Dave Gee: Life from Right Field

One of my old Summer Camps, Stagedoor Manor, has got permission to stage the premiere of the theatrical version of High School Musical (the hit Disney tv movie-musical) later this month.

Stagedoor Manor, the prestigious theatre summer camp in the Catskill Mountains of New York will stage the first amateur production of High School Musical. It's apparently being Directed by the brilliant Mr Larry Nye (Yay, Larryland! ;-) and will be performed by a cast of Stagedoor's third session campers.

Based on the hit Disney Channel film, HSM has just been adapted for the stage, in a full-length two-act version and a shorter one-act 70 minute version.

It contains all the songs from the Disney Channel soundtrack, plus two new songs and a High School Musical Megamix (cool!). The new numbers are: Cellular Fusion (Chad, Taylor, Company) and We're Counting on You (Jocks and Brainiacs), plus Wildcat Cheer (not on the CD).

(Stagedoor Manor, situated in Loch Sheldrake NY, is the top specialist theatre summer camp in the USA, staging over 40 shows every summer, and teaching valuable acting and performance skills to hundreds of teenagers each year. The movie Camp was based on director Todd Graff's time as a camper at Stagedoor Manor, and was largely shot at the camp in the summer of 2002).
Not surprisingly, Disney and Music Theatre International have already received "an overwhelming response from schools all over the country", with over 2,000 schools expected to produce High School Musical onstage by the end of next year. (A professional Broadway production of the show is also in the works... Liza Minnelli is rumoured to be up for role of the drama teacher Ms Darbus).

High School Musical has set records for tv viewers, and sales of its CD soundtrack and DVD. The Disney Channel movie's also proved a hit in Australasia and Southeast Asia.

The made-for-tv-movie stars Zac Efron and Vanessa Anne Hudgens as students Troy and Gabriella, who fall in love and battle opposition from friends and enemies to star in their school musical.
A junior novel based on the movie hit the top spot on the New York Times bestseller list (children's paperbacks) and an album of sheet music from the movie is also very popular.

* TheaterMania: Stage Version of High School Musical to Debut at Stagedoor Manor
* Broadway World: Disney Confirms First High School Musical Productions
* Playbill: "Camp" Site Gets First Dibs on Stage Version of Disney's High School Musical

Got to spend a couple of days up in Wanaka last week... One of the stories we were did was up at the Snow Park in the Cardrona Valley, on a couple of 'Free Skiers' - a brother and sister team.

Unfortunately the sister-half, Amy had injured her knee and was waiting for surgery... However brother Lyndon was happy to show off a few moves (altho we couldn't see his speciality halfpipe as that was closed...)

One of Lyndon's few jumps that my camera was quick enough to capture... ;-)

Chris and Dave up at the Snow Park... Neither of us had sunglasses, I left my beanie back at the office (in Dunedin), but at least we were both layered up with thermals...

Cameraman Damon shoots the action, Chris watches on, and the injured Amy gives instructions from the sidelines...

While we were up in Wanaka, we caught up with a local journalist and pilot Barry Cardno to do a story on him. Barry was paralysed from the waist down in a top-dressing plane crash 11 years ago (he has some movement in his legs, but relies on a wheelchair to get around).

He's been battling the CAA to be able to fly again, and recently took his first solo flight in over a decade in a 'Light Sports Aircraft' (a modern Microlight). Barry uses a t-bar attachment which fits onto the foot pedals, so he can control the rudders with his hands.

The solo plane he normally uses was waiting to be repaired, so here he is preparing to go up with his instructor Ruth from Fly Wanaka...

Chris (learning the ropes as our trainee camera assistant) takes a break up against one of the Tacnam's (Light sports aircraft)... No, we didn't get to go up... only the real pilots and the cameraman get to do that kind of thing ;-)

I was up in the Maniatoto recently, and we were hoping to do a story on a Bonspiel (outdoor Curling tournament) to be held on the Idaburn Dam. Although the water's been frozen over for much of the winter, the ice has to be thick enough to support a couple of dozen teams over a good day's play.

Because of the delicate conditions required, it's not possible to hold a Bonspiel every year, but organisers were hopeful this time around because of our very cold winter. It was the job of local bonspiel boss Stuart McKnight to check the ice every few days, drilling down to see how thick it was.

Unfortunately a few fine spells, combined with heavy snowfalls (not good for dumping on the ice) meant the planned day had to be called off, and is pretty unlikely to happen this year...

Vegetarian website GoVeg.com have a great Top 10 list online, giving good reasons why should keep pork off your fork...

GoVeg says pig products (ham, sausage and bacon strips) are loaded with artery-clogging cholesterol and saturated fat... they'll go straight to your hips and turn you porky.

Pigs are actually very smart animals... much smarter than dogs, and have excellent memories. After hearing that pigs have the mental capacities of a 3-year-old human, actor Cameron Diaz said "[Eating bacon is] like eating my niece!".

Many pigs are also raised in cruel factory farms, in very crowded conditions, poor ventilation, and filth. To keep the sick and diseased pigs alive (and to promote faster growth), pigs are often fed antibiotics normally used to treat human illnesses. This has contributed to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains known as "superbacteria".
And stop using that cliche "Sweating like a Pig". Pigs don't actually sweat, which is why they bathe in water or mud to cool off. Pigs are normally very clean animals, and when outside the cramped environments of factory farms are careful not to soil the areas where they sleep or eat.

However, GoVeg do get it wrong with their #10 reason for not eating pig flesh... They advise "feasting on faux pork products instead". Now I've seen bacon-flavoured-chicken-slices in the supermarket, which always seemed silly to me... If you don't like the taste of bacon, why would you buy chicken that's been doctored to taste like it?!

