Wednesday, May 30, 2012

KFC Launches Pie and Return of the Double Down - Double Dose of Good News


There is a double dose of good news with the announcement that curve a drop in sales, KFC will not only bring back the controversial Double Down burger which was such a hit last year, but they are introducing a chicken and potato and gravy pie. They will only cost $4.50 and sound amazing. The beauty of these pies will be that they are probably not any worse nutrition wise than your usual pie and are cheaper than more burgers at KFC. Will you try one of these pies this winter? Or will you wait for the return of the Double Down?
For KFC lovers who are also partial to the odd pie, some good news is at hand.

The fast food chain is set to launch a chicken pie in its stores across the country next week.

Restaurant Brands chief executive Russel Creedy, whose firm operates KFC, Starbucks and Pizza Hut, said the pie contained KFC's famous mashed potato and gravy and, of course, chicken.

"It's fantastic," Creedy said. "I've had a few already."

He said the pie would go on the menu on Tuesday and would sell for $4.50.

It was the first time KFC had offered a pie in New Zealand, Creedy said, adding that KFC in United States had put a pie on its menu in the past.

The launch of the pie comes on the back of KFC's Double Down bunless chicken burger promotion, which was a marketing coup for the chain last year.

Creedy said he did not expect the pie to be as much of a hit as the Double Down. The company plans to re-launch the bunless chicken burger later this year.

The success last year of KFC's 'Double Down' burger promotion has made Restaurant Brands' first quarter sales report look comparatively weak.

The company, which has the local rights for KFC, Pizza Hut and Starbucks, said the group's same-store sales fell by 3.7 per cent over the quarter compared with the first quarter of last year.

"Sales were affected by the rolling over of the prior year's KFC Double Down burger promotion which was an unprecedented sales success,'' Restaurant Brands said.

Total sales across the company's three brands were $70.6m, a fall of 2.7 per cent or $2.0m.

KFC's total sales fell 3.1 per cent in the quarter. Starbucks sales decreased 3.5 per cent but Pizza Hut sales were the same as last year, despite there being nine fewer stores.


http://www.nzherald.co.nz/food-beverage-industry/news/article.cfm?c_id=45&objectid=10809492

Child Sings Anti-Gay Song At Church



What do you think of this child's anti-gay song at church?

A child's anti-gay song in a US church is going viral on the internet.

The congregation in the church, which has been identified as the Apostolic Truth Tabernacle Church in Greensburg, Indiana, gives a standing ovation after the child sings, "The Bible's right, somebody's wrong. The Bible's right, somebody's wrong. Romans one, twenty six and twenty seven; Ain't no homos gonna make it to Heaven."

A man who appears to be the Church's pastor Jeff Sangl, can be see standing behind the child smiling as he listens to the performance while a person in the congregation can be heard calling "that's my boy".

Many comments across the internet have claimed the child has obviously been coached what to sing.

On its website the Apostolic Truth Tabernacle says "our doors are open to you regardless of your background or where you are on your spiritual journey".



http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/americas/7022270/Childs-anti-gay-church-song-goes-viral

Jaime Ridge To Fight GC's Rosana Arkle - Sonny Bill Williams Inspired


Jaime Ridge


Rosanna Arkle

Former girlfriend of Sonny Bill Williams Jaime Ridge will get into the boxing ring with The GC star Rosanna Arkle in a fight that is sure to get plenty of attention, especially from men.

Ridge knows what goes into preparing for boxing fights after being in a relationship with Sonny Bill Williams. It leaves me wondering if their relationship was in many ways one of convenience in order to boost her profile. She is the daughter of celebrities Matthew and Sally Ridge.

I wonder if more people will watch this boxing fight since both of these girls are relatively well known, rather than fights between no names. Will you pay money to watch these women fight?


Jaime Ridge hopes a boxing fight against The GC star Rosanna Arkle will help "inspire" other girls.

"Yeah, I have done a bit of modelling but I am a fulltime law and commerce student too," the 18-year-old said today.

"I want to do something outside of my comfort zone. And I want to inspire girls if I can. I want them to feel empowered too - to take an opportunity when it comes up rather than sit back and do nothing.

"This a great challenge. It's an amazing way to test myself. I am all about stretching my boundaries."

Ridge and Arkle, 23, star of TV3 show The GC, will go toe-to-toe during an undercard match at the KFC Godfather of Fight Nights in Auckland on July 5.

Arkle, who is understood to be fighting in just a bikini, flew into Auckland with reality TV housemate and boyfriend Zane yesterday.

"Life is about living right? It's about taking chances and that's why I agreed to this fight," the Whangarei-raised glamour model said.

"There's no hiding place on reality TV and there will be no hiding place in the ring. And that's OK. I had never heard of Jaime Ridge until this fight came up. I don't know anything about her. But I know I want to beat her... and that's what I am training for."

Neither fighter, both models, are concerned about being injured, but Arkle conceded she would need to keep her face well guarded.

"I never really thought about that until now.

"I guess I just have to keep my guard up. I don't like the thought of getting hurt."

Ridge, the daughter of former Kiwis captain and All Black Matthew Ridge, said there would be no surprises for her when she steps inside the ring. She has been training with former Warrior and boxer Monty Betham.

"Boxing is not so foreign to me," she said.

"I know what Sonny (Bill Williams) went through to prepare for his fight in February and I have been to heaps of corporate events so I understand the concept of it all. There is an element of risk but I know the work Monty is doing with me will be a massive help in the ring. Although, yeah, I am slightly worried about getting punched in the face."

Ridge and Williams dated for more than a month earlier this year, parting ways shortly after Williams gained the New Zealand heavyweight title.


http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/other-sports/7020645/Jaime-Ridge-to-fight-GC-star-in-boxing-match

Research Shows That Cricket Swing Bowling Not Related To Humidity and Moisture In Air

Some scientific research including work done by the University of Auckland has found that there is no relationship between moisture in the air during humid conditions and the cricket ball swinging. It is difficult to know if it will change the way cricketers play the game. What do you think? I don't think it makes too much difference to the approach taken by players, with humid conditions still very conducive to swing bowling event if moisture in the air isn't the main reason for the ball swinging.
WELLINGTON (AFP) - The widely-held belief that moisture in the air during humid conditions helps make a cricket ball swing has been clean bowled in a scientific study.

Swing bowling -- when a delivery curves sideways in mid-air -- has long been regarded as one of the game's dark arts, not only deceiving hapless batsmen but also puzzling cricket-loving scientists.

Researchers from Britain's Sheffield Hallam University and the University of Auckland in New Zealand reviewed scientific literature on the subject and conducted their own tests to try to get to the bottom of the mystery.

From the earliest studies of the phenomenon in the 1950s to the "seminal review of sports ball dynamics" by NASA scientist Rabindra Mehta in 1985, they found humidity was consistently cited as a crucial factor in achieving swing.

The researchers tested the theory using 3D laser scanners in an atmospheric chamber to measure the effect different humidity levels had on deliveries using balls which had been "aged" to simulate match conditions.

While altitude and the age of the ball both increased swing, the scientists did not discover any link between moisture levels in the air and sideways movement of the ball.

