Latest news with #Bat
Scoop
17-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Scoop
The Bats Announce New Album Corner Coming Up Plus New Single/Video'Lucky Day'
New Zealand indie rock royals, The Bats, have recently had their heads down recording new music and have today announced their 11th full-length album, 'Corner Coming Up', out on October 17th via Flying Nun Records. The new album strikes a very distinctive and familiar chord that exists in the fuzzy-loving hearts of fans all round the world. Throughout their 40 plus years of existence, and now with 'Corner Coming Up' ready to share with the world, The Bats have stayed true to their roots, creating timeless music that continues to resonate with fans old and new. 'Corner Coming Up' was recorded at Chicks Studio in Port Chalmers by Flying Nun legend, Tex Houston, and is out digitally, and on peach or black vinyl LP and CD on 17th October 2025 via Flying Nun Records. The Bats are Robert Scott, Kaye Woodward, Paul Kean and Malcolm Grant. Since their inception in Christchurch in 1982, The Bats' music has earned a devoted following around the world, and they remain one of New Zealand's most cherished and enduring exports. The band has a phenomenal ability to create melodies that linger long after the record has stopped spinning. Today the band have also shared their brand new video single 'Lucky Day'. Shot out of a suitcase by Marc Swadel, Julian Reid and Kermath, while on work trips, the accompanying lo-fi psychedelic video was shot in Florence, London, Tokyo, Doha, Taipei, Liverpool, Zagreb, Manchester and Hong Kong with the band filming themselves in Christchurch. This is the fourth Bats video by director Marc Swadel (who has previously worked with Crowded House, Thurston Moore, The Datsuns, Jonathan Bree, Sparks, Liam Finn, Duran Duran, Head Like a Hole and The Chemical Brothers) "When I heard the name of the song, I thought - lucky cat! The Japanese name for this creature is Maneki-Neko - and in their folklore the Bat is a sign of good luck - the Bakeneko - so it felt like a random but fun idea, to take a cat along on work and shoot as we go." - Marc Swadel The Bats formed in Christchurch in 1982. The quartet — Robert Scott, Kaye Woodward, Paul Kean and Malcolm Grant — has held the same lineup for over four decades, perhaps making them the longeststanding unchanged band in Aotearoa history. They first emerged on the Flying Nun label in the early '80s, blending jangly guitars and rich melodies that would come to influence alternative rock in New Zealand and around the world. Their debut album, Daddy's Highway (1987), remains a masterpiece of the genre, paving the way for subsequent albums like The Law of Things (1990), Fear of God (1991), Silverbeet (1993) and Couchmaster (1995). After a decade-long break starting in 1995, they returned with the acclaimed At the National Grid (2005), infusing fresh energy without losing their trademark sound. Since then, they've released The Guilty Office (2008), Free All the Monsters (2011), The Deep Set (2017), and Foothills (2020), each offering new facets of their signature jangle-pop while preserving their melodic core. Critics and fans alike praise their consistency, but the band insists their sound has naturally evolved—even as it remains uniquely recognisable . In April 2025, after a fiveyear wait since 2020's Foothills, The Bats unveiled a new single 'Loline'. The single was accompanied by a warmly nostalgic video of the band cycling through Ōtautahi lovingly mixed in with live performance footage from the last couple of years. 'Loline' hinted at the first taste of their forthcoming album, serving up the signature high quality songwriting that fans have adored for over 40 years. 'Loline' blends bright-eyed romanticism, fuzzy guitar textures, soaring harmonies, and a sense of nostalgia. Still playing live and recording, The Bats remain a testament to loyal craftsmanship, melodic depth, and enduring friendship—their newest work a glowing chapter in an already remarkable story.
