Grenzeloze Liefde

In February, we hosted a television crew (pictured: presenter/producer Annick and cameraman Lou) to film us for a Belgian TV series called "Grenzeloze Liefde" ("Borderless Love"). They stayed with us for a week for a fly-on-the-wall documentary about my expat life here in NZ and how I found love abroad. It was quite fun, but being filmed all the time was a bit unnerving. I guess that's what reality TV is all about, but in this case it's about real life.
We took them to the "Big Gay Out" and I hope they did keep the footage of meeting Prime Minister Helen Clark in the final cut. I can't think of any other government leader that would turn up, year after year, to a gay pride event. Imagine President Bush at the San Francisco Folsom Street Fair wielding a whip or trying out a new line in paddles (err, maybe he could pick up some ideas for Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib).
But anyway, the screening on Belgian TV network VRT is on Monday 5 July at 9.15pm.
The ratings for the current series are rather incredible, considering the low season and screening time. Am a bit daunted about 375,000+ people looking at my domestic arrangements. Anyway if you're in Belgium over the Summer, check it out. The series should be on satellite channel BVN too in the coming months.
UPDATE: The show's been on and attracted 542,100 viewers, the VRT told me, which just blows me away. Also got tons of mail from Belgian married gay couples, old flames, long lost relatives and neighbours, and Interbrew marketers saying thanks for patronising and mentioning the Belgian Beer Cafes in Auckland.

Less is Moore?

It was funny last night on the PBS News Hour, Jonathan Foreman of the New York Post discussing Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11. He said Moore brought down the level of political discourse in the USA. Which is a bit rich (or just following suit) after Dick "Go F*** Yourself" Cheney's contribution to the nation.

Holy Hypocrites, Batman

New Zealand Catholic cardinal Tom Williams condemned his country for becoming a "moral wasteland" for adopting such liberal policies as human rights. Surely he was not thinking about abrogating the traditional catholic right of his own church family members of abusing the altar boys. Is sucking and fondling boy peters the 11th Commandment? Or just included in the seminary's Counselling 1 on 1 course.
And to think that these two stories were in the same edition of the newspaper. The subeditor only made a mistake of not running them side by side.
"A World Without Abusing and Abusive Priests" - is that too much to ask for?

Bend over, Beckham

English going ga-ga over new soccer star, Wayne Rooney. "Virgin rainforest", he was described by the Torygraph, compared to the faded, jaded, sullied(!) sparkle of Becks and his public private life (surely some oxymoron here).
Anyway Sullywatch couldn't resist making fun:
equals with teeth. Made me chuckle, honest!

A Liberal with no balls

ACT MP Deborah Coddington voted against the Civil Unions Bill in its first reading. So she's not a liberal after all. Good to know for 2005.
UPDATE: The other female ACT MP Muriel Newman voted against too, but she has never been in danger of being a liberal.

Real blokes don't need church permission to shag

The New Zealand Parliament is to decide on the Civil Union Bill and Omnibus Bill.
Go here to sign a support petition.

In Our Occasional Series:

Unfortunate website headline.

The Tits That Launched a Thousand Teen Orgasms

Not that we are interested what female Borg get up to when they are married to Republican Senate candidates, but her description of Parisian avant-garde sex clubs sounds pretty on target to me.
UPDATE: The Republicans are standing by their man.
UPDATE II: Jack's resistance was futile, so he quit.

The Mess in Mesopotamia

British sailors caught in Iranian waters.
I just know they will look good while hooded, naked, in a pile or on a leash.
UPDATE: Iran released them without charge - or even without taking their clothes off. They wouldn't get away so easily were they to visit my dungeon.

