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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.

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Newzedge Researcher:
CLARE MARSHALL 
newzedge@
nzedge.com

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CARLA HOFLER
carla@nzedge.com

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PAUL WARD
paul@nzedge.com

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BRIAN SWEENEY
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Black magic: Wallabies brutalised; Sprinkboks slaughtered
Panic on the streets of Sydney. "The end of the World" was the headline in the Sydney's Sun Herald. From the haka ("without question, the greatest ritual in sport") onwards, the Aussies were "outpaced, outclassed, outmuscled and outmanoeuvred." In a fine display of running rugby the fast and furious All Blacks scalped the Wallabies in a record victory at Telstra Stadium (a fortress "overwhelmed, sacked, and destroyed") winning 50 - 21. The sweet and joyous win produced some stunning tries to the flying AB backline: Rokokoko rocks Sydney. The previous week they went on a Springbok safari, thrashing South Africa 52 - 16 in the Tri-Nations opener. It was South Africa's worst home defeat with the ABs producing a fine display of getting-it-wide rugby based around a sturdy forward platform. 102 points in 2 matches. Alan Jones: "almost unprecedented and humiliating."
(20 July 2003)
  
     

What lies beneath…
A month-long exploration of the Tasman Sea by NZ and Australian scientists has uncovered hundreds of new species of fish and invertebrates. Previously unknown critters trawling the depths include gelatinous sea cucumbers, fish resembling globs of mucous and the "the fangtooth" - a creature with teeth longer than its own head. Classification of the collected species is expected to take until the end of the year.
(9 June 2003)
    

Hi-tech NZ
NZ was named 6th most high-tech nation in an annual survey by the IDC/World Times Information Society Index. The list - topped by Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands - ranks 55 countries in their use of information technology in the fields of economic, social and technological growth.
(23 June 2003)
   

4WD Bellissima!
Contemporary artist Michael Stevenson is representing NZ at the 50th Venice Biennale 2003 - the oldest and most prestigious art event in the world. Described by the NZ Selection Committee as "a passionate archivist of our culture," Stevenson is currently NZ's artist-in-residence at the Kunstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin. The work he has created for the Biennale - 'This is the Trekka' - brings together social, economic, and art history in the shape of a restored Trekka car parked inside an 18th century cathedral and surrounded by NZ Dairy Board butter cartons. The Biennale runs from June to November this year.
(June-November 2003)
   

Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm ... 35?!
Canterbury University psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa lumps men of scientific brilliance and criminals in the same psychological boat, claiming that both dwindle in the creative stakes post-35 - typically sapped by marriage! Kanazawa gathered the ages of 280 scientists at the time of their major breakthroughs and discovered that - like criminals - most were at their productive peak during early adulthood. His theory? Men strive for success in order to attract marital partners - once a wife is snared, the drive to impress recedes. Kanazawa's findings - which, incidentally, concur with his study of artistic geniuses - are to be published in the Journal of Research in Personality and New Scientist.
(11 July 2003)
   

Life in the fast lane
Scott Dixon has been dubbed "the new man to beat" on the Indy Racing circuit after a series of remarkable performances behind the wheel. The 22-year-old followed up his Honda Indy 225 victory by blitzing the field at the Sun Trust Indy Challenge in Richmond, Vancouver, in what was the first wire-to-wire victory in Indy Racing League history.
(June 2003)
  

Wild West Coast food in Hokitika
Hokitika's Wildfoods Festival rates a mention in a New York Daily News feature on icky eating. "More than 20,000 adventurous eaters gather to sample such delights as bulls' penises and sphagnum moss," states the incredulous writer, who goes on to detail the Middle Eastern penchant for sheep's eyes and the insect treats available on the Iowa State University's etymology department website.
(6 July 2003)
  

James treatment for Kiwi 'boys together' tale
The latest play by renowned British actor and writer Lennie James - The Sons of Charlie Paora - features a group of NZ actors telling a quintessentially NZ story. Charlie Paora explores the lives of five schoolboy rugby players who reunite in their 20s to commemorate the death of their coach and mentor. James wrote the autobiographical film Storm Damage and has appeared in Cold Feet and Guy Ritchie's Snatch. The Sons of Charlie Paora debuts at the Royal Court next year.
(7 June 2003)  

    