Economic Times
05-07-2025
- Automotive
- Economic Times
End-of-life for a mechanical being can be more than machine learning
SONG OF THE END OF THE ROAD The KKK took my baby awayThey took her away, away from me - The Ramones This week, I lost a love of my life. Like loves of your life that you take for granted, I realised that Batmobile a.k.a. Bat was a love of my life only after I let go of him on Monday. Finding out on Thursday that Delhi had second thoughts about hunting down petrol cars over 15 years old (and diesel cars over 10) - 'end-of-life' vehicles, they call them as if 'dead' wasn't poetic enough - and sending them to the scrapyard, brought with it a kick in my already-numb juggernauts. But honestly, I was ready to let Bat go, without having to put him through some tortuous BS-IV emission standard enhancement procedure that's made Madonna look what she does now. Bat was a grey 2009 Honda City SV Petrol MT beauty. Driving him was like flying the Millennium Falcon, before Lando Calrissian lost the YT-1300f light freighter in a card game to Han Solo. Sure, over time, he stalled, more than a few times - once, after midnight on way to the airport. The battery needed recharging more frequently than usual. Its automatic locking system went rogue like a malevolent AI in a Kubrick movie, and I had to change it for a manual lock. And by the time I got Bat over from Delhi to Kolkata's roadscape that makes the lunar surface seem an autobahn, its low clearance and bucket back seats had started to break my spine - and his chassis. But this was more a function of my age than his. And yet, here I am, and here he - so giving on the smooth, so forgiving on the rough - isn't. Of course, if you are with someone, inhabit some thing, from June 21, 2019 to June 30, 2025, you become hybrid: part-Hazra, part-Honda. It was only after he left that I had the courage to reread Subodh Ghosh's sparkplugs-tearing 1940 short story, 'Ajantrik' (The Unmechanical). In it, we encounter Bimal, and his 15-year-old Ford, Jagaddal. (In Ritwik Ghatak's finest film, a 1958 adaptation of Ghosh's Agantuk, Jagaddal's number plate is tellingly BRO 117. Bat's is DL 4CAH 9453.) Jagaddal is of 'prehistoric shape, his whole body marked by shambolic decay,' and he hardly gets customers in the taxi stand. And yet, Jagaddal is Bimal's 'valet, friend and provider' - his life. For the misanthrope, this machine provides what human companionship never can. While rubbing kerosene to remove rust from Jagaddal's weary bolts, Bimal snarls back at a person who asks him why on earth he's 'fixing a broken mandir', saying it's his private matter. Fellow driver Pyara Singh laughs and asks Bimal [in Hindi], 'Private? Gari bhi ghar ka aurat hain kya?' His business is on the verge of folding up. But Bimal won't give up his beloved Jagaddal. Until one day - 6 pages into the 9-page story - the car breaks down while going up an elevated road on the way to Ranchi. Jagaddal's piston is broken. A few days later, the bearing melts. Then it's the fanbelt, then it's a blocked carburetor. Finally, the sparkplugs short. 'No, I'm here Jagaddal. Don't worry, I'll get you up and running again,' Bimal promises the teenage geriatric. Soon enough, he gets parts, fixes him, and plans to get Jagaddal a new hood, paint, and burnish. But overnight rains seep through the shambolic garage delivering a final blow to the car. To cut a short story shorter, Bimal is unable to revive him - 'He doesn't understand love, he doesn't understand my words, son-of-an-iron, inanimate ghost!' he shouts while kicking the car in anger, frustration, and grief. Jagaddal is soon sold as scrap. Ahe end of the story, we find Bimal getting progressively drunk, as he hears a 'thong thong thokang thokang - Jagaddal's burial spot is being prepared. As if the sound of a shovel and a crowbar.' The chap who came to take Bat away, told me that in a few weeks, he'll send me a WhatsApp video clip of him being turned to scrap. It's apparently company policy. Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. Zepto has slowed, and Aadit Palicha needs more than a big fund raise to fix it Drones have become a winning strategy in war; can they be in investing? How the sinking of MSC Elsa 3 exposed India's maritime blind spots Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro: Are GLP-1 drugs weight loss wonders or health gamble? Darkness at noon: Can this reform succeed after failing four times? Stock picks of the week: 5 stocks with consistent score improvement and return potential of more than 29% in 1 year Stock Radar: Nippon Life stock gives a breakout from Cup pattern in June; check target & stop loss for long positions From takeovers to a makeover: Are cement stocks ready for re-rating? 8 cement stocks with upside potential from 6 to 42%