Check out the full list at...
* GoVeg.com: Top 10 Reasons Not To Eat Pigs

See also...
* Dave Gee: Life from Right Field (post from October 6 2005) - Don't Eat Pigs 'cause they're made from Ham... Eat that Nasty Butcher Man!

* Toonhound: Oink! Magazine (the comic run by pigs ;-)

* Hat Tip: whoar.co.nz

Hillin Cluck's had a bumpy few weeks, with the release of the report into Taito Phillip Field's dodgy immigration dealings, and the embarrassing international tour by the Crown Prince of Farce, Foreign Minister Winston Peters. (Of course, being a Labour MP, Taito's safe as houses - so to speak - PM Cluck would never let any of her MPs come under serious investigation).

Parliament's continued to be a battleground, with Opposition MPs rudely questioning the way the PM deals with wayward MPs, and for the cynical reaction to Finance Minister Michael Cullen's hints that Business and Personal Tax Cuts in 2008... just months out from the next election.

But help may be on the way for all New Zealanders... A group known as the 'Peace Government' are mobilising 200 expert Yogic Flyers here, to create an immediate "influence of coherence in the country", and make New Zealand "invincible".

President of the Peace Government of New Zealand, Dr. Graeme Lodge, says "Invincibility Schools" are being established around the country, where students will "practice Yogic Flying together to create coherent collective consciousness — the basis of an invincible nation".

Dr Lodge says, "These Yogic Flyers will neutralize overnight the dangerous buildup of negativity in national consciousness and promote positivity and harmony in the country and throughout the world".
The Invincible Nation Program is underway in New Zealand and 30 other countries, as part of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s global peace program.

Supporters point to Holland as an indication of the success that can be achieved. 400 Yogic Flyers have been working there for the last three months... Since then, Holland has seen a booming economy, a drop in Governmental problems, growing harmony amongst its citizens, and greater respect from other countries.

The Program will be no doubt welcomed by those in the Middle East... apprently even a few hundred Yogic Flyers is sufficient in a country to "dramatically reduce negative trends, such as crime, violence, and conflict, and to promote positive social, economic, and political tendencies throughout the whole population".
Over 1,600 peace-creating yogic flying experts have also assembled in Washington and Iowa. Organisers there claim early success... after helping the US stock market record one of its largest one-day gains of the year (the only blue chip stock to drop was evil cigarette company Phillip Morris).

US organisers are aiming to get 3,500 Yogic Flyers. Once they're all busy flying we are told to expect greater success for the Government, for Peace and Prosperity to reign, and for Violence and Conflict to subside completely. Sounds good then!

* Scoop: Peace Govt Launches Program to Make NZ Invincible
* Newswire: Flyers Claim Early Success
* Victory Before War: Maharishi's Homeland Defense
* Stuff: Teflon Helen needn't fear

No, this is not a joke. The one and only David Hasselhoff (star of Knight Rider, Baywatch, and German/Swiss Pop Superstar) is to star in a musical based on his own life.

David Hasselhoff: The Musical will open in Melbourne, before moving to United States. He's no stranger to the theatre stage, having performed in the musical Jekyll & Hyde on Broadway, and as Billy Flynn in Chicago on the West End.

The Hoff says, "I was offered to go on tour in Australia starting last December with just a concert, and then they came up with the idea for (the musical)".

"It sounds like a bad joke, but it is really going to be a good show...totally campy".

The Hoff is currently a judge on NBC's America's Got Talent in the USA. He is preparing to release his autobiography "Making Waves" in September, and is still recording smash hit pop records in his spare time. His latest release Jump in my Car - where he parodies his performance as Michael Knight in Knight Rider — hit the dizzying heights of #50 on the Australian charts... (Watch the video below and you might see why it didn't go any further ;-)



A group of UK fans have launched a website, Get Hasselhoff to Number 1, aimed at getting David Hasselhoff's 1980 European hit single Looking for Freedom to the top of the UK music charts, through internet downloads. When 75,000 people have signed up, a "Hoff Alert" email will be sent out encouraging fans to buy the digital download, and hopefully send the Hoff to the top of the UK singles chart.

The Guinness Book of Records lists the Big D as the "Most Watched Star on Television" . Another site dedicated to him is Drop It Like It's Hoff. It features hundreds of Photoshopped images (like the ones shown here), featuring David Hasselhoff as the star of Movies, TV Shows, Sports, or pictured with Famous Celebrities.


* Stuff: Hasselhoff to star in musical based on his life
* Get Hasselhoff to Number 1
* Drop It Like It's Hoff
* Hat Tip - Generation XY

A belated post this one, but still worth putting up...

Dunedin recently held its annual Cadbury Chocolate Carnival... a week-long festival of activities and events around Chocolate.

One of the most popular annual events is the Baldwin Street Jaffa Race. Basically 20,000 Orange Chocolate Candies (called Jaffas) are released from the top of what's believed to be the Steepest Street in the World (Baldwin Street, North East Valley, Dunedin).

The jaffas are individually numbered (you buy a number just like a raffle ticket), and the first ones to make it down the hill and through the little chute at the bottom score a prize... :-)

The first Jaffas took less than 10 seconds to roll through the chute at the bottom...
(Don't believe what they tell you on State TV - 2.5 seconds?! Obviously their expense accounts don't stretch to stopwatches ;-)

Local kids pick through the piles of Jaffas for their next meal... Mmmm, tasty... Chocolate mixed with tar, tyres, and street rubbish!

