Ever since Columbus didn't dip over the precipice and disappear into the cosmos,
or the first images of the earth's circumference from space were beamed back out
to TV screens, people have taken easy comfort in the spherical outlines of
planet earth - but no more - every week across (not around) the planet,
thousands of New Zealanders are - upsetting assumptions, rocking equilibriums
and putting the edge back into the globe.
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Note: links in archived stories may have expired due to the removal of the
stories from, or changes to, the websites from which they were derived.
Newzedge Researcher:
CLARE MARSHALL
newzedge@nzedge.com
Web Publisher
CARLA HOFLER
carla@nzedge.com
Editor
PAUL WARD
paul@nzedge.com
Executive Producer
BRIAN SWEENEY
brian@nzedge.com

Aotearoa in demand
New York Times article asks
‘what’s next?’ of the post-Rings NZ film industry. Insiders predict a slew of
big budget international projects, thanks to the government’s recent promise
that it would reimburse 12.5% of the production costs of films with budgets
exceeding $10 million. First to benefit from the grant is The Lion the Witch
and the Wardrobe, directed by New Zealander Andrew Adamson (Shrek)
and
co-financed by Walt Disney Studios and Walden Media.
(12 February 2004)

A sporting life
NZ-born
BBC sports producer and
director, Malcolm Kemp, has died aged 57 of cancer. Kemp's illustrious career
saw him executive produce seven Grand Nationals, the 1994 football World Cup and
1996 European Cup, and direct the BBC's coverage of the 2002
Commonwealth Games in Manchester - the latter winning both Bafta and RTS awards.
"Malcolm
was an extraordinarily gifted director," said BBC Director of Sport, Peter Salmon.
"From enormous sporting occasions such as the Commonwealth Games to World Darts
from Frimley, Malcolm brought originality, flair and confidence to any project
he touched."
(6 April 2004)
(Registration
site)


Little Sis at #3.
New Zealand-born Daniel Bedingfield's younger sister Natasha enters the UK
charts at #3 with her single "Single". The album is quite
"streety", it is quite RB-ish, with a bit of regae and a couple of
different styles. Very London in that sounds, very multi-cultural, but very
soul. "It is like the soul voice is what unites it all".
(May 2 2004)


Form vs. function
The possible closure of the famed
Freidensreich Hundertwasser-designed public toilets at Kawakawa earned a
detailed write-up in the Independent. Officially opened in 1999, the
stunning facilities were the final project by the acclaimed Austrian
post-modernist architect, who was a NZ resident from the early 1970s to his
death in 2000. Due to the stench caused by large numbers of visitors to the
toilets, the Kawakawa community board has proposed turning them into a
non-functioning art work. The international Hundertwasser Foundation calls the
idea “a betrayal to Hundertwasser and his legacy to Kawakawa.” Hundertwasser’s
former assistant, Richard Smart, agrees: “He was saying you can take the
simplest, most boring, most ugly building and make it into something beautiful.”
(28 March 2004)
Stead's dazzling portrait.
CK Stead's novel about Katherine
Mansfield succeeds on several levels, portraying Mansfield as human, flawed, in
love, highly intelligent and excited about her career. He believes that what is
important is the life and work of our great writers, and not the manner of their
death. "A fine achievement, rich in sobriety and purpose, in warmth and
dazzling light."
(May 16 2004)



International exposure for local brew
This year's Oscar nominees sipped on
organic coffee supplied by Hawkes Bay company
Kea Foods at the pre-awards banquet held at the Beverly Hills Hilton. Kea
Foods won the contract ahead of suppliers from all over the world, a feat which
part-owner Heather Smith Martin likens to Frodo and Sam successfully returning
the ring to Mt Doom. "The
reception around the world has been really strong," says her husband and
business partner, Andrew Martin. "We've got wonderful people involved with the
company, so I think we can just keep growing it and making it a really
successful New Zealand brand."
(27 February 2004)

Humdinga
Alan Gibbs launches the Gibbs Humdinga
at the Motor Show in Birmingham. A V8 350 bhp five seater go-anywhere machine,
the Humdinga reaching 160 km/h on land and 48 km/h on the water. Says Gibbs,
"There is vastly more suitable water for mankind to enjoy than mountains to
drive over." Meanwhile the Gibbs Aquada
continues its thrill-a-second ride as BBC
correspondent David Gregory unstraps himself: "I have never had so much fun
in a car." And Virgin Atlantic Airways Chairman Sir
Richard Branson has set a new record for the fastest crossing of the
English Channel by an amphibious vehicle. (90 minutes). Alan Gibbs has slashed
the price of the Aquada in half because response has been such that the company
will increase production substantially. Ticket price is $190K NZ plus GST, or
£75K including VAT.
(19 May 2004)

