Celebrating 20 years of awarding and honouring the best of British art, the 2016 South Bank Sky Arts Awards were held Sunday, 5th June at the Savoy Hotel. Winners included Eddie Izzard with the Outstanding Achievement Award, and Stormzy who took out the Breakthrough Award. Amongst the nominees though, was another artist whom many were hoping to catch a glimpse of. Known with certainty only as Banksy, the artist’s 2015 Dismaland Bemusement Park artwork was nominated for the Visual Art Award. Lynette Yiadom-Boakye ultimately won the Visual Art Award for her Verses After Dusk, and congratulations are in order. But that hasn’t stopped the wondering about Banksy’s true identity. Banksy is known for having said: “Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” Beyond Banksy’s extensive art works, which include street art and graffiti, often laced with social and political commentary on contemporary issues, little is known about the ...

The crocodile believed to be responsible for taking the life of Cindy Waldron has been caught and killed, with its stomach containing human remains. The 46-year-old Cindy Waldron was taken in a crocodile attack, while she was said to be wading up to her waist in the water at Thornton Beach around 10:30pm on Sunday 29 May, 2016. Her friend, Leeanne Mitchell, 47, who witnessed the crocodile attack, suffered shock and grazes and was taken to Mossman Hospital. The 4.3 metre crocodile was the considered by police as a target animal owing to its size and location. It was trapped at Cooper Creek, in the Daintree, in far north Queensland. The animal was subsequently euthanased. A 2.5 metre crocodile was previously caught in a similar manner. Flushing the contents of its stomach revealed no human remains and the creature was said to be released unharmed back into the wild. Following ...

It sort of says Pikachu, but there’s something a little more shocking in store for Pokémon fans in Hong Kong. Their beloved, and arguably favourite Pokémon character Pikachu is getting a bit of a name change. Yet it’s not being seen as a good evolution of the character in Hong Kong. The release of Pokémon Sun and Moon in December 2016 in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Mainland China will mark the first time that the Pokémon video games have been made available in traditional and simplified Chinese. Previously the Pokémon video games were translated based on local languages and regional dialects. Nintendo now wants to simply and unify all of this. With the Pokémon franchise to officially be called 精靈寶可夢 or Jingling Baokemeng in Mandarin throughout Greater China. The upset for Hong Kong gamers is that Nintendo has chosen Mandarin as the official language for all of its renamed Pokémon, ...

“Hey guys,” David Morrison, the 2016 Australian of the Year and retired Army Lieutenant General, wants to do away with that phrase, and others, in the workplace. Launching the Diversity Council Australia (DCA) campaign WordsAtWork, Morrison wants to build inclusion through the power of language. Morrison states: “DCA’s new campaign is not about being ‘politically correct’ – it is about encouraging people to use language at work which is respectful, accurate, and relevant to everyone.” The WordsAtWork campaign aims at building inclusion, acknowledging that language can be a powerful tool for this. The effect of language and words used ranges from validated and replicated psychological research to well-meaning (but often questionable) pop-psychology anecdotes. Where the latter may be taken as supposed proof of what is someone’s personal opinion, all too frequently when confirmation bias is also in play. Whether the phrase “hey guys” or even “guys” is exclusionary or non-inclusive ...

The Force Awakens left many Star Wars fans wanting many things. Whether it was their own BB-8 droid or the fan solution to the real-life burning lightsaber. Others considered things of a more practical nature, like bread. Instant bread, Jakku-style. Suddenly, popcorn and Coke cinema-style seemed boring. Watching Rey make the instant bread on Jakku left many thinking: I want it, and I want it now. Seeing how fast it was put together in the movie seemed like the ideal meal for instant gratification, minus the whole part about it being in a galaxy far, far away. Fortunately, lifestyle and food writer Jenn Fujikawa has delivered a more attainable solution much closer to Earth. You probably don’t even need to trade salvaged starship scrap for it, because the recipe is below. Rey’s Portion Bread Ingredients 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil 4 tablespoons cake flour 1-1/2 tablespoons sugar 1/2 teaspoon matcha powder ...

