Suspended above the sun I witnessed the creation and destruction of the stars. An astral dust condensed and formed a molten core, pulling smaller fragments of space rock into its enhanced and growing gravitational field. From behind a distant moon, an asteroid streaked through deep space, hurtling into the burgeoning planet and smashing it into … Read more
Getting ready for the Quarterfinals of the Rugby World Cup? Feeling a little anxious about your team’s chances? Never let it be said that the team at The Spinoff Sports aren’t here to help heighten the tension or assuage the anxiety. Here we present a factual analysis of the quarterfinals, so you don’t have to bother. Firstly, Here … Read more
At the height of survey season, Jono and Ben made an attempt to cross Lake Taupo in an inflatable castle. Don Rowe watches from the sky. Some time around the year 180 AD an explosion in the Pacific turned the sky over eastern China red. The violent upheaval threw over a thousand cubic kilometres of … Read more
Day in day out, or some weeks from Tuesday to Thursday, at least, our parliamentarians gather en masse, or about 20 of them usually, to debate matters of state in the House of Representatives. From time to time The Spinoff intends to recognise these oratorical contributions with the award of the Spinoff Golden Gob. Drawn … Read more
Action lines I’d thought we would go up as those bright inflatable men that ripple in car yards jack-knifing from the waist, then up with the flags. I’d thought we’d go up easy, actions lines coming out of us. Now I know leaving will take more effort. We blow up the air dancer by … Read more
Bringing together the best, worst and weirdest TV moments of the week, including crazed celebrity cameos and forklift driving champions. Contributions by Calum Henderson and Alex Casey. Brand Power Takes Over Seven Sharp On Tuesday afternoon, a sweaty man seemingly wearing jeans under jogging shorts sprinted into TVNZ and demanded to be put on television. … Read more
From an opening day crisis to a thrilling finale, the Presidents Cup, says Simon Plumb, may have just rediscovered its global relevance. Yes, the International team lost (again). Yes, a weekend hacker would have holed more putts than Adam Scott. But after arguably the best Presidents Cup ever has the event turned its biggest corner? … Read more
The Alternative Commentary Collective are chomping at the bit for the All Blacks’ quarter final showdown with France this Sunday, devising a groundbreaking new prediction mechanism for the event after Drunk Man Up A Ladder failed last week. The team have breaking footage of a rolling maul chewing up some serious hard yards across the … Read more
For some reason children’s authors often seem to get treated a little like small children themselves. Even so, I did a double-take when I read the invitation instructions for the Book Awards after-party at Government House: “You are invited for post-award drinks in the house at 6.36pm. Departure time will be at 7.10pm.” “It’s not … Read more
Whatever happened to Guy Somerset? As long-serving books editor of the Listener, he was a knowledgeable, alert presence on the literary scene. He fled the magazine a year or so ago and has fished up as PR trout – actually, contents editor – for the New Zealand Festival, in Wellington. He’s continuing to apply his keen … Read more
As we await the results of the vitally important Bathroom Week on The Block NZ: Villa Wars, Calum Henderson looks at how the teams are tracking. 1. Cat & Jeremy – House 3 The happy-go-lucky couple on the corner are leading a charmed life on The Block NZ, scooping Kid’s Bedroom Week from under Jamie and … Read more
The newly released Journey Collector’s Edition features thatgamecompany’s flagship title, Journey, as well as two earlier indie titles, Flower and flOw, for the PS4. Don Rowe reviews a company changing the rules by which games are played. Journey The setting sun turned the sand to brilliant gold. Through the arches of an ancient balcony was … Read more
Josh Drummond of Bigpipe, our new Gaming section sponsor, on the fiendishly addictive and deceptively simple soccer/driving mashup, Rocket League. It goes like this: I’m in my second week at my new job at Bigpipe. Our product team – just three of us – are working on probably our most important project, and at the … Read more
The icon sits in a folder on my computer like a smoker’s last cigarette. It’s out of sight, but you can bet your balls I know exactly where it is and how long it’d take to fish out. At this stage, it’s basically a big red ‘begin-spiral-into-entropy’ button. A few quick clicks and the small … Read more
Traditionally, video games have been announced like major construction projects. “Coming, three years from now, something you need to know about!” Developers thrust their stake into the market sands and proclaim that at some distant date, providing everything stays on schedule, a next-generation experience awaits the faithful. Queue aching months of sweaty anticipation, masturbatory fawning over leaked concept … Read more
