“The U.S. economy contracted at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the first three months of 2009, slightly less than previously estimated, the Commerce Department said Friday. …” - source: NPR

Sounds optimistic, but quite literally off the charts. The below image is a  recent chart from CreditSights which shows annual changes in US GDP from 1948 to 2008. To this, I’ve added the minus 5.7% for (annualized) March 2009, for context.

Off the charts

Popularity: 8% [?]

My brother and I attended the most amazing community currencies conference in Whanganui over the weekend.

Made some great connections and met some amazing people. The talks were great too! Really excited to see what can be done to combine something like twollars with this  ooooby thing that I heard about(or at least had explained to the point where it started to make sense). Lots of great inspiration lots of links to follow up. For now just wanted to give some link love.

In the meantime a sneak preview for  alt.economics.scoop.co.nz  which is kind of sort of going but not really ready yet. Figured I’d put it out there now in case folks have ideas they want to share on that.

Popularity: 22% [?]

some kinda prayer i guess, but certainly reminds me of the current banking ’situation’ ;_)

let the might of your compassion arise

to bring a quick end to the flowing stream of blood and tears.

they are drunk with demonic delusions.

what is right, and what is wrong.

our most cherished and heartfelt desire.

–transcribed from a song - di lounge, track 7 :: 2:52.. is all i know, but if you know where it really comes from do let me know!

Popularity: 40% [?]

Pudding: Upside down lemon good wif’ coffee cake. Polenta and lemon. Apparently its good with Coffee (now he tells us) Movie: The Island - with Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johanneson
Review: Proof that genetic engineering is not such a bad thing. We think it was ‘alright’. Reminds us a bit of Gattaca (Uma would’ve probably done a better job). I was suprised to discover a whole entire sci fi flick I’d never seen or heard of before.  A bit predictable and extreme suspension of disbelief required. Steve Buscemi, was fantastic.

Pudding: Kiwiana kiwifruit and chocolate Pavlova. Georgeous
Movie: Election’08. NZ
Review: Local remake of the original. Get the US version, though, its much better. PS when we let off fireworks at around 11pm it was because we were drunk not because we were happy.

Popularity: 82% [?]

Looking more and more like Goff will be picked as leader of the opposition. UPDATE: (Confirmed)

Thought I’d share some of my personal recollections on the subject of Phil Goff. I remember, it was Goff who was head of Education when they got *rid* of the (general) student allowance and introduced unversity fees - yes that’s right those same student allowances that Labour was offering to put back in place, if we only voted them back in one more time. This all happened in the year I started University no less. Joy!

I recall marching along in Christchurch at a (mostly) student protest about the fees chanting “Off with Goff”, “Off with Goff”.

The only occasion I had an in-person run in with Goff was at a meeting in the 40th story boardroom of a bank in NY, back in (I guess) 2001? - he arrived with a TVNZ camera crew in tow.

The general tenor of the meeting was “Australia said they would declare war on Afghanistan not hours but just minutes after the US and where was NZ. Apparently NZ had waited a whole entire day before they said they got involved and this was just not good enough. Also, folks wanted to know, what’s this about getting rid of the NZ Air Force - hardly what we need right now as we fight the war on terror”.

Goff spent most of the meeting trying as hard as possible to make ‘us’ sound as belligerent, hawkish and 100% in support of the Bush Administration and the war on terror as possible. Also we weren’t really getting rid of the airforce it was just a matter of adjusting our priorities so we could play a more useful role (yeah, right!). In retrospect I wish I had spoken up to put the other side of it. To say “well actually maybe its OK that Helen Clark may have mentioned the word Switzerland in this context” (apparently that was absolutely beyond the pale). I might even had gone out on a limb and said that we shouldn’t support the war against Afghanistan. However I guess I was a bit overawed by the fancy bankers at the meeting (I was a bit younger than everyone else too). It would’ve been worth it even I had been kicked out of the group. After all, just a fortnight before I had been on the streets directly below protesting predatory lending practices and putting ‘pills before profits’ or something .. (but I digress)

Wanted to mention that at least at that meeting, Goff did not impress me as being able to stand up to fat cat bankers, not at all. The fact that he was the foreign minister (or assistant something) didn’t seem to make him think that he, not they, had the right to speak on matters of NZ foreign policy. and that he didn’t need to apologize so much. Well maybe he’s grown a pair by now. ?

Most galling was that after the consensus of the room had established that ‘we’ (NZ) were looking bad and that the public image needed to be rectified, Goff turned around to the TVNZ cameras and said “OK yup lets make a statement right now, see what can be done to correct things”. Next thing you know its on the 6 O’Clock news. Well If only the protesters outside had had the ability to get their message out with such ease.

Still he may make a good opposition leader - let’s hope so.

Popularity: 87% [?]

Been a while but this is the pudding log after all, so here goes with a quick update

Pudding: Meringotang -Orange, Chocolate, and Pavsplosion. Louises’ creation courtesy of Ms Red Shoes Tessa Kiros..
Movie: Wanted -
Review: Thank god we didn’t pay money for this sorry ass piece of shit. So sad to see a great director,  that Russian guy Bekmambetov of Daywatch/Nightwatch fame get Hollywooded. A bunch of good actors (possibly or possibly not including Angelina in this category) too but nobody could save the train wreck of a script.