Sky Television New Zealand are plannning to add a new specialist Documentary channel to their meagre lineup. The cleverly titled Documentary Channel will launch in November 2006, following next month's launch of MTV NZ and the localised relaunch of kids channel Nickelodeon.

Richard Driver (Visionary TV) will manage the new channel, which Sky say "will be available to all SKY digital subscribers, representing 43% (huh?! What are you people on?!!) of all television homes nationwide"... (presumably what they actually mean is "all SKY Digital subscribers who are paying us at least $46 a month - not those who are just paying us $18 a month to rent a box to get clearer pictures of the free-to-air broadcasters... albeit with lots of digital blotching because we compress them so much").

The New Zealand produced channel plans to offer "the very best of home-grown and international documentaries", which will be sourced "from the existing substantial library of New Zealand documentaries as well as established and respected international and festival sources".

The Documentary Channel is aimed at "discerning SKY viewers" (which may exclude the 530,000+ viewers who tuned into State TV2's Nicky Watson special on the once-respected current affairs show 20/20, now reduced to - as Ric Salizzo put it - 'Freak of the week' shows ;-)

On a related note, Sky TV is promising more channels and less rain fade, when it moves to the new Optus D1 satellite in September. The new satellite will have "more power", and will deliver greater capacity... It could boost Sky's capacity by 25% to a total of 75 channels - depending on the level of image compression they go with.

* Sky TV: New Homegrown Documentary Channel to Launch on Sky
* NZ Herald: New Sky TV satellite to combat rain fade

Sky Television NZ are preparing to launch their localised version of music and youth channel MTV at 6pm on August the 18th. It's the second try for MTV down under, after State TV's experiment of operating the channel Free to Air ended after just a year (closing down the semi-regional Horizon Pacific Television in the process, and rushing MTV to air as competition for CanWest's new TV4).

Sky say MTV NZ will be "a non-stop 24 hour entertainment channel combining MTV favourites as well as home grown locally produced shows, music and talent". It'll be available on Sky Digital Channel 35, to all subscribers on the 'Start Up' package or better (ie. anyone paying over $46 a month).

The new MTV operation has already employed 22 New Zealand-based staff, and says it plans to expand on that next year. They've taken on Stefan Chapman from More FM to head up the Programming side of things, with Chris Keely being employed as MTV NZ's General Manager.

The new channel will have first run new episodes of Punk’d, as well as the Laguna Beach spin off, The Hills. A new locally produced show Full Tank is promised, which Sky say will "hit the roads in search of the exciting, the kinky, the glamorous and the downright weird". (Free to Air rival C4 will continue to play some MTV-produced shows under its current contract).

Meanwhile, C4 is heading for a revamp as it prepares for the international challenger. Industry rumours suggest the CanWest channel is considering extended its broadcast hours (it currently only runs 4pm to midnight during the week).

C4 is also dropping a number of its specialist music programmes, many of which have been around since its launch in 2003. Locally hosted shows Amp'd, Intellectual Property, Flashbacks, Sound Lab, Holla Hour, and Freestyle are all being dumped from the schedule.

* Scoop: For the first time in NZ’s history MTV is YOURS
* Muzic.net.nz: C4 To Drop Specialist Shows
* Sky TV: MTV NZ

The Diet Coke and Mentos Experiment (see post below for details) has become a worldwide phenomenom, generating over 5 million viewings since being posted online in late May.

But while there's plenty of copycat clips out there, you won't find the original on the likes of YouTube... Indie filmmakers Stephen Voltz and Fritz Grobe posted their video clip on Revver.com - a site which adds advertisements to the end of its web films.

Revver.com relies on viewers to click on those ads, bringing in money which is split 50/50 with the creaators of the video clips... 5 million viewers translates to a healthy $28,000 for the Coke and Mentos scientists.

YouTube claims it plays around 100 million videos a day... but creators don't receive any revenue for all those eyes. However they hold the lions share of the online video market, restricting the likes of Revver and Eefoof.com (another site offering to pay content creators) to niche players.

Another player that's been online for much longer is AtomFilms. It's been distributing short films since 1998, and claims to have paid out millions of dollars in royalties, with top filmmakers making making six figure sums. AtomFilms' revenue comes from banner ads, and from commercials inserted before film clips.

* InformationWeek: Internet Video
* Revver.com
* Eefoof.com
* AtomFilms

Firefox, the web browser promoted by the Mozilla Foundation, is being readied for its next big battle against Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Both are preparing for major new releases of their browsers later this year.

Microsoft were initially keen to rest on their laurels after "winning the browser wars", but a small but steady drop in the market share of Internet Explorer forced a rethink by the software giant. They're now preparing to release Internet Explorer 7 - a major upgrade of their aging browser, with a new look, tabbed browsing (popular with Firefox and Opera users), support for the likes of RSS (Really Simple Syndication), and better security and protection against 'phishing'.

Opera 9 is already out, while Mozilla's Firefox 2.0 is now in Beta, with new features like an integrated spell-checker, anti-phishing features, a new look/theme, better integrated searching, 'microsummaries' for bookmarked Web sites (updated headlines from sites), improved tabs, improved RSS integration, and the ability to recover from browser crashes.

With Microsoft putting together a better product, the challenge for Firefox to further grow its market share will be even tougher... Studies put its current reach at anything from 10% to as high as over 30% in parts of Europe.

