korero

snakes?

i have just been to see snakes on a plane. it has got to be one of the most inane movies i have ever seen. the lack of any credible story-line does not help. there was the pre-requisite boobs and bottoms, but they did not save the movie. as for the stars of the show [the snakes]. they were wooden at best and their lines were contrived. hissing like vampires didn't work. i think samuel l jackson will be embarrassed about this one. the best thing about the movie was the $10 price tag.

posted by mystified @ 10:02 pm 0 Comments

pissed off

take note. muslim people in new zealand, are safe. even though a kiwi has been kidnapped in gaza. we, [kiwis] do not indulge in such behaviour.
we do not seek to bring other cultures to our view of the world, at the end of a gun, or by use of terror.
we are having to spend time, and resources on this kidnap. resources we would normally put into helping people to improve their lot. including muslim!
you do yourselves no service by behaving in this manner. you cannot get our collective ear and co-operation, through terror. we cannot be cowed into letting you do as you please.
does the "koran" really condone this? i hope not!
shame on you "holy jihad brigade." "God" will bring you to account for this disgrace.
can you tell they really pissed me off?
i'd much rather be concerned about boobs on bikes.....

posted by mystified @ 8:44 pm 0 Comments

boobs on bikes

the parade down queen street was hilarious. i wondered about the protests, but they were not that evident. don't misunderstand me. i do not condone pornography. the hordes in attendance to watch the boobs ride by was ..... predictable i guess. i did see one forlorn woman with her "ban the boobs" placard but that was about it. mostly, the female stars of the parade were well surrounded by middle to young "i wish i could get some of that" dudes. i did however like the bikes. i should also admit that the sight of a fairly young woman on a bike with boobs a flashing, isn't really that horrible.
a small statement about grouting tiles. i have had the pleasure of grouting tiles for a day. not only does the grout get into your clothes, but it falls out of your bodily crevasses when you hit the showers after doing the said grouting. other than that. it was a good thing to do.

posted by mystified @ 9:50 am 0 Comments

summer peaks around the corner

posted by mystified @ 10:35 am 0 Comments

tired today

you'll remember that kane [little bro, next in line] hurt his knee playing rugby league. kane has his own small business as a tiler. as you can imagine, kane is a wee bit off the pace. this week nick [little bro, last in line] has two weeks leave from work. so kane, nick and i go tiling to keep the business up and running and on track. having three brothers working together is more like a situation comedy than a business. in a word, it's hilarious. it starts in the van in the morning when we leave to go tiling. nick has to sit in the middle because he's the youngest. this afternoon, he hopped into the middle without kane and i pulling rank. a quick learner our nick. sometimes, work is good fun.

posted by mystified @ 5:44 pm 0 Comments

friday

watching the kiwi kitchen. they are looking at the evolution of the kiwi fruit cake. looks good, sounds good, i bet it tastes good. speaking of food, i visited the doc today [ok, that was tenuous]. 3 month blood glucose of 6.3. relatively normal. pretty good for a diabetic. in fact, bloody good.
before the kiwi kitchen, we had returned from maccas and nellie's birthday party with 21 pre-school girls! a bit of a laugh. she is one happy 5 year old. lots of the usual junk gifts. good ol uncle shane and his books for her birthday [someone had to be resonsible].
condolences to tainui dealing with the death of their rangatira, dame te ata.

posted by mystified @ 8:22 pm 1 Comments

decisions

i made up my mind. crow is open about his proclivities [wonder if i spelt that right?]. so the mayor wins the sleaziness competition. i would also like to tender my most humble apologies to the dudes at "laws watch." you were correct. his "worshup de mare" o wanga's is indeed a prime example of the "arsehole" gene [as are all mares].

posted by mystified @ 11:31 pm 0 Comments

day-number 1

nellie went to school yesterday for her first one hour visit. they gave her homework!
i think it's unfortunate that schools in nz hand kids homework to do that is not well thought out and requires parents to teach it to their children, without any training as to best practice. it is done [cynically] to keep parents happy. on the other hand nellie thought it was great. a fine balance to walk. she did get bored with it though. schools don't seem to remember that failing at school work in front of some parents is not a good thing for many children, or their parents. well, that's the end of that rave. little bro is actually enrolloing her in a college. looking ahead. it's good that he likes to discuss it as i have lots of school experience being an ex teacher/principal. i just tell him what i think and let him think about it. i reckon nellie will be demanding on cole, her big nearly 6 year old bro. could be quite funny.