Tie the Knots and Knot the Ties

The list of occupations of the gay people who applied in the first week for civil marriage licences in Massachussetts:

Acceptance tester, Accounting manager, accounts payable manager, activist, activity director, advertising, administrative assistant, administrator, airline employee, anesthetist, antiques dealer, appraiser, area manager, architect, artisan, artist, arts administrator, assembler, assembly technician, astrologer, at-home mom, athletic coach, athletic trainer, attorney, audiovisual coordinator.
Baker, bank branch manager, bank executive, banquet manager, bartender, billing coordinator, boat builder, book dealer, bookstore manager, buyer.
Cabinet maker, camp director, cantor, career counselor, carpenter, case manager, caterer, cell phone specialist, certified nurse assistant, certified nurse midwife, certified public accountant, chef, chaplain, chief financial officer, chief operating officer, chemist, chemistry professor, child nutrition program specialist, child psychologist, childbirth educator, choreographer, civil engineer, claim analyst, clergy, clerk, clinical chemistry supervisor, clinical coordinator, clinical director, clinical social worker, clinician, college administrator, college professor, community center director, company president, compliance officer, computer analyst, computer consultant, computer programmer, computer specialist, computer systems manager, consultant, contractor, controller, cook, corporate benefits manager, correction officer, cosmetologist, countertop installer, courier, craftmaker, creative arts therapist, creative director, crisis clinician, custodian, customer service.
Data architect, database administrator, designer, desktop publisher, development associate, diagnostic radiological technician, dialysis technician, dietician, director, director of athletics, director of employment, director of membership, director of recreation, director of religious education, director of technology, domestic engineer, draftsman.
Economist, editor, educator, electrical engineer, electrician, electronic technician, emergency room technician, engineer, English professor, entrepreneur, environmental scientist, Episcopal priest, equipment installer, estimator, event planner, executive, executive assistant, executive director, expeditor.
Facilitator, faculty dean, farmer, field service engineer, filmmaker, financial adviser, financial analyst, financial manager, financial representative, firefighter, fitness director, fitness specialist, flight attendant, floral designer, florist, food service manager, forestry technician, fund accountant, fund-raiser, furniture sales.
Gallery owner, gardener, general manager, gifts coordinator, geographic information systems analyst, Girl Scout executive, glazier, goldsmith, golf course superintendent, graphic artist, groomer, group leader, guidance counselor.
Hardware store, hairdresser, hair designer, hair stylist, health and conservation agent, health and safety manager, health care administrator, health care ethicist, health inspector, higher education administrator, historian, history teacher, holistic health counselor, home daycare, homemaker, hospice nurse, hospital administrator, hotel manager, house cleaner, house painter, housewife, human resources, human services director.
Information security consultant, information technology specialist, inspector, insurance adjuster, insurance broker, Internal Revenue Service, inventory control, investment banker.
Jeweler, journalist, judge.
Krispy Kreme manager.
Land surveyor, land use planner, landlord, landscape architect, landscaper, laundry owner, law professor, legal assistant, librarian, library media specialist, library page, literary agent, loan analyst, loan originator, locksmith, logistics manager.
Machine operator, manager, marine biologist, marine service, market research, marketing, massage therapist, medical administrator, media designer, medical technician, mental health counselor, mental health executive, midwife, minister, mortgage banker, muscular therapist, music teacher, musician.
Nanny, newspaper production, network administrator, night receiver, nurse, nurse's aide, nurse practitioner, nursing home administrator.
Occupational therapist, office clerk, office manager, ophthalmologist, optician, optometric technician, optometrist, orthopedic surgeon.
Packer, painter, paper hanger, paralegal, paramedic, park ranger, parole officer, pastor, pastry chef, PC technician, pediatric rehabilitation aide, percussionist, personal care attendant, pet business owner, pharmaceutical manager, phlebotomist, photographer, physical therapist, physician, physician assistant, picture framer, pilot, pipefitter, pizza maker, planner, plant manager, plumber, point of sale coordinator, police lieutenant, police officer, policy analyst, pool manager, postal worker, preschool teacher, principal, private detective, process consultant, produce manager, product designer, production coordinator, project manager, program manager, property manager, psychologist, psychotherapist, public access coordinator, public health director, public relations, publicist, publishing production manager.
Quality control inspector, quality control supervisor, quality coordinator.
Rabbi, radiologist, real estate broker, real estate director, real estate manager, Realtor, recycling coordinator, registrar, religious educator, registered nurse, reproductive biologist, research analyst, researcher, residential supervisor, respiratory therapist, restaurant manager, restaurateur owner, retail management, retired, risk manager.
Sales person, sales manager, sales rep, school administrator, school counselor, school nurse, school psychologist, scientist, security guard, self-employed, senior research specialist, server, service adviser, service manager, shipper/receiver, shipwright, shopkeeper, short order cook, small business owner, social insurance specialist, social worker, software engineer, software quality engineer, soil scientist, special education advocate, special education teacher, specialty food buyer, speech pathologist, stand-up comic, state trooper, store manager, student, superintendent of schools, supervisor, systems analyst.
Tailor, teacher, tech consultant, technical support engineer, technical writer, technician, telecommunications manager, temp, tennis instructor, tester, therapist, title examiner, training consultant, training manager, translator, transportation engineer, travel agent, travel consultant, triage coordinator, truck driver.
Unemployed, union officer, utility cleaner.
Veterinarian, veterinary technician, victim services advocate, video producer, violin maker, virologist, visual artist, vocational rehab counselor.
Waiter, warehouseman, web developer, web marketing manager, website administrator, welder, writer.
Yoga teacher, youth advocate, youth worker.

