Famous things that come out of Hamilton

Kimbra!  Kimbra is born in Hamilton, New Zealand.  Okay, I can hear some of you asking 'who's Kimbra?'

Kimbra is a Hamilton, New Zealand born singer / songwriter.  She's featured in the music video below by Goyte (feat. Kimbra) - Somebody That I Used To Know
Cool song, cool music video with the painting of the wall and bodies.  Over 214 million hits on YouTube so far.
At first, it sounded like something from the 80's.  Anyone else think he has a 'Peter Gabriel' or 'Phil Collins' sound to him?

Somebody That I Used To Know - Goyte (featuring Kimbra)

And in YouTube fashion, I have been directed to other related videos.  What do you think of this one: same song, five people - one guitar = sounds pretty good.

Somebody That I Used to Know - Walk off the Earth (Gotye - Cover)

Quiz Night Questions and Answers

So this week, the cash jackpot was something like $960 or so.  We did not win =(.  Some other team did!  This is quite a feat, with moments of 'just' guessing correctly (i.e. guessing lower on a 9 and it turned out to be an 8!).  So now the pot starts all over again.  Next week if we win the cash ball, we'd have to split something like $50 amongst the team.  Oh well.

So this week's questions and answers below!  Don't scroll too far down if you're trying to answer the questions, as I have included the answers for this week.

QUESTIONS:

1. Was the world's first hot air balloon flight in France or USA?
2. What was the first hit single for Simon and Garfunkel? Bridge over Troubled Waters or The Sound of Silence
3. What is the name of the first man to sail around the world?  Name any year he was alive.
4. How is Joe Ratzinger better known?
5. Addis Ababa is the capital of which country?
6. What was the name of the organization that preceded the United Nations?
7. What is the name of the world's deepest lake?  What country is it in?
8. In which sport are competitors not allowed to participate left-handed?
9. What is the maximum score for a single game of 10-pin bowling?
10. In men's fencing competitions, how many hits are required to win?
11. The Olympic Games has a three world motto.  Name two of those words.
12. What city is Michael Jackson born in?
13. What is the longest river in Africa?
14. What is the Japanese beverage sake made from?
15. When East and West Germany were split, what were the capitals of each?
16. Detective Kojak had a favourite sweet.  What was it?
17. What is Thor's homeland called? 
18. Auckland is situated in which gulf?
19. What did Edmund Hilary say he ate while climbing Mt. Everest; Marmite, Weet-Bix, or a boiled egg?

and answers below...

ANSWERS:

1. France
2. The Sound of Silence
3. Ferdinand Magellan, 1480-1521
4. Pope Benedict XVI
5. Ethiopia
6. League of Nations
7. Lake Baikal; Russia
8. Polo
9. 300
10. 5
11. Faster.  Higher.  Stronger.
12. Gary
13. Nile
14. Rice
15. East: Berlin; West: Bonn
16. Lollipop
17. Asgard
18. Hauraki Gulf
19. Weet-Bix

Quiz Night!

So what do you guys do in New Zealand?  Well one of the highlights of the week is going to a weekly Pub Night Quiz!  It has been entertaining enough to keep us coming back.  Part  of the incentive is also winning one of two nightly prizes: 1) a chance at winning the CASH BALL! 2) placing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd.  But really, it's just fun.

Cash Ball:
- Everyone contributes $1 to quiz night.  The money goes to the Cash Ball pot
- midway through the night, we are presented with five 50/50 questions (question with two answers - pick one)
- the team that answers the most questions correctly gets a chance to win the pot (e.g. Was Lady Gaga born in NYC or LA?)
- in the case of a tie, there is a tie breaking question (e.g.  What year was the telephone invented?; closest to the answer wins)
- this week's pot $964 I think.  That's some nice coin, even if you do have to split it amongst 6-10 team members.  btw, teams can be as big or small as you'd like.  The pot grows by about $40-60 each week.
- But HOW do you win?
- choose a team representative to pick the cards
- shuffle cards, and lay out five cards face down
- you flip over the first card and guess higher or lower for the next card - if you guess wrong you lose
- the object of the game  is to over turn all the cards WITHOUT uncovering a joker or the exact same card (e.g. ace followed by another ace)
- it's tougher luck than you think!

