.... Valley....
There was some movie on called Odd Thomas...
Odd, a cook, can see the dead. When a stranger enters his town along with predators that can feed on pain, Odd teams up with his girlfriend and the local sheriff to save the town.
Initial release: 28 February 2014 (USA
Director: Stephen Sommer
Adapted from: Odd Thomas
Screenplay: Stephen Sommer
Box office: 1.3 million US
https://youtu.be/mbPGgcJJKdA
It was kind of entertaining, Odd Thomas. The local ABC had a series on an experiment getting super old people at the kindergarten with the four year olds. I think my mom benefited from living with her grandkids for a year, even if she chose not to interract with them much. Pretty sure she said she liked listening to them play. They've been doing that in America for a while, combining retirement homes with kindergartens. Very logical to base as many daycares at old aged homes as possible, wise.
Had a weird dream I was driving a 315 school bus service on Tony something drive (street name). Can't remember the name anymore but it was Tony something, sure could remember it when I woke up for a while. I was too lazy to study the bus route which caused a major delay as I was late to get started due to not starting early enough and then took a wrong turn as never studied the route. Then it's like the road was falling apart or hilly slag or something I don't know, had to effect an illegal u-turn somewhere. Stupid bus.
Hours and miles later....
There was also an interesting show segment on called, 'who do you think you are?' where the producers track down people's family ancestry. The gentleman they were showing, I believe he's the host of a popular tv show called, 'the block'. I appreciate channels 7, 9 and 10 run on the free market (with no taxpayer subsidies) as per the lowest common denominator theory, and, in fact, one of the producers of the block, who is a casual acquaintance of mine and some of my hometown colegas from way back (we are the lowest common denominator, said colegas, hailing from mt druitt as we do), (he) is very proud to have worked on 'the block', I take it, from a recent catch up we had after a twenty year break. Frankly, like my wife's guinea pigs, I'm not a fan. I know my daughter loves the guinea pigs (it is cute when she holds them) and my wife loves the guinea pigs but I do not love them so much due to the crap in their penn and the mess of the sundry paraphernalia like bag of grass, whatever, penn blanket needing cleaning, disgusting. Just as I keep quiet about my dislike for these guinea pigs, I wouldn't tell my tv producer acquaintance I don't like the block, Amanda Keller (an australian tv personality he describes as a hard worker), numerous others (we've already mentioned the icy blue blooded lady from 60 minutes Lizard Hurly of whatever her name is). In fact, I would describe australian tv personalities in general as mentally ill, obnoxious, destined for hell, or possibly tolerable. The gentleman from the block I mentioned is tolerable, bordering in a teetering way as usual for white australia on the usual smug australian obnoxiousness. However the show about his grandfather's grandfather was fascinating. The grandfather's grandfather was a gentleman by the name of benjamin lively who lived in england I think and was a horse trader. They really started digging up a lot of information about this fellow and it was very interesting.
Also, as mentioned we have the government funded abc. I mentioned I enjoy some of their programming including kids programming, which my kids watch, as well as their rural farming coverage... just killed a spider on the wall, about the size of a child's hand. Was quiet there for a moment then got very active, flushed it down the 'dunny'.
Anyway, travelling home I noticed at the local club berowra there was a very elegantly placed, non descript portrait of the Queen (of england of course), on the wall. I didn't take a close look but it looked good. Probably a good lead in to the next topic du jour: politicians and new zealand's relationship with china, keeping in mind china's leadership class are also politicians in the chinese republican, non-democrat way (not referring to taiwan here).
NEWS.com.au: New Zealand’s failure to call out China throws spotlight on nation’s relationship with Beijing.
https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/new-zealands-failure-to-call-out-china-throws-spotlight-on-nations-relationship-with-beijing/news-story/38340b8efbbefb7e4ade864bd9a91fa8
Normally when I think of politicians I do not consider if they're female or male as important, even with the CCP's spokeswoman or the american white house spokesperson Psaki. I might notice their figure or red hair in the case of Psaki or mentality in the case of the CCP lady whose psychology is easily read on her face (not a poker face). So when I consider the new zealand leader Ardern, I do not really care if she's a woman however I do think it's important to realize her electorate considers her progressive, modern and hip. This is important when gauging the psychology of new zealanders. Here in Australia we have the former Queensland police guy Dutton recently promoted to minister of defense, he's well known with the journalists for never smiling, .... ever. They call him the loveable larrikin, ironically, I believe, in a true spirit of humor. He himself has made a name for himself deporting criminal new zealanders from australia to new zealand (like permanently, even if they have families in Australia and relatively spot free backgrounds, he's a little heavy handed I suppose although some of the people he deports are real 'scummos' ('sickos'). The prime minister Morrison is known for his cuddly wombat ascetic. Many australian men exhibit this cuddly wombat ascetic which comes naturally after four or five generations of breeding in Australia. Sometimes it's accompanied by the australian obnoxiousness mentioned afore, when it is you can just watch the crocodile hunter or something.
