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86 Articles

Tracking the dragon

It’s hard to think of a government statistic that has a more direct impact on the lives of everyday New Zealanders than the consumers price index (CPI). With official inflation at 7.3%, consumers, wage and salary earners, superannuitants, businesses and homebuyers need to know the direction of inflation and interest rates so they can manage their expenditure and plan ahead. And, of course, it’s one of the key influences on the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s monetary policy decisions. As RBNZ governor Adrian Orr put it recently, “inflation is no one’s friend and causes economic cost”. To fight inflation, the bank has hiked its official cash rate, which sets market interest rates, from 0.25% to 3.0% in just 10 months. Most economists believe price rises have peaked. But they also…

Tracking the dragon

Growing out of bullying

I am writing in light of the Sam Uffindell affair (Politics, August 27). For a while during the 1950s, I also attended King’s College. One day when I was a fourth-former, I was summoned to the art studio. There, a group of my cohorts were gathered to “discipline” a third former who was regarded as “bumptious”. I had not had enough contact with him to know exactly what he had done to cause offence. I’m not sure if I knew at the time that he was partially deaf. Maybe he did not always answer when spoken to. Anyway, a cane was passed around, and by the time it came to my turn each of the group had caned him once. I dropped it and left the room. There was no…

Growing out of bullying

Tracking the dragon

It’s hard to think of a government statistic that has a more direct impact on the lives of everyday New Zealanders than the consumers price index (CPI). With official inflation at 7.3%, consumers, wage and salary earners, superannuitants, businesses and homebuyers need to know the direction of inflation and interest rates so they can manage their expenditure and plan ahead. And, of course, it’s one of the key influences on the Reserve Bank of New Zealand’s monetary policy decisions. As RBNZ governor Adrian Orr put it recently, “inflation is no one’s friend and causes economic cost”. To fight inflation, the bank has hiked its official cash rate, which sets market interest rates, from 0.25% to 3.0% in just 10 months. Most economists believe price rises have peaked. But they also predict the RBNZ will…

Tracking the dragon

Caption competition

WINNING CAPTION Joe Baker, Dunedin FINALISTS Adrian Orr: “We’re trying a hands-off approach this time round.” – Brian Gore, Tauranga Orr: “Now! My new composition: 5th Refrain from Speculation in B Sharp Major 6th.” – Ann Love, Nelson Orr: “To hell with official cash rates. Is Ian Foster in the room?” – Dean Donoghue, Papamoa Beach Orr: “Let’s do the time warp again!” – Rochelle Dunlop, Wellington Orr: “We won’t panic until inflation or sea levels reach this high, whichever comes first.” – Mike Hamblyn, Dunedin Orr: “How do I balance the books? Well, I put some on this hand and the others over here.” – Richard Cole, Waipu Caption Competition {listenercaption@aremedia.co.nz} TO ENTER Send your captions for the photo at right to listenercaption@aremedia.co.nz, with “Caption Competition No 478” in the subject line. Alternatively, entries can be posted to “Caption Competition…

Caption competition

Caption competition

WINNING CAPTION Joe Baker, Dunedin FINALISTS Adrian Orr: “We’re trying a hands-off approach this time round.” – Brian Gore, Tauranga Orr: “Now! My new composition: 5th Refrain from Speculation in B Sharp Major 6th.” – Ann Love, Nelson Orr: “To hell with official cash rates. Is Ian Foster in the room?” – Dean Donoghue, Papamoa Beach Orr: “Let’s do the time warp again!” – Rochelle Dunlop, Wellington Orr: “We won’t panic until inflation or sea levels reach this high, whichever comes first.” – Mike Hamblyn, Dunedin Orr: “How do I balance the books? Well, I put some on this hand and the others over here.” – Richard Cole, Waipu Caption Competition {listenercaption@aremedia.co.nz} TO ENTER Send your captions for the photo at right to listenercaption@aremedia.co.nz, with “Caption Competition No 478” in…

Caption competition

Growing out of bullying

I am writing in light of the Sam Uffindell affair (Politics, August 27). For a while during the 1950s, I also attended King’s College. One day when I was a fourth-former, I was summoned to the art studio. There, a group of my cohorts were gathered to “discipline” a third former who was regarded as “bumptious”. I had not had enough contact with him to know exactly what he had done to cause offence. I’m not sure if I knew at the time that he was partially deaf. Maybe he did not always answer when spoken to. Anyway, a cane was passed around, and by the time it came to my turn each of the group had caned him once. I dropped it and left the room. There was no way I was going…

Growing out of bullying

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t me writing all the things from last week’s to-do list on this week’s to-do list.”– Seen on Twitter “Never lend your car to anyone whom you have given birth to.”– Erma Bombeck “Film-making is a chance to live many lifetimes.”– Robert Altman “The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office.”– Robert Frost “Leonardo DiCaprio is actually dating all the under-25s he possibly can to spread the word about climate change to those who will be the most impacted.”– Seen on Twitter “Society honours its living conformists and its dead troublemakers.”– Mignon McLaughlin “There’s very little work where the work and the reward are simultaneous, and…

10 Quick Questions

1. Which was invented first: parachutes or aeroplanes? ❑ Aeroplanes❑ Parachutes 2. Which book begins: “The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home.”? ❑ The Wind in the Willows❑ Winnie-the-Pooh❑ The Tale of Peter Rabbit❑ Animal Farm 3. True or false? Kelp is a kind of plant. ❑ True❑ False 4. The American TV sitcom Three’s Company was based on an earlier British sitcom with what title? ❑ George and Mildred❑ Rising Damp❑ Man About the House❑ The Good Life 5. Before broadband internet was available, it was common to hear dial-up modems making distinctive sounds when they connected. What is the term for those sounds? ❑ Salutations❑ Trilling❑ Mingling❑ Handshaking 6. Which country has the most speakers of Spanish as their first language?…

10 Quick Questions

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t me writing all the things from last week’s to-do list on this week’s to-do list.”– Seen on Twitter“Never lend your car to anyone whom you have given birth to.”– Erma Bombeck“Film-making is a chance to live many lifetimes.”– Robert Altman“The brain is a wonderful organ; it starts working the moment you get up in the morning and does not stop until you get into the office.”– Robert Frost“Leonardo DiCaprio is actually dating all the under-25s he possibly can to spread the word about climate change to those who will be the most impacted.”– Seen on Twitter“Society honours its living conformists and its dead troublemakers.”– Mignon McLaughlin“There’s very little work where the work and the reward are simultaneous, and comedy is that.”– Judd Apatow“If you…

10 Quick Questions

1. Which was invented first: parachutes or aeroplanes? ❑ Aeroplanes❑ Parachutes 2. Which book begins: “The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home.”? ❑ The Wind in the Willows❑ Winnie-the-Pooh❑ The Tale of Peter Rabbit❑ Animal Farm 3. True or false? Kelp is a kind of plant. ❑ True❑ False 4. The American TV sitcom Three’s Company was based on an earlier British sitcom with what title? ❑ George and Mildred❑ Rising Damp❑ Man About the House❑ The Good Life 5. Before broadband internet was available, it was common to hear dial-up modems making distinctive sounds when they connected. What is the term for those sounds? ❑ Salutations❑ Trilling❑ Mingling❑ Handshaking 6. Which country has the most speakers of Spanish as their first language? ❑ Mexico❑ Argentina❑ Spain❑ Venezuela 7. Which of these 80s films included…

10 Quick Questions

Hawke-ish tendencies

Australia’s former Labor prime minister Bob Hawke was a mesmerising mix of bar-room charm, looks and brains, who did not hide his womanising, carousing past. The “Silver Bodgie” was an original. Born in a tiny, remote town, he went on to study at the University of Oxford, breaking the world-record time for sculling a yard of ale while there, and later heading Australia’s union movement. He ceased drinking and became prime minister, serving from 1983-1991. Anthony Albanese, elected four months ago, has neither the Silver Bodgie’s flamboyance nor his flaws. But of the former Labor leader’s successors, he is the most insistent that Hawke and his government are his role models. Those aspirations were on display this month when Albanese summoned tycoons, trade unionists, academics, carers and constructors to a summit at the…

