Archive

The Sheet Shuffle - 14

Posted 10:30pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Raeven Geist-Deschamps

This is it. After this column, I will no longer be shuffling your sheets, but shipping my Canadian booty back to the land of beavers and moose. As such, an elegy to travel and sex is in order. Clit rubbing, dick dipping, toe sucking, inner knee licking and back scratching have a completely Read more...

The Conservatory - 14

Posted 10:28pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Edward Greig

Of all the reasons not to mine, one of the most flimsy is the claim opening up a small percentage (0.001 percent) of DOC land to mining will destroy New Zealand tourism. This comes on the back of the notion that we are ‘clean and green’ and this, and only this, promotes us to the rest of the world Read more...

La Presidenta - 14

Posted 10:26pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Harriet Geoghegan

Alcohol – that’s pretty topical.   There’s been a lot in the media about the Government potentially raising the drinking age and shaking up licensing laws. The University has banned alcohol sponsorship in an effort to reduce binge drinking focused event,s and Gardies is all but Read more...

The Media and Me - 14

Posted 10:14pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Paul McMillan

A small part of me kicked the bucket, expired, crossed the great divide, croaked, passed away, breathed it’s last, went the way of all flesh, perished, and checked out the other day. Monty Python allusion aside, I saw a tragic ad that shocked me to the very core. Benicio Del Toro was selling Read more...

Te Roopu Maori - 14

Posted 10:12pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Heramaahina Eketone

Mauri ora whanau, The time for heads-down bums-up has jumped up and slapped us in the face. Where did the semester go?! Second- and third-years will be experts by now in the exam department. You kinda have study habits and exam prep down to a T, and if you don’t? No comment. But for those Read more...

The Green Finger - 14

Posted 10:11pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by J.R Holmes

Three Strikes.New Zealand took a new direction on May 25. I have to admit that I have less than no respect for the ACT Party and its policies. But, along with MPs from all parties, I do not dispute the intentions of David Garrett; I just want to respectfully disagree with his legislation. I Read more...

Num Nums - 14

Posted 10:05pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Tien-Yi Toh

Everyone has a favourite takeaway shop, and mine is Mei Wah Takeaways (660 Great King Street). Since fish and chips and the like have been covered in the Review Issue (Issue 9), I am going to focus on ‘the other stuff’. The two things that I order the most at Mei Wah are the BBQ pork and tofu Read more...

Editorial - 14

Posted 9:40pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Ben Thomson

This week we bring you the Travel Issue. What better way to procrastinate from exams than by day-dreaming about all the places you would rather be? We’ve run with the travel theme this week because there is no better time to book a summer holiday than during the depths of despair that is studying Read more...

Debatable - 14

Posted 9:35pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Hana Nyhof and Joelle Nyhof

Should We Halt the Creation of Artificial Life? Hana Nyhof argues we should; Joelle Nyhof disagrees. Hana: In light of the recent announcement that scientists have successfully created synthetic life in the form of a new species of bacteria that operates under the control of a Read more...

Boy and Girl - 14

Posted 9:26pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Boy and Girl

Boy and Girl: signed, sealed, delivered. Girl: Well, this column started out as a dumb excuse to do lame stuff I wouldn’t usually do, like go on a blind date. It seemed like a frivolous, harmless thing. To you, maybe. As for me, I was talking with a good friend of mine, who outlined Read more...

The Albums the world forgot - 14

Posted 8:43pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Stuart Dangerfield

Unknown Artist, The Album That Will Change Your Life (year unknown) Over the past fourteen weeks we have seen many albums that, for one reason or another, have been forgotten by the world. We have seen artists who tried something new and daring only to be rejected by their own fans, great Read more...

Top 5 - 13

Posted 8:40pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Richard Cheese

Top 5 Most Annoying Types of People on Facebook The weirdest part is that most of these people aren’t your ‘friends’, they’re just people you added out of obligation. Now you have to deal with their annoying habits.   5. The Group Joiner: I hate it when Read more...