Bernard Beckett was on the judging panel that awarded the 2013 NZ Post children’s book award to Into the River – the Ted Dawe’ novel which was banned this week by weird Christian sect, the Film and Literature Board of Review. UPDATE: Into the River is no longer banned or even classified at all. This … Read more
Intrepid Rugby World Cup Correspondent Alexander Bisley talks about not fighting back, Welsh Journalists and Dark Satanic Mills. “I ain’t doin’ nothin’,” the shaven-headed mugger said as he relieved me of the 47 pounds worth of notes and shrapnel in my wallet. I was being mugged by an evil Ali G. “Give me that money,” … Read more
Catherine McGregor sits in on the Games of Thrones panel at Comic Con in New York, and finds out exactly what Margaery Tyrrell and Kermit the Frog’s new girlfriend have in common. New York Comic Con doesn’t attract quite the same fan frenzy as its San Diego cousin, but the gap is closing fast. Since … Read more
Alex Casey’s first power rankings for the new season of My Kitchen Rules NZ, including Pete Evans’ tan and Paul’s extraordinary cow art. The best cooking show in the world is back and I couldn’t be happier. Last year I broke my brain recapping every single episode of My Kitchen Rules New Zealand, which you … Read more
When time was called on Corey Flynn’s Crusaders career, you could have forgiven him for hanging up the boots. Flynn had bridged two generations in red and black, taking over from Mark Hammett and handing over to Codie Taylor and Ben Funnell. Today, he is still in red and black, and has travelled from rugby … Read more
Now and again, not often, a novel and a novelist comes along and knocks everyone on their ass. It’s happening with Elena Ferrante and it’s happening with Hanya Yanagihara, the New York writer whose novel A Little Life has mesmerized readers with its story telling and its ability to harrow. It’s shortlisted for the Man … Read more
Ben Stanley embarks on a True Detective pilgrimage, visiting the most famous Louisiana sites from the first season. Pensive but mystically lucid, Rust Cohle looks up from a half-empty Lone Star, and considers his answer. Two detectives stare him down in a cigarette smoke-filled New Orleans cop station room. They’ve been bailing up Rust – everyone’s … Read more
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James The Year of the Runaways by Sunjeev Sahota There’s this, taken from Cameron Crowe’s story in Rolling Stone, January 13, 1977: Bob Marley, one of the world’s best-known reggae performers, and three other persons were shot December 3rd when seven gunmen burst onto the grounds of … Read more
For Monitor this week, Aaron Yap looks at how Homeland has embraced explosive twists and stories pulled-from-headlines to breathe new life into the political thriller. Homeland made an unexpected, somewhat miraculous comeback with its fourth season. It wasn’t perfect, but improved immensely on the wobbly second and third. Back then, the show couldn’t decide what to … Read more
The thrice-weekly Question Time session is routinely the most viewed and talked about event in the New Zealand House of Representatives. But it rarely achieves much beyond the Punch and Judy theatrics. A couple of weeks ago, the opposition parties attempted a choir-like gambit, with each of their questions beginning “Does the Prime Minister stand … Read more
Satin Island by Tom McCarthy The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma Satin Island – Tom McCarthy’s second novel shortlisted for the Man Booker award – is the story of U (that’s all we ever know of his name) and his work, as an anthropologist/corporate ethnographer, at the Company (that’s all we ever know of its name). … Read more
Tara Ward ranks her favourite moments from the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week: Bella reaches peak pregnant, Dayna is a local legend and there’s a surprise visit from a 1940s gentleman. 1) Dayna surfs her way through a sea of fools and idiots Dayna rockets up the power rankings this week for her endurance and … Read more
For a couple of years in the 1980s I had a wonderful part-time job – I taught two 7th form English classes at a Catholic High School and was paid an extra four hours a week to be teacher librarian. I went to the bookshop with someone else’s wallet. I bought The World According to … Read more
It’s quarterfinal time at the Rugby World Cup so who will be in charge of the first of the knock out matches at the 2015 edition? The Spinoff Sports reveals the likely contenders for this weekend’s whistling action. 1. Wayne Barnes, England Undoubtedly one of the world’s leading referees, though Barnes remains less than popular … Read more