February 2015 Archives

Martin Crowe Inducted into ICC Hall of Fame

Martin Crowe Inducted into ICC Hall of Fame

Cricket’s “most stylish batsman” Martin Crowe, 52, has been inducted into the International Cricket Council (ICC) Hall of Fame on Saturday, the terminally ill former national player describing it as a “great honour” and…

Lydia Ko’s Latest Caddie Lands the Top Gig

Lydia Ko’s Latest Caddie Lands the Top Gig

Lydia Ko’s search for the right caddie has been an intriguing storyline for the media throughout her short span on the LPGA Tour, but it appears Australian bag man Jason Hamilton, for the foreseeable…

Russell Crowe considers Leeds United takeover

Russell Crowe considers Leeds United takeover

New Zealand-born actor Russell Crowe took to social media to address football fans who tweeted him in regards to whether he would take charge of Leeds United FC at Elland Road. In response to fans…

Hagley Oval Integral to Christchurch’s Regeneration

Hagley Oval Integral to Christchurch’s Regeneration

Cricket’s World Cup and the return of top-level sport to Christchurch’s Hagley Park has been integral to the city’s regeneration since the devastating earthquake of 2011, says the Guardian’s Mike Selvey. “To a visiting eye,…

Kiwibank New Zealander Of The Year 2015 – Finalist – Stephen Tindall

Kiwibank New Zealander Of The Year 2015 – Finalist – Stephen Tindall

Most commonly associated with The Warehouse, New Zealand entrepreneur Sir Stephen Tindall has dedicated himself to reducing the gap between New Zealand’s “haves” and “have-nots”. Sir Stephen had worked…

New-Zealand based start-up Xero raises $110M Round

New-Zealand based start-up Xero raises $110M Round

New Zealand based cloud accounting software vendor Xero has announced a $110 million funding round from Silicon Valley venture capital firm Accel Partners and Matrix Capital Management. Xero has long stated that the US market…

Gill Pattison’s Yangon Gallery Part of Myanmar’s Creative Boom

Gill Pattison’s Yangon Gallery Part of Myanmar’s Creative Boom

Owner of Yangon’s River Gallery, New Zealander Gill Pattison is part of the city’s creative boom. Myanmar’s art scene is flourishing since military rule was scaled down in the country. “Life in Myanmar at this…

The Bushwhackers Announced For WWE Hall of Fame

The Bushwhackers Announced For WWE Hall of Fame

New Zealand wrestling legends The Bushwhackers have made the cut into the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame Class of 2015. The native New Zealanders who wrestled under the names Luke Williams and…

Living a Kiwi Life – Tongariro Alpine Crossing – Ep. 29

Living a Kiwi Life – Tongariro Alpine Crossing – Ep. 29

This time the couple took on the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, and they took their parents with them! After making it to the summit of Mount Ngaurahoe (Mt Doom from Lord…

Breakers a Basketball Outlier With an Inside Track

Breakers a Basketball Outlier With an Inside Track

“The New Zealand Breakers are the most unconventional team in Australia’s National Basketball League,” Scott Cacciola begins in a feature article, part of a series chronicling good basketball around the United States, and the…

Antidote To Mythical Bloodsucking

Antidote To Mythical Bloodsucking

Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s What We Do in the Shadows, in which vampires mix with a mockumentary crew, is rapturously reviewed by the Wall St Journal’s Joe Morgenstern. The film, writes Morgenstern, is “a…

Clap Clap Riot – So You Say (Official)

Clap Clap Riot – So You Say (Official)

Clap Clap Riot is a New Zealand four-piece indie rock band, based in Auckland, New Zealand who were originally formed in Christchurch. ‘So You Say’ was from their debut twelve track album Counting Spins.

That’s ‘70s for Karen Walker in New York

That’s ‘70s for Karen Walker in New York

For spring 2015 it was photographer Valerie Finnis. For autumn 2014 is was New Zealand’s suffragettes. This time around, for her autumn 2015 collection presented at New York Fashion Week, Karen Walker focused on…

New Zealand Trounce England at Cricket World Cup

New Zealand Trounce England at Cricket World Cup

“At the hands of an urgent New Zealand superbly led by Brendon McCullum” Engand’s defeat at the Cricket World Cup in Wellington, “went beyond the realms of simple humiliation and entered that of fantasy,…

Up Close And Personal – Brendon McCullum

Up Close And Personal – Brendon McCullum

New Zealand Black Caps captain Brendan McCullum talks about his ICC Cricket World Cup experiences, and the hopes that he has for the 2015 tournament.

