I can’t believe it is butter

A preservative-free spray-on butter invented in New Zealand won a top prize at the Sial International Food Fair in Paris. The bi-annual event is renowned for its trends and…

Sex in the City (of Sails)

Are you looking at us? Rebecca Weinberg, Emmy-Award winning stylist from Sex and the City, was a headlining guest at New Zealand Fashion Week. Weinberg crossed the Tasman in…

“That’s the way it is:” broadcast legend bows out

Brian “Hendo” Henderson, Channel 9 Australia’s “stalwart newsreader” for the last 46 years, has announced his retirement. Born and bred in Southland, NZ, Henderson started out on Dunedin radio….

“I am an Illusionist”

“She is a ball of fire in Chinese pajama pants; she is a whirling dervish, a Nepalese tonka with a million faces, a human mandala.” The work of LA-based…

High Steaks

NZ beef takes centre stage at New York’s latest meat-lovers’ paradise; Sosa Borella. According to its reviewers – “a group of eager carnivores” – the “grass-fed, free-range beef from…

From Soaps to Splatter-flicks

New York-based Kiwi, Martin Henderson (Shortland Street, Windtalkers), co-stars in October’s US box-office No.1 – The Ring. The thriller is a re-make of the cult Japanese Ringu series, and…

Freudian felines

NZ-based author/psychoanalyst Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson attempts to unravel the feline psyche in The Nine Emotional Lives of Cats: A Journey into the Feline Heart. The “witty, elusive and often…

Vegas Pays Up

Golfer Philip Tataurangi had the first US PGA Tour win of his career at the Las Vegas Classic, beating Australia’s Stuart Appleby by one shot. The 32-year-old pulled out his best…

66 and Still Dancing the ACDC Way

NZ’s “first really iconic out-and-out drag queen” – Carmen Rupe – was honored at the 2002 Gay Games in Sydney. The November 2 opening ceremony at the Sydney Football…

The Resurrection

“If the internet could express emotions, a collective groan of despair would have filtered through a quarter of a million modems with the sudden closure of a site…

Running Man

Lower Hutt born Nick Willis is the University of Michigan’s latest star athlete. Still in his freshman year, he is already the No. 2 cross-country runner on campus. The best seems…

Sir Garfield Todd “A Legend in His Lifetime”

Tributes continue to flow for NZ-born former PM of Southern Rhodesia, Sir Garfield Todd. The Washington Post obituary remembers his “rugged good looks, fluent oratory and lucid memory,” and The…

Hostel Heaven

LA Times‘ Youth Beat offers tips for the budget traveller. “NZ has a reputation for having the world’s best hostels, and one thing that helps to keep the hostel owners on…

The Necessary Jester

A recent Victoria University study asserts the value of the office clown.  According to its research, humour is “a natural and, maybe, a necessary byproduct of complex social systems such…

Fine print

Kiwi publications took out several top spots at the 2002 Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers’ Association awards in Adelaide, with The Gisborne Herald named “Newspaper of the Year.” Other high…

Cook Sails into Prime Time

Captain Cook is the inspiration behind America’s latest hit reality TV show. The Ship follows a group of ordinary folks in their bid to sail a replica of the…

“Feast feats”

London restaurant Pied a Terre, where Kiwi chef Shane Osborn reigns as “creative genius,” praised in the Observer: “You may wonder how it is possible for a Michelin-starred restaurant…

Edge Medicine

Gene therapist Matt During and his team of trans-pacific researchers have announced a “significant advance” in their search for a potentially revolutionary treatment for Parkinson’s disease. Published in the prestigious journal Science the…

“Go to the World Girls and Conquer It.”

“Top city dame teaches Brit woman a trick or two”: BBC News series on women in business profiles overachieving NZer and head of City of London, Dame Judith Mayhew.”For a glimpse of…

ABC: Auckland Billionaire’s Club

Warren St. John backgrounds the moguls and money questing for the America’s Cup, pondering at the ‘pet projects’ of sporting tycoons like Larry Ellison: “they have hired the best sailors money…

Warriors

The New Zealand Warriors averted an Australian national emergency by falling at the final hurdle in their proud and historic run to the National Rugby League Grand Final, losing to Sydney…

NZ: High-end Bottom of the World Destination

Turning conventional wisdom upside down New York Times finds that:”isolation, long an obstacle to international tourism, has become a plus in the post-Sept. 11 world. New Zealand, long promoted as clean…

Auckland Holding its Breath

The 2002 America’s Cup challengers series has begun (click here for BBC, CNN coverage), launched with fanfare on the streets of Auckland. The competing teams paraded through the central…

Brazarre

In the Sydney Morning Herald: “New Zealand’s most uplifting tourist attraction, a brassiere-hung fence in the Cardrona valley in Otago is being restored. Farmer John Lee will wire 400 bras -…

“If It’s Made in Auckland It Looks Like the Future”

Spurred by the America’s Cup (“couldn’t be in a more fabulous setting”) Travel + Leisure checks out the evolving new world styles of Auckland: “The city has evolved over…

The New Organics: Edge Textured

Design bible Metropolis heralds The New Organics: the latest generation of designs drawn from the natural world, including Angela Adams’s new Utopia collection which consists of rugs that are hand-tufted from…

The Future is All Black

Tours to the Northern Hemisphere winter by the The All Blacks, Wallabies and Springboks saw some interesting pre-World Cup square offs with NZ, France and England (!) jostling for …

Tokyo Girl

Karen Walker has recently returned from a promotional stint in Japan, where her popularity has reached new heights. After four years, she has more than 50 stockists in over…

Marine advisors to Hollywood

A NZ father/son team is behind the submarine action scenes on Harrison Ford’s latest film, K-19: The Widowmaker. Lance Julian and father, Harry, run Marine Team Ltd., an American-based…

