Dave Smart | Blog

Sale now on...

2010-01-01T21:11:00.009+13:00

Briscoes have always been laughed at for having sales all the time. The old "What, Briscoes are having a sale this weekend? You're kidding?!" gag is well known by Kiwis the world over.

Now it seems that a young pretender is trying to take that 'always having a sale' buzz off them. Perhaps Tammy, the hot Briscoes lady has got something that this other retailer wants a bit of?

The impetuous newcomer is none other than Harvey Norman who either have a such a huge load of money to spend that they're gunning for a pissing match with Dubai or they're in the shit and are trying to trade out of it.

I know it's the season for sales and we can expect a few more of them. We've done the Christmas sales, they were closely followed by the Boxing Day sale and then the inevitable Happy New Year sales but old Harv seems to be going way harder than everyone else.

The wonderful thing about this is that it proves that advertising works, this is a post dedicated entirely to a price point advertising campaign, campaigns which pay my salary and for which I am eternally grateful.

Sale on now! 50% off everything!! 4 years interest free!!! Must end Monday!!!! Crikey, how are they going to top that next weekend because with all these amazing deals in the ad breaks, I'm going to need a bigger TV.

2009 | A look back...

2009-12-31T11:55:00.007+13:00

It's always appropriate on the last day of any year to review the year that's been. We look back, although not for too long because we don't want to waste today, and consider the events that shaped us.

2009 was a year of beginnings for me. I was lucky enough, at the age of 34 to meet my father for the first time. Sadly, we lost my Grandfather - the magnificent man who raised me.

I thought I was going to die at one point in February and the children that Anna and I created passed some milestones. Jojo turned one and Sophie turned 3.

Over the year I wrote 60 blog posts, not many compared to other bloggers but that's ok. Strangely, the biggest day with the most readers was because I said something I shouldn't have.

On the work front, there were many highlights including a half hour video interview with Prime Minister John Key, something very special for race relations day and as a local Wellington show, we were first networked into Kapiti and Horowhenua and then given a nationwide spot.

Throughout the year, a lot of people have had their hand in the success of the show. My co-host Camille, our Boss Piney, Talent Manager Dallas, Promotions Manager Morgs and intern / producer Olivia.

The most important of all though is my wife Anna, she is my strongest supporter, my biggest critic, my conscience and my love. She's a bloody good broadcaster, producer, teacher and voice in her own right but never gets the chance because our kids (The two that wreck the house and the one she's still building) take up most of her time!

Here's to 09, thanks for the ride.

50 rules to live your life by...

2009-12-19T10:10:00.002+13:00

These sorts of things get sent round in the email every now and then. More often than not, a quick delete will sort them out. We though, inspired by a 99th birthday of a bloke named Eric decided to seek out 99 rules to live your life by and take texts and calls to see what we came up with.

We got 50.

Some of these might be as old as the hills, some may be new. Some you may not agree with and some may be impossible to live by all the time. Some might even go against each other! All ideas are different though so you’re welcome to copy and paste these into an email and flick them on if that's your thing. If you do, please leave in that these rules were all suggested on December 18, 2009 by the listeners of Dave and Camille for breakfast on Classic Hits Wellington.