New Zealand Beats Britain in Men’s Pursuit Final

New Zealand Beats Britain in Men’s Pursuit Final

New Zealand has beaten Olympic champions Britain in the men’s pursuit final at the track cycling world championships in Saint Quentin en Yvelines, France, the team’s first ever world title and the seventh fastest…

Emilia Wickstead’s Trademark Polish Gets a Bit of an Edge

Emilia Wickstead’s Trademark Polish Gets a Bit of an Edge

The Duchess of Cambridge and Samantha Cameron are regular clients of fashion designer Emilia Wickstead and would have been able to pick something straight off the catwalk from her morning show at London Fashion…

Zane Lowe to Leave BBC Radio 1 for Apple in US

Zane Lowe to Leave BBC Radio 1 for Apple in US

The presenter of BBC Radio 1’s popular weekday evening music show, Auckland-born DJ Zane Lowe, 41, is moving to the United States after 12 years at the station to take up a role at…

The Originals – Season 2 Trailer

The Originals – Season 2 Trailer

Spinning off from the hit TV show The Vampire Diaries on the CW, The Originals continues the story of the vampiric Mikaelson siblings (Klaus, Elijah, Rebekah) as they…

Mike Campbell Scores Top Spot in Men’s Health Man Comp

Mike Campbell Scores Top Spot in Men’s Health Man Comp

Sydney-based personal trainer, New Zealander Mike Campbell, 33, has been named in the top six of Australian Men’s Health magazine’s Man competition. The competition calls for blokes who are in top shape and the best…

Berlin’s Pie Addiction Is Growing

Berlin’s Pie Addiction Is Growing

Named in tribute to Berlin-based Josh Joblin-Mills’ grandmother, famed for her home-cooked meat pies back in rural New Zealand, Oma Marnies has been stacking up a loyal customer base since it opened…

Savouring Views in New Zealand with Julian Robertson

Savouring Views in New Zealand with Julian Robertson

As the co-founder, chairman and chief executive of the US$30 billion investment firm Tiger Management L.L.C., American Julian Robertson, 82, has achieved a high profile in the world of finance. Robertson, who owns three…

With Bombastic New Single UMO Channel Stately Soulful Music

With Bombastic New Single UMO Channel Stately Soulful Music

New Zealand-born Ruban Nielson’s Portland-based three-piece Unknown Mortal Orchestra makes the Guardian’s daily playlist, with their “bombastic” new single Multi-Love. “Such was the oddball beauty of Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s introverted second album II that Multi-Love…

Karen Walker Taps Instagram Sensation Toast the Dog

Karen Walker Taps Instagram Sensation Toast the Dog

New Zealand designer Karen Walker and four-legged Instagram sensation Toast the Dog, the droopy-tongued pup rescued by American comedian Josh Ostrovsky and wife, Katie Sturino, both don shades for Walker’s spring 2015 eyewear campaign. “A…

There Is No Occasion That a Pavlova Doesn’t Add to

There Is No Occasion That a Pavlova Doesn’t Add to

“Most New Zealand and Australian rivalries are fought on the rugby field, the cricket pitch or the netball court,” according to the Vancouver Sun’s Tracey Tufnail, who includes her own family’s recipe for the…

Good Kill: Andrew Niccol Exclusive Interview

Good Kill: Andrew Niccol Exclusive Interview

New Zealand film director Andrew Niccol sits down to talk about his new film Good Kill, an ambitious war drama that stars Hollywood star Ethan Hawke as a disillusioned…

Running Gets Epic in Asics’ Biggest Global Campaign

Running Gets Epic in Asics’ Biggest Global Campaign

Asics has just launched its biggest ever global campaign with an epic new advertisement which was shot on location in New Zealand, and features crowds of runners summoned by a hunting horn…

Comic Artist Ant Sang Draws on East and West for Inspiration

Comic Artist Ant Sang Draws on East and West for Inspiration

Award-winning comic artist Ant Sang, who was a guest at this year’s Taipei International Book Exhibition, draws on Western and Eastern influences having spent his childhood and teenage years in New Zealand and Hong…