"This study shows that there is no direct or indirect manner in which humidity can significantly affect the ability of the bowler to make the ball swing," they concluded in research published in the online journal Procedia Engineering this week.

"It is therefore logical to conclude that humidity may not have the significant influence on swing bowling that is widely assumed."

Instead, the researchers put forward their own theory that cloud cover provided the ideal environment for swing bowling because it reduced turbulence in the air caused by heating from sunlight.

They said such still conditions meant the air surrounding the ball during the delivery was less likely to be disturbed, making it easier to produce the "asymmetrical" flight needed for swing bowling.
"What is clear is that the scientific community should turn their attention away from the question of humidity and focus their efforts to test the cloud cover hypothesis," they said.

http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/cricket/news/article/-/13817886/cricket-swing-theory-does-not-hold-water-study/

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Gordon Ramsay Injured During Soccer Aid 2012 England vs Rest of the World - We Need More Of These Matches


Here are highlights of Soccer Aid 2012 England vs Rest of the World match.


Former England international Teddy Sherringham injures celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay in a blatant foul which would have been satisfying for all those people who Ramsay has offended over the years.

We need more of these Soccer Aid 2012 celebrity matches where you get former international players and heaps of television and movie stars in a match. The standard was good too by the looks of things. Why were so many Englishmen in the Rest of the World team? We need to have one of these matches in New Zealand.

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay had to be carried off the field after absorbing a big hit in a charity football match in Manchester, England.

Ramsay was given oxygen and carted off the field on a stretcher during the celebrity benefit Soccer Aid. He was taken to the hospital and released a few hours later. His spokesman released the following statement:

"Gordon was taken to hospital after injuring his back during the game. He was released after receiving treatment and although he's in pain today, there shouldn't be any long term damage."

Ramsay wasn't the only one hurting. "Anchorman" star Will Ferrell had to leave the match early with leg injury.

Other celebrities playing included Mike Myers, Gerard Butler, Edward Norton, Woody Harrelson and Michael Sheen. They took on an England team that included Take That's Mark Owen and JLS singers Aston Merrygold and Marvin Humes.

While he recuperates, Ramsay can take heart in the fact that it was for a good cause. The event, set up by Take That star Robbie Williams, raised more than $6.4 million for UNICEF.

England won the match, 3-1.


http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/football/7014990/Gordon-Ramsay-injured-in-celebrity-football-game

Monday, May 28, 2012

Dog Follows Chinese Cyclists 1700 Kilometres - Cute Story





This is why you shouldn't feed stray animals!

A dedicated dog in China has followed a group of cyclists for 1700 kilometres.

The cyclists came across the stray dog, threw it a drumstick and it followed them as they rode to Tibet.

The cyclists say the dog showed strong 'willpower' to follow them all the way.

It never fell behind and even put its paws on its new master to push him to keep going.

The cyclists' new best friend, who they've compared to Forrest Gump, has climbed over 10 mountains more than 4,000 metres high and ran up to 60 kilometres a day.

http://www.skynews.com.au/offbeat/article.aspx?id=754363&vId=

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Isaac's Live Lip-Dub Proposal - Another Great Idea


Watch this great live lip-dub proposal from Isaac Lamb. It has become a new internet sensation and thanks to the help of his friends and Bruno Mars it was a successful marriage proposal. It is getting tougher to come up with an original marriage proposal idea.

It's a marriage proposal unlike anything you've seen before, and has shot to viral video status.

Isaac Lamb popped the question to his girlfriend Amy Frankel calling it the "first live lip-dub proposal" - a choreographed dance routine that has been viewed more than 2.2 million times on YouTube.

Set to Bruno Mars' song Marry You, the US actor enlisted the help of 60 friends to choreograph a production to win his girlfriend's hand in marriage.

Lamb's now fiancée put on headphones and sat in the back of a moving car while a parade-like sequence unfolded before her. Only she could hear the music, while her family and friends took part in the elaborate mime.

The lip-dub included a marching band, dancing and simultaneous performances from absent friends using Skype. The video shows a picture-in-picture of Frankel's delight. The pair met through auditions for a local production of West Side Story six years ago and reportedly bonded over their love of lip-dubs.

"To be honest it's a little overwhelming. I'm really, really, really touched by how positive people's reactions have been," Lamb told The Oregonian.

"The love I genuinely feel for my fiancé has touched other people. I never expected this and I'm really amazed by the response. My intention was never to make a viral video."

The happy couple told the paper they had been contacted by The Today Show, Good Morning America and Ellen DeGeneres.

Even the singer himself has contacted Lamb via twitter writing ‏"Congrats to Isaac Lamb and the future Mrs.. I don't think I could've made a better music video for this song. Thank you."


http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/weddings/7001770/Marry-You-lip-dub-proposal-gets-yes

Police Kill Naked Man Zombie Who Was Eating Another Man's Head


I was shocked when I read about a naked man who was found eating another man's head/face being shot. Good on the Police intervention, but this sounds disgusting. Is this man who was shot, a zombie? How often does this sort of thing happen? I feel sick!

One man was shot to death by Miami police, and another man is fighting for his life after he was attacked and his face allegedly half eaten, by a naked man on the MacArthur Causeway off ramp, police said.

The bloodshed began about 2 p.m. when a series of gunshots were heard on the ramp, which is along NE 13th Street, just south of The Miami Herald building. Witnesses said a woman saw the two men fighting and flagged down a police officer who was in the area.

The officer, who has not been identified, approached and saw that the naked man was actually chewing the other man's head, according to witnesses. The officer ordered the naked man to back away, and when he continued the assault, the officer shot him. The attacker continued to eat the man, despite being shot, forcing the officer to continue firing. Witnesses said they heard at least a half dozen shots.

Miami police were on the scene, which was just south of The Miami Herald building on Biscayne Boulevard. The naked man who was killed lay face down on the pedestrian walkway just below the newspaper's two-story parking garage. Police requested The Herald's video surveillance tapes.

The other man was transported to the hospital with critical injuries, according to police. Their identities were not released.

The incident, which came as crowds descended upon South Beach for the annual Urban Beach Week hip-hop festival, snarled traffic on the causeway for several hours.
Based on the information provided, our Miami police officer is a hero and saved a life,'' he said.

Sergeant Altarr Williams, supervisor of Miami police's Homicide Unit, said a man doesn't have to be armed to be dangerous.

"There are other ways to injure people,'' Williams said. "Some people know martial arts, others are very strong and can kill you with their hands.''

In a text message, Javier Ortiz, spokesman for Miami police's Fraternal Order of Police, said the officer who fired the fatal shots was "a hero."


http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/05/26/2818832/naked-man-shot-killed-on-macarthur.html

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Sweden's Loreen Wins Eurovision Song Contest 2012


Loreen won the contest with her club track Euphoria.


The Buranovo grannies were among the favourites.



Sweden's Loreen has won Eurovision Song Contest 2012, maintaining Sweden's strong showing at the competition. Abba were the very first winners. This seems like such a strange song competition when you get some Russian grannies finishing second and veteran singer Engelbert Humperdinck representing such a talented country like Great Britain. It makes you wonder what sort of talent the Eurovision Song Contest is looking for when you see such a wide range of random acts involving old washed up singers, dancing grannies and young talent. Who do you think should have won?

