Following the crowd...

And because everyone else has done it I too have taken the Australian Political Test.

Here are my results:
Greens: 53.5%
Australian Democrats: 66.4%
Labor Party: 73.9%
Family First: 66.2%
Liberal Party: 56.2%
National Party: 49%
One Nation Party: 75.2%

I am suprised by the ONP being my top scoring area, however the Australian Labor Party are are only a few percent behind.

It does appear that I am about as Centre as one could possibly get, althought my social and traditional views do spread to the left rather than the right.

So if one combines these results, with my 8 tribes results, I am kinda confused as to where exactly I stand in the political spectrum.

He's like the Energizer Bunny...

Graeme Burton does not seem to give up no matter what... last night whilst being transferred from hospital to prison he attacked a guard who was in the back with him, thus he was re-admitted into the Emeregency Department and had his wounds checked.

This prompted extreme security measures with a combination of armed offenders squad members, detectives and dog handlers surrounding all hospital entrances, with the fear being Burton may have someone on the outside trying to help him escape... AGAIN!!!

I am not a fan of the prison system, and am for prisoners being counselled and hopefully changing their ways... unfortunately I think Burton is a lost cause and his new sentence should be a life sentence with a long LONG time before he is allowed up for parole again... maybe it could be a new record. I would like it that he will either be an extremely old man or dead before he is eligible.

Just another silly titter

FUCK. Excuse the vulgar language, because I'm such a lay - dee...

But isn't it funny how anonymous comments pop up when the option is there? They're like gangrene... never go away until you cut your arm off.

The point of this post however is to express my joyous happiness to the world.






One of my friends is dating a guy that runs a talent agency. When he met me he said, "Hey, you're really pretty. Here's my card, you would be great for extras work." I'm sure they say that to everyone (and of course I don't want to do extra work), but it was nice.

Also found out that a long standing crush of mine said some *pleasing* words about me.

Well that will curb my bisexual tendencies, won't it??!!

Also decided that this ad is funny, so have included it here. But then this blog has lower standards than airports...

Blog Drinks in Wellington

Last night I headed along to the blog drinks at Hope Brothers in Wellington, it was a good night. Had some good conversations and met some good people, and as it turned out one guy and I have had very close encounters for many years and yet never met...

The drinks wrapped up at the end of the Cricket (haha BlackCaps you were beaten but that is no suprise really - althought yes it was close) and then I, Farrar, Chris B and Michael E went and had a chinese dinner. I certainly heard some good stories and for right wing guys they are pretty good, although I am a right leftie so I am more accommodating of right views.

Auckland sounded good from what I have read, Pam did you go?

My "scientific" tribe

Tony has a link on his blog relating to the 8 tribes as discussed in my last post.

So I took the test and it turns out that I am indeed North Shore and Remuera, with a low percentage of Raglan and Otara but no Grey Lynn, Papaptoetoe, Cuba Street or Balclutha, which I found suprising.

I wonder what this really means about me?

What tribe are you?

I really enjoyed reading in the weekend edition of the Dompost about "which tribe are you?"

Two PR experts have written a book re-classing stereotypes that exist in New Zealand, it is quite interesting reading. But I do not know how much better they are than typical stereotypes that already exist, one could argue all these PR people have done is rename them.

Interesting to see some well known New Zealanders classed under each catergory:
North Shore - John Key
Grey Lynn - Helen Clark
Raglan - Josh Kronfield
Remuera - Sir Douglas Arthur Montrose Graham
Balclutha - Winston Peters
Cuba Street - Flight of the Conchords
Otara - David Tua
Papatoetoe - Jerry Brownless (originally at least)

According to the article I would classically fit into the Remuera Tribe, being from Havelock North and attending a private school, however I do not come from money, let alone old money which may mean I do not get classified into this.

Should I wish to classify myself I would probably say I am of the North Shore Tribe as I am ambitious and hard working, like to keep up my appearances and ultimately would like to have a house in a desirable street in New Zealand with the car and job to suit, but do still contains elements of the Remurea Tribe ie that manners are important and I am a proud ex-private school girl and as my home town in listed as a Remuera Tribe area, as well as other suburbs and towns I would like to live in, I guess that is my stereotype foundation.

I guess my Labour loving ways definitely add a mix to my "tribe" though.

In a Boy's Shoes

I had an interesting experience over the weekend that I thought was worth writing about. Beware, I believe writing of this type has not been seen before on Red Confectionery...!

I was out with two guy friends of mine who happen to be gay. We had a few drinks at home and then proceeded to go to a local bar that is, shall we say, frequented by a more colourful crowd. Very fun, very loud and very interesting. Especially this night. I am not a Bisexual or a Lesbian, but then I don't go to bars to get laid either.




As it turned out, my two guy friends decided they quite liked the look of each other so I was left relatively alone. No worry, I had run into a few old friends anyway - always a surprise when you see people from high school in a gay bar - and decided to make friends with the people sitting next to us.

I saw this girl with a nice red top on, and complimented her on it.

