Archive

OG Lime vs. Lime Gen4 vs. Neuron

Posted 11:06pm Tuesday 2nd March 2021 by Alex Leckie-Zaharic

Gone are the simple days when Lime scooters ruled the streets. Scootering in Dunedin is no longer a one-horse race, with Neuron entering the fray in early January and forcing the humble Lime to upgrade, Incredibles-style, to compete. Critic’s self-proclaimed scooter expert took it upon himself Read more...

OPINION: Third Years Need to Stop Fucking Freshers

Posted 10:53pm Tuesday 2nd March 2021 by Sophia Carter Peters

CW: Sexual assault. The fact that you already know what I’m talking about tells me all I need to know. We all have that one skeevy friend who jokes about buying a fresher too many drinks at Catacombs or picking one up on Castle. Their comments are usually followed by a couple of sheepish Read more...

How to Pretend You Know Cricket

Posted 10:37pm Tuesday 2nd March 2021 by Elliot Weir

From deliveries to dismissals, dibbly-dobblers to golden ducks, cricket is an elaborate and perplexing way to waste your time. There are a lot of made-up words involved, like ‘inning’ and ‘wicket’ and ‘dilscoop.’ Aside from white men over the age of 50 and people Read more...

Who would win if the Rakaia Salmon and the Gore Giant Trout fought to the death?

Posted 9:56pm Tuesday 2nd March 2021 by Erin Gourley

In the centre of Gore stands a giant trout. On the outskirts of Rakaia stands a giant salmon. The fish are perched in the same pose — frozen in mid-air with cavernous maws agape. Separated by 452km of State Highway one, these twin titans of the South Island road trip are too far away to see Read more...

Moscato, Rosé, Moscato Rosé: Do They Taste the Same?

Posted 4:16pm Sunday 4th October 2020 by Kaiya Cherrington

Dessert wine, you gotta love her. Perfect for a cheeky necking before a night out, or something sweet you can sip while watching the hit movie ‘Bridesmaids’. Compared to other wines, dessert wine is particularly palatable and easy to drink. But rumour has it, they kind of taste the same Read more...

Dave From Maharajas

Posted 4:03pm Sunday 4th October 2020 by Fox Meyer

Some people say their hero is their mum. Some say Steve Irwin. Personally, I’d go with Dave from Maharajas. The dashing young manager is just as much a superhero as any of the rest. He upholds the law, serves the community, and doesn’t ask for anything in return. I’ve always been a Read more...

Local Produce: L Hotel

Posted 3:59pm Sunday 4th October 2020 by Fox Meyer

Up-and-coming band L Hotel, who formed a powerhouse threesome from previous band the Shitz, have recently been hitting Dunedin stages and blessing our ears with funky covers we all know and love. Critic caught up with bassist and ex-Radio 1 host Dave Borrie after a job interview. He did not get the Read more...

Hoarders: The Stories Behind Student Election Steals

Posted 3:58pm Sunday 4th October 2020 by Annabelle Vaughan

It’s the most wonderful, most polarizing time of 2020. Election season. Every three years, election hoardings from different political parties pop up around Dunedin, displaying the politicians vying for your vote (which you should definitely cast). But North Dunedin is probably not the best Read more...

How to Hypothetically Chuck a Hāngi Pit in Your Flat Yard

Posted 3:56pm Sunday 4th October 2020 by Kaiya Cherrington

Hāngi is iconic; the food that connects us to our ancestors, the best treat for all. Most importantly, forget your expensive, overhyped ham - Hāngi is the best Christmas dish, prove me wrong. Hāngi, as we all know, takes a huge amount of work. You have to dig a hole, find the Read more...

‘Better Than a Funeral’: Balancing Being a Good Flatmate and Looking After Yourself

Posted 9:47pm Thursday 24th September 2020 by Sophia Carter Peters

CW: Mental illness and suicide Moving into a hall or your first flat is insanely cool, especially moving in with friends who you know will make your year an absolute liability, but an amazing experience. Binge drinking on a Tuesday night with morning classes the next day and maccas runs at 3 am Read more...