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Tales that undo othering
Take the much-loved Charlotte's Web by EB White, in which unlikely yet touching relationship between Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider teaches valuable life lessons about empathy, kindness, and bonds that connect us, beautifully depicting how precious friendships of those not like us can make a profound impact in someone's life. In a world increasingly divided for a host of reasons into various us/not us categories, it would go a long way to awaken our true nature of goodness and compassion – though deeply buried – by turning to some children's books and stories. Many of these books reveal how relationships – good ones or bad – work, and how to understand and accept, include others not like us, and maybe embrace differences. A story from Africa, that a wonderful storyteller friend shared, goes like this: One day, birds challenged four-footed animals to a ball game. Those with wings on one side, and animals with teeth on the opposing team. When Bat arrived, he was sent to the team whose players had teeth. But animals with teeth claimed Bat did not belong on their team because he had wings! They sent him off to birds' team, but feathered and winged birds refused to accept Bat; he couldn't join their team because he had teeth. Finally, four-footed animals somewhat reluctantly accepted Bat because he had teeth. The game began and birds were leading because they could fly with the ball above where animals couldn't reach. Eventually, Bat, playing for animals, managed to take the ball away from birds again and again, and finally animals won. We notice there seem to be as many books about animals and birds acting like humans as there are books about actual children, and there may be a good case for this. Animal fiction goes to places that other stories can't. Our world is different when viewed through non-human eyes. Adventures feel more exciting because characters – and you, in your imagination – can be hunted by a predator, swept away by giant waves or abandoned in a difficult place. But stories also have built in safety-valves because characters aren't human, so there is a kind of 'distancing'. And so, authors can – carefully – go to more difficult places, handle more difficult themes. It's not just modern writers who think so – we have, after all, the wonderful Panchatantra treasury, which contains fables usually involving animals, with so much to teach us through incisive insight into human behaviour. Animal stories of Buddhist Jataka tales teach followers to avoid hurting people or tell of meritorious acts of kindness and compassion performed by animals, inspiring us to emulate these. Facebook Twitter Linkedin Email Disclaimer Views expressed above are the author's own.
Miami Herald
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
Busch Gardens Williamsburg brings back the Big Bad Wolf with a new coaster
The sounds of guttural growls and bone-chilling howls will once again echo throughout the pitch-black forest outside a Bavarian village when a new roller coaster with a familiar name and glowing red eyes returns to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Busch Gardens has announced Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge will debut in May without setting a specific date, but the new coaster is expected to open in time for the park's 50th anniversary on May 16. Big Bad Wolf will pay tribute to the Arrow Dynamics suspended coaster of the same name that operated at the Virginia theme park from 1984 to 2009. The new Bolliger & Mabillard family inverted coaster will reach a top speed of 40 mph over 2,583 feet of track while bolting through an abandoned Bavarian village. Busch Gardens' 11th coaster will take over the station house of the former Drachen Fire coaster in the Oktoberfest area of the park. The 2012 Verbolten coaster reused the original Big Bad Wolf station house and some of the track layout. The backstory of the new Big Bad Wolf takes riders into a bustling Bavarian village during the eerily quiet Festival of the Silent Bells, the annual event that honors the haunting history of a terrifying wolf attack 41 years ago when the original coaster opened. As fate would have it, the past repeats itself when the wolf returns. The coaster riders are transformed into werewolves as the steel beast sweeps through the town amid screams and chaos. The townsfolk run for cover as the glowing red eyes and