Hawke-ish tendencies

Hawke-ish tendencies

Australia’s former Labor prime minister Bob Hawke was a mesmerising mix of bar-room charm, looks and brains, who did not hide his womanising, carousing past. The “Silver Bodgie” was an original. Born in a tiny, remote town, he went on to study at the University of Oxford, breaking the world-record time for sculling a yard of ale while there, and later heading Australia’s union movement. He ceased drinking and became prime minister, serving from 1983-1991. Anthony Albanese, elected four months ago, has neither the Silver Bodgie’s flamboyance nor his flaws. But of the former Labor leader’s successors, he is the most insistent that Hawke and his government are his role models. Those aspirations were on display this month when Albanese summoned tycoons, trade unionists, academics, carers and constructors to a…

Hawke-ish tendencies

Joy in the second-hand rows

It’s a century, more or less, since the New Zealand Salvation Army began holding sales of second-hand clothes modelled on those it had been staging in Britain since the 1890s. The idea then was to offer the poor the chance to dress well and, in some cases, the dignity of labour, as they were trained to sort and sell discarded garments. But it would be another four decades until the Sallies opened their first real op shop in Christchurch in 1964. We were slow compared with the UK, where Red Cross stores proliferated during World War II. Even more so compared with Australia, where, according to Robyn Annear’s 2019 book Nothing New: A history of second-hand, the term “opportunity shop” was coined by the philanthropist and former showgirl Lady Millie…

Joy in the second-hand rows

Joy in the second-hand rows

It’s a century, more or less, since the New Zealand Salvation Army began holding sales of second-hand clothes modelled on those it had been staging in Britain since the 1890s. The idea then was to offer the poor the chance to dress well and, in some cases, the dignity of labour, as they were trained to sort and sell discarded garments. But it would be another four decades until the Sallies opened their first real op shop in Christchurch in 1964. We were slow compared with the UK, where Red Cross stores proliferated during World War II. Even more so compared with Australia, where, according to Robyn Annear’s 2019 book Nothing New: A history of second-hand, the term “opportunity shop” was coined by the philanthropist and former showgirl Lady Millie Tallis…

Joy in the second-hand rows

When we look at the continuing mad antics of Donald Trump and his equally barking Maga-hat-wearing mob of acolytes, it’s easy to shrug, sneer and shake our heads in derision, saying, “It couldn’t happen here.” The trouble is, it already has. Unless we are vigilant, it will grow and metastasise in our society until we are wracked by the lunacy currently enveloping US life and politics. We saw this phenomenon in the crazy, violent end to the drawn-out protest on the lawn at Parliament. If you’ve followed the podcast Fire and Fury, or read any of the dozens of media investigations into individuals and shadowy groups babbling about QAnon, mandates, making New Zealand “ungovernable” and the so-called “freedom movement”, you will know it is agitating and expanding here. And now…

When we look at the continuing mad antics of Donald Trump and his equally barking Maga-hat-wearing mob of acolytes, it’s easy to shrug, sneer and shake our heads in derision, saying, “It couldn’t happen here.” The trouble is, it already has. Unless we are vigilant, it will grow and metastasise in our society until we are wracked by the lunacy currently enveloping US life and politics. We saw this phenomenon in the crazy, violent end to the drawn-out protest on the lawn at Parliament. If you’ve followed the podcast Fire and Fury, or read any of the dozens of media investigations into individuals and shadowy groups babbling about QAnon, mandates, making New Zealand “ungovernable” and the so-called “freedom movement”, you will know it is agitating and expanding here. And now they want…

Let the Diana show end

The death of Diana anniversary season is in full swing. It’s 25 years since the Princess of Wales died in a car crash. There is very little new to say about her death, but that hasn’t stopped the royal-watching industry cashing in, while adding to the overflowing supply of conspiracy theories. In fact, many commentators have solved the issue of an absence of new factual material by simply making things up. The anniversary coverage features so-called experts pontificating on what the princess would say about various issues if she were still alive. What would Di have done in the pandemic? “Wearing scrubs and helping the nurses,” said ex-butler Paul Burrell. Dickie Arbiter, exroyal press secretary, told Vanity Fair how she would have sorted out the alleged William and Harry feud.…

Let the Diana show end

Let the Diana show end

The death of Diana anniversary season is in full swing. It’s 25 years since the Princess of Wales died in a car crash. There is very little new to say about her death, but that hasn’t stopped the royal-watching industry cashing in, while adding to the overflowing supply of conspiracy theories. In fact, many commentators have solved the issue of an absence of new factual material by simply making things up. The anniversary coverage features so-called experts pontificating on what the princess would say about various issues if she were still alive. What would Di have done in the pandemic? “Wearing scrubs and helping the nurses,” said ex-butler Paul Burrell. Dickie Arbiter, exroyal press secretary, told Vanity Fair how she would have sorted out the alleged William and Harry feud. A columnist wrote that…

Let the Diana show end

It’s usually the case that success has many parents, while failure is an orphan. The KiwiSaver fee tax debacle is a rare example of the opposite. Scores of extremely learned and experienced experts and officials put years into the proposal, and unless cabinet process was flouted – which would be a whole separate scandal – several seasoned ministers signed it off. Despite this, the tax proposal enjoyed the half-life of the average TikTok video before being cancelled quicker than a #NotAllMen poster on a Twitter #MeToo thread. And yet anyone who knows anything about tax and/or superannuation funds says it still needs to happen and probably will. Revenue Minister David Parker is in the ghastly position of having done his job a little too assiduously. He could barely conceal his…

It’s usually the case that success has many parents, while failure is an orphan. The KiwiSaver fee tax debacle is a rare example of the opposite. Scores of extremely learned and experienced experts and officials put years into the proposal, and unless cabinet process was flouted – which would be a whole separate scandal – several seasoned ministers signed it off. Despite this, the tax proposal enjoyed the half-life of the average TikTok video before being cancelled quicker than a #NotAllMen poster on a Twitter #MeToo thread. And yet anyone who knows anything about tax and/or superannuation funds says it still needs to happen and probably will. Revenue Minister David Parker is in the ghastly position of having done his job a little too assiduously. He could barely conceal his fury at being overruled…

PATRICK GOWER: On Paddy

In Paddy Gower’s upcoming documentary, On Cybercrime, he is fitted with an electro-destudded cap designed to measure his brain patterns while he binges on his phone, which, he says, he spends eight hours a day on. He looks like Coronation Street’s Ena Sharples, should Ena Sharples have ever worn a space-age version of her famous hairnet. He looks ridiculous. He often does. You could not accuse him of being afraid to look ridiculous. It is part of his appeal; of his hard-to-define charm. I like to imagine the technician going home and being asked what their day had been like and replying, “I monitored the inside of Paddy Gower’s head.” To which I would previously have said the only possible response was, “Good luck with that.” Before Gower was properly…

PATRICK GOWER: On Paddy

PATRICK GOWER: On Paddy

In Paddy Gower’s upcoming documentary, On Cybercrime, he is fitted with an electro-destudded cap designed to measure his brain patterns while he binges on his phone, which, he says, he spends eight hours a day on. He looks like Coronation Street’s Ena Sharples, should Ena Sharples have ever worn a space-age version of her famous hairnet. He looks ridiculous. He often does. You could not accuse him of being afraid to look ridiculous. It is part of his appeal; of his hard-to-define charm. I like to imagine the technician going home and being asked what their day had been like and replying, “I monitored the inside of Paddy Gower’s head.” To which I would previously have said the only possible response was, “Good luck with that.” Before Gower was properly famous…

