Here is something for the trainspotters amongst you. As a demographer of some repute I find it intriguing that New Zealand's population is set to reach 4,444,444 tomorrow. Our population is growing by 100 people each day and will be on this number for about 15 minutes. New Zealand is growing! I actually remember growing up when we were around the 3.5 million. That makes me feel old!
New Zealand's estimated population will hit the symmetrical figure of
4,444,444 some time on Thursday, Statistics New Zealand says.
"While
the new resident could be a New Zealander flying home after living
overseas, or a new migrant, they're most likely to be a new baby, as
that's where most of our population growth is coming from," population
statistics manager Andrea Blackburn said.
"It will also pass quite
quickly. The population is currently growing by roughly 100 people
every day, so it will only be at 4,444,444 for about quarter of an
hour."
Such landmarks were quite rare, she said.
New Zealand's population hit 3,333,333 in the mid-1980s and probably won't get to 5,555,555 for another 30 years.
The symmetrical milestone puts the population very close to that of Ireland or Croatia.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard shows why you don't wear high heels of soft grass when she fell over on a trip to India. There is always something satisfying in seeing things like this happen to famous people as you realise it just isn't you that these things happen to. Not that I wear high heels!
The Bushwhackers were WWF wrestling legends in the 1980s and 1990s and now Luke one half of the tag team is touring New Zealand and has been brought here for a documentary to be made on the now geriatrics. Butch Miller lives on the Kapiti Coast while Luke Williams lives in Puerto Rico. Luke Williams will be appearing as part of the KPW Showcase Event in Wellington on October 26th, will you be one of the bogans heading along to cheer on these guys? Will you be dressing up to head along?
Kiwi Pro Wrestling CEO Rip Morgan is proud to announce the return of none other than professional wrestling legend "Bushwhacker" Luke Williams! who will wrestle on KPW's scheduled show for Friday the 26th October at Wellington High School. CEO Rip Morgan who was the flag-bearer for the Sheep Herders tag team consisting of Butch Miller and Luke Williams in the USA in the mid1980s , said "I am over the moon to finally get my old wrestling buddy Luke to come back home to wrestle. Its been too long since he has performed here and I sure have some top talent that he needs to have a look at."
This exciting announcement holds a certain amount of personal pride for Rip Morgan, not only because Rip is the nephew of KPW Commissioner Butch Miller, Cousin Luke's former partner but it also is a chance for Luke to meet the next wrestling generation out of the Morgan family, Kade Morgan 3G. Kade Morgan who is Butch Millers great nephew is New Zealand's only third generation wrestler and Kade certainly has a proud international wrestling legacy to live up to!
Luke Williams began wrestling in 1964 for NWA New Zealand, and a full record of his illustrious career is available on KPW's website under Legends. Williams will be most familiar to New Zealand wrestling fans as one half of the fan-favourite tag team the Bushwhackers, who wrestled in the-then WWF in the early 1990s. However, the Bushwhackers' almost comical antics inside and outside the ring belied their rough-and-tumble tag team beginnings in Canada as "the Kiwis", battling the young Hart brothers and joining forces with a young Tommy "Dynamite Kid" Billington. A short reign as tag team champions in Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council promotion prepared them for their subsequent blood-stained, brawling rampages in America in the 1980s as the dreaded Sheepherders. Miller and Williams gained a fearsome reputation for their brutality and viciousness throughout the 1980s, particularly in their feud with the Fabulous Ones, Stan Lane and Steve Keirn.
Williams and Miller were most visible to fans in their tenure in the WWF, feuding with such teams as the Bolsheviks (Boris Zhukov and Nikolai Volkoff), the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers and Rhythm and Blues (the Honky Tonk Man and Greg "the Hammer" Valentine) to name but a few. Throughout his world-spanning career, Luke Williams has held tag team championships with Butch Miller in multiple wrestling promotions in America (Universal Wrestling Federation, Continental Wrestling Federation, Pacific Northwest Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida, etcetera), Puerto Rico (WWC) and Canada (NWA All-Star Wrestling and Stampede).
Another big event on the night will be a KPW Heavyweight Champion Match between "Shane the Technician Whitehead" and "Whetu the Maori Warrior". A No Disqualification rule will be enforced.
With the rise within the company of the Colossus Mr Samoa and his huge support from his Samoan fans a great night out is guaranteed! When tickets come on line book early to avoid disappointment.
"Bushwhacker Homecoming" is being held on Friday the 26th October and Bushwhacker Luke Williams will be returning home bringing his greater-than 40 years professional experience to this KPW showcase event!
The Village People are coming to Wellington - will you be going?
YMCA one of their best known songs
The Village People are coming to Wellington in November, playing at the Wellington Town Hall. It is their 35th anniversary and they are encouraging people to attend dressed up in disco attire, will you be going? Their songs are always played at events and parties because they are catchy and fun, but it will be interesting to see what sort of crowds they attract? They do have links to the homosexual community, and I wonder if this is why they chose to come to Wellington? Wellington did host the Wellington Out Games last year. It sounds like there will be a dance floor and a supporting act. I wonder how good these guys are 35 years after they started and how many originals are left? Out of all of their characters, I wonder which character people will dress as? The cop? Leatherman? Cowboy? Indian? Builder? Army or navy officer?
The Village People aren't the only well known group to come to New Zealand this summer with Boys II Men also coming to Wellington.
Felix Baumgartner will attempt to be the first skydiver to break the sound barrier. Is this guy crazy? This guy could well be boiled to death jumping from a balloon-hoisted capsule 23 miles in the air.
