Magazine Articles
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The smell of uranium
“HOLD YOUR BREATH JUST FOR A MOMENT. I CAN SMELL THE URANIUM ON IT.” PRIME MINISTER DAVID LANGE TO HIS AMERICAN OPPONENT AT THE OXFORD UNION ‘NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARE MORALLY INDEFENSIBLE’ DEBATE, MARCH 1, 1985. One evening in November of 1955 a pair of long-in-the-tooth miners rolled out of a West Coast pub. On the
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Our hearts’ desires: We can go our own way
“Lines are created by being followed and followed by being created.” THE LINE ABOVE IS A LINE BY SARA AHMED, AND SHE’S WRITING ABOUT LINES CALLED DESIRE LINES. YOU MAY NOT HAVE HEARD OF DESIRE LINES, BUT YOU’VE PROBABLY SEEN ONE OR WALKED ONE IN YOUR LIFE. Desire lines, sometimes called desire paths, rat tracks,
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Size matters: The 1964 guide to the roadside attractions of the South Island
BACK IN 2013, IN SEASON 1 OF THE SERIES HOUSE OF CARDS¸ CONGRESSMAN FRANK UNDERWOOD FACES A POLITICAL CRISIS IN THE FORM OF THE PEACHOID, A 41-METRE-HIGH PEACH-SHAPED WATER TOWER IN GAFFNEY, SOUTH CAROLINA. THE STRUCTURE, WHICH UNDERWOOD HAD CHAMPIONED, IS IMPLICATED IN A FATAL CAR ACCIDENT. THE DRIVER WAS TEXTING HER BOYFRIEND WHEN SHE
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The cutting edge
Zambonis and the business of smoothing the ice in Aotearoa. THE HILLS OF THE CROWN RANGE ARE ALIVE WITH SECRET CARS. THEIR MAKES AND MODELS ARE HIDDEN UNDER DARK CLOAKS, LIKE NUNS’ HABITS. THESE ARE THE CARS OF THE FUTURE (HENCE THE SECRECY), SENT HERE BY INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURERS TO HAVE THEIR ICE HANDLING PUT
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Living in a fantasy world
Trolls and Tolkien and the landscapes of the far south. A FOREBODING CLOUD CLINGS TO THE UPPER PEAKS OF A GREY-BLUE, SHARP-EDGE MOUNTAIN. YOU STAND ON A ROCKY OUTCROP WITH A GOOD VANTAGE POINT OF THE ICY LAKE IN FRONT OF YOU AND BREATHE IN THE MOSS-SCENTED AIR. THE LAKE IS UNFATHOMABLY DEEP AND FAERIE
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The rice is right
When is gentrification a good thing? When it happens to gruel, that’s when. Congee is comfort food. A traditional Asian rice porridge, or to be Victorian about it, gruel, congee is a nourishing, reassuring and inexpensive dish that has been a go-to in households across Asia for thousands of years. It has also, of late,
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Frozen fish
Freezing the day at the New Zealand National Ice Swimming Pool Championships. THE FIRST TIME YOU FACED REALLY COLD WATER WAS IN AN ALPINE LAKE. IT WAS SUMMER, BUT THERE WERE STILL POCKETS OF SNOW COWERING FROM THE SUN IN SHADY GULLIES. THE INSTANT YOUR TOE TOUCHED THE WATER IT BUZZED. YOU EASED YOURSELF IN
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To grace the water: A love story
IT WAS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THINGS I HAD EVER SEEN. MERCEDES WAS A MAHOGANY SPEEDBOAT, ABOUT FIVE AND A HALF METRES LONG. A CHRIS-CRAFT, I WOULD GUESS MANY YEARS LATER, THAT HAD COME FROM THE UNITED STATES. ITS VARNISHED WOOD AND POLISHED STEEL SPARKLED IN THE WĀNAKA SUN. MY DAD THOUGHT IT WAS
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Full steam ahead: the Kingston Flyer
The return of the Kingston Flyer reminds us what it is about steam trains that stops us in our tracks. FAR DOWN THE LINE, A GLEAMING SMOKESTACK BELCHES AS CARS SCREECH TO A HALT, THEIR OCCUPANTS SCRAMBLING FOR CAMERAS AND PHONES. A MOURNFUL WHISTLE HERALDS ANCIENT CARRIAGES FULL OF BEAMING FACES AS IT PULLS INTO