Creative Edge Export

A sharp demonstration of the New Zealand Edge: Financial Time’s article ‘Time is on their side’ trumpets the on-island advantage and new world export success of Christchurch creative agency…

Girls, Gadgets, Action

Bond director Lee Tamahori qualifies his license to thrill: “A Bond movie has conventions: girls, gadgets, action. It’s not that you must stick with them, but if you don’t,…

Moving biography as an art form

Nola Farman reviews Roger Horrocks’ Len Lye biography for Art Monthly Australia, calling it “the revelation of yet another brilliant and creative New Zealand moment.” The biography is Horrocks’…

Ideas From the Edge

Worldwide CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Kevin Roberts talks to The Times about his work guiding MBA students at Cambridge and to The Independent about the age of the idea: “He…

Magic: It’s academic

Prominent University of Melboune based NZ-born theorist Simon During’s Modern Enchantments reviewed in Guardian. During’s “thorough and compelling” study challenges commonly held beliefs about the role of performed magic…

First to Drive Everest

The latest US advertising campaign for the Toyota 4Runner sport utility centres on scaling the rugged heights of Mt Everest. The Saatchi & Saatchi production uses NZ icon Sir…

Life and Legacy

An in-depth look at Peter Blake’s life and (controversial) death makes some interesting observations about NZ society. The article surverys Blake’s mana: “a figure of clear-cut grace and stature”…

Shared Victory

Living up to expectations, Georgina and Caroline Evers-Swindell powered to gold at the 2002 World Rowing Championships in Seville, continuing a strong lineage of NZ international rowing achievement. Winning comfortably, the…

Tweety 1, Sylvester 0

” has built up something of a reputation for bringing endangered birds back from the brink of extinction,” the kakapo being a prime example. Armed with electric blankets, video monitoring equipment,…

Daggs vs. SNAGs

Kiwi men not wild but woolly apparently: NZ Rugby columnist “Jessie”(Jack?) was quoted in the Sydney Morning Herald calling her male countrymen “girls with hairy legs” in a rant…

Success on the Surf

Team NZ/Hawaii had an impressive surf canoe win in the Steinlager Henry Ayau Men’s International Race, Maunalua, Hawaii. TNZH broke the course record by 10 minutes under conditions described as…

Rebel with an Emmy

Ex-Wellingtonian Rob Pearson received a Creative Arts Emmy for his contribution to TNT’s James Dean biopic. The award was for outstanding art direction on a movie, mini-series or…

Re-re-colonisation

“Fleeing grey skies and commuting blues.” NZ raised the skills requirements for British migrants this month in response to record numbers seeking permanent residence. “Better lifestyles, cheaper homes and…

One to Watch

Special mention is given in Malcolm Gluck’s wine column to the “spectacular” Wither Hills 2002 Sauvignon Blanc: “a beguiling sauvignon blanc of mouthwatering scrumptiousness.” The 2000 vintage was NZ’s most awarded sauvignon…

The Mating Game

Challenging the common assumption that reproduction is a random process, Auckland University’s Valerie Grant claims to be able to predict whether a woman is more likely to produce male or female…

“Taking it to the People”

The Datsuns can do no wrong as they stage dive into the wan and pale introspection of Brit-pop. The Kiwi band recently passed the “real test” of rock’n’rollers – shedding…

Lord of the Travel Agents

It is official: NZ is the most popular long-haul destination for Britons. From January to June, a record 228,000 British travelers visited – 8.9% more than in 2001. The…

“A Passionate Love Affair Between Two Great Minds”

NZ filmmaker Christine Jeffs (Rain) is to direct a British production about the turbulent marriage of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. Starring Gwyneth Paltrow and British actor Daniel Craig,…

Whale Rider: People’s Choice at Toronto

Whale Rider swerves past Bend it Like Beckham to win the prestigious AGF People’s Choice award at the Toronto Film Festival – an award previously won…

xXx

NZ actor Martin Csokas’ sexy (Salon) villian praised in Vin Diesel action blockbuster xXx: Csokas is “the baddest of the baddies,” “a splendid villain whose brooding and commanding…

Knowledge Society

The Guardian survey of international universities commends the NZ government’s ” in higher education and research,” noting “Blairite” Helen Clarke’s role in making “the culture at large more research-friendly.”…

Warriors Minor Premiers

“Kiwis break a few hearts.” The New Zealand Warriors continue an impressive NRL season by finishing top of the table and taking out the minor pemiership (and a $100,000 bonus…

Lolita, Letters and the Language Instinct

Influential scientist Steven (The Language Instinct) Pinker names New Zealanders Brian Boyd and Denis Dutton amongst his exemplary practitoners contributing towards a third culture “convergence” of art and science. To Pinker, the…

A Model Diet

British scientists have developed a type of pet food aimed at helping arthritic dogs. The “joint support” food contains NZ green-lipped mussels, which have an ideal combination of fatty acids and…

Branson to Fly NZ’s Friendly Skies?

Sir Richard Branson continues his upward trajectory in the world of aviation. Branson’s Australian domestic airline – Virgin Blue – is about to triple its fleet by purchasing 40 new jets….

“Pastoral Eden”

Writer Luba Vangelova takes a road trip up the “stunningly beautiful” east coast of the North Island – a journey described as “temporal as well as geographical.” Vangelova muses over the…

Land of the Great Big Tout

Australian fly-fishing convert Margie Blok declares NZ an angler’s paradise. Blok describes her chopper ride into the inaccessible headwaters south-east of Lake Taupo as yielding “the ultimate fly-fishing experience”: “…the hypnotic noise…