ROSWELL, N.M. - Experienced skydiver and extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner hopes to take the leap of his life Tuesday, attempting the highest, fastest free fall in history.
If he survives, the man dubbed "Fearless Felix" could be the first skydiver to break the sound barrier.
The 43-year-old former military parachutist from Austria is scheduled to jump from a balloon-hoisted capsule 23 miles above Roswell on Tuesday morning. He wants to break the record set in 1960 by Joe Kittinger, who jumped from an open gondola at an altitude of 19.5 miles. Kittinger's speed of 614 m.p.h. was just shy of breaking the sound barrier at that height.
Baumgartner, who has been preparing for the jump for five years, has made two practice runs from the Roswell area, from 15 miles high in March and 18 miles in July.
And while he and his team of experts recognize the worst-case scenarios - including "boiling" blood and exploding lungs - they have confidence in their built-in solutions. Those solutions are something NASA is watching closely. The space agency is interested in the potential for escape systems on future rocket ships.
Baumgartner's top medical man is Jonathan Clark, a former NASA flight surgeon whose wife, astronaut Laurel Clark, died in the space shuttle Columbia accident in 2003. Clark is dedicated to improving astronauts chances of survival in a high-altitude disaster.
The No. 1 fear is a breach of Baumgartner's suit, which could cause potentially lethal bubbles to form in his bodily fluids, a condition known as boiling blood. There are also risks he could spin out of control, causing other problems.
This death-defying venture is being sponsored by energy-drink maker Red Bull, which has funded other extreme athletic events. The project's team of experts has a plan for almost every contingency. The spacesuit and capsule were tested in the early skydiving practice runs. The company won't say how much the project, called Stratos for stratosphere, is costing.
The organizers say there are about 30 video and still cameras to record the jump, including five attached to Baumgartner's pressure suit, along with cameras from the capsule, on the ground and a helicopter.
Red Bull has been promoting a live Internet stream of the event at http://www.redbullstratos.com/live, from all cameras except those on Baumgartner's body. Organizers said there will be a 20-second delay in their broadcast of footage in case of a tragic accident.
But whether Baumgartner can make the jump depends on the weather. Winds from a cold front already delayed him by a day.
Baumgartner, who has made more than 2,500 jumps from planes, helicopters, landmarks, and skyscrapers over the last 25 years, promises this jump will be his last. He says he plans to settle down with his girlfriend and fly helicopters on mountain rescue and firefighting missions in the United States and Austria.
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/nation_world/20121009_Skydiver_aims_for_record_in_free_fall_over_New_Mexico.html
I would've paid to let Mike Tyson chew my ear off - Yeah right?
Two global superstars Usain Bolt and Mike Tyson are scheduled to pay fleeting visits to New Zealand, but it looks like only Usain Bolt will be allowed to appear, yet ironically it seems that more people would have had access to Mike Tyson given he was selling tickets up to $400 for people to hear him talk. Bolt won't be hear long but will only really deal with his sponsors and a few selected New Zealand athletes, before leaving. Although Tyson may not come to New Zealand, in many ways given his colourful past it would actually be more interesting going and listening to his story. Who would you rather meet, sprinting superstar Usain Bolt or boxing bad boy Mike Tyson?
Mike Tyson is a settled down married man who is a vegan and doesn't drink, but he was convicted of rape in 1992 and sentenced to six years in jail where he was released after three years after converting to Islam. He was once the WBA, WBC and IBF World Heavyweight Boxing at the age of 20 years old. He is now 46. But does his choice of lifestyle, diet or religion mean that he isn't capable of crime?
He was only allowed a visa to enter New Zealand because Life Education Trust supposedly wrote a letter to help get his application processed, but apparently it wasn't approved internally by them first and so they withdrew his application for a visa. The problem is that we don't usually allow people to get visas if they have had five year prison sentences.
Should an exception be made for Mike Tyson?
He has sold tickets to his show ranging in price up to $395 for premium tickets where he will talk about his life and how he overcame adversity. He has lead an interesting life which has seen him become a movie star for his role in the Hangover movies. I would imagine him attracting a rough crowd, but it sounds like there have been plenty of pre sales. He would be interesting to listen to, although I would probably be scared of the other people who would be attending.
Tyson has travelled to other countries of the world, is New Zealand giving itself a bad name by not letting him enter our country? Some groups who deal with rape don't want a convicted rapist entering our country. Does the fact it was 20 years ago change things?
Do we forgive and forget letting Mike Tyson onto our shores? Or should we stick to the rules and not let him get a visa for New Zealand? I am assuming that he only needs a visa because he is trying to make money from his appearance in New Zealand.
My thought is although he is a scary man from a corrupt underworld of world boxing and crime, I think many New Zealanders could be inspired by the way he has turned his life around, so let him come.
Watch this amazing soccer (football) goal scored by one legged Nico Calabria. This guy is a legend and competes in several codes with able bodied athletes. This is a great goal and this guy is impressive having such mobility while playing with walking sticks.
Nico Calabria is a senior for Concord Carlisle Regional High School. His team would go on to crush their opposition 9-0, but there was a highlight that has hit the internet by storm. What is unique is that Nico was born without one leg. He has a very inspirational story and this goal would hopefully shed some light on his fearless mentality. He not only scored off a corner kick, he has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro at the age of 13, competes at a high level on his high school's wrestling team and was the captain of the school's JV team. Chest bumps to Nico!
Wellington's Backbencher is on fire again! Just as it was recovering from the previous fire which caused plenty of damage to the iconic Wellington pub. I wonder what caused it?
