Happy New Year from LA

Happy New Year from Los Angeles, I would like to point out that it is currently hotter here in LA (winter) than it is in Auckland (summer), the weather here is brilliant. All the best for 2008. It is going to be an interesting year, what with the US Presidential elections and the New Zealand Elections.

I would like to see a President McCain and a VP Huckabee being elected in November and sworn in on Jan 20th 2009.

I would also like to see the National party get 48% of the party vote, with ACT getting 10% of the party vote giving NZ a new PM and giving us Rodney Hide as MP for Epsom, Deputy PM and Minister of Finance. There is a bit of work to do in NZ for this to happen, but it can be done.

In Canada I would like things to stay just the way they are, having the Conservatives and PM Stephen Harper complete their term without the Liberals having a vote of no confidence creating some work for the Governor General to do. I would like the Conservatives to get a majority in the next election as well.

Enjoy the Holidays.

RIP Kevin DuBrow

I am rather shocked to hear that Kevin DuBrow, the lead singer of one of my all time favorite bands, Quiet Riot, has been found dead from unknown causes at his home in Las Vegas Nevada.

DuBrow, 52, was found dead at about 5.20pm on Sunday, a spokeswoman for the Clark County Coroner's Office said. An autopsy would be conducted to determine the cause of death.

Quiet Riot, which was founded in the mid-1970s, topped the Billboard charts in 1983 with the album Metal Health, spurred on by the massive hit single Cum on Feel the Noize, which was a cover song originally preformed by Slade from 1973.

Metal Health (bang your head) was a particular favorite song of mine, in fact the whole album and later releases are brilliant. This is a real shame.

RIP Kevin DuBrow

Kimi Raikkonen is 2007 F1 World Champion

Congratulations to Kimi Raikkonen from Ferrari who had luck on his side today when he came from behind to clinch the 2007 F1 World Drivers Championship. Well deserved, and it confirms it to me that Kimi is the best F1 driver out there. Lewis Hamilton let it slip by making a few silly mistakes, and Ferrari simply out preformed McLaren today. Alonso came in 3rd behind Massa.

So
Kimi is Champ with 110 points followed by
Lewis Hamilton with 109 point, then
Fernando Alonso with 109 points.What a great year in F1. Now we have to wait to March next year for the beginning of the 2008 Championship. Well done Kimi.

Pablo pulls through

Councilor Aaron "Pablo" Bhatnagar of Citizens and Ratepayers, has been voted in with the highest amount of votes as a Councilor for Hobson within Auckland City today. Congratulations. Good to see that John Banks is once again Mayor of Auckland. I expect a big difference in Auckland from now on. No more namby pamby politics.

Do you know what O.J Simpson's first name is?

Check it out here :-)

McLaren fined and wiped of constructor points for 2007.

Formula 1 team McLaren Mercedes has been stripped of all of their constructors points and fined $100 Million US less their loss of income from the FOM for 2007. This will allow drivers Lewis Hamilton and world Champ Fernando Alonso to continue and race for the drivers championship.

This is all because of the Stepneygate saga involving possibly using Ferrari information to modify the McLaren cars. This will be a blow for the team, but I guess they are lucky to not be totally banned. The fine was the largest in motor sport history.

McLaren will need to have their 2008 cars scrutinized by the FIA before the start of the race season next year to make sure no Ferrari type parts or intelligence has been used.
Ferrari are effectively now the 2007 Formula 1 constructor champions.

Led Zeppelin to reunite

According to Reuters.... Rock legends Led Zeppelin have announced a one-off comeback concert on Wednesday nearly three decades after disbanding. This will be a great show to see.

The group split in 1980 after the death of drummer John Bonham and have performed only a handful of reunion gigs, last taking the stage 12 years ago at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The show will be held November 26 in London.

Tickets will cost 125 pounds ($US254.30), available by ballot only with winners' names chosen at random. Fans can register at for a chance to buy tickets.

The official tickets Web site crashed shortly after the announcement as fans swarmed it for a chance to see the band.

The concert organizer, Harvey Goldsmith, said he thought it would be a one-off show, not a full-fledged reunion tour, but said the band seemed to be bonding well together again.

Bonham's son Jason will wield the drum sticks for Led Zeppelin, joining its founding members: singer Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist John Paul Jones.

The show will be a tribute to the late founder of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun, who signed Led Zeppelin in 1968.

I hope the band members like their reunion show and decide to tour the world. Come to LA....

Fred Thompson 2008. He is in.

