The Right Honorable John Key...

 Just watch this first.....



I saw this on the news the other day, but mised most of it, so finally checked it out on youtube. I have to say I was quite impressed, and though obviously nervous, I thought the man held himself quite admirably. I then proceeded to read the comments posted on the video, I don't usually read said comments as I find them to be a little crap really. However some of these comments pissed me off, consequently, I ended up reading them all. I shocked and horrified by what I read. A lot of the comments were quite disparaging! That a lot of them were signed by Kiwi's was quite a shock really.

Now I am not a particular fan of government, I never really have been. However I though that our prime minister did this country a great service here. Yes Letterman is not the best way to introduce yourself to the American public at large, but it is better than doing nothing at all. I also thought that Key did a fairly decent job of deflecting most of Letterman's piss taking. I mean lets be honest here, Letterman is all about "Taking the piss!", he does it to everybody, no matter who you are.

In my opinion Key showed to the American public, that New Zealander's can take a joke, that we aren't too serious when we don't have to be, and that we are a pretty good bunch of people. It is unfortunate that there was no opportunity  for a proper interview, but you can't have everything!

Since there was no piccies of our small, but great nation, I thought I would share a few....

All these shots were taken in or around the city I live in, all this beautiful scenery..., what more could you ask for?

Tagged you say...

Well it appears that I got tagged by Fer, over on "The maudlin story of a bisexual boy".

So here we go, first the rules....

The rules: Answer a series of questions and find a picture to represent each question, then create a picture mosaic on this site. Make the mosaic 4 columns by 3 rows. The questions are:

1. Where are you from? (You can choose to answer with your country, state/province, or city.)
2. What's your favorite food?
3. What's your favorite drink?
4. What's your ideal/favorite (future) job/career?
5. What's your favorite thing about yourself?
6. What's the place you most want to visit?
7. What's your favorite body feature on someone else?
8. What's your favorite movie?
9. What's your favorite TV show?
10. Choose one word that best describes you.
11. What time period would you most like to have lived in (in the past)?
12. What's the next thing you're (probably . . .) going to purchase?

1. New Zealand

2. Bangers and Mash... FTW!!

3. A nice hot cup of tea...., mmmmm, yummy!

4. Good old simple truckie.

5.My Mind.

6. Norway..., I have no idea why, I would just love to go there.

7. There is nothing sexier on a boy than a sly grin!

8. Master and Commander.

9.Although it is not being made anymore, I just love Third Watch. Best show I have ever seen.

10. Broken...

11. The height of the of the Samurai. So anytime between year dot and the time that the yanks showed up and spoiled it!

12. An Ipod, probably, an Ipod Touch.

Anyone I would tag, has already been done so, if you haven't then let me know, and I will through one your way.

And so it is...

The time has come..., The enemy is here..., The gates have fallen..., The final showdown is upon us!! It has been an interesting and enlightening journey so far I must say..., so here we go, the last round.

16. What's your darkest secret? (hey, what goes around comes around)

Hmm, tough one! I have so many secrets, and they are all pretty dark. If I was to chose the worst though...,

I am quite obsessed with violence. I hate it, and do my best not to partake in it..., I am just, it seems, very good at it. And  try as I might, I don't seem to  be able to steer clear of it. I have done several things I am really not proud of.


17. What question are you most afraid of some one asking? (another one of Dave's machinations)

 "How are you doing?" I don't know why, it just always freaks me out. Most of the time if I was to answer truthfully I would have people running screaming from the room, or lying on the floor in a quivering heap. Hence I don't really know what to say in these situations.


18. Your house is on fire!! you got the time to get three items out of it, what would those be?

 My harddrive, my dvd collection and my armies.


19. What 3 songs represent you?







20. If you could start to live your life again, what would you change?



There are several things I would like to change, but could I countenance actually changing them? No, I don't think I could. Whatever I change would also change how I see myself, or how I act. Therefore I would not be me. So no, I would not change a thing.

I have watched my city burn..., now I will take my revenge! Or atleast ask the last round of questions....

16. Top or Bottom...?

17.Name two things that define you as a person?

18. What are the three most important possessions to which you can not live without?

19. Paper or plastic...? Discuss.

20. What is the thing that first attracts you to a person?

They you are my friend..., and if you get stuck on something, or are not sure how to answer, remember this...

"It is not the question that is important..., 

it is how you answer it."

Round Three - The Continuation....

I had quite a crap day today..., which is quite funny, because I was upbeat and happy for most of it! Everywhere I turned today, people were in a grumpy mood, my boss caught the wrong end of the stick, AGAIN!! And I got a mini bollocking, it sucks when that happens. I was on a call with a guy asking for privileged information, and she was listening in. I had just finished for the fifth time, telling this guy exactly what I am supposed to tell him (The Party Line!), when she takes over the call, and proceeds to waffle on about bullshit! Later on she calls me over and says that I was not being sensitive to the customers needs! What The Fuck?????!!!!!!!

