June 2016 Archives

How Basketball Makes Ben Shewry a Better Chef

How Basketball Makes Ben Shewry a Better Chef

Ben Shewry, the New Zealand-born chef and owner of award-winning Melbourne restaurant Attica, talks with the Australian Financial Review about his obsession with basketball and about how what he learns on the court can…

Architectural Wonder on NZ Cliff

Architectural Wonder on NZ Cliff

“Hanging from a cliff on a mountainside 10 minutes from Queenstown is the jewel-like Jagged Edge, a rare undiscovered gem in the ultra-luxury private villa accommodation market in New Zealand,” writes Justine Tyerman for…

NZ Ireland Agribusiness Relationship Thriving

NZ Ireland Agribusiness Relationship Thriving

“It seems counterintuitive that an important market for Irish agriculture could also be a major competitor. But despite the great distance that separates them, a lucrative commercial relationship exists between Ireland and New Zealand,”…

Emma Bass Selected to Exhibit at The Summer Exhibition Royal Academy London

Emma Bass Selected to Exhibit at The Summer Exhibition Royal Academy London

Kiwi photographer Emma Bass has been selected to exhibit her work at the Summer Exhibition at the Royal Academy in London. This year’s edition of the Summer Exhibition, from 13 June to 21 August 2016,…

#221: Taika Waititi, Conchords, Tickled, Laura Myers + 64 Shots Review and more ++

#221: Taika Waititi, Conchords, Tickled, Laura Myers + 64 Shots Review and more ++

Comedians on NZ Humour

Comedians on NZ Humour

Kiwis are known for their humour. Watch this NZIntlComedyFestival clip and find out what New Zealand comedians Brendon Green, The Fan Brigade, Jamie Bowen and Cori Gonzalez-Macuer think about…

Wilderpeople Lavished with Praise in US

Wilderpeople Lavished with Praise in US

“Every once in a while, a small, unheralded film comes along, so smart and funny, such a pleasure to experience, you can’t believe your luck. Hunt for the Wilderpeople is such a film,” Los…

Courtney Sina Meredith Doing What She Loves

Courtney Sina Meredith Doing What She Loves

Fear can block our creativity or turn our creative practice mediocre. So what makes some artists “fearless”? New Zealander poet, playwright, fiction writer and musician Courtney Sina Meredith, 30, has a reputation as a…

Prince Fan Mr G Completes Minnesota Mural

Prince Fan Mr G Completes Minnesota Mural

New Zealand artist Graham Hoete, known as Mr G, has just completed an 8m high mural of music icon Prince on the wall of Chanhassen Cinema in Minnesota. Hoete, who is based in…

James Blick Devouring Spain one Bite at a Time

James Blick Devouring Spain one Bite at a Time

As part of their regular “Spanish Career” column, The Local chats to New Zealander James Blick and Lauren Aloise who run Devour Spain food tours in Madrid, Seville, Barcelona and Malaga. Blick says…

NY It Girl Collaborates with NZ’s Laura Myers

NY It Girl Collaborates with NZ’s Laura Myers

One of the hottest cool girl brands on the scene, Atea Oceanie, founded by New Zealander Laura Myers, has teamed with New York fashion icon 27-year-old Leandra Medine creator of fashion blog-turned lifestyle website,…

Sportspages Bookseller John Gaustad Lived his Dream

Sportspages Bookseller John Gaustad Lived his Dream

Passionate rugby fan, Wellington-born John Gaustad, who opened the first shop in Britain devoted to sports literature and set up a prize to encourage writers, has died in London. He was 68. Sportspages opened just…

Air NZ: Inspiring Voices – Dame Anne Salmond

Air NZ: Inspiring Voices – Dame Anne Salmond

“What is world class?” Watch Air New Zealand’s new ‘Inspiring Voices’ clip to find out how celebrated anthropologist, environmentalist and writer Dame Anne Salmond defines world class.