* eWeek.com: Firefox 2.0 Beta 1 Is No Slam-Dunk
* Lifehacker.com: Firefox 2.0 Beta 1 Screenshots
* Computerworld: Firefox use growing around the world
* PCWorld.com: Master Firefox's Hidden Configuration Tools

Disney's megahit original tv movie High School Musical is finally making an impact in New Zealand.

The movie's been screening recently on the local version of the Disney Channel, and the single "Breaking Free" (taken from High Schoool Musical) has been sitting at #1 in C4 Music Television Select chart. Now that song is in the top 20 of the NZ singles charts, the High School Musical Soundtrack CD is in the Top 5 of the album charts, and the DVD's just been released here as well.

The modern day Grease is the highest rated movie of the year in the USA (on both cable and network) amongst kids and teens. The singles, album soundtrack, and DVD have set sales records.

Now High School Musical is up for six Emmy awards... Outstanding Children's Program, Best Director, Best Choreography, Best Casting, and two nominations for Outstanding Music and Lyrics ("Get'cha Head in the Game" and "Breaking Free").

Sequels are already in the planning stages... Producers are now working on the script and music for High School Musical 2: Sing It All Or Nothing! Zac Efron, Ashley Tisdale, and other main stars will all return for that tv movie (to begin shooting when Efron finishes doing Hairspray), along with Director and Choreographer Kenny Ortega (Dirty Dancing, Newsies).

Production is now delayed until early next year, and may not be released until 2008. A third film - High School Musical 3 - is also planned, along with a Broadway show.

* ABC 4: Utah-filmed "High School Musical" gets 6 Emmy nominations
* Zap2it.com: 'High School Musical' Star Lands 'Hairspray' Lead
* Los Angeles Times: It sells like teen spirit
* Deseret News: Disney high on 'Musical'

Zac Efron and co. show off their hoop skills on the court...

Television promo for the Encore DVD Edition of the hit Disney Channel TV movie High School Musical...

New Zealand's National Party has launched a new website, dedicated to keeping a tally of wasted spending by the Labour-led minority coalition Government currently running the country (with the help of NZ First and United Future).

PM Hillin Cluck, Finance Whiz-grandad Michael Cullen and co seem quick to point out how much extra money they've spent in recent years. However, they're slower to answer why despite pouring multi-billions more into Health, waiting lists keep growing... or why so many New Zealanders have suddenly become "sick" or "invalids".

Monitoring and pointing out Government wastage was previously the hobby of ACT Party leader Rodney Hide. However, with that party represented by just two MPs in the current parliament it seems National have decided to have a crack at it.

Former Act MP Ken Shirley highlighted the scandal at Te Wananga o Aotearoa before the last election, where millions of dollars was spent on "muppet" courses like twilight golf, hip-hop tours, Cuban literacy programmes, along with free laptops for students.

National Party leader Don Brash says he's collected many fresh examples of wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars, including the $490 million blowout in building four new prisons (doesn't anyone work to budgets these days?!), and $1 million for a pilot phoneline scheme in the Bay of Plenty where 12 staff answer an average of 3 calls each per day.
He also mentions the millions of dollars Labour takes out of the Government coffers for self promotion... not a new thing by any means, and something they and the Unions see nothing wrong with. ($440,000 to send out Hillin Cluck's "pledge card" and glossy brochure to every home in the country, and a healthy $15 million to encourage thousands more kiwis to sign up for welfare in the 'Working for Families' campaign).

* Stuff: Nats launch website exposing 'wasteful Govt spending'
* Scoop: Website to highlight Labour's wasteful spending
* David Farrar: Waste Watch
* Waste Watch website

This little video is great... (Some of you might have seen it already - it's been doing the rounds recently...)

The video features a brilliant Mime/Impressionist performing his interpretation of Natalie Imbruglia's hit single "Torn"... :-)

* Hat tip: Holy Moly

There was an interesting story on State TV's Close Up at 7 programme tonight, on the future of the humble tv...

Titled "Is Television Dead?", reporter Bryan Seymour looked at whether the internet could be sounding the death knell for regular free-to-air television.

He spoke to a couple of (anonymous) people who download tv shows over the internet, through bit torrent systems. Friends download different shows, and swap cds/dvds between each other. They acknowledge what they're doing is technically illegal... downloading the latest episodes of popular US shows like Lost, Nip/Tuck, and the latest hit Prison Break (yet to screen in New Zealand, but advertised as "Coming Soon" on TV3).

It's hard to criticise their actions... While a handful of shows screen on New Zealand television within a month or so of their American broadcasts, many others sit on the shelf for 6 months to a year or more... Others never even make it onto our screens. For many people, the frustration of waiting to see what other viewers are talking about online is just too much.

For some fans, it's the only way to see a cable or "cult" tv show. One example mentioned recently in a local tv magazine was sci-fi showThe Dead Zone. Based on the Stephen King book/movie of the same name, Series One of the USA Network show played here on Prime TV, but the network said it had no plans to buy any more. The show's now into its 5th season in the United States.

Kiwis currently have no legal option for downloading tv programmes. While American surfers can now pay to legally download a selection of tv shows and movies through sites like itunes, no such service exists here. Indeed, New Zealand is becoming one of the few non-third-world countries where Apple's popular music and video download store iTunes still hasn't been launched.

IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) is the other growth area, offering streamed tv programming directly over the net. Even the overseas networks themselves are starting to get in the action, launching their own Broadband TV channels.

(* See my earlier post: Broadband TV is here! for more info)

The other way to see a broader range of programming is through pay television. New Zealand has pay tv courtesy of Sky Television via digital satellite and a limited UHF service. (Telstra Clear offer cable television, but this service is operated through Sky and has a similar lineup).

