The 10 best Cricket Sledges (and comebacks) in history

10. Rod Marsh & Ian Botham - When Botham took guard in an Ashes match, Marsh welcomed him to the wicket with the immortal words: "So how's your wife & my kids?"

9. Daryll Cullinan & Shane Warne - As Cullinan was on his way to the wicket, Warne told him he had Been waiting 2 years for another chance to humiliate him. "Looks like you spent it eating," Cullinan retorted.

8. Robin Smith & Merv Hughes - During 1989 Lords Test Hughes said to Smith after he played & missed: "You can't f**king bat". Smith to Hughes after he smacked him to the boundary - "Hey Merv, we make a fine pair. I can’t f**king bat & you can't f**king bowl."

7. Merv Hughes & Javed Miandad - During 1991 Adelaide Test, Javed called Merv a fat bus conductor. A few balls later Merv dismissed Javed: "Tickets please," Merv called out as he ran past the departing batsman.

6. Merv Hughes & Viv Richards - During a test match in the West Indies, Hughes didn't say a word to Viv, but continued to stare at him after deliveries. "This is my island, my culture. Don’t you be staring at me. In my culture we just bowl." Merv didn't reply, but after he dismissed him he announced to the batsman: "In my culture we just say f**k off."

5. Glenn McGrath to Ramnaresh Sarwan - "So what does Brian Lara's d*ck taste like?"
Sarwan: "I don't know. Ask your wife." McGrath lost it: "If you ever mention my wife again, I'll F***ing rip your F***ing throat out."

4. Malcolm Marshall was bowling to David Boon who had played and missed a couple of times. Marshall: "Now David, Are you going to get out now or am I going to have to bowl around the wicket and kill you?"

3. Ricky Ponting & Shaun Pollock - After going past the outside edge with a couple of deliveries, Pollock told Ponting: "It's red, round & weighs about 5 ounces." Unfortunately for Pollock, the next ball was hammered out of the ground. Ponting to Pollock: "You know what it looks like, now go find it."

2. Fred Trueman - While bowling the batsman edges and the ball goes to first slip,and right between Raman Subba Row's legs. Fred doesn't say a word. At the end of the over, Row ambles past Trueman and apologises sheepishly. "I should've kept my legs together, Fred". "So should your mother," he replied.

1. And of course you can't forget Ian Healy's legendary comment that was picked up by the Channel 9 microphones when Arjuna Ranatunga called for a runner on a particularly hot night during a one dayer in Sydney... "You don’t get a runner for being an overweight, unfit, fat c**t!!!"

Hat Tip: Mark Ellis (off blog)

Quality Education

Back in July, then Minister of Education Trevor Mallard announced that there would be a shake-up in sub-degree courses after the revelation that courses were available for Homeopathy for Pets, Sing-a-long to Radio, and the Effective Colour for the Human Soul.

At the time, Mallard said - "The government is taking action to shift funding from low quality courses of little value to students, taxpayers and employers, to courses that are relevant, of high quality and that meet the needs of communities and the economy."

The above statement made me think that there would be more less courses in 'fun activities' and more focus on pre-employment courses for plumbers, builders, accounts clerks, etc.

So, it was a surprise to see in todays Dominion Post on Page E16:	And in the JAM magazine page 13:

I never realised there was a shortage of professional trampers and skydivers in New Zealand.

Important Lessons in Life

A lesson for us all:

1. If the weather forecast is for rain in the evening, it will be correct - if you risk trying to beat it.
2. Don't think you can cycle the 2km from work to the railway station in the forecast rain without getting so wet that you'll drip everywhere if you actually catch it.
3. While you may drip everywhere on the train, it is likely to be much more comfortable than cycling a further 18km in the rain.
4. It's amazing how motivating it is to cycle in the rain.
5. When you get home and are soaked to the bone, there is nothing better than a long hot shower.
6. The day after setting a personal record for the fastest cycle ride home your legs will be very, very sore.

