Damn. Forgot to post this vid of our Psy as a lad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCHY6n907OE

BWAAAAHHHH!!!!!

Is Skippy the Australian version of Lassie?

Funny as hell!

Heh, I guess growing up as trailer trash in Auckland NZ is equivalent to the outback for you.

I only wanted 2 things desperately as a teenager (apart from the obvious), a hammond wheel organ and a mini moog. Of course I couldn't afford either of them. But I have a TI to make up for that. Don't worry, I feed the consumer machine myself, but I'm doing it for the right reasons (greed) instead of seeking approval.

Cheers,
B

Nicely put! Gordon Gecko, the main character in the movie "Wall Street" said:

"Greed works. Greed is good"

My mother even once said: "There is nothing wrong with want as long as you have some sense about it. Without want you would sit around with no drive to succeed and ultimately, accomplish nothing."

I have my own wants and desires just like anyone else but I also think its important to help others in need as you can.

Back to the Columbine kids. In my high shcool there were these kids that wore black trench coats and were majorly obsessed with computers. They caught some crap from the mainstreamers as I remember. I myself was somewhat removed from the mainstream and happy about it. I was one of the biggest kids in my high school so I didn't get messed with. I had a girlfriend and a job and got good grades, so I didn't need to play football to try and get laid. I'm glad none of those kids went postal in my school!

Darn OVM, I missed your Skippy link on the top of the next page. I love that show! All the bad guys were camp or just out of prison, and Skippy unlocks doors, lights fires and such with close ups only showing her inflexible paws.

NZ was a lot different to that, mostly I remember the maori and pacific island gangs at school. No one had the guts to shoot down the school because you'd have to face them.

So points given for being different. But points taken off for shooting.

Cheers,
B

Psy. Bloody hell. You're from NZ. Shit, I thought you was an Ozzy. My mistake.

I fucking loved Skippy. Very popular in UK, too.

Tell more about Maori gangs at school (and outside school), please mate. Never read about that anywhere but always wondered what it's like in NZ. Is there much alcoholism amongst Mauris like with Abbos in Ozzy?

Matt, You should see that film "Once were warriors". A look into part of the modern Maori's in NZ.

They can be the friendliest bunch, and the nastiest too... depends if you give them a reason to be nasty. Big fuckers too, make Alex look like a feather weight.

Your not mistaken OVM. I was born in NZ but at 21 moved to Sydney and more recently Melbourne Australia. I haven't been back much, it must be 15 years since I was last there. So I don't know much about the country now - I was pretty amazed that they made Lord of the Rings as much as anyone. But I digress. What follows is my highly subjective opinion.

Back in the 70's NZ was through my eyes a pretty depressed place financially and morally. You were supposed to work hard and not make much money - people still seemed to be living in the post WW2 shadow although I was born 10 years after it. British movies set in the 1940's seemed to sum up the mood of my childhood.

NZ was very racial. My parents were the typical conservatives believing that white people were superior (although you didn't hurt the Maori's feelings by telling them that). Many place names and street names were Maori which makes for some wonderfully difficult spelling and pronounciation. But it was not integration. In the 70's liberals were talking about equality for Maori's, 'affirmative action' was giving financial and job advantages to people based on their race. Some Maori's were assuming the Black Power politics of the USA and some were arguing they had rights to the land. Due to a screw up in the Treaty of Waitangi that appears to indeed be true. NZ welcomed pacific island people (as they were all members of the British Commonwealth I believe) and the country was not just divided by European and Maori, there were several other ethnic groups like Fujian, Tongan, Cook Island, Samoan - and there were long standing gang disputes all based on an individual's race.

Frankly I didn't take it all in, but there was always a threathening trouble about race. The violence was not that bad, but the Maori and Islander attitude of intimidating through the power of a group was common. What the hell is a Haka for example? Traditional greeting it is not, no matter what they say. After leaving NZ, I have only experienced similar intimidation by afro americans.

I went to an apparently rough grammar school, but there was no violence. The odd bash up, but nothing bad. In fact my probably only friend at school was a huge tall Maori named Toa who was the most likeable and peace loving person but because of his skin colour and size got heaps of respect whereas me being white and smaller got crapped on.

The culture of optimism and freedom in Australia was a huge contrast and many my age left for Sydney. I never looked back although I did go back to see my family a few times. They resented me leaving the country. I wikied NZ recently and read with amusement the implication that its a nice place now and former Kiwi's can came back because its better.

OVM, I can't tell you much about the NZ of today. I think the Maori's were always a gentle people, living in a land providing everything without too much effort. Tribe disputes were mainly shouting and the odd spear thrown, then stories told about how brave the warriors were. I could be completely wrong, but Aborigines seem to have come from a harder environment. Still separate warring tribes although there's supposed to be a single Aboriginal culture. I think the Abo's were both treated harsher and were less resilient when the invaders came. The spirit was knocked out of the Abo a long time ago whereas Maoris were able to still have identity. Neither should have been invaded by the diseased and greedy europeans.

I don't come across many Aborigines in Australia, mainly Adelaide and Perth in my travels. Maori and aboriginal alcoholism seems similar, and unfortunately seems so tame compared to the drugs available out there. None of it is particularly visible to society.

Cheers,
B

Thanks mate for the top reply. That was a great read.

I like to think that I can look anybody in the eye and say "Fuck it. We're all in the same boat."

So far so good for OVM. I've fucking walked around Harlem and Brooklyn and even Manchester alone in the dead of night and had a great time. Maybe cos I'm big and stupid.

Talking about meself here too much. I have to write a reply to that tomorrow.