Home away from home
A proposal to build the first functioning marae in America has been put forward by Maori citizens of Lehi, Utah. The state has one of the highest ratios of NZers per capita in the US, and includes over 300 Maori families - most of which were drawn by their connections to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The project currently awaits the approval of the City of Lehi.
(27 June 2003)
   

Euphoria against the odds
The world premiere of Jane Campion's An Angel at My Table was listed as one of the 50 greatest moments in the Sydney Film Festival's first 50 years of running in a Sydney Morning Herald feature. Despite being interrupted three times by projector problems - "just the worst thing you can do to a director" - the film received a "euphoric" standing ovation and caused "an unseemly rush by distributors to get to Jane."
(6 June 2003)
   

A life lived by the sea
NZ-born WW2 hero, Sir William Crawford, has died in England aged 95. Crawford was gunnery officer and lieutenant-commander aboard the Rodney during the sinking of Germany's great battleship, the Bismarck. His distinguished naval career also saw him at the frontline of the Cuban missile crisis in Washington in 1962. Crawford retired as vice-admiral and KCB in 1963, and continued to sail for pleasure into his 90s.
(5 July 2003)

   

Poetry in a bottle
Guardian wine critic, Malcolm Gluck, bestows lyrical praise on the 2002 Neudorf Sauvignon Blanc and 2000 Wither Hills Chardonnay, rating them each 16.5 and 17.5 out of 20 respectively. "Neudorf," he says, "has the texture of ruffled silk … [while the] burned, buttery, creamy Wither Hills … leaves the impression of roasted cobnuts."
(29 June 2003)

    

A bridge over troubled water
Judith Piepe - social activist and cultural icon - has died in Levin aged 83. Famous for her mysterious origins and friendships with the likes of Cat Stevens and Paul Simon (she was his agent), Piepe's door was always open to young strays seeking their fortune in Soho in the 1960s and 70s. She also created what was effectively Britain's first folk club by inviting her illustrious acquaintances to play at St Anne's Church - with which she had a lasting association. Piepe emigrated to NZ with her second husband, Stephen Delft, in 1981.
(2 July 2003)
   

Lady Ngila
"The costume designer deserves a knighthood." Award-winning Kiwi costumier, Ngila Dickson, receives nameless praise in Empire magazine for her "impressive rendering of 19th century Japan" in previews of Tom Cruise's The Last Samurai - which recently finished filming in Taranaki.
(13 June 2003)

    

Scotsman sees red
Scotsman feature 'Best of the Summer Wine' adds some body to their list with the 1999 Palliser Pinot Noir. Wine critic Rose Murray Brown: "One of New Zealand's best attempts at this grape so far. Really stylish stuff […] My favourite Kiwi red to date."
(21 June 2003)
   

AB greats
Michael Jones, John Kirwan, and Ian Kirkpatrick are the latest All Black legends to be inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame. The official honour will take place at a ceremonial dinner in Sydney, during the final week of the 2003 Rugby World Cup.
(7 July 2003)
   

Paddo pleats to please
Leading Sydney retailer, Belinda Seper, is stocking hand-pleated designs by "New Zealand newcomer" Rachel Pederson at her new store in William Street, Paddington. Pederson's work will hang alongside that of Michelle Jank, Easton Pearson, and Sandra Thom in what Seper describes as "a celebration of the lost art of handicraft … clothing with soul and integrity."
(1 July 2003)
    

Mt Hutt: summer break?
Mt Hutt has been named one of the top 10 alternative summer destinations for students, in a list compiled by popular US website Student Universe. Mt Hutt comes in at No.8 in an eclectic field, which includes Capri, Mallorca and Martha's Vineyard.
(5 June 2003)
     

Painstaking perfection
NZ-born designer Nicole Licht featured in an Age piece on hand-crafted fashion. Licht uses a laborious process to create her own unique fabric; steam-fusing threads between sheets of soluble paper and hand-painting the results, to beautiful effect. "My work appeals to a limited market," says Licht. "You have to remain exclusive or look for outlets overseas. And there's a limited number of garments I can produce anyway."
(29 June 2003)
    

Leading lights and walk-overs
NZ wines rate highly in Tim Atkin's list of 'summer corkers' at their peak of drinkability. 2002 Villa Maria Private Bin Sauvignon Blanc: "I've never tasted a better vintage of this intense, guava, gooseberry and mango-like South Island white from one of NZ's leading lights." 2002 Isabel Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc: "My favourite NZ SB, this one walks all over Cloudy Bay."
(8 June 2003)
   