A sporting life
NZ-born
BBC sports producer and
director, Malcolm Kemp, has died aged 57 of cancer. Kemp's illustrious career
saw him executive produce seven Grand Nationals, the 1994 football World Cup and
1996 European Cup, and direct the BBC's coverage of the 2002
Commonwealth Games in Manchester - the latter winning both Bafta and RTS awards.
"Malcolm
was an extraordinarily gifted director," said BBC Director of Sport, Peter Salmon.
"From enormous sporting occasions such as the Commonwealth Games to World Darts
from Frimley, Malcolm brought originality, flair and confidence to any project
he touched."
(6 April 2004)
(Registration
site)


"For many NZ is the new utopia"
The flood of US immigrants seeking a
better life in NZ continues - with good reason, according to a lengthy San
Francisco Gate article. "It's
like California, it's like San Francisco, it's like the Old West. But better.
For those of us raised with a typical cartography centered on the Northern
Hemisphere, NZ has always represented the edge of the earth. But since Peter
Jackson's film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings has turned the NZ
capital of Wellington into a burgeoning Wollywood and 9/11 has made escaping to
"Middle-earth" look increasingly attractive, NZ has experienced a rush of
immigration and foreign real estate investment." Currently, 40% of foreign investments in
NZ have US involvement. The figure seems set to rise, thanks to an active
recruiting campaign of skilled Americans by the Helen Clark's Labour government.
(20 April 2004)

History made by "best side ever"
The NZ Black Caps have leaped from 8th place to 3rd in world
one-day cricket
rankings thanks to their first ever series win over South Africa. "It feels
great," said captain Stephen Fleming of the 5-1 victory. "It's
a wonderful day to create history and we've done it pretty well." Records
continued to fall in the ensuing Test series, in which NZ achieved its highest
ever score against South Africa (584-8), Scott Styris posted the best score by a
NZ batter against South Africa (170), and Chris Cairns made an astonishing 100
runs in one session, racing from 53 to 158 between tea and stumps. Former NZ
wicket-keeper, Ian Smith, called the side the "best ever" - high praise indeed
coming from a member of NZ's 1980s super-team. Despite the Black Caps' top form,
the Test series eventually ended in a draw.
(18-31 March 2004)


Jack Foster, 71
Legendary marathoner Jack Foster died after a cycling accident south of Rotorua.
He was the marathon silver medallist at the 1974 Commonwealth Games in
Christchurch, where he set his personal best time at the age of 41.
(6 June 2004)


Oh Happy Days
Auckland performance producers, designers, choreographers and
maestros-in-general Mike Mizrahi and Marie Adams and a team of 150 created Louis
Vuitton's 150th anniversary celebrations around the world with the new LV store
at 5th and 57th being the centerpiece: "The real surprise was the mix of
performance art-style entertainment. Models dressed as old-fashioned travelers
carrying Louis Vuitton luggage moved in and out of the video screen wall.
Acrobats jumped out of spaces in the wall, down onto hidden trampolines and
flipped in synchronicity with the music and each other. And as a finale, a
gospel choir belted out "Oh, Happy Day" as a makeshift Eiffel Tower
constructed completely of Louis Vuitton luggage rose up from the ground, and the
crowd cheered wildly. "
(10 February 2004)

Otago is "Lord of the Reds"
"The Pinot Noir grail is to be found in Central Otago," writes British
wine expert Janice Robinson in the latest World Atlas of Wine. The availability
of Pinot Noir and other New Zealand wines in Tokyo has been greatly enhanced by
the opening of Aotea Rangi Restaurant in Ebisu, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. Manager
Takeshi Ishiguro returned from a visit to New Zealand so inspired that he opened
a restaurant dedicated solely to New Zealand seafoods and wine, including a
broad selection of Central Otago Pinots.
(May 14 2004)

Ringing in the changes
Tourism is predicted to overtake dairy
as NZ's top export earner by mid-2004 - a phenomenon largely attributed to
Lord of the Rings hype. The country's newfound status as a must-see
destination is confirmed by a spate of Rings-related travel stories, in the
Scotsman,
Boston Herald,
Taipei Times. The breathtaking Taranaki backdrop in The Last Samurai
is another reason to take the long-haul flight, according to a second
Scotsman
article.
(22 March 2004)
(CNN link expired)

Best of the rest
Sunday Business Post writer
decides to test the theory that NZ is "the most beautiful place in the world,"
and
finds the statement to be no exaggeration. "There
is simply no enviable natural feature that New Zealand does not have, barring a
desert or, perhaps, salt flats ... If you cherry-picked the best of the Alps,
the Caribbean, Scandinavia and Ireland and crammed it all into two islands the
size of Britain, you'd have New Zealand."
(8 February 2004)