Even with this happening I still pretty happy about the day, but towards the end everyones grumpyness was really getting me down. Luckily though I managed to stave off most of it until the end of my shift, I then blasted some Breaking Begamin and NOFX in the jeep on the way home, singing my lungs out! I love to sing, though I am no good at it, Simon Cowell would have a field day with me, hehe!!

Ok so now the real reason for this post...., the third round....

11. Long time from now, when you are already a goner and a laureate novelist writes your biography, How will it end?

With the chimes of the thousands of bells of hell, ringing in new management.

12. What has been your biggest accomplishment in life?

 I don't rightly know, I have done so much in my relatively short life that it is hard to nail down just one thing. But if you are going to push me, I think my degree would have to come up tops. It only took five years to get it, even though it was only a three year degree. I remember there was a lot of parties and drinking, not sure if that was on the syllabus, but it was definitely there!!

13. If three people in your life where to show up after a long time and were to share a cup of coffee with you, who would those people be? and why them?

 You mean who would I want them to be? I would like one to be my younger brother, I never met him you see as he died at birth...., he would be about 15 now. I often wonder how he would have turned out, I think about him often. Next would be my mother, for we have some serious things to discuss. And lastly ..., you. Your intelligence, wit, and outlook intrigues me. I think it would be nice to get to know you more.

14. What's your biggest fear?

 If we are talking phobias, it would definitely be spiders, just the thought of them makes me break out in a cold sweat! If we are talking in general, dying alone.

15. If someone you really like popped the question of marriage today, would you go along?

 It would greatly depend on the circumstances, but probably yes.

My turn....

11. In this question I shall rebound one of your own. If three people in your life where to show up after a long time and were to share a cup of coffee with you, who would those people be? and why them?

12. What preparations have you made for the inevitable zombie invasion? 

13. What is the craziest place (location not body part) you've ever been intimate with a person? 

14. In your opinion what is the greatest film ever made?

15. What is your most fondest childhood memory?

Round Two...

Hmm..., good first round, no? Interesting answers posted by my "Little Flower", hope you enjoyed them as much as I did. However!

 6. You have only 24 hours left to walk this God´s green earth, what are you going to do to make them worth?

Firstly, I would write a letter to everyone I loved and care for. In these letters I would explain just how much they mean to me, and how sorry I am that our relationship cannot continue, and in some cases blossom. I would then steal a boat, and sail it out into the ocean, so I could watch the sun set over the water for the last time. 

7. What are the -let´s say- 7 things your ideal man would need to have

 Just 7? Well a boy can't be too picky I suppose...

1. A gorgeous smile

2. A surfers physique, preferably with blond hair and blue eyes

3. A caring, loving and accepting personality

4. A good sense of humour

5. Talent in the kitchen, and the desire for good food

6. Must have talent in the bedroom..., or any other room for that matter

7. Intelligence, and the ability to carry a worthwhile conversation.

8. Who´s  your platonic love?

 There are a few, but the strongest right now, would be one of my two besties S... who lives in the same town as me.

I love him dearly and he is one of the few people that I can say anything too and to be honest he knows most of my secrets. He is one of a very few people that I would die for, and I know that he feels the same way about me...., it is one of those great shames that he is straight.

9. What is the most significant dream you´ve ever had?

I am not quite sure what you mean by dream? Do you mean goal, or something I have dreamt? So for arguements sake I will go with an actual dream that I have dreamt.

Ever since I was a kid, I have had this dream about movement. It has come and gone over the years, and usually what it means is that I am facing some form of change in my life. Usually I don't realise it until I have this dream, but it is the strongest one I have, in that I always remember it well after I wake up. In the dream I am always running, sometimes on my feet others in various forms of vehicles. What I am running from is usually something that terrorfies me, though always it is something more felt, and only half glimpsed. When I was a kid, the thing that scared me usually took the form of a vampire, though the the last time I had the dream (not that long ago actually!), it took the form of a Lichtor, yuck!!

10. What are your height and weight as of this morning?

Well to be honest I don't rightly know how much I weigh, but I am guessing it is around the 130KG mark. As to height I am 6ft 2in.

And now the epic duel continues...

 

6. I am taking you on a date to a restaurant of your choice..., where would that restaurant be, and what would you order?

7. Without limitation..., what person has truely inspired you? This could be someone you know or someone from history, it is up to you. And why have they had such an effect on your life?

8. Sometimes you get the Carniv..., sometimes the Carniv gets you. Discuss.

9. You are in an impossible situation, things are getting desperate, and people are counting on you. Do you give up, or do you fight for another way out?