Sing bravo bravo

Peter Robinson: "Migrateur"
Artist Peter Robinson, exhibiting in Berlin, described in ArtForum as "[fitting] the profile of the artist as a global player ... a migrateur in the emphatic sense." Aware of his edge exoticism but fused in global media culture, his Venice installation mixed premodern Maori myth with cybernetic models. Harald Fricke reviews his recent collection of 25 drawings, which fuse 'kiwi style' appropriation of pop iconography with "high-brow" theoretical explorations. Fricke: "[Robinson's works] are about weathering the contradictions that arise from the mixing of cultures. For him, equanimity and vexation about this state of affairs go hand in hand."
(May 2003)
   

Third Culturist Boyd nets Nabokov 
Brian Boyd-edited Nabokov's Butterflies, an exploration of Nabokov's obsession with butterflies that posits Nabokov's scientific pursuit of lepidoptry as a way of understanding the author more completely, hailed as third culture exemplar in Weekend Australian's 'science reads' review. "Miscellany with a pleasing sense of mania about it ... one of those rare books that combines great charm and extraordinary substance, and that transforms our appreciation of the author and all his work." Author John Fowles in The Spectator found that "the book quivers with life like a recently caught butterfly itself."
(19-20 July 2003)
    

Tali tumeke
MC Tali, Roni Size's edge in the machine, profiled in Guardian review of the dance tent at mud/music fest Glastonbury: "The most notable is Tali, the female hotshot from New Zealand who rose to fame as Roni Size's MC. Her debut solo LP in the pipeline, she struts the stage in a tight red outfit with a wiggle to make the boys swoon. Or holler, as her lyrical ability also does." 
(29 June 2003)
      

Wall Street snaps up Kiwi innovation
A writer for Wall Street Journal declares Auckland-based company Snapperfish Ltd as the best e-mail programme providers for hand-held PCs. "SnapperMail is the cleverest and most capable hand-held e-mail program I've seen. It is the closest thing on a hand-held to the kind of full-featured e-mail programs people use on their PCs." The best feature? 'Finger-Nav' mode, which allows users to scroll through messages and issue commands using their fingertip, as opposed to a stylus.
(21 June 2003)
   

Return of the Native?
As Whale Rider premieres in the UK, the Guardian ponders its impact as NZ and Maori cinema, and the cultural factors at play. "[A]longside the celebration in New Zealand's film industry, there has also been a measure of soul-searching: why, many wonder, has it taken so long to put Maori stories back on international screens after the early 1990s successes of Once Were Warriors ...? [...] Maori represent one of the most vigorous and assertive indigenous cultures in the English-speaking world, but their impact on film has been relatively small." 
(11 July 2003)
      

Waiting in the wings
NZ's "baby blacks" won the Under-21 Rugby World Cup in Oxford, beating Australia 21-10. Said captain Sam Tuitupou (above); "We knew it was our last game as a team and we pulled through. This is very special for is." Last year's winners, South Africa, were defeated by NZ in the semi-finals.
(30 June 2003)
    

Walker's goes awol
Nylon magazine is all praise for Karen Walker's gender-bending Runaway collection, calling it "a perfect blend of daddy's old fishing jackets and backless chiffon mini-dresses." Based in Auckland, Walker attributes her edgy designs to her isolation from the fashion world's major centres: "I think that not being in the fashion scene all the time and not getting hooked up on it too much is actually quite liberating."
(June-July 2003)
   

Laga'aia Lionised
NZ performers feature strongly in Sydney's highly anticipated production of The Lion King. Vincent Harde plays the lead role of Simba, with Water Rats star Jay Laga'aia as his on-stage father, Mufasa. The Disney production opened on Broadway in 1997 and has since been seen by over 17.6 million people. Disney theatrical president, Thomas Schumacher, describes the Sydney cast as "the most gorgeous [he's] ever seen."
(16 June 2003)
   

Edge Polish
New Zealand Edge co-founder and Saatchi & Saatchi global CEO Kevin Roberts interviewed in Poland on the future of advertising and how Saatchis has triumphed through the recession (Advertising Age named it Global Agency Network in 2002). Roberts is asked: what are big issues facing Poland? Experience in making the edge connection informs the answer: "By entering the EU the country is facing a major opportunity, with the potential for economic benefit. Above all, 'Brand Poland' should be promoted, focussing on the colours of its emblem and its [the country's] history." Also, Saatchi UK's Kiwi head James Hall, profiled in The Times on how the agency has thrived: "we were interested in ideas" citing amongst work the acclaimed Full Stop anti-child abuse campaign for NSPCC.
(07 July 2003)
     