Soapbox - 13

Posted 8:39pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Critic

For some reason, I'm not out with my flatmates. Even after four and a half months of living with them, I haven't told them that I'm gay. I'm out with nearly everyone else I know, but I haven't told the people I live with. Why?   To almost everyone I know, I identify as gay. Proudly. Read more...

The Sheet Shuffle - 13

Posted 8:35pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Raeven Geist-Deschamps

A Symphony of Queefs. In my younger years, I had this distinct illusion that sex was a clean, soft, velvety affair of veils, heavy panting, and moans. Little did I expect squishes and other noises. Let’s talk a little about queefs. Queefs are merely the fodder of farcical sex. Queefs are Read more...

The Conservatory - 13

Posted 8:33pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Edward Greig

The rise in tobacco excise tax will help to offset other tax cuts recently announced in the Budget. Simple enough, but is that really fair? Taxing one group of people, based on their personal choice to give themselves cancer, to enable the Government to take less from others?   It seems a Read more...

La Presidenta - 13

Posted 8:31pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Harriet Geoghegan

The first half of the year certainly has been a huge learning curve for me. As well as the big political things that have been going on, behind the scenes I have been rewriting OUSA’s strategic plan and working on some big internal changes.   Unfortunately it is only a one-year plan, Read more...

The Media and Me - 13

Posted 8:06pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Paul McMillan

Most don’t care to admit that the so-called ‘Top 40 songs’ or ‘New Zealand Top 40’ are not necessarily liked by anyone with a fully developed brain. For the most part they’re decided on by people who have yet to develop chest hair, let alone any intellectual acuity: the 13-and-unders. Those Read more...

Te Roopu Maori - 13

Posted 8:05pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Critic

There is a considerable amount of evidence that Maori do not have the same level of oral health as non-Maori across all age groups. Oral health disparities such as access to care exist, and one way to address ethnic inequalities in NZ is through Maori oral health workforce development. The Read more...

The Green Finger - 13

Posted 8:04pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by J.R Holmes

The idea that you can fly around the world and offset your carbon emissions by buying trees is really quite lazy, short-sighted, narcissistic, and retarded. For starters, the trees are already there. Since you’re emitting more carbon, you will need more trees to act as a carbon sink. If Read more...

Num Nums - 13

Posted 8:01pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Tien-Yi Toh

Indian Summer (Carnegie Centre, 110 Moray Place) is my new favourite Indian restaurant. The cool floor-to-ceiling glass-windowed restaurant front gives the place a comfortable casual-chic feel, making it the kind of place that you could just pop in for quick, casual meal on a whim, but also where Read more...

Editorial - 13

Posted 7:50pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Ben Thomson

AN EDITORIAL ABOUT FACEBOOK.     Facebook rolled out yet another round of changes to its privacy settings last week, creating another blitz of reporting in the media. If it were a country, Facebook would be the third largest in the world behind China and India. The Read more...

Debatable - 13

Posted 7:49pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Nick Gavey and Oliver Dickie

Should We Force-feed Anorexics? Nick Gavey argues that we should; Oliver Dickie disagrees.     Nick: Anorexia nervosa is a serious mental illness, like depression or bipolar disorder. In most cases it can be treated with a combination of therapy and medication. But Read more...

Boy and Girl - 13

Posted 7:48pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Boy and Girl

Girl: My silly friend once tried to convince me that one-way (unrequited) love was the height of romance and the only true love because you get nothing from it. Now, I don’t know whether to class my crush as ‘unrequited’; I have no idea how he might feel if he Read more...

The Albums the world forgot - 13

Posted 7:45pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Stuart Dangerfield

Various Artists, Yodelling From the Mountains (Carinia Records, year unknown) When done well, a compilation is more than a mere collection of songs. A skilled compiler can arrange a series of tunes in such a way that the whole becomes much greater than the sum of its parts, whether they are Read more...

Top 5 - 12

Posted 4:32pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Richard Cheese

Top 5 Reasons Why I Should Get Paid To Write This Column Writing these columns is hard work, you know. First I have to get drunk. Then I have write some poorly constructed sentences with immature statements, which some call ‘humour’. Then I have to research shit sometimes. Life is Read more...

