October 2018 Archives

Scrabble Fanatic Wins 4th World Scrabble Championship Title

Scrabble Fanatic Wins 4th World Scrabble Championship Title

Nigel Richards, from New Zealand, has won his fourth World Scrabble Championship title “with the word ‘groutier’, defined as sullen or sulky,” writes Sophie Law in an article for The Daily Mail. The crucial…

New Zealand Wants to #GetNZontheMap

New Zealand Wants to #GetNZontheMap

Earlier this year Tourism NZ launched #GetNZontheMap – a video ad in which Jacinda Ardern and Rhys Darby try to find out why NZ is being left off world maps. Watch…

Artist Peter Waddell Paints D.C. Bird’s Eye Views

Artist Peter Waddell Paints D.C. Bird’s Eye Views

“I wanted a fire,” Hastings-born artist Peter Waddell said as he and Washington Post reporter John Kelly gazed upon one of a pair of his monumentally sized paintings. Waddell’s paintings are bird’s-eye views of Washington…

Crawford Falconer Tackles Brexit Conundrums

Crawford Falconer Tackles Brexit Conundrums

When the UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016, the British government had no chief trade negotiator and only a handful of people engaged in trade policy. As part of the EU,…

Empower Yourself at a Parris Goebel Workshop

Empower Yourself at a Parris Goebel Workshop

New Zealand-born dancer Parris Goebel shares with Vogue how she is inspiring the next generation of women with her own success. When you ask an artist about what they consider to be their first big…

Reframing How We Talk About Guns

Reframing How We Talk About Guns

“We do know that tough gun laws work in other developed countries.” But in the US unity of opinion on gun laws never materialized,” writes Timothy Dumas for Greenwich Magazine….

How GM Went From Bankrupt to One of the World’s Best-Run Car Companies

How GM Went From Bankrupt to One of the World’s Best-Run Car Companies

“A decade after the financial crisis, General Motors is led by the best management team it’s ever had and one of the best C-suites in all of business.  CEO Mary Barra, President Dan Ammann…

All Blacks Complete Sweep of Australia in Japan

All Blacks Complete Sweep of Australia in Japan

World champions New Zealand crushed old foes Australia 37-20 at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama, Japan, where the 2019 Rugby World Cup final will be held, to complete a 3-0 Bledisloe Cup series whitewash win,…

John Llewellyn Calls Out Global Investment Climate

John Llewellyn Calls Out Global Investment Climate

Former chief economist of US investment bank Lehman Brothers, John Llewellyn, has issued a global warning and “has warned that the conditions for a ‘serious’ financial crisis are ‘intensifying’.” Llewellyn “told investors the combination…

She Shears Trailer

She Shears Trailer

Watch the official trailer for She Shears, a film that portrays five female shearers “as they head for black-shirt glory at the Golden Shears – the…

Banker Ross McEwan Cuts to the Chase

Banker Ross McEwan Cuts to the Chase

When New Zealander Ross McEwan dropped in for a surprise visit to a Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) branch in London last month, he was appalled by how scruffy it looked. “It needs a…

Attica’s Acclaimed Chef Ben Shewry Chats to CEO

Attica’s Acclaimed Chef Ben Shewry Chats to CEO

Bon Appétit called him an “international culinary darling”. David Chang called him a “lunatic”; probably the highest praise one chef can give another. New Zealander Ben Shewry’s Melbourne restaurant, Attica,…

Tā moko Artist Taryn Beri Shares Capital Tips

Tā moko Artist Taryn Beri Shares Capital Tips

Taryn Beri is an independent tā moko practitioner in Wellington and a member of the Ngāti Toarangatira tribe. Beri shares the best sights, bites, and art in the capital city…

Team New Zealand Keeps Their Eye on the Weather

Team New Zealand Keeps Their Eye on the Weather

In the super high-tech world of the America’s Cup, microanalysis of climatic conditions is becoming increasingly important as hydrofoil technology becomes even more advanced, CNN reports. At the 2017 America’s Cup,…