The many faces of Cliff Curtis
Tribune feature on Cliff Curtis tracks his career trajectory from Once Were Warriors to Whale Rider. While the two movies appear vastly different in subject and style, Curtis is quick to point out a crucial shared message: "[Both films celebrate] the strength of our women, specifically Maori women, to hold our families together, our communities together, often in cases where our men are failing." Curtis has also made a name for himself in Hollywood as an ethnic chameleon, playing everything from an Iraqi resistance leader in Three Kings to a tattooed Chicano  in Training Day. His next role is in The Runaway Jury - a John Grisham adaptation starring John Cusack, Gene Hackman and Dustin Hoffman. Curtis plays a Cuban-American ex-marine.
(22 June 2003)
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Ted Man Walking 
Kiwi baritone Teddy Tahu Rhodes is the Weekend Australian's cover-boy for his lead role in opera Dead Man Walking, which opens shortly at Adelaide's Festival Theatre. The opera is based on the story of murderer Joseph de Rocher's redemption at the hands of a Louisiana nun - the eponymous Oscar-winning film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn is drawn from the same story. Rhodes is reprising the role he made his own with the San Francisco Opera in 2000. "For me it was really great to be involved in an opera that created that much interest and public debate. People are disturbed and upset and they leave asking questions. You really felt like you were part of something, that it wasn't just entertainment, that it had a message…" 
(19 July 2003)
      

Nuns fly high in Seattle
Seattle Weekly chats with "one of New Zealand's coolest exports" - David Kilgour of The Clean. Kilgour answers questions on a musical career which spans 20 years; from 1981's "coughing, cursive, and practically perfect Boodle Boodle Boodle"  to the "every bit as urgent, acerbic, and exceptional" Getaway two decades later. Featured in a previous issue were Flying Nun stablemates The Tall Dwarves, whose latest CD - The Sky Above the Mud Below - was pronounced "maximally minimalist and cleverly cool."
(May-June 2003)
   

Welding the past
Auto da Fay, Fay Weldon's memoirs spanning her NZ upbringing and early adulthood in London, reviewed in the New York Times. "You hesitate to label Auto da Fay - a virtuoso triple pun on inquisitorial self-punishment - as [Weldon's] first venture at memoir because so much of its material shows up as roots for her novels. So do the wit, the shrewdly disconcerting marksmanship, the refusal to engage herself even with herself … What jolts the attention back is eruptions of incandescence, something other than warmth."
(11 June 2003)
     

The Eastland escape
More movie motivated tourism for the North Island's isolated East Coast: "Whale Rider is a movie with the power to move people - all the way from England to New Zealand. Its beautiful depiction of Eastland Maori culture is supported by a landscape that needs no embellishment from the special effects department. As an unofficial advertisement for antipodean holidays, it's proving to be extremely effective." 
(05 july 2003) 
     

Brothers in arms
The Turkish government is seeking World Heritage listing for Anzac Cove - where the WW1 battle of Gallipoli took place. Turkey believes the site to be of lasting moral value, in that it embodies a unique bond between former combatants. "Many countries had invaded Turkey in the past," says ambassador to Australia, Tansu Okandan, "but in only one case have we allowed the foreign power to give its own name to a part of Turkey. That case is Anzac Cove."
(29 June 2003)
   

The first, second, and third Noel
The trio behind Kiwi comedy act The Four Noels - James Pratt, John Forman, and Jesse Griffin - interviewed in SMH. The group formed in 1996, without any strictly comic ambitions. "We just wanted to create theatre that people would be excited by, and want to come along and see. And it happens to be funny," says Griffin. The Four Noels are regular participants at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival - where they have twice been nominated for awards - and were crowd favourites at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. They also perform frequently on Australia's Triple J radio.
(4 July 2003)
    

NZ ups the anti
NZ joined the first wave of countries to sign the United Nations anti-tobacco treaty on June 16. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control aims to curb tobacco advertising and sponsorship, limit the use of misnomers such as "low-tar" and "light," and place further restrictions on public smoking. 28 countries have so far ratified the pact, which needs at least 40 signatories to come into force.
(16 June 2003)
   

