New Zealand

Good for Nothing

Feds Push Extradition of Megaupload's Kim Dotcom

The Feds are moving forward with plans to extradite Kim Dotcom to the U.S. from New Zealand, filing court papers on Monday. Cops brought down the Megaupload founder in January, nabbing him on charges relating to the file-sharing stalwart in a tumultuous, made-for-tabloid arrest -- that was coordina ... More >>

Seven Spots to Eat a Feast of the Seven Fishes

Andy Ciordia/FlickrExpect fish, fish, fish, and more fish.​ Christmas is a-coming, and while the kiddies might be all excited about Santa Claus's visit, the more food-focused will be looking forward to the Feast of the Seven Fishes, one of the most gluttonous culinary traditions of the season. ... More >>

Where to Drink During Oktoberfest; Red Wine Good for Hearts, But Not for Blood Pressure

​Eric Asimov finds himself rather underwhelmed by New Zealand Pinot Noirs. [NY Times] Fast-food chains like Starbucks and Burger King have started serving booze, but others say it's not worth the hassle. [NY Times] A roundup of spots to celebrate Oktoberfest includes Zum Schneider in the Eas ... More >>

Pippin Barr, Man Behind the Marina Abramovic Video Game, Weighs In On His Creation

​Last year, artist Marina Abramovic's "The Artist is Present" exhibit at MoMA became the biggest performance art exhibition in the museum's history. Abramovic sat in a chair for a total of 760 hours and 30 minutes over the course of a couple months and people were invited to stare at her, insp ... More >>

Antarctica Has a Bad Case of Crabs

​Pay the hurricanes and earthquakes no mind, what we really need to worry about are the giant crabs set to take over Antarctica. They have arrived, with their "crushing claws and ecosystem-altering habits," in a deep basin in the Antarctic continental shelf, and oceanographers are worried not ... More >>

Mark Simmons Got His Start in a Slaughterhouse, Then Faked It 'Til He Made It

​Yesterday, we chatted with Mark Simmons about Kiwiana, the restaurant he opened in Park Slope earlier this week. As Kiwiana's name suggests, Simmons' stated mission is to introduce New York to the ingredients of New Zealand, his homeland. Today, in the second half of our interview, Simmons di ... More >>

Posts of the Week

Rebecca Marx​ It is thankfully Friday afternoon. Which means it is time to look back at the four days preceding it. Mark Simmons talked to us about hipping Americans to New Zealand cuisine at his new Park Slope restaurant Kiwiana. The Vanderbilt's Brian Floyd explained his Barman's Fund. O ... More >>

Where Was I Eating? Nelson Blue

Lauren Shockey​This week's dish was a bit tricky -- were they pancakes? Latkes? Johnny cakes? Nope. Instead, the pictured plate was the corn-and-zucchini fritters at Nelson Blue, the New Zealand-centric restaurant just off the South Street Seaport. A simple summery appetizer best enjoyed o ... More >>

What's Happening This Week: Crayfish Festival; Food Truck Wine Pairing

As you may know, our weekly dining and drinking newsletter features all the coolest epicurean events in the city. Sign up for it here! Crayfish Festival Aquavit August 8-12 and 15-19 Swedes have been eating crayfish since the 16th century. But you don't have to be Swedish to celebrate Aquavit's ann ... More >>

States Fight Back Against City Food Bans; Could Eating with a Bigger Fork Help You Lose Weight?

​States like Alabama and Florida are adopting limits on the authority cities have to ban unhealthy foods. [Time] Food authorities in Australian and New Zealand are warning citizens against consuming a new coffee that claims to perk up people's sex lives. [Herald Sun] A new study suggests th ... More >>

Introducing the Best Yodeling Lesbian Sister Act You've Never Heard of: The Topp Twins

​States like Alabama and Florida are adopting limits on the authority cities have to ban unhealthy foods. [Time] Food authorities in Australian and New Zealand are warning citizens against consuming a new coffee that claims to perk up people's sex lives. [Herald Sun] A new study suggests th ... More >>

