Stars of the small screen

There was once a time when living rooms did not revolve around a television set. After all, it was just a mere 50 years ago that saw New Zealand’s first broadcast beamed into homes—a momentous occasion indeed. Tuesday saw more than 760,000 people tuning in to watch TVNZ’s Cheers for 50 Years, making it the sixth-highest rating programme of the year. To mark this milestone birthday, Idealog’s Gena Tuffery reflects on the greatest hits ever to emerge from local telly. And while nobody knows just what the next 50 years will bring to our screens, TVNZ’s manager of digital services is certainly qualified to make an educated guess. Look out for our next issue, in which editor Matt Cooney sits down with Eric Kearley for a chat about the future of our national broadcasting service.

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Barking up the right tree

Let’s face it: concrete is ugly. It’s also dirty, with cement plants around the globe responsible for five percent of the world’s CO2 emissions. Surely there’s a better way?

The answer, it seems, lies with a slightly unfashionable material. Not only is timber renewable—it’s the only building material that we can grow more of—it’s light, durable and incredibly flexible. And new technologies will enable builders to couple individual pieces together using wire and steel, making it a viable alternative in large commercial projects. With population growth outstripping the supply of housing, Alistair MacKenzie makes the case for wood as the way forward.

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Silence is golden

Following on from his sold-out 2009 debut show, homegrown talent Rhian Sheehan has announced another one-off performance at Wellington’s Opera House on June 19. Guests will be treated to material from his fourth album, Standing in Silence (featuring sonic experiments with everything from wine glasses to ambient crowd noise) as well as previously unheard material. If the sound of a concept show combining a 15-piece live band with a backdrop of surrealistic film footage tickles your fancy, tickets are available online. Alternatively, we’ve got two passes to give away; you’ll have to work for it, though. Email editor@idealog.co.nz by June 8 with an answer to the question: “Where would you most like to stand in silence?”

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Creative collaboration

CoLab at AUT and The Big Idea are calling for expressions of interest from artists and creatives for a virtual residency. The artist-in-residence will have an opportunity to use The Big Idea’s website as both the source and the location for an online project over the two-month duration. Intrigued? Find out more here, and be sure to submit all applications by the June 25 deadline.

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Desktop shoot'em'up

Says Alex Varanese: “I recently found myself wondering what a video game might look like in the form of a stop motion animation. While a normal person’s response to such a question would of course be “who gives a shit?”, I possess few of the qualities typically associated with normalcy and was irrevocably compelled to find out.” You can see the results of his handiwork here. http://vimeo.com/11918221 

Cash for cellphones

E-waste is a growing problem around the world, but a new recovery scheme proposes to pay Kiwis in exchange for their old handsets. Money4Mobiles onsells unwanted mobile phones to emerging nations including South America, Russia and India. How it works: Enter in some basic details online and give your old clunker a grade from A to D, and the website will spit out a price based on the information provided. Payments range from $1 to over $500, and you’ll be keeping hazardous materials out of landfills, too. Everybody wins.

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Gone like the wind

The idea that you can travel downwind faster than the wind itself seems illogical. But a US aerodynamicist is proving that the concept—known as DWFTTW—is indeed possible. “If you’re on a bike and you’re going downwind, you don’t feel any wind anymore at all,” he explained to Wired. “You lose the power of the wind when you reach the wind speed, because there is no relative wind at that point.” Find out more about the project on the blog, Ride Like the Wind.

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Inside the Icehouse

On the first Wednesday of every month, the Icehouse opens up to entrepreneurs who are hungry to understand the steps to business success. You’ll get the chance to meet Icehouse executives, experts and angel investors and talk to previous incubator residents over a beer. It’s not just about networking, either; start-ups director Ken Erskine will present a seminar on five rules for successful entrepreneurship based on his 10 years of experience. Did we mention that it’s all free? Register to attend the next session here.

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Room to breathe

Four years ago, surgical intern Matthew Callaghan realised that 95 percent of ventilators in the US were being used at any given time, meaning something like a mass pandemic could see patients dying for lack of respiratory support. Fast forward to today, and he’s designed a portable model called the OneBreath at a fraction of the cost of conventional machines. Smaller than a toolbox and running off a 12-volt battery, it can be easily deployed anywhere and could represent an affordable solution for developing countries.

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Get in while you can

Tickets to Semi-Permanent, New Zealand’s foremost design event, are now on sale. A limited number of earlybird and deluxe VIP places are also available—all passes, of course, include the legendary Semi-Permanent goodie bag along with access to the after-party. Speakers confirmed so far include Pixar’s Andrew Gordon, fashion designer Karen Walker, and artists Dick and Otis Frizzell. Get in now by booking online or calling 0800 BUY TICKETS.

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Tokyo time

The jury’s still out on exactly what this contraption is; rumour has it that it’s a giant clock that plays music. It also gradually opens up to reveal various sets of mechanical instruments (of torture?), apparently. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyK5FDLgNcc

Bringing the streets to life

Legendary 3D street artist Edgar Mueller’s reputation is well earned. Whether he’s creating waterfalls, volcanoes or giant icebergs, his works are movie-set worthy and and guaranteed to make you look twice.

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Quote of the week

“Rather than leap up and down about digging holes in the ground, I’m much more interested in knowing exactly what we’ll use the new-found wealth for.”

— Peter Salmon ponders the merits of the government’s proposal to open up conservation land for mining.