Silver Ferns strike gold
The New Zealand Silver Ferns netball team emphatically shrugged off a decade of being netball's bridesmaids to beat arch rivals Australia 49 - 47 and win the World Champion title in Jamaica. "Finally," said relieved Silver Fern's veteren Lesley Nicol. "It's absolutely bloody brilliant." Captain Anna Rowberry: "It feels absolutely amazing." Australian coach Jill McIntosh: "I think on the night we were just beaten by a better side, slightly better in all aspects of the game."
(21 July 2003)

       

Fagan wields his golden shears
Legendary NZ shearer David Fagan earned his fifth world title before a crowd of 3,000 at Scotland's MacRobert Theatre. Fagan's de-fleecing of 20 sheep in 14 minutes 51 seconds reportedly created "a crescendo of noise and fervour which hadn't been seen on the showground since the last impromptu young farmers' striptease outside the late lamented Herdsman's Bar."
(25 June 2003)
   

Narnia to Aotearoa
The multi-million dollar production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is now likely to be shot substantially in NZ, following the government's decision to allow a tax-exemption grant for film companies shooting in Aotearoa. Helmed by NZ-born director, Andrew (Shrek) Adamson, the film will be the first of a possible series of five adaptations of C.S Lewis' Narnia chronicles. Adamson predicts a LotR-like boost to the country's film community and economy. "As Wellington became Middle-earth, there's a good possibility that locations in New Zealand will become Narnia." From the land first to the sun, "time is money." Adamson tells the LA Times.
(2 July 2003)
   

Words into mouths - Fingering the leap to language
An NYT feature explores the impetus that gave man the edge to evolve from animal to language (the only characteristic that differentiates us from animals). A debate taking in Chomsky and Pinker asks which came first as a communicated symbol - gesture or word? "Dr Michael Corballis, a psychologist at the University of Auckland, believes the gesture came first, in fact as soon as our ancestors started to walk on two legs and freed the hands for making signs."
(15 July 2003)
    

The Magus and his protégés
"Do creative writing courses work? Judge for yourselves." The Guardian's literary gossip column reports on the findings of a recent NZ Listener poll naming the country's top 10 authors under 40. Six of them - Catherine Chidgey, Tim Corballis, Kate Duignan, Paula Morris, Emma Neale, and Emily Perkins - are graduates of Bill Manhire's productive creative writing programme at Victoria University. Damien Wilkins, Chad Taylor, Charlotte Grimshaw and Craig Marriner completed the talented ten.
(5 July 2003)
   

In love with Earth's wild places
Celebrated NZ photographer, Wayne Papps remembered. Papps was best known for his striking images of Antarctica, which he produced as a member of the Australian Antarctic Division. Regarded as one of the world's premiere wilderness photographers, Papps, 43, fell to his death while taking pictures on Bruny Island last month. Australian Antarctic Division director, Tony Press: "Few people have captured the many moods or the spirit of Antarctica as Wayne has done … He was a consummate perfectionist and, like a number of truly creative and sensitive artists, an unassuming and modest man."
(4 June 2003)
     

Queen of the castle
Exuding star quality while remaining "refreshingly down-to-earth", Whale Rider star Keisha Castle-Hughes, feted in the New York Post, The State, and the Seattle Times and is cover-girl in Hawaii's Weekend Star Bulletin. Meanwhile director Niki Caro's script was awarded a US$10,000 Humanitas Prize as the film continues to ride high in North American theatres. The LA Times calls it the "most lyrical and unique film … so far this year," and the Toronto Star demands that director Niki Caro "be added to any list of emerging talent." 
(June 2003)
   

Reconstructionist
Esteemed facial surgeon and dental safety innovator, David Poswillo, has died aged 76. Born in Gisborne, Poswillo's career took him to Australia, England, Wales, Canada, and the US. As well as his role as a surgeon, Poswillo was "one of the most stimulating speakers that trainee surgeons could encounter," worked for the World Health Organisation, was treasurer and senior vice president of the Royal Society of Medicine, and, in 1989, was awarded a CBE. Guardian: "He possessed that rare combination of logical thought and extraordinary imagination that could contemplate future surgical possibilities." See the NZEdge bio of edge predecessor Sir Harold Gillies.
(25 June 2003)
    