Pudding: Boysenberry mongols - courtesy of Trev. Just Trev.
Movie: Mongol - 2007.
Review: A beautiful movie, beautiful landscapes and possibly the most beautiful woman in the world, not counting Louise. Technically yes, its about Genghis Khan but its all set before he actually became the Genghis, so more of an underdog movie. Very cute little mongol kid running across the frozen steppe, wrapped up in twenty layers of furs. Highly recommend

Pudding: Brownies
Movie: The Boss of it all
Review:  Lars von Trier of Breaking the Waves and Dancer in the dark fame - the two most heart wrenching tragedies ever created decides to explore comedy. Shazz fell asleep, waking up periodically to the sound of the rest of us trying to figure out what was going on (though she reports that we did cackle a bit). All in all perhaps an OK movie but would’ve been a whole lot better in the original Danish probably. Lesson learned. Lars von Trier should not attempt comedy. And certainly we should not attempt to watch comedies with subtitles. We say this with soot smeared on our forehead. (If you get this joke then you didn’t listen!)

Popularity: 86% [?]

Not sure if Santa reads the internets but just in case he does:

From Baxter (6)

Dear Kris Kringel (aka Santa),

Hello how are you. I’m Baxter Gray do you remember me?

For Christmas I would like a tape player if you can still make them, or a computer and a flash electric keyboard with a  plug on it, and a noise one that can plug into the computer. Or if not that an amplifier and an electric 4 or 6 string guitar or uke. Can we share these in my family, make it so there’s two of everything please. And I want a real tree please,

Love from Baxter

From Ezra (4)

Dear Santa,

I am Ezra Gray from <our address>, Paekakariki. Have you got a golden cup? One for Mummy and Daddy and one for me Ezra please if you have got them thank you.

Or have you got a golden sandpit toy, or if you can’t I would like a stone thing, or if you can’t I would like a wire thing, or if you can’t I would like a little toy spa pool.

Um a golden fire truck for Noah and a little iPod or a real little CD Case.

For Mummy a surprise that is wrapped up and is golden metal. For daddy a golden wrapped up winning racing cup. Wrapped in yellow, red, purple and pink please, please can mummy have one of those things otherwise a computer.

Love Ezra

From Noah (2)

Dear Father Christmas,

Noah. Steam train. Just a truck and a WoWo [a vehicle with a flashing light or siren]. Uhm. Fire truck and a fire truck hose. Yip.. And a steam train. And a hose in the steam train and the fire truck. Oh Steam Train, cool.

Thank you very much from Noah, just Noah.

Popularity: 100% [?]

Very impressed by the flowers at our front door..

I mean seriously, look at these freaky looking things. You just plant them in a box, wait a few months and..

..wow.

Small pleasures eh.

Popularity: 86% [?]

Dad would’ve been sad to go and yeah, we loved him dearly…

So..

..well here’s my speech from the funeral anyway..

My most vivid memory of Dad is high in the mountains. We are near temple basin where we had come to do some work on the ski tows in the summer. I am about ten years old and there is a fog coming over the pass.  Everyone else has chosen to go down by the normal path, but I am following my Dad over these wet stones. I am clutching my toy tin canteen like it is survival equipment and trying to keep up with the big figure in the mist ahead. What I remember most is his confidence, his passion for exploring. If he could avoid the beaten track, Dad would, at every opportunity, and yet we would always trust him to know his way.

The day after I head the news I went for a walk in the rain. I stood under a kind of awning and watched the rain come down on a dreary Long Island baseball field and remembered another time in the mountains. Standing in the shelter of a bivvy that Dad had built and watching the rain fall in the forest. Eating scroggin. I think this is one of the times I have seen Dad at his happiest.

I also remember how happy Dad was the last time I saw him. Watching over my three kids and helping them build marble castles. I remember thinking he has been really enjoying the moment in these recent years. Just passing from one moment to the next without worrying about things that had to be done. Certainly he never stopped committing to help so many people out, in so many ways, but I think he finally got to where he could do all these things by his choice alone. Mum says that he didn’t believe in planning ahead, but he lived every day very fully. He has certainly packed a lot in to the time he’s been around.

I think he was a great man, probably greater than I can ever be. Certainly his PhD at Cambridge and a first ascent at Mt Cook stand out as accomplishments of which I am very proud but perhaps his greatest achievement was his commitment to ideals higher than mere career. I understand now how many sacrifices he must have made to be so dedicated to his family and to making things better back here in New Zealand.

Some would say it took time to discover this, but ultimately Dad was a very tender hearted family man. He can be very proud of all that he has done in his life, and for all that he and Mum have built together.

–

UPDATE: I probably delivered it differently at the funeral, and there are probably things I would change now, but yeah. It stands.

Popularity: 54% [?]

Manhattan from the plane… After many hours and a 13hr flight delay I’ve finally made it back to the big apple.

UPDATE: Back in God’szown since ages ago now, but way too busy to update the blog. Sorry ’bout that.

UPDATE August 2008: Since the above I’ve returned to NZ, gone back to NYC again, returned to NZ in a hurry, attended my own father’s funeral.. and still not updated my blog. S0rr7 ’bout that.

Popularity: 48% [?]