began to walk down the hill, out to the road along with eight or nine of the boys.

to be continued...

Cheap

A Semantic History of the Word: Cheap

Origin of the word
Origin of the word cheap: The Free Dictionary states: “From Middle English (god) chep, (good) price, purchase, bargain, from Old English cēap, trade, from Latin caupō, shopkeeper.”.

Meanings of the word
The Oxford Dictionary offers several meanings of the word cheap. The four key ones are: “low in price”, “charging low prices”, “inexpensive because of poor quality”, “of little worth because achieved in a discreditable way” and “miserly”. The word cheap can also be used in the following contexts: Describing “people of questionable character”, “something that is achieved with little effort” or “something that is considered of small value”. Let us now take a short overview of each of these meanings.

• Low in Price
  A statement where the word cheap is said with this meaning could go something like the following: “The milk was so cheap because it was past it’s best before date”. This use of the word is referring to a specific product.
• Charging Low Prices
  The word cheap could be used in this context in the following statement: “That is the cheapest supermarket in the city”, or equally, “They have very cheap prices at that supermarket”. This use of the word refers to a company selling product, or generally, to the product that a specific shop sells.
• Inexpensive Because of Poor Quality
  In this context, the word cheap could be used in the following statement: “The stuff they sell at that shop is just so cheap – I wouldn’t buy it”, or consider the following statement which also uses this context of the word, “Don’t buy that cheap stuff – you get what you pay for”. This time the word cheap is being used to explain that the reason a product is so cheap is because it is of poor quality or workmanship. The commonly used saying “cheap and nasty” is often used to refer to products imported from a Third World Country which are of terrible quality and very cheap – often undercutting higher quality goods.
• Miserly
  The miserly, heartless character of Ebeneezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”, could be summed up in one word; cheap. Synonyms for this use of the word could be: “tight-fisted” or “mean”.
• People of Questionable Character
  This use of the word is most commonly applied to women who are either prostitutes, or act or dress in a way that suggests that they are either a bit free and easy or down-right promiscuous. The word cheap in this context could be used in the following statements: “Don’t wear that skirt, it makes you look cheap”, or, “look at her, she’s cheap”.
• Something that is Achieved with Little Effort
  This use of the word cheap is used in situations where one wants to convey the low price that was paid for a success. For instance, it could be used in the following statement: “it was a cheap victory”. This would mean that a victory had been won, but it was not worth being excited about because it had come about either through devious means, or it was almost impossible for failure to have occurred.
• Something that is Considered of Small Value
  Finally, we can use the word cheap simply to refer to the low value of an item. It could be used in the following statement: “In World War II, life was cheap in the ranks of the Russian army.” The word cheap is really only used in this context to refer to the value placed on a human life by others – usually those higher up the social ladder.

We see that the word cheap is just one of many in the English language which has more than one meaning, although in this case, all of the meanings are based around one concept. By way of contrast, the word mount can mean “mountain” or, “to sit on the back of a horse”.

Having covered the various uses and meanings of the word cheap, let us now examine the word’s use in everyday English.

Sayings
The word features in several idioms (sayings) such as “cheap as chips” (using potato-chips as a reference point of cheapness), “cheap and nasty” (low quality is the reason for the low price), “on the cheap” (used to describe the manner in which something was made; no unnecessary expenses were incurred), “cheap as they come” (used to refer to someone – especially a miser) and “cheap for twice the price” (even if the product was twice the price, it would still be a good buy).

Cheap as a Pun
An example of the word cheap being used as a pun is Canary Furniture’s tagline which is “Canary Furniture is cheep cheep cheaper”. They are making a play on words, using the sound of a Canary to describe the low price of their products.

Cheap in Pop Culture
Poor Old Lu refers to the word cheap in their 1995 song “Speak Soft”.

Jerry had some beers and started to weep
it's timeto turn away, it's his time to sleep
don't trouble yourself with seeking peace, go cheap

Lead singer Scott Hunter commented “I pray that the last two lines especially would be smelling salts for all of us in the paths that we choose – ‘don't trouble yourself with seeking peace. go cheap...’”. The word cheap is used in pop culture with the same meaning used here, to refer to the fact that we often don’t do things with enough care.