Starship enterprise
NZ has notched up its second consecutive win at the annual International Enterprise Olympics with an innovative touchy feely concept - 'Sense': a braille fastfood menu ("food from your fingertips"). The international event, organised by NASA, asked contestants to design a product which would improve the quality of life for the disabled members of their community. The winning team of NZ 16-18 year olds received a substantial cash prize, gold medallions from the Royal Bank of Scotland, and the chance to see their national flag flown in space.
(25 June 2003)
   

Central Park sounds from the edge
A diverse showcase of NZ music was held at New York's Central Park Summerstage on July 13. 'New Zealand Sounds' brought together the "catchy and hummable" tunes of Greg Johnson, lo-fi pop of Christchurch indie band Pine, celebrated Maori-language duo Wai, and King Kapisi's "soul-soaked" brand of Pacific hip hop.
(13 July 2003)
   

Henwood plays Burton
Welsh-Wellingtonian actor, Ray Henwood, thrilled Melbourne audiences with his portrayal of theatre legend Richard Burton, in Mark Jenkins' Playing Burton. The Age: "Henwood's fine performance, beautifully paced, movingly builds real tragic stature for his fascinating subject."
(12 June 2003)
   

Living the high life
Sir Edmund Hillary received a hero's welcome in London at an hour-long signing of his books High Adventure and View from the Summit. Dozens of admirers queued in the rain for a chance to meet Sir Ed, with the earliest arriving at 5am for the 11am signing. First published in 1955, High Adventure was reissued in Britain earlier this year to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Hillary's Everest conquest.
(3 June 2003)
   

Richard's rocky road
Rocky Horror man, Richard O'Brien, interviewed about life and love in the Times. The weekly column - 'Love etc' - invites celebrities to divulge how different relationships have shaped their lives. A typically candid O'Brien discusses, among other things, his feelings towards his parents, his feminine side, and falling in love with the boss's daughter at 17.
(11 June 2003)
   

Bio-dynamic Man
Winemaker James Milton represented NZ at a tasting of bio-dynamic wines at the Vinexpo trade fair in Gironde, France. Bio-dynamic producers are distinguished from the "merely organic" in that they use a variety of homeopathic sprays on their vines. 
(26 June 2003)
   

Something to sing about
Singing star Jonathan Lemalu gave a recital at London's St Lawrence Jewry church as part of the City of London's New Generations series. Financial Times: "In the English-language repertoire the young New Zealander is already a fully formed recitalist, as ripe a character for the comic songs as a matured artist twice his age." The performance was broadcast on BBC Radio 3.
(10 July 2003)
   

That'll be 2 Gandalfs and a Bilbo, thanks
A series of Lord of the Rings collectors' coins will be legal tender in NZ by 2004. The gold, silver and cupro-nickel coins are to be struck by the Royal Mint for NZ Post later this year.
(11 June 2003)
   

Going global
NZ company Airways International is currently overseeing expansion plans for Iran's Qeshm International Airport. "Strategically located in the Straits of Hormuz, in close proximity to Iran, the Gulf countries and Central Asia, Qeshm Island has a vast potential for economic growth and, as new people and business come to the island, the airport's future is bright," says AI marketing manager, Mike Tournier. The company plans to open an office in Dubai later this year to manage its expanding business interests in the Middle East.
(5 June 2003)
   

Hunter in denial
Rachel Hunter has won a role in Britain's eagerly anticipated version of Sex & the City - Denial. The show, which has been at the centre of an international bidding war, is being touted as "the hottest thing to hit British TV in a long while." Hunter plays a socialite in the series, which began filming June 16.
(3 June 2003)

   

Study rings true
A NZ study appears to disprove claims that cell phone use can potentially lead to cancerous tumours of the head, neck and brain. Figures released by the Wellington School of Medicine show no increase in cancerous growths since the introduction of cell phones to NZ in 1987.
(6 June 2003)
    

Breath of life from medical innovator
UK-born NZer, Norma McCulloch, was named one of the world's top 10 female inventors at the Global Women's Innovator and Inventor awards held in Britain as well as the British Female Inventor of the Year Award. McCulloch's innovation - a hand-held resuscitator called the 'Breath of Life' - has won her 12 international awards, as well as accolades from within academic and medical fields. "At one point my family had to sell everything we owned to cover the cost of development and the world-wide patents […] At times I did question whether it was worth it. I'm glad that I've persisted."
(6 June 2003)
   