On Hydra with Writer Redmond Wallis

On Hydra with Writer Redmond Wallis

New Zealander Redmond Wallis plays a role in the new book, Half the Perfect World, which tells the story of the post-war international artist community that formed on the Greek island of Hydra, and…

Aaron Stadlin-Robbie Talks Mental on Podcast

Aaron Stadlin-Robbie Talks Mental on Podcast

In his experimental new podcast Talking Mental, Hong Kong-raised New Zealander Aaron Stadlin-Robbie asks professionals for advice on how to manage his anxiety attacks. The realisation that opening up helps Stadlin-Robbie feel more in control…

Francis Upritchard’s Barbican Show is Joyful

Francis Upritchard’s Barbican Show is Joyful

“New Zealand-born artist Francis Upritchard is renowned for drawing from craft traditions, and her installation ‘Wetwang Slack’ is no exception. Contrasting with the building’s Brutalist architecture,

NZ Police New Recruitment Video

NZ Police New Recruitment Video

The New Zealand Police have just released their new recruitment video “Breaking News”. Less than 24 hours since the launch of the clip, 380 people have started the application process…

Writing Saved Author Janet Frame

Writing Saved Author Janet Frame

Spanning unusual cruelty and extraordinary kindness, authors from New Zealander Janet Frame to Briton Pat Barker explore an unsettling branch of medicine. The Guardian looks at the top ten books about psychiatry and includes Frame’s…

Air New Zealand’s Place on the Global Runway

Air New Zealand’s Place on the Global Runway

With a brand promise of ‘liberating from the ordinary’ and plans to surprise, innovate, out-manoeuvre and challenge convention, Air New Zealand stands out on the world’s tarmac with its quirky attitude and humorous ads….

On the Anniversary of the Death of James K Baxter

On the Anniversary of the Death of James K Baxter

Last Sunday a group of around 40 people gathered for breakfast at Lola’s Café in Waipawa to memorialise the death of James K Baxter, Hemi, friend and poet, on 22nd October 1972. One had…

How Teenager Nina Griffiths Began to Heal Kaitaia

How Teenager Nina Griffiths Began to Heal Kaitaia

At the start of 2016, Kaitaia – population 5000 – had just experienced the loss of six young people to suicide in quick succession. Nina Griffiths, a local high school student, was one of…

Mark de Clive-Lowe Unlocks His Creativity

Mark de Clive-Lowe Unlocks His Creativity

Auckland-born Mark de Clive-Lowe, 44, is “a jazz artist with both a visionary outlook and an old soul. As a concert pianist deeply steeped in the jazz tradition, he’s courageously committed himself to modern…

Hard-Rocking Band Like a Storm Tirelessly Touring

Hard-Rocking Band Like a Storm Tirelessly Touring

Known as one of the hardest working bands out there, Like A Storm fought hard to be heard. The three Auckland brothers who founded the group came to the United States knowing no one,…

EDGE #337: GirlBoss Founder Wins Facebook Leadership Award, Jono Rotman on Mongrelism, Zane Lowe Music Czar, Peter Jackson WWI Film + Bloomberg, Designboom, Mainichi Japan

EDGE #337: GirlBoss Founder Wins Facebook Leadership Award, Jono Rotman on Mongrelism, Zane Lowe Music Czar, Peter Jackson WWI Film + Bloomberg, Designboom, Mainichi Japan

News of Global New…

Richard Kavanagh’s Smart Mirror Adopted by L’Oreal

Richard Kavanagh’s Smart Mirror Adopted by L’Oreal

The interactive invention of top New Zealand hairstylist, Sydney-based Richard Kavanagh is set to transform salon visits here and overseas. Kavanagh’s smart mirror allows customers to shop for their style on screen and provides…

Kia Ora

Kia Ora

Watch this 2.5 minute clip by Tourism New Zealand to find out more about traditional NZ greeting “Kia Ora” and hear locals speak about what these words mean to them.

