– Dorothy – 28/11/97 When anyone looks up at the Port Hills from Christchurch the feature standing out above the silhouette of the hills is the 119 metre TV tower on Sugarloaf. The choice of this site for the tower is an indication of the all round views that can be seen from Sugarloaf Hill,…
– Dorothy – 28/11/97 Defeat of Pam Corkery’s bill These have been much in the news this week with the defeat of Pam Corkery’s Private Member’s Bill prohibiting the erection of cellphone towers within 300 metres of schools. Twin towers in Hamilton Today the erection of twin towers beside Sacred Heart College and a Hamilton…
– Stuart Sontier – 28/11/97 Buy Nothing? What do they mean? That question resounded around the main streets of Wellington and Auckland on Friday 28 Nov, when groups in those and other locations in New Zealand celebrated International Buy Nothing Day this year. “Buy ‘nothing’ for one whole day, see how good it feels” was…
– Kate Methven – 28/11/97 Mid November 97 saw the re-opening of the Auckland Town Hall following a $32.8 million restoration over a two year period to update it into a fully air conditioned entertainment complex. Originally built in 1911, the building’s facade of Oamaru limestone and Melbourne bluestone base is unchanged except for a…
Film review – Dagny – 21/11/97 The basic premise of this movie, which is reflected in the stunning opening sequence, is that space is so incredibly, unbelievably vast that there must be someone else out there. “If it’s just us”, say several characters in the film, “doesn’t it seem like an awful waste of space?”…
– Dorothy – 21/11/97 Travelling along State Highway 1 between Christchurch and Picton State Highway 1 carries a lot of traffic at any time, but during the summer and especially in the holiday period it is a very busy road. Our family have travelled it many times en route from Christchurch to Picton, Nelson or…
Dorothy – 13/11/97 Moratorium on approval for further Casinos The bill proposing a moratorium on approval for further casinos in New Zealand received enough support in Parliament for it to be referred to a Select Committee. That committee is expected to report back by the end of this month (November). There are widely divergent views…
– Ann Croupier – 13/11/97 “You suck!” Yet another satisfied customer expressing his appreciation for my skills as a croupier. Things are normal for a Friday night at the casino. “Do your chains weigh you down?” I respond. At the patron’s confused look, I explain. “Your chains. You know, the ones chaining you to that…
Film review – Conrad – 13/11/97 There should be a warning on the promotional material for this movie that it is likely to induce paranoia and a disconnection from reality. At least that’s how I felt when I came out. This is one of those movies that seems somehow familiar (I was reminded of Scorceses’…
Film review – Dagny – 12/11/97 The ubiquitous Ewan MacGregor you see him here, you see him there, this year you see him everywhere. In A Life Less Ordinary, by the film makers who brought us Shallow Grave, we see our boy Ewan playing yet another engaging loser. Alongside Ewan we have the less ubiquitous…