Holiday Snaps - Part 5

Some more pictures - this time from Vienna. One thing I really liked in Vienna was the public transport. There was a tram service that ran underground and in the U-bahn (underground train) you could see all the way to the next station down the tunnel while you were on the platform.


Here is the famous Prater Park Ferris Wheel.


This is where re Orson Welles meet Joseph Cotton in 'The Third Man'. The Wheel is part of an amusement part on Prater Island.


Stephensplatz - the main square


The roof was destroyed in WWII, and replaced with the patterned one.



The archway in this building leads to the Spanish Riding School.


Michael's tip: If you want to see the Riding School Show it is only on Sundays and costs about 100 Euro per ticket. But, for about 10 Euro you can go to the 'morning exercise' on Tuesday to Saturday where they practise some of the same tricks.

Bin Laden's Product Endorsement

Stuff Article Here.

Osama Bin Laden has suggested that American's read a book by US Foreign Policy critic/writer William Blum. Blum is rather casual about it - he is quoted as saying, "I was glad. I knew it would help the books sales and I was not bothered by who it was coming from." He says later, "I think it's good that he shares those views and I'm not turned off by that."

Blum is glad that his views are shared by Bin Laden! What planet is this guy on?

New Name

I'm at work - Yes, on Wellington Anniversary Day. They needed cover for the Aucklanders and Mainlanders who can do the Procurement System and Corporate Credit Card System and that leaves them a pool of one person to get a volunteer from.

Anyway, I've changed the name of this blog - Michael's World was a little ho-hum and un-original. So now, it's:

Ellis in


Wellyland

Spot the Difference

In this weeks 'News Worthy', National MP Richard Worth has two articles - one after the other. The first supports more council regulation for building apartments. The next argues that there is too much council regulation when trying to build in Auckland. (I've copied the offending articles below and edited for length.) Now is it just me, but doesn't that seem a little inconsistent?

Excerpt from 'News Worthy' - 20 Jan 06.

Minimum apartment floor areas
One of the commitments which I have made as Member of Parliament is to seek the setting of minimum standards for apartments following the disastrous legacy of inner city developers in Auckland.

Some progress has been made but it is slow. The Auckland City Council has held three workshops and has recommended standards which include:

• Minimum apartment floor areas


• Minimum corridor width


• Minimum clear glazing area of an exterior wall for bedrooms and living/dining rooms.


• Provision for through natural ventilation, including for air-conditioned apartments.

In the interim the Council is seeking to control building development by incorporating these standards in to the Central Area Plan. That raises an interesting and tricky issue of the interface of the Resource Management Act and the Building Code.

Alice in Wonderland
Owen McShane has much to say of value on the limitations of the Resource Management Act. One of his most dramatic examples of gross short comings in the way the legislation works is the situation in the rural zone at Matakana and Point Wells, Omaha Flats.Those seeking a resource consent have to consider the following planning documents:

• Plan One. The Transitional Operative District Plan, including Operative Plan Change 62 – Financial Contributions.


• Plan Two. The Operative Plan Change 55, for the rules relating to their rural zone.


• Plan Three. The Proposed Plan 2000 (for the whole District), which has just completed hearings, but is not yet operative.


• Plan Four: The operative National Coastal Policy Statement, if they are near the coast


• Plan Five: The ARC’s operative Auckland Regional Policy Statement, which includes the Regional Growth Strategy.


• Plan Six: The ARC’s operative Auckland Regional Plan: Coastal.


• Plan Seven: The ARC’s Proposed Air, Land and Water Plan.


• Plan Eight: The ARC’s Proposed Policy Change 6 which directs and controls land use over the whole region.


• Plan Nine: The ARC Proposed Variation 22, which directs Rodney District to make the changes to its Proposed Plan 2000 now required by Proposed Policy Change 6.


• Plan Ten: The operative Auckland Regional Plan: Sediment Control, if they are implementing major earthworks etc.


• Plan Eleven: The operative Auckland Regional Plan: Farm Dairy Discharges (only if they are changing their dairy farm activities.)