10. You see your ideal man walk into the room, he is everything you expected, and just gave you a wink. Now, seeing your interest, he is walking towards you. As he gets closer, you notice an insignificant flaw, that you just can't ignore. Do you introduce yourself, and get over it, or do you turn him down and go back to your drink?

Round one...

First off, lets do a little recap. A little while ago, I put up a challenge, for if anyone had any questions of me. Well young Fer has come up with this game.., which he calls a :Blog Off:. Here are the rules...

1. There will be 4 rounds of 5 questions each
2. Every player may choose not to answer to a question
3. At the end of the 4 rounds the player that has more answered questions WINS
4. Bystanders may give advice as to what to ask to the other player
5. Questions may be returned back to the other person only if you answer it otherwise you can't reflect it
6. Yes/No questions should have at least a brief explanation of why
7. Anything not covered here by the rules must be decided by a third party (namely a poll)
8. You have any rules to add you must do so before the game starts
9. Every question must be answered with complete and brutal honesty
10. You challenged, you begin the asking

 __________________________________________________________

And now the main event....

1. My first question will definitely have to be, Why Octavius?

Pretty simple really, I have a thing for ancient Rome. Plus if you research the guy who belongs to the name, he is very interesting....

Octavius (Welsh: Eudaf) was a legendary king of the Britons in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia regum Britanniae, an early account of the rulers of Britain.

According to Geoffrey's story, Octavius was a half brother to Constantine I and ruled over Britain while Constantine was emperor in Rome. Constantine had been crowned king of the Britons upon his father's death in 306 at York. As Constantine became more powerful, he was forced to leave Britain in the hands of a proconsul while he ruled in Rome. This prompted Octavius, then Duke of the Gewissei tribe of Celts, to begin a rebellion against Roman rule. Octavius murdered the proconsul and his aides then took the crown of Britain upon his own head.

This led to a response from Constantine who sent three legions to Britain under the command of his great-uncle, Trahern, the brother of the late King Coel. He landed at Kaerperis and captured it forcing Octavius to conscript all the island into the army to combat the Roman legions. Octavius met Trahern in a field outside Winchester where they fought and Octavius won. Trahern fled to Albany and pillaged the land. That caused Octavius to react again, where he met Trahern in Westmorland, but Octavius was defeated this time. Octavius fled Britain and Trahern took on the crown himself.

Octavius fled to Norway where he sought help from King Gunbert. In Britain, supporters of Octavius managed to ambush Trahern and kill him near London, allowing Octavius to return to Britain. Once arrived, he scattered the Roman forces and retook the throne of Britain, gaining an incredible amount of wealth and prestige. Following years of rule, Octavius decided to marry his only daughter off to the Roman emperor Magnus Maximus. After a brief struggle with his nephew, Conan Meriadoc, the kingship of Britain was given to Maximus, and Octavius abdicated.

 

2. What's with all this army/navy stuff going around in your blog?

 I have a thing for the "Senior Service". I was going to join the Navy, but opted for the Army instead. I am also a huge fan of Naval films, and the GW Game "Battle Fleet Gothic".

3. Describe yourself in one word, and obviously why?

 If I was to do this, my word would be "Broken". I choose this word for a multitude of reasons. Primarily because I am "Broken" not only in body, but also in mind. If you wish I will elaborate....,

In Body..., I have stabbed twice, shot once, have had several broken bones including my nose three times, I have been bottled twice, and generally just had the shit kicked out of me.

In Mind..., I have been tortured by Ex's, one of which on my birthday slept with me , then told me that they were dumping me because they were in love with my best friend. That was a real mind fuck I can tell you. It has made me very distrusting of relationships.

4. What's the greatest memory you have in your life?

 Firstly I am not sure what you mean by "Great"? Do you mean strongest, or best? So for arguements  sake I will go with "Best". Well saying my first fuck would be far too trite, so instead..., 

My best memory, is the year I spent traveling with my dad before I went to school. You see I didn't do day care, or Pre-School. My Kindergarten was the cab of a 1982 S-Line International. Best year of my life to date. My father is a Truck driver..., just by the way.

5. What's your favorite color (s)? (thanks Aek ;P)

 This one

Or more accurately, "Baby Blue".

 ________________________________________________________

So you are finished...?

Well then..., allow me to retort!

_______________________________________________________

So here we are, my return volley!

1. Name three of your guilty pleasures, explaining in brief detail each one.

2. What is your darkest secret..., Discuss.

3. You are marooned on a deserted island. You can save three things from the plane that has crashed leaving you there, before it sinks beyond reach. What three things would you save?