Swedish contestant Loreen has won the Eurovision Song Contest, edging out a popular choir of elderly women from a remote village in Russia.

Loreen's club anthem Euphoria won a total of 372 points, easily outscoring entries from her nearest rivals from Russia, Serbia and hosts Azerbaijan.

Second were Russian choir Buranovskiye Babushki (Buranovo grannies), who warmed the hearts of audiences with their disco song in traditional dress.

Serbia, represented by the hugely popular Eurovision veteran Zeljko Joksimovic came third in the competition held this year the Azerbaijani capital Baku.

The victory earns Sweden the right to host the competition next year.

Sweden has won the annual music extravaganza five times since it first took part in 1958.

It first won the contest in Brighton in England in 1974 with the instantly memorable hit Waterloo by iconic group ABBA - for many the band and the song that defined the competition forever.

British entry Engelbert Humperdinck, who opened the contest with his ballad Love Will Set You Free, finished second from last, the BBC reports.

The 76-year-old crooner, who has sold more than 150 million records worldwide, received just 12 points - from Estonia, Latvia, Belgium and Ireland.

The UK has not won since 1997 and has come last three times in the past decade.

The contest is decided by a combination of votes cast by text by people in Eurovision member nations and decisions of professional juries in each country.


http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/106811/sweden-wins-eurovision-song-contest

Watch Free Live Streaming Football OFC Nations Cup FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualification

Watch Free Live Streaming Football OFC Nations Cup FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualification New Zealand, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Tahiti.

http://www.oceaniafootball.com/

http://www.vipbox.tv/sports/football.html

Friday, May 25, 2012

Sheldon From Big Bang Theory Actor Jim Parsons Is Gay

Jim Parsons who plays the anal retentive Sheldon Cooper on the Big Bang Theory is gay and has been in a same sex relationship for ten years. It is difficult to separate fiction from reality, but if he is anything like his on stage persona as the eccentric Sheldon Cooper then it is hardly surprising. He is 39 years old which is surprising given his youthful looks.

The Big Bang Theory actor Jim Parsons has skipped the "I'M GAY!" magazine
cover approach to coming out: Far down in a New York Times profile on
Wednesday
was the subtle mention that the two-time Emmy winner has been in a
same-sex
relationship for a decade.
The blink-and-you'll miss it aside
appeared in a story about Parsons'
starring stint in the Broadway production
of Harvey.
Discussing Parsons' small role in the play The Normal Heart -
about gay men
dying of AIDS - the story noted: "The Normal Heart resonated
with him on a few
levels: Mr Parsons is gay and in a 10-year relationship,
and working with an
ensemble again onstage was like nourishment, he said."
Parsons played young gay activist Tommy Boatwright in the play.
While
this may be the first official confirmation of Parsons' sexuality, the
National Enquirer attempted to "out" the actor in 2010 by writing that he
was
engaged to his boyfriend, Todd Spiewak.
Parsons' publicist has not
yet responded for comment

http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/6987576/Big-Bang-Theorys-Parsons-outed

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Shortland Street 20 Years On - Should We Celebrate This Kiwi Export?



Shortland Street celebrates twenty years on television. My only concern is that this show has been screened in 15 countries and is how people all over the world see New Zealand culture. This scares me!

Despite it being painful to watch with cringeworthy kiwi accents and bad acting, it obviously still appeals to enough people to warrant it being around twenty years and therefore it can't be that bad, can it? I must admit that I started watching Shortland Street in 1992, but it was revolutionary at the time, but in my view, it never really surpassed the Australian soaps like Neighbours or Home and Away and appealed to a different market to Coronation Street.

Shortland Street probably appeals to schoolgirls more than anything, but I guess every show has to have a target market. I haven't watched it in years, but have stumbled upon it accidentially and realised that the acting hasn't got much better, but it has given opportunities to New Zealand actors to launch their careers.

I would be surprised if one in four people watch Shortland Street anymore, but they keep pumping out the shows, so something must be going alright!

It has provided some great quotes like "You are not in Guatemala now Doctor Ropata" and some great actors who have gone onto bigger things like Tem Morrison and Craig Parker, but I wonder if it will last another twenty years and get up to the lofty heights of Coronation Street as far as long term dramas go? I wonder how many people who started watching in 1992 are still watching now that they are older?

The nation's favourite soap, Shortland Street reaches a historic milestone tonight on TV2 as the show celebrates twenty years on New Zealand screens.

When TVNZ and South Pacific Pictures launched the fledgling show on Monday 25 May 1992, more than one in four people tuned in to watch the first episode - ensuring its launch was a huge success and that Shorty was well on the way to becoming lodged in the nation's collective consciousness.

Despite complaints about bad acting, cringe-worthy Kiwi accents and misrepresenting medical realities, Shortland Street soon had a cult following - both here and abroad.

From suicide and HIV scares, to drug addictions and scandalous affairs, the show pushed boundaries by delving into social issues in a way that had not been possible before. Shortland Street also helped launch the careers of numerous successful Kiwi actors including Temuera Morrison, Martin Henderson and Karl Urban.

Over the last twenty years the show has entertained generations of Kiwis and viewers in more than 15 other countries - while consistently retaining its top spot on TV2 and as one of the most-watched shows on New Zealand television.

http://tvnz.co.nz/entertainment-news/shortland-street-celebrates-20-years-new-zealand-television-4899874

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Watch Free Live Streaming Football New Zealand vs El Salvadore

Watch Free Live Streaming Football New Zealand vs El Salvadore


http://www.oleoletv.com/category/football/

http://www.vipbox.tv/sports/football.html

Autumn Heatwave Hits Invercargill - TVNZ Website Gets Weather Wrong or Are They Taking The Piss?

Thanks to Andy Leitch for this screenshot.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=4113485079942&set=a.2086598729050.2131339.1367626350&type=3&theater

According to the TVNZ website, Invercargill is experiencing record high temperatures for the end of May. I thought my friend was making this up, but they must have made some kind of mistake on the website. Well done intern! Thursday is expected to reach a low of 49 degrees. I think something must be wrong with their input data! I wonder if someone is taking the piss and wondering how long it would take anyone to notice. Look for yourself below. I thought it might be Farenheit, but it seems weird that some of the minimum temperatures are higher than the maximums.


http://tvnz.co.nz/weather-forecast/invercargill

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Hug A Ginga Day Off 2012 - Give Gingas The Day Off Work!





After six years, the Edge Radio Station's Hug A Ginga Day has been changed to Hug A Ginga Day Off in an attempt to give our ginger haired friends the day off work or school. It puts a more positive spin on the day, but I wonder if any employers around the country will realistically give their ginger haired staff members the day off work. This could be a good excuse to go ginger for the day!

Depending on your profession or stage of life then maybe it is wise to try take the day off, given the hassle of being in schools or around teenagers who use hug a ginga day for bullying. I think gingas should get a day off work, if I was a boss, I would be lenient!

There are so many shades of ginger. Some people insist that I have a ginge, tinge. Maybe I should try to claim a day off work.

For the past six years The Edge has dedicated a day to celebrating redheads by rallying all New Zealanders to simply ‘Hug A Ginga’. In 2012 it’s about giving a Ginga the day off!

