Dear Sydney Transport: if I could break up with you I would

I've been a public transport user for over 10 years. A few of those years have been in Sydney on and off.  People here whinge about timetables, myself included.  Today's bus was early and isn't too cold like they normally are.  I'm not going to lie, I don't pay full fare for tickets.  At first it was because some weeks my income was low but now it's political.  You see drivers seem to think they can disrespect paying customers.  I'm talking specifically about the Hills Bus company.  Their drivers are the worst and there is no competitor so it's not like people have a choice but to use the service so today's blog, written while on a bus is about my top five gripes using public transport:

1: Drivers treating us like children.  This time I tried to hide my coffee in my jacket after seeing the guy before me was told to throw his out too.  We are not children.  We're not going to spill out coffee.  Just because you have a menial job and are just a bus driver doesn't mean you can disrespect us or talk down to us.  It's coffee and we are not all slobs like you think.  I hate authority and rules.  You're not doing your company any good by patronising PAYING customers.  And on that note, why allow smelly food but not coffee?  That is the ultimate in insulting your customers.

2: Air conditioning.  This may not occur to the planners who probably don't even use transport but the air conditioning is always up so high you have to take a jersey for the trip alone & freeze.  It's not okay to make your passengers uncomfortable.

3: Litter on trains.  I get that some people are feral and think littering trains is okay but nobody wants to see your disgusting empty food wrappers wtc.  Trains should have one bin per carriage and people should teach their children basic hygiene.

4: Not arriving in time.  Some people have work and other places to get to.  If you're not on time then you're incredibly disrespectful to paying customers and messing with their schedules.  You may also be costing them money if they have to get a taxi due to incompetency.

5: Opal card.  Opal is a scam and unless you only use public transport to and from work you're going to end up paying more.  MyMulti is best for people who use public transport a lot.  Opal is just intended to make it look like the state government is doing something about transport issues, much like the investment in light rail which won't fix any transport issues.

These are just a few issues with Sydney's transport system.  If you have your own gripes I'd love to hear them, tweet me.

@lizlovessydney

What Lorde should do with her millions now that she has access due to turning 18 today

I've never seen a diamond in the flesh
I cut my teeth on wedding rings in the movies
And I'm not proud of my address.....

The song lyrics above need no introduction as they're from the most popular song of the year, and Grammy winning Kiwi artist Lorde.

The Auckland star turns 18 today which means that she will now have access to her funds.  She is estimated to be worth $11 million, though by the time her staff and the record company are paid it's closer to $7 million.

As you're well aware, Hollywood is filled with glitz and glamour, however some celebs blow their money.  Business tycoon Donald Trump, Larry King, Gary Coleman, Michael Jackson, Tammy Wynette and even Kiwi actor Karl Burnett have gone bankrupt after making a sizeable amount of money when they were at the peak of their careers.

Lorde is a smart girl with smart friends including Taylor Swift who has had the most successful album of the year with 1.1 million sales for 1989 in the first week alone.  Even smart people can make financial mistakes.

Lorde should use her money wisely and invest it in a property in Auckland, one in New York (seeing as she's buddies with Taylor, but that's a story for another blog, okay it's not really - it's probably been set up by the record labels), buy a nice car (does Lorde have a license?) and open a recording studio for young performers under 25 in Auckland and keep some in savings in case her career suddenly tanks.  That's not entirely out of the question.  Music publicist Paul Ellis told the New Zealand Herald today that once in a generation a singer comes along, and he proceeded to compare Lorde to Alanis Morissette who you may recall from Ironic, You Oughta Know and Hand in My Pocket.  That album was Morissette's most successful album and to date she has not repeated the success, so hopefully Lorde is nothing like Alanis.

Only time will tell.

Media shake ups in Australia and New Zealand - it's a blood bath everywhere

It's not often I read something useful Gossip Columnist Rachel Glucina's New Zealand Herald column but that's exactly what's happened just now. 