Sky's offering is massively overpriced, has an extremely limited lineup, few package options, and poor quality picture (you can often get a noticeably better picture through a clear VHF channel signal, than from the same digitally-compressed channel on Sky Digital). For some reason though, around 40% of NZ households subscribe!
Sky NZ's interactive tv guide is slow and clunky (partly because they chose to upgrade the tv guide software, without upgrading the set-top boxes its running on). The company are pushing their "My Sky" interactive 'personal video recorder'. It's integrated with a tv guide, and lets you record up to 60 hours of television onto its hard drive. It's not as intelligent as the popular US service Tivo... You can't skip through adverts (although you can fast forward like on a video recorder), and it costs $600 to install, although the box is still actually owned by Sky.

The basic "Start Up" Sky package costs $46.61 a month and gives you just 30 TV channels (including the free-to-air State TV and CanWest Mediaworks ones). Adding the 3 Sports and 4 Movie channels (as many households do) will take the monthly Sky bill to a whopping $80.38! For just 36 channels?!

Compare that to Sky UK... Choosing all 6 Channel categories (Variety, Kids, Knowledge, Style & Culture, Music and News & Events) on its digital satellite service will give you over 260 channels, and cost £21.00 a month (~ $61.70 NZ). (You can choose to have fewer categories... £15.00 (~ $44.11 NZ) will still give you well over 200 channels... or choose to add extra Movie, Sports, and Premium subscription channels).
For UK viewers unwilling to pay a monthly subscription just to watch telly, there's a couple of "free" options. After buying a special digital satellite set-top box, you can view 120 free TV channels through Sky's freesat service... or 34 free channels through the more common Freeview service, pushed by the BBC.

Here in New Zealand, firm plans for the future of television, and a digital changeover date have yet to be announced. The former National Government were working on a digital tv proposal with UK cable company NTL as far back as 1999, but those plans were ditched at a cost of millions when Helen Clark's Labour Party took power.

The Government's now working with local free to air broadcasters on a Freeview service based on the British system (albeit one with far less channels ;-) A final decision is expected within the next month or two.

It's possible it may be broadcast on both Digital Satellite (TVNZ and CanWest have agreed a 15-year leasing deal on the new Optus D1 satellite) and through Digital Terrestrial (DTT - the modern version of the current transmitter/aerial setup).

* Close Up: Is television dead?
* Aardvark: The changing face of ISPs
* Wikipedia: IPTV

UPDATE: According to MediaCom's Marketing Digest newsletter out today, the Government will be announcing its intentions on free-to-air digital television next Thursday (15th June).

They point out how far behind New Zealand is... "The world is going digital -- analogue television has already been switched off in Berlin, the UK will close down in 2012, the US a couple of years later. Just last month, for the first time more British viewers watched free-to-air digital television than watched via analogue".

Check out this hilarious video from the guys at EepyBird.com...

You may have seen various videos on sites like youtube.com where people create real "Soda Fountains", using just Diet Coke or Pepsi, and Mentos candy mints.

Now these guys have taken the Diet Coke and Mentos rockets idea to an extreme level, creating an amazing choreographed "mint-powered version of the Bellagio Fountains in Las Vegas"...

(Hopefully the New Zealand versions of Diet Coke/Pepsi + Mentos have the same effect?!)...

* More info at: EepyBird.com
* Hat Tip: attention seeking rubbish

I'm sure you've all seen Sony's fancy bouncy coloured balls advertisement for their Bravia TVs.

Now, a great spoof version of the famous commercial has been made to promote UK soda/soft drink/fizzy drink brand Tango, complete with the now familiar song Heartbeats by José González.

The bouncing balls have been replaced by bouncing oranges, apples, lemons, watermelons, and kiwis (the fruit - not the people ;-). The 43 crates of runaway fruit break windows, and cause havoc as they hurtle down the streets of Swansea, in South Wales.

The funniest part is the site hosting the advt... It claims to be representing the 'Swansea North Residents Association', and features downloadable versions of the "banned commerical" ("thanks to Huw's nephew David"), photos of the "destruction by the TV commercial film crew" and interviews with "outraged local residents"...
It's all part of a very clever marketing campaign by the ad company (the Residents Association site's actually registered to one CHI Advertising ;-) They've even created websites for "local paper" the Brecon Beacon Herald, and the Swansea Press Association, who both supposedly covered the event.

The Swansea Residents site makes for amusing reading in itself... basically taking the p*ss out of small towns...

The site looks like one of those really badly designed personal homepages about "My Cat", complete with flashing text and a bad colour scheme. Locals are enouraged to join the new 'Swansea North Yodelling Club', as part of a celebration with their twin city in Austria!

* Watch the "banned" Tango bouncing fruit ad here...
* Swansea North Residents Association's site...
* The original Sony BRAVIA Ad is here...

* Hat Tip: Cool Hunting: Tango Clear Commercial

Poor Dr Michael Cullen... An esteemed MP for the Labour Party seats of St Kilda and Dunedin South between 1981 and 1999 (now a Labour-lister), Deputy Prime Minister, Leader of the House, Minister for Tertiary Education, and of course Finance Minister for the NZ Government.

But it seems even fans of his own party aren't convinced by his recent financial decisions... Last year's Chewing Gum Budget almost lost Labour the election (before he pulled the swifty of "free money for all students").

Dr Cullen tried to temper expectations this year with his Bondi Budget, but despite insisting there was no room for tax cuts (they're committed to spending on the Cullen Fund, more Welfare, and Free loans) announced a surplus of around $8.5 billion.