The Edge ‘Hug A Ginga - Day Off’ will be held on Friday, May 25. Rather than just a ‘hug’, New Zealand employers, teachers, parents even personal trainers can show their support and appreciation for redheads by giving them the day off.

A day off work, home work, PE class, doing the dishes, the gym, filling the water cooler, making lunch; whatever it is The Edge is calling on the nation to embrace redheads.

The Edge ‘Hug a Ginga Day’ was created to raise awareness of Ginga bullying and to give ‘Gingas’ everywhere a day of love and celebration.

“It’s about showing Gingas some appreciation and making them feel proud of their flaming locks,” said Leon Wratt, Programme Director of The Edge.

Download the 'Day Off' permission slip available for redheads to print and use here.

If people still wish to hug a Ginga, “please hug responsibly”... check out The Edge Hug A Ginga Day etiquette video on the right.

On Friday, May 25 The Edge ‘Hug A - Ginga Day Off’ stations will be set up across the country in 17 locations, where redheads can go and receive some Ginga love (just in case they don’t get the day off anything)!

Hug a Ginga Day Off T-Shirts


What's better than a Hug a Ginga Day Off T-Shirt??? A Hug a Ginga Day Off T-Shirt with a cat on it, obviously!


The good folk at Mr Vintage have come on board and has released an official Hug a Ginga Day tee that you can purchase for yourself or a friend NOW!

Plus enter below to enter or listen on Friday 25th (Hug a Ginga Day Off), between 7am-9am, to win one!

And don't forget... Let's hug it out.


http://www.theedge.co.nz/Events/HugaGingaDayOff2012.aspx

NBA Rookie Kyrie Irving Goes Undercover As Uncle Drew - Real or Staged?



Watch NBA rookie of the year Kyrie Irving dressed as Uncle Drew show these average joes how to play basketball.

Pepsi MAX went to a pick-up game in Bloomfield, NJ pretending to shoot a documentary on a basketball player named "Kevin." When his Uncle Drew came into the game, some magical things happened.

Was this real or staged? Did people at this game wonder why there were heaps of video cameras at their game and why this old guy was so good?

Monday, May 21, 2012

Anchorman 2 Official Teaser Trailer


Here is the trailer for the Anchorman 2 movie to be released in 2013. There are some movies like Anchorman, Hot Fuzz and Waterboy where you don't appreciate them until you have watched them a few times. You often miss jokes the first time round! Will you watch Anchorman 2? Will it be as good as the first Anchorman?

The first official teaser trailer for 'Anchorman 2' starring Will Ferrell, Steve Carell, Paul Rudd, David Koechner and Luke Wilson. The continuing on-set adventures of San Diego's top rated newsman. Returning 2013!

An Apology To All The People I Have Offended - I Am Really, Really, Really, Really, Sorry, Really


This is a special apology for all those people I have ever offended, because I am "really, really, really, really, sorry, really".


To accept my apology turn the sound on your computer and go to the link below. Enter your name and watch.

Use Firefox for this.

http://www.obtampons.ca/apology

The Tooth Fairy Is Getting Expensive - How Much Did You Used To Get?


I used to get 20 or 50 cents per tooth back in the 1980s from the tooth fairy, so now I feel ripped off that the tooth fairy pays an average of $5 per tooth. My brother used to save the tooth fairy the money by keeping his teeth in a leather purse. What a fool!

It's been found the tooth fairy is now paying on average $5 a tooth.

That's about $100 for a full set of teeth for each child.
Back in the 1970s the average going rate was 20 cents a tooth, the equivalent of about $2 today.

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/13744735/tooth-fairy-paying-an-average-of-5/

I think several factors determine the amount that the tooth fairy pays for teeth.

1) Which type of tooth it was. The bigger the tooth the better to build the tooth fairies house.

2) The place you stand in the family. For some reason the tooth fairy often pays the younger siblings the same as they first paid the oldest sibling even though the time value of money changed. I am the youngest.

3) The area you live in. I guess the tooth fairy has to move the teeth and so it seems amazing that the market rate in different neighbourhoods or areas probably determine how much the tooth fairy pays. Parents talk!

4) What denomination of coins the tooth fairy has available.

Bee Gees First Video - Time Is Passing By From 1960 - RIP Robin Gibb



The Bee Gees sing Time Is Passing By from 1960. After the death of Robin Gibb it's very cool to find this footage of the Bee Gee's boys, on their first TV appearance, for this talent style show. Look at how bad their teeth are. The Bee Gees must be candidates for wearing braces on their teeth!

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Robin Gibb Bee Gees - Dead Aged 62



Bee Gee Robin Gibb has died after a long battle with cancer.  I always appreciated the Bee Gees songs and their ability to sing high.  They inspired me!
Robin Gibb, one-third of the Bee Gees, died Sunday after a long battle with cancer, his spokesperson has confirmed via a statement. Gibb was 62 years old.
"The family of Robin Gibb, of the Bee Gees, announce with great sadness that Robin passed away today following his long battle with cancer and intestinal surgery," reads the statement. "The family have asked that their privacy is respected at this very difficult time."
Two years ago, Gibb battled colon and liver cancer, but despite making what he called a "spectacular recovery," a secondary tumor recently developed, complicated by a case of pneumonia.
Gibb was born in Manchester, England, in 1949, along with twin brother Maurice. (Maurice died in 2003 of complications from a twisted intestine; eerily, Robin had surgery for the same medical issue in 2010.) Along with their older brother Barry, the brothers began harmonizing as a trio in Australia, where the family moved in 1958. Although the Bee Gees had some success in Australia – they hosted a weekly variety show there – they didn't truly arrive until they returned to England and signed with manager Robert Stigwood. Robin's quivering, vulnerable voice was featured prominently on several of the group's earliest and most Beatles-eque hits, including "New York Mining Disaster 1941," "I Started a Joke," "Massachusetts," and "I've Gotta Get a Message to You."
Although he looked and sounded like the meekest Bee Gee, Robin grew into the family rebel. By 1969, he and Barry were feuding over whose song should be singles, and Robin, then 20, was declared a "ward of the state" by their father when his drinking and partying seemed to take over his life. "It happened so fast that we lost communication between us," Gibb later recalled. "It was just madness, really."
But it also Robin who, in 1971, made the first call to Barry to reunite with his brothers. Robin's solo career had stalled, and Barry and Maurice's attempts to continue as the Bee Gees as a duo had floundered as well. "If we hadn't been related, we would probably have never gotten back together," Robin said at the time. Robin's voice was heard, beautifully, on the chorus of their minor 1972 hit "Run to Me."
The Bee Gees' massive second wind arrived with their proto disco hit, "Jive Talkin'," in 1975; two years later, their contributions to Saturday Night Fever made them bigger stars than ever. Most of the hits from that era featured Barry's falsetto voice, but the brothers' vocal blend remained an indelible apart of their sound.
The group entered another fallow period during the early Eighties, although during this time, Robin produced a semi-hit album by Jimmy Ruffin, brother of the Temptations' David Ruffin. The last Bee Gees album, This Is Where I Came In, was released in 2001. Two years later, Maurice died, and with his passing the Bee Gees ended. (Their other, younger brother Andy died in 1988.)
Robin and Barry reunited periodically – in 2010, they made an appearance on American Idol and inducted ABBA into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – and talked about a duo tour, but nothing materialized. Robin, though, kept his hand in music. With his son Robin-John, he wrote an ambitious piece, The Titanic Requiem, a mix of orchestral and vocal pieces telling the story of the doomed liner on the 100th anniversary of its sinking. "It's a serious subject and it's not a rock opera," Gibb said before its debut. "There are no backbeats. This could have been written 300 years ago."
Featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the work had its world premiere in London on April 10th. But in a sign that Gibb's health had taken a turn for the worse, he wasn't able to attend. Ironically, next week's episode of Glee will include covers of Bee Gees songs from Saturday Night Fever.