There's a shake up in the midst at TVNZ.  Deputy Political Editor Michael Parkin is leaving the network.  Heather Du Plessis Allen is moving into the press gallery.  This will see her depart from Seven Sharp which since its inception last year has struggled to hold onto staff for longer than a few months.  The carnage has been brutal - co anchors Greg Boyed departed to return to late night news broadcasting Ali Mau, Jesse Mulligan left at the end of last year and several reporters have left the show. 

The current hosts are Mike Hosking who also hosts breakfast on Newstalk ZB and Toni Street who is taking maternity time off in February next year as she and her husband are expecting another daughter.  It's unknown who will take over her role.

HDPA has been praised for her journalism style and could have been a future anchor due to her aggressive and fierce nature however now that she's moving to the press gallery after nine years of working to get in there it's unclear who will take over from Street, or if Mike will host the show alone.

HDPA will also work on stories for QANDA which will see her work alongside Rachel Smalley.  I wonder how those two will get along given their competitive natures.  It may be a recipe for disaster.

Speaking of disasters, there's a shake up in Sydney radio.  You would have had to have been living under a rock to not know that the 2Day FM breakfast show has failed since Kyle and Jacqui O quit for rival network Kiis FM at the beginning of this year.  First Mel B left, then Sophie Monk announced she was done with the show and now Jules and Merrick have announced they're bailing.  Merrick is moving to Drive on Triple M and Jules will compete with him for the Drive ratings.  He'll remain at the network until July when Hamish and Andy take control of the reigns. 

In other news it looks as if NZME (formerly GrabOne, The Radio Network and APN) will list ont he NZX next year, although the company's CEO Jane Hastings has said details are still be worked out, which let's face it, is code for, "we want to get our books in order so we can maximise profit and sell more shares".

Lambie needs to sack her press manager and the media needs to give her a break. This country does after all have free speech.

Tasmanian Palmer United Party Senator Jacqui Lambie has been quite the controversial MP since taking her seat in the Senate in July this year.  It all started when she said that she wants an Aussie bloke with a big penis and loads of money.  Following that she attracted controversy for her comments and call to ban the burqa and her anti Muslim sentiment.    She has been lambasted by people on all sides of the political spectrum and often appears dazed and confused.

Despite the criticisms from those in the mainstream media I was sympathetic towards Lambie, and still am to a degree.  Although she makes it very easy for the media and social media users to criticise her I do think she is misunderstood to a degree.

However, this week when she said that those in the Australian Defense Force should use Remembrance Day to protest against a low wage increase which doesn't even cover inflation, she went too far. 

Any day where soldiers and other defense force personnel are honoured should be treated as sacred and Lambie should have left it alone.

It's one thing to disagree with her views but people on Twitter and the likes of Piers Ackerman  and co are telling her to shut up and that she shouldn't speak.  This is Australia.  We have freedom of speech.  Remember, you're lambasting her for disrespecting defense force personnel and a sacred occasion yet you're telling her she has no right to enjoy the very freedoms we enjoy today because of them.

This is one issue where Lambie should apologise for what she said but she definitely shouldn't shut up.  She's a politician and we need people to speak their views, but she needs to learn how to better articulate them.

The first step would be for Palmer United Party founder and leader, Clive Palmer to have words with her in private.  Following that it would be beneficial if she hired a new press manager because her current one isn't doing a good job and he's only fueling the fire and anti Lambie sentiment.

And lets not forget, Lambie was fairly elected to the Tasmanian Senate and part of being a politician is of course to speak out on important issues.

If brands are making women feel bad about their bodies its because women aren't happy in themselves and have low self esteem and they need to work on that

I don't like to write about body image but I am so incredibly sick of hearing about Dove and Victoria's Secret along with other companies like Top Shop being criticised for showing skinny models and according to website, Mamamia, "making women feel shit about their bodies". 

It's getting annoying hearing all this rubbish about how everybody's individual shape should be embraced and that we should be happy as we are.

