All the right messages
At the risk of encouraging yet more umbilical phone behaviour, Tom McKinlay looks at a couple of free apps designed to make a better world.
Tom McKinlay
Torque of the town
Torque of the town
It was man against machine ... or battery ... or daughter, or daughter and battery. It was epic, writes Tom McKinlay.
As sure as the tide
As sure as the tide
Rising and more tempestuous seas mean we face hell and high water, says Dunedin writer Neville Peat. He tells Tom McKinlay about the threat and the book he has written in response.
A return to values
A return to values
Investors are looking to align their investments with their values, writes Tom McKinlay.
Festival an 'artistic success'
Festival an 'artistic success'
Behind my desk, pinned to the louvre blinds, are six badges heralding the seven ages of rock.
Music review: Dudley Benson
Music review: Dudley Benson
Hot on the heels of Kamasi Washington's cosmos-spanning, genre defying epic, Heaven & Earth, comes an album from Dunedin of no less ambition.
Together alone in Otago
Together alone in Otago
Otago was a key piece of casting for Dustin Feneley's first feature-length film, writes Tom Mckinlay.
Music review: This Sporting Life - Alms For Children
Music review: This Sporting Life - Alms For Children
Back in the heady post-punk days of New Zealand music, bands affected a little mockney and did their best with the three chords they knew to sound like they were from somewhere else.
Calls for action
Calls for action
Melting ice caps, floods, droughts . . . concerned? As the clock ticks down on the Government's Zero Carbon Bill consultation, now's the time to let them know, writes Tom McKinlay.
Putting a price on our emissions
Putting a price on our emissions
Two main methods of controlling greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, using price signals, are being debated in NZ; carbon "fee and dividend" or "cap-and-trade" using an emissions trading scheme.
Making a submission
Making a submission
The Wise Response Society - a coalition of academics, engineers, lawyers, artists, sports people and others - believes the target in the Zero Carbon Bill must be to reduce net emissions across all greenhouse gases to zero by 2050.
Songs of home
Songs of home
Wakatipu folk songstress Holly Arrowsmith may have left the district, but her songs are still singing its praises, writes Tom McKinlay.
Author at home in his tree
Author at home in his tree
Children’s author Andy Griffiths has been blowing children’s minds now for decades. He'll be in Dunedin next month for the Writers & Readers Festival.
There's drama in the air
There's drama in the air
When a shocking episode happens, it is rarely the case that only those immediately involved are implicated. A new Dunedin play charts the ripples of responsibility, writes Tom McKinlay.
Playing the long game
Playing the long game
We're beset on all sides: climate change, the sixth mass extinction, rampaging inequality and Facebook, just for a start. What is the way forward? Prof Niki Harre shares some thoughts with Tom McKinlay.
Rhyme and reason
Rhyme and reason
The Weekend Mix has a new poetry editor, Diane Brown. She gives Tom McKinlay some pointers on the artform.
Cottoning on
Cottoning on
Reuse crusader Bernadette Casey is bringing a renewed focus on footprints to iD Fashion, writes Tom McKinlay.
Crossing borders
Crossing borders
Vincent O'Sullivan's new novel puts New Zealand back on the map, if not at the centre of the action, writes Tom McKinlay.
Tricks of the film-maker's trade
Tricks of the film-maker's trade
Somehow, the moving images on a cinema screen make us laugh and cry, and duck for cover. A visiting professor tells Tom McKinlay why.
Stairway to heaven
Stairway to heaven
The Mueller Hut Route is a step up, writes Tom McKinlay.