Under the Surface
This page collects my thoughts about society. I write fiction with a social conscience which means I like to look under the carpet at the ‘stuff’ we pretend isn't there. I’m not prolific (i.e. annoying) . I prefer that people say - they don’t write a lot, but what they do is worth reading. Sign up to my mailing list to hear when I’ve posted new material.
Big Brother is recording
There’s a dark side to mass surveillance. Before New Zealand lurches towards becoming a surveillance society, lured by the dubious promise of safety and pulled along by the sophistication of the technology, we need to ask the question – is this the society we want to live in?
Thought leader courses
The Butterfly Effect
Chaos - the inherent unpredictability in the behaviour of a complex natural system.
Misdirection
“The action or process of directing someone to the wrong place or in the wrong direction.”
Bram Stoker and Dracula
I recently read Joseph O’Connor’s fascinating book Shadowplay which blends fact and story telling to track the lives of Bram Stoker, Ellen Terry and Henry Irving.
Understanding Marx
I have read this short, easy to read book a couple of times - Marx for Beginners by Rius.
The new Speaker’s Corner
Social media, mainstream media as well, are making money through an old fashioned concept - speaker’s corner.
Humans are resourceful, not resources
The idea that humans are resources, an idea perpetuated by business schools despite changing the title from Human Resources to People, Culture and other pleasant words, is fundamentally wrong.
ACC has $50B (of your money)
According to their 2021 Annual report, ACC has accumulated $50B through levying new Zealanders and playing the financial markets.
Roosevelt - Person (man) in the arena
I have always liked this quote of Theodore Roosevelt taken from his speech - Citizen in a Republic.
Surveillance Warning - The Streets have Eyes
Solid story about the rise of security cameras in New Zealand. If they only knew what was about to happen 😎
The price of news
I’ve been thinking (unlike Richard Prebble ever did) about the move to paywalls around online news.
The future of unions
My gut feel (or is it a hope?) is that unions have a larger part in New Zealand and the world’s future.
The stupidity of internal charging
People, intelligent usually, make statements as they are facts when they are based on fiscal nonsense.
Using images when writing
No matter what I’m writing; novels, stories, articles or essays, I like to find images of what I’m writing about
Silencing the media - the last throw of the dice?
I was touched by the story of Dozhd (TV Rain) who were forced off the air by Putin for calling the war a war.
Senarcissism
Attacking journalism is attacking democracy
New Zealand has, sadly, imported the populist narrative that media organisations (those who maintain journalistic standards) are enemies of the people.
Does balanced reporting need a balanced audience?
I’ve always enjoyed reading Andrea Vance’s reporting and opinions.