Soapbox - 12

Posted 4:31pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Tom Taylor

Our Western fixation with monetary value has skyrocketed over the past few decades. By no means am I saying money is entirely a bad thing –it’s a tool, of course. What I am getting at is that this very obsession is screwing us over. Let’s take the University as an example. It’s no Read more...

The Sheet Shuffle - 12

Posted 4:30pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Raeven Geist-Deschamps

They Tell Me You Like Sex.     There’s this guy. He sent it like three orgies on the fourth of July: sparkles, banners, and whole lot of pheromones. Alfred Kinsey collected thousands of interviews for both Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in Read more...

The Conservatory - 12

Posted 4:28pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Edward Greig

Phil Goff is not doing his rather sorry image any favours in his recent proclamations on GST and tax. Ahead of the Budget, Goff was aiming to grasp a section of public opinion and set out what should be a viable and sensible alternative to the Government budget. Unfortunately, he did nothing Read more...

La Presidenta - 12

Posted 4:25pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Harriet Geoghegan

The week before last, OUSA ran its first Student General Meeting. SGMs are a constitutional requirement that are currently necessary to allow OUSA to continue operating. However, if you were re-creating OUSA from scratch, you would have to be a complete muppet to come up with a process this stupid Read more...

The Media and Me - 12

Posted 4:06pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Paul McMillan

Let’s talk about Facebook, everybody. Please have a seat. People are here because they care about you and they want you to know that they’re concerned for your well-being. This is what a Facebook intervention may look like; and, judging by the profusion of glowing blue screens that Read more...

Te Roopu Maori - 12

Posted 4:05pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Critic

Kia ora koutou, especially our tauira rata. We are Te Oranga ki Otakou, the Maori Medical Students’ Association. As you may have read over the last few weeks, the different Maori roopu have been introducing themselves to you, and now it’s our turn. Our Komiti for 2010 Kirsten Taplin – Read more...

The Green Finger - 12

Posted 4:03pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Dominic Szeker

You’ve got your haves and your have-nots. I’m a have, you’re a have. But what’s to be done about all these bloody have-nots, eh? Surely something better than sitting around drinking champagne and talking socialism. And perhaps, just perhaps, the misguided free-market principles that inform National Read more...

Boy and Girl - 12

Posted 4:02pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Boy and Girl

Girl:   What with the corporeally sober state I’ve been in lately, I took an interest in matters of spiritual concern and headed to a talk by an American rabbi on mysticism in the Abrahamic faiths. Aside from my interest in mysticism in general, I have always held the Jewish Read more...

Num Nums - 12

Posted 4:00pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Tien-Yi Toh

With the exams around the corner, I thought I would share a few really easy recipes that you can whip up when you need a 20–30 minute break from studying. These dishes keep relatively well so if you make enough to last a few meals, you will always have some proper food in the fridge when Read more...

Editorial - 12

Posted 3:51pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Ben Thomson

The Government was announcing the 2010 Budget as we were going to print last week. Very inconsiderate. It meant we had to do our own analysis and not wait to see what the ODT did for us the next day. Taxing.   I woke up on Budget Thursday to mail from Inland Revenue. After four Read more...

Debatable - 12

Posted 3:50pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Matt Lynch and Jeremy Stewart

Should We Chemically Castrate Sex Offenders? Matt Lynch argues that we should; Jeremy Stewart disagrees.     Matt:  There is a 47 percent recidivism rate amongst sex offenders in New Zealand. This is an abhorrent statistic to tolerate while a viable solution to Read more...

The Albums the world forgot - 12

Posted 3:43pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Stuart Dangerfield

Vanilla Ice, Hard To Swallow (1998, Republic)     What do you do when you’ve suddenly become the biggest hip-hop star in the world? This was the problem faced by Rob Van Winkle, better known as Vanilla Ice, after the release of his 1990 breakthrough single ‘Ice Ice Read more...

Top 5 - 11

Posted 3:37pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Richard Cheese

Top 5 Ways To Score A Fresher The way to a woman’s heart is long and arduous. Fresher girls are no different. Since this is the best and only advice column in Critic, I thought I’d share a guide on scoring a fresher.   5. Get to know her: If you’re even going to Read more...

