New Zealand-born actor KJ Apa said his first role, on Shortland Street at age 16, gave him the technical training he needed to become who he is.
In an interview with actress Demi Moore, KJ Apa blew up “New Zealand high poppy syndrome” and said he didn’t want to stay in the country.
“In New Zealand, it’s hard to be yourself if you’re not confident enough,” he said, during a chat with Demi Moore that was published in Interview Magazine.
“I was 16 years old when I started making a soap called Shortland Street. I don’t know what I was doing, but I became a machine for learning dialogue, which is useful because they record 25 scenes a day. It gives me the technical training I need. I feel like You, because I don’t really want to live there, “he told Moore.
“I don’t want to live in New Zealand, totally quit. There is this thing in New Zealand called high poppy syndrome, where if you stand out, if you want to do something too big or you dress weird, people will give you a ***. and trying to cut you off. I remember going to LA for the first time and saying, ‘Dammit. This is what it’s like to be in a place where you can dress the way you want. Nobody cares if you’re gay or straight’, “the actor added.
After first appearing on camera on Shortland Street, KJ Apa landed his role in Riverdale when he was 18 years old.
“I barely remember who the man was. I was so naive. I haven’t even had a drink yet,” he said of the time.
Regardless of the problem with the way she says New Zealand views and reacts to successful people, the act says that, deep down, it will always be her home.
“Deep down, my home is in New Zealand. But when people ask me indifferently [where I’m from], I usually say LA. That’s my refuge now. My resting place, “he told Demi Moore.
In the interview, the Proposal Indecent actress asked KJ What do people really know about him, if they know him well.
“You will know that I support every major decision I make in my life,” he said.
KJ Apa and Demi Moore co-star in “Songbird”, directed by Michael Bay, which was released last October.
The first meeting of the Provincial Coordination and Implementation Committee (PCIC) was held on Wednesday at the headquarters of the Karachi Metropolitan Commission.
The committee, which was formed in September 2020 for the planning and implementation of the Rp1.1 trillion Karachi Transformation Plan, decided that K-Electric and KMC would carry out a one-window operation to resolve issues related to street lighting and electricity.
Karachi administrator Laeeq Ahmed called on the KE not to carry out load blackouts for street lights at least during special events being held in the city.
The meeting decided that the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital’s arrears to the Sui South Gas Company would be repaid and the gas connection would be restored. .
In addition, from the meeting it was informed that a committee had been formed to ensure the true control of Sharae Faisal in the future. This step has been taken because multiple authorities have claimed administrative control over the area and the dispute has been going on for several years, the meeting said.
Participants note that there are 106 roads that are under the administrative control of KMC and only KMC can issue No objection Certificate (NOC) for cutting roads for lifting purposes.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 25th, 2021.
New Zealand’s first MIQ worker to receive a Covid-19 vaccination has spoken of the human costs of working on the front lines of fighting the deadly virus.
Lynette Faiva – who works in the Jet Park-run (MIQ) isolation and quarantine center that is used for Covid-positive cases – received her injection yesterday as part of the largest vaccination project in New Zealand history.
Shortly after she got vaccinated, the health boss confirmed there were no new community cases, but two more at the MIQ facility.
Speaking to the media, Faiva expressed how difficult it is to work in a stressful – and potentially dangerous – environment for what should be everyday family life.
“When I came home I couldn’t hug my family. I have to shower first, take off all my clothes and put them in the laundry.
“Those are things I have to follow up on when I come home because it will absolutely destroy me if I take the virus home and they will catch it,” said Faiva.
He said he was going home to tell his family that the vaccine was nothing to fear.
“I didn’t feel anything. It felt like a little prick. I would tell them it didn’t hurt and it was very easy,” said Faiva.
He said it was an honor to be the first to receive the vaccine and thanked him for the opportunity.
“It’s about providing another layer of protection.”
Other Jet Park staff who received the jabs spoke of the mental disadvantages and stigma attached to front-line jobs.
Drew Leafa said the stigma and how they could become victims by working on the front lines was difficult.
