A small yee haw

[Shuggy]

I have to boast about this to somebody.

A couple of years ago I sent this email:
From:              Hugh Young <[email protected]>
To:                [email protected],[email protected]
Subject:           Street sculpture
Date sent:         Sat, 24 Apr 2004 21:55:46 +1200

(please forward this to the right person if I have remembered his
hame wrong.)

Dear Hugh

...

Many of the signs around the city advising the quarters have
sculpture on top, such as the ones at Cable Car Lane and outside the
railway station. One that does not is the one outside Parliament. It would
be fun and relevant if that were adorned with a Buzzy Bee¹. (Following the
transport theme, I thought of a hot-air balloon, but that might not be
appreciated.)

With best wishes,

Hugh Young
--------------------------------------------
Notes:
1. A buzzy bee is a pull-toy that has become a NZ icon (first pic) Parliament's executive wing is known as the Beehive from its shape.

Nicolson replied:
Dear Hugh

Thank you for your e-mail - Kerry has already rung me this morning to pass
on your message - and thank you also for your excellent ideas. 

...
Interestingly the idea of a Buzzy Bee on top of the sign outside the
Beehive is one that I have been working on quietly for some time.  I have
gone as far as discussing the possiblity with the Buzzy Bee company who
own the copyright, and who have indicated that they would support the
idea.  I had intended to approach  Parliament and the RSA who both have an
interest in the site to check that they would be comfortable with the
idea.

However events have subsequently overtaken this proposal, and in
particular the Council has approved funding for a joint sculptural
project, Waititi Park, on this site in conjunction with the Tenths Trust.
Any sculpture on this site would need to be sympathetic to this project
which is as yet undefined.  We may end up relocating the sign in order
facilitate the development of the park.

In the meantime I have put the addition of a buzzy bee or other sculpture
on hold until the future plans for the site are clearer.  I am currently
working on a proposed sculpture for the sign in Courtenay Place which is
similarly unadorned.

Thanks again for your comments
Kind regards
Hugh Nicholson
Urban Designer
Wellington City Council
------------------------------------------
And now:

(There's controversy over its cost, nearly $NZ 14,000 ($US 9,450), but my complaint is that someone seems to be living in Flatland.)

[Ray]

Well I'll bee!  Well done Shuggy.  Now you need to lobby cowboy sculptures on top of all other sign posts!

[Shuggy]

Well I'll bee!  Well done Shuggy.  Now you need to lobby cowboy sculptures on top of all other sign posts!

Thank you.

But we have our own icons such as the kiwi, the tuatara, the silver fern, the weta: http://www.cafepress.com/ahua/1068643
and the Jandal (thong, flipflop) and our emblems of rural life are black singlets and rubber gumboots: http://www.cafepress.com/ahua/992280

[Jeff Wrangler]

Hey, Shug?

"Our emblems of rural life are black singlets and rubber gumboots."

Um, this Yank gets the "rubber gumboots," but what do you folks mean by a "singlet"?

I'm most familiar with the term here as designating that sexy little one-piece thing that wrestlers wear!

(On the other hand, if that's what rural guys wear in New Zealand, when does the next flight leave for Wellington?) 

[Shuggy]

what do you folks mean by a "singlet"?

I'm most familiar with the term here as designating that sexy little one-piece thing that wrestlers wear!

No, a singlet stops at the waist (Sorry, and the farmers usually wear long khaki shorts). I've seen it defined in terms of a "tank" whatever that is. It's neckless and sleeveless, in fact it leaves the outer shoulders uncovered. the material tapers away to little more than straps over the shoulders.

[Jeff Wrangler]

what do you folks mean by a "singlet"?

I'm most familiar with the term here as designating that sexy little one-piece thing that wrestlers wear!

No, a singlet stops at the waist (Sorry, and the farmers usually wear long khaki shorts). I've seen it defined in terms of a "tank" whatever that is. It's neckless and sleeveless, in fact it leaves the outer shoulders uncovered. the material tapers away to little more than straps over the shoulders.

So much for my fantasies of sexy New Zealand farmers!

Sounds more or less like what we might call a "tank top," "muscle shirt," or, as the Jockey brand packaging labels it, an "athletic shirt." More or less a sleeveless undershirt.

Thanks!

[Shuggy]

So much for my fantasies of sexy New Zealand farmers!

Sounds more or less like what we might call a "tank top," "muscle shirt," or, as the Jockey brand packaging labels it, an "athletic shirt." More or less a sleeveless undershirt.

It's even less sexy than that. Not usually formfitting, and if it were it would often fit a beer belly. Tends to hang out at the waist. Our human icon in this regard is called Fred Dagg (a dag is a solidified ball of sheepshit hanging in clusters from a sheep's arse. "Rattle your dags!" means "Hurry up!")
invented by a genius called John Clarke who also sets the standard for the broad NZ accent. (The educated end is set by an announcer - do you have announcers? - called Dougal Stephenson, and the scale is called The Dagg to Dougal Spectrum.) Clarke now passes himself off as Australian. He did a brilliant TV show about the Olympics in which an actor delivered the apology that John Howard ought to have delivered to the Aboriginal people.

[Jeff Wrangler]

Thanks, Shug!

Doesn't look too bad in the pic. I guess a lot depends on the body under the "singlet." 

[juneaux]

I guess a lot depends on the body under the "singlet." 

That applies to most pieces of clothing, doesn't it Jeff?   

[Jeff Wrangler]

I guess a lot depends on the body under the "singlet." 

That applies to most pieces of clothing, doesn't it Jeff?   

Sure enough! But then there is what I call "the trompe l'oiel effect." Tight tee shirts make biceps look bigger, and tight jeans make butts look better! 

(Actually, I've seen guys at my gym wear shirts that look a lot like these singlets.)