pssst, wanna share?

The concept of Post Secret has been going for almost 4 years and it must have been blogged and linked to many times but it still fascinates me. Their visit counter (for what it is worth) suggests over 140 million visits have been made to their site. The voyeur in me still finds it utterly fascinating.

Create a postcard, write your secret on it and send it in. Some of the cards are just amazing. The secrets are funny, sad, flippant and sometimes banal.  Many read as though they have been weighing on the senders mind throughout their life.  There are books now too, some general, some on themes, pages filled with extraordinary little pieces of art and extraordinary confessions. I can’t help but think if it were “email a secret” it wouldn’t be the same. The little pieces of art they are encased in are just as important.

doctor donna martha

If you haven’t watched series 4, episode 4 of Doctor Who and don’t like having the story spoilt then read no further. OMG it was fabulous. After the ridiculously long reunion scene when the Doctor and Donna were reunited I was worried this would be more of the same. I didn’t think I could take 20 minutes of annoying slapstick humour again. My other fear was that it would be stupidly soppy.  I’m very please it was short at sweet and put the power in the hands of the girls.

I like the way the Doctor was all “don’t fight over me ladies” as though he was some irresistable chick magnet and instead they turn the tables on him. Martha is engaged and Donna could care less, the ganged up on him!  As charming as the doctor is, he is just so full of himself. I mean, I know it was deliberately written that way but I loved the way he was portrayed as such a dufus when Donna announced she had to go.  He did a brilliant job of the slightly socially inept man jumping to all the wrong conclusions.

Only downside is that it is a two-parter and I have to wait a whole week, dammit.

this may change your life

I know what you’re thinking – yeah right.  This is no Tui advert, I mean it.

Much has been written about Randy Pausch, a man who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in September 2006. He keeps an online diary of his life and that in itself is an inspiring read. 

In September 2007 he delivered an amazing lecture which you can watch online.  That lecture is now available in a book too, The last lecture, and I read it in less than a day.  I just couldn’t put it down.  I already was familiar with most of it having been one of the thousands to watch the lecture online.  I’ve never met Randy and I don’t know him personally.  He did the lecture and the book for his kids but I also hope he realises what a fantastic thing he has done for the complete strangers who come across his lecture and book. I wonder how many of those people will take time to write a thank-you note.

The other lecture I’d recommend you watch is Randy’s lecture on Time management – it may be 86 minutes long but it will save you time in the long run.  It is just filled with practical tips on ways to improve your use of time.  I’ve been putting his tips into action for a couple of months now and for the first time in years I can say that my email is under control and that’s all due to Randy – so thanks Randy!

customer service – a thing of the past?

As much as I hate the expression “a customer is always right” it surprises me the number of times shop assistants seem to forget it. To be fair, the customer often isn’t right.  In fact the ones you will remember are often the rude and obnoxious with a little self-righteous to go with it. This is the customer who thinks though that you will abide by the ‘customer is always right’ mantra and behaves as though you owe them something.  You do owe them something – unfailing niceness, make them feel as though they are right (even when they aren’t).  As soon as you meet their rudeness with rudeness of your own no-one is going to win. 

What I don’t understand though is why when you enter some stores you are met with complete disdain. Do they not want my money?  I spent my varsity years in Dunedin and as much as I hate to admit it shop keepers during my varisty years treated students as potential shoplifters and time wasters with no money. Go shopping dressed as a student with a backpack and you could expect no service. Dress for a job interview and carry a handbag and you got all the service you could possibly want. Twenty years later and in Wellington  see similar behavious in some stores. If you don’t enter the store dressed as they’d like their customers to be they pretty much ignore you. Have they not watched Pretty Woman? Big mistake.

Funny thing is – it is always the overpriced stores which have the most overrated opinion of themselves. Really, is a friendly hello too much to ask?  Do I really have to dress up before you’ll speak to me?  I was going to relate an experience in a store which had really annoyed me – Wadehouse – but they’ve gone out of business! I don’t know the reasons why but they certainly have lost sales from me in the past.  I did take great delight in picking up a few bargains at ridiculous prices as they closed their doors.

cancel the games and the deals

I can’t believe in this age that China can continue to behave the way it does and yet we still want to be friends. I think New Zealand should be more principled than to enter a free trade agreement. I can’t believe we’re not gettng more criticism for it.  I think the world just doesn’t know. 

The Olympic torch fiasco is gaining protest everywhere it goes – and so it should. Yes, politics and sport don’t mix but something as important as human rights is above competing for medals.  I feel sorry for the sports people who’ve trained long and hard for possibly their only chance to compete at an Olympics but I still think it should be cancelled.  China shouldn’t be allowed to host the games – I can’t believe they were given the opportunity in the first place. Until China tell the truth and stop pretending like everything is okay I can’t see how the games can continue.  What are they going to do, ‘eliminate’ everyone who protests?

Until China allows Tibet their autonomy the protest will continue.

afternoon in bed

Twenty-ish years ago I became aware of the Dunedin sound when I started varsity at Otago. Along with that came the beautiful sound of The Bats and Robert Scott. I was so excited to see them perform last night at the San Francisco Bathhouse along with another of their projects, Minisnap. Holiday With Friends also performed.

HWF have energy to burn and an eclectic mix of instruments up on the stage. They are fun to see live and I didn’t hate them but I won’t be rushing out to buy cd or download a track either. I’m not planning on hunting out their next gig but if they happen to turn up somewhere I’m at that would be okay.

Minisnap and The Bats did not disappoint. Minisnap are Malcolm Grant, Marcus Winstanley, Kaye Woodward and Paul Kean.  I always think Kaye sounds a little like Jane Sinnott.  Maybe it is just the sound I most want to hear.  My absolute fave band of all time has to be the Magick Heads, another of the Bats’ side projects. Robert Scott and Jane Sinnott, oh how I wish they’d revive the Magick Heads.

The drummer is a joy to watch. His head spins so fast from side to side it is a wonder he doesn’t get a headache.  I’m sure it is like an internal metronome, hold his head still and he’d lose the beat. The Bats have been around for 25 years or so. I wasn’t the only one in the audience with a few grey hairs reliving their varsity days. It was a much smaller audience than I’d been expecting but nice to see a few younger followers there too. Best of all, they played my fave Bats tune – Afternoon in bed.

I longed for now closed venues, the James Cabaret and the old Bar Bodega – opposite ends of the size spectrum – but there’s nothing like a packed venue to add to the excitement.  The last time I saw the Bats was at Bodega and the place was heaving. Last night at SanFran the place was a little empty – and if the rain put you off venturing out then you missed an excellent evening.