Drew Leafa is the third MIQ worker to receive a Covid-19 injection. Photo / Brett Phibbs
“I love my rugby and I couldn’t play last year because I didn’t want the team to know where I was working. I realize if you see people coughing and you wear masks and the stigma you get around them, especially when people find out we are there. Jet Park. “
He said his team was trying to tell people what they were doing was for the country.
“We are doing our job to protect all the Kiwis who return home, make them feel welcome and when they leave they feel like they are being taken care of.
“It’s hard because everywhere you go, you scan your QR code, I have cleaners in my car, I have cleaners in my bag. Be careful in everything to make sure we have to lead by example,” Leafa said.
About 12,000 border and MIQ workers will be vaccinated over the next few weeks prior to their household contact and then the remaining general population.
Deatil from a broader public rollout, which will start in the second half of this year, is still being finalized.
Health director general Dr Ashley Bloomfield said yesterday’s vaccinations marked a significant step forward in the fight against Covid-19.
Director General of Health Dr. Ashley Bloomfield at a press conference today. Photo / Brett Phibbs
“A milestone that protects those at highest risk of contracting the virus and helps reduce the risk of spreading it to the community.”
Bloomfield said New Zealanders need to remember this pandemic is the most significant global public health challenge in a century and managing it will require all of our efforts for the foreseeable future.
“Even though vaccinations have started, it is important for everyone to remain vigilant and stick to the basics: stay home if unwell and get advice on testing, wash hands and cough and sneeze into elbows, and wear a mask or face covering on all transportation. general. “
Dr. Nikki Turner at a press conference today. Photo / Brett Phibbs
Dr Nikki Turner, director of the Immunization Advisory Center, said people keep asking how safe the vaccine is and he wants to reassure the public that it is very safe.
“We are confident about the safety of this vaccine … there is nothing to worry about with this vaccine,” Turner said.
Inside Microsoft data centers in the UK. Photo / Microsoft
Microsoft has bought land to develop New Zealand’s first data center for $ 100 million plus in a move praised last year by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Now the exact location of the site can be revealed. Property records show where the business will build its first base in a project planned by one of the world’s most successful technology companies, potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Microsoft has about 100 data centers around the world but never had one here, so the choice of site is very important.
Google recently launched a US $ 1.2 billion plan to build two new server farms in the United States, providing an illustration of the numbers involved in the venture.
Last week, Microsoft NZ managing director Vanessa Sorenson was told The Herald company will build three data centers in different locations around Auckland to create what is called the data center region.
Microsoft’s recent financial filings revealed use an Irish subsidiary, in part, to fund its construction in Auckland.
Infratil’s CDC Data Center section also owns start in a multi-data center built in the north and northwest of the city, with hidden locations. In Australia, Microsoft and CDC are closely partnering and sharing the infrastructure. The pair declined to say that their respective Auckland projects crossed paths.
Last year, Microsoft announced plans to set up its first New Zealand data center, but no exact location was given for security reasons, although Auckland has been identified.
Recent property records show the name Microsoft New Zealand on the now vacant site on Kakano Rd outside Fred Taylor Dr, Westgate, Auckland.
Microsoft’s new site, purchased in December. Photos / provided
It is greenfield ex-horticultural land owned by Mark Gunton’s NZ Retail Property Group, but is progressively being sold under a multi-billion dollar scheme covering about 50ha alongside the northwest highway.
The world’s second-largest retailer, Costco, is building its first New Zealand outlet within a Microsoft block of land. Costco is second only to Walmart in terms of revenue.
Owning Costco and now Microsoft means Gunton has secured two of the world’s top companies. He said this week he could not discuss Microsoft but expressed excitement with Costco’s progress, saying work is fast progressing there.
Earthwork equipment and pile drive rigs have been active on the site where work began last year. Patrick Noone, managing director of Costco Australia and New Zealand, expects it to open in the first half of next year.
Mark Gunton, managing director of the NZ Retail Property Group, at Westgate. Photo / Nick Reed
Details on how big Microsoft plans to build on its site are not available.
