The Commonwealth cool club
Emily Perkins muses on OE, clinging to Mummy Britannia’s apron strings, and what being in the Commonwealth meant for her as a young New Zealander: “Being a member of the Commonwealth always seemed, to…
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Heavenly pop hits
Aotearoa musical ambassador Neil Finn’s One Nil launched in the US as One All, and draws in at No.2 on Salon’s audio charts. New songs and collaborations with Wendy and Lisa of Prince…
“Oh the Shame”
Crys the Sydney Morning Herald. In a great weekend for trans-Tasman rivalry the All Blacks put one hand on the Beldislode Cup with a tough 12-6 victory over the Wallabies in atrocious conditions in Christchurch and the…
“In a Faraway Land …”
“… the left prospers.” According to British Labour MP Austin Mitchell (author of The Half-gallon quarter Acre Pavlova Paradise) writing in the ‘Observations’ section of the New Statesman. “New Zealand stands out in the blue horizon”. says…
Finn No Warbler
Chicago Tribune’s Kevin McKeough wonders “what kind of birds are fluttering around he sings melodies that are just plain gorgeous.” Finn’s performance before a packed Park West Stadium (Chicago)…
Politically correct
“The Capitol is our castle, our shrine”, says author and historian David McCullough, “and Waddell has snapped it to life.” Smithsonian Magazine. Kiwi Peter Waddell has boldly gone where no artist has painted…
Celebrations on Ice
NZ and US scientists in Antarctica recently celebrated the centenary of the first midwinter stopover by British explorers. Fun and games included swimming naked in an ice hole and hurling a (frozen) turkey in Scottish Highland-style games….
Alan Brunton: Mystic Gold From the Edge
NZ performance artist Alan Brunton (57) died while touring Europe with his Red Mole theatre troupe, ” NZ letters of its one truly iconic radical figure.” Coming to prominence in the late 70s as…
America’s Cup Build-up
Team NZ captain Dean Barker beat ex-boss Russell Coutts 3-0 in the Swedish Match Cup finals. Coutts is heading Alinghi, Switzerland’s America’s Cup challenger. In other Cup news, Team New Zealand launch the first of…
To Ge or Not to Ge?
As the ethical, economic and emotional problem of how to approach GE shapes to be a central issue in the upcoming NZ election a high profile group has formed to argue for caution and the extension…
Luck of the Irish?
Michael Campbell rose to 16th in the world rankings and received a timely boost before the upcoming British Open by winning the European Open and half a million Euro winner’s cheque. But the Maori-NZer with the…
Reforging Paradise
“No one likes snapshots of one sitting on Mother’s knee being shown at one’s 21st birthday, especially if the snaps were taken at age 19.” Novelist Emily Perkins reviews James Belich’s history of NZ:…
Airborne Frodo-philes
“They can visit Lothlorien They can smell the smells and see the sights that Frodo Baggins and Samwise Gamgee felt.” After months spent ferrying cast and crew around NZ, Milford-based Glenorchy Air is now offering Tolkein…
Gondwanaland Farming Co.
Trans-Tasman dairy giants Bonlac Foods (AUS) and Fonterra (NZ) have merged consumer food lines to create a new company – Australasian Food Holdings Pty Ltd (AFHL). AFHL will incorporate leading brands including Tip Top, Mainland, Ferndale, and…
Dancing from the ceiling
“Start off by swinging from the chandeliers.” Mark Baldwin has been appointed artistic director of the prestigious Rambert Dance Company. The Fijian-born Baldwin, who danced with Limbs Dance Company and New Zealand ballet before…
Surfing on the Web
Sailor Graham Dalton (older bro of Grant) has set up an educational website where children can watch his yacht “Hexagon” circumnavigate the globe as part of the Around Alone race yacht race beginning 15th September. Hexagon was…
New Zealand Zeal
Kiwi beats the Tigers: “Kiwi businesspeople often speak of their country as a cork floating on the sea of the world economy. At least their cork floats; so many other nations have sunk in the past…
Voice of Rugby’s All-time XV
Great rugby commentator Bill Mclaren names his all-time greatest XV for The Times. Featuring three All Blacks: the “New Zealand totem” Colin Meads, the legendery skills of Zinzan Brooke, and “one of the great international captains” Sean…
For those about to rock
“The greatest rock’n’roll band since the Rolling Stones.” Rave reviews like this have earned The Datsuns an unprecedented 200,000 pound one album deal with Britain’s V2 Records plus countless offers to tour. “If…
Critique of Pure Fay
Fay Weldon’s autobiography (up to year 32) continues to entertain. The Guardian is seduced by the lure of biography: “her fiction suddenly seems a whole lot less peculiar … much of the work…
Sheedy Chic
Karen Walker’s latest collection – “Dust” – profiled in Oyster. The look is inspired by Ally Sheedy’s character in The Breakfast Club : “the indoor girl who hides behind her fringe and bites her…
Where Are the Kingswoods?