That brought another drop in the polls for Labour, and more criticism from business groups, financial analysts, and the media.

But apparently the media aren't supposed to publish or broadcast stories saying anything bad about the Labour-led government, and when some of Labour's long-time friends joined in with the criticism, Dr Cullen decided enough was enough.

Last Thursday, an agitated little Michael Cullen lashed out at "friend of the family", State TV's Political Editor Guyon Espiner as he was preparing for an interview, accusing him and others in the Parliamentary press gallery of driving the debate over tax cuts for their own personal gain.

To Espiner's credit, he decided to run pieces from that pre-interview "chat" with Dr Cullen, in which the 64-year old MP ad makes it clear he's "quite angry about this!" ;-) It's absolutely one of the funniest political pieces seen since the glory days of Tennis-gate!

* TVNZ: Cullen attacks press over tax cuts
* TVNZ Video: One News item
* NZ Herald: Cullen accused of losing the plot after outburst caught on camera
* National Business Review: The other face of Michael Cullen

* Hat Tip: Whale Oil

* Sir Humphrey's: Cullen: Guyon Espiner, Tracey Watkins and NZ Herald staff chasing tax cuts for themselves

The wait for "Cheaper, Faster Broadband" could still be some way off for Kiwi web surfers.

The Labour-led New Zealand Government recently took the heavy handed step of regulating private company Telecom, "unbundling the local loop" and removing constraints on the UBS broadband service resold by local Internet Service Providers.

While the question remains whether any Government should be involved in the affairs of private business, at least it should eventually lead to more choice, and cheaper, better quality telecommunications services for New Zealand consumers.

The Government's full announcement could take 12-18 months to be turned into actual legislation (Western Governments like to waste their time ;-), although commentators are tipping the "Faster, Cheaper Broadband" component to be on the market by October... This should translate to Telecom and its competitors being able to offer broadband with download speeds of up to 24MB and upload of up to 1MB).

(Although you never know with Telecom... The company recently defended their TV marketing, saying the use of the phrase "Faster, Cheaper Broadband" clearly meant either Faster or Cheaper Broadband... but not necessarily both at the same time! ;-)

However, it seems many local users will penalised while they're waiting for that to arrive... Ihug have announced they'll be counting customers upload data against their monthly data allowance. Previously, they were the only local provider to provide free uploads, only counting downloads.

Ihug say the change is needed, because Telecom are now enforcing customer data limits. Their move follows the launch of the 3.5 Mbps plans earlier this year... customers moving from Ihug's old 2MBps bliink plans had their peak data allowance slashed in half.

The best spinoff from the whole regulation decision hasn't really been covered in the mainstream media... the dodgy sounding "Naked DSL". It's the part I have to admit I'm most looking forward to (although it's likely to be over a year away from reality).

Basically it means you'll no longer have to pay Telecom (or anyone else for that matter) to rent a home landline, when all you want is broadband internet access. I had to connect to Telecom when I moved house recently, and have to pay them $42.20 a month for the privilege of having a home phoneline which I never use, just because I want to connect to the internet.

I have 200 free minutes in the evenings and weekends through my work cellphone plan which does me just fine for my personal phone calls. I wouldn't even have a clue what my landline phone number is, so friends and family won't be inconvenienced when I can finally ditch the Telecom line, as I've never managed to give it out!

* NZ Herald: Ihug counts uploads
* Ihug: Changes to Broadband Plans
* NZ Government: Government moves fast to improve Broadband

Proving Disney can still cut it with today's teens, their latest hit tv movie-musical has just broken DVD sales records in the United States.

High School Musical, a modern-day Grease, has already broken records for Disney. The original TV movie was the highest rated telecast in the Disney Channel's history.

Now, with the release of the High School Musical DVD ("Encore Edition"), more records have been smashed. The DVD sold over 400,000 copies in North America on its first day of release (May 25th), making it the fastest-selling tv programme on DVD this year, and the fastest-selling television movie of all time on DVD.

The DVD features the original broadcast version of High School Musical, plus a special "Sing-along Version", so that fans can play Karaoke at the appropriate musical interludes, plus a bunch of special features and "never seen before extras. (A "dance-along" version has also screened on TV, but doesn't appear on this DVD).

A CD of the High School Musical Soundtrack (featuring all the songs from the film) is also available... It has been to #1 in the US Billboard charts, has sold over 2 million copies, and certified 2 x Platinum for sales by the RIAA. An unprecedented nine original songs from the "High School Musical" soundtrack made Billboard's Hot 100 chart... 5 in the top 40!

High School Musical stars Zac Efron from WB's Summerland, Vanessa Anne Hudgens, Corbin Bleu, Monique Coleman, and Ashley Tisdale from Disney TV's The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.

There are now plans for a Broadway version of the show (featuring new actors). Producers are planning it as a 3 part series, with the first movie sequel, High School Musical 2: Sing It All Or Nothing! (featuring the original cast) planned for release later this year, or early 2007.

* WorldScreen.com: High School Musical DVD Breaks Records
* The Birmingham News: Going back to High School `Musical' song and dance make winning team
* MTV News: What Is 'High School Musical' And How Did It Get To #1?

Controversial heavy metal band Lordi were the suprise winners in this year's Eurovision Song Contest, held in Athens on Saturday night. The shock rockers, who perform in latex masks and monster costumes, won the long running European song contest with their entry "Hard Rock Hallelujah".

Lordi's win is the first for long suffering Finland (after 44 attempts), and means next year's Eurovision contest will be staged in Helsinki.