Smile, You’re on Overheard @ Uni of Otago!

Posted 3:36pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Critic

I have to admit it – I like following trends as much as I like following Justin Bieber on Twitter. I’m a complete sheep. A tights-as pants-wearing, bubble tea-drinking, dubstep-listening sheep. I even sort of wish I was an Aucklander. They are cool. They set trends for me to follow! But the Read more...

The Sheet Shuffle - 11

Posted 3:35pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Raeven Geist-Deschamps

“I just came so easily from sex I never thought I needed a vibrator” If I were a bar, I’d be in a small dark alley, my bartenders would wear scarves, and I wouldn’t be popular on Tuesdays. If Peaches and Cream (112 St Andrew Street) were a person, it would have blonde hair, show Read more...

The Conservatory - 11

Posted 3:34pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Edward Greig

There is a rather serious problem in being a socialist. If you want any credibility, then you should stand up for what you believe in. Unfortunately for socialists, it is rather easy to do this. They can donate extra money to the Government. They can stop using private schools and hospitals. Read more...

The Media and Me - 11

Posted 3:09pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Paul McMillan

I hate to get petty and single particular advertisements out for excoriation, but ... well, I don’t have an excuse. I’m just going to. I probably should have brought this up during the Health Issue, but all these hand sanitizer ads are getting ridiculous. ng the Health Issue, but all these Read more...

Te Roopu Maori - 11

Posted 3:07pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Critic

Kia ora nga Tauira o nga hau e wha, We are Te Roopu Whakakaha Tinana, commonly known as the Physical Education Maori Association (PEMA) We are a student-led association and in our first year of establishment. Our main objective is to encourage the academic excellence of Maori Physical Read more...

The Green Finger - 11

Posted 3:06pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Dominic Szeker

Well, looks like the Gulf of Mexico is fucked. Oopsy daisy. Not surprising, though – it’s just business as usual. Last month an explosion savaged the Deepwater Horizon rig and opened up the ocean basin to thousands after thousands after thousands of tonnes of toxic ooze. BP, you suck. As Read more...

Editorial - 11

Posted 2:56pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Ben Thomson

I hate the term ‘silent majority’ – especially when used as justification for hating on some minority. But at university, minorities have it made. Here, the silent majority are students and the minority are attendees of Student General Meetings. The meetings held about twice a year to set the Read more...

Debatable - 11

Posted 2:55pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Harry Misslbrook and Anicia

Should parents be held responsible for the criminal behaviour of their children? Harry Misslbrook argues that they should; Anicia disagrees. Harry: I’m going to convince you that parents should be made legally responsible for their children’s criminal behaviour. I Read more...

Boy and Girl - 11

Posted 2:54pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Boy and Girl

“Girl, I have no passion for scandal. In fact, I feel decidedly unenthusiastic about putting my ego out there, as is our custom.” – Boy. irl:  For different reasons both Boy and I have been going through patches of life in which checking out the opposite sex, or even partying, have Read more...

The Albums the world forgot - 11

Posted 2:48pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Stuart Dangerfield

Glay, Unity Roots & Family, Away (2002, Pony Canyon) Everyone in the music business hopes to make it big someday; to have their face on the cover of The Rolling Stones magazine and their songs played on More FM. But can fame bring you true happiness? Try asking Japanese pop supergroup Glay. In Read more...

Top 5 - 10

Posted 2:46pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Richard Cheese

Top 5 Ways To Keep Warm During Winter     Goodness me, it is starting to get a wee bit cold! Being the most factual column in Critic, I thought I’d share some tips of how to get by this winter.   5. Drink More: If it works for the Russians, it can sure as hell Read more...

Soapbox - 10

Posted 2:44pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Critic

Those of you who have done or are doing Humanities degrees will probably be well-aware of the scorn you have to face telling people, especially older relatives, about your degree, your areas of interest, and your future plans. This scorn, though repeated many times, never pierced my Read more...