PATRICK GOWER: On Paddy

Spreading the word

It’s the language that refuses to die, despite efforts across generations to kill it. Te reo celebrated its 35th year as an official language on August 1. Since that recognition in 1987, the language has gone from being a flashpoint at the coalface of racial relations to, increasingly, a source of national pride. Te reo classes are growing, with the number of people on waiting lists at indigenous tertiary education provider Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, for example, regularly topping 1000. Since 2018, the number of people who can speak more than a few words or phrases of te reo increased from 24% to 30%, according to Stats NZ’s recently published Wellbeing Statistics: 2021. Almost a quarter of Māori (23%) spoke te reo as one of their first languages, with a third…

Spreading the word

Spreading the word

It’s the language that refuses to die, despite efforts across generations to kill it. Te reo celebrated its 35th year as an official language on August 1. Since that recognition in 1987, the language has gone from being a flashpoint at the coalface of racial relations to, increasingly, a source of national pride. Te reo classes are growing, with the number of people on waiting lists at indigenous tertiary education provider Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, for example, regularly topping 1000. Since 2018, the number of people who can speak more than a few words or phrases of te reo increased from 24% to 30%, according to Stats NZ’s recently published Wellbeing Statistics: 2021. Almost a quarter of Māori (23%) spoke te reo as one of their first languages, with a…

Spreading the word

Deprived at the start

Child poverty – the words should have a chilling effect on every New Zealander. About 20% of children in this country live below the poverty line, with another 13% struggling in what the Child Poverty Action Group calls “extreme poverty”. According to the government’s Child Poverty Monitor figures, one in five children lives in a household that sometimes runs out of food – and this data was collected before the current spike in living costs. The effects are significantly worse for Māori and Pasifika. While 25% of children live in homes that have dampness problems, for instance, that figure is 35% for Māori children and 37% for Pasifika children. Yet the people who see this deprivation up close on a daily basis believe that too many New Zealanders have become immune to…

Deprived at the start

Deprived at the start

Child poverty – the words should have a chilling effect on every New Zealander. About 20% of children in this country live below the poverty line, with another 13% struggling in what the Child Poverty Action Group calls “extreme poverty”. According to the government’s Child Poverty Monitor figures, one in five children lives in a household that sometimes runs out of food – and this data was collected before the current spike in living costs. The effects are significantly worse for Māori and Pasifika. While 25% of children live in homes that have dampness problems, for instance, that figure is 35% for Māori children and 37% for Pasifika children. Yet the people who see this deprivation up close on a daily basis believe that too many New Zealanders have become…

Deprived at the start

The power of forgiveness

For the past 18 years, Marina Cantacuzino has been researching forgiveness. Her study has ranged from wars and violent crimes to everyday slights and misunderstandings, infidelities and untruths. Put baldly, what she wants to know is where and if forgiveness fits into our lives. For a word that sounds so positive, uplifting and soothing, it’s actually a messy business, with so much of the philosophy and action around it in question, or under attack. How can you forgive the murderer of your child, or the terrorist whose bomb disabled you? What if it was your father who killed your mother, or the government of your country that imprisoned you unfairly, or the doctor who failed to save your husband’s life? And if, somehow, we do forgive – or say we…

The power of forgiveness

The power of forgiveness

For the past 18 years, Marina Cantacuzino has been researching forgiveness. Her study has ranged from wars and violent crimes to everyday slights and misunderstandings, infidelities and untruths. Put baldly, what she wants to know is where and if forgiveness fits into our lives. For a word that sounds so positive, uplifting and soothing, it’s actually a messy business, with so much of the philosophy and action around it in question, or under attack. How can you forgive the murderer of your child, or the terrorist whose bomb disabled you? What if it was your father who killed your mother, or the government of your country that imprisoned you unfairly, or the doctor who failed to save your husband’s life? And if, somehow, we do forgive – or say we do –…

The power of forgiveness

Pregnant question

Growing numbers of women are developing gestational diabetes. The condition affects about 6% of all pregnancies in New Zealand and that rate is expected to rise, driven at least in part by an increase in obesity and a trend towards having children at a later age. This is bad news for the health of some mothers and their babies. If there is excess sugar in a woman’s bloodstream, it can lead to especially large babies and the potential for birth complications. There is a chance of shoulder dystocia – where the size of the baby’s shoulders impedes the birth – and the child can have dangerously low blood sugar levels after birth, creating a risk of developmental problems. Gestational diabetes also raises the risk of pre-eclampsia – a blood pressure…

Pregnant question

Pregnant question

Growing numbers of women are developing gestational diabetes. The condition affects about 6% of all pregnancies in New Zealand and that rate is expected to rise, driven at least in part by an increase in obesity and a trend towards having children at a later age. This is bad news for the health of some mothers and their babies. If there is excess sugar in a woman’s bloodstream, it can lead to especially large babies and the potential for birth complications. There is a chance of shoulder dystocia – where the size of the baby’s shoulders impedes the birth – and the child can have dangerously low blood sugar levels after birth, creating a risk of developmental problems. Gestational diabetes also raises the risk of pre-eclampsia – a blood pressure condition that…

Pregnant question

DEVICE TO DULL CRAVINGS A deep brain stimulation device could be used to help curb food cravings for those with binge-eating disorders, according to researchers from Stanford University, who tested a device in two people with severe obesity and binge-eating disorder diagnoses. The team monitored the pair’s brain activity and found a signature they associated with food cravings and bingeing. After six months of brain stimulation targeting this signature, both patients had significantly fewer binge-eating sessions, and lost weight as a result, the researchers say. POWER OF THREE SHOTS A third mRNA Covid-19 vaccine is more effective against an Omicron infection, and the effectiveness appears to wane more slowly compared with just two doses, according to research from the Statens Serum Institute. The team used Danish health registries to monitor…

DEVICE TO DULL CRAVINGS A deep brain stimulation device could be used to help curb food cravings for those with binge-eating disorders, according to researchers from Stanford University, who tested a device in two people with severe obesity and binge-eating disorder diagnoses. The team monitored the pair’s brain activity and found a signature they associated with food cravings and bingeing. After six months of brain stimulation targeting this signature, both patients had significantly fewer binge-eating sessions, and lost weight as a result, the researchers say. POWER OF THREE SHOTS A third mRNA Covid-19 vaccine is more effective against an Omicron infection, and the effectiveness appears to wane more slowly compared with just two doses, according to research from the Statens Serum Institute. The team used Danish health registries to monitor the Covid-19 status…

White-bulb moment

Question: Given that the microbiome is so important for health, why are antibiotics such as garlic regarded as healthy foods? Answer: The community of microbes in our intestines, called the gut microbiota, provides many benefits to us – such as strengthening gut integrity, harvesting energy, producing essential vitamins, protecting us from pathogens and regulating our immune system. However, these microbes rely on us, as their host, to provide a healthy environment for their survival. And the food we eat can either promote or hinder the wellbeing of our gut microbiota. The human gastrointestinal tract houses billions of microbes. Our gut microbiome (the term for the micro-organisms and their genetic material) contains about 10 times more bacterial cells than our body has human cells, and it’s estimated there is 100 times…

White-bulb moment

White-bulb moment

Question: Given that the microbiome is so important for health, why are antibiotics such as garlic regarded as healthy foods? Answer: The community of microbes in our intestines, called the gut microbiota, provides many benefits to us – such as strengthening gut integrity, harvesting energy, producing essential vitamins, protecting us from pathogens and regulating our immune system. However, these microbes rely on us, as their host, to provide a healthy environment for their survival. And the food we eat can either promote or hinder the wellbeing of our gut microbiota. The human gastrointestinal tract houses billions of microbes. Our gut microbiome (the term for the micro-organisms and their genetic material) contains about 10 times more bacterial cells than our body has human cells, and it’s estimated there is 100 times more genetic information in…

