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As the Tall Blacks prepare to compete at the world champs in Spain, James Croot looks at 10 of the best cinematic depictions of basketball.

1. Blue Chips
Nick Nolte teamed up with a young Shaquille O’Neal for this excellent 1994 college basketball drama. Instead of the usual triumph over adversity tale, writer Ron Shelton (Bull Durham, Tin Cup) focuses on the length some coaches and schools will go to achieve glory.

People around the world are looking at beautiful photos of four-year-old Auckland girl Violet Spring, taken by her mum Holly.

The Te Atatu mother has taken out the creative photographer of the year award from the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photographers.

Her photos have piqued the interest of major media organisations not only because of the works’ ethereal beauty but also because of Violet’s interesting story.

“Holly Spring is a one-of-a-kind mother who took up photography after her young daughter’s struggles with Hirschsprung’s Disease and no left hand,” reported website Wimp.

The Daily Mail website reported today that photography was far from Spring’s mind when Violet was struck down.

“Clinging to life in an Auckland Hospital, it was at that this point the New Zealand mother realised just how incredibly important her daughter’s fragile life was to her, so she began documenting it using digital photography,” the Daily Mail said.

Post by Holly Spring Photography.

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Spring said that everything changed in her life when Violet became ill.

“I knew she was everything and that I would devote my art and life to her.”

She said she was only now becoming aware that her photos were creating a global sensation.

“It’s gone all over the world; I am overwhelmed by it all.”

Violet, who starts school soon, loves being the model.

“It is all role playing. We make it a game.”

The pictures are often a Photoshop blending of Violet and other pictures taken, including landscapes.

A photo of Violet standing in a boat is actually her at a Northland beach inlet in a boat on the beach paired with a mix of Te Atatu sky shots made to look like water.

The Luminaries is good enough to win the international Man Booker Prize, but it is not the best book in New Zealand.

Eleanor Catton’s novel was trumped by the story of a Wellington art dealer at tonight’s New Zealand Post Book of the Year awards.

Peter McLeavey: The life and times of a New Zealand art dealer by Wellington author Jill Trevelyan took out the 2014 Book of the Year at the ceremony in Wellington.

The decision is a major shock and puts the judges at odds with book buyers.

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While Trevelyan’s book has not featured on the best sellers’ lists, The Luminaries held the No 1 spot on the NZ booksellers’ fiction list for 54 weeks before being knocked off its perch by Thom Conroy’s The Naturalist this week.

The Luminaries has sold more than 560,000 print and digital copies worldwide, with 117,430 print and ebooks bought in New Zealand. Most NZ fiction print runs are around 1000 to 2000 books.

People around the world are looking at beautiful photos of four-year-old Auckland girl Violet Spring, taken by her mum Holly.

The Te Atatu mother has taken out the creative photographer of the year award from the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photographers.

Her photos have piqued the interest of major media organisations not only because of the works’ ethereal beauty but also because of Violet’s interesting story.

“Holly Spring is a one-of-a-kind mother who took up photography after her young daughter’s struggles with Hirschsprung’s Disease and no left hand,” reported website Wimp.

The Daily Mail website reported today that photography was far from Spring’s mind when Violet was struck down.

“Clinging to life in an Auckland Hospital, it was at that this point the New Zealand mother realised just how incredibly important her daughter’s fragile life was to her, so she began documenting it using digital photography,” the Daily Mail said.

Post by Holly Spring Photography.

Spring said that everything changed in her life when Violet became ill.

“I knew she was everything and that I would devote my art and life to her.”

She said she was only now becoming aware that her photos were creating a global sensation.

“It’s gone all over the world; I am overwhelmed by it all.”

Violet, who starts school soon, loves being the model.

“It is all roll playing. We make it a game.”

The pictures are often a Photoshop blending of Violet and other pictures taken, including landscapes.

A photo of Violet standing in a boat is actually her at a Northland beach inlet in a boat on the beach paired with a mix of Te Atatu sky shots made to look like water.

You can only hope that Jonathan Lemalu knows a good dry-cleaner, after he endured not one, but two ice-bucket challenges today*.

Dressed in his finest performance tails, NZSO bass singer Lemalu headed for Civic Square to decline the challenge he’d received, but instead a mysterious man, later identified as one Jason Henderson, doused him twice in the space of 30 seconds.

* Actually, it was all staged, with Lemalu in on the stunt in which participants pour a bucket of ice water on their heads to raise awareness of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a degenerative nerve disease.

Lemalu’s script pretended that he had to decline the invitation to take part in the ice challenge as he was about to go on stage to sing The Creation with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, but he was iced instead.

As is customary, he then extended the challenge to three others.

– Haydn’s The Creation, featuring the NZSO and

Tawa’s Musical Island Boys are absolutely positively ecstatic after being recognised for their world-beating achievements in Wellington today.

