Generations after The Diary of a Young Girl was written, her relationships and struggles are still as relevant to teenagers today as when it was first written.
Anne describes the reaction of Annex members when she tells them that they are wrong. Not surprisingly telling them the truth doesn't make her any friends and she is subjected to their anger. This is partly because the residents of the annex resent being shown up by a precocious child. One of the things we learn from Anne Frank's experiences is that being confrontational is not always the best way to deal with an issue. She admits this herself, "But I can see that a little hypocrisy gets me a lot further than my old method of saying exactly what I think".
Anne Frank pens so many entries in her Diary about her dislike of the other residents in the annex that at times her diary seems full of pent up rage. She finds a lot to dislike. Equally though, she frequently complains that she has to put up with their constant reproaches. What a place! They had to live permanently inside the annex of a building for two years as they were in hiding from the Nazi regime and couldn't go outside. Living in such close proximity with others, has to test anyone's patience of another person's shortcomings.
Nevertheless she was able to endure it and she uses the stories of her experiences as anecdotal evidence to support her opinions. The confinement of herself, family and others in the hidden rooms shows the resilience of the human spirit. The descriptions she gives of her cohabiters are not sentimental; instead they are like the gritty representations of a 19th century realist painter - an incredibly vivid portrayal of the vices and mannerisms of characters. She was a talented writer, her book was so well written that people have questioned whether she could written it (the diary was started when she was only 13).
Although I think most people would think the most interesting aspect of The Diary of a Young Girl was what it said about the horrors of the war, I found that Anne Frank's self-confidence, her insights into other people's characters and her desire to learn how to be persuasive were the best parts of the book.
I can't get back the thousands of dollars I've spent on cellphones. When I first got a cellphone I waited until it became truly affordable, or at least I THOUGHT it was truly affordable. The fact was that it was a cheap handset that lured me into a plan which became a monthly Albatross around my neck. It gave me a few bragging rights and it was useful, but it hurt me financially.
Then came that quantum leap, text messaging, closely followed by Pre-paid.
Cellphones moved from being a semi-handy luxury into a must have necessity.
Then it really "clicked".
Cellphones were really the new frontline in computing. Being a geek, once my mind had bridged that gap, the utility of the ubiquitous little microwave generator became something I could see on a different, more familiar level.
That is my background, I've never really been in the position to be a heavy user, so as I said: pre-paid seemed perfect for me.
But I don't live in a vacuum. It would be hard for me not to have heard the many, many complaints about how Vodafone & Telecom were gouging us.
When 2° announced that they planned to enter the market, like tens, nay hundreds of thousands of other users my ears picked up, when they assured that their prices were going to be much more in line with International standards a lump formed in my throat.
When the actual prices were revealed I literally could hardly contain my enthusiasm!
Now it is wise not to be the first to take up new technology, but this is all tried-and-true gadgets, widgets and thing-a-me-bobs.
Of course there were bound to be teething problems, the website being hacked until it crashed certainly didn't help but only a fool wouldn't expect Vodafone & Telecom to come out swinging. Not to say they were responsible, maybe 2° underestimated their popularity - But I seem to recall a certain telco snapping up a Autistic hacker the specialised in Denial of service attacks with a zombienet a while ago...
Vodafone & Telecom have had months, if not years, to strategise their response to 2°, my guess is they'll start out slow then try to out spend the new comer.
But my guess is that 2° is keeping their powder dry too as their investors include a large US multi-national, A UK venture capital company and several other private investors; who have so far pumped in $250 million into the fledgling Telco - a small fraction of that at their disposal (a fact that undoubtably send shivers down Vodafone & Telecom collective spines) .
It's going to be extremely interesting to see how this unfolds.
I think I've got to clear something up: I think Journalism, used correctly, is brave, courageous and even heroic. That's why I lament the lack of it in New Zealand.
Digging into an issue, researching it, bringing it to life is as much an art form as the highest form of poetry.
But the lack of it in this country is almost laughable and to make matters worse seems to have become far more lacking in the last ten years. The occasional piece of investigative of journalism that creeps through the minimal tabloid test seems to suffer as once the story has been broken, the issue is dropped like a hot potato with little in the way of back up. The subject of the story is shelved and the next toy is thrown into the play-pen.
The irony is the all too rare NZ journalist that CAN dig is effectively neutered as the media outlets sales test is applied to their research.
For all budding journalist, here are a few tips I have gleaned from reading/watching these rags.
If the story has one (or as many as possible) of these subjects it seems to sell like hot cakes:
Sex (hopefully a scandal too)
Breasts
a Court case
Any item over one million dollars (also a poor person winning a lottery)
Celebrity sex/breasts/crime/wealth
Bizarre death
War
Sports personalities (often confused with celebrities)
So diddums if the MSM get a hard deal from bloggers, they only get one tenth of what they deserve.
But I do feel for Novice Journalists, it must be so soul destroying to find that the high moral and ethical ideals that lured them into their degree in Journalism so quickly crumble under the weight of the unspoken MSM mantra that is all-pervasive in New Zealand; "Quantity not quality".
In the hopes that a newbie journalist wants to learn about real investigative journalism:
Arguably one of the best pieces of investigative Journalism from Messrs Woodward and Bernstein when they broke the Watergate scandal (unwittingly inflicting us with the postfix "-gate"). The fact that this took place in America over 30 years just goes to show that there is always a need for good ol' fashioned journalism.
Edward Bernstein's book, "The secret man" will give you all the facts. Robert Redford's movie, "All the Presidents men" is a great dramatisation of the events centering around Washington's Watergate hotel.
Every now and then a new journalist will poke their heads above the parapet. Not to have it shot off but to have their ego stroked so much that eventually they are not able to lift it up above the trenches any more.
Let's take a look at the news items that our illustrious MSM don't give us:
They didn't tell us about the fraudulent behavior of recent DPB beneficiaries,
They didn't tell us about expenditure of ex-Prime Ministers now at the UN,
They didn't tell us about rapes/assaults even murders by sports celebrities,
They didn't tell us the real reason for coups in other pacific countries,
They didn't tell us of sex-crimes committed by an ex-PM's spouse,
The list could stretch on for pages.
We all know what they have told us: fluff pieces, canned press releases and advertising disguised as news items.
Generations after The Diary of a Young Girl was written, her relationships and struggles are still as relevant to teenagers today as when it was first written.
I can't get back the thousands of dollars I've spent on cellphones. When I first got a cellphone I waited until it became truly affordable, or at least I THOUGHT it was truly affordable. The fact was that it was a cheap handset that lured me into a plan which became a monthly Albatross around my neck. It gave me a few bragging rights and it was useful, but it hurt me financially.
I think I've got to clear something up: I think Journalism, used correctly, is brave, courageous and even heroic. That's why I lament the lack of it in New Zealand.