h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hey six7s

Yes, this is great! Very interesting to hear your experiences and perspective.

>>1. Do you know what the haka is?
Not entirely - am vaguely aware that there are many haka for many occasions. Have a hunch that most are NOT pre-conflict rituals
<<

Yes, I thought that too. I did a bit of reading over the weekend. Even the 'war' haka weren't just prior to the battle necessarily. There is a whole ritual of preparation haka before leaving the pa. Plus victory haka after a battle.

The ones performed in front of manuhiri seem to be about establishing whether the visitors are friendly or not. I think this is where the whole ritual challenge and response comes from - there is a history of visitors turning on their hosts, so the haka was part of figuring out what the intent was (along with the rest of the welcoming on I would guess).

Those were all haka with weapons. There are many other forms of haka without weapons too, which seem to have their own purpose eg a haka might be composed about a prominent person for political reasons.


Lucky you having seen kapa haka at school. We didn't have anything like that at all where I was .

The ABs vs MS story is fantastic. That thing about respect and controlled aggression - it's that that is missing from the international view of haka I think.

The issue I was referring to in the Ask thread was an episode of Eye to Eye (have you been watching that?). A City Councillor from a North Island city was saying how using the haka as a national symbol was bad for NZ because of the associated aggression, and that Maori had an aggression problem culturally and that the haka was reinforcing that in youth (stories of young Maori roaming the streets with taiaha <rollseyes&gt.

It was all very silly and incredibly insulting. The two Maori men, who were experts on the haka, were obviously insulted but managed to explain that haka was a much broader thing than what happens before the All Blacks. Equally obvious was the fact that most pakeha haven't a clue because we don't actually spend time with Maori in their lives.

*sigh*


The Gallipoli thing is interesting. I'm not sure what all this mass visiting by OE kiwis is about. It seems mostly to be a trendy, tourism driven thing . I hope something more real is coming out of it. Hopefully I can find some perspectives on the performance of haka there.

From what I can tell, some haka forms are appropriate to spontaneous action and participation, which makes sense of the ones that I've seen on TV where someone is receiving an award.


Anyway, I've been looking for a topic to write a short guide entry on, just so I can get something into Peer Review and see what that process is like. I can see the haka entry getting bigger all the time

I've got an entry on kakapo in the Writing Workshop. It's gotten very long, and I'm a bit bogged down, which is why I thought I'd try a short one first. Oh well.

Hi kea,

I will come back tomorrow and find you kakapo entry

I think that to do justice to the haka you might have difficulty keeping it brief

Kia Kaha

I really must learn more of te reo

Oh and we didn't have kapa haka when I was at school (in the age of chalk on blackboards) but I have been involved (very superficially) in some events over the last few years

What, they don't have chalk and blackboards any more?


>>I really must learn more of te reo<

Me too. One difficulty I have is that I'm not in any situations where I would use it often enough to make it stick. So I learn a word or phrase and forget it quite easily.

Hi kea,

Have read your Kakapo entry - it reads well and will make a great addition to the Guide - it would be easier to read (and maybe even write) in GuideML... maybe

If you want a hand let me know

Hope your well and warm

six7s

I've just read the 'Writing Workshop' thread on your Kakapo entry and get the impression that you're not far off submitting it to Peer Review

One suggestion... To my eye, there are quite a few short sentences that, I think, would read better by being condensed

e.g. << They are usually solitary birds, coming together only to mate. They have an unusual mating and breeding behaviour, laying eggs every two to four years. >> could become

[[ They are usually solitary birds, coming together only to mate every two to four years. ]] - unless there's something else 'unusual',
and I think most readers will guess the 'eggs' bit

Apart from that sort of thing, I think your on to a winner! Hope you're enjoying the writing!

Oh, one other thing...