posted by mystified @ 10:24 am 2 Comments

i can't decide

posted by mystified @ 10:17 am 0 Comments

important post

i thought i'd finish the day with a really important post about something that actually improves the life i live. nellie has invited 21 pre-schoolers to her birthday bash [5th] on friday!!!

posted by mystified @ 11:46 pm 0 Comments

nzer kidnapped by gaza gunmen

i guess it had to happen eventually. some absolute dork kidnapped a kiwi in gaza. i was waiting for it to happen in iraq. especially since kiwis keep going over to 3rd world countries and start fixing shit up. we have soldiers in all the world's hotspots. they build schools, give people access to water all that cruel behaviour they [muslim extremists] have a right to fight against. my own experience is my brother inlaw who has been to africa [uganda] on de-mining missions. hey, you bunch of idiots!
there is no need or reason to fight or kidnap kiwis. we only help you. we save people. we assist your arse. let him go. behave yourselves. many things around the world would not get done if our soldiers and volunteers didn't go out there and get them done. lay off. find your enemies elsewhere. even if he is press, that is no excuse.

posted by mystified @ 2:59 pm 2 Comments

at last

nellie is 5 on friday. school starts for her on monday. a busy time indeed. today was the pre-school injections at the doctor. when little bro [nick] said "ok nell, time to go get the injection." a plaintive little "oh oh." was all she said. reports are, that nelllie was a very good girl. she even got given a lollipop by the nurse, which has been duly devoured. however, my remark, "good boy." didn't go down too well.

posted by mystified @ 3:19 pm 0 Comments

love is stronger than death

this is flogged from "prodigal kiwi." i hope no one minds.....

"several years ago in one of our leadership workshops, a jamaican man from the world bank named fred told a story that moved people very deeply. a few years earlier he had been diagnosed with a terminal disease. after consulting a number of doctors, who all confirmed the diagnosis, he went through what everyone does in that situation. for weeks he denied it. but gradually, with the help of friends, he came to grips with the fact that he was only going to live a few more months. 'then something amazing happened,' he said. 'i simply stopped doing everything that wasn't essential, that didn't matter. i started working on projects with kids that i'd always wanted to do. i stopped arguing with my mother. when someone cut me off in traffic of something happened that would have upset me in the past, i didn't get upset. i just didn't have the time to waste on any of that.'
near the end of this period, fred began a wonderful new relationship with a woman who thought that he should get more opinions about his condition. he consulted some doctors in the states and soon after got a phone call saying 'we have a different diagnosis.' the doctor told him he had a rare form of a very curable disease. and then came the part of the story i'll never forget. fred said, 'when i heard this over the telephone, i cried like a baby - because i was afraid my life would go back to the way it used to be.'"

that's worth thinking about. isn't it.

posted by mystified @ 11:16 am 0 Comments

my bros

i have two young bros [kane and nick]. they are 29 and 27 respectively. it's saturday afternoon and i have just returned home from watching the bros play rugby league. for those who live in a country without league, let me just say, the game is very physical. i really enjoy watching the bros play. unfortunately kane did his knee today. looks like a ligament. he's at the hospital [bummer]. he'll be ok but didn't enjoy twisting his knee 30 seconds into the game. nick had a great game. a pity, they lost by 4 [one try]. still, it's fun for us kiwis. brings back memories of when i played. i did my knee too! oh my poor lost youth :-) oh well, we're gonna have something to eat, then go to the hospital to see how kane is doing. this is really worth checking out.
9:52pm and back from visiting kane. might have damaged cartelidge. could have some stuck in the knee joint which will take an operation to clear it out. what fun. it's called the meniscus. he seems ok. rather stoic. still smiling.
now for the really good news. max. kane's son and my nephew [5 years old]. scored his first goal today in soccer [football]. one very happy nephew. good one max! i am also proud to announce. cole. nick's son, is an avowed sports nut. yahoo!

posted by mystified @ 3:39 pm 2 Comments

experimenting

i found myself getting bored tonight. hence the total change of the look of my blog. the best thing about it was that i have started to work on it off-line. it means less losing the plot and having to rebuild all the time. i haven't yet figured out how to put the content in the left and right sidebars into the centre. i will attack that wee problem tomorrow. still, i have had fun, except for the fact that the screen on my laptop is starting to die. more money! oh well. enough for now.

