A pretentious blog

My impression of the #megaupload case being heard in NZ court

anna rose — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 19:23:30 +0000

I was shocked when I heard Kim Dotcom et al were in custody and Megaupload had been shut down. When I realised it was the NZ police who had made the arrest, I was outraged.

My standard reaction was to find out as much as possible about the circumstances. During my search I found out some details about their court appearance that afternoon. By the time they were due to appear I decided to drive over to Albany and exercise my right to watch from the public gallery. The only other times I’d been in a court was voting (at Auckland High Court) and jury service (at Auckland District Court) where I was never selected on a jury. So I walked into the building not knowing where to go or who to talk to, but quickly spotted a bunch of cameras outside one of the courtrooms. A couple of reporters from TVNZ explained to me what was going on and that I could just walk into court and sit down.

There were about thirty seats in the gallery, almost all of them were occupied. There were quite a few journalists and then a bunch of supporters who all seemed to know the accused. Two teary eyed woman in the front row appeared to be partners of Dotcom and van der Kolk. I was sitting directly behind them and caught a wink (from Dotcom) and a blown kiss (from van der Kolk) which were no doubt intended in their direction. There were also a few Americans who we speculated to be musicians. I tried to strike up a conversation with a couple of them, and found out later that one of the guys, known as Printz Board, is part of The Black Eyed Peas. This is him in the Mega Uploads song:

The actual hearing was surreal. The Judge was clearly quite irritated by all the people in his courtroom, and took his frustration out on the press. He told them to stop taking photos before he’d even allowed them to start. (In today’s session, which I did not attend, he ordered press out of the public gallery.) I imagine it would be nerve-wracking for a district court Judge to preside over such a high profile international case, but if he felt uncomfortable why didn’t he hand the case to someone more experienced? I still can’t work out why the expedition hearings are taking place at North Shore District rather than Auckland High Court. It’s one of many questions I’m planning on asking a lawyer friend when I get the chance.

The Judge, who took about an hour to arrive, put the bail hearing off until Monday because it was late in the afternoon. It seemed apparent to me at the time that his intention was to lock the four of them up over the weekend. Afterwards I learned Dotcom had a lavish birthday party planned for Saturday, and this was the reason for the police acting when they did. Unfortunately for the NZ police by acting so hastily the only managed to arrest 4/7 accused. The others are apparently in Europe, where the courts likely won’t extradite them to the USA.

I don’t think Kim Dotcom is a “good” person – he’s made millions of dollars through questionable business practice – however he deserves more respect than he’s been given. The NZ government accepted $10Mil from him to apply for residency so it’s unfair for NZ authorities to treat him this way while he’s still innocent (until proven otherwise…). We’re talking about New Zealand police arresting a German/ Finnish citizen who is accused of breaking American laws in Hong Kong.

Without coming across as a hacktivist sympathiser may I also remind you that the British police are still holding an Australian citizen who was arrested [update] for alleged sexual molestation in Sweden. When it’s widely believed the real reason is the USA was trying to mount a case for rendition on national security grounds. [/update] Julian Assange has been under house arrest for over a year. Goes to show there’s nowhere for netizens to hide from American law.

It’s unlikely I’ll find the time to stalk any of the other Megaupload court dates, however if you’re interested in the case I suggest you read some of these articles:

Megaupload defendants in court today

Dotcom birthday party targeted

Megaupload’s Kim Dotcom bail decision reserved

From Rogue To Vogue: Megaupload and Kim Dotcom

Merry Chrischmitz or Merry Hell?

Filesonic Kills File-Sharing Service After MegaUpload Arrests

Prosecution: Gun in Kim Dotcom mansion was loaded

Kim Dotcom volunteers for electronic bail

When I grow up I want to run a boutique hotel

anna rose — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 09:27:33 +0000

Because so many of my friends are still determining their ideal careers the “what do you want to be when you grow up” conversation happens often. I’m already doing what I’d want to be doing, so I like to think about what I could do once I’m too old for advertising. With the prospect of our generation living well into our hundreds there is a chance I’ll lose touch with technology trends too.