Tip #1 in making friends with girls: Compliment on clothes and appearance, even if you don't want to shag them.

Actually, the top was OK but it's always a good conversation starter. Then I realised, Shit. I'm in a gay bar. You don't make friends here, you make 'friends.' And THEN I realised, Hey. This could go somewhere...

Girl in the red top happened to be very nice looking, and by chance we had a few things in common. Like me, she was a science student studying away from home. We chatted about this and that... I won't bore you with the details. But she did ask me - God bless homosexuals for being straight up - whether or not I was a Lesbian. I lied, and said I was Bi. I wanted to try this out.

I decided to be the man of the situation and bought her a drink. Midori and Lemonade, of course.

Tip #2 in making friends with girls: If they don't specify what drink to buy, get them something sweet and girly like a Midori and Lemonade, Mallibu and Pineapple or Vodka Lemon and Lime.

One drink led to another - my guy friends were delighted with this and encouraged my bi-curiousity by buying us more drinks. We ended up outside the ladies together. I didn't know whether or not to go in with her, which is what I usually do with my chic friends.

Tip #3 in making friends with girls: DON'T go to the bathroom together.

She looked up into my eyes - I was taller, definitely the alpha female - and kissed me.

Let me describe what it is like to kiss another female. They have a softer tongue, and are much more gentle in their approach to 'caressing' and making out. It lasted a while. I told her she was really pretty (which she was) and she said I was an amazing kisser. I even kissed her neck and shoulders, because chances are if she was anything like me she would like that. And boy, did she ever.

Tip #1 in making out with girls: Don't be a boring goldfish; use your mouth for other parts of the body. (Before you start grabbing them that is)

Needless to say, it was undoubtedly fun kissing another girl, but nowhere as fun as kissing a guy. In which case I would have gotten turned on. As you do when you kiss someone you fancy. In other words, I didn't 'feel' anything while it was happening.

Such a shame, being with girls would be so much easier...

During this makeout session one of my friends, Matt (or Karma, as he was in drag), not the most discreet person in the world, exclaimed: "LULU!! Since when did you become a rug muncher?!!" Oh dear. I told him, quite justifiably I thought, to shut up. He warned me not to mess with her, as she was a really nice person.

Geez. Now I know how guys feel when they hook up with girls.

At the end of the night there was the question of whether or not we would go home together. To be honest, the thought terrified me. But we exchanged numbers and said our goodbyes.

Now I am in a bit of a pickle. She is texting me, saying she had an amazing time with me that night. If I tell her the truth, she will be upset; if I don't do anything - a typical guy response - she will think I am not into her, and be upset. For now her texts remain unreplied to.

I could say that I don't think it should be taken any further as we both live in different cities. But seriously, I am not good at making up stories.

What on earth should I do??!!

P.S. I wouldn't write the experience off - every straight girl should try this. Without hurting the other girl's feelings, that is.

A New Year...

Am back posting and at work as of today, after having a nice relaxing holiday, bar the four days where my young cousins thought 5am was a reasonable hour to wake up and that therefore meant me as well.

I see that David Farrar also tagged me for the five things so here it goes:

1) If NZ is playing Australia I will wear yellow and green and cheer for the Aussies

2) I have epilepsy, but live a life which is probably not advised for people in my condition lol

3) I used to be a champion swimmer before I stopped training to concentrate on school work

4) The Little Mermaid is my favourite Disney movie and yes I know most of the songs off by heart " I wanna be where the people are, I wanna see, wanna see them dancing..."

5) I went to the same school as one of Donna Awatere Huata's daughters (she was a year ahead of me)

Have a great 2007!

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Well it's Christmas and this city girl is heading to small town surburbia for the holidays this afternoon. Where the weather will be fine, it will be warm and wind will not mean I get left highly embarrassed on the corner of a major intersection after my skirt blows up.

I hope everyone here has a very Happy Holiday and gets some relaxation in - I know I will be.

Have a great Christmas and Happy New Year - don't do anything I wouldn't.

Goodbye

Marian Hobbs has officially announced that she will not be contesting the Wellington Central seat in the 2008, this is a sad lost for the Wellington Central electorate, as Marian is a fantastic MP admired by people from across the political spectrum, as she will stand up for what she believes in, even if that means getting the PM's back up.

I had the wonderful opportunity of working for Marian, she was a great boss. The way she dealt with things, and even in some really 'interesting'(the niceset way to phrase it) times she kept a cool head on her. She also offered lots of support and advice on work related things, but also in times of personal need.

Marian has been in Parliament for 12 years, been in Cabinet and then stepped back, she feels that she has gone in, worked her bum off, and now should take a step back to allow for rejuvenation, she was never a "career politician" unlike many others in Parliament.

Marian will be heading over to the UK to teach after the 2008 election, I wish her all the best and thank her for the way in which she has looked after the people of Wellington Central and for her work in Parliament as well.

More Money

Minimum wages are set to incerase by $1, from $10.25 to $11.25 on April 1 next year. This is great news for unions and workers who have long been struggling to get a wage increase.

