Stateside with Rosalea: Midweek musings

**Y'all come by and sit a while!** Is the East Bay trying to spit me out? First up, the BART line I live on will soon be the direct route to San Francisco International Airport. Then, on June 30, Air NZ will start a direct route between SFO and Auckland. You mean, all I have to do is wheel my luggage half a block to the nearest BART station and hop off at Mangere? I'm on it!

I cannot recommend enough, coming to SFO instead of going through Los Angeles. We have a brand new airport here, and it's much less hectic than LAX. The San Francisco Chronicle yesterday did a big article about the new service, and though I am loathe to send you away from Scoop, I don't want you to miss it, so here's the link: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/01/ 27/BUGN84IBJF1.DTL

**Yesterday's New Hampshire Primary** Like your first teenage love fumble, it was all over in a matter of minutes. In fact, the Hardball pundits on MSNBC were calling it for Kerry half an hour before the polls even closed. At 7 in the morning of polling day, results were already being broadcast nationwide from one small New Hampshire town. They showed Kerry in the lead, and the conventional wisdom is that everybody loves a winner. Who put the "mock" in democracy, that's what I want to know.

**Kiss that Oscar goodbye, PJ** Speaking of mockery - I reckon Peter Jackson can kiss the Best Director Oscar goodbye after appearing on the entertainment news shows in shorts, t-shirt, and bare feet. Don't you know these people are gods and goddesses, Peter, and must be taken seriously? Just kidding. I think.

Congratulations to all the other Kiwis nominated for awards, and to those not named but who underpinned the nominees' achievements.

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