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Third Way talking points

Land of the long black shadow
The Stedelijk Museum curated Colin McCahon retrospective - 'A Question of Faith' - reviewed in the Weekend Australian, prior to its opening at the Ian Potter Centre in Melbourne's Federation Square. Critic Susan McCulloch: "The messages - and indeed the images - of many of McCahon's works may seem to offer an impossibly bleak view. Yet their pared-back grandeur and sheer boldness of sign-making lifts them into a timeless dimension." McCulloch lauds McCahon as one of Australasia's brilliant abstractionists "whose uncompromising individual paintings were underpinned by a deeply felt sense of place." 
(19 July 2003)
     

Two good
Four NZ whites won double gold medals at the San Francisco International Wine Competition - widely regarded as America's premiere wine judging event. Babich Wines 2002 Sauvignon Blanc, Kim Crawford 2002 Sauvignon Blanc, Mt Difficulty 2003 Sauvignon Blanc, and Seifried Estate 2001 Barrique Fermented Chardonnay were each awarded a double gold medal - which indicates a unanimous pronouncement of gold by the judges.
(3 July 2003)

   

Edge location: best in show
A personal navigation system produced by NZ company, Navman, topped the Herald's list of best inventions at Sydney's Consumer Electronics and Entertainment exhibition. The handheld device uses GPS satellite tracking technology to steer tourists around foreign cities, giving both audio and visual directions.
(13 June 2003)
    

Mita takes pride of place
Maori filmmaker Merata Mita was the star guest at Montreal's 13th First Peoples' Festival last month - a celebration of the world's aboriginal cultures. The Cinematheque Quebecoise held a retrospective of her work - which includes Bastion Point, Mana Waka, and Hotere - from June 14-22. Mita also spoke on the significance of Whale Rider's success in the Montreal Gazette: "Events like Whale Rider help in our transformation from self-hatred to pride. [The film] allows us to say that our culture has depth and it has beauty and the resilience to survive all these centuries."
(14 June 2003)
     

Scoop on US electoral e-voting flaws
You heard it here first ... NZ media website Scoop has internationally broken the story on a potentially significant  vote counting scandal in the US. Research by scientists at Johns Hopkins University (verifying the original Bev Harris claims broken by Scoop) concerning significant security flaws in Diabold vote counting software has cast doubt on the integrity of the electoral system. The flaws would allow voters to cast multiple votes and alter ballots. The revelations are reported in the New York Times as "the tip of the iceberg."
(24 July 2003)
     

Miss speaker ...
Georgie Girl - the award-winning documentary on transsexual NZ MP Georgina Beyer - screened on American public television last month as part of the acclaimed Point of View (POV) documentary series. Described as "an extraordinary counterpoint to American politics," Georgie Girl opened POV's program in honour of Gay Pride Month. The American screening marks the fourth major international coup for the Annie Goldson produced doco, which has already aired on CBC Canada, SBS Australia and Britain's Channel Four.
(24 June 2003)   

Designs for edge living
A group of NZ artists are currently on display at the Gallery of Functional Art in Santa Monica, Los Angeles. The show, 'Straight from New Zealand,' includes sculpted sheep and dogs by Rodney Brown, and works by renowned Hawkes Bay designer and favourite of the Milan Furnitiure Fair, David Trubridge, whose sling chair (above) is being manufactured by Cappellini in Italy.
(8 July 2003)
   

Luck of the Kiwi
Michael Campbell ended a 13-month drought with a spectacular play-off victory in the Irish Open yesterday. Campbell, Denmark's Thomas Bjorn and Sweden's Peter Hedblom went into a sudden-death playoff for the title following their 11-under-par deadlock. Campbell pulled off the shot of the tournament on the extra hole to win a sixth European Tour title. He hit a nine-iron second shot 146 yards to just inches from the hole for a tap-in birdie.
(29 July 2003)
       

Edge quake
Salmonella Dub's epoynmous DVD reviewed in Tha Weekend Australian. With a large Australian following and formidable live reputation Elizabeth Coleman finds the Kaikoura dub waves don't disappoint: "from the animated single Platectonics through to the exhilarating Push on Thru, where the boys are having so much fun they defy you not to take the next flight across the Tasman ... Tha Bromley East Roller is a flip-out freak show that skids on steel and creates sparks." Get Salmonella Dub in the NZEdge shop.
(19-20 July 2003)    