Friday, May 18, 2012

25 Great Words Foreign Words That Don't Have An English Equivalent But Should


This is a great list of 25 words from foreign languages that summarise situations, but the English language doesn't have an appropriate term for.  These are brilliant because they are so true!  Plenty of these are Japanese or German.


Approximately 375 million people speak English as their first language, in fact it’s the 3rd most commonly spoken language in the world (after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish). Interestingly enough it’s the number 1 second language used worldwide – which is why the total number of people who speak English, outnumber those of any other.
But whilst it’s the most widely spoken language, there’s still a few areas it falls down on (strange and bizarre punctuation rules aside). We look at 25 words that simply don’t exist in the English langauge (and yet after reading this list, you’ll wish they did!)
1 Age-otori (Japanese): To look worse after a haircut
2 Arigata-meiwaku (Japanese): An act someone does for you that you didn’t want to have them do and tried to avoid having them do, but they went ahead anyway, determined to do you a favor, and then things went wrong and caused you a lot of trouble, yet in the end social conventions required you to express gratitude
3 Backpfeifengesicht (German): A face badly in need of a fist
4 Bakku-shan (Japanese): A beautiful girl… as long as she’s being viewed from behind
5 Desenrascanco (Portuguese): “to disentangle” yourself out of a bad situation (To MacGyver it)
6 Duende (Spanish): a climactic show of spirit in a performance or work of art, which might be fulfilled in flamenco dancing, or bull-fighting, etc.
7 Forelsket (Norwegian): The euphoria you experience when you are first falling in love
8 Gigil (pronounced Gheegle; Filipino): The urge to pinch or squeeze something that is unbearably cute
9 Guanxi (Mandarin): in traditional Chinese society, you would build up good guanxi by giving gifts to people, taking them to dinner, or doing them a favor, but you can also use up your gianxi by asking for a favor to be repaid
10 Ilunga (Tshiluba, Congo): A person who is ready to forgive any abuse for the first time, to tolerate it a second time, but never a third time
11 L’esprit de l’escalier (French): usually translated as “staircase wit,” is the act of thinking of a clever comeback when it is too late to deliver it
12 Litost (Czech): a state of torment created by the sudden sight of one’s own misery
13 Mamihlapinatapai (Yaghan): A look between two people that suggests an unspoken, shared desire
14 Manja (Malay): “to pamper”, it describes gooey, childlike and coquettish behavior by women designed to elicit sympathy or pampering by men. “His girlfriend is a damn manja. Hearing her speak can cause diabetes.”
15 Meraki (pronounced may-rah-kee; Greek): Doing something with soul, creativity, or love. It’s when you put something of yourself into what you’re doing
16 Nunchi (Korean): the subtle art of listening and gauging another’s mood. In Western culture, nunchi could be described as the concept of emotional intelligence. Knowing what to say or do, or what not to say or do, in a given situation. A socially clumsy person can be described as ‘nunchi eoptta’, meaning “absent of nunchi”
17 Pena ajena (Mexican Spanish): The embarrassment you feel watching someone else’s humiliation
18 Pochemuchka (Russian): a person who asks a lot of questions
19 Schadenfreude (German): the pleasure derived from someone else’s pain
20 Sgriob (Gaelic): The itchiness that overcomes the upper lip just before taking a sip of whisky
21 Taarradhin (Arabic): implies a happy solution for everyone, or “I win. You win.” It’s a way of reconciling without anyone losing face. Arabic has no word for “compromise,” in the sense of reaching an arrangement via struggle and disagreement
22 Tatemae and Honne (Japanese): What you pretend to believe and what you actually believe, respectively
23 Tingo (Pascuense language of Easter Island): to borrow objects one by one from a neighbor’s house until there is nothing left
24 Waldeinsamkeit (German): The feeling of being alone in the woods
25 Yoko meshi (Japanese): literally ‘a meal eaten sideways,’ referring to the peculiar stress induced by speaking a foreign language

http://sobadsogood.com/2012/04/29/25-words-that-simply-dont-exist-in-english/

Thursday, May 17, 2012

Three Wiggles To Retire - Jeff, Murray and Greg Hang Up Their Skivvies


Three of the popular children's entertainers the Wiggles will retire following their 2012 tour.  These Australian guys are legends and made millions of dollars out of wearing skivvies, singing, dancing and playing the fool on stage for 21 years.  We will miss you Wiggles!  I never realised how old these guys are and it must be difficult being on tour all the time.  Anthony the blue Wiggle will be joined by three new Wiggles including the first female Wiggle.  It will be interesting to see how they go.  Jeff Fatt is the oldest Wiggle aged 58.  It is amazing how durable these guys have been.

Who is your favourite Wiggle?  Which colour skivvy is best?

Three of the four members of Australian children's entertainers The Wiggles are to leave the group, paving the way for the quartet's first female performer.

Jeff Fatt, Murray Cook and Greg Page said they would hand over their purple, red and yellow pullovers to a "new generation" at the end of a 2012 tour.

Remaining member Anthony Field will then continue with a new line-up that will include 22-year-old Emma Watkins.

Founded in 1991, the group have sold more than 30 million albums and DVDs.

They topped BRW's annual list of Australia's 50 richest entertainers for four consecutive years - from 2004-2008 - and last year were ranked at number two.

In a statement, Cook said "entertaining children around the world for 21 years" had required the band to spend "a long time away from our own families and friends".

"It's important that we plan for the future so that The Wiggles can keep wiggling in the years to come," the 51-year-old continued.

Watkins and fellow newcomers Lachlan Gillespie and Simon Pryce will join the original line-up on a 'Celebration Tour' that begins in Singapore at the end of May.

The Wiggles will travel to the UK, the US, Canada and New Zealand before returning to Australia in November, after which the departing members will step into "backstage creative roles".

Apart from singer Kylie Minogue, made an honorary 'Pink Wiggle' in 2009, the children's favourites have never had a woman among their ranks.

The announcement follows Page's return to the line-up in January after a five-year absence due to illness. Sam Moran, his replacement, was asked to stand down to accommodate his comeback.

"It's been so great having Greg back with us so far this year," said Fatt, 58. "To finish our time on stage all together again seems so fitting."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-18101469

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Target Carpet Cleaner Tui Billboard


Here is the latest Tui billboard. I thought it was quite funny! Based on the now famous Target television show where the carpet cleaner grabbed a pair of customers knickers, turned on the computer and you know the rest, all while being recorded by a hidden television camera.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

One Direction - One Thing - Sun In My Eyes - Amazing Music Video



Watch this music video of One Direction - One Thing - Sun In My Eyes. It is an amazing adaption of the One Direction song shot around Wellington by some of the boys from The Street. Fathers, lock up your daughters!

