why is it 'crap'?

Surely studying people's opinions on what constitutes the very best in music is of interest to a lot of people.

I assume you have no problems with universities operating Religious Studies departments?

yeah i agree that he's entitled to research that if that's what he wants, but i'm also allowed to have the opinion that doing something like that at a university and getting paid for it is crap - just as how for example as an ACT supporter i would legislate to allow people to choose to be homosexuals if they like, but that doesn't mean i have to feel the same way about it as they do, or that people are allowed to enjoy alternative rock but i am still entitled to my opinion that i dislike alternative

"i would legislate to allow people to choose to be homosexuals if they like".
I was under the impression that this was legal in NZ already?

//"i would legislate to allow people to choose to be homosexuals if they like".
/I was under the impression that this was legal in NZ already?

I was under the impression that it wasn't actually a choice, but hey...

// but i am also allowed to have the view that it's a crap thing to be paid to research

How, then, do you propose that discoveries are made? Do we draw a line in the sand and say the things on that side are irrelevant?

I ask that knowing that you're going to say some piece of shit like "everything we need to know about how to live and what is important to humanity has been documented thoroughly for 2000 years in a great little read called the bible"

But seriously, even your beloved Rodney Hide has a team of paid researchers, that are paid quite handsomely.
And the last time that the planet earth left itself (well most of planet earth) at the mercy of the bible things went completely to shit, so completly they call it the "DARK AGES". (meanwhile on the Arabian Peninsular those filthy, godless arabs where running universities, writing the first secular history, calculating the distance to the moon and translating the Greek texts -that the church in the West were destroying- into Arabic and continuing the work. And it was this knowledge that the Arabs kept alive that made it possible for there to be a Renaisance that started the wheels of progress rolling to the piont where we are now)

Human beings, by their very nature, are inquisitive and questioning. This is why researchers, academics and scientists exist, and it is why they get paid . It just makes sense.

// everyone is free to choose what kind of life they live

sounds good.

// that doesn't mean everyone should be forced to live that kind of life

err...

// if it applies to homosexuality, it should also apply to other things, such as tax

and there you've lost me. You can 'choose' to be homosexual, therefore you should be able to choose to pay tax? Feel free to clarify.

//just as anyone else is entitled to think my question whether you like pop or alternative rock more is crap

It is embarassingly crap.

ACT is for anyone but ordinary nzders. They represent the self employed and/or the highly paid. Business owners whose sole concern is to pay their ground level staff less than the minimum wage, abolish lunchbreaks and holidays, and lower company and personal tax. The personal responsibility stuff- private healthcare, private education at all levels, no pention - is dependant on having a similiar income to those who believe this stuff. The 'investment culture' is such a joke, tell that to someone earning $400 a week (or less consdering they'll be no limit to how low wages could go). Wage competition is crap, employers collude to set wages, so the freedom to go elsewhere is menaingless when they all pay same depending on the type of work. Basically create a large pool of semi educated desperate poor who will accept any wages and working conditions, a flexible labour market, like in SE asia, mexico, that kind of thing.

> I was under the impression that it wasn't actually a choice, but hey...

it's a choice in the sense that for example i may have no choice but feel lustful towards a woman, but i have the choice not to carry out that lust. or another example, if someone does something that angers me, i may feel like hitting them and have no choice over that but i have the choice not to hit them

> How, then, do you propose that discoveries are made? Do we draw a line in the sand and say the things on that side are irrelevant?

if you think that by i think getting paid to research a best song automatically means i think all research is stupid then you're an idiot

> And the last time that the planet earth left itself (well most of planet earth) at the mercy of the bible things went completely to shit, so completly they call it the "DARK AGES". (meanwhile on the Arabian Peninsular those filthy, godless arabs where running universities, writing the first secular history, calculating the distance to the moon and translating the Greek texts -that the church in the West were destroying- into Arabic and continuing the work. And it was this knowledge that the Arabs kept alive that made it possible for there to be a Renaisance that started the wheels of progress rolling to the piont where we are now)

- again, you're judging Christianity by what people do with it rather than what it actually is. one of the commandments is not to kill others, and Jesus said to love others. just because people who called themselves killed other people, whether it was because they were on a crusade or because they thought someone was a heretic, that doesn't mean that's what God actually said to do. you're argument is like saying, the NZ law (like Biblical law) is wrong because criminals exist, therefore it's stupid to have the NZ legal system

