New Zealand

Caledonian Weekend

[Kim Dotcom Arrest Video: Update] The Eight Most Eyebrow-Raising Elements of the Megaupload Shutdown

Editor's Update, 8/9/12: Video of the raid on former Megaupload CEO Kim Dotcom's enormous New Zealand home in January has just emerged -- you can watch it above. The report, from 3 News in New Zealand, includes testimony from Dotcom -- who is accused of the largest copyright infringement in U.S. hi ... More >>

The Naked and Famous at the Gargoyle, 4/12/12: Snapshots

The Naked and Famous brought a serious crowd and an even more serious light show to the Gargoyle on Washington University's campus last night. The New Zealand band left the crowd sweaty and happy. The show follows a last-second cancellation for a Raekwon concert and a poorly attended Teengirl Fantas ... More >>

Missouri Tattoo Artist, Warner Bros., Settle Over Rights to Tyson Tattoo

​It looks like Tattoogate has finally reached its end. The south-central Missouri tattoo artist who sued the producers of The Hangover Part 2 for copyright infringement has now reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount of cash. As far as legal narratives go, this was one of the wackies ... More >>

Ronnie Smith, Sled Dogs Make National Geographic

National GeographicThe southernmost aeronautical waypoints between Antarctica and New Zealand, renamed by Col. Ronnie Smith.​Last fall, Air Force Colonel Ronnie Smith succeeded in his campaign to rename the aeronautical waypoints between Christchurch, New Zealand, and McMurdo Station, the U.S. ... More >>

"I Was Wondering Why All the Birds Are, Like, Dying": 911 Calls From Beebe, Arkansas

image via​It's still unclear why several thousand birds fell from the sky over Beebe, Arkansas, on New Year's Eve and whether this is, indeed, an early sign of the impending apocalypse. Mysterious bird deaths have now been reported in Sweden and Louisiana and, adding to the sense of doom, mill ... More >>

Egg Chef On New Tribute to New Zealand Punk Icons Toy Love

​Our Bellevillian sludge overlords Egg Chef have teamed up with Burning Sky Records for an international tribute to the late New Zealand punk greats Toy Love. Though Toy Love was only together for less than two years, the pioneering punks inspired a sonic movement that later became known as Du ... More >>

Top 10 Values of the World Goblet 2010

​Now that Gut Check's World Goblet 2010 tourney is in the books -- France won, if you've been asleep in a cave for the past month and a half -- here's a handy shopping list of the wines we consider to be the best values we tasted, along with a link to the pertinent post and an encapsulation of ... More >>

The World Goblet 2010 - Recap and Awards

It's been more than a month since Gut Check got a wild hair up our corkscrew and decided to stage a World Cup, as it were, of value-priced wines. ​We did it because we're cheapskates, and because we drink a lot of wine, and because we blog like a one-legged man at an ass-kicking contest. Well, we ... More >>

The World Goblet Final: France vs. New Zealand

​While scanning the World Cup groups in order to plan our daytime drinking over the next month, Gut Check noticed that most of the great wine-producing nations are represented in the tournament field, including all of those with a reputation for crafting good, value-priced wines. Because Gut C ... More >>

The World Goblet: Semifinal 2 - Australia vs. France

​While scanning the World Cup groups in order to plan our daytime drinking over the next month, Gut Check noticed that most of the great wine-producing nations are represented in the tournament field, including all of those with a reputation for crafting good, value-priced wines. Because Gut C ... More >>

The World Goblet: Semifinal 1 - New Zealand vs. Spain

​While scanning the World Cup groups in order to plan our daytime drinking over the next month, Gut Check noticed that most of the great wine-producing nations are represented in the tournament field, including all of those with a reputation for crafting good, value-priced wines. Because Gut C ... More >>

The World Goblet Round 3: Portugal vs. South Africa

​While scanning the World Cup groups in order to plan our daytime drinking over the next month, Gut Check noticed that most of the great wine-producing nations are represented in the tournament field, including all of those with a reputation for crafting good, value-priced wines. Because Gut C ... More >>

The World Goblet Round 3: Greece vs. France

​While scanning the World Cup groups in order to plan our daytime drinking over the next month, Gut Check noticed that most of the great wine-producing nations are represented in the tournament field, including all of those with a reputation for crafting good, value-priced wines. Because Gut C ... More >>

The World Goblet Round 3: Italy vs. New Zealand

​While scanning the World Cup groups in order to plan our daytime drinking over the next month, Gut Check noticed that most of the great wine-producing nations are represented in the tournament field, including all of those with a reputation for crafting good, value-priced wines. Because Gut C ... More >>

The World Goblet Round 2: New Zealand vs. France

​While scanning the World Cup groups in order to plan our daytime drinking over the next month, Gut Check noticed that most of the great wine-producing nations are represented in the tournament field, including all of those with a reputation for crafting good, value-priced wines. Because Gut C ... More >>