Kiwi ads bug Cannes
Kiwi ad agencies excelled at last month's International Advertising Festival in Cannes. Grey Worldwide Auckland won the Outdoor Grand Prix for its innovative insect-eye-view Kiwicare bug spray campaign (click above) and Clemenger BBDO NZ and Colenso BBDO NZ received Lion awards. Young gun Gold Lion winner Lee Premutico's (work below) move from Colenso Auckland to Saatchi & Saatchi London is profiled in Shots. "We didn't think it would be long before Leo Premutico's talent was spotted."
(24 June 2003)

   

Glamour girls
A photographic exhibition by NZ artist Fiona Clark is creating a stir at Sydney's Mori Gallery. Go Girl - a series of portraits of NZ's transgender and transvestite community - is described in the Herald as "variously provocative, defiant and flirtatious … marvellously honest and beautifully composed images." Most of the portraits were taken during 1974-5, at the 'Gay Lib Dance Party,' 'Miss NZ Drag Queen Ball,' and Auckland's Mojo club.
(24 June 2003)|

   

Coca-cola University
LATimes reviews The University in a Corporate Culture by NZer and Denver University professor Eric Gould. Pondering the commercialisation of higher education it  explores how goals of education and the path to happiness have changed: "enlightenment is not a pressing goal in liberal education today, and the public tends to have a different definition of happiness for students, one that declares all too often that knowledge and the ability to be critical and argumentative are not the source of joy; happiness is more likely to be found through a good job."
(13 July 2003)
        

An angel at his table
Actress Kerry Fox interviewed in the Observer 'favourite eateries' column and muses on fellow Kiwi, ex-flatmate and celebrity chef, Peter Gordon's Tapa Room - as well as  his influence on her own culinary habits. "Peter is one of the forerunners of fusion cooking in this country. He made a name for himself working at the Sugar Club by using a mixture of Asian and European ingredients, common in our native New Zealand … while we were living together, I never used a recipe book. Instead I'd decide what I felt like eating, say fish, ring Peter, and he would make up these fantastic dishes off the top of his head."
(8 June 2003)
   

One up for Moby
A landmark decision by the International Whaling Commission in Berlin is being hailed as a step in the right direction by "what was once a whaler's club." The 'Berlin Initiative' - proposed by 19 countries including NZ - calls for the creation of a conservation committee to oversee the protection and preservation of all marine mammals. Former PM Sir Geoffrey Palmer was in attendance as NZ's commissioner to the IWC.
(10 June 2003)
   

Tried and true formula with a new direction
An impassioned performance by The Datsuns at London's Shepherds Bush Empire earns them (another) rave review in the Guardian. "Amid the hand-clapping, singing, and Dolf's stage diving, Christian balances on Matt's shoulders, both continuing to play soaring guitar. But the heroics cease for a new, melody-driven song full of Merseybeat jingle-jangle and tenderness. It's a new and unexpected direction, but it's sublime."
(5 July 2003)
   

Kiwi wine puts a cork in critics
"The idea that screw-caps are not socially acceptable is absolute nonsense. People should go by their senses, palate, and nose." The trend-setting move by NZ winemakers in favour of screw-caps over corks is applauded by Guardian wine critic, Malcolm Gluck. His opinion was backed up by the tasting panel for Britain's Consumer Association, who judged Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough as the best screw-capped variety on offer. 
(5 June 2003)
   

Ice Station Antarctica
NZ is heading a push amongst Antarctic Treaty nations to place stricter regulations on tourist ventures to the southern pole. According to Trevor Hughes - of NZ's Antarctic policy unit - the number of tourists to Antarctica has jumped from 5,000 a year in the early 1990s to an estimated 22,000 in 2004. The Treaty nations have agreed to hold a meeting of experts in Norway next year to assess the annual impact of tourism upon the Antarctic landscape.
(20 June 2003)
   

Sevens series sewn up
The NZ rugby sevens side were crowned overall IRB champions at Twickenham June 9. The sevens series ended in England, after tournaments held in Hong Kong, Australia, and South Africa, with NZ the clear victors. Coach Gordon Tietjens cited his side's home win in Wellington as the highlight of "a very special year."
(9 June 2003)
    

Weta's secrets revealed
Te Papa's record-breaking Lord of the Rings exhibition opens at London's Science Museum in September - it's only European showing before travelling to Singapore, Sydney, and Boston. The exhibition focuses on Weta Digital's FX wizardry and includes interactive technology, life size models, and behind-the-scenes transformations. Says museum head, Jon Tucker, "We think this exhibition will be absolutely huge, and fans will be flocking to see it."
(7 July 2003)
   

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