Cheap in Advertising
Many times every day as we watch television, listen to the radio, or drive down the road in our car, we are confronted with adverts from companies which make good use of the word cheap. Phrases such as “Cheapest prices in town” and “If you find a cheaper price we’ll beat it by 10%” are common-place. It is also occasionally used in pun form – for instance, “prices cheaper than your miserly uncle”.

Conclusion
Cheap is a versatile word that is used very frequently in everyday English.

Those Green Wavy Lines

Hands up if you hate those wavy green lines under your writing when you are unfortunate enough to be using Microsoft Word.

I wrote this sentence: "The word cheap is really only used in this context to refer to the value placed on a human life by others – usually those higher up the social ladder." and Microsoft Word promptly suggested that I change it to: "Others – usually those, really only used in this context to refer to the value place the word cheap on a human life higher up the social ladder."

Honestly, why do they even bother?  I don't know what complicated algorithms they have churning away behind the scenes, decreasing your system performance, but whatever they are, my experience has been that they never work.

I find their spell-check to be usually of a pretty high calibre - but then again, there's nothing wrong with the spell-check in Open Office - and at least they don't hit you with bizzare suggestions to "improve" your sentence structure.

Lollies: Not Our Future

The Government has been running the Not Our Future campaign since 2006. It is a campaign especially targetted at youth, which stars celebrities giving youth good reasons why they should stop smoking - or never start. It consists of bus-stop adverts and... yes, you guessed it, another expensive-looking Flash website. I haven't been able to dig up any information regarding how much the Government is spending on this campaign, but it must be well into the millions of tax-payer's dollars.

Just like drinking coffee, sniffing glue and eating lollies, smoking - as we all know, is damaging to our health. Do we need the Govenment to spend our money to tell us this? All of the things I've just mentioned can be used in moderation and for their intended purpose, with minimal detriment to one's health. Staying up late at night can also be harmful to your health. Perhaps the Government should introduce legislation on when we sleep, and for how long. Exemptions could be made for people working night-shifts, but there would be monthly checks done to make sure that people were not taking advantage of this clause.

They seem to have a problem with cigarettes being sold next to the lollies (sweets). But where's the concern about lollies being sold next to the cigarettes?

This is a post I've had in the pipeline for a while. I could rave on for ages, but who likes to read long, drawn-out raves on random people's blogs? Not me!

Gianna Jessen Interviewed on Obama

5 minutes. Excellent as usual.

Here's Gianna's recent speech in Parliament House, Victoria, Australia, part 1 and part 2.

How To Prepare for an Exam

1. Sit in a straight, comfortable chair in a well-lighted place with a computer in front of you.
2. Open your web browser of choice.
3. Check your emails. Reply to any that need attention.
4. Check out what's happening on Facebook. Write on some friends walls and accept an invitation to a group.
5. Check your blog reader.
6. Write a post on your blog responding to a blog-post you just read.
7. Pull the bottle of water out of your backpack and begin to wish that you had some energy drink.
8. Start planning a trip down to the cafeteria to buy some energy drink.
9. Decide to make a good start on your exam preperation before you treat yourself with such a treat.
10. Open your text-book.
11. Open your excercise book.
12. Write the date at the top of the page and then look for the ruler to underline it so it looks neat.
13. Use the text-book as a ruler because you left your ruler at home, propping up a little tomato-plant you're trying to grow.
14. Yawn.
15. Check your emails again.
16. Check your blog reader again.
17. Check to see if anyone has txted you.
18. Txt some friends to see if they want to catch up and eat some wedges with sour-cream later.
19. Look out the window and feel sorry for yourself, stuck inside studying on such a wonderful day.
20. Examine your fingernails.
21. Massage your knee-caps because your legs are feeling stiff.
22. Go fill up the water-bottle in the toilets.
23. Sit back down at the desk, ready to study again.
24. Quickly check emails and blog-reader again.
25. Reply to an urgent email.
26. Flick through the text-book, muttering short meaningless prhases to yourself.
27. Rest your head in your hands and groan.
28. Find a PDF of the exam from last year on the University's website and download it.
29. Question one... Huh, you haven't come across that concept before.
30. Bring up Wikipedia and search for some info about the concept.
31. Just quickly check your emails again while that page is loading.
32. Bring up the default University homepage on the screen so nobody comes along and reads your emails, and then get out of your nice comfy (sweaty) chair, slip your jandals back on and then head down to the cafeteria to buy a bottle of energy drink. Because you're worth it...

