Pant-y-Blawd Road, Morriston, Wales Superthread

[The Sad Punk]

The story of the Moriori is so depressing. Prior to (re-)encountering the outside world, they managed to live in harmony with an extremely hostile environment. Once they're encountered, nobody sees that they're actually very skillful in their adaptation. Instead, Pakeha just see their impoverishment as proof they are backwards and the least developed people on the planet, while Maori look on them and their pacific social organisation with contempt, as proof they are backwards and the least developed people on the planet.

I'm just organising my external hard drive. I'll soon be taking everything over to the new Mac. Feels kind of weird to leave the PC. It's served me well for five years.

Yeah, it's always struck me as a very sad chapter of history that I need to know more about. And as I've been discovering recently, I find reading about history that is closer to home to be quite addictive. I guess I've gotten a little sick of European and Middle Eastern history for now! But I find learning about something important that occurred at a place I've been to to be much more rewarding than reading about something that happened at a place I'll probably never be able to visit.

Just before I was reading about a mass killing of Aboriginals via use of damper laced with arsenic in the Gold Coast region. I wonder if I can learn more about that unfortunate event when I'm up in Surfer's. Yeah, that's right... go on holiday at Surfer's and learn about history rather than visit theme parks and go jet skiing.

Fair enough. Is it difficult? I've never owned a mac. PCs have been in the family for maybe 15 years.

 

[The Sad Punk]

Khaaaan!

 

[Axver]

about time

change is

Not my fault the thread's been painfully slow and I haven't been obsessively refreshing.

I'm going to miss my PC. I've kept this bugger alive much longer than it ever should've lasted!

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Khaaaan!

bonnieeeee!

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Not my fault the thread's been painfully slow and I haven't been obsessively refreshing.

I'm going to miss my PC. I've kept this bugger alive much longer than it ever should've lasted!

i still have the pc i bought in 2001. i guess it still works, i haven't turned it on since 2005.

 

[The Sad Punk]

bonnieeeee!

What's up!?

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

ugh, i wish i had some hand lotion. my hands are dry, wtf.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

What's up!?

just working
you?

 

[Axver]

Yeah, it's always struck me as a very sad chapter of history that I need to know more about. And as I've been discovering recently, I find reading about history that is closer to home to be quite addictive. I guess I've gotten a little sick of European and Middle Eastern history for now! But I find learning about something important that occurred at a place I've been to to be much more rewarding than reading about something that happened at a place I'll probably never be able to visit.

Just before I was reading about a mass killing of Aboriginals via use of damper laced with arsenic in the Gold Coast region. I wonder if I can learn more about that unfortunate event when I'm up in Surfer's. Yeah, that's right... go on holiday at Surfer's and learn about history rather than visit theme parks and go jet skiing.

Fair enough. Is it difficult? I've never owned a mac. PCs have been in the family for maybe 15 years.

Yep, that same feeling is why I got the book out of the library in the first place. I've heard all the Moriori myths, but not enough of the facts. I mean, I know people who still believe that the Moriori were the original inhabitants of New Zealand and the Maori chased them out and/or ate them. It's stunning.

And woah. That's ugly. And very Gold Coast. Good luck trying to find anything on history there, though. The history of who won the annual surfing contest, maybe ...

My external hard drive's format means I can only write to it from the PC. The Mac can read but not write. I understand I can download some software that will do it, so I'll look into that, but for now, while I'm still learning my way around the Mac, I'm getting all the music ordered via the PC so that I can just whack it all straight on the Mac and play straight away. That's now done. My next task is to identify all the other files on my PC that I want to transfer onto the Mac.

 

[The Sad Punk]

just working
you?

Lame!

Not much, just sipping some brew. Busy day. I finally got my hair cut, after a couple months of waiting. It was long, like down to K(h)angaroo Island.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Yep, that same feeling is why I got the book out of the library in the first place. I've heard all the Moriori myths, but not enough of the facts. I mean, I know people who still believe that the Moriori were the original inhabitants of New Zealand and the Maori chased them out and/or ate them. It's stunning.

wtf.

 

[Axver]

i still have the pc i bought in 2001. i guess it still works, i haven't turned it on since 2005.

I've been here but nobody else has.

I'll keep this PC for sure, but I doubt I'll use it much. And the funny thing is that it works OK when I am actually running it, but every time I've come back from a few days away, it's had such a god-awful time of trying to start again. I honestly wonder what it'll do after a few months of not being used!

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Lame!

Not much, just sipping some brew. Busy day. I finally got my hair cut, after a couple months of waiting. It was long, like down to K(h)angaroo Island.

i know

that's how long i want to grow my hair!

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

I've been here but nobody else has.

