15 posts tagged “australian”

I reached the 500th model milestone today on Autocade. The 500th entry was a very unlikely one, but it goes to show how varied the models are, and how they are not necessarily cars I even like!

Ford Fairlane (NL). 1996–9 (prod. unknown). 4-door sedan. F/R, 3984 cm³ (6 cyl. OHC), 4942 cm³ (V8 OHV). Final Fairlane on this platform, and last one to have a code unique to itself and LTD—its EA169 successor would be grouped under the AU colloquialism. Ghia trim reintroduced for 1998. Usual luxuries on a fairly rugged platform, beloved of hire car companies Down Under. Roomy and comfortable, though detail finish behind that of European and Japanese luxury cars.

From: Jack Yan
To: Drake

Please encode message before sending.

Drake: given your recent successful assassinations, our organization will pay you to eliminate from New Zealand screens the Beaurepaires spokesman, Vince Martin. Since 1982 we have had to put up with his ads for Dunlop and Beaurepaires, listening to him whine about blunt axes and singing Christmas carols. You are free to choose what method of killing you like, but the old hallucination and dive out of a high-rise gag is a good standby. Try not to run afoul of Jim Phelps and his Mission: Impossible team if you can.—JY

I learned quite a few things about Dan Chan at his funeral last Wednesday in the eulogy delivered by historian Dr James Ng.
   Dan was born in China in 1907 but was educated in Australia, where his father worked, from 13—both at a state school in NSW and Scotch College in Melbourne. This was, as James told us, unusual in its day as most Chinese fathers of Dan’s era would have sent their children back to the old country.
   This foreign education meant that Dan was bilingual and a very well versed and philosophical writer. He had returned to China and Hong Kong to set up a business there but the Japanese invasion meant that he and his family had to flee to the antipodes.
   His education meant that he could stay in New Zealand because his work was needed in editing a magazine for expatriates here and Dan also helped members of the diaspora get money back to the old country (one of his proud accomplishments being the mastering of a code to aid the transfers).
   However, his business in New Zealand, as I knew it, was in the restaurant trade—back in those postwar days it was rare to see anyone other than Anglo New Zealanders in white-collar professions.
   This did bring his family some security and Dan was a great benefactor in the old country, even having a high school built.
   His contributions to New Zealand society were awarded with a Queen’s Service Medal and he was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, which I understand equates roughly to an OBE.
   His driving licence was apparently still valid at the time of his passing. He was so alert and capable that instead of having an annual renewal—which is necessary for people at his age—he was given his for two years at age 99. He gave up driving voluntarily.
   As I said in my earlier tribute, he had a better memory for faces and people at age 100 than I do today.
   When you hear this history you come to realize that men like Dan, whom I knew more as being active in the Chinese New Zealand community, were actually the trailblazers who bridged the gulf between the émigrés and mainstream Kiwis.
   He was respected in legal circles, a recent conference only being funded because someone had made a large donation in his honour.
   The Otago University library holds Dan’s papers, a collection of writings between 1939 and 1999, often dealing with philosophy, not just Chinese issues.
   At his funeral, even former restaurateur and City Missioner Father Des Britten attended, along with engineer, blogger and historian Steven Young.
   Without his contribution and his readiness to work with institutions to help Chinese people in New Zealand, we would have been much the poorer. Dan was a great advocate.
   Although Dan had made it into the MSM when his ONZM was bestowed on him with the 2007 New Year honours, I found it a great surprise that the media missed his passing and a well attended funeral at Old St Paul’s.
   It may be a slight exaggeration to say that we would still be expected to run Chinese takeaways, laundromats and groceries—when you think about it, those days were within the lifetimes of many of us reading this post today. But certainly the idea of the well versed, professional Chinese New Zealander might not have been as well cemented, because the cultural gulf would not have been bridged as successfully.
   Those of us who enjoy professional positions today owe a debt of gratitude to men like Dan Chan. God bless you.

This is more groovy than a roller-skating date with Olivia Newton-John, having a fondue party or getting Erik Estrada to give you a signed helmet.

Spotted in Alicetown, Lower Hutt, New Zealand, a slightly modified Ford Falcon Hardtop from the late 1970s (1978, at a guess, because of the badging). This is the model that replaced Mad Max’s, and was considered very cool in its day. You might be able to tell that it’s bigger than the compact Falcons in the US from the 1960s, though slightly smaller than the final US model of 1970½ on the Torino platform. They had a terrible driving position but I have an uncle who swore by them for years.

Australians won’t find this as cool since they’ve had this model for a few months, but it was a treat for me to see the E241 Ford Falcon (or FG series) prior to its official New Zealand launch. These are at Manukau, Ford Motor Co.’s New Zealand HQ, along with a classic Model A in its reception area.
   The models are the top-of-the-line G6E luxury model and the performance hero, the XR8.
   In the metal, they look nice but not that big, especially as the CD345 Mondeo has grown considerably. The slab sides make for a less aggressive look, which I don’t think is that good an idea in 2008, but such gentler shapes will probably be perfectly timed for 2010. The Ford family look is very apparent, as well as VW–Audiesque touches such as the rising feature line in the doors’ lower sills.
   It will have its loyal fans and the cabbies will love the LPG versions, even if the Japanese are moving into that market like crazy.
   I can’t wait to drive it as I hear Ford is on to a winner and dynamically, the Falcon is better than its chief rival, the Holden Commodore. And it’s certainly better than any Ford sedan available in the Americas.
   But if it were my money, and I had to get a Ford, the Mondeo makes more sense considering it’s basically now the same size. I don’t need a big four-litre six or a V8 under the bonnet and while I prefer rear-wheel drive, I’m willing to sacrifice that for the better fuel economy of the Mondeo.