White-bulb moment

NUTRITION BITES

VEGE HIP FRACTURE RISK A study of more than 26,000 middle-aged UK women reveals those with a vegetarian diet had a 33% higher risk of hip fracture compared with regular meat-eaters. The study, which investigated the risk of hip fractures in occasional meat eaters, pescatarians and vegetarians compared with regular meat-eaters, found the only group with an elevated risk of hip fractures were vegetarians. While the study highlights potential concerns, people shouldn’t abandon vegetarian diets altogether. But a vegetarian regime often means lower intakes of nutrients linked to muscle and bone health, which can lead to lower bone-mineral density and muscle mass, and greater susceptibility to hip fractures. DOWN SYNDROME TASTES A recent study found children with Down syndrome prefer foods with a crispy, oily mouthfeel and don’t like brittle…

NUTRITION BITES

NUTRITION BITES

VEGE HIP FRACTURE RISK A study of more than 26,000 middle-aged UK women reveals those with a vegetarian diet had a 33% higher risk of hip fracture compared with regular meat-eaters. The study, which investigated the risk of hip fractures in occasional meat eaters, pescatarians and vegetarians compared with regular meat-eaters, found the only group with an elevated risk of hip fractures were vegetarians. While the study highlights potential concerns, people shouldn’t abandon vegetarian diets altogether. But a vegetarian regime often means lower intakes of nutrients linked to muscle and bone health, which can lead to lower bone-mineral density and muscle mass, and greater susceptibility to hip fractures. DOWN SYNDROME TASTES A recent study found children with Down syndrome prefer foods with a crispy, oily mouthfeel and don’t like brittle or gooey foods.…

NUTRITION BITES

Good vibrations

This curd-filled tart is truly one of my favourite sweet things. It’s sweet and also sour, crunchy and soft. LEMON TART SWEET TART BASE 100g almond flour100g raw sugar80g crushed almonds pinch salt50g vegan butter or margarine LEMON CURD FILLING 420ml can coconut creamzest of 2 lemons1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juicepinch salt½ cup raw sugar⅓ cup cornflour Preheat the oven to 160°C. For the tart base, mix the dry ingredients together. Melt the butter and add into the dry mix. Combine well, then press evenly into a 25cm fluted tart pan, with the mixture going 1cm up the sides. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. For the filling, pour the coconut cream, zest of 1 lemon, lemon juice, salt…

Good vibrations

Good vibrations

This curd-filled tart is truly one of my favourite sweet things. It’s sweet and also sour, crunchy and soft. LEMON TART SWEET TART BASE 100g almond flour100g raw sugar80g crushed almonds pinch salt50g vegan butter or margarine LEMON CURD FILLING 420ml can coconut creamzest of 2 lemons1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juicepinch salt½ cup raw sugar⅓ cup cornflour Preheat the oven to 160°C. For the tart base, mix the dry ingredients together. Melt the butter and add into the dry mix. Combine well, then press evenly into a 25cm fluted tart pan, with the mixture going 1cm up the sides. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. For the filling, pour the coconut cream, zest of 1 lemon, lemon juice, salt and raw sugar into a saucepan. Mix with a…

Good vibrations

Vive la différence

If you are a white-wine lover, you’ve probably explored sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot gris, and maybe riesling and gewürztraminer, too, all of which have been well known here for decades. Other fast-emerging white-wine varieties on the local scene include albariño, from the Iberian Peninsula, and grüner veltliner, from Austria. But the world has about 10,000 different varieties of grapes. Although still rare in New Zealand, the wines below are from varieties popular in their countries of origin. Blackenbrook Nelson Pinot Blanc 2021 If you love chardonnay, try pinot blanc, highly regarded in Italy and California for its fullness of body and moderate acidity. Estate-grown and hand-harvested in Tasman, this invitingly scented wine is weighty and vibrantly fruity, with pear, lychee and spice flavours, showing excellent delicacy and depth, a…

Vive la différence

Vive la différence

If you are a white-wine lover, you’ve probably explored sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and pinot gris, and maybe riesling and gewürztraminer, too, all of which have been well known here for decades. Other fast-emerging white-wine varieties on the local scene include albariño, from the Iberian Peninsula, and grüner veltliner, from Austria. But the world has about 10,000 different varieties of grapes. Although still rare in New Zealand, the wines below are from varieties popular in their countries of origin. Blackenbrook Nelson Pinot Blanc 2021 If you love chardonnay, try pinot blanc, highly regarded in Italy and California for its fullness of body and moderate acidity. Estate-grown and hand-harvested in Tasman, this invitingly scented wine is weighty and vibrantly fruity, with pear, lychee and spice flavours, showing excellent delicacy and depth, a distinct touch of…

Vive la différence

Outside the box

History is littered with beloved gadgets that were nevertheless cancelled. Remember the sleek Motorola Razr flip phone of the early 2000s? Or the Philips V2000 video recorder, which appeared briefly in the 1980s as a flashy rival to VHS and Betamax video? Then there’s TiVo, the TV set-top box that lets people record shows and skip the adverts. It was massive in the US and briefly went on sale here. But it fizzled out with the rise of streaming video services. These were all great devices that came into my life and left me bereft when they were discontinued. There are shades of TiVo’s demise in the closure of Vodafone TV, one of the best gadgets to emerge locally in the last decade. The streaming video service allows you to…

Outside the box

Outside the box

History is littered with beloved gadgets that were nevertheless cancelled. Remember the sleek Motorola Razr flip phone of the early 2000s? Or the Philips V2000 video recorder, which appeared briefly in the 1980s as a flashy rival to VHS and Betamax video? Then there’s TiVo, the TV set-top box that lets people record shows and skip the adverts. It was massive in the US and briefly went on sale here. But it fizzled out with the rise of streaming video services. These were all great devices that came into my life and left me bereft when they were discontinued. There are shades of TiVo’s demise in the closure of Vodafone TV, one of the best gadgets to emerge locally in the last decade. The streaming video service allows you to access premium Sky…

Outside the box

In a recent radio interview with Emily Weinstein and Carrie James, authors of Behind Their Screens: What teens are facing (and adults are missing), both the interviewer and his guests expressed curiosity that young people told the Harvard researchers they wanted more parental guidance and boundaries around online activity. Women are just as likely as men to play video games. I suspect the folk at the Te Mana Whakaatu Classification Office weren’t as surprised. Not only does their latest research show that about two-thirds of young people express concern over adult content in mainstream media, but their earlier research into online porn revealed that many young people say it is too easy to access. The online environment isn’t just where young folk go to sext, watch porn, or bully each…

In a recent radio interview with Emily Weinstein and Carrie James, authors of Behind Their Screens: What teens are facing (and adults are missing), both the interviewer and his guests expressed curiosity that young people told the Harvard researchers they wanted more parental guidance and boundaries around online activity. Women are just as likely as men to play video games. I suspect the folk at the Te Mana Whakaatu Classification Office weren’t as surprised. Not only does their latest research show that about two-thirds of young people express concern over adult content in mainstream media, but their earlier research into online porn revealed that many young people say it is too easy to access. The online environment isn’t just where young folk go to sext, watch porn, or bully each other. It’s also…

PUTIN: His life and times, by Philip Short (Bodley Head, $45) One of the key debates raging eternally in the world of international relations theory is that of structure versus agency. Is a state’s decision to engage in, for instance, violent conflict driven by external forces, domestic politics, or by the actions of an individual? Thus, the motivations behind the Ukraine invasion is put down variously to Nato expansion, the Russian regime’s fear of democracy movements, or the whims and prejudices of Vladimir Putin. A new biography of the Great Leader might therefore be helpful. In Putin, Philip Short delivers some tangible insights by detailing Putin’s tough-guy personality. As a boy, Putin plays with wannabe delinquents and is quick to throw himself into fights, even with those who dwarf him in strength…