Black sticks blitz
The NZ women's hockey team emerged victorious from its 4-Test series against
India in May. The Kiwis took an unbeatable lead by drawing the third Test after
winning the first two.
(9 May 2004)
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"The New Zealand native who helped open the door to the stars"
William Pickering, one of the leading
figures in US space exploration, died of pneumonia in California aged 92. A
graduate of Canterbury University and the California Institute of Technology,
Wellington-born Pickering rose to prominence as Director of the US Air Force's
Jet Propulsion Laboratory. It was in this capacity that he oversaw America's
first successful space flight and subsequent decades of planetary discovery. "Dr
Pickering was one of the titans of our nation's space program," said current JPL
director, Charles Elachi. "It was his leadership that took America into space
and opened up the moon and planets to the world." Similarly glowing epitaphs
appeared in the
New York Times,
Guardian,
Sydney
Morning Herald, and
Independent.
"[He]
brought a vision and passion to space exploration that was remarkable," said
NASA's Associate Administrator for Space Science, Ed Weiler, in Pickering's
official obituary. "His pioneering work is the very foundation we have built
upon to explore our solar system and beyond."
(17 March 2004)
(Free registration site)

Another award for the kete
Niki Caro’s Whale Rider was named
Best International Film at the 2004 IFP Independent Spirit Awards in Los
Angeles. The IFP
website calls Whale Rider a “radiant story of an exceptional
little girl's coming of age, and of a proud Maori community's struggle to
embrace new ways of thinking.”
(28 February 2004)

Just in case you missed that one..
The Return of the King picked up
yet another prize en route to the Oscars; Best International Film at the
inaugural Directors Guild of Great Britain awards.
(22 February 2004)

Hidden treasures
Time Asia recommends Marlborough’s Old St Mary’s Convent,
Wanganui’s Bridge to Nowhere
lodge, and The Station in
Paekakariki to readers wishing to stay off the beaten track. “There's plenty
of the country's dreamscape left for those who want wide-screen scenery but
don't care for Middle Earth hype.”
(29 March 2004)

Garland Coma
New Zealand-born political cartoonist for the Daily
Telegraph since 1966, Nicholas Garland has provided 40 woodcut illustrations for
the new Novela by son Alex "The Beach" Garland. The book describes the
dream-like interior life of a man left permanently semi-conscious after being
beaten up on a train. Garland senior, now knighted, drew the original satirical
comic strip The Wonderful World of Barry McKenzie for Private Eye in the 1960s.
(27 June 2004)


Edge to the curve
NZ artists Claire Hammon and Nadia Hunt
took part in the inaugural Curvy Exhibition, organised by Australia's Yen
magazine and M-One-11 clothing. Curvy was set up to promote the best of female
design worldwide - encompassing illustration, graffiti, photography,
graphics, and animation. After its opening in Sydney, Curvy will show in
Auckland,
London, LA, Tokyo,
Toronto, Milan, Paris, Barcelona, Singapore and Sao Paulo. The exhibition is
also available in book form (pictured above).
(June 2004)

Warner devours Cannibal Dog
Marina Warner recommends Anne Salmond’s The Trial of the Cannibal Dog:
Captain Cook in the South Seas as essential holiday reading in the
Guardian’s annual summer poll of leading authors, journalists, and critics.
“The historian Anne Salmond writes with passion and a sense of human drama rare
in the politically sensitive field of empire [Cannibal Dog] is her
latest: a magnum opus, it combines stirring adventures on the high seas with
eye-opening, original historiography.”
(19 June 2004)

"The most influential American criminologist of his time"
Pioneering criminologist and novelist,
Norval Morris, has died in Chicago aged 80. Born in Auckland, Morris studied in
Australia, France, and England before embarking on his 30-year academic career
at the University of Chicago in 1964. As well as penning numerous acclaimed
works of non-fiction and fiction, Morris founded the Melbourne University
Criminology Department, the UN Institute in Tokyo, the Centre for Criminal
Studies in Chicago, and the world's preeminent criminology journal, Crime and
Justice: A Review of Research. According to the Guardian, "He
was an institution-builder of unmatched influence, and his ideas about
punishment have transformed the ways people think."
(9 April 2004)

World class
Dr John Bedbrook, President and CEO of
American GM crop developer Verdia, has returned to his native NZ as part of the
government's
World Class New Zealanders business advisory program. Bedbrook recently
spoke at the Bio2004 convention in San Francisco.
(June 2004)