The PMs of NZ, Australia and Canada, all of whom look to the Queen as head of state, were (apparently) extended “the minimum of courtesy” at her mother’s funeral. Seating plans, travel arrangements, and entry times…
And God Created … the Chainsaw
Tiny farming/forestry town of Tapawera holds church service in honour of chainsaws. Churchgoers “brought their chainsaws with them, placed them on the altar, and afterwards performed an impromptu ‘chainsaw orchestra,’ complete with Mexican wave…
Summer Time and the Living’s Cheap
Taupo makes the list of top-10 alternate destinations for US students traveling abroad for their summer. Up there with Cappadocia, Kuala Lumpur, and Krakow, Taupo is recommended for its extreme outdoor sports and value for the dollar.
From Here to Eternity
“Tinkling ivories, crashing waves, visit volcanoes, rainforests and surf-pounded beaches where you can re-enact scenes from The Piano.” The Independent’s “one hour from …” series spreads its compass around Auckland and as well as soulful beachscapes in…
iEdge
The SMH tries to find the code behind the icon-making, convention busting, award winning (but secretive) Apple design team after, for the fourth year running, Apple takes out the British Design and Art Direction Association’s top award…
Earthworks
Ceramic work by New Zealand artist Edith Slee was on show at the Balance House in Glenavy. The “Dwelling” exhibition featured 150 pieces made of earth from her native Otago and clay from the…
Club Edge
Saatchi & Saatchi’s London office went on a Euro junket to win Agency of the Year at the industry’s top awards at Cannes. Their infamous inuendo-laden and intricately art-directed campaign for Club 18-30 won…
Substance Wins
And this web award actually means something: the Webby’s are the internet Oscars. All the more glory to Christchurch-based Arts and Letters Daily which was awarded the People’s Voice award for best…
Rogernomics Resurfaces
He engineered some of the most radical and controversial reforms in New Zealand history, where efficiency clashed with social affect, and Roger Douglas is still a believer, giving his tuppence worth on the English health system in…
Design for Life
Please be seated: Wellington’s Formway Design won a ‘best of show’ gold award at the important NeoCon trade fair in Chicago for its NZ-designed “Life chair.” The office chairs will be made and distributed…
Dial M for Mambo
Crossing aesthetic borders NZ-born designer Marcelle Lunam leads “a new breed of artists cum designers redefining Australian streetwear”. Lunam is designer for Mambo’s “reverse diffusion” range ‘M’ – merging street and pop culture and…
Poi Eh?
New to New York: Village Voice features an “industral performing arts collective” remixing Dante’s Inferno using flaming poi. “Poi are a Maori tradition, and backpackers often try spinning on the beaches of Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand….
Wool-rest Edge Inspired
Montreal-born designer Brent Cordner uses NZ wool felt in his debut furniture collection for Keilhauer. The chair and ottoman set is made from entirely natural and biodegradable materials. Cordner’s chairs smoothly reference Frank Gehry’s ‘edge’ chairs from…
Fish Out of Water
“In my native NZ, a rain-free day is a small miracle, so my sodden soul soars when I feel that dry heat and behold those azure skies.” Desert-worshipping Kiwi Amanda Jones chronicles her Chilean adventure…
Georgie Girl
“Quintessentially NZ story” highlight of Sydney Film Fest. Annie Goldson’s “Georgie Girl” follows the edgy life of Georgina Beyer – the world’s first transsexual MP – from her days as a sex-worker and drug user,…
Making myths
Lower-Hutt author Lloyd Jones gives the Aussies something heavier than Pavlova to think about: “Now and then someone will write a book in the smaller country that demands the bigger country sit up and…
Do You Remember?