PUTIN: His life and times, by Philip Short (Bodley Head, $45) One of the key debates raging eternally in the world of international relations theory is that of structure versus agency. Is a state’s decision to engage in, for instance, violent conflict driven by external forces, domestic politics, or by the actions of an individual? Thus, the motivations behind the Ukraine invasion is put down variously to Nato expansion, the Russian regime’s fear of democracy movements, or the whims and prejudices of Vladimir Putin. A new biography of the Great Leader might therefore be helpful. In Putin, Philip Short delivers some tangible insights by detailing Putin’s tough-guy personality. As a boy, Putin plays with wannabe delinquents and is quick to throw himself into fights, even with those who dwarf him…

RECENT BOOKS ON RUSSIA

As the title suggests, KILLER IN THE KREMLIN (Bantam) doesn’t beat about the bush. Award-winning UK war journalist John Sweeney leans on decades of his own experience and first-hand reporting, including in Ukraine, writing in easy, matey style – “We faff about for a bit trying and failing to get a cab or someone to drive us towards the war” – to expose Vladimir Putin’s aims and methods in pursuit of his long game. British historian Orlando Figes, the author of a stack of books on Russian and European history, leads us through the millennium-long making of a nation in THE STORY OF RUSSIA (Bloomsbury). It runs economically through all the historical events, icons and myths that shaped the country, its people and its politics, from Slav settlement to Ivan…

RECENT BOOKS ON RUSSIA

RECENT BOOKS ON RUSSIA

As the title suggests, KILLER IN THE KREMLIN (Bantam) doesn’t beat about the bush. Award-winning UK war journalist John Sweeney leans on decades of his own experience and first-hand reporting, including in Ukraine, writing in easy, matey style – “We faff about for a bit trying and failing to get a cab or someone to drive us towards the war” – to expose Vladimir Putin’s aims and methods in pursuit of his long game. British historian Orlando Figes, the author of a stack of books on Russian and European history, leads us through the millennium-long making of a nation in THE STORY OF RUSSIA (Bloomsbury). It runs economically through all the historical events, icons and myths that shaped the country, its people and its politics, from Slav settlement to Ivan the…

RECENT BOOKS ON RUSSIA

DOUBLE OR NOTHING, by Kim Sherwood (HarperCollins, $35) Can you write a James Bond novel without James Bond in it? It’s an interesting question, and one that drives Kim Sherwood’s ambitious first volume in a planned trilogy of spy games, Double or Nothing. Sherwood, a prize-winning novelist and creative-writing teacher, is the first woman commissioned to write an official Bond adventure. In Double or Nothing, she crafts a twisty tale that diversifies and expands the British intelligence unit MI6 while still providing some cracking adventure. The world is in danger after a group of mercenary terrorists align with a dodgy corporation run by a preachy Elon Muskesque billionaire. He makes boasts such as “I’ve hijacked the heavens” and attempts to alter the world’s climate to his own dark ends. Worst of all, legendary agent James…

DOUBLE OR NOTHING, by Kim Sherwood (HarperCollins, $35) Can you write a James Bond novel without James Bond in it? It’s an interesting question, and one that drives Kim Sherwood’s ambitious first volume in a planned trilogy of spy games, Double or Nothing. Sherwood, a prize-winning novelist and creative-writing teacher, is the first woman commissioned to write an official Bond adventure. In Double or Nothing, she crafts a twisty tale that diversifies and expands the British intelligence unit MI6 while still providing some cracking adventure. The world is in danger after a group of mercenary terrorists align with a dodgy corporation run by a preachy Elon Muskesque billionaire. He makes boasts such as “I’ve hijacked the heavens” and attempts to alter the world’s climate to his own dark ends. Worst…

Brilliant & unhinged

DARK MUSIC, by David Lagercrantz, translated by Ian Giles (Quercus, $37.99) Swedish author David Lagercrantz has a clear fascination with mavericks, eccentrics and visionaries. The former journalist wrote books about the likes of computer scientist Alan Turing and footballer Zlatan Ibrahimović before becoming a global bestseller when he deftly continued the escapades of Stieg Larsson’s goth hacker Lisbeth Salander. Now, in Dark Music, he offers a detective duo that’s a modern twist on Sherlock Holmes. Hans Rekke is an upper-class Swedish professor, gifted in many ways yet stricken by self-doubt and suicidal tendencies. Michaela Vargas is a young community cop forged in a tough neighbourhood, whose parents were political refugees and who may one day have to arrest her own brothers. Thrust together by the troubling murder of an immigrant…

Brilliant & unhinged

Brilliant & unhinged

DARK MUSIC, by David Lagercrantz, translated by Ian Giles (Quercus, $37.99) Swedish author David Lagercrantz has a clear fascination with mavericks, eccentrics and visionaries. The former journalist wrote books about the likes of computer scientist Alan Turing and footballer Zlatan Ibrahimović before becoming a global bestseller when he deftly continued the escapades of Stieg Larsson’s goth hacker Lisbeth Salander. Now, in Dark Music, he offers a detective duo that’s a modern twist on Sherlock Holmes. Hans Rekke is an upper-class Swedish professor, gifted in many ways yet stricken by self-doubt and suicidal tendencies. Michaela Vargas is a young community cop forged in a tough neighbourhood, whose parents were political refugees and who may one day have to arrest her own brothers. Thrust together by the troubling murder of an immigrant football referee, they…

Brilliant & unhinged

BABEL: AN ARCANE HISTORY, by RF Kuang (HarperCollins, $35) Babel is Rebecca Kuang’s fourth book, the first following her bleak military-fantasy Poppy Wars trilogy, which was loosely based on the Second Sino-Japanese War. This novel is grounded in experience – Kuang emigrated from Guangzhou, China, to the US aged four, later gaining degrees in Chinese studies from UK universities Cambridge and Oxford to complement her Ivy League education. She does indeed know her way around the dreaming spires. Early on, I was experiencing mild déjà vu. The plot of an orphan taken to live in an Oxford college full of secrets, in a universe where magic exists but is more like a science, has a distinctly Philip Pullmanesque vibe. The protagonist of Babel is Robin Swift, a Cantonese boy, and this vaguely multicultural Oxford…

BABEL: AN ARCANE HISTORY, by RF Kuang (HarperCollins, $35) Babel is Rebecca Kuang’s fourth book, the first following her bleak military-fantasy Poppy Wars trilogy, which was loosely based on the Second Sino-Japanese War. This novel is grounded in experience – Kuang emigrated from Guangzhou, China, to the US aged four, later gaining degrees in Chinese studies from UK universities Cambridge and Oxford to complement her Ivy League education. She does indeed know her way around the dreaming spires. Early on, I was experiencing mild déjà vu. The plot of an orphan taken to live in an Oxford college full of secrets, in a universe where magic exists but is more like a science, has a distinctly Philip Pullmanesque vibe. The protagonist of Babel is Robin Swift, a Cantonese boy, and…

Clash of cultures

HONOR, by Thrity Umrigar (Swift, $36.99) There’s no escaping the horror that underpins Honor, a novel in which two Indian Hindu brothers brutally avenge their sister’s marriage to a Muslim man. It’s a horror made all the more real by the timing of this novel’s release, 75 years to the month since the partition of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. The 1947 partition, a last-ditch move by the British administration at the end of 300 years of rule, resulted in one of the largest and most deadly mass migrations in human history and a new legacy of religious intolerance in South Asia. To then read Honor in the same week in which Indian-born author Salman Rushdie was stabbed, the target of a decades-old Muslim “fatwa”, was…

