Midwinter Christmas celebrations aren’t typically all the rage these days - the concept of it is, I admit, a little silly. Still, today is the 25^th day of the sixth month of the year, meaning half a year since the last yuletide holiday celebration, and half a year until the next.

I never really though of midwinter Christmas being a uniquely New Zealand or Australian celebration (if you can call it a celebration), but after giving the concept a little thought it seems appropriately so. We are brought up on the notion that Christmas is a wintery, magical time filled with warm egg nog and snow sledding - when in fact a Kiwi Christmas is more commonly set amongst a BBQ and sweltering 30 degree heat.

So in the depths of the Kiwi winter, when the temperatures are in the single digits and in many parts of the country you are surrounded by actual snow, why not have a little fun and let your childhood fantasies of a white Christmas become a reality? Several websites have also suggested that a midwinter Christmas down under is a way for Northern Hemisphere immigrants to rejoice their most celebrated day amongst home comforts, which also seems quite appropriate. Either way, it’s a good excuse for a hearty home cooked meal with friends or family.

The yams are in season, and there’s never a bad time to roast a ham - so have a little fun and get yourself out of the winter blues and into the Christmas spirit for the rest of the week!

Image from Flickr.

Outrageous Fortune returned to New Zealand TV last night for its fourth season - bringing the lives of our favourite Westies back to our small screens for another year. What is is store for us this season? Cheryl battles the forces of Wolf to defend her kids and her castle, Pascalle returns, and apparently we can expect some very risque sex scenes.

Some months ago, it was announced that the show would be made for US audiences when the rights for an American version of the show were sold to the ABC network, to be developed by the writer of popular shows Veronica Mars and Dawson’s Creek.

This follows a similar situation in Australia where their iconic show Kath & Kim was sold to a US network for production - and will star Hollywood scarlet Selma Blair. Who will take on the roles of the beloved West family stateside? Time will only tell. Outrageous Fortune has been immensely successful in New Zealand and is also showing in Australia and Britain in its current form. It’s also spawning international acting opportunities for some of the stars, it particular Grant Bowler who plays Wolf, who has been seen recently on several episodes of top rating show Lost.

Flight of the Conchords, another NZ TV show making headlines overseas has had some similar international success this week, with actress Jennifer Aniston expressing her interest in guest starring on the show’s second season. Rumor has it that Stephen Speilberg has also requested a copy of the first season from the lead Kiwi stars Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie.

Watch out world, Kiwis are storming small screens left, right, and centre this year!

Image from Flickr.

By now you’re probably heard the term “Millennial” being thrown around by magazines and other mediums - it’s the latest term for Generation Y, those born in the 1980s and early 90s.

A recent study by telecommunications company Motorola has found that Millennials not only seek more rich media, but often significantly influence buying decisions at home, predominantly when regarding console and service selection.

A common misconception about Millennials is that they are tech-savvy. While the Web is the hub of their social activities, they do not necessarily understand what is ‘under the bonnet’ of their products - nor do they care - they just want them to work, they enjoy technological advancements without needing to understand them.

Motorola’s study has shown that 71% of Millennials have a strong influence when it comes to internet connection decisions within the household, even if they no longer live at home with their parents. While they may not understand which DSL modem they want or how a wireless network functions, they know they want them and are able to convince their parents that they are needed. 70% of Millennials feel that their expectations and demands for rich media and internet technology are far greater than their parents’.

For Millennials, connectivity is a must-have, because they have grown up with technology and the internet at their feet and have never known a world without them. As a result, Millennials take pride in being able to ‘teach’ their parents about new technology.

Image from Flickr.

Looking forward to a long weekend? The NZS.com team certainly are. Queen’s Birthday is celebrated is this Monday - but you may not know that it’s not actually her real birthday, the celebratory date changing of the monarch’s birthday is a long standing tradition amongst the British royal family. To get the full story on why the Queen has two birthdays, check out our Queen’s Birthday Holiday article.

What’s a better way to celebrate Queen’s Birthday this weekend than catching Priscilla, Queen of the Desert: The Musical live on stage! The classic Aussie road movie is brought to life (or shall we say, larger than life?) across the Tasman for 2 weeks only, now showing in Auckland until June 7. Tickets are available from Eventfinder.

Not interested? Enjoy the last public holiday of the season, for most New Zealanders we won’t get another one until Labour Day!

Image from Flickr.

Imagine walking into a nightclub or outdoor dance party to hundreds of people dancing to silence… sounds a little crazy, right? Saturday night in Christchurch saw a unique phenomenon hit the South Island for the first time: a silent disco.