1. Treat others the way you wish to be treated.
2. Check your texts before you send!
3. Life isn't always fair but it's still good.
4. Dance regularly.
5. Always let the wife think that she is winning an argument or else you are a dead man!
6. Keep work in its place, down where it should be.
7. Smile! Be happy! Eat Cake!
8. Respect your health, it can be taken away quickly.
9. Life is a journey not a destination.
10. Fart, it's better out than in.
11. Treat everyday like it's your last day, one day you'll be right.
12. Work hard and be good to your mother.
13. 13: Do not break wind in a lift unless you know the people.
14. Each day is a new day, so it's never too late to start again!
15. Put the toilet seat down!
16. Sing like no-one is listening.
17. When you hug your kids, let them be the ones to let go first. Let them decide how long they need to hug for.
18. Work is a four letter word.
19. Love like you've never been hurt before.
20. Remember the past, cherish the present and look forward to the future.
21. Always respect your elders and let your partner and kids how much u love them
22. Be grateful for what you already have, as tomorrow it could all go pear shaped.
23. We are here for a good time, not a long time!
24. Be honest and respectful.
25. Please and thank you will open any door.
26. Take time out for oneself to be refreshed each day.
27. Make progress not excuses.
28. Always blow on the pie!
29. Every day is a new page in your book of life, write great memories.
30. Don't eat yellow snow!
31. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, Today is a gift.
32. Laugh more and forgive, enjoy what you have, not what you want.
33. Do not be too quick to judge others.
34. Don't stress over the small stuff, treat those things as challenges.
35. Be generous to others. Their smile is a reward.
36. Spend time with others who are less fortunate than you and understand them before you make a judgement.
37. Never go to sleep on an argument.
38. Dance like no-one is watching.
39. Eat chocolate
40. Always wear clean underwear.
41. There is a silver lining in all situations.
42. Get tattoos with meaning, you will always remember that particular event even when you have dementia.
43. When you meet people, always wear a smile.
44. Smile and laugh every day.
45. Don't take a friends seconds!
46. Don't date men who eat food off your plate without being invited!
47. Always go to the toilet before a journey.
48. Always wake up positive you dont know how long you have on earth.
49. Shoot for the sky, when you fall, you will fall among the stars.
50. When you die, your gravestone has your name and the date you were born and the date you died. eg; Rose Jordan 1977 - 2020. It's the dash that's the important bit, nothing else matters but what you did between those two dates.

Podcast | Jason Alexander

2009-12-08T16:11:00.001+13:00

Listen to the full unedited interview!

Jason Alexander AKA George Costanza

Respect for old technology

2009-12-05T08:23:00.004+13:00

My wife wanted to buy a typewriter and to be fair, we all thought she was mad at first. The she explained how a typewriter differs from a PC and the problem is the screen.

Screens, no matter what they're attached to, suck you in and make you oblivious to what is around you.

Every tried talking to someone who is texting? On Facebook? Watching telly? We've all been the screen addict and we've all been half listened to by someone who thinks that what's on the screen is more important than the face to face contact being sought. As far as transgressions into rudeness go, this is on the lower end of the scale but it does happen a lot.

So she found an electric typewriter circa 1984 on Trade Me, brought it home, started using it and it crapped out after half a page. Through research we found that the ribbons are no longer available and Anna had a $40 doorstop. Bit of bad luck that.

Then, she posted a note on the noticeboard in New World asking for a typewriter and the next thing you know, the phone rings and a lady wants to sell off her typewriter that's been used a total of twice and here it is!

Note that it's totally mechanical, doesn't need power and is actually quite handsome!

Podcast | Bits of the Show

2009-12-05T07:40:00.005+13:00

Ok, so my plan is to put together the audio for the Sunday show as a downloadable mp3 and eventually move onto itunes, sort out feed etc and make a proper podcast.

These aren't the best bits or the worst bits, more a snapshot of a week that wasn't too difficult to edit up! It's not completely pretty and I don't yet have the right access to our site for uploading the audio but we're working on it slowly.

Here's the first two weeks, enjoy!

Dave and Camille Weekly Podcast - Week ending November 30
The demise of the VCR, Dad's porn collection, noisy toys and charities.

Dave and Camille Weekly Podcast - Week ending December 6
Ali Williams, the Proclaimers, Tiger jokes, NZ's best movie and the edited Jason Alexander.

Note: On Monday, I'll post the unedited 11 minutes we got from Jason Alexander...

Podcast | The Good Men Project

2009-12-01T16:24:00.003+13:00

Most men strive to be good men. Particularly when it comes to being a husband and Dad. None of us are perfect but we do what we can.

