Deborah Coddington’s fetching memoir The Good Life on Te Muna Road (Penguin Random House, $40) tells of her adventures and experiences in the Wairarapa. These days, she makes wine with her husband Colin Carruthers QC; back in the day, she threw parties for Sam Hunt, Tim Shadbolt, Dun Mihaka and others at Waiura, the large … Read more
Just an hour after his side’s 1-1 draw with Everton, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was given the sack, effective immediately. The decision was apparently made before the game kicked off, however the club’s American owners would have felt particularly confident in their decision after another underwhelming performance was turned in by the Reds. “Ambition and … Read more
Leonie Hayden was editor of Rip It Up until its sale to Grant Hislop in 2013. She writes about the experience of watching a publication she once loved disappear from view – until it published an already-infamous review of the film Dope. Rip It Up has long been redundant as a pop cultural touchstone. Many will argue that has … Read more
Tara Ward ranks her favourite moments from the past week of Ferndale hijinks. This week: TK goes to the dogs, Drew wears a terrible suit and Queen Holt graces the halls. 1) The Holt bolts her way to the top. There she is. Hayley Holt dances her way to the top of this week’s power … Read more
A weekly series where we pick one local film from the Show Me Shorts catalogue on Lightbox. Sonny; My Older Brother was a part the 2012 Show Me Shorts festival, and written and directed by Tammy Davis. You’ll know him as Munter from Outrageous Fortune, and the director of Stan Walker’s new dance movie Born … Read more
Georgian captain Mamuka Gorgodze was named man of the match today against the All Blacks. His side lost the game by 33 points. That says everything you need to know about how the defending world champions played in Cardiff. It could have been different. Waisake Naholo’s first touch of the ball in a Rugby World … Read more
An occasional series in which we feature an insight or proverb from In the Arena (Penguin Random House, $40), the new book by entrepreneur Diane Foreman and her ghost writer Jenni McManus. On staying slim: In the Arena, by Diane Foreman with Jenni McManus is published by Penguin Random House, RRP $40
Having heeded a tweet chastising them for a lack of animal sexual content in the previous episode, the Alternative Commentary Collective respond with an episode dedicated in near entirety to the recreational habits of beasts. “There’s nipples inside the vagina,” says Wells, with some authority, before they hit the customary power rankings format: Big news: … Read more
Don Rowe travels to Auckland’s Flea Bottom to hear Game of Thrones‘ Hodor – aka touring DJ Kristian Nairn – drop some beats. I was dropped at a carpark on Liverpool Street in Auckland, our version of the seedier part of King’s Landing. A forlorn prostitute leaned against the wall, smoking and waiting and staring up at … Read more
Earlier today the New Zealand prime minister delivered his address to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Here’s the whole thingamy: It was fairly brief, as far as these sorts of things go, but we know how busy you are, so we’ve boiled it down to a snackable 100 words: Mr President. The … Read more
A sponsored post listing the new shows to hit Lightbox this October, including a slew of local award-winning short films and the fourth freaky season of American Horror Story. The Mindy Project (throughout October) Seasons 1-3 arrived last month, but new episodes from season four of The Mindy Project will be arriving weekly to Lightbox in … Read more
Just two rounds remain in the ITM Cup and it’s all on the line in the penultimate weekend as spots still remain in both divisional playoff equations, and the relegation battle looms as a three-horse race. And so, with so much to look forward to, we look back into week eight, dipping our toes in … Read more
We’ve got a tantalising weekend coming up in the Premier League with a big Merseyside derby in Liverpool v Everton and one of the classic football rivalries in Arsenal v Manchester United. Just about everyone in the Premier League got a new pair of hideous orange boots this week so there’s that too. https://twitter.com/youngy18/status/648413608951574528 My … Read more
Everyday Confession After ages online and hours in front of TV he got up because he supposed he ‘had to do something’. Brian Turner
Bringing together the TV moments on the week, including Bieber on Story, Trevor Noah’s Daily Show debut and farewelling two local gems. Contributions by Alex Casey and Calum Henderson. Good Mourning for Two Kiwi Classics It was with great sadness this week that we learned of the impending demise of TVNZ’s long-running lifestyle show Good … Read more
He’s the nicest, richest and most aggressively receding 22-year-old in world sport. But Jordan Spieth is missing something, says Simon Plumb. If anyone loves a nickname, it’s sport. Like a “Fah Q” paddle to a high school senior, a nickname is guaranteed to make a jock foam. Americans, particularly in basketball, perform better than most in … Read more
Premier League Pass kindly loans us NBC’s excellent football pundits Men in Blazers, to bring us up to speed with all the Premier League talking points ahead of this weekend’s games. https://youtu.be/K4BbmGg89Hc Watch all this weekend’s Premier League action live and on demand at Premier League Pass.
