I keep thinking that living in today’s world is akin to someone holding on for dear life to an aircraft they somehow got outside of, but it’s about to crash anyway. People are on edge. Societies are bending before the strain of a whole raft of factors topped by a virus that, alas, won’t go … More As the world comes undone…
Of late there has been a huge upswing in the trend towards ‘colourising’ old monochrome photos. Adding colour to monochrome isn’t new, of course – there was a whole industry devoted to ‘hand tinting’ back in the day. It was done to give people the feel of being there. Special oil paints were manufactured for … More The art of colourising old photographs
Something I’ve noticed online of late is the number of people who believe they are experts in fields in which they’re manifestly not qualified. The ones I’ve run into clearly believe themselves to ‘know more’ even than those qualified and professionally working in that territory. On my experience of them, such people don’t want to … More The problem with self-appointed online experts
It’s Anzac Day: memorial day in New Zealand and Australia when we remember the dead of all our wars. Why choose then, and not 11 November, to mark all war dead? For both Australia and New Zealand the emotional power of the Gallipoli campaign was enormous: after the war, this became the moment when both … More Lest we forget: a reminder of the folly of war
This week New Zealand’s inflation hit a 31-year high after decades when the spectre of relentlessly rising consumer prices seemed to have been conquered forever. What happened can only partly be blamed on domestic issues – a 32 percent rise in the price of fuel, for instance, simply had to be accepted. Although that last … More The inflation monster is baaaaaaack
According to WordPress, I’ve been blogging for 12 years this week. Time flies. Back in 2010 I’d never have guessed where the blogging path might lead. And where has that path gone? First and foremost, I’ve made some great blogging friends – people who’ve been in regular contact with me, both via the blog, via … More A dozen years with WordPress – and what’s next
The occupation of New Zealand’s Parliament grounds by a disparate group of protesters – ostensibly over the Covid mandates, but representing a multitude of causes and apparently without a single organiser – follows similar occupations in Canada and elsewhere. It’s a disturbing development. Protests usually focus on an issue. They are usually led and organised … More New Zealand’s parliamentary protest and the lessons of 1848 Europe
There is an old adage that history is always written by the victors. In a sense it’s true. If you’ve just won, you’re going to want to portray your side as the legitimate party. That’s why Richard III got such a bad rap from the Tudors. But to me the universal point is that history … More History is all about narratives – how to blue the abstract truth
This week I won a national writing award for my book for schools, The New Zealand Wars. The Storylines Notable Book lists included this title in its YA non-fiction category. I’m quite pleased about that. I wrote the book intentionally for the YA market, but it’s there for all ages and is intended as a … More I won a national writing award
I have a new book out next week. The battlecruiser New Zealand – a gift to Empire is being published in Britain by Seaforth, and in the United States by USNI Press. A little later this year it’s also being published in New Zealand by Oratia Books. It’s a very special book to me because … More The battlecruiser New Zealand – a gift to Empire
Matthew Wright 
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