Luckily I do enjoy things other than these young people’s pursuits. I love art history, (particularly early renaissance and pop art), weddings, politics, discussions with intelligent friends, sweet foods, mid century furniture, listening to podcasts and animals (especially furry and feathery ones).

There are a few retirement options which have crossed my mind, which I have discussed in this blog previously. To recap:

- Host a radio show which would tackle current political issues. Assuming my voice gets less annoying/ more British as I mature.

- Design wedding cakes.

- Open an art gallery in Hobart. Location chosen so I could nurture injured Tawny Frogmouths.

However this week I have discovered a new, improved retirement pursuit for myself. Running a boutique hotel which of course would be filled with amazing art, interesting books and beautifully restored mid century furniture.

The idea came about when staying in Wellington over the weekend. The whole city has this retroness about it which appeals to me. Photo on the left is from Chow, which is a cute restaurant attached to two very cute bars called Motel and The Library. The photo on the right is from a Barkers store. I walked in there with my BF not paying attention to what men’s clothing store we were in and was astounded when I realised even their chain shops have record players and armchairs very similar to my own.

These photos are from Ohtel where we stayed.

The place was very charming and there were a number of nice pieces of furniture however it made me think about how much better it could have been done.

Firstly all the rooms had a kiwiana retro sameness, which felt like a lost opportunity. I can’t stick to one style for my own apartment so my dream for a hotel would be to have a unique interior for every room. Already a lot of the art I own clashes, this would give me an excuse to buy anything I loved without having to worry about whether it sits well with other art I have hanging.

Secondly I hate minibars in 4-5 star hotels, it’s so tacky. The only place I’ve seen it done well was a hotel we stayed at in Paris where there were only non-alcoholic drinks in the fridge, everything was free and it was stocked up daily. That’s the way it should be! I’ve already paid for the room, stop trying to sell me tiny bottles of jagger. Oh and in addition to my complimentary selection of juices and soft drinks I would have the kind of toiletries people want to steal. Branded of course.

Finally I would do away with the imposing TV hanging right in your eye line as you try to get to sleep. Perhaps instead I would have tablets which can be used to browse the net or control a media center which connects to a projector. Also proper independently published guidebooks for the city… As endearing as the folder full of local takeout menus (which most hotels have) is.

I have a few more ideas which I think I’ll keep up my sleeve. But if anyone wants to beat me to it please steal those suggestions and make hotels a more pleasant experience for the rest of the world.

A different kind of game design than what I’m used to

anna rose — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 09:12:16 +0000

I’ve just got back from my short summer holiday in Paihia with a couple of close friends. A lot of my BF’s friends are really into gaming which includes video games as well as card and board games. They make anything competitive. So on this trip, particularly because it was raining lots, we played games.

One that I enjoyed was called Dixit. It involves storytelling and beautiful playing cards featuring surreal drawings. It was perhaps not the mechanic of the game that I liked so much but rather the versatility of the cards. We could write our own rules.

It got me thinking about a great gift idea for our friend. This particular friend has an outdated opinion that I’m a terrible gift giver, so this little project is my attempt to prove him wrong.

What I am making is a series of playing cards which are small enough to take with you anywhere and versatile enough to play multiple games with, and of course create your own. There will be 52 cards (if moo.com allow me to print two cards in addition to their standard 50 pack of business cards). Each one will have a number, suit and a large picture.

It has taken me hours to come up with 52 images which are unique but can fit broadly into a set. There is a range of lowbrow art, interesting photos and a couple of references to geek culture. I can not imagine how long it would have taken the illustrator of Dixit (or any elaborate card game) to not only come up with the individual concepts but draw them all as well. I have infinite respect. All the images I’ve used are borrowed, but even though I cheated the task has been difficult for me.

“Oh I already have a card with a red balloon on it.”

“As much as I love this image, maybe he won’t.”

It’s also quite hard knowing that this friend is a perfectionist when it comes to design. I can’t work out whether a red or black stroke looks better on the red cards and if the bottom should be opaque or solid with a square picture above it. Given all the other projects I was meant to complete over this break I think at some point I will have to stop spending time worrying about these details and just get them printed.