Duncan Greive watches Bill Kerton and company finish the last episode of New Zealand’s reality classic Neighbours at War – airing tonight – before it heads into long-term hiatus. It starts with something shared: a driveway, a boundary, a cul-de-sac. Two sets of New Zealanders, meeting at the edge of their properties, disagreeing over noise, over … Read more
An occasional series in which we feature an insight or proverb from In the Arena (Penguin Random House, $40), the new book by entrepreneur Diane Foreman and her ghost writer Jenni McManus. In the Arena, by Diane Foreman with Jenni McManus is published by Penguin Random House, RRP $40
Over 30 locally made short films have arrived to Lightbox today, all of which have featured in New Zealand’s premiere short film festival Show Me Shorts. To help guide your viewing, I’ve had a perusal of the extensive catalogue and have made my picks from each year. 2014 Pick: Uphill (dir. Jackie van Beek) We’re about … Read more
Good Lord, look at the time – it’s Booktober!!! October spawns two literary extravaganza monsters. The winner of the 2015 Man Booker Award is announced on October 14, and the shortlist of the US National Book Awards is revealed on October 16. The Spinoff Review of Books will present rolling coverage of the world’s two … Read more
The month is up, and the Spinoff Politics power rankings are in. Organised arbitrarily into five gaining power and five going the other way, the completely scientific cookie crumbles like this… UPWARD 1. James Shaw / Gareth Hughes After a positive and non-partisan campaign for the Red Peak flag to be added to the plainly … Read more
In which Jane, tired from raising twins and moving house, and Duncan, tired from being alive, discuss the vitally important new MediaWorks reality show The Block. Alex was Absent Without Official Leave, and much missed as the undynamic duo dutifully trawled through the mostly mystifying first week of block action, desperately seeking meaning. What happened … Read more
Duncan Greive watches the launch of OMG Tech!, a charity with the mentality of a startup, featuring a superhero using her power for good. They came into the city just to be near her. So that, perhaps, some of her magic might rub off on them. Phil Goff knew his eternally unannounced mayoral campaign could one … Read more
Eleanor Robertson delivers her final Masterchef NZ power rankings, wherein Tim is crowned King of the Masterchef court. Disclaimer: the author’s views of Nadia Lim – and Nadia Lim alone – do not represent those of The Spinoff family. Episodes 15 and 16 I’m late to the party on last week’s episodes, having only just … Read more
An occasional series in which we feature an insight or proverb from In the Arena (Penguin Random House, $40), the new book by entrepreneur Diane Foreman and her ghost writer Jenni McManus. On slow people: In the Arena, by Diane Foreman with Jenni McManus is published by Penguin Random House, RRP $40
As a prelude to the Block NZ: Villa Wars Power Rankings starting next week, Calum Henderson investigates the first episode’s series of ominous signs which indicate that this will surely be New Zealand’s scariest ever renovation show. Two adjacent sections snaffled up in “Auckland’s sought-after central west”. Four decrepit old three-bedroom villas carefully tetrissed onto … Read more
Mark Hunt fought his way from the streets of South Auckland to the top of the world stage in a career spanning almost 20 years. Don Rowe speaks to co-author Ben Mckelvey about writing a book with the Super Samoan. Are fighters born or made? In Mark Hunt’s case the answer appears to be both. Perhaps the hardest puncher to … Read more
The fourth in an occasional series commending excellent New Zealand journalism, Alex Casey applauds Kanoa Lloyd’s piece about Chris Brown on Newsworthy yesterday. It’s hard to turn any corner on the internet right now without someone saying something about Chris Brown. He’s just been banned by Australian Immigration from touring the country, following his horrific … Read more