posted by mystified @ 11:23 pm 3 Comments

hope

i have just watched "sky" news on television. two jewish brothers were rocketted and killed yesterday by a hezbollah rocket. despite the obvious hurt suffered by the families of these men. the family donated their surviving body parts to medicine. the eyes of one brother were given to an arab living in jerusalem. it was heartening to watch as a brother of the dead men met with the arab recipient of his brother's eyes. they exchanged hugs, phone numbers and love. at first, the arab dude was non-plussed when he found out where his new eyes came from. he now admits to a need for some serious thinking. good eh.

posted by mystified @ 1:04 pm 0 Comments

arsehole gene

after the discovery of the the "warrior gene" which seems to afflict the maori race with a bent towards violence, i was surprised to read on the kiwi herald this morning, about the discovery of the "love gene." evidently another deep affliction suffered by the peoples of european descent. it seems those with the "love gene" are pre-disposed towards episodes of kindness and love towards humanity. it seems the "horrors of colonialism, the slave trade and the propensity of europeans to indulge in genocide involving the deaths of millions, even in the 20th century, can be explained as a hyper-active love gene." Stalin was a perfect example of a hyper-active love gene. he cared so deeply for his people, he found he had to exterminate 30 million of them [for their own good]. the booming sex-trade in europe another meaningful example of a hyper-active love gene. now an exclusive announcement. a naenae genetic scientist [e hoa brown] has discovered a gene that has shown up in a few kiwis. he has called it the "arsehole gene." e hoa has discovered that it can only be found in the genome makeup of kiwi politicians. it seems that the "arsehole gene" is responsible for the direction that nz politics is heading. it is especially prevalent in nz lawyers who have become members of parliament [mp's]. it is easily noticed in the house where politicians can be seen behaving like 3 year olds playing in a sand pit without adult supervision. it seems that the behaviour of politicians like winston peters and ron mark is due to what is being called "hyper-active arsehole gene". as for what afflicts our prime minister? i don't think there's a name for it. i did notice don brash seems to suffer from it as well.

posted by mystified @ 11:58 am 0 Comments

kiwis work 14 minutes for their maccas

well aren't we lucky. we have to work a whole 14 minutes before we have enough money to poison ourselves and polute our environment with maccas burgers and wrappers. some poor people in less developed countries have to work for more than an hour before they get to raise their body fat and blood pressure with dangerous food [poor things]. do we have a better standard of living than zurich? they have to work for 15 minutes! no it's just some bit of weirdness.
wow! all chefs go immediately to los angeles. more money.......

posted by mystified @ 2:39 pm 0 Comments

youth violence

posted by mystified @ 12:26 pm 7 Comments

addiction

i have found myself totally addicted to food tv [my favourite is jamie oliver] cooking programmes! they're just so interesting. now if i can just get the rest of the family away from the soaps, all will be well. i tried a meal tonight [cooking]. wholegrain rice, olives, sun dried tomato, pine nuts, lemon zest and juice, olive oil [extra virgin]. very nice. very health giving. make sure the pine nuts are browned [roasted] first. yum. not a steak in sight!

feedburner!

i have just added feedburner. trying to get it together most of this evening. interesting. a good bit of tech stuff to learn. some code to put on the template. i actually had fun. hope it helps me to improve my site [make it user friendly].

posted by mystified @ 6:25 pm 0 Comments

sick?

little brother popped in this morning. he got up and did not feel like going to work [cough, cough]. he's sick. he promptly made himself some toast and a cup of tea, then sat down and turned on the telly, then proceeded to watch a movie. he looks better now. much better. oh i know it well. monday morning-itus!

posted by mystified @ 12:00 pm 0 Comments

at last, an anti-stupid pill!

wow! an anti-stupid pill. i think it should be standard issue to politicians, and teenagers, as well as just about every other person on the planet. it was reported in bild newspaper on saturday. so far we have cured stupidity in mice and fruit flies. i reckon politicians should be next. good on you hans-hilger ropers of the max-planck [he he he] institute for molecular genetics in berlin.
and now there is the ultimate get-together. it's a wank-a-thon! i am not kidding. go here and have a look. it's for real. they are calling it a masturbate-a-thon.