To heck with study. Look, what I've figured out is, the way to do really well at exams is just to make sure you get plenty of sleep (during the day), and also watch thought-provoking movies which may trigger your subconcious to start thinking about the things you learned? in the lectures. Your learning process should be natural and integrated into your everyday life. If your brain wants to turn to thoughts of study, then that is the ideal time for the concepts and ideas to be really solidified in your mind. Turn up at your exam without having done any preperation, and you will find that your style will be more natural, and not forced as if you have just been studying all day for it. Take a blimmin bottle of energy drink in with you, and it will help you remember things that you never even learned.

Burying the Truth

One day near the beginning of July, as I drove over an overbridge in Christchurch, I saw the above billboard.  I was naturally concerned for this man and his poor family.  In my mind's eye I thought through the likely situations that Brian might be in right now.  Had he been murdered and his body dumped behind some bushes in some remote area?  Had he been kidnapped for a ransom?... His pooor wife and children.  I was impressed that Brian's family and friends had got together and raised some money to fund a huge billboard trying to locate him.

Imagine my frustration and disgust when, a couple of weeks later, driving over that same bridge, a new billboard had been erected.  It was a similar billboard, but this time it made it clear that it was advertising a TV Series called Burying Brian.  As soon as I arrived home (July 5), I filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority.  I have copied my complaint below.

"I am writing to make a complaint regarding the advertising for the TV One series, "Burying Brian".  A couple of weeks ago as I drove across an overbridge in Christchurch, I was confronted with a billboard - which I now know was advertising the show.

However, the billboard had nothing on it at that stage, to show that it was an advert - and looked exactly like a billboard put up by Brian's family and friends.

I have no problem with the TV show itself, having not seen it.  My problem is with this particular form of advertisment.  It cheapens the genuine "Lost Person" posters that are occasionally used.

The next time (aprox 2 weeks later) that I drove past this billboard, it had been updated, and it was now clear that it was advertising a TV series.

I do hope that you will manage to vett adverts like this in the future, that cheapen or trivialise serious issues - as was the case with the boy who cried wolf."

On Monday (September 15), I received by mail the ASA's decision on the complaint.  I found that antother complaint had been made, and I will copy this below:

"This is an awful way to advertise as it is not a missing person at all and you have to phone the number to find out that it is not" - J. Cambridge

The basis of TVNZ's response was...

"the billboard advertisments commenced with showing a photograph of Shane Cortese, a well-known actor who appears in the television program "Burying Brian".

Hah, he's well-known is he?  Well, reality-check TVNZ, not everyone watches your shows.  They continue driveling on in their pathetic response...

"As Shane Cortese was not in fact missing, it cannot be said tat there was any lack of a sense of social responisibility..."

What the...?  Well, excuse me, but how are we supposed to know that Shane Cortese is not missing?  What has that got to do with it?  The missing man was listed as Brian Welch.  Boy they are thick.  TVNZ continues, stating that they believe they have not caused "serious offence" by the portrayal of the actor as a missing person.

The deliberation from the ASA considered that "...there had been no intention on the part of the Advertiser to mislead the public with regard to the nature of the message."  Oh really? Well why did the billboard contain nothing to assure us that it was in fact just an advert for a TV programme?

"The Complaints Board acknowledged that the advertisment alluded to a serious issue, the dissapearance of a person, and said that although this fromat was not used in New Zealand in real instances, it was used in some other countries."