Through DIY Father, I got to talk to Tom Matlack from the Good Men Project. Real Stories from the Frontline of Modern Manhood.

Click here to listen to the interview... Or watch the trailer below.

We're going Nationwide!

2009-11-18T14:47:00.003+13:00

It was announced this week that Camille and I will be presenting a nationwide show as of November 29 this year. This is waycool. It'll be a show playing between 6am and 9am every Sunday morning and will feature all of our best bits from each week and new stuff for the weekend as well.

Now, in the past, our ‘replay hour’ was between 9 and 10am on a Saturday and only broadcast on our normal frequencies of 90FM Wellington and 92.7FM Kapiti but now we will be on all of the 26 stations that make up the Classic Hits Network.

It's bloody exciting times for Camille and I and a kind of return to what I used to do back in the day when I hosted the Classic Hits Nightclub between 2004 and 2007.

Now, I realise that it’s a Sunday morning and it’s flaming early so there’s no expectation for you to listen but if you do happen to have a radio playing on a Sunday morning, by all means give it a go. We’re also looking at the concept of a weekly (not daily – Christ no, we’d need a producer for that!) podcast.

2010 is going to be an exciting year – bring it!

Double Feature Movies!

2009-11-17T13:51:00.004+13:00

I'd already added these onto the facebook but forgot to post them here in my recent blogging slackness....

First movie, Sophie and Jojo have been going hard at the gym they go to on a Tuesday morning and now take the concept of Roly Poly to a new level....

And this is my mate (and Sophies Godfather) Flynny with me, Soph, Jojo and his two boys Jack and Leo cutting up a rug...

Bus v Pedestrian...

2009-11-17T09:54:00.002+13:00

There have been a few instances recently that people have been injured or killed by busses here in Wellington which is heartbreaking for those involved.

Here's the most recent one.

I cannot fathom how this must feel to the people who are injured or worse, lose a family member in this way. However, I put it to you that in some cases, we may actually end up being victims of our own arrogance.

Here's a game for you. Stand at some traffic lights and watch people crossing the road. You get a point if you see any of the following events happen:

Someone steps of the footpath in a gap and trots to the middle of the road and then waits for the next gap, crossing the road in two sections.

Someone crosses just down from the lights, alternately running / walking / sidestepping across on an angle to end up further up the street where they want to go.

There's a gap, the lights go orange, so a pedestrian steps out to 'beat the green man' . This pedestrian then gets followed by 4 or 5 other people who all do the same thing, all before the green man.

The person who boots it after the green man is gone and crosses on the red flashing man because they reckon they 'can make this easily'.

Someone crosses at an intersection / bus stop / place where lots of traffic is converging where there are no lights and ends up sprinting across more than 2 directions of traffic.

On top of this, some people pull these moves while on the phone or listening to their iPods...

It's not always the pedestrian but it's also not always the driver either.

The it'll never happen to me / I've done this heaps of time before / that person did it I can too attitude is injuring and killing us. You wouldn't pull any of those moves in front of a train which only goes in two directions, yet people do it on the road where the big human smashing metal things are going in all directions?

We teach our kids how to cross the road properly, why don't the adults follow suit?

Was that you on the TV?

2009-11-11T09:12:00.003+13:00

A few years ago, I did a little bit of extra work. Commercials mainly, I was Duncan the Dick Smith Guy, I rode a bike and had a gym in my home for Elite Fitness. I was Chris the Pizza Hutt Delivery Guy, I was in an ad for Ford that played in Australia, I was non-strike batsman for a cricket ad for where the ball made the wicket keeper fly backwards - I think that was for Twisties? I was a Cisco Certified something-or-other for an IT training joint and a few others...

One of those jobs was being a contestant for a game show pilot and Natalie, a good friend who was filmed as well, has found the video. In there, you'll see her, me, Eric Young from Prime TV as the 'Host' and you may also recognise our afternoon host Jason Reeves...