Brave new world
A joint Japanese-NZ research expedition
hopes to discover new forms of life 1,850m below sea-level off the north-east
coast of NZ. The team will venture by submarine to the Brothers Volcano, where
warm, mineral-laden water is believed to nurture countless unknown species. The
scientists involved compare the magnitude of their undertaking to NASA’s current
exploration of Mars.
(16 February 2004)

Far and away
A team of
NZ and Japanese astronomers at Mount John Observatory have discovered Earth's
most distant planetary neighbour. The planet - which is about the size of
Jupiter - was located 17,000 light years away, in the middle of the Milky Way
galaxy. Japan's Nagoya University has since promised a new multimillion dollar
telescope for the South Island observatory, which is surrounded by clear, dry
air perfect for star-gazing.
(26 April 2004)

Te reo on air
BBC notes the launch of NZ’s
first nationwide Maori language TV station. The inaugural broadcast comes 13
years after the Supreme Court ruled that the government was legally bound (by
the Treaty of Waitangi) to protect its native tongue. Programs include daily
news and weather reporting with a Maori perspective, subtitled dramas, and
traditional cooking shows. “The launch of Maori television is yet another
milestone for us and our language,” said academic Huirangi Waikerepuru.
(26 March 2004)

Flax attack
After a brief 1960s hey-day, NZ flax (phormium)
has returned as “the drama queen of trendy garden designs” in LA. According to
TV horticulturist Maureen Gilmer, “Phormiums are the most exciting new plants to
enter the American marketplace. They offer a rainbow of colour and exciting form
all year without flowers. This quintessential plant of mid-century modern
freeways is coming round again, this time with a whole new look and feel. Its
size may have been civilized, but the colours have definitely gone wild.”
(12 April 2004)

Smells like green spirit
A Californian company claims to have captured the essence of Aotearoa in a
bottle. The Demeter Fragrance Library produces scented candles and room sprays
ranging in weirdness from Chocolate Chip Cookie to Fuzzy Navel. The recently
released New Zealand line draws inspiration from “New Zealand’s
extraordinary natural beauty, unspoiled ecosystems, and varied terrain. This
fresh, green, outdoor fragrance blends notes of plant leaves, barks, grass,
snow, ocean, river, and stone. It is a unique combination of the floral of the
lowland rainforests of southwestern New Zealand; the rich, loamy soil that
develops under the canopy of the rain forest; and the pure, unspoiled rainwater
that makes the lush and varied vegetation possible.”
(26 February 2004)
(Free registration site)


Sticking it to the competition
Both the NZ men’s and women’s hockey
teams have qualified for the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. It will be the fourth
time the women’s team (the Black Sticks) have competed at the Games. Says
goalkeeper
Helen Clarke, a veteran of the last three challenges: “To go to one is
very special. To make a third is fantastic.”
(25 March 2004)
(link expired)


Edge of Eden
A NZ themed garden is to feature at the
most prestigious horticultural event of the year - the
RHS Chelsea Garden Show, May 25-8. The 100% Pure NZ Ora Garden of well-being
is inspired by Maori mythology surrounding Mt Ngongotaha in the central North
Island. Designed by
Kim Jarrett and Trish
Waugh, the display includes living tree fern sculptures by master carver Lyonel
Grant.
(25 April 2004)


What's cooking good looking?
NZ-born Brad Farmerie – head chef at
Peter Gordon’s Public – was named one of the New York culinary scene’s rising
stars, in a Post piece entitled ‘Lord of the Ranges.’ As well as
“impressing diners and restaurant reviewers with dishes like kangaroo with
coriander falafel, grilled ox tongue and New Zealand snapper,” Farmerie is
reportedly turning the heads of female foodies with his “boyish good looks.”
(7 March 2004)

Talent with depth
Observer wine critic, Tim Atkin,
looks beyond the ubiquitous NZ Sauvignon Blanc, recommending instead our Pinot
Gris, Riesling, Syrah, and - above all - Pinot Noir. “NZ may produce only 0.79
per cent of the world's vino, but in boxing argot it punches above its weight.
It has also achieved the near miraculous feat of persuading us Brits to spend
more than £5 on a bottle … People clearly believe that NZ gives them what they
pay for.” Atkin’s “4 great wines with the taste of NZ;” 2002 Esk Valley Black
Label Merlot/Cabernet/ Malbec, 2002 Cloudy Bay Chardonnay, 2002 Pegasus Bay
Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon, and 2002 Quartz Reef Pinot Noir. The
Star Bulletin’s
Roberto Viernes agrees with Atkin’s pronouncement on NZ viticulture’s shifting
strengths: “There is no doubt that NZ is already a proven leader among quality
producers of sauvignon blanc. Now it is making a splash with pinot noirs that
rival the best from California, and in general at better prices.” His picks:
Crossings Winery Pinot Noir (Marlborough) and Ata Rangi Pinot Noir
(Martinborough).
(22 February 2004)