Here is a random selection of what the cards look like at the moment:

UPDATE: Moo are letting me print an additional 10 cards free of charge. The downside is they are straight edges, not rounded like I was originally going to do. The upside is the deck is now complete and I even had enough cards to make jokers. A couple of the final cards below:

Christmas lols from @droga5 & @mcgarrybowen NYC

anna rose — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:49:03 +0000

Every year agencies (read: junior creatives) struggle to come up with a quirky new way to send out holiday cards. This year Droga5 NYC simply sent out this press release saying:

NEW YORK, NY – December 19, 2011 – Droga5 today announced its selection of McGarryBowen as the advertising agency of record for its holiday card business. The hard-fought win caps a stellar growth year for Dentsu-owned McGarryBowen. The agency will handle lead creative duties for the Droga5 holiday card account.

“We’ve decided to go with McGarryBowen,” said David Droga, Droga5’s Creative Chairman. “After a lengthy review, we simply couldn’t ignore the strategic insights into holiday cheer that McGarry brought to the table.”

- Full press release here >

This is funny because in the past year McGarryBowen has won a ton of new business, some of which Droga5 pitched for. For a long time we have been considered the best independant advertising network and now the Dentsu group is starting to challenge that.

McGarryBowen responded by posting this photo of their offices:

“New Biz: Droga5, welcome to the mb family!”

Looking forward to seeing the cards they come up with!

Mispredictions for 2012

anna rose — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 22:58:29 +0000

It’s that time of year where everyone makes predictions about the year to come. So instead of that I’m going to debunk the three most popular predictions.

1. Mobile taking over the internet
For the fifth year in a row everyone is predicting this year will be the year of mobile. I’ll believe it when it happens. Sure there will be more and more mobile devices coming into previously untouched markets. Asians and Africans who may never in their lifetime see a computer will have access to smartphones. However the people who create the internet are still doing it with their iMacs and digital SLRs. We won’t see mobiles taking over the world until typing, reading and cameras on them are drastically improved. Until then all they’re good for is Instagram photos and showing off which restaurant you’re at.

2. End of the world
Ok this could happen, as the SNL skit below demonstrates. But most likely the world won’t end with the Mayan calendar. It seems likely there will be more natural disasters and unpredictable weather in the coming year. With a slew of conservative governments being elected across the world there won’t be much money or time going into humanitarian or environmental causes. The morbid truth is we won’t see the end of the world but we will see more animal species becoming extent and more human suffering in 2012.

3. China will over take USA as world power
Who are we kidding? China owns USA and has a military which could kick it’s butt and now they have an American drone too. I’m not trying to say that China won’t take over USA, I think they are already there. But what have they done with their power? Fuck all so far. Throughout history China has lead the way and let other nations steal the glory (think paper or the carb diet). The same thing is happening now; they perpetuate the illusion of the West being in control. Maybe they will take over the world with their military force next year, but I think they’ll lay low for awhile yet.

So that’s my rather negative mispredictions. Here’s a collated list of other 2012 trends, many are advertising / digital related. I thought this slideshow from Millward Brown was quite good:

12 Digital Predictions for 2012

View more documents from Millward Brown

All I want for Christmas

anna rose — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 09:33:27 +0000

So I thought I should make a Christmas wishlist because if anyone’s looking for clues they’ll look here. I do not mean to imply than every blog reader should buy me gifts although you will not be scorned for doing so.

1. Canon S95 – this is what my BF is getting me! Any accessories for it would be welcome.

2. Kas Metro cushions – I want these cushions so bad after seeing them at someone’s house. I almost bought one on TradeMe and then the app crashed and someone else bid last minute. The worst. If you can find them at Harvey Norman or elsewhere please get me a couple. Look the colours even match those on my blog perfectly!

3. Laneway ticket – I’d particularly like to go to the Melbourne show. Throw in flights if you want to. If you’re looking for an under $10 present how about some MP3s from the bands playing?