The barbershop quartet of brothers Will and Jeff Hunkin, Matthew Gifford and Marcellus Washburn, have been presented with an Absolutely Positively Wellington award by Mayor Celia Wade-Brown.

The local recognition comes after winning gold at the International Barbershop Quartet in Las Vegas this year.

The group said winning the world champs and being recognised in their home city was final vindication after years of hard work.

“That’s the one goal that we wanted to achieve when we first started,” Will said.

His brother, Jeff, said quartet are “champions for life” after having their name retired by the international competition.

Musical Island Boys are now planning a gold medal year including tours to Australia, China and parts of the US.

“It’s kind of a once in a lifetime thing. I think we’re going to put together a few CDs and do some shows,” Jeff said.

Charlotte Murray, the quartet’s mentor, said the Musical Island Boys set the goal to be world champions back in 2003.

Murray also received an Absolutely Positively Wellington award and she filled in for one of the quartet today when they serenaded the council with their winning song from the competition.

“They wrote it down on a piece of paper, that they were going to win the world champs one day,” she said.

Former Life Flight trust chairman Bill Day was the other recipient of an Absolutely Positively Wellington award today.

Day dedicated his award to those who had put work into the trust over the years and paid tribute to those working in the health sector.

He said they were often forgotten about and worked in the area because they “love the job and helping people”.

Wade-Brown said Day had been an important part of the trust’s success.

“He has been involved with the service since 1980 and has seen the service extended to include vital Air Ambulance services.”

Day also spent six years as general manager of the New Zealand Community Trust and played a large role in establishing the Wellington Hospitals Foundation.

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– The Dominion Post

Justin Bieber has compared himself to the late Princess Diana after reportedly being rear-ended by a paparazzo.

The 20-year-old pop star was driving his red Ferrari in West Hollywood, California when the collision occurred, X17 Online claims.

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According to the outlet, witnesses say Bieber was slamming on his breaks in order to throw a paparazzo travelling in a Prius behind him off guard.

But his alleged plan backfired, as the pap rear-ended his expensive ride, which is said to have resulted in a scratch on the Baby singer’s bumper.

A spokesperson for the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Department told the website investigators are still trying to determine who is at fault.

Bieber seemed to allude to the car crash on his Twitter account.

“There should be laws against what I just experienced. We should have learned from the death of Princess Diana…” he tweeted, wrapping up his thoughts with: “…I don’t have a problem with Paparazzi but when they act recklessly they put us all in danger (sic).”

There should be laws against what I just experienced. We should have learned from the death of Princess Diana…

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) August 26, 2014

…I don’t have a problem with Paparazzi but when they act recklessly they put us all in danger.

— Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) August 26, 2014

It seems Bieber has been embroiled in a lot of sticky situations during his stay in Los Angeles recently.

He is said to be angering residents surrounding his Beverly Hills home with his loud parties.

The star reportedly splashed out on a US$29,000-a-month rental pad in the Hollywood Hills boasting a gym, a pool, a spa, ten bedrooms and a nightclub to get a break from the drama.

Radar Online previously reported he is being careful after police raided his Calabasas home earlier this year in connection to an incident in which he was accused of hurling eggs at a neighbour’s home, resulting in thousands of dollars in damage.

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Bieber pleaded no contest in that case and was sentence to two years probation.

-with Cover Media

People around the world are looking at beautiful photos of four-year-old Auckland girl Violet Spring, taken by her mum Holly.

The Te Atatu mother has taken out the creative photographer of the year award from the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photographers.

Her photos have piqued the interest of major media organisations not only because of the works’ ethereal beauty but also because of Violet’s interesting story.

“Holly Spring is a one-of-a-kind mother who took up photography after her young daughter’s struggles with Hirschsprung’s Disease and no left hand,” reported website Wimp.

The Daily Mail website reported today that photography was far from Spring’s mind when Violet was struck down.

“Clinging to life in an Auckland Hospital, it was at that this point the New Zealand mother realised just how incredibly important her daughter’s fragile life was to her, so she began documenting it using digital photography,” the Daily Mail said.

Spring said that everything changed in her life when Violet became ill.

“I knew she was everything and that I would devote my art and life to her.”

She said she was only now becoming aware that her photos were creating a global sensation.

“It’s gone all over the world; I am overwhelmed by it all.”

Violet, who starts school soon, loves being the model.

“It is all roll playing. We make it a game.”

The pictures are often a Photoshop blending of Violet and other pictures taken, including landscapes.

A photo of Violet standing in a boat is actually her at a Northland beach inlet in a boat on the beach paired with a mix of Te Atatu sky shots made to look like water.

It wouldn’t be a self-respecting Hollywood hoedown without a nipple slip mid choreographed dance routine.