Theia: Bringing Old School Wisdom into the Modern World

Posted 4:23pm Sunday 13th September 2020 by Sophia Carter Peters

Christchurch-born artist Theia (or Em-Haley Walker when she’s not on stage) has shaken up Kiwi pop as we know it with her own unapologetic spin to the genre. Nestled in her certified bangers is a softer, more personal touch, soon to have a space of its very own. Between stacking up songwriting Read more...

Participating in Mahuru Māori but my reo isn’t good

Posted 3:59pm Sunday 13th September 2020 by Kaiya Cherrington

Mahuru Māori is the annual challenge set to everyone in the effort to normalise and integrate Māori language into everyday lives. The challenge, set by Paraone Gloyne of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa in 2014, has grown immensely. In the first year, only three people participated, but in 2019 Read more...

IT'S NOT THAT DEEP - stick n pokes, a guide

Posted 10:30pm Thursday 10th September 2020 by Kate Yule

Stick and pokes are nothing new. Egyptians were doing it thousands of years ago, however recently it seems a bunch of bored students are too. Whether it's Caitlin who wants to spice up her personality by getting a lightning bolt tattooed on her finger, or your local breather with his nickname Read more...

Local Produce: Hannah Martin

Posted 10:28pm Thursday 10th September 2020 by Sinead Gill

Hannah Martin isn’t a Dunedin local, but Critic is officially claiming her as one of Dunedin and Studentville’s best emerging artists. She submitted her piece, “The Creation of Dunners”, to the OUSA Art Exhibition, and describes that piece like she does her other work: Read more...

Local Produce | Adelaide Cara

Posted 9:48pm Thursday 3rd September 2020 by Sophia Carter Peters

Radio One’s soundwave angel Adelaide Cara is bringing a darker sound to the Dunedin music scene. As a local producer and the vocalist of Milpool, they are a force to be reckoned with. They plan on leaving a supernatural mark on music – their instrumentals can only be described as Read more...

Bargain Box: Is It Worth It?

Posted 9:47pm Thursday 3rd September 2020 by Kaiya Cherrington

Trying to plan and decide what to eat for dinner takes up too much time in the day. Time that could be better-spent binge-watching Netflix shows with your flatmates and avoiding pending assignments. If you’re anything like me, eating like a rat is what gets us through the day. It’s not Read more...

Zodiac Records: South D’s Best Kept Secret

Posted 9:09pm Thursday 27th August 2020 by Tyler West

Walking down King Edwards Street in South Dunedin you pass bustling cafes, second-hand stores, and various offices. Standing out is a storefront full to bursting with books and music. “BOOK EXCHANGE” reads one side in bright yellow, “Zodiac RECORDS” reads the other. I spent Read more...

Things to Do and See In and Around Dunedin (if it’s 1980).

Posted 9:08pm Thursday 27th August 2020 by Asia Martusia King

One day in a secondhand bookshop, I unearthed an ancient tome from the year 1980. Blowing a thick layer of dust from the cover, I could make out the words Discovering Dunedin: 503 things to see and do in and around Dunedin. Written by Joyce Herd and accompanied with photos by the delightfully named Read more...

An Exclusive Interview with @sinksofdunedin

Posted 8:57pm Thursday 27th August 2020 by Naomii Seah

@sinksofdunedin, a novelty Instagram account for documenting and rating various sinks around Dunedin, has experienced a meteoric rise to fame since they created their account in late June. Currently, they have over 1000 followers, and 70 posts. On their account, they post glossy, well composed Read more...

The Dunedin Ice Stadium: The Hottest Coldest Place in Town

Posted 8:52pm Thursday 27th August 2020 by Fox Meyer

When I was deciding where to go to uni, I googled ‘best ice rink in NZ’. Apparently it’s in Dunedin, so now I’m in Dunedin too. Our rink offers ice disco nights, quiet midday sessions, live hockey, skating lessons and curling, all with a beach on the doorstep Somebody once Read more...