Bunker Buyers and Billionaires Still Seek Shelter

Bunker Buyers and Billionaires Still Seek Shelter

“If the New Zealand government was sending a message when it banned foreigners from buying houses in the country earlier this year, it does not seem to have been heard by the global billionaire…

MP Poto Williams Awarded University Prize

MP Poto Williams Awarded University Prize

MP Poto Williams has been named the 2018 Outstanding Alumnus of the Year at Southern Cross University’s annual awards recognising exceptional achievement and outstanding service. The New South Wales university welcomed home more than 50…

Swimmer Makes Olympian Grandmother Proud

Swimmer Makes Olympian Grandmother Proud

Seventy years after her grandmother swam in the London 1948 Olympic Games, Auckland swimmer Gina Galloway, 17, took up the torch to represent her country at the Buenos Aires 2018

Mongrelism by Jono Rotman Now in Print

Mongrelism by Jono Rotman Now in Print

“Arresting. Exquisite. Gripping. Chilling. Disgraceful. Unacceptable. These are all words people have used to describe portraits made by Jono Rotman. Created over the last decade, his project Mongrelism presents an…

Mark Wilson Steps Down as Aviva Chief

Mark Wilson Steps Down as Aviva Chief

New Zealander Mark Wilson, the “straight-talking” chief of the FTSE 100 British insurer Aviva, leaves with immediate effect after six years at the helm. Wilson, 52, will remain at Aviva until…

Look Inside Tūranga

Look Inside Tūranga

Take a look inside Christchurch’s new central library Tūranga, which was designed with a focus on bringing people back to the central city as well as the…

Rhys Darby – From the Army to Flight of the Conchords

Rhys Darby – From the Army to Flight of the Conchords

“It was a long march for Rhys Darby to go from the New Zealand army to starring in Flight Of The Conchords, writes Richard Fitzpatrick” in an article in The Irish Examiner. After finishing…

‘Anything You Can Imagine’ Recounts Quest to Film Tolkien

‘Anything You Can Imagine’ Recounts Quest to Film Tolkien

“Reaching the final sentence in film writer Ian Nathan’s 576-page exploration of movie director Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy requires the stoicism of Frodo and the vigor of Gandalf. So much…

How Spark Helped NZ Learn Māori

How Spark Helped NZ Learn Māori

“Whilst te reo Māori has steadily seen an increase in a number of revitalisation efforts across New Zealand—especially in recent years—actual te reo learning opportunities remain limited and sometimes inaccessible,” writes Faaez Samadi in…

Indian Restaurant Celebrates New Zealand Cuisine

Indian Restaurant Celebrates New Zealand Cuisine

Curated by Chef Roberto Zorzoli, specialty Italian restaurant Romano’s at the JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar is celebrating the cuisine of New Zealand in October. Akhil Gangan reports for Mumbai Live. “The menu titled ‘Nuances…

Dallas Symphony Names Gemma New As First Female Principal Guest Conductor

Dallas Symphony Names Gemma New As First Female Principal Guest Conductor

“Inaugurating a program to appoint a succession of female principal guest conductors, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra has named New Zealander Gemma New the first woman to hold the revived title,” writes Scott Cantrell in…

New Christchurch Library Featured in Designboom

New Christchurch Library Featured in Designboom

New earthquake-resistant library in Christchurch, named Tūranga, was featured in an article in Designboom. The new building by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects “provides a 9,500 sqm public space that…

GirlBoss Founder Wins Facebook Leadership Award

GirlBoss Founder Wins Facebook Leadership Award

“GirlBoss New Zealand founder Alexia Hilbertidou is the first and only Kiwi to be selected for the social media network’s Community Leaders Program,” writes Brittany Keogh in an article for

Peter Jackson on WWI Film

Peter Jackson on WWI Film

Watch this six minute clip by Forces TV to find out more about Peter Jackson’s new film ‘They Shall Not Grow Old‘. Jackson restored and colorized nearly…

