• Home
• Magazine
• Blog & Podcast
• Idealog TV
• Directory
• Celsias
• Search:

• Business Magazine of the Year
  MPA Awards 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2010

Pavlova principles

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

Pavlova principles

What industry teaches you “discipline, collaborative skills and determination”, “the importance of expression and its place in society“ and ”how to run a very tight ship, with no room for waste”. Dance, of course, in the words of Shona McCullagh. It’s a tough industry and it produces tough people.

In the current Idealog, Tara Jahn-Werner looks at four very entrepreneurial Kiwi women who have used the skills they learned in dance to create their own businesses, and explains why Anna Pavlova was considered such a bitch—and such a role model. Check it out in Idealog #24 and on our website.

The way we wore

Archives NZ is posting some genius material on YouTube, like this reminder of the total awesomeness of 1970s New Zealand. What a time to be alive.

There's more too, like a busbound tour of Enzed for our oldies and a 1957 look at rollerskating in Napier (where snow is never seen). (Thanks, Dan News!)

Fast finalists

The Icehouse whittled down its Fast Pitch finalists from 53 to 10 last night in a marathon pitch fest. With 60 seconds to sell their ideas, the wannabe Sam Morgans had to convince 20-odd judges including Idealog’s own Vincent Heeringa.

And the finalists? Check them out. The chosen ten will pitch in a Dragon’s Den style event on Thursday 27 at Auckland University.

Tickets to the event, which includes a guest talk by Orion’s Ian McRae, are on sale now. We imagine they’ll be gone in, oh, 60 seconds.

Magical mystery search

Remember the Ogori cafe, the Japanese business that would take your order and give it to the next guy, while handing you whatever the last customer asked for? Well, we can report that it’s also a wonderful idea for web searches and equally harebrained. Meet Mystery Google, where you get what the person before you searched for. (Keep those searches seemly!)

Wilco’s way

We’re huge fans of Chicago’s reformed alt-rockers, Wilco, but we didn’t realise quite how cool their posters are. Beautiful! Check them out at the Grids design blog.

Ana in aggregate

Nearly three years ago, Ana Samways told us her big-picture plans for Spare Room, the website and publishing empire-in-the-making she created with Steven Shaw. She’s kept up her other gig, writing the New Zealand Herald’s Sideswipe column for nearly seven years now, and this week she announced a book collecting the very best. It’ll be for sale on Friday next week only at the Warehouse and online. Congratulations, Ana—we hope we won’t have to wait seven years for the second volume.

Feeling FX

There are three big conferences for the movie and gaming FX industries: one in LA, one in Germany and one in Wellington. The latest installment of that event, AnimfxNZ 2009, kicks off in November at Te Papa and the Museum Hotel. It’s a key event for everyone involved or interested in FX and animation and features a typically top-notch list of workshops and speakers (you can expect many of the event attendees to be just as clever and well-connected too). We’ll have a story about AnimfxNZ in our next issue, but in the meantime it would be wise to get registered now at the website.

And while we’re on the topic, let me update you, dear readers, on two of my fascinations of the moment: forthcoming features with a healthy dose of visual effects, Where the Wild Things Are (opening today in the US) and The Fantastic Mr Fox. The San Francisco Chronicle comes up with this endearing headline, ‘Maurice Sendak tells parents to go to hell’ on Wild Things, which is a fair indication that Spike Jonze’s film will be no saccharin Hollywood remake of Sendak’s beloved book. And the Los Angeles Times chimes in with a from-the-trenches report on the obstinate directorial style of Wes Anderson, who apparently wasn’t on set for most of the shooting of Mr Fox. In fact, he was chilling out in a different country, and his demands caused his underlings a great deal of pain. Quote from Anderson’s director of aimation: “Honestly? Yeah. He has made our lives miserable.”

Stock take

Webstock, the addictive annual Kiwi web conference, is confirmed for February 15-19 in Wellington. On Monday the Webstockers announced the list of 2010 speakers, and it’s a doozie. We thought they’d already pretty much brought all the best web speakers to New Zealand in previous years but the 2010 lineup is fresh-faced, including Kevin Rose, founder of Digg; Jessica Jackley, co-founder of Kiva; John Resig, creator of the jQuery library and Jeff Atwood of codinghorror.com.