The result was a surprise for many fans, although it wasn't the first upset of the week... Pre-contest favourites, Kate Ryan's Je T'adore failed to even make it through last week's semi-final.

Pop songs still performed well, with Dima Bilan coming second for Russia with Never Let You Go, and Carola coming fifth for Sweden with Invincible (in her 3rd Eurovision contest... failing to repeat her 1991 win, but a big improvement on last year's Tom Jones-lite entry, which gave Sweden the embarrassment of being relegated for the first time). Meanwhile Daz Simpson only managed to score a 19th place for the UK with his rap-pop track Teenage Life.

Lithuania managed to finish 6th with LT United's awful We Are The Winners... an amateurish little ditty where the band proclaim themselves the winners of Eurovision. They didn't win, but didn't do too bad either, considering few were picking them to even qualify for the final.

2006 winners Lordi are now planning to release their song all over Europe (including a UK release), along with some promotional concerts and tours... I won't link to their song, as I think it's pretty awful really!

Instead, check out Iceland's amusing entry... Ms Silvia Night (a fictional Icelandic star of stage, screen and music, and apparently a character on a top rating tv show over there). Her song Congratulations and performance was apparently meant as a joke, but the rest of Europe didn't get it... Ms Night being booed during the Eurovision semi-final, and failing to qualify for the final.



In the Britney-esque song, Ms Knight declares how her amazing abilities will herald Iceland's first Eurovision win... "I'm Silvia Night and I'm shining so bright, Eurovision nation, Your dream's coming true, You've been waiting forever for me to save you!"

However her behaviour before, during, and after the contest have drawn criticism from Eurovison Song Contest organisers, the Media, and those from her home country. She was warned by officials for using the "f" word in her song. She also swore on tv when describing the Swedish and Dutch entries, and had her bodyguard eject a journalist from a press conference for looking at her the wrong way. (Both actions were later described as "media stunts", with the "journalist" apparently a fellow actress).

(Even one of Silvia Night's biggest fansites has shut up shop, after declaring her "embarrassment for our country").

And here's her post semi-final antics... (Warning: Some language may disturb the more sensitive of you out there... ;-)




* DotEurovision: Silvia Night told to Mind Her Eurovision Language
* Life Style Extra: Oh Lordi! Rockers take Eurovision
* M&C: Finns hope to cash in on Lordi's surprise victory
* Mirror.co.uk: 20 Finns about the World's Strangest Little Nation

It'll probably never make it down this part of the world, but a great new film is now screening (on limited release) in the United States...

Stagedoor is a documentary which follows five different teenagers, as they attend the prestigious performing arts summer camp Stagedoor Manor, in the Catskills Mountains of New York.

I was able to work there as a Camp Counselor and Stage Manager in the summers of 2000-02, and had some of the most fun and rewarding times of my life.

Stagedoor Manor has nurtured and spawned a huge range of talent, including the likes of Felicity Huffman, Robert Downey Jr, Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Zach Braff and Mandy Moore.

Stagedoor the documentary's the work of Director Alexandra Shiva... the wife of former camper Jonathan Marc Sherman, who went there for five summers in the 80's, and is now a top playwright and actor.

Those featured include a few names I recognise ;-)... Randi Kleiner (Hey Hey Randi!), Taylor Rabow (Hey Hey Taylor!), Nicole Doring, Maddy Weinstein, Robert Wright, plus the long serving staff like Barb Martin, Konnie Kittrell, Jeff Murphy, Larry Nye, Phil Shute, Doug Quinn, David Moellenkamp, Karen Lynch... and a ton of familiar old camper faces I spotted in the trailer alone!



It follows on from the success of the 2003 movie Camp, a fictional film partly based on the experiences of Writer/Director Todd Graff as a camper at the prestigious US Summer Theatre camp, Stagedoor Manor.

International youth television giant MTV Networks plan to launch a 24 hour MTV New Zealand channel from the middle of August. The Nickelodeon channel will be relaunched at the same time, customised specifically for New Zealand audiences.

The new MTV channel will be fully owned and operated by MTV Networks Asia Pacific, and will be carried on Sky Television's Digital satellite service (Channel 35).

MTV say the channel will feature local programming and presenters, while drawing on the wide range of programming already produced by their US and European channels.

It's not the first time the MTV brand has been seen in New Zealand... State TV operated an MTV New Zealand service between June 1997 to June 1998, using a feed of MTV-UK as their basis.

It was operated (badly) by TVNZ as a free to air UHF channel in the main centres, using the frequencies of the axed Horizon Pacific Television regional network. MTV-NZ was launched in reaction to CanWest's new youth-oriented channel at the time, TV4.

In more recent times, CanWest's C4 Music Television (which replaced TV4) has had a partnership arrangement with MTV, playing popular signature shows like Jackass and Pimp My Ride in a branded MTV-30 programming block. It's understood that deal will remain in the place when MTV NZ launches (at least for the time being).

MTV plan to work closely with New Zealand record labels to promote local acts, and hope to tap into the youth advertising market that C4 have successfully targetted. Warner Music, Sony BMG and Dawn Raid Entertainment have already expressed support for the new music and entertainment channel.

* Scoop: 24-Hour Localised Mtv And Nickelodeon in NZ
* NBR: MTV to launch in New Zealand

Reality television has found its way into the Theatre World, with the BBC climbing every mountain in their search for undiscovered talent in their newest entertainment show in the UK...

A nationwide search has begun to find an actress to play the iconic role of nun-turned-nanny Maria Von Trapp in Andrew Lloyd Webber's revival of The Sound of Music

The budding West End stars auditioning around the UK will be part of a new BBC TV show hosted by popular Irish comedian Graham Norton, cleverly titled How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?