The World Goblet Round 1: France vs. Italy

​While scanning the World Cup groups in order to plan our daytime drinking over the next month, Gut Check noticed that most of the great wine-producing nations are represented in the tournament field, including all of those with a reputation for crafting good, value-priced wines. Because Gut C ... More >>

The World Goblet Round 1: Greece vs. New Zealand

​While scanning the World Cup groups in order to plan our daytime drinking over the next month, Gut Check noticed that most of the great wine-producing nations are represented in the tournament field, including all of those with a reputation for crafting good, value-priced wines. Because Gut C ... More >>

The World Goblet: The World Cup of Value Wines

via​While scanning the World Cup groups in order to plan our daytime drinking over the next month, Gut Check noticed that most of the great wine-producing nations are represented in the tournament field, including all of those with a reputation for crafting good, value-priced wines. Because Gu ... More >>

The Morning Brew: 6.1

The salt companies are fighting back. Even Alton Brown has paired with food giant Cargill to encourage the use of salt while other companies cut back. In case you missed it during the long weekend, The New York Times exposed what's happening behind the scenes as food processors brace for the hit o ... More >>

Monroe County Sheep and Craft Festival Celebrates Local Lamb

Robin WheelerSweet little lamb...gonna be good eatin'!​It's lamb season, and they're celebrating in Monroe County, Illinois. Take a short drive across the Jefferson Barracks Bridge this Saturday, April 10, to the Monroe County Fairgrounds in Waterloo to celebrate spring at the Monroe County Sh ... More >>

Thrill or Swill: A Pinot Grigio Worth Paying For?

Pinot grigio is an unequivocal commercial success. From sales of literally nothing in the mid-1970s, pinot grigio has risen to second place among white varietal wines in the United States, trailing only chardonnay. Success has come at the expense of value, however, and many of those pioneering pino ... More >>

Poetry in a Cold Climate: Ron Smith found his muse in Antarctica's vast icy wilderness

FoodWire: Greek Wine Dinner at Tenderloin Room 9.18

The Tenderloin Room (232 North Kingshighway; website), a favorite haunt of George Clooney while he was in town filming Up in the Air, is hosting a Greek wine dinner on Friday, September 18, as part of its monthly "World of Wine" dinner series. The four-course meal, featuring Greek wines paired with ... More >>

The Noble Writ: Is the Bloom off the Kiwi?

The wine world has seen few success stories like New Zealand sauvignon blanc. In the past decade, the country's production of sauvignon blanc has increased by 800%, and the value of all wine exported from New Zealand is set to top NZ$1 billion next year. Sauvignon blanc put New Zealand on the wine ... More >>

The Noble Writ: Thinking Clearly about Alternative Closures

Dave Nelson is the author of the blog Beer, Wine and Whisky. He writes about wine for Gut Check every Tuesday.As I've researched the many issues surrounding cork and its alternatives, a central theme has emerged: Little solid research has been done into both the chemistry of wine aging and the impac ... More >>

Please Pass the Placenta: Unreal deduces the reason placentas are clogging sewers in Illinois

Cut Off Your Hands/Headlights/Pomegranates

8:30 p.m. Sunday, March 15. The Firebird, 2706 Olive Street.

Placenta for Lunch, Anyone? How About You There In Urbana?

Wikimedia CommonsIf you haven't already eaten lunch today, stop reading now. Seriously. Go eat, come back, then dive into something that's sure to make you lose your appetite.Unreal was browsing news of the weird yesterday when we stumbled upon this whopper of a headline: "Placentas Found In Sewage ... More >>

The Morning Brew: Monday, 9/24

The Morning Brew: Tuesday, 9/4

The Veils

6 p.m. Friday, August 31. Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue.

Eating Local: Another Perspective

Under Spells

B-Sides talks to the Comas about their latest release and downloads Iron & Wine's "The Boy With a Coin"

Harvest Wine Dinner

Vintage Balaban's

Chef Dan Joyce could rest on Balaban's laurels -- but he'd rather take St. Louis on some delicious adventures

Copia Runneth Over

The food's delish, but Copia still needs to prove a thing or two to oenephiles

Lemon Soul

We're plenty happy to try out new Lifestyles

Bewitched, Bewildered

The food at Café Ivanhoe is a treat, even if the concept is confusing

Film Openings

Week of April 13, 2005

Flesh for Fantasy

Get your groove on at this year's St. Louis International Film Festival

The Datsuns with the Sights and Sullen

Wednesday, April 2; Galaxy

The Clean

Anthology (Merge)

Foot Don't Fail Me Now

Local favorite J.D. Blackfoot returns to St. Louis for one last show

Side Dish

Food for thought from St. Louis restaurants

ST. LOUIS INTERNATIONAL LESBIAN AND GAY FILM FESTIVAL

ST. LOUIS INTERNATIONAL LESBIAN AND GAY FILM FESTIVAL

A schedule and capsule reviews of the fest's offerings

St. Louis International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival

A schedule and capsule reviews of the fest's offerings

Dissent Into Hell