• Plan Twelve: The proposed Policy Change 8 – Landscape and Volcanic Cones, insofar as it impacts on the whole coastline of the these two areas.


• Plan Thirteen: The ARC proposed Policy Change 10 – Natural Hazards, especially potential flooding and tsunami, near their coastlines.

Put that damn saxomafone away.

Don Brash - National Party Leader 2003 - 2006?

Jordan Carter and Tony Milne are both speculating that Don Brash is counting down his days as Leader of the National Party. His election loss and failure to connect with women and some urban liberals, is his doom.

However, I think some perspective is needed here. Don Brash has not done badly, when you look at the history of NZ Politics.

Don Brash and the National Party got 39.1% of the total vote at the last election. That's more than in 1981, 1993 and 1996 when National won the election. In terms of elections where National lost, it ranks ahead of 1984, 1999 and 2002 - and only slightly behind the 1938 loss, which was National's first election.

To get better results that 39.1%, you generally have to go back to the 1940s, 50s and early 60s - when there were no serious third parties like Social Credit or Values.

39.14% is also better than Labour has done in it's last three election losses - 1990 (35.1%), 1993 (34.7%) and 1996 (31.1%).

Don Brash is in a club with Adam Hamilton, Sid Holland, Keith Holyoake, Jack Marshall, Jim Bolger, Jenny Shipley and Bill English not to win their first election as leader of the National Party. Only Robert Muldoon won his first election, Jim McLay (like Geoffrey Palmer) didn't get to contest an election.

On the Labour side, the club of first time losers is Harry Holland, Walter Nash, Arnold Nordmeyer, Norman Kirk, Bill Rowling, Mike Moore and Helen Clark.

In fact, the only Leaders to become Prime Ministers on first attempt are Michael Savage, Robert Muldoon and David Lange.

Don Brash must be aware of this - he has declared that he wants to stay on as leader so he can win the next election. A clear message that he knows he has the confidence of his caucus.

So while Don Brash didn't win the election, he didn't disgrace himself. He now leads 48 of the 56 seats in Parliament not aligned with the Government so Don Brash and National have an excellent chance to dominate the media.

More holiday snaps

While there is not much to comment on, I'll keep posting more of my holiday photos from May/June last year. These photos are from Krakow in Southern Poland, which is a reasonably interesting place to go, but not overly aimed at international tourists.

Krakow once had a dragon:



It still has a medieval barbarcan (the only other one in Europe is in Carcassonne, France)


And the largest outdoor market in Europe.



If you ever go to Krakow, I recommend staying at U Pana Cogito. The profits the hotel make are used for rehabilitating disabled people.

Flashback to 1975

Green MP has called for New Zealand to pay reparations to East Timor as Australia and the United States stood by and did not get involved in preventing Indonesias invasion in 1975.

Flashback to 1975:

Portugal had a coup by Socialist Military Commanders last year who have granted independence to all it's colonies, except Macau. The Communist Fretilin are taking control of East Timor and is aligned to the Soviet Union. East Timor looks set to become a strategic threat to Indonesia and Australia the same way Cuba is a threat to the United States.

But then Indonesia, which is allied to the United States, invades East Timor.

Now, if you were President of the United States, or Prime Minister of Australia do you:

A: Send troops to defend a strategic threat to your interests and risk involving the Soviet Red Army and starting WW3?
B: Breathe a sign of releif that your ally controls what was potentially your biggest strategic threat?

Of course, the UN report doesn't raise the real cause of the invasion - the Portugese abandonment of East Timor in the name of socialist liberation.

Letterboxing

Over on the sidebar you can see a couple of links listed under "Letterboxing". This is a hobby that Chaucey and I both enjoy.

Letterboxing is a hunt for a small box hidden in a public place, like a park. Clues for the letterbox can be found online - AtlasQuest is one of the most popular websites. When you find the box, it usually has a stamp inside for you to record in your logbook, and you place your own stamp in the logbook of the box. For more about Letterboxing, see the Wikipedia page.