NZ Thrash Wales to Seal Series Whitewash

NZ Thrash Wales to Seal Series Whitewash

New Zealand has beaten Wales 46-6 to seal the three-Test series at Forsyth Barr Stadium in Dunedin. This win was the 29th in a row for the All Blacks over the Welsh who not…

Hiking on Ice at Fox Glacier

Hiking on Ice at Fox Glacier

“If the idea of sitting on a helicopter and walking on ice doesn’t keep you on the edge of your seat, what will,” writes Isabel Leong, who went heli hiking on Fox Glacier on…

Taika Waititi on Marvel’s First Female Supervillain

Taika Waititi on Marvel’s First Female Supervillain

In October New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi “landed the biggest job of his career when Marvel handed him the reins to their superhero threequel Thor: Ragnarok,” writes Jen Yamato for The Daily…

Athletics Legend Snell’s Singlet Sells for $100,000

Athletics Legend Snell’s Singlet Sells for $100,000

New Zealand’s national museum Te Papa has bought the singlet New Zealand athletics legend Peter Snell wore when he won two gold medals at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics for NZ$140,000 ($100,000) in an auction,…

New Zealand’s Sea of Wonders

New Zealand’s Sea of Wonders

“I’m bobbing in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, surrounded by small peaks of sea swell, and a guide is screaming my name from the boat. I turn in the direction she is gesticulating…

NZ Fashion Stars Work Together to Raise Awareness of Family Abuse

NZ Fashion Stars Work Together to Raise Awareness of Family Abuse

“Earlier this year, three-year-old New Zealand boy Moko Rangitoheriri passed away following days of horrific abuse at the hands of a family friend,” writes Wendy Syfret for Vice. Following his death “a collection…

Jeweller Jessica McCormack Packs for Waiheke

Jeweller Jessica McCormack Packs for Waiheke

Christchurch-born London-based jewellery designer Jessica McCormack talks with Harper’s Bazaar UK for the magazine’s monthly “Travel Notebook” column about what she packs and her favourite places to stay when she heads homeward to Waiheke…

24-Hours in Auckland

24-Hours in Auckland

“I still feel an urge of excitement whenever I head back to the city of sails,” writes Beck Wadworth in her 24-hour Auckland guide in Vogue Australia. After arriving she “ventured straight into…

#220: NZ incarceration culture; NZ World’s 4th Most Peaceful Country; Kevin Roberts 64 Shots; William Trubridge; Loveblock wine + Jack Lovelock and more ++

#220: NZ incarceration culture; NZ World’s 4th Most Peaceful Country; Kevin Roberts 64 Shots; William Trubridge; Loveblock wine + Jack Lovelock and more ++

Counting Down #CrazyAboutRugby #ProjectBlackout

Counting Down #CrazyAboutRugby #ProjectBlackout

Take a look at how New Zealand’s national airline Air New Zealand is preparing for the All Blacks vs Lions in 2017. #CrazyAboutRugby#ProjectBlackout  

Conchords Kick Off US Tour on High Note

Conchords Kick Off US Tour on High Note

Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie have begun their highly anticipated Flight of the Conchords Sing Flight of the Conchords Tour in the United States with a sold-out gig in Cleveland. “The duo kicked off their…

NZ Radio Wins at NY Festival Awards

NZ Radio Wins at NY Festival Awards

Radio New Zealand and Newstalk ZB have taken out several awards at the New York Festivals® International Radio Program Awards, which honour the World’s Best Radio Programs℠. “This year’s entries focused on the critical issues…

Taika Waititi Relates Wilderpeople Scene

Taika Waititi Relates Wilderpeople Scene

Director Taika Waititi narrates a scene for the New York Times from his comedy adventure film Hunt for the Wilderpeople, which opens 24 June in the United States. “At this point in the film, Ricky…

NZ Scientists Make Beef-Based Chocolate

NZ Scientists Make Beef-Based Chocolate

Mustafa Farouk, a senior scientist who works for the AgResearch institute, has partnered with Auckland-based Devonport Chocolates to create a confection made with 50 percent beef, as reported on Munchies – Vice’s…

Matt Couper and JK Russ Show Desert Martrys in Texas

Matt Couper and JK Russ Show Desert Martrys in Texas

Las Vegas-based artists, New Zealand couple Matt Couper and JK Russ present six collaborations as part of a new exhibition called “Salon of Desert Martyrs” on in Houston, Texas at the Zoya Tommy Gallery. In…