I'll keep this PC for sure, but I doubt I'll use it much. And the funny thing is that it works OK when I am actually running it, but every time I've come back from a few days away, it's had such a god-awful time of trying to start again. I honestly wonder what it'll do after a few months of not being used!

phail.

ha, that's funny.

 

[The Sad Punk]

Yep, that same feeling is why I got the book out of the library in the first place. I've heard all the Moriori myths, but not enough of the facts. I mean, I know people who still believe that the Moriori were the original inhabitants of New Zealand and the Maori chased them out and/or ate them. It's stunning.

And woah. That's ugly. And very Gold Coast. Good luck trying to find anything on history there, though. The history of who won the annual surfing contest, maybe ...

My external hard drive's format means I can only write to it from the PC. The Mac can read but not write. I understand I can download some software that will do it, so I'll look into that, but for now, while I'm still learning my way around the Mac, I'm getting all the music ordered via the PC so that I can just whack it all straight on the Mac and play straight away. That's now done. My next task is to identify all the other files on my PC that I want to transfer onto the Mac.

Hah, really? Even now? What do they call bogans in Kiwiville?

If you recommend that particular book, though, I'll be interested in checking it out. I haven't had huge luck in finding New Zealand history books around here, though. I may need to look harder, but come on, it's our little brother country like two feet away, you'd think more stuff would be readily available. But yeah, this Blood On The Wattle I'm reading - very good stuff, you could say it's an Australian Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, which is of course a book I adore.

Yeah, as much as it sounds like a Gold Coast exclusive, poisoned dampers were common all over the east coast, not just in QLD. There were nicknames for them and their occurrences and everything, so common was that a form of murder, and always used against the indigenous. I am absolutely astounded by the amount of massacres there were, and some of them reach into the hundreds at at time. It's absolutely shocking. And the chapter on what occurred in Van Diemen's Land... well, I didn't think my blood could boil as much as it did while reading that.

Gotta get your priorities going, i.e. music. If there's a program for it, hopefully you won't have too much difficulty.

 

[Axver]

wtf.

One of the ways that Pakeha in the late 19th century tried to justify racism towards Maori was to cast them as cannibalistic savages who literally ate the Moriori to extinction. This myth has survived to the present day. I first heard of the Moriori through that story.

This is the first paragraph of the book, which I think is very telling:

Throughout my lifetime, the majority of New Zealanders have been confused about who the Moriori were, or whether they even existed. They were the first inhabitants of New Zealand; they were defeated and driven from the mainland by the Maori; they went direct to the Chathams from Polynesia; they are a people whose origins, like those of the Easter Island statues, are mysterious; the last one died in 1933; they never existed; they are alive today. These contradictory theories, some of them held with the strength of religious convictions by writers of letters to the editor and callers to talkback radio, are all current. They ought not to be. I wrote my first article for the press about 'Moriori myths taught as history' as long ago as 1968; little has changed since then.

 

[liamcool]

*snore*

 

[Axver]

So I'm finally getting around to listening to Steven Wilson's solo album.

I find it hilarious that he's put out a solo album, given that PT was originally just him.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

One of the ways that Pakeha in the late 19th century tried to justify racism towards Maori was to cast them as cannibalistic savages who literally ate the Moriori to extinction. This myth has survived to the present day. I first heard of the Moriori through that story.

This is the first paragraph of the book, which I think is very telling:

Throughout my lifetime, the majority of New Zealanders have been confused about who the Moriori were, or whether they even existed. They were the first inhabitants of New Zealand; they were defeated and driven from the mainland by the Maori; they went direct to the Chathams from Polynesia; they are a people whose origins, like those of the Easter Island statues, are mysterious; the last one died in 1933; they never existed; they are alive today. These contradictory theories, some of them held with the strength of religious convictions by writers of letters to the editor and callers to talkback radio, are all current. They ought not to be. I wrote my first article for the press about 'Moriori myths taught as history' as long ago as 1968; little has changed since then.

i must confess, till today i'd never even heard of moriori

 

[The Sad Punk]

So I'm finally getting around to listening to Steven Wilson's solo album.

I find it hilarious that he's put out a solo album, given that PT was originally just him.

Speaking of which, I just discovered that No-Man were originally called No Man Is An Island (Except The Isle Of Man).

I dig.

 

[Axver]

i must confess, till today i'd never even heard of moriori

The abbreviated history:

The Moriori are descended from the Maori. They migrated from the South Island, probably Canterbury, to the Chatham Islands sometime between the 9th and 16th centuries - likely the 13th-14th centuries. Certainly by the 16th century, there was an identifiable Moriori race and culture distinct from Maori. The Chathams are a small island group far east of New Zealand on the edge of existence, and they lived short, harsh lives. Probably the most notable aspect of their culture was its pacifism and co-operation; essential to avoid annihilating the entire population. In 1835, Maori from Taranaki invaded. The Moriori stuck to their pacifism and were either killed or enslaved. In March 1933, the last full-blooded Moriori died.

