Bjørn Larsen provided us with this snapshot of a typical Kiwi shopping centre. I like how the shop fronts reflect the proportions of essential Kiwi nutrients: 20% pork chops and ground hooves, 30% fruit (Pineapple Lumps), and 50% booze.

Google Maps Location

Photo © 2011 Bjørn Larsen. Original here.

I have a hunch that Rachel Tallon isn’t entirely happy with the Westfield mall shopping center in Lower Hutt:

“A monstrosity that suddenly appeared in my home town a few years ago. Shaped like a Borg ship, with as much character, this imposing monolithic structure stands as a windowless monument to consumerism. (…)
Dull grey boxes plonked on top of a stress-inducing carpark, this rectangular tomb of doom to your credit card is now the heart of my town.”

But hey, just a hunch. Don’t miss the other instalments of the series:

• Borg Mall 1 – The Pit of Plunder and
• Borg Mall 2 – Vault of Fool’s Gold.

Photo © 2011 Rachel Tallon, Lower Hutt

On his very elegant website, Murray Neill offers an antidote to us: it could be also described as “Beautiful New Zealand.com”.

The photo above is from a cool series of aerial shots, taken with a kite. But even all this talent and technical equipment can’t turn Nelson’s infamous Central Post Office / City Council building into a beauty queen. Good for us! :)

Google Maps Location.

Photo © 2010 Murray Neill. Original here.

The Centre City Shopping Centre… – Centre? Centre! Fo’ shizzle! – in New Plymouth features a groovy little home-made slide-show-style movie on its groovy website. Not too surprisingly, they don’t feature many exterior shots of their clever little concrete construction accentuating the coast line.

A superb contribution by mitchyyyyy. Mitchyyyyy? Mitchyyyyy! Fo’ shizzle! Dizzle Bizzle!

Google Maps Location.

Photo © 2010 mitchyyyyy. Original here.

Ahh, good ol’ South Dunedin! Today with one of these spots that will kill a couple of pedestrians by collapsing some day soon. And one of the spots that have mayor Peter Chin written all over them. Shrieking, with The Joker-like voice, “Fuck it! Fuck it ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-hard!!”

Photo © 2009 Scott Savage.

This fine example of Kiwi entrepreneurship at work (see also: ‘this entrance is closed, use the other… – if you can find it.’) would easily qualify with the admired colleagues at http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/.

But what is a platform with hundreds of thousand clicks and their own book if you can choose a friendly independent blog with less then 10 clicks – half of them created by the owner. Thought Karschti and provided us with this gem. Thanks a lot!

Photo © 2009 Karsten Grillitsch.

South Dunedin’s busiest mall.

Photo © 2009 Scott Savage