Advice for omnibus passengers, 1836

Omnibus Law

1. Keep your feet off the seats.
2. Do not get into a snug corner yourself and then open the windows to admit a north-wester upon the neck of your neighbour.
3. Have your money ready when you desire to alight.
4. Sit with your limbs straight, and do not let your legs describe an angle of forty-five, thereby occupying the room of two persons.
5. Do not spit on the straw, you are not in a pig-sty but in an omnibus.
6. Behave respectfully to females, and put not an unprotected lass to the blush, because she cannot escape from your brutality.
7. Reserve bickerings and disputes for the open field, the sound of your own voice may be music to your own ears - not so, perhaps, to those of your companions.
8. Refrain from affectation and conceited airs. Remember you are riding a distance for sixpence, which if you made in a hackney coach, would cost you many shillings.

- The Times (1836), quoted in Ivan Sparkes, Stagecoaches & Carriages, Bourne End, Bucks., 1975, p.145-6.

Iggy Pop's zombie grunge

The makeup is, they're hovering over you with these latex guns, shooting this weird latex all over your body. They would spray this cold spray to make it set and you'd shiver, and then you'd get hot because your skin can't breathe. They just cover the costume in grunge and filth, and there's filth in your hair, in your ears, giant contact lenses in your eyes. Because you're a flesh-eating zombie, there's guys constantly coming up between takes [to] squirt zombie grunge into your mouth and wipe it on your gums.

The first time that I had to get down on my knees and eat [another character's] guts [laughing], I did not want to do that. I wanted to do it intellectually, but I had a dry heave. After that, I got into it. 

And I did get a free William Murray golf shirt out of the experience. I don't play a lot of golf, but it's an amazing shirt, and I wear it around Miami here; I fit right in. It's polyester.

- Iggy Pop on Jim Jarmusch's The Dead Don't Die, in Melena Ryzik, 'An all-star zombie cast comes to life', New York Times, 12 June 2019 

Film Festival 2019 lineup

Another year, another 20 films to relish in this highly promising 2019 Film Festival programme, which runs in Wellington from 26 July to 11 August. I'm most excited about seeing the peerless 1949 Alec Guinness comedy Kind Hearts and Coronets on the big screen for the first time, and while it ain't an IMAX the Grand is the next best place to see the eye-popping imagery of the 50th anniversary documentary Apollo 11, particularly given the thrill I experienced visiting NASA's Johnson Space Centre in Houston last year.


La Belle Époque (dir. Nicolas Bedos, France, 2019)
The latest in that never-ending quest to recapture the heyday of French film farce; the omens are positive as this time-travelling rom-com caper features both Daniel Auteuil and Fanny Ardant.

Hale County This Morning, This Evening (dir. RaMell Moss, USA, 2018)
A fascinating glimpse into modern black communities in their own words, shining a light on an often-neglected facet of rural Alabama life.

Apollo 11 (dir. Todd Douglas Miller, USA, 2019)
Finally making great use of contemporary 65mm footage that has sat in film canisters for nearly a half-century, this promises to be a beautiful anniversary present for those of us still enthralled by the 1969 Moon landing.

Bellbird (dir. Hamish Bennett, NZ, 2019)
A local comedy-drama! This urban snob is looking forward to gaining a greater understanding of bucolic pastimes such as treading barefoot in cowpats on cold winter mornings, and the correct way to wear a Swanndri.

Capital in the 21st Century (dir. Justin Pemberton, NZ, 2019)

Ideal for those of us with good intentions but lacking the follow-through to actually read French economist Thomas Piketty's famous 2013 text.

2040 (dir. Damon Gameau, Australia, 2019)

Charting a course to a positive vision for future societies two decades hence, as an antidote to the grim environmental news we face today. 

Beats (dir. Brian Welsh, France/UK, 2019)
As ably promoted on Mark Kermode's MK3D live show, this affable black-and-white snapshot of Glasgow teen life in the mid-1990s follows two lads enthralled by rave culture, seeking the ultimate night out throwing shapes or whatever it is people who can dance do.