This never actually turned into a TV show but one day it might, our job was to illustrate what the show would be like if it did make it to telly...

Click this, and watch the video for Total Recall...

Save the Avalon Park Fort

2009-11-09T10:55:00.010+13:00

I found this travesty on facebook - I had no idea..

Hutt City Council plans to demolish the Avalon Park Fort, the most rickety, dangerous, outdated construction in the Hutt apart from the actual Hutt City Council Buildings and the old firestation on Waterloo Road.

I say rickety, but I mean wonderful. This is a classic example of the way things used to be, being better.

Hundreds, nay, thousands of kids have played here over the past 30 odd years and the plan is to rip it down and replace it with a structure called "Spaceball" - A 7 metre high globey climbing frame thingee.

It got me thinking about the structure I used to play on at Tahunanui School. It was one of the first in a style of Adventure Playgrounds and was known by us kids as "The Vench" and made a handy alternative to the car wreckers yards that we also used to frequent.

I remember being scared of the firemans pole til I'd done it a couple of times and the exhilaration of jumping off the structure and landing on the bark with a crash was some of my best learning experiences in Primary School. (This as well as seeing the girls flash their knickers on the bars...)

In later years, I was lucky enough to spend a bit of time at Burnham Military Camp and do the Krypton Factor Course - magnificent and frightening all at the same time but so good for this slightly chubby kid.

We went eeling in creeks and ditches and tunnels, much like the one that dear Aisling Symes got caught in, we set up jumps for our BMXs in the middle of the street, we messed around at the wharf, we made huts in empty sections and we had a ball. The cheapest playgrounds were a couple of massive cotton reels next to each other with a plank connecting them. The best ones had the fastest flying foxes.

Today's flying foxes are for sooks.

I actually have a theory about the PC brigade and it's this:

People don't ever complain about these sorts of things. Beaurocrats and journalists in glass ceilinged offices just come up with negative ideas and angles because they're sad and bitter.

What great places did you go to when you were a kid that have disappeared?

Podcast | Nigel Latta

2009-09-30T11:56:00.006+13:00

Another one in the DIY Father Podcast Series... Camille and I talking with Clinical Psychologist and politically incorrect parent Nigel Latta - just a short one today!

Click here to listen.

Fun at our house this morning...

2009-09-24T08:35:00.006+12:00

They say that all kids want is our time and attention, it seems that all they REALLY want is pyjamas and some mattresses on the floor...

Dad always used to say...

2009-09-01T15:29:00.002+12:00

There’s a phrase you hear on TV and in the movies that refers to a wonderful Dad thing.

“When I was growing up, my Dad always said...” ...followed by some sort of quote of immeasurable wiseness.

Now that my two are three and one, I’ve been hunting for such a phrase. I wanted to be the Dad who always said something that summed up a sensible life lesson.

There was criteria however.

1: It couldn’t be a stolen phrase. That’s not to say that it had to be a collection of words that had never been put together before, I just had to come up with it on my own.

2: Equally, there would be no application of copyright if I came up with something good. Wise words are to be shared.

3: It needed to be meaningful.

4: I also knew that I couldn’t force it. At the right time, the thought would come, and words would follow that my children would always remember and speak fondly of.

Just recently, my family and I were out in the car. You know the drill, Dad is driving because Dad usually always drives. Mum is in the passenger seat and the two kids are in the back. Where we were going wasn’t important, what was important was that at that moment, we were totally and utterly complete. There was plenty of gas in the tank, there was no hurry, and unbelievably, everyone was happy.

It was a perfect moment.

Out onto the motorway we went and Miss Three broke into song. The song was nothing particularly recognisable, the tune was nothing specific, she was just making up words and applying her tune to them.

Then, listening to her happy little voice singing her pretty little song that made no sense to anyone else in the car except for her. My Wise-Old-Dad-Always-Said phrase came to me and I said it for the very first time.

“Sophie, no matter what happens in your life, never, ever stop singing.”