But here is my challenge: who would you put together to ensure a stable, lifelong partnership, to have and to hold, for bad and for worse?
My favourite: the dietician and the Krispy Kreme manager.

How Many Angels Can Sit On My Prick?

I was intrigued by by NZPundit's referral to a quiz that lets you establish what kind of arch-angel you are.
This is mine:

You're most like the ArchAngel of Healing. You want people to shape up, and you nag. But you mean well, and you're well loved despite it. Or because of it. You bring the donuts even as you tell people to eat more veggies.

Actually, not a bad description.
PS Shouldn't that be Arse-Angel?

The Man Who Wanted To Be Chairman Of The BBC

David Dimbleby applied for the job but didn't get it. But he has written a very insightful close up look at his experience how the British establishment works (or doesn't).

[The BBC's] future depends on its finding a way of being true to those origins in the expanding world of communications. Since it is funded by the public, it must try to reach as much of that public as it can with programming which is informative and entertaining.

We can but dream here in New Zealand of getting anything approaching a national public television service worthy of that name.
The job, incidentally, went to Michael Grade, who was CE of Channel 4 TV (The only job in the world I used to covet).

Real men play rugby au naturel

There's been a bit of a kerfuffle about the publication of a picture in the Sunday Star Times (sadly not online) and whether it was offensive for readers, who were either spewing in their brunch lattes or in the midst of their Sunday AM post-orgasm afterglow.
At least the Sydney Morning Herald didn't mind publishing their version online, and here it is:

Can't find the SST's version, which had more in the way of ball handling skills on show, but if you have a link, please let me know.
UPDATE: The SST won't be repeating the "mistake" of publishing unpixillated male meat, and television crews are being instructed not to focus on any streakers at rugby matches. Another reason not to watch sport on telly.

Euro 2004 elections

Low voter turnout is only of concern to mass appeal parties, who have to get the voters out. Small, racist, xenophobic or skeptic parties actually favour apathy because it is populism's best friend - you only need your buddies to turn up to send off your leader to his super job at the European Parliament.
I would recommend single country constituencies with complete proportional representation and a 5% Europe-wide vote threshold; make the Commission the proper executive branch; and turn the current Council of Ministers into a Senate (4 senators from each country would do nicely).
What is, after all, the point of a couple of Polish League of Families members sitting in Strasbourg / Luxembourg / Brussels, apart from being a token conservative Catholic presence? They represent Vatican City more effectively than Poland since their policies are more relevant to the Pontiff's family than to modern day family life in the rest of Europe.

