A Masterclass In Writing /  by Jose Barbosa

A friend discovered this online. Written sometime in the 1970s, it's a seven page manifesto crafted by a Piopio hill country farmer outlining in precise terms his property, his stock and his philosophy of business.

It's an admirable doctrine with a clearly defined outcome:

“Maximum returns from optimum numbers of breeding stock with lowest feasible labour input”.

As he makes clear in his summery farmers should treat their farms as a business:

"... maintaining a professional approach to his problems, financial or otherwise, fully realizing that the high cost of getting started must be justified by maximum return from this investmenjt. It should also be justified by the pleasure, regardless of financial gain, that can be had from this form of businses (sic).

It's a strangely compelling narrative, written succinctly and with clarity. In the great New Zealand tradition it's a personal statement made without grand gestures. However, there's clearly some pride taken in his endevour and there's even a joke made about a sojourn on the beach in Tahiti. Not to mention a lovely use of poetic imagery:

"I am tending to subscribe to the thought that a man and a dog moving through lambing ewes cause as much disturbance as a rook thrown into a millpond ..."

I don't know who G. Reed was, but he could teach today's legal and finance institutions a thing or two about writing to communicate.

Things I Do #1 /  by Jose Barbosa

With the possibility of future unemployment starting to make itself known like the initial bouquet of a cracked septic tank, I thought I'd put online various bits and pieces I've made for the TVNZ7 television show Media7. The idea being, of course, that I can easily and with some degree of confidence point prospective lifestyle sponsors (employers) to examples of my work. Here's one I was quite happy with ...

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3VRr2WEdHE&w=560&h=315]

This behemoth of a track (six minutes!) was for Media7's 2010 SPADA (Screen Production And Development Association) special, filmed each year at the organisation's annual conference.

A big part of the show was dedicated to the labour dispute over The Hobbit (now being filmed) and this track was designed to setup a discussion about the fracas.

Watching the track now it seems a little hard on the actors. If I did it again I'd probably couch that a little bit, but their local representatives did seem a bit clueless. However, in that climate of hysteria I wonder how collected I would have been?

And what to make of the email from Peter Jackson to Gerry Brownlee in which he states Warner Bros were more concerned with "grey areas" of NZ's employment law, than they were with the union action?

In the end there's still uncertainty over the motivations of the FIA, the MEAA and the studios behind The Hobbit. It's difficult to avoid the suspicion that the local union members were unwitting and naive chess pieces in a power play by international interests.

The Hamster Wheel /  by Jose Barbosa

Compare this Al Jazeera English report on the Megaupload arrests ... [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyzwA5Qjd20&w=560&h=315]

... with this One News report (from about 50 seconds in).

Although it's pretty jarring to see two reports worded ALMOST EXACTLY THE SAME, I'm assuming TVNZ has a content sharing agreement with Al Jazeera. I mean, surely it's too blatant a rip to  be another one of these?

OH /  by Jose Barbosa

Lanky British twat in the Russell Brand mold, draped over a chair talking to a British couple trying to eat. "Should I tell them? I'm not sure if I should tell you this. I'm an internationally (intelligible) DJ producer. I make beats. I have an agent."

At Home In Tamriel /  by Jose Barbosa

Such is the awesome pull of Skyrim that if I'm not mass producing iron daggers or eating giant toes to discover their medicinal properties, I'm on several different forums reading about other people doing the same. Unless shit goes terribly wrong I don't see myself playing another game until well into the new year; there's simply too many dungeons to loot and fire salts to horde. Here then is a selection of images which represent my time so far in Skyrim. Behold the adventures of SkyTim, nordic barfly and cabbage enthusiast.

Going Through The Trash /  by Jose Barbosa

Of all the amazing technological advancements (including heart transplants and USB cables) that modern life gifts humanity, none are more welcome than the mosaic of procrastination methods now available to us. In that vein so intent am I on avoiding even starting work, I've just been going through the trash folder in my Google Docs. I've made some interesting discoveries. They are as follows.

In a document dated 11/06/06:

 

 

This drawing:

 

 

 

And most disturbingly this apparently very personal note from The Bandit himself:

 

 

Exactly what this all means is uncertain. One explanation is that judging by the dates these were made, I was at the time the breakfast producer at bFM. A job which required me to be at work by 6am.