   Finally, a step in to the past:

I’m not even that huge a fan of Kath & Kim but I find the US remake news interesting. The two lead characters will still be Kath and Kim Day, but there will be no Sharon, Kel or Brett! Yes, they are being Americanized to Heather, Phil and Craig!
   I am keeping an open mind but just as I can’t visualize this set in the US, I can’t see Sharon called Heather!
   Official site is now up with very little content: http://www.nbc.com/Primetime/Kath_and_Kim/index.shtml.
   I’m wondering what sort of American accent would equate to Melbournian suburban—and no one I know in Melbourne talks like Kath and Kim anyway!

 

   Meanwhile, I understand that Outrageous Fortune already has a UK remake (Honest, with Amanda Redman) and that the US version approached Rene Russo for the Robyn Malcolm role, but IMDB says it has gone to Catherine O’Hara. I was wrong about the name: Throng reports it is to be called Good Behavior and IMDB confirms this.

NBC has announced its new schedule for 2008 and, Journeyman fans, our fave is gone.
   In its place is an American remake of Australian sitcom Kath & Kim.
   You poor, poor bastards.
   Well, let me rephrase that. I like Kath & Kim but I only think it works in Australia. And as the first Aussie sitcom I can think of to get the American remake treatment, I just can’t see Molly Shannon and Selma Blair pull off, ‘Look at me. Look at me.’
   Maybe I am wrong as the Americans managed to make more episodes of Three’s Company and The Office than the original British producers could thanks to larger budgets, and keep them reasonably funny in their own way.
   I just get visions of Joey-style writing and direction rather than anything inspired like Flight of the Conchords or Extras.
   What the heck, here’s a YouTube video. Can this work as an American sitcom, in a Trailer Park Boys vein? What accent will Shannon and Blair adopt?

   For a country that puts out good, original sitcoms like My Name Is Earl, Americans are creative enough to come up with their own ideas—though having said that, I hope Kath & Kim creators Jane Turner and Gina Riley make a ****load of money from the adaptation, which they will also executive-produce.
   On the plus side, Knight Rider is back. Great! No story arcs or all that complicated plotting that US shows are known for of late. Just a good ol’ fashioned American TV show with plenty of cheese and a talking car. Let’s hope Val Kilmer comes back as KITT.

[Cross-posted] Lucire editor Laura Ming-Wong, Miss New Zealand 2007 Laural Barrett and I will be among the judges of the StarNow 2008 Australian Model Search. 
   Each time I judge a competition, I get asked what I am looking for.
   The requirements of a fashion magazine for models include talent that can look different each time. We don’t want a Derek Zoolander with a Blue Steel look. We want a model who, depending on angle, poses, mood and just her “look” can convey anything from cool to sultry, playful to dramatic.
   I don’t think conventional beauty always works with models, either. This idea has been helped by shows such as America’s Next Top Model: all the girls on that are stunning but very quickly, Tyra and her judges whittle the contestants down, often starting with the least flexible and most conventional of them.
   When judging the Cadbury Dream Model Search last year, I really liked how my fellow judges were conscious of family and education commitments, as I was. This is important, too: the maturity of the entrant and whether she has the focus that will enable her to succeed both in her education and in her career.
   Modelling, despite the mischief Kate Moss might get up to, is not fun and games. This is work, and usually very hard work. Discipline is key to the job.
   We look forward to seeing what entrants are signing up the competition and if it sounds like you, surf to www.starnow.com.au/modelsearch.

The Toyota Hilux commercial in New Zealand many years ago, where the word bugger is the only thing uttered, is one of the more famous exports from this nation. But it’s not original, since many people say ‘Bugger’ when frustrated with their Corollas. Or when frustrated with making an ad for a Corolla.
   Here’s John Blackman in the 1980s, who utters this very word in these out-takes for a 1984 Toyota TVC in Australia. (Note: he also utters f***, s*** and c***.) Car buffs are right: Australia was still selling a locally produced 70-series model in 1984.

   Les gaffes des pubs australiens pour la Toyota Corolla, en 1984.

I spotted the Australian Travel & Leisure when in Sydney and I’ve noticed now the word Australia has become the words Australia & New Zealand very quietly. And being an American Express card member here (wank factor time: Platinum) I am going to be getting these babies free for the next year.
   The funny thing is, being a big (American) T&L fan, I can’t bring myself to like the localized edition as much. Maybe my travel habits are more American—I have been checking out some places long before they were fashionable among my peers here. The other issue is that the best articles are re-runs from the original. I like the mixture in the American Travel & Leisure, the tips, the awards, the top 500—stuff like that.
   I feel like a tosser writing this because what is localized and brought to you by John Fairfax in Aussie T&L is actually really good, and I am on good terms with many folks at Fairfax on both sides of the Tasman. However, I’ll still be supplementing my freebie Aussie editions with the American ones.
   The big winner is American Express Publishing in the States and all the advertisers as I have been suckered into twice as many ads.