Archive >> December 2005

The many facets of King Kong

Peter Jackson’s King Kong graced the cover of the January issue of Cinefex, America’s premiere cinema effects magazine. Inside is a 45-page in depth look at the incredibly…

Metapsychology

Massey University PhD and Wairarapa philosopher Derek Mesler has been published by the MIT Press. The Act of Thinking is “the work of a mature, sophisticated and profound thinker…

A Year for Remembrance

2006 has been designated “Year of the Veteran” by the NZ government,with an official launch planned for February. According to Veteran Affairs Minister, Rick Barker, the government will provide…

Spoiled for choice

Kiwi chef Rex Morgan takes Guardian food writer Jonathan Ray on a culinary tour of Queenstown. The eating extravaganza takes place at Morgan’s recently opened boutique hotel, The Spire…

Bill Hamilton

“Bill Hamilton saw the sea for the first time when he was four years old — and he was delighted. He trapped some sea water in a bottle so…

#79: Work to Make

Designs on Hyde

Palmerston North sculptor Paul Dibble is the winner of an NZ government sponsored competition to design a $3 million war memorial in London’s Hyde Park. Dibble’s design – developed in association…

Brits Back Fat Freddy

Incessant European touring appear to have paid off for Wellington band Fat Freddy’s Drop. The dub/reggae/roots collective won worldwide album of the year at the annual BBC Radio 1 Gilles…

Keeping it Local

One of NZ’s most successful producers Tim White returned to work on Toa Fraser’s debut feature No.2. An Ilam graduate, White’s producing credits include Ned Kelly, Map of the…

A thing of wonder

Released in December, Peter Jackson’s King Kong has received near unanimous praise from critics and movie-goers around the world. “This new King Kong is a folie de grandeur with…

Pinot Lovers Unite

Wellington is to host its third Pinot Noir festival from January 31 to February 3 2007. 500 of the world’s leading Pinot Noir experts, producers and enthusiasts have been invited to the…

A Glass a Day Won’t Keep the Doctor Away

NZ researchers have put a dampener on previous claims that drinking in moderation is good for the heart. According to Auckland University’s Dr Rod Jackson, the studies conducted in the 1970s…

Going All the Way

John Hood continues to shake the cloisters at Oxford University in his attempts, as Vice Chancellor, to secure the venerable institution’s status as an academic powerhouse for the 21st century. A…

Chinese Opportunity

Fonterra has made the biggest ever investment in the Chinese dairy industry by a foreign company by purchasing a 43% stake in the Shijiazhuang San Lu Group for US$107 million. The…

2005: Year of the All Black

The All Blacks’ decisive win over Scotland on December 2 made them the first NZ side since 1978 and the first team since Australia in 1984, to complete a “grand slam”…

Each Atom of the Stone

I write this on 19 December 2005. Today is the 125th anniversary of the death of Tareha Te Moananui MP of whom…

Slipping Into Paradise

Auckland resident and former Californian, Jeffrey Masson, a psychoanalyst and ex-projects director of the Sigmund Freud archives, publishes in August his account of emigrating to New Zealand. Slipping Into Paradise, Why I…