The home of letterboxing is Dartmoor, in the South East of England. On our honeymoon we went there and searched for some letterboxes. Plus we frequented the fine pubs of Princeton, the highest village in England. As a bonus, most Dartmoor Pubs have their own Letterbox!


As you can see, being near the Atlantic Ocean and elevated made it foggy frequently - even though it was May. This picture is taken near the 405 metre Yar Tor.


Here I am not far from Vixen Tor (the rocky hill in the background), which fans of Sherlock Holmes should be familiar with - it's mentioned in 'The Hound of the Baskerville'. It's not far from an excellent pub in Merrivale.

More Holiday Photos

Over at Spanblather, Span is after things to do in Prague. She's got a comprehensive list herself and I have added a couple of suggestions.

Among her things to do are the Charles Bridge and Prague Castle:


Taken early in the day - from about 10am onwards the bridge is packed with Tourists.

And the John Lennon Wall:


"Imagine no graffiti!"

National Navel Gazing

Gavin at The Penthouse has laid down a challenge to ex-ACT National Party bloggers to write a positive post about anything National's promoted since October.

Okay, so here's three positives the National Party has achieved since October:

Axe Carbon Tax - National's campaign on the Carbon Tax was hardly out of first gear when the Government folded. Actually Peter Dunne folded, but he's such a doormat that if National had kept it's mouth shut he would have not had an opinion on it.

Simon Power - Has bounced back from the awful gaffes he made in defence and is finding law and order like shooting fish in a barrel.

The Green Party Advisers and the Audit Office - Gerry Brownlee throws his not inconsiderable weight around at the Audit Office and the Government starts to cower over paying for two Ministerial Advisers.

Oh, A Martime Life for Me

I was over at Spanblather's blog when I happened upon a cutting about how the Maritime Union will not handle cargo for Japanese Whaling Ships.

What stunned me is a response from the Maritime Union about what it has negotiated for their workers:

I [Victor Billot] attend bi-monthly stopwork meetings at Port Chalmers (my home branch) attended by up to sixty Union members, of several hours in duration, where full and frank discussion of all Union activities is held, with rank and file members questioning their elected officials and putting their own views.

That's right - an afternoon every two months off work to talk about Union Matters.

Government is Good for your Health

Want proof? They want to stop fruit being described as 'healthy food' as it has too much sugar. Next they will ban vegetables because they have too many vitimins.

How about letting us use some common sense - we all know that Big Macs, Cookie Time and Fish and Chips are not good for us and that we should only eat them sometimes. We also know that we need to eat at least 3 vegetable servings and 2 fruit servings a day to help balance out our diet. Throw in a bit of excercise and we're on our way.

But Government can't trust us with those decisions.

Beware! Wowsers!

The Government, urged on by groups like GALA (Group Against Liquor Advertising) and the Drug Foundation, wants to review alcohol advertising with a view to greater restrictions. The push for this is preventing youth binge drinking.

While you can sympathise with a ban on tobacco advertising - as there is no safe level of tobacco usage whereas there are possibly some benefits to small alcohol consumption - to remove sponsorship and advertising for a product as pervasive as alcohol will be laughable. Back in the 1980s, Dominion Breweries came up with a novel idea to beat the existing ban - simply advertise the 'company' without mentioning the product.

As a teenager in the 1980s, my introduction to alcohol was through my peers - inevitably binge drinking - and through my family - always responsibly. This is well before alcohol advertising was allowed. So you can't blame advertising for binge drinking. And nowadays all advertising for alcohol shows responsible behavior - it's only the Government road safety and harm reduction ads that show irresponsible activity with alcohol.

Another point is banning television advertising and sports sponsorships will only push alcohol promotions to the point of sale. The promotions will inevitably encourage you to buy large quantities of alcohol in return for some prizes that will appeal most to young people - the very thing that Government want to stop.

