CityBeat - Te Waha Nui Online

by Matt Samra

Everyone I talk to seems to hate Sylvia Park.

Either I hang out with too many snobs, or the shopping complex is, to put it in plain terms, crap.

But before I launch into a rich diatribe about Sylvia Park, I think it’s only fair to run through the pros and cons of Auckland’s biggest shopping mall. Read more

by Sam Mickell

This week the Chinese government ordered 1 million cars off the road in Beijing to try and reduce smog for the millions of visitors expected for the Olympics.

They must be wishing it was only that easy to hide traces of their despicable human rights record from the visitors and the estimated 20 – 30,000 journalists who will descend on China to cover the games.

Whether giving China the games will improve their respect for human rights, or validate it as a ‘respectable’ country despite their shameful record remains to be seen. Read more

by Carmen Stella

In today’s society people are hardly ever given a chance to celebrate and love their bodies just the way they are.

This is because we are living in a world that is obsessed with perfection. One of the main facets of this obsession that’s tipping the scales of debate is weight and body shape. Read more

by Vaughan Lovell

Timeline: Mid-winter in New Zealand. Rugby is on the minds of the collective nation as the world cup looms closer. The All Blacks have had their mid-season run, the glamourous Super 14 has finished months ago, and now we are left with the Air New Zealand Cup - New Zealand’s very own competition.

So what are we to make of this then? Read more

by Grace Honney

As a student, I am all too familiar with the sinking feeling in my stomach when I see exactly how much money I have in my bank account.

Each month after my statement arrives I vow not to go and buy that coffee or those muffins, and each month I find myself making the same vows all over again.

Yes, I understand that after university I should be able to get a reasonably well-paid job and that I only need to sacrifice for one more semester, but is that really true and can I wait that long? I am part of Generation Y, after all. Read more

by Sam Mickell

Among the gems that I’ve seen on social networking website Facebook recently is a group called ‘I want to punch slow walkers in the back of the head’. Now, I’m not usually one to condone violence, but I’m not surprised that such a group exists.

That’s because being stuck behind a slow walker has to be one of the most infuriating things of all time.

Whether you’re stuck behind them in the aisle of a supermarket, on a footpath or, heaven forbid, on a large staircase, it always makes for a painful and frustrating experience. Read more

by Jane Sissons

Many may brag that New Zealand has it’s fair share of women in power, but reality has a rather different take on things.

In 2007, women in New Zealand are still struggling to break the “concrete-hard” glass ceiling.

Surveys by the National Business Review state that New Zealand is ranked tenth in the world with women holding 24 per cent of management positions. Read more

by Vaughan Lovell

At present I stand accused. Accused of being party to the oppression, manipulation, disrespect and outright objectification of women.

How did these rather serious - and, I must add, rather hurtful and offensive - accusations come to pass, you may wonder?

I hired a stripper to appear at my brother’s 21st birthday. Read more

by Amy Paterson

A vegetarian pie wins the supreme award of Bakels best pie in New Zealand instead of the traditional meat pie – so what?

Café and bakery owner Neville Jackson has beaten more than 3000 other entries with his vegetarian pie – the first time a vegetarian pie has won.

In a country where 60 million pies were consumed last year, we certainly love our pies. Read more

by Angela Norton

It looks like the traditional Kiwi mince or steak pie with a blob of Watties on top isn’t up to competition standard these days.

A (shock horror) vegetarian pie has taken out the top award at the 11th annual Bakels New Zealand Supreme Pie Awards, earning its Havelock North creator a whopping $7500 in prize money. Read more