ArchivesBy Author: Phil
Talentless mug who ends up writing most of the articles on diaTribe. You can read about Phil in his about page in the Bandanna Club website.
Emily Barker Bliss

Another winter is passing and on a dark and stormy night, we built a fire, poured a healthy measure of a decent fiery spirit and settled down to watch Kenneth Branagh in the first two series of Wallander.
While I found the series itself interesting and entertaining, by the time I had watched just a couple of episodes, I was much more intrigued by the theme tune; a haunting folk arrangement which even reduced to only a few bars for the opening credits, made every hair on the back of my neck stand up straight.
Rant: Weasel Wording Down Under
And they wonder why we are all so cynical about politics… ![]()
Heather English is a retired school teacher now living in Invercargill. She has been an avid amateur genealogy researcher for about 35 years.
Olympics British Style
DATELINE: LONDON
In view of the ongoing heavy rains in the UK, representatives of the British government and the London Mayor’s office have met with the emergency committee of the IOC to propose a number of 11th-hour changes to the upcoming London Olympic programme.
London’s Mayor Boris Johnson has announced that all Olympic staff will be undergoing SCUBA lessons this week and his office are currently in the process of buying up wetsuits, fins, masks and snorkels from every dive shop in and around the Red Sea. Supplies of diving equipment in the UK have already been appropriated and set aside for use by visiting dignitaries, due to their virtually-unused and near-new state. … more »
Busy six months

It’s been a busy six months since, I last bunged an entry in the blog.
I managed to not get washed away in the very wet summer, which included a trip to Sydney back in March, where it was mostly just as wet as it was in NZ
. Still, it was good to catch up with some pals, have a few beers and laugh at some of the most bizarrely-dressed participants of the annual Sydney Mardi Gras, which – unknowningly – fell smack in the middle of visiting.
T-Shirt Chuckles
RIP: Harry Morgan

Sad news today about the passing of actor Harry Morgan.
Like actors such as Denholm Elliot and Brian Dennehy, Morgan never seemed to land that elusive starring role, but that didn’t matter. His talents as a character actor were always impressive and he often stole the limelight.
I remember Harry Morgan best from shows such as Dragnet and made-for-tv movies such as Support your local sheriff.
Election with Selection
Well, the general election is over.
It was pretty much like elections everywhere; largely a duel of wits between unarmed opponents. No answers, but lots of different names for the problems.
I therefore present a New Zealand political addendum to the fully encompassing “Religions of the world“



![Weasel. Photo: Frode Inge Helland (Own work) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC-BY-2.5], via Wikimedia Commons Weasel](/images/Blog/weasel.jpg)

![Phil Goff (Opposition Leader - Labour). Photo: By Policy Network (Phil Goff) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons Phil Goff](/images/Blog/philgoff.jpg)
![John Key (NZ Prime Minister - National Party). Photo: By United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) [CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons John Key](/images/Blog/johnkey.jpg)