The term polygynous. Despite knowing what the terms poly and gyno mean - I didn't guess the meaning when reading the para that ends with "Kakapo are thus polygynous" - maybe a footnote would be helpful

The bit about females travelling several kms - I'm guessing that they have their own (maybe shared???) 'territory'/home range where they live (and nest) and 'commute' to mate - am I right?


Ka kite

<< Ok, there are two valleys. One is a fiord, the other is a normal river valley. Both have buildings in them* on the valley floor. The fiord buildings get hit by lightening, the river valley ones don't. How come? >>

Maybe the gods hate THC?

When you buildings at Milford, is this plural?

Maybe they have TV aerials or lightning conductors???

I'm guessing DoC built a few and they are/were famous for overkill in the wrong areas - alas not inb uilding viewing platforms

I don't know the area that well - have only been there 3 times and never more than 2 nights at at time

These inland valleys, what sort/size of buildings are there?

Huts and barns and private homes?

>>Maybe the gods hate THC?<<

Now owned by greedy capitalist pigs in Queenstown, so we can only hope that the gods are targetting them

I'm not sure which buildings in Milford get hit now. There are quite alot of them there - a mix of old and new, built by a variety of organisations and businesses. I know the old post office used to get hit - it probably had a flagpole.

As far as aerials go... they've got Sky, and an air trafic control at the airport. The phones are all on satelite link. Plus various tourism operators will all have RT type radios. But the strikes have been happening there for decades, before alot of the newer tech stuff.


The inland valley buildings are all huts. Although I've not heard of people in Te Anau having building strikes. And in general, I don't actually know anyone that has had their home hit in the South Island. I'm sure it happens, it just seems very rare.

That's why I thought there was a difference between sheet and fork lightening - I thought sheet lightening didn't hit the ground which was why strikes are so rare here. Most strikes I have heard of have been in the mountains, and usually on or near the top of the mountains.


Thanks for the feedback about the kakapo entry. I need to get back to that. I got a bit bogged down because it's getting quite long and I still have a couple of sections to add.

It's nice there has been so much in the media lately. I've got a couple of radio interviews that should yield some interesting bits. I'd like to produce an entry that isn't just a rehash of what's available on the internet.

I do have this problem of getting more and more involved in things lilke this and then not getting them finished . Hence my search for a short entry topic.

Researching about kakapo was hard too because the story is quite grim and depressing. Even though the kakapo probably won't become extinct now (which is brilliant) the state of the ecosystem is pretty bad for the natives and we still have a number of bird species in decline. I'm not sure how much NZers are aware of this

>>The bit about females travelling several kms - I'm guessing that they have their own (maybe shared???) 'territory'/home range where they live (and nest) and 'commute' to mate - am I right?
<<

I think they are all solitary except for mating. The females get left to it once they have conceived. This is part of the predation problem - the eggs and chicks get left on their own for long periods at night while the mothers travel to feed. I'm not entirely sure about the territories - they do have them, just don't know how stable they are.

I'll look at that section again and tidy it up a bit.

Oh, and a significant proportion of huts in Fiordland will have radio aerials.

Shouldn't you be in bed?

I am

Crikey, mate, every time I look you've got eyes!

That's pretty bad taking h2 to bed with you though

Hi!

I have just recently gone on to (always on) broadband and the MyConvos thing is ticking away making my eyes glow

And the 'I am' (in bed) wasn't true

Happy Q's B'day!

Ah yeah, the old queen, I forgot about her. Are you having a nice day off?

I suspected broadband, but I thought that the eyes timed out if you didn't post or browse for 15mins. Are you using the convo popup, is that it?

Day off is v cruisey thanks Doing sweet fa, reading a novel curled up with the cays by the fire for the 1st time in far far too long and occasionally glancing at this here machine, which does indeed have a My Convos thingy running (in an Opera panel means its visible all the time - unless I hide it of course)

Seen Greensleeves yet?

Greensleeves is looking very resplendant

Just seen Lurkers too

btw, who is Sub Territorial Marking?