Australian Gold Medallist To Wear Mankini At London Olympic Games


I can't wait to see this guy in action.  Australian shooter Russell Mark will wear a green mankini at the formal London Olympic Games opening ceremony.  This will liven things up a bit!  I hope he goes through with it!

Australian Olympic shooting gold medallist Russell Mark is set to parade in a lime-green "mankini" made famous by the movie character "Borat" at the opening ceremony of the London Olympics as the penalty for losing a bet.
Mark, who won double trap gold at the 1996 Atlanta Games and silver in Sydney, pledged to wear the skimpy swimsuit worn by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen in the 2006 film if Melbourne-based Carlton lost to St. Kilda in the Australian Football League.
Carlton suffered a shock four-goal defeat in the match on Monday night and Mark owned up to making the bet on local radio.
"Oh, I must've been intoxicated. Carlton promise so much and just deliver so little. It kills me," the burly 48-year-old said on Tuesday.
"Anyway, a lot of people would think a mankini might look better than the uniform they've nominated for us, so I don't know if it's such a bad thing."
The one-piece swimsuit would certainly stand out among the other Australian athletes, who will be kitted out in stodgy green blazers and white slacks which fashion critics have generously described as "retro".
An Australian Olympic Committee spokesman recommended Mark keep the mankini in the closet.
"Age is the problem here. Russell is no spring chicken, his days of being a model are long gone, and we don't think it would be a good look for the team to have Russell in a mankini," the spokesman told local media.
"Besides, this will be his sixth Olympics and he is a chance to be named as flag bearer. Imagine the flag bearer out in front of our team in a mankini. And a big, butch shooter at that.
"As we all know the London weather is fickle and we would not want him to catch cold."


http://nz.sports.yahoo.com/news/article/-/13690294/aussie-shooter-mark-squirms-under-mankini-bet-threat/

Monday, May 14, 2012

Christchurch Supermarket To Sell Marmite Stash This Week!


 Fresh Choice in Merivale Mall, Christchurch has a stash of about 900 jars of Marmite which will go on sale this Thursday for charity.  It is almost worth flying down to Christchurch for it!  I hope the Marmite on sale is genuine!  This is a great way of getting publicity for this store, I wonder if there will be many queues of people?
Cantabrians will be able to get a taste of Marmite this week.
Merivale Mall's Fresh Choice supermarket has about 900 jars of the Sanitarium spread, some of which will be available to the public on Thursday in return for a donation to charity.
The supermarket was closed when Sanitarium said it was closing its Papanui plant, where Marmite was made, for earthquake repairs and that no more of the spread would be on shelves until the middle of the year.
Fresh Choice brand manager Liz de Lange said about 150 jars would be available to customers in exchange for a bank note that would be donated to the Christchurch Women's Refuge.
The supermarket's owner, Craig Grant, wanted to raise money for charity with the Marmite, of which the supermarket had a "secret stash". The jars would be available on Thursday from 3.30pm.
Christchurch Women's Refuge brand development manager Julie McCloy said the money was not earmarked for anything in particular, but may be used for a programme to make homes physically safer.
From next week, 36 jars of Marmite will be given away daily for the following fortnight. Every customer can enter the draw by selecting one of four charities Fresh Choice has nominated.
De Lange said that at the end of the fortnight, a portion of the Marmite stash would be divided between the four charities based on the customer votes.
Whatever the chosen charity decided to do with the Marmite was their choice, she said.
The supermarket's employees would all be given one jar of the spread.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6920608/Supermarket-to-sell-secret-Marmite-stash

Ten Things That Are Wrong With This World - Why Is It That?


At last I have the woman, I won't mention that I can't afford an electric shaver or electricity to use the flash television.  Still, I have got the ring on that finger, even though I needed a second mortgage to buy it!


Here is a list of "Ten Things That Are Wrong With This World".

See if you agree.

1) Why do real blokes drink only beer and hassle any other guys for drinking wine or cocktails, even though beer has only about 4-5 percent alcohol, while sparkling wine has about 14 percent and cocktails have even harder liquor in them?

2) Why is it that people work bad hours, get paid peanuts and get treated poorly by their bosses for jobs like cleaning, waiting and working in hospitality? Other people work Monday to Friday 9-5 in office jobs while getting paid and treated better?

3) Why is it that single girls often have "ladies nights" in, yet wonder why they are single?   Surely that decreases the chances of meeting someone of the opposite sex.

4) Why do people sit in stands? Why are we in movies but on television?

5) Why does being a minute mean five minutes, being two minutes mean 10 minutes and being five minutes mean 15 minutes?

6) Why does it happen that people struggle academically in high school, leave in sixth form and do an apprenticeship and end up owning their own house, several cars, a business and family while they are still in their 20s? People who excelled at school end up with a massive student loan and earning less after seven years of tertiary education? Who really is smarter?

7) Why is it that in many job positions men and women have exactly the same pay rates(if not more), yet men are still expected to pay for women while dating and do the pursuing despite women holding heaps of strong positions in society?   My CEO is a woman.

8)  Why is it that guys with large bank balances and plenty of possessions are considered eligible even if it means getting heavily into debt to pay them or being so broke that they can't use their possessions?  It is all about looking wealthy! See picture above!

9)  Why is it that you know you have been in your job long enough and feel comfortable at a workplace when you can come out of the toilet cubicle after a long session damaging the doulton while your boss is washing his hands and maintain a completely normal sophistcated conversation?

10)  Why is it that people condone others who go to R16 or R18 movies when some of the best movies of all time like Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrells and Fight Club were R18s?

What do you think of my list of Ten Things That Are Wrong With This World?

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Ashleigh and Pudsey Win Britain's Got Talent 2012 - Simon Cowell Impressed



Watch this great video of Ashleigh and Pudsey who are the Britain's Got Talent 2012 winners. Even Simon Cowell is amazed by this routine which is awesome. They now get to perform for the Queen. It is funny seeing a dog and person do such a sexy dance routine though!

Friday, May 11, 2012

Watch Free Live Streaming England Premier League


Watch Free Live Streaming England Premier League final day. 

04:00 Man City vs Queens Park Rangers - Title Decider/Relegation Place

04:00 Sunderland vs Man Utd - Title Decider



04:00 Wigan vs Wolves



04:00 West Bromwich Albion vs Arsenal - European Place



04:00 Tottenham Hotspurs vs Fulham - European Place



04:00 Swansea vs Liverpool



04:00 Stoke vs Bolton Wanderers - Relegation Place



04:00 Norwich vs Aston Villa



04:00 Everton vs Newcastle United - European Place



04:00 Chelsea vs Blackburn - European Place


http://www.vipbox.tv/sports/football.html

Serena Williams Makes Her Rap Song Debut - Any Good?