Sigh, they are so short-sighted.  Maybe this method of advertising missing persons has not yet been used in New Zealand.  But what is going to happen when a genuine billboard is erected, asking people to look out for a missing person?  Will they also have to go the the ridiculous length of stating on the billboard: "this is not a marketing stunt, we really mean it."

So, after 3 letters and two copies of the 60-page Advertising Codes of Practice booklet, and about two months later, the predictable and unjust decision comes back from the ASA:

Decision: Complaint Not Upheld

It is just blind ignorance and arrogance on the part of the State-owned, tax-payer funded TVNZ and the ASA.

Born Alive Truth Launched

www.bornalivetruth.org has just been launched.  The Born Alive Truth website aims to "educate the public on the IL Born Alive Infants Protection Act and Senator Obama's record opposing this act.".  Below is their wonderful 30 second TV advert featuring abortion survivor, the indomitable Gianna Jessen.  The advert is set to air throughout the US, and will alert people to the fact that Senator Barack Obama is so pro-death that he even supports killing babies that survive abortion attempts.  (this is called partial birth abortion)

hat-tip: Jill Stanek

This Diminishing West

1:45am, The Loft, Canterbury University. Bored of cramming for my Economics test later tonight...

This Diminishing West is one of my favourite bands... that never really got off the ground. Vocals are by Scott Hunter, who was the lead-vocalist of the also now non-existant band, Poor Old Lu. Even though TDW wound to a close before they produced their first album, they have released 5 of their best songs in a free downloadable album (44mb) at their website. I would recommend Flight 191 as your introductory song to this unique indie/punk/grunge band.

The Colonel's Secret

I'm actually pretty impressed with KFC's latest marketing campaign.  They are making a big deal of how secret their recipie is.  But I'd only eat their food under duress or if it was free.  I feel so blimmin sorry for the chickens, they don't get much of a life.  And anyway, KFC puts so much batter-stuff on the chicken, gotta be bad for you.  As far as fast-food goes, I'll skip McDonalds and I'll go with Burger King or some fish and chips.  Or Wendy's if I'm up in Auckland ;)

Australia: Abortion Bill Passes Third Reading

The bill to remove abortion from the Crimes Act of the state of Victoria, Australia, has passed its third and final reading in the lower house. After a marathon session of Parliament MPs voted 48 in favour and 28 against legalising abortion in the Australian state. - www.lifesitenews.com

Below is a small excerpt from the article at Life Site News.

"Liberal frontbencher Martin Dixon told the house of his very personal reason for vehemently opposing late-term abortions: his daughter, Monique, was born after just 22½ weeks' gestation. Monique, he said, was "really doing quite well" during her first day of life, but her condition quickly deteriorated and she lived only one more day.
"In the two days of Monique's life she was a person," Mr Dixon told a hushed house. "She was a daughter, she was a sister, she was a granddaughter and she was a niece. She reacted to us, she reacted to light, she reacted to touch, she held my finger and she was a person."

"Even at 16 weeks our daughter made her presence felt in my wife's womb and had, we felt, a personality of her own," he said."

Related posts: Australia: Murder to be Mandatory, Australia: "Abortion up til Birth" to be Introduced

Update (16 September 12:30am): A good article on this over at Constant Joy, including a video of Gianna Jessen's terrifyingly motivating speech given in Parliament House, Victoria, Australia.

Timeless Cinematic Moments 13

"I see dead people"
(at 48 minutes)

The Sixth Sense, the thought-provoking 1999 masterpiece from director M. Night Shymalan. This film stars Bruce "John McClane" Willis and the ineffable 10-year-old Haley Joel Osment. Brrrr, this scary film is wonderfully filmed and acted. Definitely up there in my collection.

Night Light

Lyd and I headed down to the park again today.  We left it a bit late, so it was pretty dark by the time we got there.  Used a nice little tripod for the camera, but unfortunately the battery wasn't too good, so we only got a few photos.  I put some more photos on my Flickr account.

I'm hoping we can get down to Hagley park and get some decent photos in the daffodils - before you know, "the grass withers, the flower fades..." - Isaiah 40:8.

