Afternoons for Tuesday 1 June 2010
Does size matter when it comes to chip portions you get at your local fish 'n' chip shop? The Chip Group gathers stats on these matters and is calling for a standard scoop to weigh 330 grams before it is cooked. Do you find the size of portions varies wildly from one chip shop to the next? Email us your chip stories, afternoons@radionz.co.nz.
1:10 Best Song Ever Written
My Bonny sung by Laura Smith chosen by David Bailey of Auckland.
1:15 Critical Mass
Phil Wallington lives in what he calls "rural rustication" in Horowhenua, but spends his week in the city of sails as a producer for Media 7. He's a former journalist and writer and avid TV viewer, and each week we get him to watch a little for us.
Former New Zealand Woman's Weekly editor and author in her on right, Nicky Pellegrino gives us the word on what she's been reading lately:
Private Life by Jane Smiley, the latest novel from the Pulitzer Prize winning author that traverses the intimate landscape of one woman's life, from the 1880s to World War II.
The Breaking of Eggs by Jim Powell. 61-year-old Feliks is a naturalized Frenchman, a displaced Pole and former Communist - and a curmudgeon - who has made his living writing a yearly travel guide to the countries behind the Iron Curtain.
Hearts and Minds by Amanda Craig tells the story of five people connected by murder.
The song Sometimes When It Rains by Tha Feelstyle is a must listen pick by our resident music expert, Nick Atkinson. Nick also features Kanikapila by Three Houses Down.
2:10 Feature stories
The Auckland Museum has a new interim director - Sir Don McKinnon.
The Pahiatua Railcar Society doesn't want to be just a museum for historic railcars. For 18 years, the Society has been lovingly restoring three ex New Zealand Railways historic diesel Railcars.
2:30 Reading
Captain Frank Worsley's account of Shackleton's desperate voyage of survival continues. The James Caird has finally arrived at the South Shetlands. . . . . the shore is anything but hospitable. Read by Peter Elliot.
2:45 He Rourou
The oratory skills honed at secondary school Maori speech competitions will benefit Maoridom as a whole. That's the opinion of Wiremu Grace, who judged the junior English section at the Wellington regionals recently.
Wiremu Grace also tells Ana Tapiata that more young women should be encouraged to speak out.
2:50 Feature Album
Taking the Long Way, the seventh studio album by the American Country band Dixie Chicks.
3:12 Tune Your Engine
Bev Aisbett, author of Taming the Black Dog: (the depression guide) talks about her new book, Get Over It.
3:33 Asian Report
According to her husband Tim, Suriah Burns is one of the best Malaysian cooks in New Zealand.
Producer Sonia Yee meets up with the Malaysian-born woman whose passion for food and people have helped her to make a life that she loves… in New Zealand.
3:47 Environment story
Everyday it seems, computers are getting smaller, faster, and have more memory. And while computers are far better than humans at crunching numbers and modelling, there are some tasks where the human brain is still superior. For example: recognising hand-drawn diagrams.
Beryl Plimmer from the University of Auckland is developing programmes to help computers "understand" people's sketches.
Ruth Beran meets with her, but first puts a human, Liam George, to the test.
4:06 The Panel
Graham Bell and Tim Watkin discuss the flotilla stormed by Israeli commandos. The boats were carrying aid to the Gaza Strip. At least nine pro-Palestinian activists were killed when Israeli commandos boarded the ships in international waters. Watch a video of the incident.
Performance artist Marina Abramović puts her fellow artists through boot camp for her career retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art. Here's a New York Times video feature about the camp.