Northern exposure
Philippine Star travel
writer makes a good stab at the North Island, with a two-part article relating
his adventures. The first piece covers Auckland and the Waikato, the
second, Waitomo, the Coromandel, and Rotorua. Favourite spots include Hot Water
Beach, the Otorohanga Kiwi House, and the Waitomo Caves.
(1 February 2004)
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Pushing the boundaries
Dunedin born dancer/choreographer Carol
Brown has won two major European awards; the
NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology & the Arts) Dream Time
Award in the UK, and the
Ludwig Forum International Art Prize for Innovation in Germany. Brown is
renowned for her ground-breaking approach to her medium, which is typified by
collaborations with artists of other media and a blurring of traditional dance
boundaries. “I see theatre space as both a physical stage for the meeting of
bodies and a site for the intersection of bodies of thought,” she says.
(June 2004)


Two Cars, too beautiful
Two Cars, One Night by Taika
Waititi was named Best Short Film at Germany’s prestigious Berlinale festival.
The film, which also showed at
Sundance 2003, explores
the relationship which develops between two children while waiting for their
parents at a rural NZ pub. Said the Berlinale judges; “This beautifully
photographed black-and-white film reflects human codes and behaviour in a
charming and poetic way.”
(10 February 2004)

Jane and the Weta
Weta Workshop is collaborating with
Toronto-based animation house Nelvana to produce a CGI television series of
Martin Baynton's popular Jane and the Dragon books. The 26-episode series
is Weta's first foray into children's programming. "We
have enjoyed a wonderful opportunity to create a fantastical world around the
writings of J.R.R. Tolkien," says Weta Workshop founder Richard Taylor. "It is
therefore a great treat to be able to create our own world for Jane and her
Dragon."
(2 April 2004)

(link expired)
Roberts New Yorker for NY.
The Citizens
for NYC awarded their 2004 New Yorker for New York award to Kevin Roberts at
a dinner at the Waldorf Astoria, also honouring Walter Cronkite, Nane Annan and
Kati Marton. “The Saatchi & Saatchi family exemplifies this spirit of
public service that is at the Citizens for NYC’s core.” In accepting,
Roberts says he is fortunate to live on the island at the centre of the world,
and also the ones on the edge.
(5 April 2004)


Edge dimension
Textile artist Clare Plug contributed
two works to the Fiberart International 2004 biennial, which recently
moved to New York’s Museum of Arts & Design from the Pittsburgh Centre of the
Arts. A review in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette describes her pieces,
Resonance and Promenade, as “exceptional … tactile and dimensionally
illusional.”
(31 July 2004)

Brothers in arts
An opinion piece in the Age asks:
“Why don't Australian and New Zealand arts sectors cooperate more?” The lengthy
article examines the difference between the two nations in regards to arts
funding, profiles the few artists enjoying a successful trans-Tasman career, and
addresses the film industry phenomenon that is Peter Jackson (“Before Peter,
people like Jane Campion had to go overseas to build their careers.”) NZ film
commission head, Ruth Harley, suggests forming Tasman Inc. to promote industry
development on both sides of the ocean: “The Scandinavians do it and so, on a
broader scale, does the European industry as a whole. There is already a good
level of collaboration, but I don't think that Australians realise the NZ
industry is relevant.” Post-Oscars claims of an Antipodean invasion of Hollywood
- such as the Guardian's
'The Australasians are coming!' - hint at a powerful and unified
strength amassing Down Under; perhaps it's time to make it official.
(24 March 2004)

Edge hero brought to life
Ernest Rutherford takes centre stage in
Irish writer Brian Cathcart's latest book,
The Fly
in the Cathedral:
How a small group of
Cambridge scientists won the race to split the atom. Rutherford is described
by Cathcart as "the battleship of physics" in what
Popular Science
calls "a fascinating story [told] superbly well."
(7 March 2004)


Comic genius
Martin Emond, internationally renowned
comic-book artist, illustrator, and tattooist, died in LA on March 19 aged 34.
Emond created the popular character Switchblade (star of NZ clothing brand
Illicit) and the acclaimed White Trash and Rolling Red Knuckles
series, the latter of which earned him a cult following in Japan. An inspiration
to his Kiwi contemporaries, Emond worked with US giants Marvel and DC Comics,
and collaborated with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles creator Kevin Eastman,
hardcore rocker Glen Danzig, and Tundra’s Gordon Rennie. He was working on an
animated version of Rolling Red Knuckles for Pirate.Net, a subsidiary of
Fox TV, when he died. Silver Bullet described him as “a prolific creator
who worked to support up and coming artists and never let success go to his
head.” see also NZ
Listener obituary
(20 March 2004)