Before I proceed, I've been every single weight imaginable.  As a kid I was skinny, then I became "the fat kid", then I had an eating disorder (bulimia, borderline anorexia and extreme dieting).  After that I was obese before being told publicly, in an acting class to lose weight.  When I tell people that story they think "oh that's so horrible" but it isn't.  The teacher who "fat shamed" me actually did me a favour.  I went home and something shifted.  I'd known I was obese but hadn't been willing and ready to do something about it.  The acting teacher gave me the push I needed.  Because of my history with eating disorders, and obesity is as much an eating disorder as anorexia and bulimia I knew that if I was going to lose weight and keep it off I had to do it the healthy way.  So at that moment I started going to the gym and working out.  I also modified my diet.  I decided then and there that if I was going to lose weight and keep it off I had to do it the healthy way.  Two years later and it's still off.

When I see headlines like, "stop making women feel shit about themselves" I get so annoyed because that's not what healthy eating and physical health is about and the reality is, if you feel shit about yourself it's because YOU feel shit BECAUSE OF YOU, not because of a mannequin in a shop.  If you're insecure about your body because of a mannequin then sorry, I have some news for you, you're not comfortable in your own skin.  You can only be truly happy in your own skin and not care about a mannequin in a shop when you take care of your body.

I'm not a stick figure.  I'm a healthy weight but mannequins and models don't affect me because I choose not to let them affect me.  I care more about my performance at the gym and I care more about maintaining a healthy weight.  To put it another way, if you don't look after your body then it's like anti obesity campaigner Katie Hopkins says, you will feel miserable about yourself.  I had a month without going to the gym due to financial reasons and I started going again a couple of weeks ago and my physical strength has improved.  This message seems to be lost in the mainstream media.

I am sick to death of reading articles about women feeling shit about their bodies because health isn't about that.  If you know you're healthy then you'll be happy and you won't care about a mannequin in a shop.  I think also that obesity has become so common it's been normalised and we've lost the true reason people should exercise and eat healthily.  It's because if you're not healthy you're going to be lethargic.  There's nothing quite like exceeding your personal expectations at the gym or knowing you're eating healthily.

Until we return to a message of health (BMI 18-25, the only people who say the BMI is rubbish are those who are in denial, which we all have been at some point in our lives) people will never be happy in themselves.  And the reality is, obesity doesn't sell and it shouldn't be promoted, just as anorexia shouldn't be.  The only way you can truly live a healthy life is to ensure you eat a healthy balanced diet and exercise regularly - that means not eating junk food just because it's there or skipping out on the gym.  Being healthy and promoting a message of health will also reduce instances of eating disorders and we need a mental shift or that won't happen; for example, if you have been obese then instead of just losing the physical weight, work out why you gained it in the first place and then you're more likely to keep it off.  This is something that Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig and all good gyms like Fitness First will promote.

What's happening to ZM? Are the managers at NZME trying to kill the station? More axings...

I don't like to make assumptions about stories in the media, or stories which haven't yet made it to the mainstream media, but earlier today I discovered that Luke and PJ from ZM are no longer hosting the night show.

PJ now hosts 10am - 3pm, presumably so Sarah Gandy can focus on her Programme Director duties which she stepped up to following Christian Boston's resignation last year.  And Luke is nowhere to be seen having finished at ZM recently.  You may recall that Jacqui Jensen was sacked last year despite having been with the network on and off since 2003.  She was axed around this time last year without any warning.  It's my understanding from her tweets that she was only told AFTER the show that she was going to be going.  Now Jay and Flynny host the show.  Zoe Marshall, Benji Marshall's wife co hosted for a while before leaving herself.  Jacqui managed to score herself another gig after the restraint of trade was completed and she now works for MediaWorks in various capacities.

In April this year Polly and Grant who hosted the morning show for 20 years were shifted from ZM to The Hits, formerly known as Classic Hits.  They were replaced with Megan, Fletch and Vaughan from The Edge.  Now it would seem Sarah Gandy has taken the axe to the hosts once again.

Guy and Georgia (the intern) now host the evening show and have done the last week.  It appears from Luke's Twitter page that he was fired from ZM because he is now unemployed.  I find it very hard to believe that you would voluntarily leave a gig at ZM to be unemployed.  It seems more logical that he was axed as Sarah tries to make more of a mark on the station.  ZM is owned by NZME, formerly known as TRN and has connections with radio stations in Australia.