Hey, here's a poem I wrote just on a year ago, it's about Spring!

pretty pretty

Wandering through the middle of town earlier today, after seeing the heart-stopping independent film Bella at the Academy Cinema in the Arts Centre...

wow, that wall is pretty pretty

Yep, this is in the Garden City.  Looks like something out of Children of Men.

Huh

McCain and Obama shake hands at the September 11th memorial ceremony.

Just the other day, the Republicans jumped on Obama's reference to "lipstick on a pig", and claimed that he was attempting to slur Palin and McCain personally. And then today, an under-the-belt swipe from the Democrats. A youtube video mocking his inability to use a computer keyboard or send an email, due to injuries he recieved when fighting in the Vietnam War.

I wonder, who is going to be the next president of the United States... I think it is going to be John McCain, but it's a hard call to make.

Weekly Joke

The Americans and New Zealand decided to engage in a boat race. Both teams practiced hard and long to reach their peak performance. On the big day they felt ready.

The Kiwis won by a mile.

Afterward, the American team was discouraged by the loss. Morale sagged. Corporate management decided that the reason for the crushing defeat had to be found, so a consulting firm was hired to investigate the problem and recommend corrective action.

The consultant's finding: The Kiwi team had eight people rowing and one person steering; the American team had one person rowing and eight people steering.

After a year of study and millions spent analyzing the problem, the consultants concluded that too many people were steering and not enough were rowing on the American team. So as race day neared again the following year, the American team's management structure was completely reorganized. The new structure: four steering managers, three area steering managers, and a new performance review system for the person rowing the boat to provide work incentive.

The next year, New Zealand won by two miles. Humiliated, the American corporation laid off the rower for poor performance and gave the managers a bonus for discovering the problem.

Captions

"This is the last time I EVER do on-line dating..." - Isabella

The person who comes up with the most ingenious caption for this picture will receive the dubious honour of deciding the topic for one of my future posts on this blog.

"I kid you not"
- Peter Parker's teacher

To Heck with Tasers

...arm all New Zealand policemen with guns.

46-year-old Sergeant Don Wilkinson and his 44-year-old colleague ran for their lives down the road being chased by two men. What has New Zealand come to, when the symbol of justice; the police-force is chased down the road, helpless and un-armed. As they ran, they radioed for assistance. Sadly, they were too late, and the men caught up with them and trapped them. Don was shot in the heart and died instantly. His fellow police-officer was assaulted and received multiple gun-shot-wounds. He is currently in Middlemore Hospital recieving surgery.

Click here for the Herald's coverage of this tragic story.

Murdered: unarmed Police Sergeant, Don Wilkinson

What are they going to tell Don's family? "Sorry kids... your dad worked hard to defend innocent people and apprehend and arrest criminals. He died because (embarassed cough)... well, he should have been wearing his bullet-proof vest..." And what is going to happen to the two men that have been arrested and charged with the murder of Don and the assault (attempted murder) of his colleague?

For even daring to shoot at a police officer, they should receive a life sentence of hard labour. For killing a police officer, they should be hung.

But what will happen? A typically soft sentence will be handed down - a slap over the wrist with a wet bus-ticket for the murderer. And then let him out on bail after he's completed part of his sentence, because "prison's aren't the answer", and they're over-crowded anyway.

9/11 Lest We Forget

September 11, 2001. 2,974 innocent civilians massacred.

Below is a short story I wrote about the morning of the news that the World Trade Centers had been hit by aeroplanes - The World was a different place after that morning.

We Dashed Inside
Andrew Moore, age 15, secondary home school, Strowan Learning Centre

"Shall we get up early and go rabbit hunting Josh?"
"Hmm..."
"C'mon, please"
"Oh, all right" Joshua set the alarm clock to 5 a.m in the morning, September the eleventh. Little did we know, that when we woke, the world would be a different place; people would shudder, when an aeroplane flew over head, would be afraid to travel by air.

