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Archive >> May 2001
Lego-ality of Language Hi-jack?
Intellectual property Lawyer and “defender of Maori culture” Maui Solomon challenges the right of Danish toy-maker Lego to use Polynesian words in its new game Bionicle.
In The Black
The New Zealand trade surplus for April comes in at $391 million.
Doctor Nurse
“There is not many people I take my hat off to, but I take my hat off to Olly. She is one of the best sisters we have ever…
Music to His Ears
Jonah is a big man – and he’s got a car stereo to match.
Vintage reporter
Eric Young: kiwi journalist with one eye on the game, one on his glass.
Money on Trees
New Zealand scientist Dr Chris Anderson grows gold on trees through phyto-mining.
In the Xbox
Set to revolutionize gameplaying, Microsoft’s up-coming Xbox will have tools and middleware developed by Auckland-based Right Hemisphere. The New Zealand company has signed with Microsoft to create custom versions of its…
Radio Innovation
Christchurch innovators Tait Electronics make product development company PTC’s annual Awards short-list with teched-up radios, the Orca 5000 series.
A Piece of Martin
Ex-Shortland Streeter Martin Henderson toplines indie A Piece of My Heart and plays opposite Nicolas Cage in Windtalkers, currently in production. Register and search under Archives
Burt Munro
Burt Munro, known as the fastest man from New Zealand, became internationally known for the records he broke at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in the 1960s. In…
Best Breath? No Breast!
Breast-feed infants may have a greater chance of developing asthma in later life according to a study conducted on over 1000 New Zealanders.
Britain’s Brain-drain
Young educated people are leaving Britain for the good life down under: “There’s both a pull of countries like Australia and New Zealand and a push from this country,…
Top Talk
Up there with the big events in Washington: Ken Gutschick presents a talk on New Zealand at the Long Branch Senior Centre.
Right Ball’s Up
New Zealand funny-man and sideways thinker Burton Silver presents the oval golf ball, for those times when round is just too tricky.
At home on the edge
Sam Neill talks acting, wine and why New Zealand is home: “I just love going back – I feel comfortable there, I am entirely relaxed there and I feel…
Bugger Knocked off for Nearly Fifty Years
It’s 48 years since Sir Edmund and Tenzing put themselves on the roof of the world.
Pinetree Speaks
Colin Meads on touch judges: “Boy do they give you a gut ache. Last year when there was a bit of a fight in a test match a touch judge ran on…
Life full of words
Alison Waley, Hokitika-born poet, artist and writer died aged 100. Most famous for her marriage to Arthur Waley, Waley also had “strength of purpose and character, and a way…
Wellywood
Dead oliphants at Plimmerton, hobbit cities and epic battles: just the beginning for “Wellywood”.
Fishing for a Decision
The urban Maori/traditional iwi dispute over fisheries reaches the Privy Council in London, New Zealand’s highest appellate court.
Get it right
In the unsettled paradise that is the Pacific, accuracy and local knowledge are a reporter’s only hope says seasoned island-hand, New Zealand journalist David Robie.
A day in the life
Margaret Mahy’s 24 Hours confirms her place among the “world’s best”. Her books for young adults “are not easy reads, but they are hugely rewarding, emotionally and intellectually”. Also,…
Tohu Sauvignon
“The only wine in New Zealand (as far as I know) that’s made entirely by Maori. If you’ve grown tired of Kiwi Sauvignon Blanc, this gooseberry and passion fruit white, with…
Five Dollar Bird
Hoiho (yellow-eyed penguins, literally noise-shouters) catch the attention of an international money man.
Sailing to Meet the Past
“You get your guy sailing with us and it kind of changes things. It makes them want to come back,” says master waka builder Robert Busby, with his father Hekenukumai at…
Lego Language Insult
New Lego trading cards feature words like “toa”, “kanohi” and “whenua” – sound suspiciously familiar?
Bravery Remembered
Sixty years ago New Zealanders fought and died on Crete. Veterans and locals commemorate the battle. Also, Helen Clark pays tribute to the 671 New Zealand soldiers killed at Galatas….
Rings Actors Awestruck
“It seems that those involved are only starting to realise just how big a movie project with which they have been involved. The actors were awe-struck by look of…
Altitude Stable
A bit of turbulence on the ground, but Air New Zealand still makes the top ten in the air.