Another thing is that Georgia is not an intern.  True interns aren't mentioned by the radio station.  Someone who is truly interning at a station will be behind the scenes and not receive any public mention.  It seems as if ZM is copying Sydney's Kiis FM (Kyle and Jacqui plus Pete the intern).

Are the managers at NZME trying to kill ZM?  It sure looks like it, or is Sarah Gandy trying to axe everyone who posed a threat to her personally?  Or is she simply trying to make her own mark on the station and killing it in the process?  For the first time ever, The Hits actually looks better and more credible than ZM, as does The Edge which has strong personalities.  ZM has killed off strong personalities (other than Megan, Fletch and Vaughan who won't go the distance like previous ZM announcers have).

Viewers are switching off the TV because the content is awful, not because of summer

In the 1990s, people were sick of unrealistic soap operas so the reality TV show genre grew.  It started with the Survivor series which is still going today and has moved far beyond that to cooking shows, home renovation shows and other mindless reality TV.

The newspapers such as Melbourne's Herald Sun and the networks are asking where the viewers have gone?  They attribute the poor viewing to summer saying that people typically stay outside and don't watch TV during the warmer months when the daylight hours are longer.  I however completely disagree that summer is why the viewers are leaving.  Viewers are ditching television because honestly, it's not worth watching.

Why would you watch a show about someone doing up their homes when you could renovate your own home or hang out with friends, or online?  Why would you watch mindless reality TV when you could download programmes from overseas websites?  And why would you watch TV when the quality is so poor and appalling?

I broadcast on Twitter a few days ago that I haven't owned a TV in eight years.  So how does one live without a TV?  It's simple really.  I get all my news online.  Back in 2001 only 37% of households in New Zealand had access to the internet.  I was in that 37%.  That compared with 80% in 2012.  The statistics are very similar in Australia with 37% of households having access to the internet.  In 2012 that number had more than doubled to 83%.

Given the high internet usage in both Australia and New Zealand one might wonder why we even need a television these days.  Unlike other mediums, computers in whatever format - desktop, lap top, tablet, mobile phone (yes, mobile phones are included because today they're more computer than telephone), can do so much more.  One minute on a computer you could be writing an article, the next you could be watching your favourite TV show or movie or reading some news.  Computers are a multi faceted device.

Given this, is it any wonder that TV viewership rates are declining?  Not really, especially when the Australian networks receive television content months after it has screened overseas and when there huge amounts of ads.  in a 6 minute period you're looking at around 14 minutes of advertising time.  Why would you watch TV when you could either download from a site like Netflix or when you could just wait for it to be released in the iTunes or Google Play store?  It's a no brainer really.

Sadly the networks, like mainstream news organisations don't understand that by producing cheaper content they're actually shooting themselves in the foot.  If you want viewers to watch so you can charge a premium for advertising then you must deliver a quality product.  The executives at television networks seem to think that people have nothing better to do with their time than watch mindless rubbish.  This isn't true, and could partially explain why people spend more and more time on their computers/phones/tablets.  Computers etc offer a more interactive experience and you can choose exactly how you use it, without being dictated to by someone else's timetable and what they deem worthy of watching......A prime example of this is The Bachelor, but even the newspapers have jumped on the bandwagon with the Black/Sam/Louise saga gaining traction following the end of the show.  Even if you didn't watch the programme, you may be drawn into reading the drama unfold.  It's being told as a soap opera, so that begs the question, why aren't people commissioning genuine soap operas anymore?  If you want the viewers to come you have to deliver content they want to watch.

Until the networks start delivering new worthwhile viewing, the statistics are going to continue to decline until television eventually dies in its current format.  Will dramas become episodic movies/films, that are watched online or will TV find its way again?  I'm not sure to be honest.  I think it depends on the programmers and if they start listening to what the public wants, because it's not reality TV.  Reality TV has been done to death and the networks need to start producing in house dramas and comedies.

Until they do, more and more people, like me, who hasn't owned a TV in eight years, will switch off.