CityBeat - Te Waha Nui Online

by Niko Kloeten

It’s one of those questions no one wants to have to answer: what went wrong?

After losing the first two games of the Oceania Olympic qualifying series to the Australian Boomers, the Tall Blacks have to ask themselves exactly that.

While the first game was relatively close, the second game was a blowout, with the Boomers winning 93-67.

How did the gap between our teams Read more

by Vaughan Lovell

And so this transsexual was asking me repeatedly, and somewhat forcefully, for my phone number the other night.

I feel compelled to share with you a rather amusing evening when I ventured out on the town and into a gay bar with some mates.

How did we end up at this gay bar, with transsexuals requesting dalliances and the like? A quick montage of preceding events should suffice. Read more

by Becky Tappin

A team that is pretty much a shoe-in to making the playoffs losing in the final minutes to a second rate team.

How frustrating is all I can say.

The Vodafone Warriors are possibly the most frustrating sports team in New Zealand, filled with talented players and experience to boot Read more

by Amy Williams

Bob wandered around the Sydney harbourside, enjoying the scenery, the people and the excitement of his new home.

He was so glad he’d finally joined the brain drain and fled New Zealand, along with thousands of others, for the sunny shores of Australia.

Suddenly his eye was drawn to a giant billboard Read more

by Grace Honney

Last week I read about Angela Kelly’s ₤35m (NZ$100m) lottery win.

I don’t begrudge her of it by any means, but I cannot be the only one who was jealous.

If Kelly put it into an interest-bearing account, she would earn something ridiculous like ₤2.2m (NZ$6.2m) in interest per year. Read more

by Aroha Treacher

‘Teenage driver killed in weekend smash during police chase’… ‘Police pursuits leave teenagers in hospital’.

These are just a couple of the recent media headlines regarding police car chase related deaths.

You never hear of police chases that go right, only the ones that go horribly wrong. Read more

by Carmen Stella

To pee or not to pee, this is the question.

Picture it: you’ve decided to treat yourself to a nice meal out at an ‘A’ grade restaurant, you’ve just finished your first drink, then nature calls.

As yet, nothing seems wrong with this story until you leave the calm, happy ambiance of the beautifully decorated dinning area and head into the hazily lit, dingy toilet. Read more

by Michel Sam Mathew

Patriotism swells up across the Indian subcontinent when Independence Day looms into view every year.

On August 15, thousands of tricolours, with its saffron, white and green hues, flutter from rooftops and office buildings across the country.

Hundreds of miles away from home and with nothing around to rekindle my patriotic zeal, Read more

by Grace Honney

Having recently been subjected to Weight Watchers’ new ad campaign showing overweight people about town or on the beach, I started to wonder about New Zealand’s supposed obesity epidemic.

Am I alone in being frightened by the idea of developing type 2 diabetes and an increased risk of heart disease if I pack on the pounds?

But surely eating only one sushi roll a day, washed down with a seaweed and algae shake, is not going to do my body any favours either. Read more

by Becky Tappin

Insurance.

Even the mention of the word makes most of us cringe and immediately think about the financial burden it brings with it.

S I ask the question: is insurance really necessary?

Well, I can tell you the answer is yes.

After experiencing first-hand a situation where, without insurance, my family would now be a few thousand dollars worse off, I’m an insurance advocate. Read more