MetService nets big fish
The NZ MetService has sold a locally
made weather graphics system to the BBC for a sum rumoured to be in the
millions. The state-of-the-art software package - Weatherscape XT - is the most
up to date version of the system, which is already being used by channels in
Australia,
Europe,
Dubai, Turkey, Beirut, Saudi Arabia and Asia. "That the world's leading weather
broadcaster has chosen MetService staff and products to update its weather
presentation is a real endorsement of our people and their skills, " said CEO
John Lumsden. "The original software development has well and truly paid for
itself, and we've got great hopes for this new version, Weatherscape XT."
(13 March 2004)


Giant kauri tragically felled
NZ mourns the loss of its preeminent cultural historian, Michael King. The
author of 34 books - including the groundbreaking autobiographical work Being
Pakeha and acclaimed biographies of Dame Whina Cooper, Hone Tuwhare, and
Janet Frame - King was honoured last year as a "giant kauri" of NZ literature at
the inaugural Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement, and named New
Zealander of the Year by the New Zealand Herald. His Penguin
History of New Zealand has sold a staggering 70,000 copies since its
publication last October, highlighting the great esteem in which he is held by
everyday New Zealanders as a chronicler of their times. King was killed
instantly in a car crash on March 30 - along with his wife Maria Jungowska -
just weeks after announcing his full recovery from throat cancer.
(31 March 2004)

Review of the Market Years
Illinois' Hillsdale College, published an overview of New Zealand Government
reforms in the 80s and 90s, penned by former NZ MP Maurice McTigue. The article
argued that high living standards result from significant ingenuity operating in
a free market environment, not from protectionism, taxation and layers of
Government.
(May 15 2004)

Around the world in 58 days
NZers Mike Beasley and Fraser Brown were
part of the 12-strong crew in billionaire adventurer Steve Fossett's record
breaking round-the-world sailing victory. Fossett and co. circumnavigated the
globe in 58 days, 9 hours, 32 minutes, and 45 seconds - shaving nearly 6 days
off the previous record. Fossett's 38m maxi-catamaran - Cheyenne - was built in
Auckland by Cookson Boats.
(7 April 2004)


A race of extremes
John O’Loghlen (NZ investment banker
at Goldman Sachs, NY) and Rosa Volz (Wellington IT worker) were the first
non-Mongolian man and woman respectively to finish the 42km Mongolia Sunrise to
Sunset Marathon, “one of the toughest and most unusual [races] in the world.”
Fellow Kiwis John Peterson and Paul O'Connor also took part, with Peterson the
first non-Mongolian veteran to cross the finish line. The race’s difficulty lies
in its altitudinal extremities: runners climb to 1650m above sea level, to
2300m, back to 1700, up again to 2100 and back down to about 1650. Read
O’Loghlen’s account of his experience in the
Listener.
(14 June 2004)


Docherty takes on the world ... and wins
Bevan Docherty won gold at the 2004
Triathlon World
Championship in Funchal, Madeira. Fellow Kiwis Hamish Carter and Shane Reed
came in at 6th and 7th place, respectively, with Samantha Warriner finishing
13th in the women's event. Debbie Tanner came 5th in the women's under-23 race.
(9 May 2004)
(link expired)

Chick to watch
Massey University fashion graduate,
Alice Goulter, profiled in a ‘Behind the Seams’ feature by Australian teen
magazine, Chik. At the time of the interview, the 23-year-old was working
as Design Assistant at Mossimo Woman, Australia. She has since been promoted to
head women’s wear designer, and releases her first range in October.
(March 2004)
(no link avaliable)

You say shiraz, I say syrah
The Age praises NZ syrah - not to
be confused with Australian shiraz. "Like
the name itself, Kiwi syrah - see-rahhh - has a wistful quality to it.
Delicately perfumed, intensely rich in colour, it is generally much finer and
lighter in structure than the warm, ripe Aussie shiraz we are used to."
Recommended are Craggy Range 2001 Le Sol Syrah and 2001 Block 14 Syrah, and Te
Mata 2002 Bullnose Syrah and 2002 Woodthorpe Syrah-Viognier.
(24 February 2004)

Up close and personal
Kaikoura features in the Guardian’s
top ten whale-watching tours around the world. “Head to [Whale Watch] for an
excellent chance of seeing 66-foot sperm whales … humpbacks whales, killer
whales (orca), and the small Hectors dolphin, a NZ native arriving during June
and July.”
(17 April 2004)