4. Headphones – My current Sennheisers are terrible. Need some decent quality ones which aren’t too big to throw in a handbag.

5. Furniture from Mr Bigglesworthy – although I have a lot of furniture, perhaps too much of it, I wouldn’t say no to anything from this store. Amazing.

6. Make up – I have the basics from Natio (who I like because they’re natural/ don’t hurt bunnies) but could probably do with a bit more and instructions so I can look like Kourtney Kardashian. Lol. Honestly I don’t even own any nailpolishes or eyeshadows.

A quick guide to Saturday’s referendum on voting systems #votenz

anna rose — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 20:48:55 +0000

This Saturday you don’t just get to vote, you get to decide how we vote in future. You basically get four boxes to tick on Saturday, a party vote, an electorate vote, a vote to say YES or NO to keep the MMP voting system and which system should replace it, if indeed it should be replaced.

Below is a very broad overview of the voting systems, I am not an expert just want New Zealanders to be more informed about their options. In the interest of full disclosure I will admit I’m still unsure which way I will vote on this issue. But I will probably vote AGAINST keeping MMP so at least if it stays it will be given a thorough review.

MMP – Mixed Member Proportional

The system we have now where every citizen has two votes. Government is made up of 120 people, 70 of those are represent electorates (the area you live in) and the other 50 are made up from party votes. Under this system the government is often formed by coalitions (where a two or more parties agree to work together). This can be really good if you want minor parties to have more power. Unfortunately there are a few flaws in MMP, and if we keep this system those will be reviewed and hopefully fixed.

FPP – First Past the Post

This is the system New Zealand used to have, back in the days when the government swung between Labour and National. There are still 120 people in parliament but they are all representing electorates (so these are divided into smaller areas than under MMP). Because there is just often one party in charge they have a lot more power and can pass laws much faster without the need for debate and negotiation.

PV – Preferential Voting

This is the system which Australia has. Again there are 120 people in parliament, each one is voted in to represent an electorate. The difference is you rank the candidates you like. It’s a bit complicated, which means people have to do a lot more research about candidates before voting. Basically if the first person you vote for is declared the loser in your electorate they drop out of the race and your vote goes to the second person on your list. And so on and so on until someone has the majority of votes. People in Australia tend to either vote for personalities they like or just which ever candidate their preferred party tells them to vote for. It can produce majority governments or coalitions.

STV – Single Transferable Vote

This is a bit like the Preferential Voting system but with more people for each electorate. So there would still be 120 members in parliament, but only 24-30 electorates. So you might pick 3-4 people to represent the area you live in. Again you rank the candidates in the order in which you like them and the most popular members would be elected, a bit like how we elect members of local council. Under this system minor parties and independents have a good chance of getting in and coalitions would generally be required to form a government.

SM – Supplementary Member

This system is a bit like our current voting system, MMP, but with a lower number of list MPs. So out of the 120 people in parliament 90 would be elected to represent electorates and 30 would be made up by party votes. The other main difference is a minor party would not need over 5% to get list MPs in on party votes like they do currently. Everyone is represented how the public votes for them. So if a minor party won just over 3.5% of the party votes they would be allowed 3.5% of the party seats, which according to my math would be one seat in parliament.

To find out more go to referendum.org.nz and do their quiz. This is written to be a very basic overview, but if it’s sparked your interest there are more in depth summaries around including this paper from Maxim Institute.

Life in Westminster Court

anna rose — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 04:47:08 +0000

We’ve been pretty busy lately going to lots of open homes. Turns out we can pay less rent to the bank and get a much better place than the one we’re living in. The building we’re in is incredibly beautiful, but our apartment is pretty gross. This is the main entrance of the building:

My BF always complains there is too much art on the walls. On the left is a picture my great grandfather, Allen Bryce, painted of fuchsias. They are my favourite flowers, and in the foreground you can I have a fuchsia plant. On the right is a corner of our living room. Didn’t bother cleaning it up for the photo. Yes I have a lot of OC DVDs, and the boardgame. Get over it.

