Monthly Archives: December 2010
Brother Scrooge reflects on the Yuletide spirit
[I chanced upon this scrap of reflection by none other than our dear Brother Scrooge. If you have not had the pleasure of his acquaintance, I assure you he is a somewhat misunderstood man who gives the lie to the … Continue reading
Filed under Culture and Society, Fiction
Janet Frame in Melbourne: The New Zealand Gothic and Our Art of Unease
In Janet Frame’s A State of Siege (1966), the protagonist, Malfred Signal, despairs that she will never be able to see or paint the New Zealand landscape through fresh eyes. Instead, she is stuck to the directly material, lamenting: ‘I … Continue reading
Filed under Arts, Culture and Society
The Christmas Kid
The Christmas Kid wore jewelled pajamas and a necktie of reindeer silk. His patient apostrophizing of tree and stocking and creatures of myth and fortitude directed his mind to his stomach’s growing hunger. For Christmas biscuits the Christmas Kid salivated; … Continue reading
Filed under Poetry
Curtains: A Story
Curtains slashed by age and years, windows turn cold looks on me, and in their darkness I am old. In such a room as this unnumbered years may idly pass, with bare attention failing even cognisance of setting forth. And … Continue reading
Filed under Fiction
cure for cataracts
filigree. sibilant. the cattle of dice. ‘bivouac’ as a lexicationread but never spoken; my teeth lips and tip of the tonguenot having known bivouac. i am camping. there are tent pegs. there is the need to hammer into supple groundand … Continue reading
Tough on Crime, Sian Elias and Thinking from the Gut
‘Cool, impartial justice is not getting very good press these days’ — Sian Elias When Chief Justice Sian Elias delivered a strident critique of our justice system in July 2009, she was greeted by miscomprehension, anger and calls for her … Continue reading
Filed under Uncategorized
Art and Colbert
Comedy is an art form that suffers little from doubt as to its success or otherwise: either mirth is produced, or it is not. This of course means that a coterie of explainers and interpreters is unnecessary in the economy … Continue reading
Filed under Culture and Society, TV Review
Richard Neave
My first contribution to this blog is a piece I wrote about Richard Neave, a Christchurch artist who died recently. Richard’s friend Lynton has also written about him - here - and there may be others; I’m not sure. We all know … Continue reading
Filed under Culture and Society
Summer Viewing: NZ On Screen
Image courtesy Chris Trotter. The ‘Christmas’ TV season is upon us, which means no new shows and frequent re-runs of The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. Last night lucky viewers had the primetime choices of Cocktail (directed by New … Continue reading
Letter: Take Two
Since I wrote the open letter to the School of Fine Arts, I have become aware that a review of the School of Fine Arts is taking or has taken place. I wish to clarify that my position in the … Continue reading
Filed under University of Canterbury