Even better: after delaying the Onya awards this year to avoid clashing with the NZ Internet Industry Awards, the first Onyas awards dinner will be held on the (tradionally riotous) final night of Webstock. So if you’re a New Zealander doing brilliant work online, get your entries in. You have till November 9.

Our chanteuse in Singapore

Last week, our woman in Asia stumbled across none other than our favourite songstress/covergirl, Hollie Smith, in Singapore. Miss Hollie, who was invited to perform at the Singapore Sun Festival, treated the locals to the first public outing of songs from her new album. The 12-track, yet-to-be-named disc features her trademark soul/funk vibe, but with a couple of up-tempo numbers thrown in. Her inspiration? "The last three years, really," says Smith. Since we last spoke, Hollie has travelled worldwide (including a recording spot with Blue Note, who she’d previously turned down) and has been asked to open for Coldplay and Simply Red. The new album won’t be released until March, but in the meantime she might treat you to a track or two at one of her upcoming gigs.

Quote of the week

“In retrospect, Dragon’s Den wasn’t a symbol of something new—reality TV—so much as a leftover from the days when every idea needed a patron.”

– Allison O’Neill says we no longer need money to go to market

Also in Idealog Weekly …

2010-08-27 13:26:59: 128 pages of pure gold

2010-08-20 11:51:54: Total Semi-Permanent

2010-08-13 13:18:18: Life through a lens

2010-08-06 13:54:12: Pie in the sky

2010-07-29 12:38:14: Great ideas come in twos (or more)

2010-07-23 14:16:23: The bounce factor

2010-07-16 14:59:03: What doesn't kill us makes us stronger

2010-07-09 13:46:23: The future is now

2010-07-02 14:45:16: Sneaking around

2010-06-25 13:52:07: Making their mark

2010-06-18 14:18:59: From C-student to CEO

2010-06-11 12:59:50: Walking the talk

2010-06-04 12:06:56: Stars of the small screen

2010-05-28 13:27:44: A job well done

2010-05-21 11:38:39: Story of my life

2010-05-14 13:34:52: Where are the asteroids?