Local Produce: Jonte

Posted 8:51pm Thursday 27th August 2020 by Andy Randell

Back in high school and my first few years of varsity, I really wanted to be in one of those bands that would play gigs every other Saturday and pull in hundreds of people every time. So, I started one. We would practise every weekend, but it never amounted to anything, even though we played for Read more...

Mark Neilson: Acting Out Campus Security

Posted 8:39pm Thursday 27th August 2020 by Jack Gilmore

Actor and campus watchman Mark Neilson was told by Otago Uni “don’t come back” when he was a student here in the 90s. Yet, as time moved on, Mark has returned a couple of times. Firstly, through OUSA’s Social Activities department in the early 2000s, and again in 2018 as a Read more...

A Brief History of the Toitū Otago Settlers Museum

Posted 8:12pm Thursday 27th August 2020 by Kaiya Cherrington

The Otago Settlers Museum is New Zealand’s oldest history museum, and it’s hard to miss. The Museum spans across a huge portion of land from the Train Station to the Chinese Gardens, and the Museum itself was established to reflect colonial settlement. Starting off as the Otago Early Read more...

Wooosh! Wind Tunnels: Where, Why, What?

Posted 8:09pm Thursday 13th August 2020 by Zoe Humprey

It’s a Monday morning, you’re walking to class and for once you’ve woken up early enough to actually make an effort. Your hair is styled, your clothes are at least a step above sweatpants and that mild sense of organisation has lulled you into a feeling of confidence— when Read more...

Cody’s, Diesel, and Mavs: Do They Taste the Same?

Posted 8:04pm Thursday 13th August 2020 by Kaiya Cherrington

Word on the street is that, when it comes down to it, three bourbon and colas don’t taste any different. Cody’s, Diesel and Billy Mavericks, popular choices from rugby boys and bogans alike, are rumoured to have no distinguishing taste differences that set them apart from one Read more...

A Legacy Bids Farewell: the Churro Connoisseurs Leaving to Sail Around the World

Posted 7:58pm Thursday 13th August 2020 by Caroline Moratti

Eight years ago, Dunedin was different, and by different I mean objectively worse. Today it’s a (vaguely) bustling town of fusion cuisines, pokey cafes and various delicacies, but back then, the only food trucks were TexOtago and the Bacon Buttie Station. Even then the concept of travelling Read more...

Juno Is

Posted 7:54pm Thursday 13th August 2020 by Sophia Carter Peters

Dunedin-born, Mackenzie Hollebon (Mac), the mind behind Juno Is, has been in the gig scene for a while now. She initially emerged as the drummer for ‘Lacuna’ before pursuing a solo career - after some growing pains, she is thriving. “It was a really good transition into having full Read more...

Deconstructing Bisexuality

Posted 7:54pm Thursday 13th August 2020 by Naomii Seah

What do Shego, Velma and Kiera Knightly in Pirates of the Caribbean have in common? They’re all female characters I had a crush on in childhood. I’ve always known I was attracted to women. Conversely, I’d always been attracted to men. For most of my life I’d been happy Read more...

Tasting the Rainbow: An investigation into which coloured alcohol fucks you up the most

Posted 9:53pm Thursday 6th August 2020 by Annabelle Vaughan

Picking out a weekend beverage can be stressful, but there is generally one common consideration: alcohol content versus cost. But there is a danger in living life that way - not all alcohol is created equal, and people swear that different types will affect them in different ways. Where one drink Read more...

Local Produce | Neive Strang

Posted 9:51pm Thursday 6th August 2020 by Caroline Moratti

Writing about music can be hard sometimes, much like a perfume commercial - how do you convey a sound, a smell, a sense? But to me, listening to Neive Strang is the same sensation as the first sizzle of onions in a pan. It’s delicious, intoxicating and it’s only the beginning. The Read more...