> and there you've lost me. You can 'choose' to be homosexual, therefore you should be able to choose to pay tax? Feel free to clarify.

well the idea of being liberal is doing what you want (so long as it doesn't harm others), whether with your own body or with your own property. taxation is not liberal because it is taking away your money by force, if you do not pay your tax then you are breaking the law

take a Church for example. a liberal Church will allow its members to choose to be homosexuals (whether or not they are actually Christians is another matter). it will also let its members choose whether or not they want to put money in the donation box. a conservative Church will force all its members to be straight, and force all its members to donate say 10% of their money

> And you don't think 'ordinary' NZers and our society in general get some benefit from having an educated workforce?

yes they do, however it doesn't justify not having to pay interest on your loan. entrepreneurs starting up companies are beneficial to our society too, because it increases our country's productivity and can create employment. however we don't expect to give them interest free loans, if they choose to invest they are responsible for making things work. likewise a student should be expected to pay interest because they can get a job after getting their degrees, why should the taxpayer be paying their interest?

ACT is for anyone but ordinary nzders. They represent the self employed and/or the highly paid. Business owners whose sole concern is to pay their ground level staff less than the minimum wage, abolish lunchbreaks and holidays, and lower company and personal tax. The personal responsibility stuff- private healthcare, private education at all levels, no pention - is dependant on having a similiar income to those who believe this stuff. The 'investment culture' is such a joke, tell that to someone earning $400 a week (or less consdering they'll be no limit to how low wages could go). Wage competition is crap, employers collude to set wages, so the freedom to go elsewhere is menaingless when they all pay same depending on the type of work. Basically create a large pool of semi educated desperate poor who will accept any wages and working conditions, a flexible labour market, like in SE asia, mexico, that kind of thing.

well look at countries that were third world countries before WWII and are now relatively richer than NZ, such as Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong - they all had very liberal economic markets that did begin as exploitation but as more investment went in and as more free trade occured they later became rich countries because of their high productivity. the more competitors the less ability to collude because if you are colluding at a high price it will be easy for someone to enter the market and sell at a lower price and get all the sales - it is only in extreme natural monopoly examples (like Microsoft, where the technology was all new) where this doesn't happen - but for something general, like selling normal products that have no barriers to entry it's impossible to collude

regarding people earning low wages, and not being able to afford private healthcare education etc... i would argue that the reason these things, like health and education, seem so expensive is because the government has a monopoly over them, and that is the reason people can't afford them. think of this - why is it that the food market is privatised? why doesn't the government control the food market, set all the prices for food? it has become affordable because of private competition

classical liberalism theory?

// the majority of the law in NZ, except for taxation law and
// property law such as the foreshore and seabed legislation
// which involve forcing people to do something with their property?

Well, there's a surprise.

//The interesting thing from a research point of view is the descriptions people enter for why they enjoy a particular song--those help us to identify the behavioral facets mentioned above.

I found myself instantly steriotyping people. I laughed, cringed and got angry all within 30 seconds. It's a great read.

oma rapiti?

Well I thought about it a fair bit over the years. The only answer for me, and my time on this rock, is that it has to be a reaction to the situation that I'm involved in. An artists statement that reflects the zeitgeist of my time.

While I can agree the Beatles are fantastic, I'm now answering your topic question with songs that expressed a message that relate to my time on the planet. The soundtrack of my life ain't the same as my parents.

I'm not answering your 'continued' linked survey, but there you go...

oh now thats a fantastic topic. my grandparents were obsessed by bing crosby and trumpet based big band music. I now find myself obsessed with horns (can any NZMer please please satisfy my obsession?) and I wonder if it's to do with long car trips in my grandads car listening to trumpet based songs.

//I now find myself obsessed with horns (can any NZMer please please satisfy my obsession?)

I have a horn for you, baby *wink*

you must be a sucker for Braveheart

all I can say is my grandad was scottish, and the video for "Its A Long Way To The Top" makes me funny

I love it and you all.

kinda, I am a little over-stoked admittedly

Agreed. I still love their lyrics.

"You are an angel heading for the land of sunshine/And fortune is smiling upon you"

If I had a second choice, Stripsearch would be it. The synchopation of the bass guitar, the gorgeous Patton falsetto, that unholy transition to the chug-chug-chugga-chug at the end, the synth flourishes, gives me shivers every time.

I know, it's probably worth 1000 motivational speaches by Tony Robins.