The Sheet Shuffle - 10

Posted 2:42pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Raeven Geist-Deschamps

Libidinous Tendencies and the Essay Wall     My creativity and my libido have gone hand in hand: they’ve met the increase in work by starkly plummeting. Thus I’ll engage my gender bias and my whiskey on ice and consider a few topical questions. In answer to Read more...

The Conservatory - 10

Posted 2:41pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Edward Greig

Increasing the drinking age is nothing more than a nanny-state, broad-brush approach that will penalise the many for the indiscretions of the few. Alcohol is consumed in large quantities by many people, and it can cause a lot of harm. There is no doubt that the Law Commission report on alcohol Read more...

La Presidenta - 10

Posted 2:39pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Harriet Geoghegan

The first Student General Meeting (SGM) of 2010 is going to be held this Thursday at 1pm on the OUSA Lawn. SGMs are a pretty archaic process, though. The views of 20 000+ students are meant to be adequately expressed by a village-style vote by whoever doesn’t have class and is available Read more...

The Media and Me - 10

Posted 2:15pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Paul McMillan

Who the hell is Justin Bieber? I’m not even going to take the time to find out whether I’m spelling his name right. More importantly, why would 3 News start their report of the day's events by investigating the frenzy and hysteria around a musical spawn of Satan entering the country? The Read more...

Te Roopu Maori - 10

Posted 2:14pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Critic

e mihi tenei ki nga akonga Maori o Otago, he mihi nui hoki ki nga akonga e mahi ana i te Tohu Paetahi Tauhokohoko! Kia Ora to all our Maori students at Otago, in particular those who study Commerce, who have come from all over Aotearoa, both first-year and returning students! This year we Read more...

The Green Finger - 10

Posted 2:13pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Marnie Walters

Before the last election, Key said that “victims of crime have been neglected for too long. It’s time we gave them the support they deserve.” It sounded good; I kind of get why people voted for that. What he didn’t mention, unfortunately, was just the kind of support victims deserved.   Read more...

Num Nums - 10

Posted 2:11pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Tien-Yi Toh

At just over two months old, five0nine (7 Frederick St) is probably the freshest face (in more ways than one) in the Dunedin café scene. Specialising in Taiwanese bubble tea, a sweet, flavoured tea-based drink, five0nine offers a pleasant alternative to the usual coffee/tea options at other Read more...

Editorial - 10

Posted 1:58pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Ben Thomson

It’s graduation time at University. Everyone who finished up at the end of last year leaves their high-paying jobs up north and rolls into town for the weekend for one last blowout in Dunedin. Then it’s back to work on Monday. Most of them only left after exams last November, but it is Read more...

Debatable - 10

Posted 1:57pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Alec Dawson and Kurt Purdon

Is Free Trade Preferable to Development Aid? Alec Dawson argues that it is; Kurt Purdon disagrees.     Alec: Our society is hypocritical. We seem to think it is okay to provide endless barriers to trade, protecting our own businesses and citizens at the expense of Read more...

Boy and Girl - 10

Posted 1:56pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Boy and Girl

Pop Quiz Online.     Boy: question 1: how often do you check your breasts out in public? Girl: umm, not very often, hardly at all  Girl: i mean, unless there’s a mirror or a window reflection   Boy: or, unless, you're looking down your own top! 12:18 Read more...

The Albums the world forgot - 10

Posted 1:48pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Stuart Dangerfield

Graham Turner, Melodies For Millions: A Tribute to Kenny G (2003, Luxury Multimedia Ltd.) Sometimes a musician affects you so strongly, so intensely – indeed, penetrates your soul so deeply – that you feel you must pay tribute to them. This is clearly the way Graham Turner Read more...

Top 5 - 09

Posted 1:44pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Richard Cheese

Top 5 Reasons Why American Football Is Much, Much Better Than Rugby Jock Phillips, a New Zealand, historian wrote that rugby was played by colonial New Zealand men for the intimacy of physical touch that their lonely lives lacked. That’s a bit awkward for the rugby boys – Read more...

Soapbox - 09

Posted 1:40pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Critic

“Gee, she’s just begging to be raped …”     In New Zealand, one in three girls and one in six boys experience sexual abuse. Currently, one in four women experience rape or attempted rape in their lifetime. New Zealand has some of the highest rates of sexual abuse in the world. Read more...