North Island a Land of Volcanoes and Vineyards

North Island a Land of Volcanoes and Vineyards

Over the coming six weeks, the world’s greatest cricketers will be zig-zagging across New Zealand. So for the cricket fan the Independent’s David Whitley suggests, that’s a fine excuse to disappear to the other…

Living a Kiwi Life – Whanganui River Journey – Ep. 28

Living a Kiwi Life – Whanganui River Journey – Ep. 28

The couple again took some time out to take on another New Zealand ‘great walk’ along the Whanganui River. Dubbed the Whanganui Journey this 3-5 day experience thrusts you into…

How Jemaine Clement Became 862-year-old Vladislav

How Jemaine Clement Became 862-year-old Vladislav

Being a vampire wasn’t entirely new to Jemaine Clement, co-director and star of What We Do In The Shadows. His first credited role was playing one in a 1995 horror short film called Blood…

Peter Gunn off to Italy for Young Chef Competition

Peter Gunn off to Italy for Young Chef Competition

A mighty fine plate of beef short ribs with roast celery vinaigrette has secured Attica sous-chef, New Zealand-born Peter Gunn a trip to Milan in June to compete with the world’s top up-and-coming kitchen…

NZ Design Firm Helps Museumgoers “Touch” Cities Around the World

NZ Design Firm Helps Museumgoers “Touch” Cities Around the World

For nearly 20 years, New Zealand-based experiential design company the Gibson Group has designed and built one-of-a-kind, interactive, multimedia visitor experiences for museums, galleries, archives, libraries, tourist centers, and businesses around the…

Ekko Park – Always A Fire

Ekko Park – Always A Fire

Ekko Park is a four piece rock band best described as “a ship captained by an Irishman and crewed by 3 kiwis” in a collaboration of diverse backgrounds that has…

Hobbit Trilogy Unmitigated Financial Grand-Slam for All Parties

Hobbit Trilogy Unmitigated Financial Grand-Slam for All Parties

“The Hobbit trilogy has been incredibly successful on a domestic and worldwide stage,” Forbes contributor Scott Mendelson writes. “The three-film trilogy cost around US$765m to produce and made US$2.916b worldwide thus far. Yet no…

Terraces One of Best Tourist Attractions That No Longer Exist

Terraces One of Best Tourist Attractions That No Longer Exist

Ask a New Zealander what happened on 10 June 1886, and they’ll tell you the planet lost its “eighth wonder,” says CNN, who deem the Pink and White Terraces of Lake Rotomahana one of…

Ross McEwan Gets down to Business at Royal Bank of Scotland

Ross McEwan Gets down to Business at Royal Bank of Scotland

Very few chief executives of big banks know how to brand a cow, what to do when calving season starts, or how to tell Angus from Shorthorn cattle. Except, that is, Ross McEwan, Financial…

Cedric Jackson Amazing Half Court Buzzer Beater To Beat Perth

Cedric Jackson Amazing Half Court Buzzer Beater To Beat Perth

A ridiculous long-range three pointer from New Zealand Breakers star Cedric Jackson broke the hearts of the Perth Wildcats as they crashed to a two-point double-overtime loss at the…

Paula Morris Makes Lucrative Short Story Comp Longlist

Paula Morris Makes Lucrative Short Story Comp Longlist

Auckland author Paula Morris has made it onto the 19-strong longlist for the 2015 Sunday Times EFG Short Story Award, the world’s richest prize for a single short story. The award – now…

Simon Baeyertz Helping Reclaim Puerto Rico’s Food Paradise

Simon Baeyertz Helping Reclaim Puerto Rico’s Food Paradise

New Zealander Simon Baeyertz, a “music-business refugee” who once worked with Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson, is now the owner of and the driving force behind Caribbean hotel El Blok. Along…

NZ Open Their Cricket World Cup in Style

NZ Open Their Cricket World Cup in Style

“New Zealand fulfilled the hopes of a capacity crowd, celebrating another landmark in the rebirth of , by defeating Sri Lanka by 98 runs,” the Guardian’s Vic Marks writes. “It was a well-nigh flawless…

New Zealand Both the Hipster and Tipster’s Choice

New Zealand Both the Hipster and Tipster’s Choice

No longer merely the cool underdog that overachieves, New Zealand is a genuine World Cup contender, according to the Hindu, with Brendon McCullum’s men now possessing a gilded opportunity to go where none of…