The more sensible option is to push back to families to teach teenagers how to be responsible about alcohol. For instance, the SADD Contract - where parents agree to collect their child, no questions asked, from anywhere if they do not have safe transport home - is a positive step. After the young person is home safe and sobered up, the parents can then discuss what happened and how to avoid the same mistakes.

But in the meantime, it seems that the Wowsers are set to cut out advertising for alcohol.

Returning to ACT

Blair Mulholland is returning to ACT. Good on him. I hope he likes the backstabbing and mis-trust that pervades that party, and the irreconcilible differences between the leaders personal beliefs and party policy.

I made the decision to quit ACT after Rodney Hide was made leader because I thought the party was doomed at that point. Although it was almost wiped out it is now heading towards a Dunne/Anderton type party - a single electorate MP plus any other hangers on it can get in on the list.

I also promised myself that I would not look back, and especially not look back in anger. (There will be a few happy that I won't spill my guts - there a few bodies that have been buried during my time as Preb's Secretary and while on the Board.) I firmly believe in a lot of ACT policy, but accept that the vast majority of the New Zealand public wouldn't accept such a radical step that would be implementing ACT's manifesto. Better, in my opinion, to edge in that direction over two or three terms. National is the best vehicle to do this.

Sometimes a National MP says something dumb (Like Brian Connell does every time he opens his mouth) but for everything they disagree with, there are five things I do agree with. The other advantage is that being on the inside you have access to these people - you can tell them what they said is wrong.

Some Favourite Photos

Maria Von Trapp's new banner inspired me:

You may remember back in June, when in Salzburg we happened upon an American family tourist group all dressed up as the Von Trapps for the Sound of Music Tour. Here is the photographic evidence:


"It was my wifes idea, honestly"

Later that same day we came across the Summer House:


"I am sixteen, going on seventeen ...."

Quick, Someone Clearfell the Amazon Forests!

Scientists have found that plants are one of the culprits of global warming - releasing 10 to 30% of all Methane into the atmosphere. Which makes me question whether Climate Change is a man-made phenonomaen as many claim. (Although I think human activity is effecting rates of change.)

Climate Change is one of these interesting topics where I think the media gets in the way of the actual science. There is no doubt that the world is getting warmer - records confirm this. But there are other considerations.

Seven Hundred to Three hundred years ago, the world was in the grip of a Mini Ice Age. What caused it is not fully understood, although Solar Activity or Volcanic Activity (or both) may have been the cause. It's end in the middle of the 19th Century is also a mystery, although it's reasonable to assume that whatever caused the Ice, also is responsible for the warming at that time.

For 500 years before that, there was the Medieval Warm Period - and the world was warmer than it is today. The Romans actually had a sucessful Wine Industry in England!

So Climate Change may be a natural process, and accuratelty predicting trends over the next few decades could be scienctist biggest challenge - because regardless of what causes Climate Change we will have to live with it's consequences.

"How did American Oil get under Iraq?"

Remember that famous quote used by several comedians, picked up by anti-war activists? "How did American Oil get under Iraq?" It was used to paint George W Bush motivation as stealing Iraqi Oil for the US.

It's been revealed that the Iraqi War and Rebuilding will cost the US US$2 Trillion. That is, $2,000,000,000,000.

Now, the average barrel of oil sells for US$55. Assuming US$15 for production and distribution costs, that makes US$40 per barrel profit.

Now, get out your calculators. US$2 Trillion divided by US$40 = 50 Billion Barrels of oil. Current Iraq Oil Production is about 2 million barrels per day. At current rates, that will take 68.5 years to repay the capital cost, not figuring interest.

Assuming 3% interest on the capital, the cost of the war is never paid off. (4 million barrels a day covers the cost of the capital.)

But of course, the US doesn't actually see any of the money from Iraqi Oil Production - most belongs to the Iraqi Government with a share going to some oil companies who provide the technical expertise.

So, hands up all those who still think invading Iraq was all about oil? Bush invaded Iraq because it was in the USA's Security Interests, which is his job to protect.