Although, I would have preferred Youth Rates to have been abolished, I am pleased that they too will get an increase with an 80c wage rise to $9 an hour.

I am slightly worried about how businesses may react to this, and therefore not employ unskilled workers and young people. However, there are plenty of jobs which skilled persons usually do not apply for and therefore I do not feel that there is suddenly going to a massive increase in the unemployment levels - as some people believe this is what will happen.

Hopefully under the Labour Government we will get a minimum wage of $12 an hour at the end of 2008, because chances of that happening under a National Government are slim to none.

Police Protection

The New Zealand Police are being given protective body armour to wear to emergency calls. The first area to receive the gear is Counties Manakau. They will be followed by Auckland, Northshore and Northland.

I think it is a pity that NZ has come to a point where our police force need to be dressed in such gear, because the risk of being hurt or killed on the job has increased significantly.

However, even though the Police now have extra protection, they will still need to use their tactical training to deal with the criminal/s, as protective gear does not do that. Hopefully the extra weight will not impede police from being able to give chase if necessary.

I am pleased that the Police will now be better protected, I just hope that it also means that the people of New Zealand will be as well.

Please report it and get help!

Here is a letter that one of the victims of the recent spate of date rapings in Taranaki wrote. It is sad and it certainly moved me to tears.

If you or anyone you know has been a victim to this, and not just in Taranaki, go to the police. It does not matter if you can not remember descriptions, times etc REPORT IT! Rape is not something you bring on yourself, the person who commits such offences should be in jail to prevent them hunting on innocent people.

While you are out partying, and especially at this time of year, be aware of your drink, your friends drink and people around you. Also keep an eye on the amount you and your friends are drinking, and if someone seems remarkablyl drunk for the amount they have to drink there is a warning sign and you should report is ASAP.

If you do fall victim to such a horrific attack go to a Police Station or dial 111, then get some counselling this can be sought from Rape Crisis or privately. People are there to help you through such an experience so use them, because keeping it inside will not help

Not your typical request...

Durex are looking for people to help test their products.

I am intrigued as to how exactly this works, do people ring up on an individual basis and then get paired with someone, or do couples sign up, or does a person get given some magazines and a room and then they see if anything leaks though.

I always figured that Durex must have some way on testing their products, I guess i never really thought about how it was done.

And the winner is....

The winner of North and South New Zealander of the Year is .... Gareth Morgan.

It was a lovely event, held at the Boatshed on the Taranaki Wharf, beautiful weather, plenty of food and alcohol.

A few brief speeches and it was a pleasant way to spend ones evening.

For more on the winner purchase the January issue of North and South.

Susan Wood

This is just a quick post that:

Susan Wood has resigned from being the presenter of Close Up effective immediately.

She has a lump on her neck and wishes to spend more time on her health and her family.

Mark Sainsbury and Paul Henry will cover the position until a replacement is found.

Why bother keeping the law the same???

So although it has been decided to keep the drinking age 18 and above, rather than raising it back up to 20, it appears that some bars are taking matters into their own hands.

Does this mean someone could open a bar and ban all over 40s, so as there are no seedy creepy older guys in the bars??? (see stereotyping is BAD) It is ridiculous. Even if 18 and 19 year olds are deemed to be less socially responsible with their drinking, they can always be asked to leave, or kicked out, if the bar staff or bouncers feel that they have had too much to drink.

I have also been told that there are a number of bars in Wellington that are refusing entry to people under twenty and have no doubts that this will be happening in most major cities.

I would appreciate if anyone knows of any bars which are doing this to list their name and city of location under comments.

The stadium solution

Hahahaha. God this is funny. Nice one, Farrar.

Boobs beat safe sex

So, The Advertising Standards Authoirty said "condoms bad" but the Broadcasting Standards Authority say "boobs on bikes - great!" - ok yes I get that boobs on bikes for some people is appealing, but these different rulings seem stupid.

I mean Boobs on Bikes is part of the Erotica Expo, so what, we can have women displaying themselves on the streets where children may see. But we can't put condoms in letterboxes which children may also find and then learn how to be safe. What does boobs on bikes teach them - that women should be oggled and there for people to dream about???

I think both should be allowed, and then children can be told (especially boys) if you want to be with one of the girls on the bikes and do all sorts of 'naughty' things then make sure you use a condom - provided courtesy of hell's pizza.

I am sure if the girls on the bikes were throwing out condoms there would be complaints, but I am sure no complaint would be upheld. Maybe its true - having boobs will get you out of almost anything.

The Boobs on Bikes dismissed complaint article can be found at :http://xtramsn.co.nz/news/0,,11964-6638659,00.html

Suprise, Suprise

Well Hell's Pizza have been found in breach of the Advertising Standards when Members of the Advertising Standards authority unanimously agreed the promotion breached basic principle 4 of the code, which requires advertisements to be prepared with a sense of social responsibility.

Family First and Family Life are claiming it as a victory, that will see companies cautious of putting out smutty campaigns.

For more info the stuff story is at :http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3882877a11,00.html