Will Fred be the next US President?

New Zealander of the month

This gentleman should be given a medal, not court time. What is happening in NZ? The kids were not hurt, just scared. I bet that they will now think twice about burglarizing any more property.

Gareth Gadsby has my vote for New Zealander of the month.

Helen is # 38 most powerful woman in the world?

According to Forbes, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark is the 38th most powerful woman in the world. How can this be? Sure she has been in power for a while, but it seems that she will be retiring next year and handing the reigns to John Key. Surly the position as PM of NZ is powerful, but NZ is not powerful militarily, doesn't really pull too many strings in the UN and is no real threat to anyone. NZ is great a peace keeping some would be inclined to say, but with all due respect, why is Helen Clark in this list? Good on Forbes to think of her, but how do they back it up?

Sean Penn has met with Chavez

He's at it again... In CARACAS, Venezuela according to the (AP) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has praised Sean Penn for his critical stance against the war in Iraq, saying the two chatted by phone and have met in person. Next thing you know Sean will be vacationing in Pyongyang

Chavez said Penn traveled to Venezuela this week wanting to learn more about the situation in the country and walked around some of Caracas' poor barrios on his own.

"Welcome to Venezuela, Mr. Penn. What drives him is consciousness, the search for new paths," Chavez said Wednesday in a televised speech. "He's one of the greatest opponents of the Iraq invasion."

Chavez read aloud from a recent open letter by Penn to G.W Bush in which the actor condemned the Iraq war and called for Bush to be impeached, saying the President along with Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are "villainously and criminally obscene people." Well Sean is the one that always makes friends with wacko world leaders, I wonder if he will finally take up my challenge and run for political office on his own. I am sure Chavez and the wackos will fund his campaign.

The socialist president, who shares those views, said he and Penn talked by phone—"with my bad English but we understood each other more or less." I think Sean can speak in an Iraqi dialect as well.....

Chavez said the two plan to meet Thursday. He called the actor "well- informed about what is happening in the United States and the world, in spite of being in Hollywood."

What's more, Chavez said, "he's made great films." The Venezuelan leader said he recently watched Penn's Oscar-winning performance in the film "Mystic River."

For his part, Penn on Wednesday toured Venezuela's new film studios on the outskirts of Caracas. Penn, whose visit was unannounced, did not speak publicly. I wonder what sort of hug he will get from Hugo?

I once again challenge Sean Penn to put his hat in the ring and run for public office. Put yourself up for the vote..... Just do it.

NZ working with US Navy

I noticed this in the NZ herald today. It is very interesting to read that six New Zealand Navy medics have joined a humanitarian mission in the Pacific on board a United States Navy vessel, USS Peleliu.

Defence Minister Phil Goff said it was the first time New Zealand had been invited to join the annual mission since the anti-nuclear rift of the 1980s.

"The medical team will be providing valuable clinical, medical and dental assistance to people who would not ordinarily have access to high-grade medical treatment," Mr Goff said.

I am sure that it will be an exciting time for the NZ Navy team. Great to see that there is a thaw in US policy towards NZ.

Formula one season update

What a phenomenal F1 season it has been so far up to the British Grand Prix in Silverstone England today.

Newcomer and rookie Lewis Hamilton with McLaren has been on all of the podiums (9) so far this year and is leading the championship in points with 70. He has won races and is re writing the record book. Ron Dennis made a wise decision in putting him in a McLaren this year.

This is what it looks like in the 2007 drivers championship so far:

01	Lewis Hamilton	70
02	Fernando Alonso	58
03	Kimi Räikkönen	52
04	Felipe Massa	51
05	Nick Heidfeld	33
06	Robert Kubica	22

It is impressive to see that BMW is 3rd in the championship points. They have some more work to do to be challenging the podium, but surely and steadily they are doing it. I'd think that by the end of the year they will be nipping at the heals of Ferrari and McLaren.

The race in Silverstone today was great. Lewis Hamilton was on pole slightly edging out Kimi Raikkonen at Ferrari in qualifying. Felipe Massa was unable to keep his Ferrari running on the formation lap and was forced to start from LAST for the race finishing 5th behind Robert Kubica of Poland in the Sauber BMW who finished 4th.
Fernando Alonso looked like he was in with a shot for the win after the first pit stops, but the Ferrari crew and Kimi's spectacular driving knocked that on the head with Kimi winning, Fernando Alonso the current world champion of McLaren 2nd and England new super star Lewis Hamilton finishing the race in 3rd position.