Good Luck, Tana!

21 Tests as Captain (18 wins)
74 Tests overall(Fourth on all time list)
36 Test Tries (Eleventh all time point scorer and fifth highest try total)

Just bloody brilliant.

100 New Camping Sites

Conservation Minister Chris Carter is keen for DOC to lease up to 100 campsites to private operators to preserve the 'Kiwi Camping Holiday.' For him too many of the existing private camping sites are being closed down for development. DOC will not be making a profit on any of the leases, he insists.

I think this is symptomatic of this Governments desire to soothe every itch it can find. Not enough camping sites - we'll open up DOC land. TVNZ programming not high-brow enough - we'll introduce a 'charter'. Air NZ in trouble, we'll buy it off the Singaporians.

If there really is such a demand for camping holidays, expect new sites to be developed - someone will work out that they can turn a profit by turning a green field by a river or accross from a beach into a camping site.

And if DOC are to lease land to private campsite operators, why not let DOC make a profit? Having a third of the country to manage there will never be enough funds for DOC to upgrade facilities everywhere. The extra income can be used to upgrade facilities for all DOC land users, not just those who like camping.

Wacky Labels on Products

Not all American's are crazy. There is a Michigan based group - Lawsuit Abuse Watch - that tries to educate American's on the negative effects of their litigous nature.

Every year, the group awards a prize for 'Wacky Warning Labels' - the winner this year is:

• A heat gun capable of 1000 deg fahrenheit designed to strip paint with a label advising consumers not to use the device as a hairdryer.

Runners Up:

• For those people who aren’t “the sharpest knife in the drawer.” A label on a kitchen knife that warns: “Never try to catch a falling knife.”


• “Hurry up, bartender! I’m late for the regatta.” A very wacky warning on a cocktail napkin. The napkin has a map of the waterways around Hilton Head, South Carolina printed on it along with this: “Caution: Not to be used for navigation.”


• And don’t eat the yellow snow, either. A warning label found on a bottle of dried bobcat urine made to keep rodents and other pests away from garden plants. It says: “Not for human consumption.”


• But will it get cold in the refrigerator? Another honorable mention goes to Lyne Anton of Elk, California who found the following warning label on a baking pan: “Ovenware will get hot when used in oven.”

But why track these strange labels down? Robert B. Dorigo Jones, M-LAW president explains, “Warning labels are a sign of our lawsuit-plagued times. An unpredictable legal system – in which judges allow anyone to file a lawsuit on almost any theory – has created a need for product makers to plaster wacky warnings on everything. When judges see it as their job to dismiss cases that are rooted in frivolous theories, we’ll see fewer wacky labels and more fairness in the courts.”

M-LAW is a non-partisan organization working to increase awareness of how litigation is hurting America. Dorigo Jones is writing a book entitled “Remove Child Before Folding, The 101 Stupidest, Silliest and Wackiest Warning Labels Ever” that will be published next year by Warner Books.

The Christchurch Medical School Paper

Recently, a paper published by Christchurch Medical Researcher Professor David Fergusson showed that women who have abortions are more likely to have

The study has received much more publicity than it would by being published in the slow news period at the beginning of the year - ending up lead items on TV1 News and the Dominion Post.

I take the argument that the study shows abortion is detrimental to mental health with a grain of salt. What the study doesn't show (or perhaps it couldn't show) is the effect on women who are forced to have children they didn't want. Presumably, most of the women who continued their pregnancies planned to have children, or did not mind an unexpected pregnancy. So the study couldn't show the effect on mental health of those who did have an unwanted pregnancies and had children regardless.

I'm a very conservative person, but to go back to the days of backstreet abortions, or 'abortion holidays' to Sydney would be a retrograde step. It is much better to work at avoiding unwanted pregnancy than to use this study to try to restrict the availability of abortion. This study is proof of that.

UN Secretary General Helen Clark?