A spokesperson said: “Due to security and confidentiality, we do not disclose the exact location of our data center area, this is to maintain the physical security of the facility, which will hold New Zealand data. All we can reveal is that the new data center region will be located in Auckland. “
As one of the largest and most successful technology companies in the world, Microsoft’s global revenues totaled US $ 143 billion in the 2020 financial year.
“This signals to the world that NZ is open for quality business and investment,” Ardern said last year of Microsoft’s decision to expand here.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the Microsoft deal was a sign of confidence. Photo / Mark Mitchell
The Herald reported this month Microsoft’s exact location has been withheld for security reasons.
Last September, Microsoft also reportedly obtained approval from the Office of Foreign Investments to build a giant cloud computing data center in Auckland. The applicant is Microsoft NZ, 100 percent owned by a Bermuda entity but ultimately controlled by Microsoft Corporation in the US.
“The investment involves acquiring land rights for the operation of the data center, whose value has yet to be confirmed but will exceed $ 100 million,” said the OIO ruling at the time.
Microsoft proposes to increase the ‘”hyperscale cloud service” available to organizations in New Zealand by creating “territories” of data on land. [aka a building full of servers], the decree says, “which will enable organizations and institutions to store New Zealand data (including sensitive data about New Zealanders), to help organizations and institutions comply with regulatory requirements.”
While construction increases and profits for companies using cloud services, it is unlikely that the data center will immediately provide a lot of jobs once it is up and running. The data center is largely automated.
Such centers are notorious for the amount of electricity they consume, mostly via air conditioning to cool servers. But in the US, Microsoft has focused on solar power and other clean energy solutions and the company has set a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030.
New Zealand’s frontline border workers will start receiving the first Covid-19 vaccinations next Saturday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern revealed.
Starting February 20, border workers and MIQ in Auckland will be offered the Pfizer / BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine.
Speaking to media in Auckland this morning, Ardern said it would take about two to three weeks for 12,000 frontline workers to receive the jab.
After the launch is complete, their family members will be offered vaccinations.
“Health care and essential workers and those most at risk of Covid-19 will follow in the second quarter, prior to vaccination of the wider population in the second half of this year,” Ardern said.
He added that the full vaccination program would take a whole year to roll out as a whole.
“This will be New Zealand’s largest vaccination campaign.”
Today is the first time the Government has set any timetable for vaccine launches.
PM Jacinda Ardern said the Covid vaccine will arrive in New Zealand next week. Photo / Michael Craig
The reason is, most of the logistics are up to Pfizer.
But Ardern said the starting point for February 20 was earlier than previously expected.
“Last year we indicated the vaccine would arrive in the second quarter, and earlier this year we updated it to the first quarter. It’s great to be able to receive a dose this fast in the first quarter,” he said this morning.
“This is a very important achievement.”
Covid-19 Minister Chris Hipkins said from next Saturday onwards, the vaccine will be sent to New Zealand in stages.
The first will be in the “lowest tens of thousands”, but there will be nearly a quarter of a million in New Zealand by the end of the first quarter.
Although the updated timeline for frontline workers is getting the jab, there is still no specific date when the general rollout will begin.
Ardern said it was still planned for the second half of this year.
He said Pfizer is still working on the schedule, so it’s difficult to get a specific date for the second half of the launch.
Meanwhile, Medsafe is still in the process of validating another vaccine that could also be launched in New Zealand and the Pacific.
Ashley Bloomfield, flanked by Andrew Little, Chris Hipkins and Jacinda Ardern, in today’s update. Photo / Michael Craig
New Zealand, Ardern said, will be responsible for most of the vaccine distribution in the Pacific Islands.
Ardern told reporters he was not too worried about health care workers refusing vaccinations, because he didn’t think many – if any – workers would reject vaccines.
But if someone did, Ardern said they wouldn’t be fired. Instead, they will most likely be removed from the front lines.
He said the vaccine was a way to keep “yourself and your family members safe” and, therefore, he expected high vaccine uptake across the country, when it was launched.