Posts by Robyn Gallagher
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We use scull, as in rowing, possibly due to the connections to sport and drinking culture.
WTF? There's no etymological connection between scull (drinking) and scull (rowing). The rowing term comes from the Middle English word sculle and ain't got nothing to do with the drinking word.
But it is possible that the spelling of the rowing term has influenced the spelling of the drinking term when it finally came time to write it down. I mean, it would be a bit morbid to skull a drink. Unless you were a pirate.
Incidentally, while skol is a common toast around the world, to scull a beverage is a unique Australasian term.
Cheers!
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The Christchurch Art Gallery has an emergency role & so is a just concrete box.
Can you elaborate on this? It reminds me of the urban myth that TVNZ's HQ in Auckland was designed to be converted into a shopping mall if the whole television thing didn't work out.
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BTW, the screen on the Supreme Court building reminds me of the screens I've seen on some buildings in Noumea, designed to protect the building in case of a cyclone. For example, the Best Western. There the practical purpose of the screen shares a pleasing aesthetic quality.
It makes me wonder what natural disaster the Supreme Court screen is going to defend it from.
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The Art Deco Trust has killed architecture in Napier, so that everything that is built must be a pastiche of a pastiche.
When I was there last, I realised that the buildings built in a non-art-deco style ended up being the ones that stood out the most.
The new Scenic Hotel Te Pania manages to be beautiful and curvy and of its beachside location without the need for fibreglass sunbursts or chevrons.
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Exactly what they did in Britain with the Millenium Dome. The contents seemed to come as an afterthought, so what could have been an inspiring piece of architecture was written off as a white elephant.
And then it was kitted out and renamed the O2 Arena, and its location and general awesomeness is apparently one of the reasons why live music is so popular and lucrative these days.
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Iconic architecture is easy. You just design a building that looks like something else which is not a building.
Britomart station seems determined to be a native forest, and is perhaps even embarrassed to be one of those horrible, manmade, land-raping buildings.
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And speaking of NZ architecture (or lack thereof) I've become really disturbed at how many new houses are built in the style of 1930s state houses.
It's like if it's not a three-bedroom bungalow with a steep roof, then it's not a proper building.
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The thing is, when it was decided to build an opera house in Sydney, they wanted a large venue for the performing arts, not an iconic waterfront building.
Likewise, the Guggenheim Bilbao is a museum, as well as being an interesting building.
It seems like Banks and co are looking at things backwards. They just want an a-maz-ing building on the waterfront because, um, isn't that what you're supposed to do if you're a world-class city, right?
It seems like no one's actually given any thought to what, if any, use the building would actually have, apart from looking quite interesting.
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Sounds like a real word in the context you used it. But it isn't. I checked.
lol @ the notion of real words and made-up words.
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I saw Avatar today, in 3D.
It was generally a good film. The CGI bits were done so well that, like the 3D, it just felt like a normal part of the film and not a "Oooh! Lookie!!!!"
So that meant that the film actually had to be good on its own, which it was.
Now, here's the thing - I generally don't enjoy fantasy or adventure films (LOTR = bleurgh!), and when Avatar got too far in those directions I found myself switching off. During the big attack scene, my mind started to wander and I started thinking about the Many Worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, WTF.
The film left me feeling a bit hopeless for humanity in general, and wondering if maybe there were some awesome kitty aliens who'd let me morph into them so I could play with their magical trees.
Avatar feels like a watershed moment for cinema, a sort of animation singularity when the unreal now looks real.
Confidential to G. Tiso of Wellington: I would not see Avatar based on the trailer. None of the pretty bits are in there. But I would see it based on it being an awesome film.