2010-05-07 15:03:09: Get your fancypants on

2010-04-30 14:44:05: Ready, aim, fire

2010-04-23 15:11:14: Lean machine

2010-04-16 13:38:34: It's better when it's free

2010-04-09 11:11:34: Good fortune

2010-04-01 13:47:45: Forward thinking

2010-03-26 14:58:28: Back to basics

2010-03-19 12:43:58: End of the road

2010-03-12 14:29:30: Under the sea

2010-03-05 14:32:56: Race to the bottom

2010-02-26 14:43:20: Small but mighty

2010-02-19 14:43:04: A taste of what's to come

2010-02-12 16:27:05: The case for saving science

2010-02-05 11:20:54: Betting on the bell curve

2010-01-29 11:43:43: Urban facelift

2010-01-22 12:46:42: Back to business

2009-12-18 12:32:14: An Idealog year

2009-12-11 11:32:17: Cultivating creativity

2009-12-04 12:41:50: Beating the data maze

2009-11-27 13:20:20: Into the wild

2009-11-20 12:09:59: Clever Kiwi

2009-11-13 15:24:34: Behind the scenes

2009-11-06 16:14:16: The garlic solution

2009-10-30 17:36:54: Man of the moment

2009-10-23 18:20:02: By the numbers

2009-10-16 16:18:27: Pavlova principles

2009-10-09 18:53:36: The secret of the songbook

2009-10-02 14:52:56: Free and easy

2009-09-25 14:58:12: What the world wants

2009-09-18 14:58:12: A slice of the pie

2009-09-11 16:16:54: Walking man

2009-09-06 22:39:01: A calmer kind of business

2009-08-28 16:14:07: We have issues

2009-08-21 14:15:49: Mincing about in waistcoats

2009-08-14 15:16:48: Wired on pop culture

2009-08-07 14:33:11: Trust is not a commodity

2009-07-31 14:05:29: Fuzzy logic

2009-07-24 12:44:11: Game of life

2009-07-17 15:07:41: Grape expectations

2009-07-10 15:55:03: Blade runners

2009-07-03 16:10:16: Free: another word for nothing left to lose

2009-06-26 17:29:25: Poorly pleased

2009-06-19 13:07:47: The giver

2009-06-12 15:09:07: Buggy on down

2009-06-05 13:15:14: Brand Cambo

2009-05-29 14:46:37: When the going gets tough, go proactive

2009-05-22 14:49:27: Bayerische Wasserstoffmotorenwerke

2009-05-15 13:37:38: Rugger blogger

2009-05-08 16:19:47: Get on our cloud

2009-05-01 14:23:55: Easy Tiger

2009-04-24 10:45:23: Tiki tacky

2009-04-17 15:41:21: The not-so-great indoors

2009-04-03 15:41:21: A site for sore eyes

2009-03-27 12:01:53: Dual control

2009-03-20 12:41:29: Worth their Alt

2009-03-13 11:40:07: Biofuels or bio-fools?

2009-03-06 13:06:03: It's electrifying

2009-02-27 12:05:00: Experience-rich and theory-poor

2009-02-20 08:34:12: It's a hundred-and-fourteen-pager

2009-02-13 10:17:02: Own your mistakes

2009-02-05 11:08:46: Rules—made to be broken

2009-01-30 12:13:46: Money: that's what I want

2008-12-05 12:15:14: Framed by the thousands

2008-11-28 11:53:12: Spank-branding novelty next week

2008-11-21 10:07:48: In the Loop

2008-11-14 12:30:00: Your good health

2008-11-07 15:29:37: Misfits of science

2008-10-31 00:00:00: No absence of colour

2008-10-24 12:55:16: Plain-speaking Peri

2008-10-17 15:17:07: Rebels with a cause

2008-10-10 14:53:35: Seoulipsism

2008-10-03 13:18:51: Fall seven times and stand up eight

2008-09-26 13:20:53: Don't label us

2008-09-19 14:37:12: Bloody Graham

2008-09-19 14:17:45: Dream proposition

2008-09-05 15:21:48: Taxi!!!

2008-08-29 11:24:08: Up-Skilling on Idealog TV

2008-08-22 13:16:57: 144 pages of pure pleasure, plus politics

2008-08-15 11:42:43: Wash down that Lovemark with a Steinie

2008-08-08 12:00:07: Strange journey

2008-08-01 15:17:10: SMElly and happy

2008-07-25 13:24:35: What a dive

2008-07-18 12:19:42: Softly and woolly does it

2008-07-11 11:59:13: The saviour from Timaru

2008-07-04 14:50:24: Last laugh

2008-06-27 10:56:38: King Kev

2008-06-20 12:20:14: Slow ART

2008-06-13 11:56:13: Killing two birds with methane

2008-06-06 11:41:39: A combine harvester

2008-05-30 11:55:00: Gold paint

2008-05-23 12:01:40: Rock, out

2008-05-16 10:44:03: Goodwill hunting

2008-05-09 11:53:04: No wine jokes please

2008-05-02 11:51:55: Who's bad?

2008-04-24 13:23:02: Succession success

2008-04-18 13:41:43: Out now or thereabouts

2008-04-11 12:52:49: Paint by numbers

2008-04-04 14:24:53: Reincarnated good

2008-03-28 15:26:16: Making it

2008-03-20 17:03:39: Knock three times

2008-03-14 12:31:52: The customer is always tight

2008-03-07 11:56:55: Beautiful words

2008-02-28 12:55:22: Goodnight, I'm off to work

2008-02-22 12:15:19: The art issue

2008-02-15 11:31:15: Straight to the top

2008-02-08 16:05:53: H for hot

2007-12-13 14:52:13: Nothing in common? Perfect

2007-12-06 12:50:32: Who needs a beer?