 

[liamcool]

Like it, Ax?

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

The abbreviated history:

The Moriori are descended from the Maori. They migrated from the South Island, probably Canterbury, to the Chatham Islands sometime between the 9th and 16th centuries - likely the 13th-14th centuries. Certainly by the 16th century, there was an identifiable Moriori race and culture distinct from Maori. The Chathams are a small island group far east of New Zealand on the edge of existence, and they lived short, harsh lives. Probably the most notable aspect of their culture was its pacifism and co-operation; essential to avoid annihilating the entire population. In 1835, Maori from Taranaki invaded. The Moriori stuck to their pacifism and were either killed or enslaved. In March 1933, the last full-blooded Moriori died.

wow, that's really terrible. how sad that they're all gone. it depresses me enough when i read about an extinct animal species, but when it's humans?

 

[Axver]

Hah, really? Even now? What do they call bogans in Kiwiville?

If you recommend that particular book, though, I'll be interested in checking it out. I haven't had huge luck in finding New Zealand history books around here, though. I may need to look harder, but come on, it's our little brother country like two feet away, you'd think more stuff would be readily available. But yeah, this Blood On The Wattle I'm reading - very good stuff, you could say it's an Australian Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee, which is of course a book I adore.

Yeah, as much as it sounds like a Gold Coast exclusive, poisoned dampers were common all over the east coast, not just in QLD. There were nicknames for them and their occurrences and everything, so common was that a form of murder, and always used against the indigenous. I am absolutely astounded by the amount of massacres there were, and some of them reach into the hundreds at at time. It's absolutely shocking. And the chapter on what occurred in Van Diemen's Land... well, I didn't think my blood could boil as much as it did while reading that.

Gotta get your priorities going, i.e. music. If there's a program for it, hopefully you won't have too much difficulty.

Honestly, I don't really know. I can't think of an insult that would be synonymous with bogan. Hell, personally, I'd probably just use 'bogan' at home.

It's a good book so far, though I'm not far in. I can't see it turning crap; Michael King was pretty much the leading historian of Kiwi indigenous culture, and was in fact requested to write the book by surviving Moriori. And yeah, I almost never see Kiwi history books around. I think it's partly due to disinterest, but partly due to the fact there really aren't many good ones, especially not for an international market.

I might have to read the book you're reading - though it'll probably send my blood pressure through the roof.

 

[Axver]

Speaking of which, I just discovered that No-Man were originally called No Man Is An Island (Except The Isle Of Man).

I dig.

I'm surprised I never mentioned that before.

Funnily enough, you said that just as I was listening to Venero Para Las Hadas, a track on Insurgentes that pretty much sounds just like No-Man, but with SW on vocals.

Like it, Ax?

I am. You can tell various parts that sound like certain side projects, but it never gets to a point where it's just like a PT album under another name or whatever.

I'm not mindblown, though.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

one advantage to working in a bank: i needed to make a deposit, so all i had to do was walk out to the lobby. no waiting to go on lunch break and waiting in long lines

 

[Axver]

wow, that's really terrible. how sad that they're all gone. it depresses me enough when i read about an extinct animal species, but when it's humans?

Yeah, and what's really depressing is how little is known about Moriori culture prior to "contamination", if you will, by the outside world. We do know a lot from before the community was totally decimated, but it mostly dates from at least a decade after the 1835 Maori invasion, so there is some "pollution" of the Moriori language, mythology, and oral tradition. It is especially hard to determine what commonalities with Maori were possessed prior to 1835 and which were assimilated after the invasion. Records before 1835 are very scarce.

And I'm sure Bonnie can tell you about the Tasmanian Aborigines ...

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

Yeah, and what's really depressing is how little is known about Moriori culture prior to "contamination", if you will, by the outside world. We do know a lot from before the community was totally decimated, but it mostly dates from at least a decade after the 1835 Maori invasion, so there is some "pollution" of the Moriori language, mythology, and oral tradition. It is especially hard to determine what commonalities with Maori were possessed prior to 1835 and which were assimilated after the invasion. Records before 1835 are very scarce.

And I'm sure Bonnie can tell you about the Tasmanian Aborigines ...

wow, that sucks.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

k, this one coworker needs to stop with the self-depracating humour. she's always making jokes about how fat she is and while she is overweight, when that's her only schtick, it's not funny. especially when you're going to keep coming over begging for food because you're too cheap to stock your desk with goodies.

 

[The Sad Punk]

And I'm sure Bonnie can tell you about the Tasmanian Aborigines ...