Daguerréotypes (dir. Agnès Varda, France, 1976)
A slice of life from Varda's own neighbourhood, delving into the lives and livelihoods of the many shopkeepers in the Rue Daguerre.

Amazing Grace (dirs. Alan Elliott & Sydney Pollack, USA, 2018)
Another great archive find, made possible by the restoration prowess of modern technology: a 1972 Aretha Franklin live concert film shot in Watts in the same year as the iconic Wattstax festival.

Kind Hearts and Coronets (dir. Robert Hamer, UK, 1949)
A comedic tour-de-force from Alec Guinness playing eight - count 'em - different roles in this murderous black comedy, here restored to pristine condition for its 70th anniversary.

We Are Little Zombies (dir. Nagahisa Makoto, Japan, 2019)
Must-see Japanese orphan teen pop musical extravaganza!

Andrei Rublev (dir. Andrei Tarkovsky, USSR, 1966)
Perhaps a daunting prospect due to its unflinching depiction of medieval squalor and cruelty, this legendary, once-banned epic 15th-century epic biopic is still a drawcard.

The Day Shall Come (dir. Chris Morris, UK/USA, 2019)
A match made in heaven - the scabrous vitriol of director Chris Morris and the comedic talents of Anna Kendrick unite to satirise the war on terror.

A White, White Day (dir. Hlynur Pálmason, Iceland, 2019)
Hvítur, Hvítur Dagur
It wouldn't be a film festival without an Icelandic film, and this drama of an ex-policeman finding out too much about his dead wife's hidden life sounds intriguing.

This Changes Everything (dir. Tom Donahue, USA, 2018)
Film documentary capturing the spirit of reform demanding an end to the male-dominated boys-club Hollywood system of old.

High Life (dir. Claire Denis, UK, 2018)
French director Denis' English-language and sci-fi debut, featuring Juliette Binoche and Robert Pattinson on a convict vessel in the depths of space.

Koyaanisqatsi (dir. Godfrey Reggio, USA, 1982)
Hugely influential feature-length timelapse imagery with a famed Phillip Glass score.

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (dir. Midge Costin, USA, 2019)
Another film doco, this time on the the audible craft of cinema, by a veteran film sound editor, illustrates the pivotal importance of how the sound of a movie defines our experience viewing it.

Peterloo (dir. Mike Leigh, UK, 2018)
A valuable historic document of the 1819 massacre in Manchester that claimed the lives of 18 demonstrators calling for democratic representation for workers.

Loro (dir. Paolo Sorrentino, Italy, 2018)

Braving a second film in one day on the notoriously uncomfortable Soundings seats for Sorrentino's unmissable Berlusconi portrait.

Green-eyed girl

Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 24 May 2019

2nd Sustainable Health Care in Aotearoa Forum

It was a useful & informative day at the Medical School in Newtown yesterday for the forum, and the organisers managed to cram 18 presentations and a ministerial address from the Associate Minister of Health, Hon Julie Anne Genter, into the day. This was particularly timely, given the introduction of the Zero Carbon Bill earlier in the day. A few notes from key presentations:

Dr Ashley Bloomfield, Director-General of Health: Opening address on the Zero Carbon Bill, upcoming Wellbeing Budget (which we believe will be world-leading), and the Government’s priority for environmental sustainability are now key drivers of health policy. Noted that hospital builds/rebuilds are a major opportunity to hard-wire environmental sustainability and promote wellness for the people who work in and use the facilities. Minister Genter is pressing him for progress and the Ministry of Health aims to deliver.

Mark McKenna, engineering consultant, Norman Disney & Young (Sydney): Designing & building health care facilities that thrive on natural light, with superb insulation, modern ergonomics and plentiful shared space is both environmentally sustainable but also encourages happier workforces who stay longer. Tying a building into its community and broadening the understanding of what a building is for. As always, stakeholder clarity is essential if expensive rework is to be avoided. Greenstar building ratings are a useful guide to the success of a sustainable build.