Smoothly Shot Tickled Undeniably Compelling

Smoothly Shot Tickled Undeniably Compelling

“About half an hour into the queasily entertaining documentary Tickled, we’re introduced to a Florida man named Richard Ivey, who runs a lucrative video website catering to those who share his highly specific fetish,”…

Kimberley Crossman in Hashtaggers

Kimberley Crossman in Hashtaggers

Kiwi actress Kimberley Crossman landed a major role in Hashtaggers. In the new web series she plays Nikki Hart, who runs a small company that tries to boost the online profiles…

Denis O’Reilly Reviews ’64 Shots: Leadership in a Crazy World’

Denis O’Reilly Reviews ’64 Shots: Leadership in a Crazy World’

64 Shots- leadership in a crazy world. Kevin Roberts, Chairman Saatchi & Saatchi. New York: Power House Books. The locus of this new book by Kevin Roberts is the here-and-now of a volatile, uncertain, complex,…

64 Shots: Leadership in a Crazy World – Review

64 Shots: Leadership in a Crazy World – Review

64 Shots- leadership in a crazy world. Kevin Roberts, Chairman Saatchi & Saatchi. New York: Power House Books. The locus of this new book by Kevin…

Ballet Dancer Harrison James Impresses in Giselle

Ballet Dancer Harrison James Impresses in Giselle

National Ballet of Canada stars, Paraparaumu-born Harrison James, 25, and Russian Svetlana Lunkina “bring beautiful dancing and dramatic depth” to the 175-year-old production of Giselle, Toronto Star reviewer Michael Crabb writes. “Just because Giselle is…

Dunedin Skipper Hokkaido Tour Drawcard

Dunedin Skipper Hokkaido Tour Drawcard

Canal tours led by 35-year-old New Zealander Brad McIvor along the Otaru Canal are one of Hokkaido city’s most popular tourist attractions, according to the Japan Times. Of the seven skippers working for

NZ #1 Destination on UK Travellers’ Wish list

NZ #1 Destination on UK Travellers’ Wish list

New Zealand has been identified the most popular destination on UK travellers’ wish lists in an analysis of government data and a survey of more than 2,000 adults by Sainsbury’s Bank Travel Money, as…

Aljazeera Investigates Behind the Wire

Aljazeera Investigates Behind the Wire

New Zealand has one of the highest incarceration rates in the Western world, and more than half of the prison population is Maori. Aljazeera journalist Aaron Smale goes inside to find out why and…

Earl Bamber Driving His Own Way

Earl Bamber Driving His Own Way

Earl Bamber grew up on a hunting-safari farm in Jerusalem on the Whanganui River, where he was home-schooled by his mother until he was 8. He liked to entertain himself by driving around the…

Butcher’s Bangers Win Gold in UK

Butcher’s Bangers Win Gold in UK

Originally a butcher in Rotorua, Karl Jelley has set up shop in the British town of Harpenden and is winning accolades for his sausages, and despite offering judges an over-sizzled sausage in a recent…

Steven Adams Mural OKC

Steven Adams Mural OKC

Watch this video and see the behind the scenes making of the OKC Thunder player Steven Adams mural in downtown Oklahoma City. The mural was sprayed by famed Kiwi artist Graham…

Jono Rotman’s Mongrel Mob Portraits

Jono Rotman’s Mongrel Mob Portraits

Photographer Jono Rotman’s most recent series “Mongrel Mob Portraits” – “depicts a unique vein in the tissue of New Zealand society, bringing up questions about national narrative and the perspectives of its inhabitants,” as…

Wellington Airport – One of The World’s Coolest Airports

Wellington Airport – One of The World’s Coolest Airports

Wellington Airport has been featured as one of the coolest airports of the world in an article in Huffington Post Canada. “Some of you may not know this, but The Lord of the Rings was…

In New Zealand, Food Is as Dramatic and Diverse as its Scenery

In New Zealand, Food Is as Dramatic and Diverse as its Scenery

“On the South Island of New Zealand, just about anything grows—and a group of inspired chefs and winemakers are turning the fruit of the land into a distinctive national cuisine,” writes Kevin West for…