Also published on DIY Father.com

Podcast | My Little Red Book

2009-08-27T06:08:00.004+12:00

I've interviewed a lot of different people over the past 16 years but this one is perhaps in amongst the more eyebrow raising ones. Not because it should be, but because men talking about periods is not really seen as the norm.

Rachel Kauder Nalebuff is American, 19, and has just written "My Little Red Book" a collection of stories about first periods and she's got some good advice for Dads to make the subject a lot more approachable with their daughters.

This is part of my DIY Father Podcast series...

Click here to listen.

Rugby Tonight - 6.35 kick off!

2009-08-22T10:23:00.003+12:00

We're playing Auckland and if you get there early, you could be taking part in the Tui Challenge, here's us at the last home game vs Otago...

I'm here at the scene of the crash...

2009-08-15T14:54:00.004+12:00

So at about lunchtime today, this fulla in the ute comes round the corner on the way back from Staglands and doesn’t make it, the front of his ute is actually hanging over the edge of the bridge there. We were second on the scene and the biggest at that stage so we tried to use the Classic Hits car to drag it out.

The rope in the picture snapped.

A bigger 4WD came along so we tried to drag it out with that.

The second rope snapped.

End of the story was about a dozen blokes dragged it off to the side enough to allow traffic to pass and then the cops turned up to sort the rest out and we carried on our merry way to tell the story to anyone who’ll listen.

People can be like Wolves

2009-08-14T12:14:00.009+12:00

WARNING: This post is not based on science, or any particular series of events. It's a work of Observational Faction. Faction is something that is essentially fiction but some of it may ring true, depending on the reader.

People, like wolves, often move in packs. This is generally a reasonably good system. However, when something out of the ordinary happens with one of the members of the pack, people in the group can often deal with the 'issue' in a wolf like way.

Let's say for example, that one of the group has done something that the other members of the pack don't agree with. They've made, not necessarily a bad call, but one which is taken the wrong way. This person is embarrassed, and feels sick for doing it, and out of this feeling comes a kneejerk reaction which offends again.

The hole gets deeper.

They don't have a history of doing the wrong thing but all of a sudden, nothing else matters to the group except for this event.

The other members of the group all react in different ways, and this can be the wolfy bit.

Some members of the pack take the Alpha role and bite the single wolf who has done wrong.

Other wolves stand behind the alpha wolf and growl in support.

Other members may sit at the back of the pack barking and growling about the issue with each other.

Other members of the pack try to ignore what's going on because they don't wish to make a fuss.

As far as I can tell, it's not very often that a member of a wolf like pack of people tries to extend a hand of and actually offer support to the first wolf. They seem to band together, close ranks and push the offending wolf out which is a shame because the lone wolf who has been kicked out of the pack is the one that needs the support, the rest of the pack still have each other.

If this post seems wierd to you, good. It illustrates my final point. Read it out loud and take it all in. Words written down can often be taken out of context. We've all cherry picked phrases out of a written document and got the wrong idea. You may even be doing it now.

My advice is this, If you ever have a problem with someone, talk about it with them. Get to the bottom of a situation by using your voice and your ears. Don't text, email or facebook them, make a phone call or catch up with them in person.

Good friends will give you a heads up if you've crossed a line, wolves will hang you out to dry.

Good friends will support you if you made a bad call, wolves will turn their back.

An old boss of mine at a radio station back in the day said, "I will support anything you do on air, even if it's the wrong thing, if you have a good reason for it." In essence this means, if you make a genuine mistake, I'll still back you up. It's a great feeling when your friends have your back.

I've got something to tell you...

2009-08-07T18:14:00.001+12:00

A plug for my brother in law...

2009-07-17T22:49:00.002+12:00

Pete Da Palaga works for our sister station, Flava. That's him there in the stripey suit with his co-hosts Dave Fane and Stacey Morrison. He was cooking sausages outside the Auckland Radionetwork building when a truck who had decided to stop for one of his bangers hit the building.