This is my favourite chair, and my favourite record. You forgot it in People by Broken Social Scene. In fact if you’re looking on here for Chrtistmas present ideas I’d really like these record frames from UO. And a couple more canvases which we don’t have room to hang.

Probably the thing I hate most about this apartment is the wallpaper, which I describe as a water-damaged pattern. The stuff in the bathroom is even more outrageous. It’s shiny silver with green bird/ flowers patterns.

My favourite part of the apartment, which I couldn’t get a decent photo of, is the teacup cupboard in the kitchen. There are hooks which fit about 20 of my teacups and even a little window in the cupboard so you can look through and see all your china!

All in all I’m looking forward to living somewhere with clean white walls.

So I’m going to #SXSW

anna rose — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 04:09:11 +0000

Which I am SO excited about! I have a gold pass (for the purpose of getting into the overly popular talks) so I will go to some film talks as well as the interactive ones. No music for me, but I hear there are lots of free concerts so I’ll line up for those.

The highlight for me of the lineup so far is Amber Case, who if you haven’t heard is a cyborg anthropologist. She says interesting things like Steve Jobs’ death was an example of us coming closer to a singular conciseness. At the exact same moment in time millions of people around the planet were feeling the same emotions. This is Ms Case at TED:

It’s probably no surprise that I’m interested in a lot of the Branding and Marketing panels, just a few of the ones I’ll go to are:

- Building Digital Products with Passionate Users
- Creepy? Captivating? Ads in the Personal Data Era
- Don’t Just Sell Things: Change the World
- Hacking YouTube: Science & Secrets of Viral Videos
- How Your Data Can Predict the Future
- Skynet vs Mad Max: Battle for the Future
- We Made This, And It’s Not an Ad
- Why Ad Agencies Should Act More Like Tech Startups

There are a few alumni speakers who I hope to see return for 2012; Louis Theroux, Christopher Poole (of course), Felicia Day, Merlin Mann. I see Frank Warren is returning so I might have some luck in the keynotes yet to be announced.

I should also note this is my first time going to real America (Honolulu doesn’t really count). Bring on the delicious burritos, cheap makeup and oversized everything. After the conference I’m planning to head to San Francisco to see our friend David, Boston to see our friend Sophie and then NEW YORK to see what life should be like.

So awesome. See you there!

Occupy Madison Avenue

anna rose — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 20:09:12 +0000

I’ve been following Occupy Wall Street for awhile but trying to keep my head down because I work for an advertising agency. One that services a big financial institution no less. I’m at the bottom of the holy list, some might say.

However when I saw this flier floating around cyberspace promoting “Occupy Madison Avenue” I just could resist the urge to post.

After all the protests were started by Kalle Lasn who founded a magazine called Adbusters (not Bankbusters), so why didn’t he pick off the marketers first? When I first went to London during my university years I saw a copy in some flashy design shop. By the way it was perfectly art directed and the insight of the content I thought it must be written by someone in the industry, trying to push it forward rather than shut it down. Suffice to say that’s not Adbuster’s intention.

So Ad Age asked Lasn why they were picketing Wall St not Madison Ave. The article is a good read, but it basically comes down to people hating on the financial bailouts. He does make the distinction between people who sell products and people who sell ideas. At the end of the day you still need the later in a functioning society, especially at a time of political unrest.

Some NYCers didn’t get this memo as the protest on the advertising industry is apparently happening in two weeks.

I completely agree that the advertising industry, more than any other, needs regulation and unions to stop top level greed and distorted representation. In fact when my BF who works in finance and I meet new people, they see my profession as the worse of the two. However no banker has brought as much positive change to the world as some of the famed mad men.

Unique thinking can be the best and the worst thing, depending on the idea and who’s there to implement it.

The workaholism, disproportionate pay and severe absence of women needs fixing. But at the end of the day we have the best careers in the world, we get paid to be artists. I think instead of protesting I’m going to try to come up with some cool ideas, but if you’re heading down to Maddy Ave then I’ve made you this great poster you can take with:

You’re welcome.