There are only a few companies I can think of that regularly produce brilliantly innovative marketing campaigns, so it was only logical that world class (kiwi made) vodka brand 42 Below put on an event like this for free.

Silent discos are a new concept whereby party goers are provided with wireless headphones and can tune into one of several channels streaming music from different DJ’s. The May 17 event saw DJs T Rice (Auckland), Josh Sinclair (Christchurch) and John Manson (Christchurch) pump out their tunes for eager dancers in a basement in the popular bar and nightclub district of SOL Square in Christchurch city.

So while the woman in the red dress was getting her freak on to some hot vocal house, the man with the dreadlocks was grooving to his own drum & bass tune. The silent disco experience was put on by UK Based company SilentArena, who offer their services worldwide and are able to provide in excess of 2500 headphones for clients.

Image from Flickr.

I read an article this morning which declared that owners of digital video recorder (DVR) consoles and hard drive recorders like MySky generally ignore all advertising on TV, but watch more TV that those without said consoles.

Half of DVR owners claim to fast-forward through all advertisements, and it appears that stay-at-home mothers are most acquainted with the fast-forward button - 9 out of 10 surveyed reported to not watch commercials when watching a recorded program on their DVR.

I am actually a recent convert to hard drive recording, having purchased a DVR about a month ago, for two reasons. The first was naturally, so I could record everything I enjoy watching during the week and watch my favourite shows at a convenient time (say, five shows in a row on a Sunday morning?). The second reason was, just like stay-at-home mums, to fast-forward ads. I actually made a point of buying a console with a thirty-second skip button, so I wouldn’t even have to keep an eye on my fast forwarding, I can just press that button eight times (advertisement breaks on New Zealand television are typically 4 minutes in total).

What does this mean for television advertising and its future? I can truly say that I am pretty much unaffected by small screen advertising, because I rarely even see it… but if television shows are funded solely on advertiser commercials, am I contributing to the jeopardisation of quality television on New Zealand screens?

Image from Flickr.

With the main event being played in three ‘flights’ before getting to the final table, this is how the finals of the New Zealand Poker Champs played out:

Flight One ended on thursday 8th and nine players were set to progress to Sunday’s NZ Poker Champs final table. 36 players started the day’s play, and the nine to progress were Craig Giles, Ken Eastwood, Wayne Paaka, David Bradford, Richard Grace, Martin Cardno, Graeme Putt, Kwang Son and Nilesh Naidu.

Flight Two started with 59 players and was condensed down to 15 to progress through to the New Zealand Poker Championship final table. A big name to be cut from flight two was Team PokerStars pro Lee “Final Table” Nelson, on the table was 2 hearts, 10 hearts, 2 clubs and 9 spades, and Nelson went all in with an ace and a king, but when the jack hearts came out on the river, it was Nick Wright’s pocket eights that knocked Nelson out.

The final table was finalised with 41 players set to dual it out for the New Zealand Poker Champs crown after flight three finished up on Saturday 10th. Nick Wright came in with the overall chip lead with $140,000, followed not far behind by David Bradford, David Borg and last years champion Eric Assadourian.

The final table was set to be a thrilling encounter with many big names starting with large stacks, but it was Australian David Borg who eventually outplayed compatriot Tony Hachem. Borg made a flush on the river after Hachem went all in to take the $100,000 first prize and the biggest win of his career - as was crowned the New Zealand Poker Champion for 2008.

Runner up Hachem took home $54,000, and the highest placed New Zealand player was John Pye who finished third and picked up a cheque for $34,000.

Final results of the New Zealand Poker Championships are below:

With the New Zealand Poker Championships in full swing, 3 of the 5 tournaments already have their winners.The opening event of the tournament being the Canterbury Championship - No Limit Holdem was taken out by Richard Grace. Richard was up against 72 other players but went down to the wire against a mate of his and took home $16,500 winnings for his efforts.

The second event was the Peter Peko Memorial - Pot Limit Holdem / Omaha, there was a total of 59 players contesting this event with a total prize pool of $29,500. New Zealand’s Sam He was the eventual victor who received the top prize of $10,000.

Australian Poker star Eric Assadourian became the only player to defend a New Zealand Poker Championship title in the history of the tournament, when he took out the New Zealand Pot Limit Omaha Championship. Assadourian headed off a field of 60 players to walk away with $10,000 in winnings.

The top 3 for each of the events are listed below.

Do you struggle week after week to find the latest Lotto results, Big Wednesday results and Keno results? NZS.com is now your source for all of your results - we’ve launched our brand new New Zealand Lotto section today!