The Sheet Shuffle - 09

Posted 1:39pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Raeven Geist-Deschamps

If You Put Your Leg This Way and I Hold Myself Here …     Some Sex, Some Positions Last night, after a brilliant pub crawl, as I slid myself between the sheets on the top level of the bunk-bed, I heard my moody lower bunkmate return. With a twittering blonde woman. She gave Read more...

The Conservatory - 09

Posted 1:36pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Edward Greig

Private prisons and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) in general could be used to the benefit of the country. The fact that they are run by private companies, for a profit, does not automatically mean that every other aim of such an organisation is compromised.   One of the better Read more...

La Presidenta - 09

Posted 1:33pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Harriet Geoghegan

As this column goes to print, changes to the Design department are being voted on at the University Senate. You may have seen posters around the place, and read about it in Critic. I’m pretty pre-occupied with that at the moment, and hopefully the meeting goes well (this column is due in Read more...

The Media and Me - 09

Posted 1:04pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Paul McMillan

Just prior to patronising a certain Uni bar for an earth-shaking, euphonic performance from Dunedin’s immensely talented Mountaineater, I luxuriated on the couch and absorbed the exact opposite of musical freedom and creativity: American Idol. Why? I’m not entirely sure myself – Read more...

Te Roopu Maori - 09

Posted 1:03pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Stacey O'Neil

We are Te Roopu Whai Putake, the Otago University Maori Law Students’ Association. Stacey O’Neill – Tumuaki / President Iwi: Ngapuhi. Studying: LLB / BA (Maori and Politics).   Maia Wikaira – Tumuaki Tuarua / Vice President Iwi: Ngati Tuwharetoa, Te Read more...

The Green Finger - 09

Posted 1:00pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by J.R and B.G Holmes

The National Government Review This review is done in the style of the rental star rating system that is currently being launched. Insulation: This house is very well insulated. The fat-cats of Cabinet line the walls and ceiling nicely for a good thick blanket of warmth. None of this Read more...

Boy and Girl - 09

Posted 12:58pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Boy and Girl

Girl and Boy Review Dunedin’s Best Sights Girl Al Bar: Last week, my friend and I saw two insanely good-looking English boys drinking at the Al Bar – one of them even talked to me. Unfortunately, my klutzy male friends scared him off and I was too shy / moronic to follow up. Recently, Read more...

Num Nums - 09

Posted 12:53pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Tien-Yi Toh

I have been fantasizing about biting into a slice of pizza from Mamma Mia Pizza (124 Helensburgh Rd, Wakari) since the craving struck mid-afternoon. You know you got it bad when you try to weasel a ride to Wakari out of at least three people and fail … and then you start to think about Read more...

Editorial - 09

Posted 12:27pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Ben Thomson

This week we review stuff   We’ve got our annual fish n chips review along with toilets, coffees, $1 mixtures and a guide to bar safety, courtesy of the OUSA Exec – every other week we only give them half a page for a ‘President’s Column’ so it is the one time Read more...

Debatable - 09

Posted 12:22pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Simon Connell and Joelle Nyhof

Should We Introduce A Maximum Wage? Simon Connell argues that we should; Joelle Nyhof disagrees.       Connell:  The current ability to pay high wages has two significant effects:  The first is increased wealth inequality – a bigger gap between Read more...

The Albums the world forgot - 09

Posted 12:14pm Sunday 11th July 2010 by Stuart Dangerfield

Allan Gardiner’s Accordion Band, Let’s Have a Party (EMI, year unknown)   These days, so much of our music is gloomy and depressing. Hip-hop artists rap about tough life on the streets and ‘capping’ each other for ‘bling’, while rock singers all moan about the price Read more...

Top 5: Common Household Goods That Can Get You High

Posted 3:41am Monday 28th June 2010 by Richard Cheese

By no means do we endorse that you do any of the following shit. If you are stupid enough to actually do it, then you’re probably not worthy of being in the gene pool anyway. 5. Fly Spray + Toilet Paper Roll: I remember back in high school a few fucknuggets used to get an empty toilet paper Read more...