Glad you're having a nice day. I've just watched John Campbell on Matariki, which was interesting. It'd be nice to have a local seasonal festivity. Only a matter of time I guess.

I haven't watched TV for weeks so I can only guess what Matariki is or was - do like JC though, in small doses

Sometimes I feel like I might be missing out on what's happening in pop-culture but then I have the radio on all hours and they review the 'good' bits - scripted on the back of a postage stamp probably

btw, I agree that we need a local festival as an excuse for a holiday

Anyhoo, enough rambling (can you tell I've had a or two), I'm surprised (given your cryptic-crossword-busting mind) that you didn't get that Sub Terranian Wotsit is Potholer - nb as a 'comment' by the pic there's a link to the thread/post that gave rise to the idea

How are the kakapo?

Matariki is the Maori New Year. I think it gets marked on the first new moon after Pleiades/Matariki becomes visible again in the Winter (sometime in June). This year it's this week (Weds is probably the first day that the moon is visible again). If you want to see Pleiades you have to get up pretty early and have a view of the horizon (I fail on both counts ).

There are moves afoot for this to become mainstream within NZ, which strikes me as wonderful. It has a lot of significance in terms of acknowledging and planning for the coming year I think. Anyway it's about time we went native

http://www.matariki.net.nz/


I'm not surprised I missed the Potholer reference - I'm feeling a bit thick these days Still, I've been consistently laughing at everything that turns up in that thread. It's like getting special treats every few days.


John Campbell seems as good a place as any to get a snapshot of popular culture these days. I usually check in to see what's on and then watch if it's something interesting (I agree JC might be a bit sweet for continuous consumption). It's so nice though after all those years of having to avoid Holmes.


The kakapo, ahem, yes, well, still around

*goes off to have a look...*

Talk of Matariki has been on the radio all day! I feel rather embarrased that I'd forgotten what it was - something that won't happen again - well, not until dementia sets in

So, up before dawn and look the the E/NE and see (unaided) a cluster of 6 stars

I have been told that the logo/symbol thingy for Subaru is also Pleiades, which is important to Japanese fishers etc

Hope all's swell in keaville

Kakapo

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3309589a7693,00.html

Kakapo chicks ready to leave home
10 June 2005

By SALLY KIDSON

Nelson's rarest chicks have become awkward teenagers, and it won't be long before they are kicked out of home.


Four kakapo chicks are being handraised at a rented house in a secret location in Nelson. Five were taken from their home near Stewart Island in April after failing to put on weight in the wild.

...

On June 20, the birds will be whisked back to their southern home on Codfish Island, and will be released back into the wild after two months.

Kakapo breed every two to five years and this year's brood brought the total population to 87.

and another few hundred words
and a cute pic

I saw this news item somewhere else. When I started reading it I thought they were taking the p*ss: "Four kakapo chicks are being handraised at a rented house in a secret location in Nelson.", yeah right . Then I got distracted and haven't been back to it, so thanks for that

Good to know why the numbers dropped from 87 to 86 - sources varied on what the actual number was for a while and it got quite confusing.

The entry is still explanding. I've put it in GuideML, and added a few bits. Still have to finish the conservation/recovery bit, and the bit at the end, and now that I've moved things around it needs a new intro...

I am worried about the size - the guide on writing entries says over 2000 words and they consider splitting it in two, and I'm at nearly 2,200 I think. So now I'm wondering if I should just make it two entries now. I guess I should finish the bits I have and put it in PR and see what happens. Finishing something is always good


Meanwhile, you've been very busy yourself All those penguins coming out of the woodwork!

The reason I was cautious over there wasn't so much about trolls as a certain researcher turning up and trying to answer the questions about denomination and then other researchers would have to explain why she was lying or how she said something completely different in 2002 etc. As you can see, my patience has run rather thin with the whole thing.


So, do you think you'll go see the chicks?