On February 22, [2011], 13 [bus passengers] were crushed by an unreinforced brick building at 603-13 Colombo St. I broke half a dozen bones or so, severed a tendon, spent two months in hospital and six months off work. And I was lucky. Twelve people died. I did not know them, but they forever travel with me.
Just after midday, North Carolina native and political scientist
Ann Brower boarded the no. 3 bus to Canterbury University. Shortly afterwards, falling masonry from the
2011 Christchurch earthquake trapped her and the other passengers in the bus. She was the sole survivor. Now, nearly a year later, she
describes her rescue and her recovery.
[more inside]
posted by Sonny Jim
on Feb 12, 2012 -
7 comments
Tired of the same old renditions of the Christmas Story? Try
this video and
its prequel, produced in the vein of Spike Jonze's
Where the Wild Things Are.
posted by kethonna
on Dec 15, 2011 -
6 comments
Ross Becker's
photographs of Christchurch. The central business district reopens this weekend for the first time since the earthquake (Previously:
1,
2,
3) on February 22, 2011.
[more inside]
posted by doublehappy
on Oct 26, 2011 -
3 comments
The Honeymoon From Hell. Stefan and Erika Svanstrom had planned a long trip that would start in Singapore in early December and end in China four months later.
But things didn't go exactly as planned. They encountered floods, fires, tsunamis and earthquakes along the way.
posted by mannequito
on May 6, 2011 -
14 comments
Split Enz were to New Zealand what the Beatles were to the UK, and like the fabs their legacy is impressive: an
endlessly entertaining back-catalogue and some
inspiring solo and band offshoots. One of these,
Crowded House, captured more of the world's attention, but few in New Zealand would question the priority of the Enz. Which must be why, in 2007, Radio New Zealand made an
eight-hour documentary series split over ten podcasts about their fascinating journey from art-folk-classical-prog to New Wave pop mastery:
Enzology is essential listening for any Split Enz fan, featuring "excerpts from all the hits and numerous album tracks, plus previously unreleased demos, live recordings and studio out-takes gathered from the band members' personal archives and elsewhere".
[more inside]
posted by rory
on Apr 28, 2011 -
63 comments
Eerily calm - Civil Defence New Zealand has released footage of post-earthquake Christchurch.
posted by Catch
on Mar 23, 2011 -
12 comments
In May 2010, New Zealand
introduced a new Animal Welfare Code effectively banning
the kosher slaughter of animals, or
“shechita”. Agriculture Minister, David Carter, rejected
a recommendation from advisers that Jewish ritual slaughter of livestock be exempted from animal welfare rules under the Bill of Rights - which provides for freedom of religious practice. The new welfare code had a requirement that all commercially slaughtered animals first be stunned, and forbade the importation of raw kosher poultry. Carter argued the Code was required on humane grounds, citing a study that said the animals suffered pain. A study which
Dr Temple Grandin has subsequently
criticised. Jewish law prevents stunning on the basis that this is, in fact,
cruel to animals. Halal meat in New Zealand is stunned prior to slaughter. The Jewish community contested the Code through the courts as a
direct attack on the freedom to practise Judaism in New Zealand. Bans on ritual slaughter inevitably raise
the ugly spectre of anti-Semitism. In November, immediately before the case was due to be heard, Carter made an
abrupt u-turn. The practice of shechita on poultry was declared no longer illegal while the Government also agreed to negotiate the ban on sheep. New Zealand Jews will still have to import beef from Australia, where shechita is allowed. The reversal raised the
ire of animal rights groups, and raised questions about
Carter's motivations in considering the ban.
Previously.
posted by szechuan
on Dec 12, 2010 -
75 comments
Ryan Strathfield has uploaded hundreds of rock and pop songs from Australia and New Zealand to YouTube, organized by year (full list inside). Here are some favorites, Marcia Hines'
Eleanor Rigby, The Boys Next Door's
Shivers, The Falling Joys'
You're in a Mess, Split Enz'
I See Red and Warumpi Band's
Blackfella Whitefella. Strathfield focuses on the period 1974-89 but it extends back into the 60s and forward into the 90s.
[more inside]
posted by Kattullus
on Dec 31, 2009 -
22 comments
Legends from New Zealand held that there was a large predator bird, known as
pouakai, that was big enough to carry human beings off to its nest or den. Some people associated stories of Pouakai with the
giant flightless Moa,
extinct in 1773. Others thought it might be another extinct giant bird on the
South Island,
Haast's Eagle (
Harpagornis moorei). The eagle, locally known as Te Hokioi, has been extinct for 500 years,
overlapping with the early settlers by some 200 years. There was some speculation that the giant eagle was a scavenger
due to partially protected nasal openings, which are benefit to protect nasal cavities when digging into carcasses, analogous to features found on
accipitrid vultures. Recent studies have provide
there is proof that the Haast's Eagle was a fearsome predator, with
talons like tigers and the ability to dive on prey at 80 kilometers per hour (50 mph).
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Sep 16, 2009 -
22 comments
As a belated tribute (of sorts) to
Victoria Day, may you find interest in a variety of
Victorina era literature, short and long. In the short category, there is
Chit-Chat of Humor, Wit, and Anecdote (Edited by Pierce Pungent; New York: Stringer & Townsend (1857), who has written
quite a bit of such work)
[via mefi projects], and
Conundrums New and Old (Collected by John Ray Frederick; J. Drake & Company Publishers Chicago, 1902)
[via mefi projects] This publishing house also published
The Art of Characturing, copyright 1941. If you prefer your antiquated humor with a twist, take a gander at
bizarro version of Conundrums New and Old [via mefi projects]. In the category of longer works, behold the
The Lost Novels of Victorian New Zealand [via an older mefi projects].
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on May 29, 2009 -
4 comments