The Conservatory - 02

Posted 3:39am Monday 28th June 2010 by Edward Greig

The Law Commission’s job is to review laws and provide better alternatives. Their paper on the Control and Misuse of Drugs aims to provide a modern and updated law based on recent research. The main issue to come out of the paper was the suggestion to treat low-level drug addiction, rather than Read more...

La Presidenta - 02

Posted 3:34am Monday 28th June 2010 by Harriet Geoghegan

Orientation 2010 is now over. Phew. Toga went off without a hitch. Thanks to everyone who had a part in that – the colleges, campus security, OUSA events team, the awesome student Executive, the campus cop, and the students, who had an awesome time. There were a few dicks that threw eggs, but when Read more...

Te Roopu Maori - 02

Posted 3:30am Monday 28th June 2010 by Fallyn Flavell

OK, so we’ve had our first week of lectures. We hope they went well for you; however, if you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to contact us at teroopu.maori@otago.ac.nz or Te Huka M?tauraka. Te M?tauraka, The M?ori Centre (MC), provides excellent services. One of these is Read more...

The Green Finger - 02

Posted 3:27am Monday 28th June 2010 by J.R Holmes

This drug can induce feelings of euphoria and aggression. It can make you violently ill, and do things you never imagined you would. This drug increases your chances of being involved in a sexual assault, or a fatal road accident. It can harm children and unborn babies. This drug is addictive, Read more...

The Media and Me - 02

Posted 3:25am Monday 28th June 2010 by Paul McMillan

So! Charlie Sheen went to rehab, apparently. While this doesn’t necessarily come as a shock or even a surprise (Charlie could do anything: worship the occult, drive a tractor into a children’s hospital, sell coke, and America would still plonk down on the couch for Two and a Half Men, probably in Read more...

Bottoms up

Posted 3:21am Monday 28th June 2010 by Owen Jones

Following the frenetic fortnight-long O-Week (go figure that one out), you may be feeling as though you’ve skipped a meal or two, and are wondering why your new skinny jeans are now uncomfortably tight. Well, our favourite drug of all – alcohol – also happens to be the only drug that is also a Read more...

I hate to say this, but this place is getting to me.I think I'm getting the fear.

Posted 3:15am Monday 28th June 2010 by Ben Thomson

How are you all settling in? First week of lectures and all. I don’t do lectures anymore. I just sit in my office and try to be ‘in touch’ with what you guys want. And then make a magazine that reflects that. It’s a work in progress. This week: drugs! You guys love drugs, right? Read more...

Should Welfare Recipients Have to Undergo Compulsory Drug Tests?

Posted 4:14am Wednesday 23rd June 2010 by Alec Dawson and Hana Nyhof

Alec Dawson argues that they should; Hana Nyhof disagrees. Alec:   Do you want your taxes to go towards someone’s next hit of drugs? Or would you rather it genuinely went towards helping people in need? Currently, welfare in New Zealand broadly works on the basis that if you Read more...

Boy and Girl - 02

Posted 4:10am Wednesday 23rd June 2010 by Boy and Girl

Boy: “On a Monday night, on the first night of Orientation, onto a party?” I ask my evening date. It makes absolutely no sense, but the intention was creamy-clear like butter. First years drip down from the bars onto the streets. Mou closes early due to a barmaid neck strain that Read more...

Auscultate, Gregorian Chants: Songs of the Beatles (2003, Elap)

Posted 4:09am Wednesday 23rd June 2010 by Stuart Dangerfield

In music there are many sacred cows, artists whose work you would dare not criticise, let alone attempt to improve on. This, of course, is a ridiculous mentality, one that only serves to stunt musical progress. Take, for example, the music of popular rock group The Beatles: why are we content to Read more...

I don't know I'll have to think about it.

Posted 2:32am Monday 24th May 2010 by Ben Thomson

Hey. I’m Ben. Welcome to Critic. I hope we all get on real well this year. You would think they would make sure you have lots of ideas before they hand over to you a magazine such as this one. Well, I’m already out. I spent print night hunkered down under my desk reading old first Read more...