Questions:
And now, a sampling of the questions.
There are different categories: General Knowledge, Sports and Games, Pop Music, Movies, to name a few
You don't have to be a genius, just have a lot of random information stored in your brain.  Many of the questions are New Zealand, Australia, UK, or US centric.  It helps to have some kiwis on the team because there is no way I know any of their Prime Ministers, or other such information.
This week's questions weren't too bad.  These are the ones that I can actually write down and communicate to you.  There are parts of the quiz that involve pictures and audio clips (e.g. they play a theme song to a TV show or movie and you have to guess what it is and who the main actors are)

1. Who invented the telephone?  Name a year he was alive.
2. What is more dense - lead or gold?
3. How many star signs are used in the Zodiac?
4. Who was TIME magazine's man of the year in 1938?
5. Which US document begins with "We the people" - The Declaration of Independence, or The American Constitution?
6. What year did Sir Edmund Hilary conquer Mount Everest?  Who was his companion?
7. What is the capital of Australia?
8. What is the beginning of a field hockey game called?
9. What is the beginning of an ice hockey game called?
10. How many rounds are there in an Olympic amateur boxing match?
11. Which New Zealander is credited with the introduction of "jogging"?
12. Who wrote The Lord of The Rings?
13. When Jesus was young he had a job.  What was it?
14. What country is the Leaning Tower of Pisa located? What was its use?  How tall is it?
15. What was Indiana Jones searching for in the first movie?
16. What is Captain America's secret identity?  What is the full and correct name of the movie?
17. Who sings "Break my stride" (lyrics sample: Ain't nothin' gonna to break my stride Nobody's gonna slow me down, oh-no I got to keep on movin')?
18. What happened on August 4, 1914?
19. Anagram (famous person - unscramble letters to get name): GIG JERK CAM
20. What year did George Bush become 43rd President?
21. In the story of the Tortoise and the Hare, how did the Tortoise win the race?
22. Who sings Tik Tok?
23. Who is the guy who wears the white shirt and ascot in Scooby Doo (first and last name)?

I could post the answers now...but I think I'll separate it into another post.  Let me know if you have a preference!

EDIT: okay I'm adding the answers below!  Hopefully the spacing is good enough to keep you from 'accidentally' seeing the answers before you've had a good go at them.



ANSWERS:

1. Alexander Graham Bell; 1847 - 1922
2. gold
3. 12
4. Adolf Hitler
5. American Constitution
6. 1953; Tenzing Norgay
7. Canberra
8. Bully Off
9. Face Off
10. 4
11. Arthur Lydiard
12. J.R.R. Tolkien
13. carpenter
14. Italy; bell tower; 56 m
15. Ark of the covenant
16. Steve Rogers
17. Matthew Wilder
18. World War I declared
19. Mick Jagger
20. 2001
21. the hare took a rest and fell asleep
22. Ke$ha
23. Fred Jones

Balloons Over Waikato 2012

March 28 - April 1, 2012

Balloons Over Waikato is an annual event in the Waikato involving a large number of hot air balloons.  It was neat to see, especially all the special shaped balloons (such as the kangaroos).  Some of the highlights of the event include the Night Glow, where the balloons are inflated and lit to music.

Most of the event takes place in Innes Commons, around Lake Hamilton.  Stuff.co.nz has a good video of the first day of the event, where the balloons are inflating and then lifting off.  http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/6655960/All-go-in-the-Tron

Day 2 - before daylight lift off (which we missed), and some free breakfast (or brekkie, as they say here).  On the menu - cereal, yogurt, milk - supplied by Sanitarium.

Day 4 - The Night Glow is held at the University of Waikato.  I must say, I found it pretty neat.  My favs were when they played the Haka, Waltzing Matilda, and the set of fireworks that explodes twice

They do a pretty good job of organizing the event.  There are even free shuttle buses that take you to the Night Glow from various parts of the city, to help alleviate the traffic generated by the event.