Roughing it?
Base Backpacker’s newly launched Sanctuary facilities –
luxury, women’s-only levels in its Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch
hostels – featured in the LA Times’ Youth Watch column. “With
bungee jumping, backpacker buses and some of the best youth hostels in the
world, NZ has been the country to watch for innovative services for young
travellers.”
(15 February 2004)
(Free registration site)
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Riding her wave of success
Whale Rider star, Keisha
Castle-Hughes, spoke to the New York Post about her week spent in
Hollywood prior to the 2004 Academy Awards - for which she was the youngest ever
nominee in the Best Actress category. Her engagements included presenting The
Simpsons creators with an animation prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards,
featuring as a guest on Oprah, and attending the Independent Spirit
Awards with Peter Jackson. Castle-Hughes wore a dress by NZ designer Liz
Mitchell to the Oscars, with a whale pin in her hair for good luck.
(28 February 2004)
( link
expired)



Homecoming King
2,500 fans took part in a "low-key"
ceremony to honour Peter Jackson and fellow Oscar winners at the Wellington
Events Centre. Jackson and co each received a glass goblet to add to their
already overflowing mantlepieces, as well as a glowing mayoral address. Jackson
has been profiled by almost every major news source since his triumph at the
Oscars, including
CNN and the
BBC. Said
the BBC, "[His]
native
NZ has always reserved its greatest adulation for sporting giants like Richard
Hadlee and Jonah Lomu
but a place must now be found on the victory dais for director Peter Jackson."
(February - March 2004)

Working 9 'til... 9
UK-based digital media company - Mere
Mortals – wants to establish a NZ office in two years time, enabling a 24-hour
working day for its trans-hemisphere employees. Managing director, David
Jeffries, cites NZ’s LotR-enhanced reputation for cutting edge technology,
strong support of new businesses, and relatively cheap employment costs as
reasons behind the move, which he describes as “a life dream.”
(31 March 2004)


Getting lippy
"With
a vocal arsenal that ranges from crisp rapping to a powerful singing voice,
Natalia 'Tali' Scott can outstrip any UK competition." So says the
Independent in a glowing review of the Taranaki-born MC's debut album,
Lyric on My Lip. MC Tali honed her skills in Melbourne before making a name
for herself in Bristol, one of the toughest and most influential drum&bass
scenes in the world. Lyric was produced by Tali's mentor, Roni Size, and
released on his acclaimed Full Cycle label.
(5 March 2004)


Tales from the city's edge
Canterbury School of Fine Arts graduates
Kent Bell, Sara Givins, Damon MacLeod, Rachel Brown, and Reece Sanders have
mounted a joint exhibition at Melbourne's Conical Gallery, running April 23 -
May 8. Entitled City Psyche, the show wittily explores the often tenuous
relationship between fantasy and reality informing our everyday urban existence.
(23 April 2004)


History goes digital
New York Times reviews ‘Paradise
Now,’ a diverse exhibition of contemporary NZ and Pacific art currently on show
at the Asia Pacific Society Museum on Park Avenue. Lisa Reihana’s
multiple-screen digital video installation, Native Portraits n.19897, is identified as
the show’s “standout.” In the piece, Reihana and friends assume different roles
and costumes to re-enact (and re-work) the 19th century studio photographs of
Maori individuals and families. Says the Times reviewer, “A beautifully executed
examination of the intricacies, intimacies, manipulations and betrayals that
underlie relationships built on colonialism, Ms. Reihana's piece is highly
specific, universally applicable and utterly legible. However, it is far from
the only reason to visit this instructive exhibition.”
(5 March 2004)
(Free registration site)

Giant kauri tragically felled
NZ mourns the loss of its preeminent cultural historian, Michael King. The
author of 34 books - including the groundbreaking autobiographical work Being
Pakeha and acclaimed biographies of Dame Whina Cooper, Hone Tuwhare, and
Janet Frame - King was honoured last year as a "giant kauri" of NZ literature at
the inaugural Prime Minister's Awards for Literary Achievement, and named New
Zealander of the Year by the New Zealand Herald. His Penguin
History of New Zealand has sold a staggering 70,000 copies since its
publication last October, highlighting the great esteem in which he is held by
everyday New Zealanders as a chronicler of their times. King was killed
instantly in a car crash on March 30 - along with his wife Maria Jungowska -
just weeks after announcing his full recovery from throat cancer.
(31 March 2004)