1-2-3 Transfer

Posted 2:30am Monday 24th May 2010 by Taylor Harrington

I studied at Otago for four years: met cool people, went skiing every year, achieved first-name-basis status at Blue Sky. But after four years, it got old. So, I decided that instead of returning to the deep south, I'd finish off my Commerce degree at home in Auckland. I’d heard it was hard to Read more...

Top 5: Fun Things to Do While at a Hall of Residence

Posted 2:28am Monday 24th May 2010 by Richard Cheese

The start of your first year at uni can be a little scary, so here are some fun things you can do while settling into your new home. They will also help you prepare for life as a Scarfie.. 5. Minefield: This game requires you (and some friends) to sit in the corner of your room facing the Read more...

THE CONSERVATORY - 01

Posted 2:27am Monday 24th May 2010 by Edward Greig

John Key has recently been getting flack for suggesting that some students are taking advantage of the generosity of the taxpayer. The reaction has been a little over-the-top, and his statements framed as an attack on students. Most students do work hard, and some deserve more support than they get. Read more...

La Presidenta - 01

Posted 2:24am Monday 24th May 2010 by Harriet Geoghegan

Hello and welcome to Dunedin for the 2010 academic year. For those of you returning, it is good to have you back! Dunedin has been pretty quiet without you. For those here for the first time, I really hope you are enjoying yourselves and getting amongst everything Dunedin has to offer. So far, Read more...

The Media and Me - 01

Posted 11:58pm Sunday 23rd May 2010 by Paul McMillan

First point of the year, and hopefully a fairly obvious one: media can be pretty dangerous when abused. Read Orwell’s 1984? That’s the worst of it. Will copious helpings of Project Runway, Desperate Housewives, and According to Jim get us there? I hope not, but maybe we do need to think about what Read more...

Te Roopu Maori 01

Posted 10:59pm Sunday 23rd May 2010 by Fallyn Flavell

Ng? mihi mahana kia koutou, Nau mai haere mai, hoki mai r?nei ki Otepoti, ki to m?tou Whare W?nanga papai raw?tu, ?, Te Whare W?naga o Ot?kou. Kia koutou ng? tauira hou, nau mai haere mai ki t? t?ranga hou, t? kainga. Nei te timatanga o t?tahi w?hanga hou o t? huarahi koiora, ko te hiahia he Read more...

The Green Finger

Posted 10:28pm Sunday 23rd May 2010 by Dominic Szeker

It’s a truth that has stood the test of time: our lives are structured by a bunch of people who love to jerk themselves off with the invisible hand. Hence the appropriateness of the phrase ‘trickle down.’ We now know that trickle down is myth, as is trickle sideways. Those with capital like Read more...

Fine by me

Posted 10:27pm Sunday 23rd May 2010 by Owen Jones

Fine dining isn’t really something students get to experience all that often. However, due to generous dinner offers from other parties – parents, in-laws and the Japanese Government (really) – I’ve recently found myself eating some pretty flashy meals. It turns out that the south of the South Read more...

Is pornography an affront to feminism?

Posted 10:15pm Sunday 23rd May 2010 by Will Cheyne & Louis Chambers

The debate as to whether or not pornography conflicts with feminist ideals is hotly contested. Will Cheyne takes the view that it does, as pornography alters the way women are perceived by society and the expectations placed upon them. Louis Chambers disagrees, arguing that feminism is about choice, Read more...

Boy and Girl

Posted 10:01pm Sunday 23rd May 2010 by Boy and Girl

Girl: A kind friend recently told me “you make being single look enviable.” I was suitably flattered, but while I do enjoy the self-indulgence that single life affords, there are always those balmy afternoons when I get the classic tune ‘Afternoon Delight’ stuck in my Read more...

Scott Stapp - The Great Divide (2005, Wind-up records)

Posted 9:59pm Sunday 23rd May 2010 by Stuart Dangerfield

History, they say, is written by the winners, and this is no less true in the world of popular music. Albums by million-selling artists like Michael Jackson and U2 stick in the popular consciousness like thorns, while those that aren't so lucky are tossed away like yesterday's newspaper. But Read more...