2007-11-30 12:37:37: Dirty secret goes public

2007-11-23 13:28:24: Don't speak

2007-11-16 17:01:13: Worthy work (and free beer)

2007-11-02 20:07:12: East meets best

2007-10-25 12:47:59: Raid the fridge

2007-10-19 09:18:05: Looking good

2007-10-13 10:20:34: Can't miss it

2007-10-05 12:55:52: Fresh meat delivery

2007-09-28 11:49:23: If the walls had eyes

2007-09-21 04:13:23: Phoenix rising

2007-09-15 04:32:01: Can we fix it? Yes we can

2007-09-06 19:00:00: Feats of social engineering

2007-08-31 09:01:09: Doesn't bite

2007-08-24 13:21:33: Telling us where to go

2007-08-16 23:00:00: Tomorrow time

2007-08-10 12:15:51: Going West

2007-08-03 12:35:31: How to ... be your business

2007-07-27 14:11:06: Freaky food

2007-07-20 15:05:00: Meet the neighbours

2007-07-12 12:16:19: Free Hollie

2007-07-06 09:03:58: Green queen

2007-06-29 08:59:24: The truth about youth

2007-06-21 16:03:33: Walk this way

2007-06-14 17:58:53: Times ten

2007-06-07 15:13:55: The ape woman needs a label

2007-06-01 08:51:45: Impossible is something

2007-05-25 14:53:52: Yeah, we're still here

2007-05-11 14:43:35: Trophy time

2007-05-03 15:49:14: Friends with the band

2007-04-23 23:00:00: Why worry?

2007-04-19 16:08:21: Done by the big jobs

2007-04-12 22:34:29: A rockin' good read

2007-04-05 13:54:05: No fear

2007-03-29 21:54:07: Out to pasture

2007-03-22 15:38:14: Hip-hop and The Human Touch

2007-03-15 14:27:49: Crazy Frog and Billy T

2007-03-10 01:00:00: The Benadryl edition

2007-03-01 14:30:53: We can be Xero

2007-02-22 17:17:14: Back on board

2006-12-15 12:34:29: Free beer

2006-12-08 11:09:40: December 8, 2006

2006-12-01 10:13:51: December 1, 2006

2006-11-24 13:38:37: November 24, 2006

2006-11-16 12:08:37: November 16, 2006

2006-11-09 12:13:04: November 9, 2006

2006-11-03 13:27:12: November 3, 2006

2006-10-26 13:39:26: October 26, 2006

2006-10-19 16:11:46: October 19, 2006

2006-10-12 17:31:36: October 12, 2006

2006-10-06 10:16:05: October 6, 2006

2006-09-28 16:19:29: September 28, 2006

2006-09-21 15:42:31: September 21, 2006

2006-09-14 13:56:38: September 14, 2006

2006-09-07 00:00:00: September 7, 2006

2006-08-31 00:00:00: August 31, 2006

2006-08-24 00:00:00: August 24, 2006

2006-08-17 00:00:00: August 17, 2006

2006-08-11 00:00:00: August 11, 2006

2006-08-03 00:00:00: August 3, 2006

2006-07-27 00:00:00: July 27, 2006

2006-07-21 00:00:00: July 21, 2006

2006-07-13 00:00:00: July 13, 2006

2006-07-06 00:00:00: July 6, 2006

2006-06-29 00:00:00: June 29, 2006

2006-06-22 00:00:00: June 22, 2006

2006-06-15 00:00:00: June 15, 2006

Tweeted

Overheard

• Steve on Bottled inspiration:
  Next time you're in Barcelona make sure you stay at the famous Hotel Palace where Antipodes is stocked in the mini-bars and served in the restaurant.  …
• tony on Multi-purpose car park design pushes the sustainability envelope :
  You mean pushing the BS envelope.how can a carparking building be sustainable. Doesnt matter how many wind turbines you put on it......cars arent sustainable in their current guise. It like ...  …
• ash on Wellingtonian's boggy blog design piece gets anti-attention:
  cool idea..but is it a smooth wipe too!?  …
• Tamara Pitman on Misery, Inc.:
  Really never thought that she was a New Zealander, her artwork is sooooooo unquie. Really one of my inspirations now :D  …
• Noel mRoberts on The people's court opens for business:
  At last a N.Z. building design that is original,creative and exciting. So different from the standard rectangular concrete and marble structures that have become the N.Z.standard over many years. Well ...  …
• Bel on Camera never lies:
  Oh my. Very excited about this! Saw the doco at the festival a few years back and it was both funny and moving - can't imagine how kick-ass it will ...  …

• Back to top
• Looking for something else? Check the site map
• © 2005–2010 Idealog. All rights reserved. ISSN 1179–3465