Alcohol Intervention

Posted 9:49pm Thursday 6th August 2020 by Naomii Seah

“Alcohol in Aotearoa is super prevalent in all our social activities and our lifestyle. When you want to celebrate a good day, you sink some piss; if you want to get over a bad day, you sink some piss; if you’re bored, you sink some piss. That social behaviour around drinking is Read more...

Let Them Eat Cabbage: The Wheres, Whats and Hows of Community Gardens Near Campus

Posted 8:25pm Thursday 30th July 2020 by Sophia Carter Peters

No one ever told me how much admin making food would be. I miss the years of meals just manifesting before me three times a day. Now it’s up to ME to find fresh produce and limit my hot chip intake. Fortunately, hunting and gathering for yourself three times a day isn’t nail-pullingly Read more...

It’s Time to Duel: Meet Dunedin’s Tabletop Tycoon

Posted 2:35pm Thursday 30th July 2020 by Oscar Paul

Gregory Mansfield probably came out of the womb wearing a DuelDisk on his arm and Exodia in hand. At an older age, Gregory and his mates got back into YuGiOh! and all of its nostalgic glory. They were hooked on watching card unboxing videos, making their own decks and competing in and judging local Read more...

Curing the Common Cold

Posted 1:07pm Sunday 26th July 2020 by Naomii Seah

I’m sitting in my room with a friend, having a perfectly pleasant and innocuous conversation when I feel it. The little tickle in my throat. The wind in my windpipe. There’s a little moment where I think it won’t happen, and then it does: a sneeze, a cough, another sneeze and a Read more...

CRIME? Gay Paradise Ducks Relocated from Campus

Posted 1:04pm Sunday 19th July 2020 by Erin Gourley

Disclaimer: Please do not harass anyone mentioned in this story. Everyone is just doing what they think is best for the boys. Bill and Bill, the iconic gay paradise ducks that liked (PAST TENSE) to chill out on Union Lawn, were controversially uplifted and relocated by Bird Rescue Dunedin after Read more...

How to Tell if Your Flat is Haunted

Posted 10:32pm Thursday 16th July 2020 by Sophia Carter Peters

Ah, Dunedin houses. Since most of the houses in Studentville are a little (a lot) old, the usual quirks of ancient houses are common, slanted floors, water stains, and of course, ghosts. Not all ghosts are mean and dramatic, some are merely vibing on the astral plane and sometimes stir up some funky Read more...

The Great Critic Garlic Bread Review

Posted 7:49pm Thursday 16th July 2020 by Henessey Griffiths

Garlic bread has to be one of the most humbling foods out there. On the outside it is but a simple meal of garlic butter and toasted bread. Yet, any garlic bread fan understands that there is much complexity to the dish. The pungent sting of garlic, coddled with the smooth undertones of butter, Read more...

The Tale of Two TJs: The Otago Student Living the Best of Both Worlds.

Posted 2:26pm Sunday 12th July 2020 by Annabelle Vaughan

TJ Zee, better known by his stage name “ZExII” is one of Dunedin’s best emerging music acts, and is also just a generally cool guy. A Physiotherapy student by day, and a performer by night, one could even go as far to say that he is Dunedin’s very own Hannah Montana. Who, in Read more...

A White Woman With Bangs Tells You Which Planets Are Making You Sad

Posted 12:59pm Sunday 12th July 2020 by Sophia Carter Peters

Astrology is like a personality test, but cosmic and mean. In the stars lies a horribly accurate character analysis chart that will expose your flaws and potentially make you reevaluate your past relationships. You haven’t lived until you have your ass handed to you by the fucking planets. As Read more...

Tired of Tinder: A Return to The Dating Websites of Our Forefathers

Posted 12:47pm Sunday 12th July 2020 by Naomii Seah

It’s 2am, and I’m lying in bed swiping through Tinder for what feels like the 100th time this week. It’s post lockdown, and my rotation is getting a bit tight. At this point in my university career, it feels like I’ve gone through half the dating pool in Dunedin, and every Read more...

