The past two summers have been cool and changeable on the east coast of the South Island--not ideal chile growing weather--but this year I've sacrificed a virgin--hard to find one around here, I can tell you--to the weather gods and I'm hoping for a bumper crop.

A rare front page editorial in the NZ Herald takes a good hard swipe at the anti-free speech, Electoral Finance Bill. Sane stuff from a paper that is often seen as left-leaning.

NZ Herald Editorial, and Government departments to be made exempt from restrictions

Chicago Spire: 610m/2,000ft/150 floors.

Look at those numbers again: six football fields, or more than 1/3 mile tall. And the grace, and the ingenuity of the design. The site alone cost $65 million. Worth every penny.

Soon to be the world's tallest apartment building, and the second tallest building of any type. Designed by Santiago Calatrava. They just broke dirt.

Click a thumbnail to have a full size image open in a new window.

At last, four New Zealand TV networks--TV3, Maori TV, Sky and TVNZ (where's Prime?)--show some backbone and refuse to abide by the new rules preventing the showing of unflattering behavior by MPs in parliament.

And coming across the finish line, better late than never... the National Party.

Looks like the severed horse's head I put in John Key's bed did the trick...

What is the real meaning of the Declaration of Independence? Is it just an eloquent precis of rights, and of proper government; a setting out of abuses by the British king, and a sad breaking of bonds? Or is it about something more fundamental?

The Pentagon-designed gay bomb was a spoof but it gathered some traction on radio and on TV, and on You Tube.

Here's Leno's take on it [turn up your volume]:

Leno drops gay bomb

And here's an hilarious piece from Fox News:

Gay bomb effects

...and it's getting uglier.

The Centre for Independent Studies has published a disturbing report into the growth of New Zealand's public spending.

Government spending is up $19.5 billion--a staggering 32%--since 2000, the year after the current Labour government came to power.

It was 1987. New Zealand was basking in the glow of a semi-freemarket revolution. Men's fashion, hairstyles and eyewear were being experimented with at an uncontrollable rate; nowhere more so than in TV journalism.

From SOLO's friends at Cox & Forkum:


C&F can speak for themselves, but let's never forget that you either get tough or you get going.

Ok, I'm prepared to be educated: something I don't easily admit to.

I expect the usual including Miracle on 34th St. & It's a Wonderful Life. But, let's try for something a little different that uses the Christmas spirit as a back drop for an enthralling tale. Stuff like Love Actually, The Family Man or [God forbid!] Die Hard.

...same as the old boss. Well, actually, same as all the other bosses.

Today, John Key gave his first speech as National Party leader, and it was as bad as I thought it would be. Filled with nothing but bland, soporific pragmatism and third-way, warm 'n' fuzzy, political code-speak, Key's speech says nothing and adds up to nothing. It does, however, reveal everything.

Section 1 of the twenty-second amendment to the United States constitution:

No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once... [emphasis mine]

Recently, NZ's largest company, Telecom, released a press statement proclaiming that it welcomed competition from a new entrant in the domestic telephone market.

But, that's not quite truthful, is it?

sdfsdf

SOLO's friends over at Cox & Forkum never miss a beat.

Here are two recent 'toons that hit their targets straight & true.

الحرية = Freedom!

Tonight on TVNZ-1 at 11:30 is a doco about Ray Davies, feat. interviews with Bowie and Costello.

Should be worth a look.

An ABC News poll reports that 95% of Americans recall exactly where they were during the 9/11 attacks. We can only assume the other 5% were comatose.

Looks like the irritating login problems won't go away for some SOLOists.

So, I'm after some feedback.

If you've been having problems logging in then I want to know the following:

• when did it start?

I've become a big fan of the HBO show, Big Love.

From HBO: "Think having three wives is a dream come true? Meet Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton), a modern-day Utah polygamist who lives in suburban Salt Lake City with his three wives, seven children, and a mounting avalanche of debt and demands. The owner of a growing chain of home improvement stores, Bill struggles to balance the financial and emotional needs of Barb, Nicki and Margene (Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloë Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin), who live in separate, adjacent houses and take turns sharing their husband each night.

Currently under construction.

92 floors. Hotel and residential. Nice.

Click a thumbnail to have a full size image open in a new window.

A few articles from two of my favorite commentators, Thomas Sowell & Mark Steyn.

Will cease-fires never cease?

In which Sowell provides a concise, modern history of Israel and lays the blame for Arab refugees firmly at the feet of the Arabs themselves. Hot off the press.

So, Fidel's sick. Aw, too bad.

Seems like it's up to me to post some pics of the latest space shuttle mission.

Get a load of that Earth. We—you and me—live there. *That's* what it's all about. Believe it.

Yes, the old tart has had a makeover. As we would say in NZ, a bit of a tickle-up.

Hope you like it.

SOLO is best viewed at a resolution of 1024 x 768 or higher. If you aren't sure about your resolution just search your computer for "display settings".

[Reprised from the SOLO-HQ archive, in small part, to provide succor to those poor SOLs sorely tested by that prehistoric reptilian species, Ignoramus Rex]

Ever get into one of those situations where some statist sympathiser is pontificating about the failure of the market, slamming individual choice and demanding some "corrective" action from government? And, you sigh inwardly, your eyes (and your mind) glaze over, and you think: Oh, dear, here we go again.

How many times have you avoided conflict by making some harmless observation, by moving away to freshen your drink, by turning the conversation to a less contentious subject? By remaining silent?

We’ve all done it. Some of us have even turned it into an art-form. But, remember what Edmund Burke said: All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Il, is at it again.

The vertically-challenged, voluminously-coiffured, Marxist funny-man, has launched a small phalanx of missiles into the Sea of Japan. Nothing important was hit but several bruised & pissed-off whales have been seen protesting on the surface. Someone call Greenpeace.

It's obvious that Kim Jong Il—or as some like to call him, Menta Lee Il—is feeling very left out of things. What with the Iranians & Al Qaeda stealing all the headlines recently, he must be feeling very... ronery.

So pledged the Founding Fathers.

And, they meant it.

The fifty-six signers of the Declaration of Independence had everything to lose. They were professional men. Wealthy men. Landowners. Many with close ties to Britain. Many with families dear to them. Young like Edward Rutledge, 26, or older like Ben Franklin, 70.

Since Jennifer started her Freedom Tower thread, I've had a barely-contained desire to hi-jack it and turn it into a New York skyscraper expose.

So, I've begun my own

For a start, here's some high aerial shots of my love. They are severely scaled down. Please click on them to get the full impact. They'll open in a new window or tab.

[reprised from SOLOHQ]

"Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the Constitution of any State or Federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups."