February 2013 Archives

#155 Brain Gain

#155 Brain Gain

A look at BNZ's 'Brain Gain New Zealand' initiative and New Zealand headlines in global media for February. Including, New Zealand being the "Internet's most beloved lavb rats"; Karen Walker tackling percetptions of beauty; and more...

Ned Going Gangbusters

Ned Going Gangbusters

“Brent Marris’ The Ned Waihopai River, made in Marlborough, has become the wine equivalent of Fifty Shades of Grey, a word-of-mouth bestseller, its name passed from school gate to dinner table to book group, and back again,” the Telegraph’s Victoria …

Keeping Friends and Influencing Nations

Keeping Friends and Influencing Nations

Sir Don McKinnon appeared on a BBC ‘Daily Politics’ segment arguing that the Commonwealth is a “pretty good investment” for Britain but it has not “always used it best”. The New Zealander was the fourth Commonwealth Secretary General from 2000 …

Neilson Gets ‘Better and Better’

Neilson Gets ‘Better and Better’

New Zealander Ruban Neilson’s playing and song writing just gets ‘better and better’, according to The Observer. Reviewing his group’s latest CD. Unknown Mortal Orchestra II, The Observer’s Kitty Empire praises the bands songs as ‘gently lysergic’, ‘intimate’ and ‘quite …

Black Grace Tours US

Black Grace Tours US

“Pittsburgh Dance Council’s commitment to finding cutting-edge dance took it halfway around the world for its new offering, the Black Grace company from New Zealand,” Mark Kanny writes for the Pittsburgh Tribune. “Its founder and choreographer, Neil Ieremia, has created …

Kevin Iro: from ‘Kiwi’ League Legend to Marine Reserve Champion

Kevin Iro: from ‘Kiwi’ League Legend to Marine Reserve Champion

‘At first glance’ Kevin Iro, New Zealand rugby league great, ‘seems a somewhat unlikely ocean champion,’ writes Islands Business. But you don’t play for the ‘Kiwis’ without learning about hard work, and teamwork. That combination, along with his love of …

Effortless Chic

Effortless Chic

Since the launch of her ultra-feminine, eponymous line in 1996, Rebecca Taylor has become, without a doubt, one of the most prominent New Zealand-born fashion designers in the business, according to ELLE correspondent Kelsey Garcia. “The designer recently presented her …

Air New Zealand: The Bear Essentials of Safety

Air New Zealand: The Bear Essentials of Safety

Bear Grylls goes wild on Air New Zealand’s safety video.

Gifted Broadcaster

Gifted Broadcaster

Broadcaster Phillip Leishman, who’s career ranged from regional television in Dunedin to Olympic and Commonwealth Games, and to game show Wheel of Fortune, has died aged 61. “He was an extraordinarily gifted presenter and broadcaster … Phil had a unique …

NZ Home to World’s Largest Waterslide

NZ Home to World’s Largest Waterslide

New Zealanders Jimi Hunt and Dan Drupstee have built the world’s longest waterslide, writes The Daily Mail. Their slide, at 650 meters long, beat the previous record by nearly 440 meters! Two thousand people rode the slide during the two …

One of Our Greats Farewelled

One of Our Greats Farewelled

“There are few things I can say about my work that are better than saying nothing,” Ralph Hotere once said. With his death on 24 February, aged 81, art commentators and New Zealanders from all walks of life have had …

Making Melody in Bollywood

Making Melody in Bollywood

New Zealand musician and composer Mikey McCleary lives in Mumbai where he made his first brief impression with a commercial for Coca-Cola. McCleary, 44, also writes scores for Bollywood films. While new-age Hindi film music often struggles to balance between …

Oscar-nominee’s Homes for Hobbits

Oscar-nominee’s Homes for Hobbits

Production designer on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Hastings-born Dan Hennah, features in an Architectural Digest 2013 Oscar nominees slideshow of the year’s best in set design. “Hennah, who trained as an architect and served as Peter Jackson’s art director …

Erakovic Scores WTA Title

Erakovic Scores WTA Title

‘Run up the flags. New Zealand finally has a winner again,’ said Bob Greene of World Tennis Magazine. He was talking about Marina Erakovic winning her first World Tennis Association (WTA) title. The win came in Memphis Tennessee, at the …

Ryan Nelsen Scores Coaching Position

Ryan Nelsen Scores Coaching Position

Former All Whites skipper Ryan Nelsen, has his first-ever coaching job, at Toronto FC. He faces a huge task trying to turn the club around, writes Sonja Cori Missio in The Guardian. Nelsen was picked by Kevin Payne, Toronto’s new …

Chef Peter Gordon Talks NZ Lamb

Chef Peter Gordon Talks NZ Lamb

New Zealand lamb took center-stage in The Independent’s ‘food and drink’ section recently. Kiwi chef Peter Gordon featured, with a video on cooking lamb fajitas. ‘Since the first delivery in 1882, New Zealand Lamb has been a firm kitchen favourite. …

First in Memphis

First in Memphis

Marina Erakovic, 24, has became the first New Zealander, since Belinda Cordwell in 1989, to win a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) title, lifting her first career trophy with a truncated triumph over third-seeded German Sabine Lisicki in Memphis, United States. …

Harmony in China

Harmony in China

World-renowned harmonica player New Zealander Brendan Power, 56, whose music can be heard in the 2008 film Atonement, has been touring China this month. Based in Britain for the past 20 years, Power, who has released 15 solo albums, also …

Keoghan Wastes No Time

Keoghan Wastes No Time

“[New Zealander] Phil Keoghan of The Amazing Race has scuba dived with a dog, swilled the blood of a cobra and attended a nudist wedding,” Los Angeles Times blogger Mary Forgione writes. “And he sometimes gets lost when he travels …

Dogs on Film

Dogs on Film

Auckland-born photographer Paul Nathan’s new coffee table book, Couture Dogs captures bedazzled chihuahuas and Yorkshire terriers – the fashion plates of a special breed of dog owners who don’t mind spending a small fortune on a four-pawed wardrobe. “They are eccentric …

Never a Dull Moment

Never a Dull Moment

Four years ago, when Charles Turner was just shy of 91, he and his wife emigrated from London to Wellington. “It has worked,” Turner writes in the Telegraph. “We have a large garden with lawn stretching out to the road …

What’s it Like in Paradise?

What’s it Like in Paradise?

“Even this self-consciously egalitarian society, which was first to give women the vote in 1893, is not immune to social and economic inequality,” writes Michael White for the Guardian. “What’s it like in paradise these days?” White asks. “There’s a …

Economic Aftermath of Canterbury Quake.

Economic Aftermath of Canterbury Quake.

Two years ago, an earthquake devastated Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city, killing 185 people. The city is but one example of how even the wealthiest countries struggle to recover from large-scale catastrophes, according to the Washington Post. ‘Disaster agencies …

Debut Accomplished and Unexpected

Debut Accomplished and Unexpected

Auckland band Popstrangers have released their debut album Antipodes, an “accomplished and ambitious” record, according to London-based online music magazine musicOMH. “Throughout the album, Popstrangers never leave you feeling comfortable. Just when you think you have them pinned down they …

Commentaries on Nationality

Commentaries on Nationality

Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Nielson, formerly of The Mint Chicks, attributes his former anonymity and general fame-shyness to, in part, being from New Zealand. Emerging on the scene via an obscure Bandcamp profile in the spring of 2010, UMO’s first …

Clark Calls for Action

Clark Calls for Action

Helen Clark is calling for swift action to halt a surge of diseases such as cancer and diabetes in the Pacific, writes the Samoa Observer. Ms. Clark, a former New Zealand Prime Minister, is now head of the United Nations …

NZ Congratulated for Plain Packaged Cigarettes

NZ Congratulated for Plain Packaged Cigarettes

New Zealand will follow Australia’s lead in forcing cigarette makers to sell their products in plain packs, writes Dan Harrison, Health reporter for The Age. ‘Associate Health Minister Tariana Turia announced that she would introduce legislation to standardise the colour …

New Zealand Toy Makes World Top 10 List

New Zealand Toy Makes World Top 10 List

A New Zealand toy, The Snow Globe, is one of the world’s top ten ‘best creative toys’, according to  Britain’s Independent newspaper. The ‘Snow Globe’ is made by Seedlings, founded in 2006 by Phoebe Snow. Phoebe was struggling to find …

Bale to Play Mountaineer

Bale to Play Mountaineer

New Zealand mountaineer Rob Hall – who was killed climbing Mt Everest in 1996 aged 35 – will be played by American actor Christian Bale in a forthcoming film about the events which unfolded when two groups attempted to reach the summit …

Exotic Hops Lure Americans

Exotic Hops Lure Americans

New Zealand’s “bold, fruity” flavoured hops have been increasingly used by American craft brewers who prize their unique flavours, according to Los Angeles Times correspondent John Verive. “Some of the most popular new hop varieties being used by craft brewers …

Outside of the Box

Outside of the Box

“The Ruby Suns is akin to other New Zealand bands in that its music doesn’t fit comfortably inside an established genre of music outside of pop,” according to Tom Murphy of Denver Westword. Murphy spoke with lead singer [Ryan] McPhun …

Rachel Hunter Belle Donne

Rachel Hunter Belle Donne

Rachel Hunter, New Zealand former supermodel and TV presenter, ‘stole the show’ at the Italia Film, Fashion and Art Festival, in Los Angeles, according to The Daily Mail. ‘Rachel Hunter certainly isn’t about to let her style crown slip. The …

Kids TV and Crime Linked

Kids TV and Crime Linked

Otago University Professor Bob Hancox has found that the risk of having a criminal conviction in adulthood increases with every hour that children spend watching TV. The New Zealand study followed a group of 1,000 children born in Dunedin from …

Our Man at Facebook

Our Man at Facebook

New Zealander Vaughan Smith, 46, vice-president of mobile partnerships and corporate development at Facebook, was a speaker at the 2013 Mobile World Conference in Barcelona in late February. Smith’s session examined the pros and cons of mergers and acquisitions, joint …

Much More than a Film Set

Much More than a Film Set

“There’s so much to this beachy, mountainous, rugby-enthused nation [than hobbits],” Laura Morrison writes for CNN Travel. Morrison suggests ten other reasons why New Zealand is worth a visit, including for the coffee, for “fresh, unforgettable food” and vineyard tours. …

Sonny Bill Eyes Up World Cup

Sonny Bill Eyes Up World Cup

Sonny Bill Williams, New Zealand’s most versatile sportsman, may be available for New Zealand for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup says Brad Walker, in The Age. Williams plays for the Sydney Rooster rugby league team. He is already a …

NZ Women’s Cricket Player Issues ‘Wakeup’ Call

NZ Women’s Cricket Player Issues ‘Wakeup’ Call

Susie Bates, New Zealand women’s cricket captain, was named Player of the Tournament at the 2013 women’s Cricket World Cup. Bates scored 407 runs in the competition, and was named captain of the tournament’s World XI. But, despite her achievements, …

Lydia Ko ‘Just Incredible’

Lydia Ko ‘Just Incredible’

Steve Williams says he’s almost lost for words when it comes to fellow Kiwi Lydia Ko’s achievements, according to The Age. Williams has caddied for Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Raymond Floyd and now Adam Scott but admits 15-year-old Ko blows …

NZ Stays in Afghanistan

NZ Stays in Afghanistan

New Zealand will keep a small team of military personnel in Afghanistan to help coalition forces after it formally withdraws in April 2013, according to The Washington Post. The group of 27 will be primarily based in Kabul. New Zealand’s …

Prize at Berlinale

Prize at Berlinale

New Zealand-made film Shopping has won a prize at this year’s Berlinale. Shopping picked up one of the film festival’s second tier awards, the Grand Prix of the Generation 14+ international section for best feature film. The movie was made …

New Zealand Telcos Plan Fibre-optic Link with Australia

New Zealand Telcos Plan Fibre-optic Link with Australia

New Zealand’s telecommunications companies will build a new $60 million fiber-optic cable connecting New Zealand with Australia. Telecom, Vodafone and Telstra hope to finish the build by the end of 2014. The cable’s capacity of 30 terabits per second is …

NZ Film Brings Home the Prize

NZ Film Brings Home the Prize

The New Zealand film Shopping, by directors Mark Albiston and Louis Sutherland, has won The Grand Prix of the Generation 14plus for best feature film at the Berlin Film Festival.  ‘An extremely compelling first film with a fantastic lead actor,’ …

Real Romantic Treats

Real Romantic Treats

The romantic Kokohuia retreat in Hokianga is one of six New Zealand lodges recommended in Britain’s Independent newspaper. “This off-grid B&B opened above a scenic swathe of Hokianga Harbour a year ago … and offers just one luxury treehouse-style suite.” …

Walker’s Youthful Sophistication

Walker’s Youthful Sophistication

‘Karen Walker pits arty school girls against working women for a youthful but ultra-sophisticated new fall collection,’ writes Olivia Fleming in The Daily Mail.  Walker’s fall 2013 collection is called New Rose. The inspiration comes from The Damned and Siouxsie …

Characters Screaming to Get Out

Characters Screaming to Get Out

Award-winning actor New Zealander Jacob Rajan plays 17 different characters in the play Guru of Chai, which was recently performed Off-Broadway in New York. Rajan is the only actor in the play, which is a production of the Indian Ink …

Busting into Song

Busting into Song

She’s only 26, but New Zealander Gin Wigmore has already acted alongside Daniel Craig and recorded in Frank Sinatra’s studio. You may already have heard the first single, a bawdy barrelhouse stomp called Man Like That, which became the theme …

Sky Tower to Join St. Paddy’s Day Festivities

Sky Tower to Join St. Paddy’s Day Festivities

The Auckland Sky Tower will go green on St Patricks Day, March 17 2013, says the Daily Mail. The ‘greening’ has been organised by the Irish Tourist Board to promote Ireland’s tourism. Other world landmarks going green include the Sydney …

NZ Police Get Tech Savvy

NZ Police Get Tech Savvy

More than 6,000 New Zealand police officers are getting an iPhone, writes Louis Bedigian in Forbes. Almost 4000 of these officers will also receive an iPad. The deal is ‘the most lucrative Apple has announced since Home Depot announced that …

Samoa Backs Tom Groser

Samoa Backs Tom Groser

Samoa supports New Zealand’s Minister of Trade, Tim Groser as the next World Trade Organisation (WTO) Director General. Deputy Prime Minister Fonotoe Pierre Lauofo gave Samoa’s support at a meeting with Mr Groser, according to the Samoa Observer.  Mr Groser …

Greetings from New Zealand

Greetings from New Zealand

In the column “Postcard, from New Zealand”, originally appearing in The San Francisco Chronicle on 8 February 1966, American travel writer Stanton Delaplane said: “I must say the country is much improved for the tourist. When I was here a …

Alice Englert Almost Turned Down Starring Role

Alice Englert Almost Turned Down Starring Role

Kiwi actress Alice Englert almost turned down her role as ‘caster’ Lena Duchannes in Beautiful Creatures. Speaking to Eric Eisenberg, from Cinema Blend.com, Englert said that initially she ‘wasn’t interested. I heard…that it was trying to rip off the genre …

Make Your Own Plane

Make Your Own Plane

New Zealander John Nicol is the founder of Makerplane, the first open source aviation organization allowing people to download its aeroplane plans for free. Canada-based Nicol says the use of home-based manufacturing technologies is changing the way people make things …

Clark Discusses Mali’s Future

Clark Discusses Mali’s Future

According to former Prime Minister Helen Clark, head of the United Nations Development Program since 2009, Mali needs a very clear timetable for national dialogue, constitutional reform and improved governance. “You have to do this first, otherwise Mali will fall …

A Damn Good Reporter

A Damn Good Reporter

Longtime NBC news correspondent New Zealander Tom Aspell has died aged 62. NBC News president Steve Capus described Aspell as “understated, selfless, perpetually cool, shrewd, wry, curmudgeonly, and a damn good reporter”. “From Southeast Asia to the Middle East … …

Beautifully Scarce

Beautifully Scarce

Iranian-New Zealand artist Nabil Sabio Azadi’s travel book, For You The Traveller, is “probably the best guide book [The Huffington Post] has ever seen.” “It is available in a strictly limited edition of 200, and its scarcity speaks to everything …

GRAMMY Awards: Gotye and Kimbra

GRAMMY Awards: Gotye and Kimbra

Gotye and Kimbra at the 55th Annual GRAMMY Awards Pre Telecast Ceremony, ‘Somebody that I used to know’.