Clash of cultures

Clash of cultures

HONOR, by Thrity Umrigar (Swift, $36.99) There’s no escaping the horror that underpins Honor, a novel in which two Indian Hindu brothers brutally avenge their sister’s marriage to a Muslim man. It’s a horror made all the more real by the timing of this novel’s release, 75 years to the month since the partition of the Indian subcontinent into Hindu-majority India and Muslim-majority Pakistan. The 1947 partition, a last-ditch move by the British administration at the end of 300 years of rule, resulted in one of the largest and most deadly mass migrations in human history and a new legacy of religious intolerance in South Asia. To then read Honor in the same week in which Indian-born author Salman Rushdie was stabbed, the target of a decades-old Muslim “fatwa”, was doubly chilling. But…

Clash of cultures

DIARY OF A VOID, by Emi Yagi (Penguin, $35) When 34-year-old Tokyo office worker “Ms Shibata” is asked why her colleagues’ coffee cups are still out hours after a meeting, she tells her office head that she can’t put them away as the smell of the coffee “triggers her morning sickness”. The only problem is that Shibata isn’t pregnant. As the sole female in a workplace that manufacturers cardboard tubes, Shibata is expected to perform all the menial tasks the men somehow forget about. As a small act of rebellion, Shibata leaves the cups out, curious to see whether it “even occurred to any of [her] coworkers” to clean them. In the process, Shibata fabricates a lie so momentous that it immediately changes the way she is treated by her colleagues. Not only…

DIARY OF A VOID, by Emi Yagi (Penguin, $35) When 34-year-old Tokyo office worker “Ms Shibata” is asked why her colleagues’ coffee cups are still out hours after a meeting, she tells her office head that she can’t put them away as the smell of the coffee “triggers her morning sickness”. The only problem is that Shibata isn’t pregnant. As the sole female in a workplace that manufacturers cardboard tubes, Shibata is expected to perform all the menial tasks the men somehow forget about. As a small act of rebellion, Shibata leaves the cups out, curious to see whether it “even occurred to any of [her] coworkers” to clean them. In the process, Shibata fabricates a lie so momentous that it immediately changes the way she is treated by her…

Joyce Carol Oates’ latest, BABYSITTER (Fourth Estate), a psychological thriller of sorts set in 1970s Detroit among a group of characters following a series of child killings, is likely to divide her fans. The Observer raved: “Definitely one of Oates’s finest achievements to date, Babysitter is an unforgettable portrait of an ‘oblivion beyond even evil’.” The Boston Globe demurred: “By having Hannah return to a man who has assaulted her gruesomely, twice … Oates strains credulity to its breaking point.” The New York Times Book Review found the plot and theme bleak and indulgent, but said it “is nigh impossible to fault Oates’ style”. Ned Beauman, Bookerlong-listed author of The Transportation Accident, is back with environmental fable VENOMOUS LUMPSUCKER (Sceptre). The title creature is perhaps the most intelligent fish on…

Joyce Carol Oates’ latest, BABYSITTER (Fourth Estate), a psychological thriller of sorts set in 1970s Detroit among a group of characters following a series of child killings, is likely to divide her fans. The Observer raved: “Definitely one of Oates’s finest achievements to date, Babysitter is an unforgettable portrait of an ‘oblivion beyond even evil’.” The Boston Globe demurred: “By having Hannah return to a man who has assaulted her gruesomely, twice … Oates strains credulity to its breaking point.” The New York Times Book Review found the plot and theme bleak and indulgent, but said it “is nigh impossible to fault Oates’ style”. Ned Beauman, Bookerlong-listed author of The Transportation Accident, is back with environmental fable VENOMOUS LUMPSUCKER (Sceptre). The title creature is perhaps the most intelligent fish on the…

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PRIVACY NOTICE This issue of NZ Listener is published by Are Media Limited (Are Media). Are Media may use and disclose your information in accordance with our Privacy Policy, including to provide you with your requested products or services and to keep you informed of other Are Media publications, products, services and events. Our Privacy Policy is located at aremedia.co.nz/privacy. It also sets out how you can access or correct your personal information and lodge a complaint. Are Media may disclose your personal information to its service providers and agents around the world, including in Australia, the US, the Philippines and the European Union. In addition, this issue may contain Reader Offers, being offers, competitions or surveys, which may require you to provide personal information to enter or to take…

Worlds beyond words

Based on the upbringing of Welby Ings’ late partner, Punch is the story of teenager Jim, an aspiring boxer growing up in small-town New Zealand with his alcoholic father-coach, Stan (played by English actor Tim Roth). Jim’s growing friendship with another adolescent, Whetu, forces him to confront his own sexuality. When you drive into Arapuni, there’s a paddock on the left. In August, the grass is wet and the cows watch you disconsolately as you glide past them on the road. You wouldn’t know it now, but, when I was a kid, there was a piece of paradise in that field. It was Darby’s picture theatre – a glorified tin shed that opened the world. Every Friday night, when Dad came back from the local shearing sheds, he and Mum would…

Worlds beyond words

Worlds beyond words

Based on the upbringing of Welby Ings’ late partner, Punch is the story of teenager Jim, an aspiring boxer growing up in small-town New Zealand with his alcoholic father-coach, Stan (played by English actor Tim Roth). Jim’s growing friendship with another adolescent, Whetu, forces him to confront his own sexuality. When you drive into Arapuni, there’s a paddock on the left. In August, the grass is wet and the cows watch you disconsolately as you glide past them on the road. You wouldn’t know it now, but, when I was a kid, there was a piece of paradise in that field. It was Darby’s picture theatre – a glorified tin shed that opened the world. Every Friday night, when Dad came back from the local shearing sheds, he and Mum…

Worlds beyond words

Out, damned spot

New Zealand Opera’s new and very modern production of Verdi’s Macbeth explores contemporary issues of power and gender and the derangement and paranoia of the 21st-century human psyche. “The look and tone evoke an Italian horror movie,” says NZ Opera’s general director, Thomas de Mallet Burgess, “abstract and cinematic and rife with symbolism.” The direction and design of this Macbeth are by English artist Netia Jones, acclaimed by the Observer as “the most imaginative director of opera working in Britain today”. Speaking to the Listener during rehearsals in Auckland, Jones is bright-eyed with excitement as she explains her approach to her first Macbeth. “The thing about Macbeth is how experimental it is. It’s so modern; Verdi really pushed the boat out and took all kinds of risks,” she says. “But…

Out, damned spot

Out, damned spot

New Zealand Opera’s new and very modern production of Verdi’s Macbeth explores contemporary issues of power and gender and the derangement and paranoia of the 21st-century human psyche. “The look and tone evoke an Italian horror movie,” says NZ Opera’s general director, Thomas de Mallet Burgess, “abstract and cinematic and rife with symbolism.” The direction and design of this Macbeth are by English artist Netia Jones, acclaimed by the Observer as “the most imaginative director of opera working in Britain today”. Speaking to the Listener during rehearsals in Auckland, Jones is bright-eyed with excitement as she explains her approach to her first Macbeth. “The thing about Macbeth is how experimental it is. It’s so modern; Verdi really pushed the boat out and took all kinds of risks,” she says. “But while it’s thrilling and…

Out, damned spot

MY BOY, by Marlon Williams In a recent interview with Moana Maniapoto on Whakaata Māori’s Te Ao programme, singer-songwriter Marlon Williams observed, “All songwriting is posturing in a way. Acting, I guess.” Given Williams, who was named for acting legend Marlon Brando, has had a parallel screen career – most recently in A Star is Born, True History of the Kelly Gang and the Netflix series Sweet Tooth – he’s in a prime position to comment. He has also played roles in his music videos, notably in Dark Child, a comedic undercutting of his separation song Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore. His two previous solo albums impressed with their diversity and emotional depths. In contrast, My Boy sounds like a man at ease with himself. There’s a relaxed Pacific…