Those showing promise in the regional rounds will receive further training before being reviewed by a panel of experts (including Lloyd Webber). The actresses will be whittled down to 10 hopefuls, with the public getting the chance to vote on their favourite when the series
screens on BBC One later in the year.

Julie Andrews starred as Maria in the famous film version, but producers are keen to find an unknown to open their revival of the show. Jeremy Sams (Noises Off, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) will direct the musical, which is due to open at the London Palladium in December.

* Reuters.com: How do you find a singer like Maria?
* BroadwayWorld.com: Sams to Direct London Sound of Music Revival

Fans of the hit ABC TV drama series Lost have made a mysterious novel a US bestseller.

The book Bad Twin is supposedly written by Gary Troup, one of the victims of the doomed Flight 815 in the hit television series Lost. The fictional author's name is an anagram of the word "purgatory", spurning internet chat that the characters on Lost may all have died in the plane crash, and are now in purgatory on the island.

Publicity over the show and the book have pushed Bad Twin into Amazon's Top 20 bestseller list. (The actual author of the book hasn't been revealed, although some fans are tipping Bad Twin may be the work of Stephen King). The publishers official promo states, "The author didn't survive the plane crash, but his manuscript did".

"Bad Twin is the highly-anticipated new novel by acclaimed mystery writer Gary Troup. Bad Twin was delivered to Hyperion just days before Troup boarded Oceanic Flight 815, which was lost in flight from Sydney, Australia to Los Angeles in September 2004. He remains missing and is presumed dead".

* Order the Bad Twin book here now through Amazon.com...

Here's one of the latest and most comprehensive (albeit complicated and technical) theory on why everyone is trapped on the island on the ABC TV show "Lost".

The Ultimate Comprehensive Lost Theory

And here's a message board where fans can promote and discuss the wide range of theories on what's actually going on with the stranded residents of Flight 815.

Learn about the Backwards Wizard of Oz Theory, the Nine Unknown Men Theory, the Ancient Culture theory, Ockham's Razor Theory, and many more!...

Dharma Secrets: Lost Theories

American TV Network CBS is the latest to embrace the internet revolution, and launch its own standalone Broadband-only web broadcast network.

Their online channel, innertube is promoted as a "High-speed broadband channel featuring original programming, with hot new shows and cool new stars".

CBS says the channel's programming will be free to watch, supported by advertising spots and product-placement, just like regular TV.

Already online are a new frathouse makeover show Geek to Chic, a special featuring Irish Magician/Illusionist Keith Barry, and a behind-the-scenes Beyond Survivor show. CBS are promising innertube will eventually feature repeats of current shows, along with new programming. This channel can be viewed by web surfers worldwide (for the moment, anyway ;-)

CBS's offering follows the recent decision by the ABC network to offer some of its most popular television shows, including Lost, Desperate Houswives, and Alias over the internet. The episodes include three one-minute interactive advertisments, which can't be skipped over by viewers. However, their viewing is restricted to surfers in the United States.

ABC are also launching an interactive game, The Lost Experience. The web-based game will feature a parallel storyline that is not part of the TV show.
Time Warner meanwhile was the first to offer a major broadband TV network, with their channel In2TV. It boasts the largest
collection of free TV shows anywhere on the Web. The internet tv channel (run in association with AOL) features a wide range of programming from Warner's vaults, including Eight is Enough, Growing Pains, Spenser for Hire, and Wonder Woman.

The Fox TV network is also offering clips from hit shows like 24 and American Idol and original online shows like The Late Night Fox Show and behind-the-scenes talkshow, 24 Inside.

The NBC network have a range of programme promo clips online, plus extras like The Office 'Public Service Announcements'. UPN also have an online section with show clips and behind-the-scenes specials.

The offerings from the New Zealand tv networks, State TV and TV3 are limited to highlights from their News and Current Affairs programming.

All we need here in New Zealand now is for Telecom's rivals to offer surfers some decent broadband speeds, so we can actually watch all this Broadband TV content without the picture suddenly freezing, or quickly going over our small monthly data quota ;-)

* More reading: Free TV Shows on the Internet - But only in the United States.

I'm spending most of my free time outside work at the moment rehearsing for the Dunedin production of the musical "Beauty and the Beast". The set & costumes (designed by Weta Workshops) are doing the rounds at various centres around New Zealand, but most of the cast is local in each place.

Wellington held the NZ premiere in January, and Christchurch was next on the schedule. I managed to catch their production while I was working in Chch recently, along with another Dave (Halalilo) also from the Dunedin production.

We managed to catch up with Russell Dixon (aka "Russell the TV3 Weather Guy" ;-) after the show. He was playing Gaston (the self-centred comedy villain), having already performed the role in Wellington, and due to come south in June to repeat the part in Dunedin. He was fantastic - a role he was made for! - and definitely stole the show.

Check out this site for more information about Dunedin Operatic's production of Beauty and the Beast (opens June 22nd at the Regent Theatre, and runs until July 1st).

We also met up with a couple of members of the Wellington Musical Theatre NZ Premiere production, Rebecca and Claire. They'd come down to check out Christchurch's version of the show, and to catch up with Russell again.

It was great to hear about what they went through with the show in Wellington, and to get an idea what we might be in for in Dunedin ;-)

I came across this amusing image this evening while browsing around... (Although I don't really have that same smile on my face when I'm visiting the petrol station nowadays... The prices seem to keep going up every time I return to fill up!)