bone-chilling howls signal the return of the terrifying creature. Busch Gardens initially planned to pay tribute to the Big Bad Wolf without reusing the ride's original name. The park asked fans to pick from three names for the new ride: WolfsReign, GeisterWolf or WolfSturm. More than 30,000 voters responded with an overwhelming choice: none of the above. Fans told the park "loud and clear" that only one name would work: Big Bad Wolf. The park relented and chose a twist on the original - Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge. The Wolf's Revenge is not meant to be a copy of the original ride, but rather a reminiscent tribute and a new chapter in the story. The original Big Bad Wolf was a little longer (2,800 feet), a little faster (48 mph) and had swinging seats. The Wolf's Revenge will be similar to Phoenix Rising at Busch Garden Tampa - a much shorter and slightly faster B&M family inverted coaster that opened last summer. The original 1984 Big Bad Wolf was created by Arrow Development, a legendary ridemaker that helped build Disneyland and shaped the modern theme park landscape of roller coasters, dark rides and water rides. Arrow ushered in a period of gimmicky coaster configurations that came to define the ride wars of the 1980s and '90s with the world's first suspended coaster in 1981 at Ohio's Kings Island. The prototype Bat flipped the traditional coaster concept on its head - with the trains swinging from side to side while hanging below the track. The Bat prototype never really worked very well and was retired after only a few years, but a reworked version of Arrow's suspended coaster eventually evolved into the Big Bad Wolf at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The success of the original Big Bad Wolf led to the installation of Arrow suspended coasters around the world, including the 1988 Ninja at Six Flags Magic Mountain. _________ Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Fans All Had the Same Reaction to Warriors' Game 5 Announcement
One of the great quotes from the first four games of the first-round series between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets came courtesy of star forward Jimmy Butler, and it actually came via Instagram. On Saturday night in San Francisco, Butler had to sit out Golden State's Game 3 showdown against the Rockets, after he suffered a pelvic bruise in Game 2. Wtthout Butler, the Warriors needed to rely on Stephen Curry for an epic 36-point performance, and also got big games from Buddy Hield (17 points) and Gary Payton II (16 points). Advertisement Butler took to Instagram to express his admiration of Curry's performance, posting a graphic that featured a Bat signal going up, complete with the "Batman" theme song and Curry's brand logo. Butler wrote, "Thanks batman and team excluding buddy." Since coming to the Warriors in February, Butler and Hield have developed a tight friendship, mostly based on Butler's repeated zinging of Hield, who has taken the flak with a good nature. Thus, the "excluding Buddy" appendix fit perfectly. As if to show how easily he welcomes the Butler jibes, Buddy Hield wore a specially made T-shirt for the team flight from Golden State to Houston for Game 5. The Warriors announced the team's departure on Twitter/X, with Hield prominently wearing the shirt. Advertisement "Ready for takeoff," the team wrote. Replies to the post were almost universally the same: We want that shirt. One fan wrote: "Where can I buy that shirt?" Another added, "I need an excluding buddy shirt in 4xt." Said another, "I'd wear that shirt." Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield (7) celebrates with forward Jimmy Butler III (10) as he speaks to TNT after the game four of the 2025 NBA Playoffs first round against the Houston Rockets at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images Butler returned for Game 4 and scored 27 points in the win. Hield was important, too, making key shots late and playing better-than-usual defense. Butler was still dragging him after the game, though. "To see my guys go out there and get a Dub, it doesn't surprise me. I see how everybody works on their game every single day," Butler said. "Doing the right things, putting the same winning stuff into, like, this bucket. When it's time to tip that bucket over, all that winning comes out. Advertisement "I hate to give Buddy a compliment, so I'm not going to (smiling). But No. 7 on our team really brought the defensive mentality tonight, made some big shots. He stinks. I just got to add that." Game 5 will be played in Houston beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