Pete is also my wife Anna's little brother and that little sausage sizzle made the news tonight.

Here's the video from TVNZ. You can't buy this sort of media attention from a promotion.

John Key on Fatherhood

2009-07-17T22:25:00.007+12:00

I know I've already posted the John Key video, this audio is a part of that and I've reposted it for a few reasons.

1: The vid was 28 mins and you may have got bored or not bothered with it.
2: It shows how an interview can be used and reused in different ways.
3: It's, in part, talking about the upcoming anti smacking referendum.
4: it's just been posted by our good mates at DIY Father.

It's us vs John Key on the specific subject of being a Dad. I cut this up specifically for the DIY Father Podcasts. I had an excellent meeting with DIY today about some projects I'll be doing with them - watch this space. It's going to be fun. Especially if you have kids.

Click here to listen.

Ray Smart - 11 July 1928 - 9 July 2009

2009-07-15T19:11:00.007+12:00

My Grandad died last week. He wanted to. He’d had enough. He wasn’t well, he missed my Nan who went about 8 years ago and the Emphysema had taken its toll on his body.

I was lucky enough to be raised by my Grandparents. My Mother passed in 1986 after a particularly bad asthma attack. My step father remarried a woman who had kids of her own and they made it clear that there wasn’t a place in that family for me so off I went.

Ray Smart was always in the garage making stuff for us kids and he was first to arrive to help out if something needed doing at anyone else’s house. Being allowed to mow his lawn was a big deal and if he called us by our given names, we were in trouble. He called a spade a spade and you always knew where you stood.

I remember once an old teacher of mine was trying to sell me Amway so he went to the phone, dialed 137 to make it ring, picked it up, had an imaginary conversation with no-one, told me I had to take the call and booted the guy out. He always had his family’s back.

He loved his cars. I remember once Nan crashed the Holden into the corner of the garage, she tried to get it fixed before he got home but somehow he knew what she’d done before he got home. To be allowed to drive Grandad’s car was an honor and a privilege. I crashed his Bluebird when I was 21, it was 8 years until he let me near it again.

He was big on his Sunday drives, whether we were checking out new subdivisions, pointing out houses he’d built years ago, getting ice creams, whitebait or mushrooms. Grandad had an uncanny ability to spot a mushroom 3 fields over and thought nothing of stopping the car, climbing 3 fences and walking a mile to get it. He didn’t give a stuff whose field it was, those mushrooms were coming home with us.

Last Friday, I was quietly clearing out his room at his retirement village and all the staff wanted to stop me and say how fond of him they were.

I truly believe that going into care added almost another 2 years onto his life. He was warm, fed and he had company. He had cups of tea whenever he wanted it and his secret supply of beer as well. He gave as good as he got with the nurses and loved it when they gave it back. He decided to name one of the staff 4 foot 11. That was his name for her. She swears she’s 5 foot tall but he wouldn’t have a bar of it. I overheard one of the inmates telling a staff member how much quieter it was without him puffing away, she said she missed it.

For as long as I can remember, the first thing my Grandfather did when he got the paper each day was check the death notices to see if he was still alive.

He’s finally made it in there and he’s now back together with Nan.

Holidays

2009-07-03T10:33:00.003+12:00

Time to rest, recuperate and generally not think about work.

Ok, so the first two aren't true. There is no resting with a 3 year old and a 1 year old and we're moving house so we'll actually probably be freakin' busy.

As for the third, much to the annoyance of my loved ones, I'm guilty as hell of seeing something on holiday and thinking, 'we could talk about that in the show.'

So, back on July 20 with a whole bunch of stuff that I've tried not to think about.

D and C v John Key

2009-06-29T17:57:00.002+12:00

Last week, we were lucky enough to get half an hour with the Prime Minister, here it is, on film and unedited. See what makes our PM tick.

Dave and Camille v John Key from Dave Smart on Vimeo.