NZ Boasts a Burgeoning Craft Whisky Movement

NZ Boasts a Burgeoning Craft Whisky Movement

New Zealand’s whisky scene is on the rise. Not for the first time either, but this time it’s being built to last, with upstart distilleries making quality, distinctively Kiwi spirits, and an infrastructure of…

Allbirds Open First UK Store

Allbirds Open First UK Store

“Allbirds, the San Francisco-based shoe brand that makes its trainers out of eucalyptus, wool and sugar cane, is opening its first UK store in London’s Covent Garden on Wednesday and, if the reaction is…

Peter Jackson Brings to Life WWI on The Big Screen

Peter Jackson Brings to Life WWI on The Big Screen

Peter Jackson “is up to his usual ambitious tricks in his latest project, the World War I documentary They Shall Not Grow Old,” writes Zack Sharf in an article for…

All Blacks Team Naming

All Blacks Team Naming

Watch this short clip to hear Steve Hansen and Grant Fox talk through the All Black selections for the Vista 2018 Northern Tour to Japan and Europe for Tests…

EDGE #336: NZ Second-Best Place for Expats, NZ Passport #8 on Power Ranking, Soul Machines Puts Human Face on AI + Economic Times, Forbes, Mumbrella

EDGE #336: NZ Second-Best Place for Expats, NZ Passport #8 on Power Ranking, Soul Machines Puts Human Face on AI + Economic Times, Forbes, Mumbrella

News of Global New…

Air NZ Partners with Larry Page on Electric Air Taxis

Air NZ Partners with Larry Page on Electric Air Taxis

Air New Zealand has announced plans to “partner with Zephyr Airworks, a flying car startup backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, ‘to make autonomous, electric air travel a reality for all New Zealanders,’” writes…

Music’s Most Powerful Tastemaker Zane Lowe

Music’s Most Powerful Tastemaker Zane Lowe

Auckland-born, LA-based radio host Zane Lowe “has been in the thick of the music industry for nearly 20 years — first as a presenter for MTV, than as the 13-year host of BBC Radio…

New Zealand Enters the Craft Beer Game

New Zealand Enters the Craft Beer Game

New Zealand’s “Ministry of Primary Industries wants to develop ‘a super-premium hops’ and craft beer in an attempt to emulate New Zealand’s success with wines such as sauvignon blanc and pinot noir,” writes Eleanor…

Rocket Lab Unveils New Production Facility

Rocket Lab Unveils New Production Facility

“Rocket Lab has expanded its global footprint with the unveiling of a new production facility that ‘rethinks the way orbital rockets are built’”. Space Tech Asia reports. “The new 7,500 sq/m…

New Zealand Bird of the Year

New Zealand Bird of the Year

The Kererū – “a native green and bronze wood pigeon with a taste for fermented fruit has been named the 2019 bird of the year in New Zealand” in a poll organised by Forest…

What We Do In the Shadows Premieres at NY Comic Con

What We Do In the Shadows Premieres at NY Comic Con

The first episode of the upcoming What We Do in the Shadows TV show, featuring co-creators Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, has been screened at New York Comic Con.” Christian Holub reports in an…

Air NZ Debuts Magic Leap Virtual Reality Game

Air NZ Debuts Magic Leap Virtual Reality Game

“Air New Zealand has ventured into the world of virtual reality marketing with its Fact or Fantasy concept game that features a world where people witness a giant kauri tree grow, meet a grumpy…

New Zealand Second-Best Place for Expats

New Zealand Second-Best Place for Expats

New Zealand has been ranked the second-best place for expats in a study by HSBC. Singapore has landed the top spot in the survey. The Singapore Business Review reports. The…

NZ’s Shearing Women Wow on Screen

NZ’s Shearing Women Wow on Screen

“Female shearers across the ditch are celebrating the anticipated release of a film shining a spotlight on their industry and gender. The trailer for She Shears featuring five female shearers…

Marlon Williams Talks About His Second Album

Marlon Williams Talks About His Second Album

Watch this interview to find out more about Marlon Williams‘ second album ‘Make Way For Love’. Marlon Williams is an award-winning singer-songwriter and guitarist from Lyttelton,…