4. Forgetting the religious aspects..., you are Fer Almighty! God has bequeathed upon you all his powers for one day..., what do you do?

5. Recite the best line/quote from a popular film that has truely stuck in your memory. If the film is obscure, please give title, character and synopsis.  

The game is afoot...

Well it seems that my challenge has turned into a kind of game. Young Fer has picked up the gauntlet and smacked me cleanly round the jaw!! In THIS post the young upstart clearly defines the rules. I have accepted his his counter-challenge, and eagerly await his first barrage of questions. THe first round should be interesting..., we will just have to see if it sets the tone for the entire competition.

I have some half-pie decent questions to throw back at the lad, but suggestions are always welcome.

Stop trying to hit me..., and hit me!!

Just bring it..., indeed.

Mission Control - "Ah Houstan...."

So since others have done it, I thought I would show you all where I blog from...

My "Venerable" PC, covered in toys and crap!

Above: The back end of my room, kinda ordered, but still clean.
Below: The front end of my room.

So there you have it my private sanctum..., my room is not that large but it is home.

Being a good follower...

Well everyone else seems to be doing it, so why not....
"The BBC apparently says most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here."

Instructions:
1) Bold what you have read.
2) Add a '+' to the ones you LOVE.
3) Italicize those you plan on reading.
4) Put in a note with your total in the subject.
-----
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien +
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling +
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee +
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell+++
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams +
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield- Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hossein
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell+
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

19 read, only two that I have a desire to read. Most of them I have heard of, but have never seen, or had the opportunity to read.

Lyrics

While I was slaving away at work tonite, I was listening to some of the music that I had put on my work PC. I have a many and varied taste...., from classical to movie scores, to rock, pop, and beyond. So anyways, two tracks played together that really struck me at the time..., you know when you hear a track that just fits the moment perfectly?

So I thought I would share the lyrics with you, first up is a track by John Mayer called Daughters...

I know a girl
She puts the color inside of my world
but she's just like a maze
Where all of the walls are continually changed

And I've done all I can
To stand on her steps with my heart in my hand
Now I'm starting to think (SEE)
Maybe it's got nothing to do with me

Fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be good to your daughters too

Ooh, you see that skin?
It's the same she's been standing in
Since the day she saw him walking away
Now she's left
cleaning up the mess he made

So fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers, be good to your daughters too

Boys, you can break
You find out how much they can take
Boys will be strong
And boys soldier on
But boys would be gone without warmth from
A woman's good, good heart

On behalf of every man
looking out for every girl
You are the guide and the weight of her world

So fathers, be good to your daughters
Daughters will love like you do
Girls become lovers who turn into mothers
So mothers be good to your daughters, too
So mothers be good to your daughters, too
So mothers be good to your daughters, too.

The second is by a guy called Ben Folds called "There is always someone cooler than you"...

Smile like you've got nothing to prove
No matter what you might do
There's always someone out there
Cooler than you

I know that's hard to believe
But there are people you meet
They're into something
That is to big to be expressed
Through their clothes

And they'll put up
With all the poses you throw
And you won't even know

That they're not sizing you up
They know your ma fucked you up
Or maybe let you watch
Too much TV

But they'll still look in your eyes
To find the human inside
You know there's always something
In there to see

Beneath the veneer
Not everybody made the list this year
Have a beer

Make me feel tiny
If it makes you feel tall
But there's always someone
Cooler than you

Yeah, you're the shit
But you won't be it for long
Oh there's always someone
Cooler than you
Yeah, there's always someone
Cooler than you

Now that I've got the disease
In a way I'm relieved
'Cause I don't have to stress about it
Like you do

I might just get up and dance
Or buy some acid-washed pants
When you don't care
Then you've got nothing to lose

And I won't hesitate
'Cause every moment
Life is slipping away
S'okay

Make me feel tiny
If it makes you feel tall
But there's always someone
Cooler than you

Yeah, you're the shit
But you won't be it for long
Oh there's always someone
Cooler than you
Yeah, there's always someone
Cooler than you

Oh, there's always someone
Cooler than...

Life is wonderful
Life is beautiful
We're all children of
One big universe
So you don't have to be
A chump

And you know
(You know)
That I won't
(I won't)
Hesitate
(Hesitate)
'Cause every moment
Life is slipping away
(Away)
It's okay
(It's okay)

Make me feel tiny
If it makes you feel tall
Oh, 'cause there's always someone
Cooler than you

Yeah, you're the shit
But you won't be it for long
But there's always someone
Cooler than you
Oh yeah, there's always someone
Cooler than you

Because there's always someone
Cooler than you

Cooler than you

Nerds go wild...

So there you have it, look them up on youtube, they are well worth the effort.

Bits and bobs...

Me....

Here they are mate...