Poll: 91% of Otago Students Support Factory-Farming Kiwis on Stewart Island

Posted 3:26pm Sunday 5th July 2020 by Fox Meyer

Data doesn’t lie. More Otago students support factory-farming Kiwis on Stewart Island than legalising cannabis. These young patriots have a keen eye on creating a booming economy in the Southland/Rakiura area, with 100% responding that they’d support increasing jobs in the area. 100% Read more...

UniMart RTD Coffee Review

Posted 1:32am Friday 3rd July 2020 by Sinead Gill

Most people have never tried an RTD coffee (ready to drink. No, it doesn’t mean it is alcoholic), but you should. They are revolutionary. If I’d known they were a thing in first year, it might not have taken me five years to finish my degree. UniMart is full of them, and most of them are Read more...

Types of Sweater Boys

Posted 10:52pm Thursday 2nd July 2020 by Sophia Carter Peters

The classic David Bain sweater These boys are omnipresent in your Politics, English, or Anthropology lectures. They think the bags under their eyes from staying up til 4am looking at Reddit threads makes the interesting and different, but it actually just makes them look tired. They WILL ask Read more...

A-Z OF DUNEDIN ARTISTS

Posted 4:33pm Sunday 24th May 2020 by Critic

Adelaide Cara: Alternative Pop Bad Sav: Alternative Rock Captain Saturated Planet: Indie Rock Death and the Maiden: Alternative Rock Élan Vital: Dark Disco Flyspray: Post-Punk Gulls: Ambient Electronica  Hot Donnas: Alternative Rock  Iron Mammoth: Alternative Read more...

Don't do the 30 Day Squat Challenge

Posted 7:23pm Thursday 21st May 2020 by Kaiya Cherrington

Ever since Dame Queen Nicki Minaj’s music videos emerged, I think a piece of all of us dreamt of having an ass so fat, so bodacious, that we would cry in the shower while doing a mere 15 squats naked to achieve what she has. Or maybe that was just me. Drenched in sweat from the gym that I Read more...

Critic Reviews Mayor Aaron Hawkin's Critic Music Reviews

Posted 6:56pm Thursday 21st May 2020 by Henessey Griffiths

Aaron Hawkins: Mayor of Ōtepoti, antagonist of Dunedin News. Before his career in local government took off, Aaron was the Music Director and Breakfast Show Host for Radio One 91FM, and the Music Editor for Critic. 14 years later, it’s safe to say that Radio One and Critic now has a Read more...

Period Underwear: Worth it?

Posted 1:04am Friday 15th May 2020 by Andy Randell

Try something for me: what do you think of when I tell you to think of period products. You will have, no doubt, had tampons and pads spring to mind, maybe even the more recently popular moon cup, but how many of you thought of underwear itself? Probably very few of you did, unless you read the Read more...

Gender Diverse Takes On Periods

Posted 5:22pm Thursday 14th May 2020 by Sinead Gill

There is a lot of stigma around periods. Not as much stigma as there is around gender diversity, though. So what if you were stuck in the middle of both discourses? This would be a shit menstruation issue without talking to the one group of menstruators who are most excluded when it comes to period Read more...

PMDD: PMS’s Evil Twin

Posted 4:30pm Thursday 14th May 2020 by Sophia Carter Peters

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, more commonly known as PMDD, is a disorder that affects 1 in 20 people with uteruses but is relatively unknown. The symptoms of PMDD are extensive and can cause serious disruptions in day to day life, that often require medication. What is PMDD? Well, most people Read more...

Colonisation Made Periods Gross

Posted 4:16pm Thursday 14th May 2020 by Kaiya Cherrington

Waiwhero, mate marama, mate wāhine, paheke, te awa atua. There are many ways to describe menstruation for Māori, because it is an important part of life. It is a sign of whakapapa, connection to the land, connection to the gods. Menstruation was power - until Read more...