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May 17, 2012
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Changes are afoot for the wine industry: there’s strong pressure for vineyards to operate more sustainably, and nowhere is that clearer than in the Waipara Valley. During the summer, buckwheat blossoms among the
ripening grapes, which reduces the need to spray for pests and is readily
transferred to other crops. As Amanda Cropp finds out, it’s all part of a biodiversity
initiative to improve sustainability and develop eco-tourism that’s not only spread beyond Canterbury, but to foreign shores as well.
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The inventor of Rotorua’s adventure ride, the Shweeb, always dreamt
big. But Geoff Barnett never imagined Google might give him a million dollars to
help turn his concept of a human-powered transport system into a global
reality. Google’s Project 10^100 called for ideas to change the world by
helping as many people as possible. From more than 150,000 ideas, five
organisations around the world were selected to receive a share of US$10
million; one of those was Kiwi monorail tech company Shweeb. Essentially, the concept consists of two interlocking overhead circuits, from which pedal-powered pods are suspended. The firm will soon announce a location where the first transit Shweeb will be built for public use, but in the meantime, you’ll find the original at Agroventures Park.
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What’s a holiday without booze? With Boeing planning to take tourists into space within five years, it was only a matter of time before somebody started thinking seriously about how to handle refreshments. Now researchers at Astronauts4Hire are set to test an Australian beer that’s brewed and bottled especially for consumption in microgravity. Its flavours are amplified to combat numbed taste buds, it’s less carbonated than most, and it’ll be bottled to stop it spraying all over the place.
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Hot on the heels of Fashion Week, another side of the industry will be the focus of the 2010 FINZ conference at Auckland’s AUT Conference Centre in Auckland on October 7. This year’s theme—Fashion Without Borders—translates as discussion on everything from design and the digital revolution, to retail mavericks and the future of manufacturing. It’s all about thinking outside the square, forging new paths and breaking a few rules. Keynote speaker Robert Buckingham, founder of the Melbourne Fashion Festival and Australian Fashion Council, will present the Retail Futures Report, which identifies the key issues projected to influence the global retail sector over the next 18 months. Don’t miss out: register online today.
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Rapping it up
So this is what Justin Timberlake is up to these days. Backed by the house band on Jimmy Fallon’s NBC show, the duo ran through a brief history of rap music, performing samples of everything from the Beastie Boys to Soulja Boy.
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Congrats to Mark Easterbrook, the winner of our Eru Dangerspiel giveaway. You’ll be experiencing the band—a veritable who’s who of Kiwi musos—firsthand at the Auckland Town Hall on October 8, thanks to Loop Recordings. Enjoy!
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A New Zealand designed and developed creation has won a prestigious grant totalling more than NZ$2 million from the US Department of Energy to deploy its invention in America. Wave Energy Technology (WET-NZ), a collaboration between Crown research institute Industrial Research Limited (IRL) and Power Projects Limited, has developed a quarter-scale wave power device that produces 2kW of power and has been deployed off Christchurch since 2006. Thanks to the award, it will now build and test a second device off the coast of Oregon, as well as embarking on detailed scale modelling at Oregon State University. A half-scale version designed to produce 20kW, funded by the New Zealand Government, is also in the works.
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As the name suggests, creating public spaces which make people feel at home is the guiding philosophy that defines ‘placemaking’—a community development model that focuses on developing and revitalising public areas. And this month Placemaking New Zealand will be holding its second annual forum, open to anyone working in urban design, infrastructure or community development around the country. The theme for the October 13 event is ‘Placemaking in NZ: The Way Forward’ featuring Tom Beard of Wellington City Council, Kylie Hawker of TownCentre Taupo and Gareth Green from Taupo District Council. There’s no charge to attend, but bookings are essential. RSVP to forum2010@placemaking.org.nz.
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Auckland advertising agency Colenso BBDO has been named Agency of the Decade by YoungGuns International, beating out some of the world’s biggest names to take the prestigious title. In fact it surpasses TBWA\CHIAT\DAY New York, DDB London and Saatchi & Saatchi, London on the list. The award is unique as it focuses only on young and emerging talent (those under 30); some of the campaigns that picked up Gold Bullets include an exploding billboard to promote Deadline Couriers and the Yellow Treehouse, where a Kiwi was challenged to build a restaurant up a tree using only businesses found in the Yellow Pages directory. Colenso also happens to be the only agency to have won YoungGuns Agency of the Year twice, in both 2001 and 2008. And if that’s not enough overachieving for one company, it was recently crowned Network of the Decade.
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The spotlight will be on Manukau in coming weeks as the Manukau Festival of Arts kicks off on October 15. While last year’s festival staged 34 events (Villa Maria Cult Couture, Pecha Kucha and the Creative Arts Sector drew full houses and critical acclaim), 2010’s installment is looking to eclipse those numbers with a total of 38 events overall. Highlights will include the sequel to 2009 hit Strictly Brown, as Strictly Brown 2 sees the return of the Kila Kokonut Krew with live acts, special guests and giveaways. Southside Gig will present a series of dance competitions, workshops and performances featuring J Williams, P Money and more, and a healthy dose of family fun with a full day of kite flying at Barry Curtis Park.
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What lies in store for the publishing industry is a hotly debated topic, and here, global design and innovation consultancy IDEO presents its vision for the future of the book. Unsurprisingly, it’s more interactive and more engaging than today’s passive printed tomes. IDEO reckons there are three routes the book might take, and they’re called Nelson, Coupland and Alice.
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Art for art's sake
Speaking of which, the future of the arts in Britain is looking a tad gloomy, with proposals of a 25 percent cut in government funding flying around. But artists aren’t taking it lying down; instead they’ve launched a campaign to “Save the Arts“, starting with this animation by David Shrigley featuring a farmer discussing, well, the value of our creatives. Watch
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Quote of the week
“When you see winemakers and their families
coming out and helping with the planting on a sunny
day, it warms the cockles of your heart.”
— Steve Wratten on the importance of community buy-in
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