We are dedicated to providing results from the latest draws to you in an simple to navigate format which is easy on the eye. Unlike many other online lottery results sources, NZS.com provides past draw winning numbers, so if you find a ticket in an old pair of pants that went unchecked, this is where you can find out if you were a winner! Remember that your old tickets are valid for 12 months.

The History of Lotto is actually quite interesting - beginning thousands of years ago in China, the first records of a lottery was put in place to help fund the construction of the Great Wall of China. Since then both the Roman Empire and Queen Elizabeth I’s England have benefited from lottery funding, along with several ivy-leave American universities.

NZ Lotto has been in place since 1987 and is a popular pastime for hundreds of thousands of Kiwis. During the 1990s Keno was launched as a daily lottery option for the thrill of the draw, and three years ago in 2005 Big Wednesday was launched to give Kiwis the chance to win the ultimate lifestyle: luxury cars, boats, baches and cash.

Make sure you bookmark the New Zealand Lotto page on NZS.com!

Image from Flickr.

I was surfing the net over the weekend and came across a private yacht called “Octopus”. What a yacht it is! At 126m long, it is apparently the largest privately owned yacht in the world - costing US$200 million and has a permanent crew of 60. It has two helicopters, seven boats, and a 10-man submarine that has the capacity to sleep eight for up to two weeks underwater. Talk about luxury accommodation!

The cost to maintain the yacht and cover crew salaries is estimated at US$20 million a year, and that’s before you drop anchor and leave the dock.

The man that owns this behemoth, Paul Allen, is the co-founder of Microsoft. It is just one of three he owns, although the other two yachts are not as big.

This maritime mammoth got me thinking, what else do those who can afford anything spend their millions on? Here are some of the luxury purchases made by the uber-wealthy according to Forbes.

Private Planes

Private Planes are to billionaires what Ferraris are to programmers who have cashed in their stock options. They are the thing they’ve always wanted and now can finally afford. The most popular is the Gulfstream V which retails for around US$40 million., although there are reports of a couple of A380’s on order for private use at a whopping US$280 million.

Sports Teams

Perhaps buying a sports team is a repressed adolescent fantasy for rich guys who could never play sports in high school and can now afford to buy the whole team? Paul Allen reappears here thanks to his purchase of the Seattle Seahawks NFL team and the Portland Trailblazers NBA team. Mark Cuban who founded Broadcast.com owns the Dallas Mavericks NBA team, and lets not forget Malcolm Glazer who famously purchased Manchester United Football team and also owns the Tampa Bay Buccaneers NFL team.

Collecting

Many of the veterans of the Forbes 400 rich list have been collecting for years, but for some of the newer billionaires, it’s a more recent passion. Bill Gates made several headlines through his purchase of celebrated artworks, the most important of which was when he paid approx US$30 million in 1994 for Leonardo Da Vinci’s Leicester Codex.

Getaways

There is a reason why a getaway is called what it is - because people don’t want to be found. Every Billionaire owns at least one, but the whereabouts are jealously guarded. Media Mogul Robert E. Turner has made no secret about his. Over the past several years, he has spent nearly half a billion dollars acquiring land around the world including 13 separate ranches in six western states, totalling 1.7 million acres - making him the largest landholder in the United States outside of the federal government.

Clothes

It is easy to say that a billionaire, like an 800 pound gorilla, can wear anything he wants. But billionaires are getting more dress savvy, thanks in part to the skill of master menswear tailor Gian DeCaro, whose Seattle shop has made hand-sewn suits for most of the city’s high tech elite.

Yachts

After purchases by the likes of Paul Allen, luxurious superyachts have become one of the big ticket items billionaires like the most. Larry Ellison, CEO of software giant Oracle is another with a fondness for sailing yachts. Jim Clarke former chief of Netscape has just recently commissioned a multi-million dollar, 292-foot three master, that when completed will be the world’s largest sloop.

Staff

The single biggest expense that any billionaire can accrue is manpower. Getting all the people you need to fly your planes, build your homes, manage your ranch, hang your paintings and cook your meals can add up. To get help getting help, billionaires turn to companies like Starkey International, a Denver based firm that specialises in training and placing household management staff around the world. Entry level household staff can earn as much as $35,000 to $55,000, depending on skills, while more experienced estate level managers can earn up to $125,000 a year.

Whilst these things are clearly luxury items to the average wage earner, it still begs the question: why?

And the simple answer is “because they can”!

Image from Flickr.