Let it be known that Republican presidential campaign 2016 hopeful and the 43rd Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, has a gun with his name on. He tweeted as much. America. pic.twitter.com/TeduJkwQF3 — Jeb Bush (@JebBush) February 16, 2016 The tweet from Bush followed his visit to the firearms manufacturer FNH USA in Columbia, South Carolina. Jeb Bush’s apparent lack of gun ownership came to light last year, when the Telegraph revealed that he and two other GOP presidential candidates, Chris Christie and Carly Fiorina, did not own guns. The tweet and engraved name on the gun now suggests otherwise, along with Bush’s likely endorsing of the Second Amendment. As the 2016 presidential election dates continue to roll out across the United States, South Carolina will hold its presidential primary elections on: Saturday, 20 February for the Republicans, and on Saturday, 27 February for the Democrats. Whether the “America” gun tweet ...

In an attempt at the fourth wall breaking characteristic of the Deadpool character, actor Ryan Reynolds has delivered a special Australia Day message to promote the release of the forthcoming Deadpool movie. “Seriously, I’d fit right in with your proud nation with its shady criminal past, and it’s predilection for black-out drinking and unrelenting condescension towards New Zealand,” says Deadpool. However, Deadpool has one problem, and that’s Australia giving the world X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009). Because it’s Deadpool, be warned, there is profanity in the video below: Whether the Deadpool (2016) movie actually delivers, fans will find out when the film premieres 11 February. Who knows, it could be a second career low for the antihero… While it may be intended as a reboot, there has already been the equivalent of Barakapool minus the mouth, and 20th Century Fox Films also gave the world the Fantastic Four (2015) film, a ...

Debatably the most New Zealand story ever, sheep have stopped criminals escaping. A car was pulled over by police near Alexandra on Friday morning, but the driver of the Honda attempted to make a getaway. Leading to a 90 minute police chase through both Cromwell and Kawarau Gorges, to Queenstown and into Wakatipu Basin. With police cars in pursuit, and road spikes used to apprehend the vehicle, ultimately a flock of sheep formed the quintessential New Zealand roadblock stopping the car. Adding to the Kiwi factor, the flock of sheep where actually owned by a local police officer as confirmed by Senior Sergeant Paula Enoka. This photo is amongst the finest depictions of life in New Zealand I have ever seen https://t.co/HOALpUL0zq pic.twitter.com/MxEYT7ZBGk — Charlie Mitchell (@comingupcharlie) January 21, 2016 Three men and a woman were subsequently arrested thanks to the police sheep. No sheep were harmed in the police ...

As the world mourns the death of David Bowie, born 8 January 1947 named David Robert Jones, and passing away 10 January 2016 due to cancer, many are remembering the man’s music and iconic nature. It may be the hallmark of the truly great artists that they confound, challenge, and ultimately not only gain acceptance but shape society’s perceptions in process. While the musician David Bowie is being praised for his innovation, it went far beyond music alone. Bowie’s innovation also found its way into the world of finance. David Bowie Bonds, or Bowie Bonds, were an early example of asset-backed bonds (or asset-backed securities). Issued in 1997, the Bowie Bonds were debt securities whose cash flow payments were backed by the royalties generated from the back catalogue of 25 albums (with 287 songs) David Bowie had recorded between 1969 and 1990. What was essentially the securitisation of intellectual property ...

An ad to promote eating lamb on Australia Day in 2016, has come under fire. Quite literally, because it contained a scene with what some have dubbed “a blow torch” (although it’s more of a flamethrower) and a vegan. Chargrilling vegetables is fine. It could even be considered gourmet if using a blow torch on them. Flamethrowers, that’s more of a grey area. Allusions to using an incendiary device on people, less fine, as far as complainants are concerned. Lee Lin Chin, whose day job as a serious journalist and television presenter for SBS in Australia, hasn’t stopped her capacity for self-parody and satire outside of work. If anything, Lee Lin Chin’s social media presence involving having a sense of humour has helped to build her profile in the public eye. Which likely made her seem a great idea for Meat and Livestock Australia’s advertising campaign for Australia Day 2016. ...