Calling to the Universe - Hex

Posted 12:42pm Sunday 29th May 2016 by Millicent Lovelock

Wellington based Hex are essentially my dream band. The trio recently released their album Calling to the Universe and from my first listen I found myself completely submerged by quicksand vocals and slippery guitars. Hex are Liz Mathews on drums, Kiki Van Newtown on bass, and GG Van Newtown on Read more...

Uniform

Posted 12:47pm Sunday 29th May 2016 by Jess Taylor

Rocking up fashionably late, as always, to the Blue Oyster Art Project Space on Dowling Street, I am pleased to see the front door flung open invitingly, with small groups of people milling around in the front room. I enter the space where this month’s exhibition opening is unfolding, eager to Read more...

Why Do We Need...Transhumanism?

Posted 12:20pm Sunday 29th May 2016 by Anthony Marris

Transhumanism is both a philosophy and a movement which explores how technology can be used to enhance people, essentially to better mankind. These enhancements include surgically inputting processors on the brain to increase cognitive function, or replacing lost limbs with vastly improved bionic Read more...

Nine Photographs - Laurence Aberhart

Posted 12:50pm Sunday 29th May 2016 by Robyn Maree Pickens

New Zealand soils are notoriously low in selenium, a mineral that photographer Laurence Aberhart uses (with gold) as a toner when developing his photographs, to create warmth in the shadows. Viewing his photographs in the flesh, one has a sense that these flickers of captured light have been made by Read more...

The Great Maiden’s Blush

Posted 12:25pm Sunday 29th May 2016 by Anonymous Bird

Rating: B+ This recent New Zealand film follows two women, Aila (Renee Lyons) and Bunny (Miriama McDowell), as they both embark upon single motherhood. Aila is an isolated older woman, lover of gardens and failed classical pianist. Her desperately wanted newborn daughter needs to have a risky Read more...

Gumbo

Posted 12:56pm Sunday 29th May 2016 by Kirsten Garcia

This lil ol’ recipe originates from Louisiana, USA. You may have noticed it in Disney’s Princess and the Frog. It revolves around Tiana’s Dad’s gumbo and I was always curious keen to try it. My first taste of it was actually from Nova. It was hearty and delicious. This cold Read more...

Angry Birds Movie

Posted 12:28pm Sunday 29th May 2016 by Lisa Blakie

Rating: C+ It’s pretty common knowledge that most movies adapted from video games are shit, (Tomb Raider, Mortal Kombat, any Sonic the Hedgehog film). Despite this, they are still being made; a fact that I am biased towards being happy about because I bloody love video games. Something that Read more...

Notes to Eternity

Posted 12:33pm Sunday 29th May 2016 by Andrew Kwiatkowski

Rating: A An intensely moving doco about the Palestinian struggle, but also much more than that. When the film begins by interviewing the most vocal members of a pro-Israel protest, you know it isn’t going to pull any punches. It tackles all the difficult issues head-first, with the Read more...

Go Set A Watchman

Posted 12:37pm Sunday 29th May 2016 by Jessica Thompson

There are some stories that hurt to read. They really can cut you up for a while. Go Set A Watchman is in my top ten on the heartbreak book list for a number of reasons. Written before the famous To Kill a Mockingbird but published as a sequel, it is accepted as being Mockingbird’s first Read more...

Mavis!

Posted 1:05pm Sunday 22nd May 2016 by Nita Sullivan

Rating: A A heart-warming documentary that spans the life of Soul, RnB, and Gospel singer Mavis Staples, Mavis! entertains and informs on many levels. You don’t have to be a history or music buff to appreciate and enjoy all that Mavis Staples has accomplished during her lengthy career Read more...