MY BOY, by Marlon Williams In a recent interview with Moana Maniapoto on Whakaata Māori’s Te Ao programme, singer-songwriter Marlon Williams observed, “All songwriting is posturing in a way. Acting, I guess.” Given Williams, who was named for acting legend Marlon Brando, has had a parallel screen career – most recently in A Star is Born, True History of the Kelly Gang and the Netflix series Sweet Tooth – he’s in a prime position to comment. He has also played roles in his music videos, notably in Dark Child, a comedic undercutting of his separation song Nobody Gets What They Want Anymore. His two previous solo albums impressed with their diversity and emotional depths. In contrast, My Boy sounds like a man at ease with himself. There’s a relaxed Pacific mood on the…

Wishful thinking

THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING directed by George Miller Once upon a time, there was a narratologist – that is, someone who studies narrative structure in stories – who travelled to exotic Istanbul to speak at a conference. Alithea has a wry northern English lilt and the face of Tilda Swinton and, with her block-coloured clothes and Titian-tinted bob, could pass for a character in the sort of book she studies for a living. So, when Alithea accidentally releases a genie from the blue glass bottle she bought in the Grand Bazaar, it’s hardly surprising, given her literary preoccupations. The giant, shape-shifting “djinn” has the face of Idris Elba. He promptly gives Alithea three wishes and proceeds to regale her with tales from his past three millennia. Three Thousand Years…

Wishful thinking

Wishful thinking

THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING directed by George Miller Once upon a time, there was a narratologist – that is, someone who studies narrative structure in stories – who travelled to exotic Istanbul to speak at a conference. Alithea has a wry northern English lilt and the face of Tilda Swinton and, with her block-coloured clothes and Titian-tinted bob, could pass for a character in the sort of book she studies for a living. So, when Alithea accidentally releases a genie from the blue glass bottle she bought in the Grand Bazaar, it’s hardly surprising, given her literary preoccupations. The giant, shape-shifting “djinn” has the face of Idris Elba. He promptly gives Alithea three wishes and proceeds to regale her with tales from his past three millennia. Three Thousand Years of Longing is the talky,…

Wishful thinking

History on our plates

CROWN LYNN: A MĀORI STORY, WHAKAATA MĀORI, Monday, September 19, 8.30pm There are many Crown Lynn stories. In the past two or three years, the dominant one has been the soaring prices paid for New Zealand’s iconic mid-century ceramics, as locked-down Kiwis spent far too much time and money on Trade Me. In that sense, Crown Lynn: A Māori Story is both timely and a reminder of what really matters. It’s one thing to have a stack of Carousel side plates in the cupboard, quite another to see and hear from the women who may well have painted them decades ago, skilfully nudging each one to the centre of the wheel, then holding the brush steady to make each perfect concentric ring. That many of the workers who moulded, made and decorated as…

History on our plates

History on our plates

CROWN LYNN: A MĀORI STORY, WHAKAATA MĀORI, Monday, September 19, 8.30pm There are many Crown Lynn stories. In the past two or three years, the dominant one has been the soaring prices paid for New Zealand’s iconic mid-century ceramics, as locked-down Kiwis spent far too much time and money on Trade Me. In that sense, Crown Lynn: A Māori Story is both timely and a reminder of what really matters. It’s one thing to have a stack of Carousel side plates in the cupboard, quite another to see and hear from the women who may well have painted them decades ago, skilfully nudging each one to the centre of the wheel, then holding the brush steady to make each perfect concentric ring. That many of the workers who moulded, made and…

History on our plates

Love at first swipe

DOCUMENTARY NZ: SWIPE WITH CAUTION, TVNZ 1, Tuesday, September 20, 8.40pm Online dating has existed since the mid-1990s and this year marks the 10th anniversary of Tinder, the dominant dating app, which turned subscribers’ phones into a pocket-portable lonely hearts club and singles bar. It, and the many other variants such as Bumble and Hinge, gamified dating and intimacy and encouraged a hook-up culture of date-free, no-strings-attached casual sex. As well, Tinder’s select-orreject swipe right or swipe left has entered the lexicon. The app’s developers came up with the function to mimic dealing cards. The gamble that app users, especially women, can take is the issue behind Swipe with Caution, a local documentary about the risk and rewards of app-based dating. With its interviewees including as many police detectives as it…

Love at first swipe

Love at first swipe

DOCUMENTARY NZ: SWIPE WITH CAUTION, TVNZ 1, Tuesday, September 20, 8.40pm Online dating has existed since the mid-1990s and this year marks the 10th anniversary of Tinder, the dominant dating app, which turned subscribers’ phones into a pocket-portable lonely hearts club and singles bar. It, and the many other variants such as Bumble and Hinge, gamified dating and intimacy and encouraged a hook-up culture of date-free, no-strings-attached casual sex. As well, Tinder’s select-orreject swipe right or swipe left has entered the lexicon. The app’s developers came up with the function to mimic dealing cards. The gamble that app users, especially women, can take is the issue behind Swipe with Caution, a local documentary about the risk and rewards of app-based dating. With its interviewees including as many police detectives as it does typical…

Love at first swipe

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 19 CROWN LYNN: A MĀORI STORY The whānau who made it all Screening: Whakaata Māori, 8.30pm Streaming: Māori+ A revelatory documentary centred on the Māori families who came to west Auckland to make the ceramics we know and love. See story, page 66. TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 20 DOCUMENTARY NZ: SWIPE WITH CAUTION The dating game of today Screening: TVNZ 1, 8.40pm Streaming: TVNZ+ Dating apps are part of the modern social environment. But sometimes they can go terribly wrong. See story, page 67. NEWSHUB INVESTIGATES: THE ENCHANTER TRAGEDY The survivors’ stories Screening: Three, 8.40pm Streaming: ThreeNow The waters around Manawatāwhi-Three Kings Islands have been described as a bucket-list destination for New Zealand anglers, a place where warmer waters are home to fish it’s hard to catch further south. But…

MONDAY SEPTEMBER 19 CROWN LYNN: A MĀORI STORY The whānau who made it all Screening: Whakaata Māori, 8.30pm Streaming: Māori+ A revelatory documentary centred on the Māori families who came to west Auckland to make the ceramics we know and love. See story, page 66. TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 20 DOCUMENTARY NZ: SWIPE WITH CAUTION The dating game of today Screening: TVNZ 1, 8.40pm Streaming: TVNZ+ Dating apps are part of the modern social environment. But sometimes they can go terribly wrong. See story, page 67. NEWSHUB INVESTIGATES: THE ENCHANTER TRAGEDY The survivors’ stories Screening: Three, 8.40pm Streaming: ThreeNow The waters around Manawatāwhi-Three Kings Islands have been described as a bucket-list destination for New Zealand anglers, a place where warmer waters are home to fish it’s hard to catch further south. But in March this year, the charter vessel Enchanter foundered and sank in a storm, taking the…

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 17 BUDDY GAMES Middle-aged jackasses Three, 8.30pm Dubious gross-out comedy, directed, written and starring Josh Duhamel, about six longtime mates in their forties reviving their annual tournament of games involving much macho stupidity. (2020) WILD TARGET Aimless Eden, 8.30pm Lacklustre comic thriller that’s a remake of a French flick and which wastes the lead pairing of Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt as gentleman assassin and an art thief respectively. (2010) STARDUST An oddity Rialto, 8.30pm Not to be confused with the imminent cinema documentary Moonage Daydream, this is an unfortunate fictionalised David Bowie biopic starring Johnny Flynn as the star during his troubled first US tour which sparked his Ziggy Stardust reinvention. No actual Bowie songs were harmed in the making. (2020) KNOCKED UP A blessed event TVNZ…

