Worthy work (and free beer)

Welcome to Idealog Weekly, the free email newsletter for New Zealand commercial creatives, entrepreneurs and anyone rich with ideas.

Hi, sorry, etc. We missed our hot date with your inbox last week, due to a very persuasive printer deadline. To make up for it, let us buy you a drink—hell, it’s almost Christmas, we’ll shout you a whole keg. We have five Heineken mini-kegs to give away before Christmas, and we’ll be giving one away each week in Idealog Weekly from now till we go off air. To win the first barrel of brew, let us know your most embarrassing Christmas story. Don’t be shy—sharing is liberating, after all.

And, if you haven’t already, subscribe to Idealog Weekly for your free beer updates. 

Worthy work

Everyone cares about the Third World situation, but most people don’t have time to do anything about it in their three after-work hours. That’s why a bunch of Kiwis have started working on Third World initiatives at work. This isn’t Facebook: The Charity Edition, but real money-making businesses doing good in every sense of the word—like taking leftover meat from abattoirs, mixing it with kiwifruit pulp, drying it, packaging it and selling it as a superfood. Give it a go.

Music is for rich people

It’s said rich people breed rich people. Turns out, there’s more to it than financial osmosis—like cello lessons. An independent American survey has found 83 percent of people who earn US$150,000 or more had a music education. Sounds like it’s time for NZSO Weetbix cards.

Orange nightmare

If you haven’t heard of Orangina it’s orange juice mixed with soda. And if you haven’t seen Orangina’s new mascot it’s octopus mixed with crazy. Check out the porn star, alien-headed, fried-skinned mollusc here. Bound to whet your appetite for not drinking ever again. (Via JWZ)

The problem is the solution

What to do with car pollution? Hand it back to the cars, suggests Toyota in their pollution-fueled entry into car concept comp, Robocar 2057. The laser-wheeled vehicle has yet to zoom off paper, but if it wins the event at the LA Auto Show, who knows? Recycling is a problem. Pollution is a problem. Recycling pollution sounds like a very convenient solution.

Test tattoos

If you already have an inked Polynesian armband or a permanent reminder of a psycho ex, sorry can’t help ya. But if you’re just thinking about getting one, here’s something to try first. Computer graphics artist Loic Zimmermann has developed a program that will give you a 3-D preview of your Wolverine tat on a face, neck or wherever you were thinking of inking it. If you go ahead with it after that, you deserve to be jobless and lonely forever more.

Events

A slice of Idealog Innovation Series mid-week is just what you need to get you through to the weekend. Come down to the Auckland Art Gallery at 6pm next Wednesday to hear Kent Sneddon talk about how Methven employs design—and Rachel Hunter—to muck a buck.

The highlight of every park-dweller’s year is on tomorrow. See you at Grey Lynn Festival, rain or shine. Actually you’ll only see me if it’s shining—but you’re welcome to swill in the mud.

Quote of the week

“One man can make a difference. I know because there are five million people walking around with one of my lenses in.”

—Ray Avery in Poor fortune

More at Idealog online

Read more on our website: web exclusives, opinion, Idealog IP, the Idealog blogs and the Idealog podcast. See you at idealog.co.nz.

  Gena Tuffery
  Senior writer

Idealog Weekly is sent to friends, subscribers and registered website users of Idealog magazine.