posted by mystified @ 8:20 pm 0 Comments

cows (the answer to it all)

feudalism - you have two cows. your lord takes most of the milk.
pure socialism - you have two cows. the governmment takes them and puts them in a cowshed with everyone else's cows. you have to take care of all the cows. the government gives you as much milk as you need.
bureaucratic socialism - you have two cows. the government takes them and puts them in a cowshed with everyone else's cows. they are cared for by ex - chicken farmers. you have to take care of the chickens the government took from the chicken farmers. the government gives you as much milk and eggs the regulations say you should need.
fascism - you have two cows. the government takes both, hires you to take care of them, and sells you the milk.
pure communism - you have two cows. your neighbours help you to take care of them, and you all share the milk.
russian communism - you have two cows. you have to take care of them, but the government takes all the milk.
cambodian communism - you have two cows. the government takes both and shoots you in a field.
dictatorship - you have two cows. the government takes both and drafts you.
pure democracy - you have two cows. your neighbours decide who gets the milk.
representative democracy - you have two cows. your neighbours pick someone to tell you who gets the milk.
bureaucracy - you have two cows. at first the government regulates what you can feed them, and when you can milk them. then it pays you not to milk them. then it takes both, shoots one, milks the other, and pours the milk down the drain. then it requires you to fill out forms accounting for the missing cow.
pure anarchy - you have two cows. either you sell the milk at a fair price or your neighbours try to take the cows and kill you.
surrealism - you have two giraffes. the government requires you to take trombone lessons.

posted by mystified @ 10:20 pm 0 Comments

success

well, surprise, surprise. book number two looks as if it will be published. good news for an aspiring children's writer i can tell you. the story is called "rua's game" and is about the family dog. she likes hunting bumble bees. in fact, it's an obsession. when one pays attention to one's surroundings, there is much to write about.
as far as the guitar teacher [another part of my life] is concerned. kim's mum gave moi a banana cake yesterday because of the "professional" manner in which i run kim's lessons. she also said they'd like another ten week term of lessons. yahoo!
positive is sooooo good.

posted by mystified @ 2:25 pm 0 Comments

pc new zealand at it's best

posted by mystified @ 9:51 am 0 Comments

money for jam/rugby

my niece's man is playing rugby for the "bay of plenty" steamers this saturday in the air new zealand first division cup. unfortunately [for him] they are playing the wellington lions. they don't stand a chance. "go the lions!" sorry corey, and erin-louise [he says with a smile].
i saw a really good article on weight loss today. backed by science. it will not fail. the answer to type 2 diabetes and many other weight related diseases. a real timely breakthrough. go here to read it. i will however, encapsulate it for you to save you time [just in case]. "eat less:exercise more." go figure.
now i have to say that this might end up being an interesting read.

posted by mystified @ 4:15 pm 0 Comments

aargh

i got spammed! on goes the comment moderation. spammers get lost, go away. i hope all your chooks die! may a thousand nanni-goats dump on your head from a thousand feet, a thousand times. may cammels spit in your coffee every day for the rest of your lives. get the message?

posted by mystified @ 10:46 am 0 Comments

interesting, who knows?

look at what i have found. it's called, "the bestest blog of all time." there is often a good read here.
i have just returned from my horizontal perambulation, where i look to keeping my blood glucose levels in a sane and respectable state. another goal of said perambulation, is to increase my vo2 max, which at this time, could only be described as a vo2 min. it is however, improving.
i find myself pleasantly tired following a productive if less interesting day than i would desire. there is an internal struggle going on. i am fighting boredom today. as yet, i still lack the resources to meaningfully, turn this situation around. mind you, i have thus far, avoided counting the spots on the wall. a hobby i entertained myself with once, when living in a caravan in tauranga.

posted by mystified @ 11:21 pm 0 Comments

the kidney doc

i used to dread trips to the doc. these days, it's not so bad. i had the appointment at 1:30pm this afternoon. being a specialist, there's a whole rigmarole to go through before you even get near his office. first, there was the g.p. then there is the general specialist. next comes the kidney doc.
he was nice, and he was informative. i like that. he was duly impressed with the improvements i have made to my health. losing 20kg, keeping the blood glucose at normal, execising every day. sure made him happy, and me feel better. so, the verdict. keep it going, lose another 10kg and all will be far better. i am even in danger of losing the diabetic symptoms and the need for insulin. mmm.
now for the required motivation. that is always a task.

posted by mystified @ 4:44 pm 0 Comments