It is funny how famous people do what they want no matter how talented they are. If you are rich and famous you can get away with this and people will actually watch or listen to your song because they are fans of your ability on the tennis court. Tennis Superstar Serena Williams Debuts New Rap Song. The tennis star hit Baltimore Ravens lineman Bryant McKinnie's studio in Florida to record some songs last year. Have a listen to the minute-long sample, Lyrics Below:

Watch This Fight Between A 600 Pound Sumo and A 169 Pound Man - Emanuel Yarbrough Vs Daiju Takase



Watch this great fight from 1998. 600lbs Sumo Vs 169lbs Japanese Man. Emanuel Yarbrough Vs Daiju Takase at Pride 3 6/24/1998. This Fight has a weight difference of 417lbs the most ever in an MMA fight.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

December 21st 2012 Mayan Doomsday Predictions Proved Wrong

Some interesting astronomical table drawings found in ancient ruins in Guatemala appear to prove that the Mayan predictions of the world ending in December 21st 2012 is wrong.  It is hardly surprising, but means that heaps of people who had put faith in the world ending in December 21st 2012 are wrong.  Anyway, time will tell, but this is kind of interesting.  Sorry if you sold all your belongings and spent your life savings assuming the world is going to end in December 21 2012.

Archaeologists have found the oldest known Mayan astronomical tables drawn on the walls of a small room in some 1200 year old ruins in Guatemala.
The archaeologists say royal scribes used the walls like a blackboard to keep track of astronomical records and the society's intricate calendar.
Scientists already knew they must have been keeping such records at that time, but until now the oldest known examples dated from about 600 years later.
Astronomical records were key to the Mayan calendar, which has gotten some attention recently because of doomsday warnings that it predicts the end of the world this December.
Experts say it makes no such prediction. The new finding provides a bit of backup: The calculations include a time span longer than 6000 years that could extend well beyond 2012.
"Why would they go into those numbers if the world is going to come to an end this year?" observed Anthony Aveni of Colgate University in Hamilton, NY, an expert on Mayan astronomy.
"You could say a number that big at least suggests that time marches on."
Aveni, along with William Saturno of Boston University and others, report the discovery in Friday's issue of the journal Science.
The room, a bit bigger than six-feet square, is part of a large complex of Mayan ruins in the rain forest at Xultun in northeastern Guatemala.
The walls also contain portraits of a seated king and some other figures, but it's clear those have no connection to the astronomical writings, the scientists said.
One wall contains a calendar based on phases of the moon, covering about 13 years.
The researchers said they think it might have been used to keep track of which deity was overseeing the moon at particular times.
Aveni said it would allow scribes to predict the appearance of a full moon years in advance, for example.
Such record-keeping was key to Mayan astrology and rituals, and maybe would be used to advise the king on when to go to war or how good this year's crops would be, he said.
"What you have here is astronomy driven by religion," he said.
On an adjacent wall are numbers indicating four time spans from roughly 935 to 6700 years.
It's not clear what they represent, but maybe the scribes were doing calculations that combined observations from important astronomical events like the movements of Mars, Venus and the moon, the researchers said.
Why bother to do that? Maybe the scribes were "geeks ... who just got carried away with doing these kinds of computations and calculations, and probably did them far beyond the needs of ordinary society," Aveni said.
Experts unconnected with the discovery said it was a significant advance.
"It's really a wonderful surprise," said Simon Martin, co-curator of an exhibit about the Mayan calendar at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
While the results of the scribes' work were known from carvings on monuments, "we've never really been able to identify a working space, or how they actually went about things," Martin said.

The new work gives insight into that, he said, and the fact the room had a stone roof rather than thatching supports previous indications that the scribes enjoyed a high social standing.
"It's a very important discovery. We're only getting a glimpse of it" in the published paper, said John B. Carlson, director of the Center for Archaeoastronomy in College Park.
"This is an intriguing start for this discovery."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/oddstuff/6904216/Mayan-find-ousts-doomsday-theory

Prince Charles Reads The BBC Scotland Weather Forecast



Prince Charles reads the BBC Scotland weather forecast on his recent tour. I guess you can do what you want if you are royalty. It could be a career path for him with a bit of practice.

Woman Assaults Man At Church Meeting Over Dishes Not Being Done

There can be plenty of built up aggression at church meetings if Vogel Street in Palmerston North is anything to go by.  A middle aged woman assaulted a man after becoming agitated at the dishes not being done following Sunday services.  She ripped his ear lobe and gave him a black eye and scratches to his face.  It seems that this woman must have been bottling this emotion inside and the church meeting was the perfect place to vent.  Surely there is a more civilised way of dealing with the dishes not being done.  What a way to breathe life into a dull church meeting.  I think the dishes will be done next Sunday!   No one will be messing with this woman again.  Luckily the Lord forgives.

A Palmerston North woman ripped off part of a man's earlobe during a church meeting after she became enraged by the dishes not being done.
Ateliana Lei Malu, 52, pleaded guilty in Palmerston North District Court yesterday to a count of assaulting with intent to injure a fellow parishioner.
On March 13, Malu was at a meeting at a Vogel St church with seven other parishioners, said police prosecutor Murray Lyons.
The group members had known each other for about 10 years, but Malu became agitated after mentioning  the dishes were not being done following a Sunday service.
"She then stood up and apologised to the group,'' Mr Lyons said.
"She then walked over and grabbed the victim by the hair.''
Malu wrestled the man to the ground, where she scratched her fingernails down his face, elbowed him in the face, and continued to pull his hair, the court heard.
Other parishioners pulled Malu off the victim, but she lashed out again  ripping off part of his earlobe.
The man suffered a black eye, scratches on his face and needed a chunk of his earlobe stitched back on.
Defence lawyer Mike Ryan said there was a possibility Malu and the victim could reconcile.
He asked Judge David Smith if an attempt at restorative justice would be appropriate.
Judge Smith agreed that reconciliation was a good idea.
"This assault is a serious one and one that can't be dealt with lightly,'' he said.
Malu will be sentenced on June 19.
  http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/6903193/Attack-at-church-over-dishes

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Would You Let Your Potential Employers See Your Facebook Profile?

Picture this, you are applying for your dream job and your potential employers want you to allow them access to your Facebook page, what do you do?  I guess you could setup a fake Facebook profile or lie and say that you "don't believe in Facebook", but it does put you in a sticky situation.  Most people have a photo or two they may not be proud of or some comments from immature flatmates from years gone by.  What if these potential employers then see something bad from your past or if you decline them access will you be disadvantaged?  What would you do if your potential employers wanted to see your Facebook profile?

Some job applicants are being asked by potential employers to allow access to their Facebook page, Privacy Commissioner Marie Shroff says.