Happy Sixth Birthday, Cake Shop

​The bilevel coffee shop/bar/venue/place for hangs Cake Shop turns six this weekend, and it's celebrating with a sixth-birthday party with a bunch of bands and "surprises." Cake Shop's gone through some changes over the course of its existence--R.I.P., for all intents & purposes, record store ... More >>

Woman Paralyzed By Hickey

via Chirky.com​These are things people need to know about! It's scary, but we're telling you for your own good! So, sit up and pay attention! A woman in New Zealand lost movement in her left arm, which was concerning. She went to the emergency room, where doctors found a nasty old hickey on he ... More >>

Download: Coasting, "Same Old Same Old"

Yes In My Backyard is a semiweekly column showcasing MP3s from new and emerging local talent. ​The last time we checked in with Brooklyn's cheery, shambolic, noise-fucked surfcore kiwi-punks Coasting they were new, they were nervous, and they were recording their songs on a laptop plopped on ... More >>

A Comeback for Nicole Kidman?

​Since winning the Oscar for 2002's The Hours, Nicole Kidman has made some bold and varied choices. The problem is, the vast majority of them turned out to be giant bombs. In chronological order, Nicole made movies like:

The U.S. Is More Corrupt Than 21 Other Countries, Which Is All Bernie Madoff's Fault

​The most and least corrupt nations have been "diagnosed" by Transparency International in their 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, which measures the "perceived levels of public sector corruption" in 178 countries around the world. Corruption levels go from "very clean" to "highly corrupt" an ... More >>

Christchurch, New Zealand Not Exactly Protected from "Acts of God"

Click to Enlarge.Photo illustration by F. Kamer.​The religious type would think a place named "Christchurch" would be a little more protected from anything not covered via an "Acts of God" insurance clause. But, uh, not so much.

Ads on Baby Bumps Prove Nothing Is Sacred, Economy Is Back

momlogic.com​There is selling yourself, and there is using your face to sell something for someone else, and then there is hiring out your unborn baby to shill for you from the sanctity of the womb.

More from Last Night's Chris Knox Benefit at Le Poisson Rouge, Including Weeping at Jeff Mangum

The six-hour benefit for underground New Zealand songwriter Chris Knox at Le Poisson Rouge on Thursday was indie-fundraising done right: all-star jams that made sense, meaty set lengths, a thoroughly worthwhile lineup, decidedly fan-oriented ticketing, and a stunning marquee name to sell out the r ... More >>

Wine Box Inventor Dies; Hello Kitty Sells Wine

​Forget the soda tax. Now, lawmakers are aiming to get their grubby little hands on our beer! A tax increase on mass-market beer -- microbrews would be exempt -- is one of the first new revenue-raising ideas Democrats have come up with in weeks. [AP] The Castello Plan in Ditmas Park, The Bode ... More >>

Yes In My Backyard: Download Coasting's "Coasting"

Yes In My Backyard is a semiweekly column showcasing MP3s from new and emerging local talent. ​Brooklyn duo Coasting have accidentally boogie-boarded their way into a not-so-chill wave of ecstatic local surf-punk, adding their own distorto-crunchy twist. Less bubblegum than Beachniks, more lo ... More >>

Times New Viking+the Mad Scene

Yes In My Backyard is a semiweekly column showcasing MP3s from new and emerging local talent. ​Brooklyn duo Coasting have accidentally boogie-boarded their way into a not-so-chill wave of ecstatic local surf-punk, adding their own distorto-crunchy twist. Less bubblegum than Beachniks, more lo ... More >>

Hear the Chris Knox Tribute Record

​The latest on Chris Knox, the New Zealand songwriter and Flying Nun affiliate who suffered a debilitating stroke in June: He's at home, as he has been for some time. It seems he's making music again, as Tall Dwarfs, though he's not yet speaking--"He wanted me to do an edit of a song loop down ... More >>

Week in Review: And All the While, My Peers Dance and Snort Cheap Coke and Photograph Each Other for the Hundreth Time

This is why this man gets work with FOX News. Fucked Up photo by Rebecca Smeyne.​In the week everybody dressed like some version of themselves from 15 years ago--or just said fuck it and went all in and pretended to be a giant bag of cocaine--we killed worthless punk nostalgia dead at that Vic ... More >>

The Worst Singer in History

I'm tired of listening to wingnuts, but I never get tired of hearing a nut named Wing, the bizarre cult sensation from New Zealand via Hong Kong with the reedy voice, weird rhythms, and life-threateningly kitsch taste. (Then again I never grow weary of watching car pileups either.)