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 17 BUDDY GAMES Middle-aged jackasses Three, 8.30pm Dubious gross-out comedy, directed, written and starring Josh Duhamel, about six longtime mates in their forties reviving their annual tournament of games involving much macho stupidity. (2020) WILD TARGET Aimless Eden, 8.30pm Lacklustre comic thriller that’s a remake of a French flick and which wastes the lead pairing of Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt as gentleman assassin and an art thief respectively. (2010) STARDUST An oddity Rialto, 8.30pm Not to be confused with the imminent cinema documentary Moonage Daydream, this is an unfortunate fictionalised David Bowie biopic starring Johnny Flynn as the star during his troubled first US tour which sparked his Ziggy Stardust reinvention. No actual Bowie songs were harmed in the making. (2020) KNOCKED UP A blessed event TVNZ 2, 8.55pm Katherine Heigl, who here plays a workaholic journalist who gets pregnant after a drunken…

CAPTIONS LAGGING What’s wrong with the captions? For instance, as Simon Dallow, on TVNZ’s 1 News, spoke in front of one crime scene, the caption was still saying “kia ora”. Dallow was 10 seconds ahead of the script. Then there is the more frequent holding back thing. After a few minutes with none, a caption is followed by another too quickly to read, then another. Or the retention of one sentence while the next is plastered on top, and so on. Then, another sentence appears mid-screen while the lower screen still has the earlier lot. The captions on TVNZ 2, Three and Prime can also be unintelligible. All have captions supported by NZ on Air. Watching Line of Duty brought a pleasant surprise: clear words in sync. I missed the…

CAPTIONS LAGGING What’s wrong with the captions? For instance, as Simon Dallow, on TVNZ’s 1 News, spoke in front of one crime scene, the caption was still saying “kia ora”. Dallow was 10 seconds ahead of the script. Then there is the more frequent holding back thing. After a few minutes with none, a caption is followed by another too quickly to read, then another. Or the retention of one sentence while the next is plastered on top, and so on. Then, another sentence appears mid-screen while the lower screen still has the earlier lot. The captions on TVNZ 2, Three and Prime can also be unintelligible. All have captions supported by NZ on Air. Watching Line of Duty brought a pleasant surprise: clear words in sync. I missed the credit, so whether NZ on Air…

RADIO SEPTEMBER 17-23

RNZ Concert FREEVIEW 51 SKY 422 iHeartRADIO rnz.co.nz/concert NB: Programmes are subject to change SATURDAY News and Weather 6.00, 8.00, 9.00, noon 6.00 RNZ Concert Mornings 10.00 RNZ Concert Days 1.00 Onstage 2.00 Worlds of Music 3.00 RNZ Concert Afternoons 5.00 Inside Out 7.00 RNZ Concert Evenings 8.00 Music Alive BBC Proms 2022: The Sixteen Sing Tallis’s Spem in alium – Trad: Plainsong ‘Salve Regina’; Tavener: A Hymn to the Mother of God; Tallis: Spem in alium; MacMillan: Miserere; Tye: Missa ‘Euge bone’, Agnus Dei; Gorecki: Totus Tuus Op 60; Sheppard: Missa Cantate’, Agnus Dei; MacMillan: Vidi aquam; Byrd: Diliges Dominum, The Sixteen/Harry Christophers (recorded in Royal Albert Hall) 9.30 Sound Lounge Karlheinz Company: Suffrage 125 Celebration – Saariaho: Prelude for piano; Jennings, Janet: A Bird, a Fruit, and a Beast; Mashlan, Sophie: Shadow; Holmes, Leonie:…

RADIO SEPTEMBER 17-23

RADIO SEPTEMBER 17-23

RNZ Concert FREEVIEW 51 SKY 422 iHeartRADIO rnz.co.nz/concert NB: Programmes are subject to change SATURDAY News and Weather 6.00, 8.00, 9.00, noon 6.00 RNZ Concert Mornings 10.00 RNZ Concert Days 1.00 Onstage 2.00 Worlds of Music 3.00 RNZ Concert Afternoons 5.00 Inside Out 7.00 RNZ Concert Evenings 8.00 Music Alive BBC Proms 2022: The Sixteen Sing Tallis’s Spem in alium – Trad: Plainsong ‘Salve Regina’; Tavener: A Hymn to the Mother of God; Tallis: Spem in alium; MacMillan: Miserere; Tye: Missa ‘Euge bone’, Agnus Dei; Gorecki: Totus Tuus Op 60; Sheppard: Missa Cantate’, Agnus Dei; MacMillan: Vidi aquam; Byrd: Diliges Dominum, The Sixteen/Harry Christophers (recorded in Royal Albert Hall) 9.30 Sound Lounge Karlheinz Company: Suffrage 125 Celebration – Saariaho: Prelude for piano; Jennings, Janet: A Bird, a Fruit, and a…

RADIO SEPTEMBER 17-23

The brooding bear

When composer Georgy Sviridov (1915-1998) is remembered in the West at all, it is usually for his vocal music. In the Soviet Union, however, he was a star. A student of Shostakovich, so popular was Sviridov that he even wrote the theme to the country’s only TV news programme. “I’d never heard of Sviridov, and nor had Sarah,” admits Andrew Beer, whose day job is concertmaster of Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. “Sarah” is pianist Sarah Watkins, Beer’s artistic foil in duos and as one-third of the Levansa Trio, whose July performance of Sviridov’s gorgeous Piano Trio is broadcast by RNZ Concert this week, alongside works from Tchaikovsky, Dvořák and Claire Cowan. The idea to perform Sviridov came from Levansa cellist Lev Sivkov. Born in Russia, Sivkov is principal cello with the Zurich Opera.…

The brooding bear

The brooding bear

When composer Georgy Sviridov (1915-1998) is remembered in the West at all, it is usually for his vocal music. In the Soviet Union, however, he was a star. A student of Shostakovich, so popular was Sviridov that he even wrote the theme to the country’s only TV news programme. “I’d never heard of Sviridov, and nor had Sarah,” admits Andrew Beer, whose day job is concertmaster of Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. “Sarah” is pianist Sarah Watkins, Beer’s artistic foil in duos and as one-third of the Levansa Trio, whose July performance of Sviridov’s gorgeous Piano Trio is broadcast by RNZ Concert this week, alongside works from Tchaikovsky, Dvořák and Claire Cowan. The idea to perform Sviridov came from Levansa cellist Lev Sivkov. Born in Russia, Sivkov is principal cello with the…

The brooding bear

Woolly-headed talent

My latest money-making schemes for Lush Places involve moving into the entertainment business. The petting zoo (under construction, still) will have to be put on hold for a bit longer – maybe 10 years longer, given the reluctance of any wild animals offering themselves up for exhibition. The first of my schemes is to get into the podcasting business, like everyone else on the planet. I figure that if Meghan Markle can make a podcast, anyone can. My podcast will be called Quite Interesting Interviews with Sheep, which I think anyone would agree is a snappy title. I don’t actually have a microphone with which to record the quite interesting interviews with sheep, but here in the country we retain the number-eight-barbed-wire-can-do-or-make-do philosophy to problem solving. I will substitute a…

Woolly-headed talent

Woolly-headed talent

My latest money-making schemes for Lush Places involve moving into the entertainment business. The petting zoo (under construction, still) will have to be put on hold for a bit longer – maybe 10 years longer, given the reluctance of any wild animals offering themselves up for exhibition. The first of my schemes is to get into the podcasting business, like everyone else on the planet. I figure that if Meghan Markle can make a podcast, anyone can. My podcast will be called Quite Interesting Interviews with Sheep, which I think anyone would agree is a snappy title. I don’t actually have a microphone with which to record the quite interesting interviews with sheep, but here in the country we retain the number-eight-barbed-wire-can-do-or-make-do philosophy to problem solving. I will substitute a spatula. I have…

Woolly-headed talent

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