I have to give it to Ferrari for this race. Kimi won and Felipe came 5th. I would expect that it would have been a Ferrari 1-2 if Felipe had of not had to have started from last place.

I still think Kimi is the best driver on the grid, so I am expecting the last half of the 2007 F1 season to be even better than the first. Will Lewis continue his podium streak? Will Kimi who has won the most races this year continue his pace? Will Fernando get upset by being overtaken by Lewis and switch teams next year? We will have to wait and see.

Aaron Bhatnagar for Auckland Council 2007

It is official.....

Aaron Bhatnagar for Hobson 2007

To quote his website...... "This election, you have a clear choice. Three more years of poor direction, huge rates rises and wasteful spending from City Vision and Action Hobson - or you can vote for change.

Your vote for me and all of my C&R Now colleagues will give you progress, good governance and careful spending. That’s why your vote for C&R is so important this year." Aaron Bhatnagar.

Puntiki officially endorses Aaron Bhatnagar for Councilor this coming election. He will be a breath of fresh air in the council buildings, he will stick to his word, he is trustworthy, he is well qualified for the job and he will get things done for the better of Auckland and Hobson. Vote for Aaron Bhatnagar.

Las Vegas is HOT

It reached 116 degrees F or 46.6 degrees C in Vegas yesterday. I expect that the hotel pools are getting a lot of use and the A/C units are working double time. It is amazing how the weather effects Las Vegas. This winter there was snow on the strip and now it is reaching record breaking hot temperatures. It is about time I make another visit to Sin City to play my favorite one armed bandit " Wheel of fortune"

Cute little pussy cat(s)

Animal behaviorist Kevin Richardson has such an intimate bond with big cats that he can spend the night curled up with them without the slightest fear of attack.

Richardson, 32, who is based in a wildlife conservation area near Johannesburg in South Africa, works his unusual magic on other species too. Cheetahs, leopards and even unpredictable hyenas hold no threats for him. I petted a Cheetah once and I wanted one immediately. Unfortunately NZ DSIR or whatever it was called at the time wasn't going to allow me to set up a Cheetah conservation in Coatesville :-(

So instinctively in tune is he with these beasts, whose teeth are sharp enough to bite through thick steel, that mother hyenas even allow him to hold their newborn cubs without pouncing to the rescue.

But lions are his favourite. He lavishes them with unconditional love, he says, treating each individual differently, speaking to them, caressing them and, above all, treating them with respect.

What an exciting job.

Hasta la vista Tony

The Governator of California Arnold Schwarzenegger is the last government official to meet with UK P.M Tony Blair before he vacates #10 Downing Street tomorrow. It seems that Mr Blair will be heading up a Middle East peace envoy and will be a busy man after leaving the top job in London so he can't say "I'll be back" to live in Downing Street.

Arnold is fresh from a European tour that took in trips to his native Austria, and to Paris to see French president Nicolas Sarkozy, Mr Schwarzenegger was in Downing Street to praise Mr Blair's work to combat global warming and to talk California / UK trade.

Looks like they got on well.

Ah Honolulu

Ah Honolulu, one of my favorite places in the world. I am here to look at property for www.d-h-h.com and attend a wedding today. What a great time. I hope to be back soon. :-)

A great couple of weeks

About 2 weeks ago I got back from a quick 5 day trip to NZ. It was great to see everyone that I managed to catch up with and like usual there were people that I'd like to have seen but didn't. I had a great time though and certainly enjoyed Dad's home cooked lamb shanks and vogels every morning.
Yesterday I hopped in the Car with Gregory and Ted to go to San Diego for a gig they were having at this brilliant club Anthology. We got there early for the sound check, so I caught up with my Kiwi buddies Mat and Sharon and we caught the bus to Tijuana Mexico..... What a fun experience. I have been here for just over 5 years but never managed to make it to Mexico. We got off the bus and walked around, I felt like I was on a movie set. We resided at a small bar and managed to fulfill our dream of a shot of Tequila in Mexico and a Corona.... It was all very fun with Lucas the bartender insisting that we had just one more shot... :-) Anyway we made it to the bus and crossed the border in enough time to catch Gregory and Ted's show back in good old USA.
I am off to Hawaii this week for the wedding of the year....... Fun Fun.

Team New Zealand do it.

Emirates Team New Zealand has won the Louis Vuitton Cup 5-0 against Luna Rossa and is now the challenger for the America's Cup against Swiss team Alinghi..... Way to go Mr Barker and team... Keep up the good work.