VIDEO here - fun parts include Night Glow that starts at 1:50, Haka played at 2:00,  Waltzing Matilda 3:43 (side note - this was choreographed by an Australian.  Waltzing Matilda is an unofficial anthem of Oz).  All concluded by a fireworks show.  My fav fireworks are the ones at 5:59...and the finale of course.  The video does its autofocus thing, so there are many blurry moments.  Much much better in person of course =).

Iwi the Kiwi, Polly the Kangaroo (with babies in pouch) and Tom the Kangaroo were the special shaped balloons (pictures to come).

Hobbiton

One of the things that comes to mind when you think New Zealand is "Lord of the Rings" or "The Hobbit"

So if you ever get a chance to visit us (you know who you are) maybe you will want to go to Hobbiton, the place where they film scenes from Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.  The Hobbit movie gets released later on this year (2012), with the premiere in Wellington.  Hobbiton is not far from Hamilton.  It's located in Matamata, which is only about an hours drive away.  They have taken some farmland (Alexander Farm) and converted it into the Shire, and it will remain there as a tourist attraction.

Link to tours here.  It's not cheap though..but let's face it, nothing in New Zealand is.  So when you get here be prepared to fork out for food, accommodation, and day trips - because you might get bored spending all your days in Hamilton. The cheaper stuff might be camping and hiking, but you still need to get there and perhaps rent a camper or gear.

Back to Hobbit stuff.  There was a casting call recently for Hobbits!  But you had to be located in Wellington.  Yes, yes - we're too big to be Hobbits!  But they were looking for elves too =)
Ad here
----------------------------- some of details from Ad -------------------------------

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

• Currently live in Wellington area

• 17 years & over

• Able to work in NZ 

• Have flexible availability

We are looking for MEN & WOMEN for a VARIETY of characters

• MEN – under 5’4” (163cm)

• WOMEN – under 5” (155cm)

• BIG MEN – with character faces – 5’9 and over (175cm+) 

• MEN with LARGE biceps any height.

• WOMEN with character faces and long hair

• MEN & WOMEN – ELVES slim, athletic, 5’5” – 6’4” (165 – 203cm)

We will be holding the Casting Call 

SATURDAY 28th JANUARY from 1pm – 4pm 

----------------------------- - end - -------------------------------

Some 3000 people wanted to be Hobbit or Elf extras.  The casting call was closed early because they were expecting about 1200 people but instead had more than 3000 (article).  Oh well, so much for being an elf.

Il pleut beaucoup

It rains a lot here.  Today's forecast is cloudy with no signs of rain, but the forecast for last week and seemingly the past two months have been RAIN RAIN RAIN.

Solid rain.  Torrential downpour rain.  Sure, it's summer time here in New Zealand ...but it's not the summers that you know of in Toronto.  This past summer in Toronto was HOT!  Here it gets to maybe mid-twenty C, but usually low twenties.  It's comfortable, but not hot per se.

Who knew it could rain so much.  Relentless - all day, all night.  The low rumbling can even keep you up at night.

(Video of the rain)

It rained so much, the water levels of the nearby river rose to submerge some of the walking paths there.  Now that's a lot of water.

New Zealand has much greenery and vegetation.  The rain helps.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Okay, it's not really looking a lot like Christmas as we know it.  Firstly, it's summer!  There is no snow around here, only temperatures in the high teens or low twenties.  It rained this past week...not just any rain...solid, downpour rain...all day!  There are signs of Christmas though, in the forms of shopping sales, decorations, Santa villages, etc.

There are Christmas trees at places like the mall and the town 'square' area.  The town square is located in the Central Business District (CBD).  If you want to see a live camera feed to Garden Place ('downtown' where the Christmas tree is located) click here.

 The tree is 25 metres tall (it's pretty big)!

 The 'suburban' mall known as The Base (Te Awa) - Santa display

 take pictures with Santa

 back to the tree in the CBD, all lit up at night