To set the scene, I will wind the clock back one day. The next day was Lydia's birthday. As usual we would celebrate September 11 or so we thought. Lydia couldn't wait. The rest of us frantically scurried around, cleaning, tidying, and in general, making the place somewhat more acceptable for the anticipated party, on the morrow. Simon and I would not be present, however, as we were going to stay at our friends house, out in the country, and his sisters were coming in, to Lydia's birthday party. I saw Mum manufacturing a massive chocolate cake, which she was drowning in purple icing, and smothering with all kinds of mouth-watering lollies, etc.
"Phew". At last the place was presentable. I dashed upstairs and packed. Next morning, after the customary rite of bestowing gifts upon our sister, we dined on Hubbard's muesli, and all the extra's you get on someone's birthday. I staggered down the hall, as I heard our friends coming: I'd eaten well. The girls got out and speedily disappeared into Lydia's room. Simon and I heaved our bags into the boot. We were off.

At last we arrived at the farm. We mucked around all day till teatime and to cut a long story short, we went to bed. Josh's room was in a sleep out, so we went out there. We read for a while, then turned off the lights and pretty much chatted the night away. Some one was talking. It didn't sound like anyone I knew.
"Ahhh".
It was the radio, Josh had programmed the alarm clock to turn the radio on at five a.m. I was sleepy and my zest to go rabbit shooting was lacking it's former zeal. I tried to get back to sleep but Joshua was muttering, groaning, and I, only half-pie listening. I heard someone going on about a catastrophe of some sort but thought "there's always some new disaster". All I was interested in, was bed. I dozed off a bit. (Yawn). Josh was still paying attention to what the reporter was saying.
"What is it Josh?"
"Shhh!"
I got myself up onto one elbow and then began to realise the awful dimensions of this atrocious disaster. "Whaa-?", "Man!", and "Far out" was all that was said for the next five minutes, then I found myself pulling on my jeans and following Joshua into the house across the gravel driveway. I tried to hop from one clump of weeds to the next, because in my bare feet, the sharp stones stung me, and brought me to full consciousness. We dashed inside...

Well, it's the seventh anniversary of that terrible event. And it's also my sister Lydia's birthday once again. Happy Birthday Lydie!

Whaleoil Abandons National, Supporting ACT

I hardly know what to say. Cam Slater (aka Whaleoil) a long-time National-supporter and son of the former president of the National Party, has today announced that he will be supporting the ACT party in their election campaign. Whaleoil was furious with National when they when they pulled the political stunt of turning 180 degrees and voting for Labour's Anti-Smacking Bill. But this latest let-down has proven to be the straw that broke the camel's back for the opinionated ex-National Supporter. This from his blog earlier today...

"...my source told me the National Party didn’t care about this. Apparently, the National Party VOTED WITH LABOUR, against the Maori, ACT and Green parties, to push through the legislation tonight. If National had voted with the Maori, ACT and Green parties, the legislation would have failed.

Surely this is not true. If it is, then **** them. It would mean National was even worse than Labour and that we should all vote ACT. Right now, I still plan to vote for my local National candidate but I am not voting for a party that supports the ongoing taxation of people based on dodgy un-proven science and the support of a corrupt, morally bankrupt party lead by a proven liar.

Party Vote ACT!"

Good on Cam for finally seeing the light. National are just a shade better than Labour, but their arrogance in thinking and acting as if they deserve to win the election in 2008 makes them even worse.

Peter McCafferey wrote over at the ACT on Campus blog,

"At around 7:10pm - just after parliament had gone back from the dinner break - I was hanging around the office, with the parliament video stream playing in the background, when I heard Te Ururoa Flavell take a point of order to seek leave to send the ETS back to select committee. Surely just a little grandstanding, no? It would never actually get the support of the house...

But then I heard perhaps one of the craziest things i've heard in the last three years of parliament.

New Zealand Labour, 49 votes against, New Zealand National, 48 votes against, New Zealand First, 7 votes against, Greens, 6 votes in favour, Maori Party, 4 votes in favour, United Future, 2 votes in favour, ACT, 2 votes in favour, Progressives, 1 vote against." - ACT on Campus