Last Knights – Trailer

Last Knights – Trailer

New Zealander Cliff Curtis had an awesome 2014 with a career best performance in The Dark Horse, and now he’s back on the big screen in high fantasy action…

New Line Cinema to Remake New Zealand Horror-Comedy ‘Housebound’

New Line Cinema to Remake New Zealand Horror-Comedy ‘Housebound’

New Line Cinema has picked up the remake rights of New Zealand horror-comedy Housebound, which earned praise from Lord of the Rings filmmaker Peter Jackson. Gerard Johnstone, who wrote and directed the movie, will produce the remake but…

Black Grace Touring Retrospective in the United States

Black Grace Touring Retrospective in the United States

Choreographer Neil Ieremia and his contemporary dance troupe Black Grace are currently on tour in the United States, firstly performing their 20-year retrospective programme, including Gathering Clouds, for Philadelphian audiences. Wellington-born Ieremia said that his…

Panicked Super Rich Buying up NZ Bolt Holes

Panicked Super Rich Buying up NZ Bolt Holes

Hedge fund managers are buying up remote stations and land in places like New Zealand to flee to in the event of civil uprising against growing inequality, it has been claimed. With growing inequality and…

Geologists Solve Tectonic Mystery with Explosives

Geologists Solve Tectonic Mystery with Explosives

Local geologists may have finally explained how tectonic plates shift by blowing up hundreds of kilograms of dynamite in a 100km line from Glendhu Rocks in the Wairarapa to Queen Elizabeth Park on the…

Vaughan Rowsell at TEDxAuckland

Vaughan Rowsell at TEDxAuckland

Vaughan Rowsell is the CEO and Founder of Vend, maker of awesome cloud based retail software and champions for small to medium retailers worldwide. The Vend team hold 3…

Atea Oceanie a Cool Brand of Insouciance Hard to Beat

Atea Oceanie a Cool Brand of Insouciance Hard to Beat

In just two years of being, the London-based womenswear label Atea Oceanie, founded by New Zealander Laura Myers, has risen through the ranks with its clever fusion of sportswear and fashion, Wallpaper magazine reports. Armed…

‘Theory Of Everything’s Anthony McCarten & Working Title Set Winston Churchill WWII Epic

‘Theory Of Everything’s Anthony McCarten & Working Title Set Winston Churchill WWII Epic

After The Theory Of Everything garnered five Oscar nominations including Best Picture, writer-producer Anthony McCarten has signed a deal to work alongside producer Lisa Bruce and Working Title partners Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan…

Bill Culbert’s Exhibition Most Engaging to Hit Sydney in Years

Bill Culbert’s Exhibition Most Engaging to Hit Sydney in Years

“The work of internationally acclaimed, New Zealand-born, France-based artist Bill Culbert has the potential to change the way you shop as well as the way you view art,” begins Nicholas Forrest in a review…

Anna Smaill’s Debut Novel Communicated Through Music

Anna Smaill’s Debut Novel Communicated Through Music

New Zealand poet Anna Smaill’s debut novel The Chimes, reviewed in the Independent, is “dystopian fiction but not quite as we know it.” “Smaill draws on her training as a classical violinist to create a…

Sunday – Trailer

Sunday – Trailer

Directed by Michele Joy Lloyd Sunday stars Dustin Clare (Spartacus, Underbelly) and Camille Keenan in this intimate love story set with Christchurch a year after the devastating earthquake. Charlie (Clare)…

Singer Brooke Fraser Sheds Her Pop Folk Skin

Singer Brooke Fraser Sheds Her Pop Folk Skin

Following a trio of successful folk-pop albums, Wellington-born singer Brooke Fraser, 31, re-emerged in 2014 with Brutal Romantic, a collection of dark, nervy electronica that doesn’t easily invite reductive descriptors like “organic” or “rootsy.” A…

Damaged Christchurch Mirrors Relationship in New Film

Damaged Christchurch Mirrors Relationship in New Film

The feature-length Sunday, which has its Australian premiere at the 9th Byron Bay Film Festival, is set in Christchurch a year after the 2011 earthquake, where scenes of damage, poignancy and hope provide a…

Silence The City – Brave

Silence The City – Brave

New Zealand rock group Silence The City is beginning to make waves with their high energy, melodic rock music. There new track “Brave” is making an impression with rock fans,…