A/Prof Cassie Thiel, NYU-Wagner (via Zoom): life cycle assessment and principles of industrial ecology to analyse and improve the environmental performance of medical systems, hospital design, health care practice, and medical technologies. 10% of the US’ total emissions are derived from the health sector, and much US practice is excessively wasteful. Example of Aravind Eye Care System in India that adopts production-line and recyclable process that maximises re-use; tiny environmental impact at 1/10th the cost of US procedures. Also example of Fred Hollows Foundations’ new sustainable procurement strategy. (Probably unaware that Hollows was a NZer).

Dr Richard Jaine, Ministry of Health: Ministry’s sustainability team seems to consist of 1.2FTEs (mostly him). Genter asked MOH to survey DHB sustainability practice; 19 DHBs responded and 16 have a sustainability manager. (Based on the discussion in the room, it may be that these are the only sustainability employees in DHBs). DHB procurement practice highly variable, and none are actively considering measures to adapt to climate change. Only half of DHBs are measuring their carbon footprint. Discussed suggestions for a national sustainable health care unit and green health building standards.

Dr David Galler & sustainability officer Debbie Wilson, Counties Manukau Health: Innovative hospital food systems, Wiri Prison farm initiative, Manurewa High School farm.

Margriet Geesink, NDHB: Surveyed Northland’s decarbonisation efforts. Good progress on EVs and energy efficiency, but Whangarei hospital reliance on natural gas generator (cheap to run, bad for the environment) will be expensive to address. This is a problem across many hospitals. Their three other, smaller hospitals are all full-electric and have a much lower emissions profile.

Andrew Eagles, NZ Green Building Council: The NZ Building Code is drastically below international best practice and achieving change is hard in notoriously conservative industry. The health system can promote change by setting a good example. Healthy buildings are more productive and welcoming for patients and staff.

Ben Masters, BECA: Engineer working on Taranaki Base Hospital expansion. Relying on heat pump technology & hoping to take some other, older hospital buildings off the natural gas generator and switch to heat pumps too.

Johan Rockström & Walter Willett, EAT-Lancet Initiative launch (Youtube presentation, 27 min): ‘The EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health brought together more than 30 world-leading scientists. Prof Walter Willett (Harvard University) and Prof Johan Rockström (Potsdam Institute and Stockholm Resilience Centre) present the report at the EAT-Lancet Launch Lecture in the University of Oslo Aula, January 2019. The Commission delivered the first full scientific review of what constitutes a healthy diet from a sustainable food system, and which actions can support and speed up food system transformation’. How to build a Planetary Health Diet (hint: more fish, nuts and legumes).

Anna DeMello & Jono Drew, University of Otago: Medical students delivered detailed findings of the environmental impacts of different eating habits, which have a great potential to shape our carbon footprint. To be published later 2019, and created much excitement in the room.

Patrick Morgan, Cycling Action Network: Designing healthy streets and putting humans back at the centre of transport systems. Advocating cycling is about ‘not selling the ingredients, it’s selling the cake’: how good do people feel when they have safe cycling options? Parking allocations displace healthy transport options; streets are the biggest public space in all cities and we should be open about re-envisioning how they are used.

Hon Julie Anne Genter, Associate Minister of Health: Yes, she did cycle to the Med School. Zero Carbon Bill introduced today; urged participants to have their say. There will be major health co-benefits if we achieve zero carbon; we need to measure progress, incentivise positive and healthy behaviour, and stop waste. The Wellbeing Budget, Treasury’s Living Standards Framework, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Developing procurement guidelines and had initially wanted national leadership but MOH preferred to let DHBs innovate and see what works. Minister seemed to now be leaning towards pressing MOH to provide more leadership, because sufficient progress hadn’t been made.

Other notes:

• The planned Q&A sessions were mostly ditched to catch up time when presenters ran over-long, which was fortunate, because the clinicians in the room were poor at asking questions. Instead they preferred long, rambling statements, even when questioning the Minister. NZers in general are poor at Q&As. Facilitators: always remember to pick a female questioner first (most of the air-time went to mouthy males) and specify that all contributions must be brief and all must be actual questions!
• Used ‘Catch-Box’ soft cube remote mic that can be chucked quickly around the auditorium to pick up audio from the floor. Cool but super expensive.
• Wholly vegetarian catering was a good idea, although you do emerge ravenous.

The south end of the Transmission Gully motorway

From Colonial Knob, Porirua