Do Lobsters Feel Pain? Let's Hope Not. But Let's Not Boil Them Alive Anymore, Just in Case.

The Atlantic Food Channel has an interesting piece on crustacean rights that comes just weeks after Fork in the Road posted a recipe for barbecued lobster, which sparked a lively debate over just how humane it is to grill a sea creature alive. According to the Atlantic, New Zealand may have alrea ... More >>

Get Well, Chris Knox!

Very sad news: Chris Knox, one of the crucial figures behind the New Zealand lo-fi titan label Flying Nun, has apparently suffered a stroke. Details are scant, although that hasn't stopped any number of Kiwi media outlets from speculating. Meanwhile, his family and friends are maintaining and upd ... More >>

Spam Seen As Boredom-Busting; Hot Dogs as Diplomatic Protocol

New Yorkers have barely recovered from the President dining in the West Village and already he is off to thrill Parisians with the experience of dining in their fair city. This time, date night was at a traditional French bistro with red-and-white checked tablecloths near the Eiffel Tower. A similar ... More >>

New York Goes Cook-off Crazy; Recession Dining Has a Silver Lining

Big food companies are hijacking the locavore label: Frito-Lay will run five different ads in Florida that highlight small, local farmers who grow some of the two billion pounds of potatoes that go into its bags of chips. [NY Times] Several studies are researching the benefits of manuka honey. Nati ... More >>

Live: Let's Go Yell Dopey Shit at Flight of the Conchords

Flight of the Conchords Radio City Music Hall Wednesday, April 15 Let us revel in these times, wherein two goofy-looking New Zealand dudes can sell out Radio City and take the stage in chintzy robot costumes to perform the song "Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor," which ends prematurely when Bret ... More >>

Ladyhawke

Flight of the Conchords Radio City Music Hall Wednesday, April 15 Let us revel in these times, wherein two goofy-looking New Zealand dudes can sell out Radio City and take the stage in chintzy robot costumes to perform the song "Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor," which ends prematurely when Bret ... More >>

Interview: Yeasayer's Chris Keating

Flight of the Conchords Radio City Music Hall Wednesday, April 15 Let us revel in these times, wherein two goofy-looking New Zealand dudes can sell out Radio City and take the stage in chintzy robot costumes to perform the song "Too Many Dicks on the Dance Floor," which ends prematurely when Bret ... More >>

Braeburn's Funny Farm

New West Village bistro gets lost in the corn

Interview: Beth Murphy of Times New Viking

New West Village bistro gets lost in the corn

A Sweet Roller-Skating Jam from Flight of the Conchords

New West Village bistro gets lost in the corn

Love on the Lamb

Culinary adventures in a Brooklyn outback

Oh My Goth! The Second Coming—With Special Gothguest Jon DeRosa

Culinary adventures in a Brooklyn outback

Rack Focus

Culinary adventures in a Brooklyn outback

Whodunit: The British Consulate Bomb

Culinary adventures in a Brooklyn outback

Barred From the Ballot Box

On the anniversary of women's suffrage, a case for letting people with felony convictions vote

Timeline of Tragedy

Picking up the pieces of 9-11, putting them in order, trying to make sense

CMJ Musicfest 2002

Picking up the pieces of 9-11, putting them in order, trying to make sense

Fire, Fire, Burning Bright

NYC Outsider Artists to Perform Dante's Eighth Circle of Hell

Escaping the Hell of the Holy Land

Israelis Contemplate the Unthinkable—Moving Out

Learn to Forget

Israelis Contemplate the Unthinkable—Moving Out

Music

Israelis Contemplate the Unthinkable—Moving Out

Walk Black Live

Readers Respond to ‘The Bill of Rights for Black Men’

Jane and Anna Campion Make a Religious-Cult Classic

Fear and Desires

Timor Ease

Clinton Makes Hay in Asia Mess