Shroff this morning told Parliament's Justice and Electoral select committee that she would like to investigate anecdotal evidence of the trend but did not have enough resources. "We certainly have anecdotal evidence that [job] applicants these days will often be asked to give access to their Facebook page," Shroff told MPs on the committee.
"My preliminary view is that it's undesirable to use that kind of pressure in any kind of application situation."
Overseas, some employers were even asking for an applicants Facebook account password, she said.
There was no hard evidence of that happening here, but Shroff said: "This is something that I wish we had the resources to do something about."
It was "likely to put people under pressure and show up stuff they might have done as a silly 15-year-old and then five years later they're a sensible 20-year-old but there is no way to withdraw that information permanently."
Her office had been approached with funding from Unesco to provide primary school teachers with kits of information to better inform children on Facebook precautions.
Outside of the committee, Shroff said the issue was a reminder that Facebook pages needed to be "handled really carefully".
"Facebook is now part of our social environment and apparently is becoming part of the employment environment. So it's yet another reason to think before you upload, think before you type that message in or post that photo that your Facebook page may be requested or may become available in some other way."
A recent survey commissioned by the Privacy Commissioner had found 11 per cent of people regretted putting information on Facebook.
People asked by potential employers for access to their Facebook page could ask why they wanted to know that and they could potentially refuse access.
"But it's liable to damage them - obviously people will have to weigh that up," Shroff said.
 http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/6896324/Privacy-Commissioner-Employers-seeking-Facebook-access

Which Slippers Are Better? Settle Our Flat Despute



Help to settle our flat debate please.  On the left we have the Dutch cow clogs and on the right there are some ugg boots.  Which look better?  Which look warmer?  Which could be worn as a fashion statement?  What are your reasons?  One candidate is of Dutch origin and the other Australian origin.  Both are practical and have a hard sole.  Vote on the poll down the side of this blog.

Tuesday, May 08, 2012

American Airlines Struggling With Unlimited First Class Travel

 From the "it seemed like a good idea at the time" file.  American Airlines are trying to get out of their unlimited first class travel deal from 1985.  It cost passengers US$250,000 to buy a lifetime of first class travel, but now these people are making the most of it at the expense of the airline.  They are trying to weasle their way out.  I hope they have good lawyers!

A decision to offer lifetime first class travel for a whopping US$250,000 seemed like a good idea when American Airlines ran the promotion back in 1985.
But now the airline is regretting the deal – big time.
Those who had the money handed it over happily – and then took advantage of their special pass at every opportunity.
Passengers who have virtually been living off the unlimited tickets – some have been known to fly from the US to Japan for lunch and back the same day - are sucking the company dry.
One traveller reportedly costs the airline $1 million a year, and passenger Jacques Vroom has made the equivalent to more than 1600 round-the-world trips.
The deal was US$250,000 for one adult, and an extra US$150,000 or a companion.
American Airlines has since hired private detectives and is pursuing legal action to try to back out of the lifetime deal.
"We thought originally it would be something that firms would buy for top employees," American Airlines former chief executive Bob Crandall told the LA Times.
"It soon became apparent that the public was smarter than we were."

 http://nz.totaltravel.yahoo.com/a/-/13638989/unlimited-travel-deal-bleeds-airline-dry/#post-comment

Monday, May 07, 2012

What Is Dunedin's Biggest Claim To Fame?


The city of Dunedin has plenty of character including a large student population and with it comes the worldwide phenomenon of Possum the Drinking Game.  The game which involves students climbing trees in the Dunedin Botanical Gardens and drinking alcohol with the winner being the person who can stay in the tree the longest before falling down sounds a bit rough, but that typifies the students of Dunedin.  All expenses are spared in such a simple game where all you need is a 24 pack of Speights and the Botanical Gardens.  The disturbing thing is that the players of such a drinking game will be the next generation of lawyers, doctors, rocket scientists etc.  It is difficult to think of these students as the future of our country!


But, the worldwide notoriety from the Possum Drinking Game leaves me wondering what Dunedin is most famous for?

                                                  Is David Bain Dunedin's biggest export?

1) The Possum Drinking Game
2) Forsyth Barr Stadium
3) The most financially incompetent rugby union in the country
4) Speedy (is he still around?)
5) The Bain murders (David Bain and his jerseys)
6) Clayton Weatherston
7) David Gray Aramoana
8) The students/ University of Otago
9) Baldwin Street - Giant Jaffa Race
10) The albatross colony
11) Rugged beaches with freezing water
12) Cadburys chocolate
13) Joan Butcher
14)  Dirty run down flats
15) Pubs which are dives
16) The Nude Blacks
17) The North Dunedin Community
18) Scarfies the movie
19)  Chinese Garden
20) Railway Station
21) Speights/ Southern Man
22) Alternative music scene
23) Channel Nine
24) Newstalk ZB's Dominic George
25) Dunedin Technical AFC
26) Steven From Dunedin
Other

What is Dunedin most famous for?  Please mention it here or vote down the side of this blog please.  Results will be published in a week.

This Way To Spaceship - My Night With Rhys Darby

                                                            
                                                              Rhys signs my poster!


                                                 
                                                    I am the tall brother, shame it is blurry!

I went to the Wellington Opera House on Saturday night and watch Rhys Darby's This Way to Spaceship.  Rhys Darby was awesome with his movement and comedy, while unfortunately his lead in comedian who did the undercard Adam Ethan Crow was one of those guys who relied on offending minorities to warm up the crowd.  It offended most Christians in the audience and left me wondering whether all these comedians do have such colourful upbringings or if they just make it up and or exaggerate to get a good story. 

I thought Crow was offensive, but better than the guy who was the lead-in for Rhys Darby last time he toured.  There were some good material amongst it.  It must be hard being a stand up comedian at times. 

I assume there is an element of truth in what they say.  Both Darby and Crow split the show.  I think people who went to Rhys Darby aren't used to the colourful language which there is plenty of a comedy.  I was surprised there was no heckling like you see on Seinfeld.

Darby was great with his movement, dance and stories, I especially like the bathroom incident and his nightclub dance moves.

Anyway, afterwards I bought a t-shirt and kept hearing so many people pointing and telling each other that "That guy looks like Rhys Darby".  I got my photo taken with Rhys Darby (above) and I got him to write on my poster, "To my long lost brother Scotty, signed Rhys.  I miss you already man xx".  Rhys seemed really cool and it was great that he took time out after a show to mingle with the public.



Here is a preview of the book and comedy show This Way To Spaceship by Rhys Darby.



This is Adam Ethan Crow - he relied on offending as many people as possible to get laughs.

Sunday, May 06, 2012

The Barber's Pole - Why Do All Barber Shops Have Red, White and Blue Poles?

In recent weeks I have wondered why all Barber Shops had red, white and blue poles outside them?  Surely there needs to be a way of differentiating barbers, so I looked it up on Wikipedia and there is a link to the USA with the red, white and blue colours.  The barber's pole seems to have had plenty of uses over the years and not just representing barber shops.  The barber's pole used to represent the service of blood-letting. 

A barber's pole is a type of sign used by barbers to signify the place or shop where they perform their craft. The trade sign is, by a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages, a staff or pole with a helix of colored stripes (usually red, white, and blue in the United States; often red and white in other countries). The pole may be stationary or may revolve, often with the aid of an electric motor.[1][2]
A "barber's pole" with a helical stripe is a familiar sight, and is used as a secondary metaphor to describe objects in many other contexts. For example, if the shaft or tower of a lighthouse has been painted with a helical stripe as a daymark, the lighthouse could be described as having been painted in "barber's pole" colors.

The origin of the red and white barber pole is associated with the service of bloodletting and was historically a representation of bloody bandages wrapped around a pole.[2] During medieval times, barbers performed surgery on customers, as well as tooth extractions. The original pole had a brass wash basin at the top (representing the vessel in which leeches were kept) and bottom (representing the basin that received the blood). The pole itself represents the staff that the patient gripped during the procedure to encourage blood flow.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barber%27s_pole