From being a target on Twitter, to watching Miss Universe, to mourning the defacement of my favourite live venue, it's been a busy week in entertainment.
Item 1:Dai Henwood poked fun at me on Twitter last week. Well, apparently he did. A work colleague told me about because I couldn't be bothered becoming a twit to find out.
Anyway, he was retaliating at a jibe I made about him being more of a fart joke kind of guy than a political commentator, and what gave him the right to be a team captain on TV3's Friday night comedy show 7 Days (which was excellent by the way).
Fair enough, I take it back Dai, because with your joke about the scrap between Auckland Grammar and Kelston, you stole the show.
The joke went something like this: "I loved it how after the fight the Grammar guys were walking away and texting on their iPhones, 'Oh look Mummy, I punched a Maori'."
So the show is not only funny, it's informative too.
Besides Henwood and the other team members' contributions, including sharp witted Paul Ego and quiet-but-cutting Brendhan Lovegrove, the best thing about 7 Days is that it is brazen, no-holds-barred, say anything you like stuff. It's just what the often stuffy local TV world needs. Let's hope they can keep it up.
And a special mention must go to Bill and Ben on the new series of Pulp Sport beforehand. I'm a sucker for mindless TV entertainment, and no one does it better than these two.
Item 2:I'm not expecting you to have seen the Miss Universe pageant from the Bahamas earlier this week but I watched the first 10 or so minutes of it the other night. (I told you I was a sucker for mindless TV.) The first bit is the best part of this long, laborious show because we get a look at all 85 girls and see their mostly ridiculous traditional costumes. The thing is, when it came time for New Zealander Katie Taylor it was a blink and you miss it moment. Sure enough Miss USA hogged the show, and Miss Zambia made an impact with her spear and shield, but our Katie seemed overcome by the occasion and babbled her name and country nonsensically.
And what was she wearing? I can't remember because it was too boring. The chick from Germany might have looked like an extra from an Asterix movie but she was memorable. Why wasn't Katie wearing a grass skirt and a moko on her chin? Yes, one imagines it is culturally insensitive, but there's nothing like a little bit of controversy to get you noticed.
Item 3:So, Fleetwood Mac are coming to New Zealand. That's great, because even though the band's classic albums - Rumours (1977) and Tusk (1979) - were a little before my time, I've always had a crush on Stevie Nicks, with her long mane of blonde hair and lacy hippy frocks.
And it's even better that the band is playing in my hometown of New Plymouth at my favourite venue in the world, the beautiful Bowl of Brooklands.
However, sorry to spoil the party, but the gig might not be all it's cracked up to be. You see, what makes the Bowl unique, apart from the natural grass bowl, is the lake in front of the stage. For Fleetwood Mac (and Cliff Richard and the Shadows in February), the New Plymouth District Council is plonking a 1000-seat platform over the lake. Having been to many concerts at the bowl, including seeing Tim Finn row across the lake during Six Months In a Leaky Boat, I have to say it won't be the same without the lake.
By the sound of it, the introduction of the platform was a deciding factor for New Plymouth scoring Fleetwood Mac's only New Zealand show because the band insisted it would make for a more "intimate" gig.
Then again, why couldn't they say to Stevie and the lads that they'd happily put on a row boat for them to use? I don't mind rowing them across.
<i>Scott Kara</i>: Dai laughing with 7 Days
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