Thunderbirds are go!
NZ software company, Virtual Katy, will
lend its world-class sound engineering services to London's Pinewood Studios,
for the live-action remake of Thunderbirds. Virtual Katy - which
was also used on The Lord of the Rings - is described as "revolutionary"
by film industry insiders. "What
took 5 hours of intensive splicing by sound engineers can now be done
automatically by Virtual Katy in a mere 10 minutes," says founder John McKay.
(12 March 2004)
( link
expired)
A voice to remember
A Stanford University obituary paid
tribute to Susan Okin, the Auckland-born author, lecturer, and activist
described by a Stanford University colleague as “perhaps the best feminist
political philosopher in the world.” The author of three acclaimed books –
Women in Western Political Thought (1979), Justice, Gender and the Family
(1989), and Is Multiculturalism Bad for Women? (1999) – Okin was one of
the leading feminist voices in the study of Western family and employment law.
She died aged 57.
(12 March 2004)


The good life
Auckland was ranked 5th and Wellington
15th out of 215 cities in the annual quality of life survey by Mercer Human
Resource Consulting. Said Mercer director, Rob Knox, "Despite
NZ's geographic location and distance from the key markets of Europe, North
America and Asia, NZ cities are a great destination for businesses to locate
themselves in as they provide political stability, high levels of health care
and sanitation, and access to key amenities." Zurich and Geneva topped the list
for the second year running.
(2 March 2004)


Edge eco-system
The unique bird-life native to NZ and
its surrounding islands is the subject of major articles in the
Japan and New York
Times. The first, by a Japan-based natural historian, expresses wonder "that
a handful of species have not only made it as visitors, but have set up home
there, establishing longstanding populations," while the latter addresses the
remarkable effort on the part of NZ scientists and citizens to prevent the
extinction of national icons such as the yellow-eyed penguin and kiwi.
(19 February 2004)

Hero's exit for Cairns
Chris Cairns retired from international
Test cricket with a bang on the Black Caps tour of England. In the second Test
he beat Viv Richards' previous record of 84 Test sixes, knocking four sixes and
10 fours in his 82-run innings. On the last day of the third Test - his birthday
- Cairns was agonizingly close to a 10-wicket haul. As it was, he took 12
wickets in the series - double the amount of any other NZ bowler on the tour.
Cairns will continue to play one-day internationals.
(May-June 2004)


26 reasons to love NZ
Australian Harper’s Bazaar gives
an A-Z run down of Kiwi style in response to last year’s Loreal New Zealand
Fashion Week. Beneath the header “small enough to get seriously edgy, big enough
to do it in style,” the article covers everything from Auckland city and
upcoming Wellington based designer Angeline Harrington, to “cult” label Zambesi.
The ‘E’ section is devoted to all things edgy: “Forget florals. The best NZ
design is brooding, dangerous and not afraid to be difficult.”
(March 2004)
(no link avaliable)


Fashion's high fliers
Air NZ has launched a much-needed overhaul of its flight attendants' uniforms
(last updated in 1991), with Elisabeth and Neville Findlay of Zambesi at the
helm. The airline was recently announced as the new naming-rights sponsor
of NZ Fashion Week, so obviously needs to look the part.
(4 May 2004)
NZ has the eco edge
According to New Scientist, NZ is
one of few countries actively promoting responsible eco-tourism. National
Geographic clearly agrees, awarding NZ 78 points out of 100 in its annual
eco-tourism survey. "The NZ Department of Conservation takes these challenges
seriously. Their management of resources should be examples for many others."
(4 March 2004)

Walking the South Island
Berni Moestafa, contributor from Jakata, walks part of the South Island.
"New Zealand has many faces. It is a sub-tropical forest with lush ferns
and unusual old trees, or a strip of perfect white beach, an underground world
of moist … caves; not just about mountains and lakes. There is much to see for
a country about twice the size of Java. A third of the land is protected and
despite much … wilderness the country is free of dangerous and poisonous
animals, all this means to communicate … which the country benefits through a
well-developed tourism industry.
(May 16 2004)

Kiwi content for Oscars loot
This year’s official Oscars goodie-bag – handed out to every presenter,
performer and nominee – included a trip for two to NZ, with accommodation at
Treetops Luxury Lodge & Estate in Rotorua. With recipients including Julia
Roberts, Jim Carrey, Angelina Jolie and Uma Thurman, some serious star-spotting
could be on the cards.
(29 February 2004)


Café crawl
An Age tour of Wellington's
thriving
café
scene includes stops at Fidel's,
Pravda, Red Square, Espressoholic, and Lido. According to interviewee and
Fidel's owner, Roger Young, "There
are some of the best cafés in the world here. It's because the owners are varied
and lively, and really enjoy what they do. That's why I do it."
(8 May 2004)
(Registration site)

Kiwi cuisine
The NZ Film Commission party provided
the best food at Cannes, according to a festival in the Age. The
NZFC flew in six top chefs from Auckland for the event.
(23 May 2004)
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