Congratulations, Ken!

Ken Livingstone was re-elected as Mayor of London for a second term. I am old enough to remember the 20p tube fares, an early attempt to get people moving, now of course morphed into the Congestion Charge. I hope Auckland will have the balls to elect a Mayor with enough guts to have a proper transport policy - and I don't mean billion dollar urban motorway projects.

Underpants

You got to laugh sometimes at those tabloids, with the English Sun captioning this Beckham image to celebrate the Euro 2004. Thank you Fleshbot for this and more imagery.
I'm just glad to see that boxers are now officially out of fashion. (Real guys, of course, go commando)

Had enough of Reagan idolatry?

Here is an excellent antidote by Christopher Hitchens.

24 Hour Party People

Watched 24 Hour Party People last night and I thought what an unsung hero Tony Wilson, who set up Factory Records, has been in the punk/post-punk era. The kind of self-help/co-operative structure of his ventures have always been the essence of the punk ethos and, quoted in the film, he never sold out because he had never anything to sell.
I think modern music's history would have been much poorer without Factory Records. Joy Division and New Order are treasures. Love Will Tear Us Apart (FAC 23) is still the best single ever.

Ian Curtis is still very much missed. Sean Harris was brilliant in his role in the film.
Vinni Reilly (Durutti Column) was the sweetest Factory pop star of them all.
I never cared much about the Madchester scene or all that drug-fuelled raving, I never went to The Hacienda (FAC 51) but I was at this live concert.
It was a lot of fun trying to collect all Factory label products numbers, must be the Aspie in me.
Also some wonderful (even contemporary) Fac stuff here.
Factory has a blog.

Autism and Asperger's

The Autism & Asperger's Syndrome Awareness Week ended today.
I'm a little bit wary about the tag "suffering from" that usually gets attached to autistic people, or Aspies for that matter.
I scored well over the limit in the Asperger's Syndrome test, but even if it is (self-)diagnosed, I'd never consider myself suffering from it, and I don't expect you to either.
The guys (it's mainly guys) with severe autism only need a break. They see the world differently. If you have a low Autism Quotient score, try their perspective for a change.
UPDATE: I scored far higher on the AQ test than on the Gay-o-Meter. Oh dear.

A world without bigot bishops

Foot in mouth disease struck senile bishop in Aotearoa when he declared a "new morality in the world based on human accepted norms" - so no more nasty moral strictures foisted upon us solely based on Scripture. The guy has been named head-bish of those closet Catholics, the Anglicans.
I think the delusional man needs a lot more prayer breakfasts to realise his wet dream in his lifetime, let alone in mine. The way public moral opinion is going, there will soon be more Jedi than Christians in the census.
And would the Herald get away with front page headlines such as "A World Without Maori" or "A World Without Christians" (Yes, please to that last one!)?

"Cold is God's way of telling us to burn more Christians." ( Lady Whiteadder paraphrased in Blackadder II)

Ello Jonathan

Watched The Player last night. Oh boy, am I glad I am not heterosexual (not even metrosexual!). But it's fun guessing who's the closet queen in the pack.

Cook Islands holiday

Back from my holiday in the sun, well rested and somewhat browned. We stayed at Napa Bungalows and we can warmly recommend it - especially if there are six of you so you can book out the whole area. Private beach and lagoon, close to the airport but not too noisy. Just don't stay longer than, say, 10 days or you'll be bored out of your brains.
The Cook Islands are your typical tropical despotic country - ruled by Christians in all the senses: nothing open on Sunday, no nude sunbathing or swimming, no gay nookie. More dogs, chickens and churches than decent restaurants and cafes. A TV station owned by the local media mogul and opponent of the Government, which makes for 'interesting' local news. If you think your local media are biased in their reporting, you ain't seen Cook Islands TV yet!