I’m conscious that this is meant to be an energetic and positive welcome to this issue. Actually, I’m not sure there’s a rulebook for editor’s letters, but I presume they’re meant to be upbeat. And generally, over the years, I’ve taken an overly optimistic bias to things. Some have even accused me of being optimistic […]

Superman has officially become the highest earning movie in the franchise, surpassing the high tide mark left by Man of Steel in 2013. This is despite a strong opening for Man of Steel overall which pulled in an extra 40 million over this latest film. While Louis Lane didn’t get as much screen time as […]

When one is given the unenviable task of entertaining some privileged belly acher with some music, it behoves one to find the world’s smallest violin. Only the smallest will be sufficient for playing the level of sad music required for a person you don’t give a single micron of organic fertiliser about. Unfortunately the world’s […]

Founded in 1969 in Houston, Texas, the Southern rock-blues-boogie band, ZZ Top, has reigned supreme as one of the greatest rock bands of all time. With 15 studio albums, a raft of awards and a fan-base that continuously stay devoted to the hard-rockers, ZZ Top are very, very hard to beat. Synonymous with long white […]

In case you hadn’t heard; we’re living in the Digital Age. Therefore we expect – nay, demand! – neat, clean, efficient answers. No more of those messy analogue imperfections. Ours is a world of instant updates, real-time data, and domestic appliances that answer our questions on demand. So when scientists, economists or politicians can’t explain […]

In case you hadn’t noticed; Pedro Pascal is so hot right now. Fresh off a never-ending series of hit shows he’s made a significant impact on like: Game of Thrones, Narcos, The Last Of Us, and The Mandalorian, Pedro seems to be everywhere. His tired, lived-in face with its kind and caring eyes seems to […]

The question came from my friend Sam, who’s just quit his job. Together, Sam and I co-founded two businesses. The first, a user research consultancy, was sold to PwC in 2014. The second, a SaaS business supporting user researchers, was sold to a private equity firm in 2021 (although we both remain minority shareholders). Thanks […]

In May this year, An executive order from the United States was written up titled ‘Delivering Most‑Favored‑Nation Prescription Drug Pricing.’ The idea here was for American health agencies to set U.S. drug prices equal to the lowest price paid by comparable (i.e. ‘wealthy’) nations. It’s been tried before with a similar MFN scheme in 2020 […]

The internationally acclaimed World Press Photo Exhibition returns to Auckland later this year, showcasing the best and most important photojournalism and documentary photography from around the globe. The exhibition, which presents the winning photographs of the prestigious annual World Press Photo Contest, will head to Tāmaki Makaurau thanks to the Rotary Club of Auckland, from […]

An article caught me eye the other day entitled “I Ate At Jeremy Clarkson’s Farm 90 Minutes From Wales, Two Words Sum Up The Whole Experience”. I read the whole article and it was longer than two words. There was also no two word summary. For the sake of accuracy the title should instead be […]

There are people who are really good at what they do; Usain Bolt dominated race sprints, Adadeus Mozart knew how to write music and Steve Jobs was pretty good at innovation. Then there are people who are really good at several things at once, or polymaths. One such is C B Fry who captained England […]

Created for basketball, adopted by the pioneers of streetwear, championed again and again by each generation, the Superstar is the original icon that made a journey from sports to culture. Who better to bridge that gap than legendary actor Samuel L. Jackson alongside a retinue cast including multi-award winning songwriter and producer Missy Elliott, skateboarding […]

PARISIAN CRAFTED PARISIAN’S CRAFTED COLLECTION DRAWS ON OVER 100 YEARS OF MAKING RIGHT HERE IN NEW ZEALAND. Genuine materials – Small batch editions – Made to last. The leather business tote combines slim, minimalist proportions offering simplicity of form and function. Subtle rounded lines are complemented by piped handles, finished with a hand-whipped stitch. Each […]

In the high-pressure day to day of hospitality, leadership often defaults to survival mode—juggling rosters, handling complaints, and plugging staffing gaps. But across New Zealand, a quiet transformation is underway. It’s more than having a system, it’s about self-awareness. Moving Beyond ‘Managing People’ Our hospitality leadership has long relied on reactive management: fix the issue, […]

I studied a BSC (Hons) in Business Computing in the UK many years ago. Going to university taught me many things, it helped my critical thinking, how to manage a budget (first time living away from home) and honed my social skills. One thing I didn’t learn at university, however, was one of the most […]

How to Spot a Dickhead: A Field Guide by acclaimed writers Kathryn Burnett and Nick Ward is exactly what it says on the tin — a field manual for navigating the strange, chaotic, and often hilarious world of modern dickheadery. Less a self-help book and more a survival guide, it’s part humour, part social observation, […]

Apple’s legendary product designer Sir Jony Ive, responsible for the iPhone, iPod, MacBook Pro, and Airpods struck off on his own in 2019 to start his own design house LoveFrom. Following the wave of AI LLM breakthroughs he started another AI company in 2024 called IO, which was promptly scooped by ChatGPT’s CEO Sam Altman […]

Belkin Switching It Up The Switch 2 has a battery life of between 2 and 6.5 hours depending on how intense the game you’re playing is. Super Mario Odyssey will drain it’s power in two and a half, as opposed to the five and a half it takes on the Switch OLED. Just a PSA, […]

With the news Spike Lee would be tackling the Kurosawa classic “High & Low” I decided to give myself an education by actually watching it. I have now joined the ranks of film nerds who will badger you to watch everything Akira Kurosawa has ever made because it really is that great. High & Low […]

After 25 years Dwayne Johnson has finally done it, he’s acted in a movie. In a weird circular way it took a role that was most like his real life before he was able to fully immerse himself both mentally and physically into his role. Viewers seeing the first trailers for The Smashing Machine were […]

High to Low is a cinematic masterpiece, a cornerstone of black and white crime thrillers by legendary director Akira Kurosawa. Can it be successfully adapted 62 years later? We’re about to find out as Denzel Washington and Spike Lee are reuniting for their 5th film Highest 2 Lowest. The film centers around Denzel’s character David […]

It was only a matter of time before we’d start getting flicks about people going insane during the COVID lockdowns. Eddington is a new A24 feature starring Joaquin Phoenix as a small town sheriff running for mayor and Pedro Pascal, the incumbent hoping to rejuvenate the little dustbowl town by attracting an AI data center […]

Superman hit a high tide line with Superman II back in 1980. Since then it has failed to every reach the heights the first two films with Christopher Reeves achieved. Things got particularly dire when DC tried launching their cinematic universe with a dark gritty Batman inspired tone to set itself apart from Marvels pack […]

It’s hard to believe it’s been 15 years since Director Joseph Kosinski reimagined what a modern Tron movie looks like. I was an instant fan of the film which seemed to get a lukewarm critical reception. It was a real vibe of a movie, and with Daft Punk doing the music, the soundtrack was a […]

In the run up to the publication of this issue many bombshells were dropped, the most sustained was the Epstein thing, the most conveniently sidelined was continued revelations about Steel Dossier shenanigans, and the most fun had to be the Coldplay concert going down in history for suddenly turning into reality TV. It was just […]