Kiwi Family Turn Bus Into House Bus to Travel Full-Time

Kiwi Family Turn Bus Into House Bus to Travel Full-Time

After being trapped during the Christchurch earthquake, New Zealand couple Andy and Amber Cleverley ditched their house for a house bus, in which they want to travel around New Zealand with their children, as…

New Zealand Ranked 4th Most Peaceful Country

New Zealand Ranked 4th Most Peaceful Country

New Zealand has been ranked the fourth most peaceful country in the 2016 Global Peace Index, produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace. It was identified as the most peaceful country in the…

Greg Semu Restages Colonial Raft Art with Actors

Greg Semu Restages Colonial Raft Art with Actors

In a new exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) called, The Raft of the Tagata Pasifika (People of the Pacific), Auckland-born photographer Greg Semu presents a series of powerful photographic works, using…

Loveblock Makes New Zealand Wines with Heart & Soul

Loveblock Makes New Zealand Wines with Heart & Soul

“A conversation with Loveblock winery founder Erica Crawford reminds you that love isn’t just an emotion – it can be a catalyst for creating something truly special,” as reported in an article in

Freediver William Trubridge Gets Deep

Freediver William Trubridge Gets Deep

American publication Outside Magazine recently caught up with world record-holding freediver New Zealander William Trubridge from his home in the Bahamas, where he runs a diving school called Vertical Blue, to learn…

Two Weeks in New Zealand – 14 Activities

Two Weeks in New Zealand – 14 Activities

Devin Super Tramp travel through New Zealand for two weeks. Watch the stunning clip, which was filmed by Devin Graham and TeamSupertramp using the RED Dragon in 6K resolution,…

The Radical Optimist: Kevin Roberts On How To Lead In A Crazy World

The Radical Optimist: Kevin Roberts On How To Lead In A Crazy World

Kevin Roberts, chairman at Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide and head coach at Publicis Groupe, shared insights into his new book 64 Shots: Leadership in a Crazy World, leadership in a crazy world and…

Glowworm Images Capture Caves Illuminated in Blue

Glowworm Images Capture Caves Illuminated in Blue

British photographer Shaun Jeffers spent up to eight hours submerged in cold water to capture the tranquil and illuminated blue scenes at Ruakuri Cave in the Waitomo area. The worms light up the cave as…

Ladyhawke Back with Vibrantly Glam Wild Things

Ladyhawke Back with Vibrantly Glam Wild Things

“In 2016, when pop has never sounded moodier or more austere, Ladyhawke an unabashed explosion of colour and…

Jack Lovelock, 1500 Metres Final, Berlin Olympics 1936

Jack Lovelock, 1500 Metres Final, Berlin Olympics 1936

Jack Lovelock’s world-record victory in the 1,500 metres at the 1936 Berlin Olympics is a high point of New Zealand inspiration (fueled by the enthusiastic commentary of the BBC’s Harold Abrahams). Click here to…

Jack Lovelock, 1500 Metres Final, Berlin Olympics 1936

Jack Lovelock, 1500 Metres Final, Berlin Olympics 1936

Jack Lovelock’s world-record victory in the 1,500 metres at the 1936 Berlin Olympics is a high point of New Zealand inspiration (fueled by the enthusiastic commentary of the BBC’s…

NZ Artist Spray-Paints Steven Adams Mural in Downtown Oklahoma City

NZ Artist Spray-Paints Steven Adams Mural in Downtown Oklahoma City

Famed New Zealand graphic artist Graham Hoete, known as Mr G, has spray-painted a huge mural of fellow New Zealander Steven on Film Row in downtown Oklahoma City on the side of The Paramount…

SLSO Appoints Gemma New As Resident Conductor

SLSO Appoints Gemma New As Resident Conductor

“The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra has announced the appointment of resident conductor Gemma New, originally of New Zealand,” as reported in an article on St. Louis Post-Dispatch. New stands “out as a musician…

#219: All Blacks, Majestic Glaciers, Niki Caro, Stephen Jennings, Connan Mockasin, Damien Wilkins and more ++

#219: All Blacks, Majestic Glaciers, Niki Caro, Stephen Jennings, Connan Mockasin, Damien Wilkins and more ++