Women's Lobby group Equality Now has nominated Helen Clark as one of 18 women who could become the leader of the UN when Kofi Annan retires at the end of this year.

Helen Clark already presides over a corrupt, fractious bureaucracy that doesn't achieve any of it's goals, writes endless reports and holds pointless talkfest but never takes any actual action, and has been completely outflanked by it's self-appointed enemy to make it irrelevant to what actually happens in the real world.

Yep - she's qualified for the role.

My Take on the Leaked ACT Memos

Someone has leaked two ACT Board Papers to the NZ Herald - One from Party President Catherine Judd and the other from former Leader Richard Prebble.

Reading the text of them reveals that the Party is not dwelling about it's failure to capture the voters imagination last year and is looking ahead to re-establishing itself as a 7% (or more) Political Party.

The suggestion from Catherine Judd is to start a Liberal Policy Think Tank, like the conservative Maxim or Australia's Centre for Independent Studies. Richard Prebble is nominated as the person to head up the Think Tank.

Prebble's response is a realistic look at the costs and to question where the funding would come from - would it affect donations to Business Roundtable and ACT, he asks.

My view is ACT has not captured a bigger share of the vote because of a disconnect between the policy communication and the public perception. The policies of ACT fit well with the Kiwi 'Fair Go' attitude of letting people give an honest effort and giving them a hand back on track when things are tough for them.

What ACT does need to do is get these policies debated by a wider audience - but an aligned Think Tank (at least in the public eye) may not be the best way to do so. An non-aligned Public Policy machine with distribution via an accessible medium (i.e. regular newspaper and TV news articles) would be better.

(Last night, the lead on TV1 News was a report into the effects of abortion on womens mental health - releasing the report on a slow news day during the slow news month meant far better coverage than at any other time.)

While Prebble was the man to get ACT into Parliament, his obvious alignment would rule him out for the job of leading an independent Think Tank. Graham Scott could be a starter for the position, or perhaps a real left-field appointment of a younger, fresher face without the baggage of being an ACT MP or candidate.

Hide is also not the man to get ACT policies into the public domain - like it or not, Perkbusting and Muckraking Hide is the public image that sticks. However, Hide is a personable and larger-than-life personality who can grab popular ideas and run with them.

A Think Tank would be a great step in the right direction for ACT - the challenge is to manage to get it's ideas into more voters consciences without people automatically thinking that it comes from ACT first.

Movie to see

By now you've probably seen King Kong and Narnia. Harry Potter you might have seen twice.

If you want to see another fantasy film this summer then I highly recommend 'Howl's Moving Castle', from director Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away).

It details the adventures of Sophie, a shy young woman transformed into a 90 year old by the evil Witch of the Waste. She runs away and in an attempt to escape the curse she finds herself the maid in the home of Howl - a young, handsome and powerful magician who steals the hearts of young women.

Halberg Team Awards

Leaguies up and down the country are all up in arms about the decision not to include the New Zealand League team as finalists for the Halberg Awards. The finalists are three rowing teams and the All Blacks.

While I feel for the League team and their supporters, I think the decision to favour rowing and Rugby is fair - the achievements in those sports are the equal of the league teams result, but rugby and rowing are sports that are more widely competed throughout the world, so have tougher competition.

Also missing out was Netball, who had a sublime year - but Netball is only serious in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the Carribean. In England it has been overtaken by Soccer and in the rest of the world they haven't even heard of it.

Rugby League is only played seriously in some parts of Australia, some parts of England, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. Rugby is not a global sport yet, but is played seriously in over a dozen countries (Six Nations, Tri-Nations, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, Argentina, plus USA, Canada, Romania, Namibia and Georgia) and rowing is an important sport in Eastern Europe and North America, as well as New Zealand and Australia.

Back from a Short Break

Have been away for the last few days at Mairenui Rural Retreat, 10km east of Mangaweka. (You know, the town with the DC3 Tearooms.)

Managed to read three and a half books, go swimming, play petanque, play croquet and relax. All ready for work tomorrow.