Let me tell you, one time in china in 2004, around the first time I met my, later to be, wife in bulgaria, I was dating a new zealand woman, I suppose it's relevant to mention she wasn't ethnically chinese. She really was pro-chinese this lady and there's a general antipathy towards america that inevitably leads to pro-chinese sentiment amongst small populations like New Zealand's and Australia's. I never asked her why she never wanted to live in Taiwan as opposed to china proper, the thought never actually occurred to me. Often when I'm traveling around the world in that phase of my life, for years on end, I'm not thinking about politics on that level but merely gauging the broad historical brush strokes (forces) which, truly, at the time, was the american war in Iraq and secondarily the, as yet unreported, surveillance state (government not private 'big tech' enacted to search, mostly unsuccessfully, for terrorists (ie they caught the shoe bomber but they never got the 7/7 guys in england in 2005, never helped the 88 Australians bombed in Bali. Never stopped 9/11. Were the Intelligence guys, out to lunch for a few years?
Anyway so this new zealand lady was very pro-chinese and actually quite fluent in chinese. Strongly disapproved or doubted my american english as is extremely common amongst the white british empire folks (must be a canadian accent from a canadian), what's a Spaniard doing that far south of california or something....
Why aren't people warming to captain america and poo pooing communism more? Well I just mentioned I liked the taxpayer funded abc in Australia to an extent and was sceptical of how capitalism manifests in Australian TV. Does it make me a communist? It's a complicated question as capitalist societies have been overtly socialist in their health care systems for a long time. In china they will let you die if you can't pay your hospital bill. Things get nasty in china as they have forced organ murder robbery (euphemistically called 'harvesting').
Just as that's a complicated question, new zealand's relationship with china is complicated. Certainly new zealand has put way too many eggs in the china basket and cannot afford to annoy china without being cut off. It is what new zealand has chosen for itself, I don't think they are able to turn that around they're so reliant on china.
Are the Intelligence services up to china? (5 eyes). Based on how the war on terror was prosecuted, it's like king kong vs godzilla. If that's what we're looking at with china, it's going to make you wonder if china will ever go democrat. When I was in china in early 2006 I vaguely surmised it might happen in the 2030s due internal pressures but that's just speculation. America is already under so much pressure to have free and fair elections, this is top of china's list for america: subverting elections through any means available.
The extent of chinese involvement in new zealand I couldn't tell you, a lot of it is mutual. New zealander's genuinely warm to rich chinese and their bucket loads of cash money.
What protocols do governments use to share private information? Probably some encrypted internet protocols. I mean china is taking technology anywhere they can and you always get these stupid kind of braggart self important people in china and elsewhere, especially in media, that feel a constant need to assert their egos with bombastic speech and bravado instead of just focusing on producing top quality music/dance videos (like some of us would), come on people. So a lot of the bluster you hear coming out of china is ridiculous. Many of china's leadership are clamoring to have their kids study at harvard and even permanently leave china for america. This does not go unnoticed by the chinese populace who are often aware of corruption in their leadership which is often flagrant.
Basically many of china's 'statecraft' class, basically emigrating chinese who invariably rob technology and run it back to the motherland are benefiting from the same slave labor pool in china the rest of us are. Look through all the things you have from china, the only way to force meaningful change and reform is through trade embargoes. Even just on an individual level, boycotting chinese goods. On a government level now that's playing out since Trump's presidency and the shockwaves are considerable. We don't know if coronavirus was intentionally released by china's military as a weapon. The levels of apathy from the masses are off the charts, they don't care because they look so great on Instagram and Facebook. The western media is not morally or mentally prepared to understand that china may actually have subverted an election win from Trump away to Biden.