Kiwis On Skid Row
New Zealanders Bridget McIver and Vaughan Smith live in a trendy San Francisco loft – but the neighbours don’t reflect the price tag.
Mahon’s Final Stroke
“Laconic, grizzled New Zealander” Harry Mahon, legendary international rowing coach dedicated to creating the perfect stroke, died of cancer aged 59. Mahon took team after team to the top, including the…
Top Price Drinking
Three Rivers shiraz is Australia’s most exclusive wine, an in-crowd signifier with the big money crowd. New Zealand wine-maker Chris Ringland is the man behind the thousand dollar bottles.
Bachelor of the Game
Training? How about a degree in rugby (Certificate in High Performance Athlete Management) from Massey University and the New Zealand Rugby Academy.
Top Dollars Man
The Australian Treasury head-hunted Ken Henry from Canterbury University in 1984: now he’s the head of the outfit.
The Ghost of Rob
“A late but not widely lamented New Zealand prime minister once introduced strict currency controls. When asked if the fixed rate was not out of line with market reality, he responded…
Drawing Blood
David Low: outsider, radical, New Zealander. Last century’s greatest political cartoonist.
It’s Raining (Flying) Men
Britain’s RAF, looking to fill vacancies, sees the disbanding of the combat wing of the RNZAF may be a wind-fall.
As Good as New?
Age should be no barrier to going under the surgeon’s knife: 85 year-old patients come out of surgery as well as 65-year old patients according to Auckland researcher Dr Falah Haddawi,…
Jack Off?
Should New Zealand drop the Union Jack and opt for the Silver Fern as a more unique and marketable symbol?
Swinging Fortune
Michael Campbell hits an astonishing ten under par round in the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open, briefly overshadowing Tiger Woods. But, Campbell commented “It’s nice to lead, but I would rather be leading…
Who’s a Clever Kea Then?
The kea outscores gibbons in intelligence tests. “There was definitely learning going on,” says Rachel Johnston who administered the avian IQ tests.
Captain Cayless
Sydney laments 22-year old Nathan Cayless’s decision to follow his Maori heritage home and captain the New Zealand league side.
Rings pics
A gallery of stills from the preview.
In Over His Depth
Sam Neill stars as the ingenious and courageous Lt. Commander Charles “Swede” Momsen in New England submarine drama Submerged.
Subterranean Stars
Caver Dominic Casciani admires the beauty below the surface: “In New Zealand I have splashed through cave water, prompting microscopic glowing to light up the cave ceiling like a second zodiac”….
Not Thick-skinned Enough
Rugby players who feel invincible because of protective clothing are more likely to be injured than their non-padded co-players says Otago study.
#40 Backing a Silver Fern
Edge Message #40 from Brian Sweeney, producer NZEDGE.COM
TO NEW ZEALAND EDGE GLOBAL COMMUNITY
Still here, been busy.
In NEWZEDGE today, stories of intrepid Kiwis about the globe from the online editionsof…
Driving Miss Dotty
New Zealand truck driver Neil Russell found two damp felines (Dotty and Smokey) clinging to the underside of his lorry when he pulled into the Chelsea Flower Show.
Away Damn Spot!
Does a bottle of water keep the dogs at bay? A New Zealand man claims to have made it up to fool his aunty …
Godzone country
US-based Kiwi hunk Keith Urban keeps pulling the accolades, most recently, Best New Male Performer at the American Country Music Awards in Nashville.
Too Smug?
New Zealand is making an official effort to cultivate Asia-literacy, but are individuals are unjustifiably smug in their attitudes to Asia?
Goodbye Xena
Xena, shown in 120 countries, focus of fan-mania and Star Trek-like devotion, comes to an end. “We tried to take people on journeys that you won’t go through in…
Auckland Attractions
“I fell madly in love with Sydney and I thought, ‘I don’t have to live in America!’ My wife was already in love with Melbourne. Then we visited Auckland and…
Toasted!
Wellington artist Maurice Bennett toasts fine art – his latest piece, the Mona Lisa, took 2124 slices.
America’s Cup Lead-up
Update on the preparations of the American and British Challengers for the Louis Vuitton cup in October next year.
Campion cuts Kidman
New Zealand director Jane Campion nabs red-hot Nicole Kidman for upcoming In the Cut.