Why are our early years a blur? Otago University’s Gabrielle Simcock and Harlene Hayne have found a clue. According to their research, so-called “childhood amnesia” is ultimately informed by language development. After conducting controlled memory experiments, the…
Louder Than Words?
Michael C. Corballis, Auckland University psychologist, is “the latest proponent of a controversial idea known among language experts as ‘gestural theory.'” His most provocative idea: the inception of speech was a “cultural invention, like writing” rather than…
From strength to strength
Boston Globe finds the UV rays result in intense expression in Lower Hutt writer Catherine Chidgey’s latest novel, Strength of the Sun: “a meticulously constructed novel of true imagination.”
God Defend Your Freeland
“This is your country and you have the power to change it and uphold all that is good and right. I am saddened to know that many do not vote and still complain about America…” Although…
Salted venison
Sydney’s premier restaurant Salt brings NZ venison to Aussie palates via their latest menu.
Xenites Unite!
7th Xena Fest held at the University of Hawaii-Manoa June 9. Activities included martial arts demonstrations, auctions, and battle-cry contests. See the NZEDGE hot story on Lucy Lawless for the person behind…
Kaiwhekea Katiki-saurus
A new species of dinosaur has been discovered on a North Otago beach. The 70 million year old fossil is believed to be a type of plesiosaur – a giant, swimming reptile resembling “a…
Wild West Coast designs production
Sam Neill films in NZ for the first time since The Piano on South Island’s rugged West Coast. Perfect Strangers, directed and produced by noted NZ documentary maker Gaylene Preston (Bread and Roses), also…
Sirs and Dames or Sheilas and Cobbers?
Four NZers received our country’s highest award via the Queen’s jubilee year honours list. Those admitted to the Order of New Zealand were; ex-Governor General Dame Catherine Tizard, Auckland anthropologist and Maori leader Sir Hugh Kawharu, former…
Maximus vs. Hannibal
NZ-born Russell Crowe has beaten Hollywood heavyweights including Anthony Hopkins, Paul Newman, Tom Hanks, and Robert DeNiro to be voted favourite Best Actor Oscar winner of all time, according to a poll by US…
Scarfies in Shanghai
Five recent NZ films – Once Were Warriors, Scarfies, The Price of Milk, Magik & Rose, and Jubilee – hit Chinese screens June 8 – 22 in China’s first NZ film festival.
Ludic love
Harry Sinclair film Toy Love applauded in Indiewire: “I love how deftly it hides surprisingly dark themes beneath its very sexy and funny depiction of love and lust. It’s a screwball comedy that’s quite…
Windies Wiped Out
Confirming their 3rd place ranking in the ICC World Test Cricket Championship the Black Caps achieved a remarkable milestone with their first ever test series victory against the West Indies on…
Chop Till You Drop
NZ axemen Jason Wynyard and David Bolstad came out ahead in the points race at the 8th Annual Ducks Unlimited Great Outdoors Festival in Memphis, Tennessee. Over 72,000 people attended the Festival, with the Stihl Timbersports stage…
Compelling Texture. Big Finish.
If you can’t afford The Ivy’s 60 quid for Sam Neill’s pinot noir, alternatives are Malcolm Gluck’s affordable favourites: Church Road and Villa Maria, while across the Atlantic, Leslie Sirocco’s vote goes to the Lawson’s Dry Hills “palate-perking” pinot…
No Dodo
New Scientist features the Kakapo’s claw-back from the brink of extinction: “What’s green, nocturnal, looks like an owl, smells sweet and fruity, and makes strange noises from growls and “skrarks” to metallic “chings” and deep resonant…
Black and White or Rainbow Nation?
Kathy Marks visits Waitangi and gives an outside perspective on the state of the nation 162 years after the treaty: “New Zealand is truly a bicultural nation, and the sense of two races living…
Counted the Neighbours Yet?
Statistics New Zealand is making census data available online free of charge. Formerly $3,300 to $25,000 for special software, now users can simply transfer data and use their own software. The US, UK and…
Advance New Zealand Unfair
Lead paragraph to Australian Yachting editorial: “What is it with New Zealanders? Not only do they bash us at rugby (both literally and metaphorically) and regularly make off with the Melbourne Cup, they also have the hide,…
