D4 dee-light North America
The D4 have unleashed their distinctive sound on the North American market, gaining thumbs-up all round. Rolling Stone: ” blitz through their blues-punk-garage-rock playbook on hyperdrive.” Chart Attack: “One of the few…
February 2003 Archives
In Good Company
Kiwi songstress Hayley Westenra is to join a star-studded line-up, including Jose Carreras, at Wales’ prestigious Faenol Festival in August. According to organisers, Westenra’s performance is one of the most highly anticipated of the…
#60: Edge of Knowledge
Edge Message #60 from Brian Sweeney, producer NZEDGE.COM TO NEW ZEALAND EDGE GLOBAL COMMUNITY The edge metaphor is our way of situating New Zealand in the world. This month, two new speeches assert that the…
Waking Up the Establishment
Nancy Wake, NZ-born heroine of the WW2 resistance movement, interviewed in SMH, recovering after a heart attack in hospital. At 90 Wake has become an honoured permanent resident and “something of a tourist attraction” at the…
Harper’s Hot List
New Zealand destinations feature strongly in veteran resort-rater Andrew Harper’s recommendations for 2003. Huka Lodge (Taupo) and Blanket Bay (Glenorchy) crop up in both the Top Ten International Resort Hotels and Top Ten International Resort Hideaways.
A Savvy Critic
“New Zealand wines have zest.” So proclaims Michael Apstein, wine writer for The Boston Globe. His picks of the sauvignon-blanc bunch include Mount Riley (Marlborough, 22), Thornbury (Marlborough, 22) and Craggy Range (Martinborough, 22).
Songbird flees her cage
“I’m moving away from opera performance … I like to make a big occasion of it when I sing. I have performed in exotic and marvellous situations in Turkey and Korea, and in the…
Tataurangi Topples World No.2
Kiwi golfer Phil Tataurangi brought an abrupt end to Ernie Els winning streak, knocking the South African star out of the Accenture Match Play Championship with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole. The Championship pairs…
Passengers May Remove Their Safety Belts?
The effects of war and the SARS crisis on tourism and travel may be looming for global airlines, but presently Air NZ is bucking the global downturn. The carrier recently reported a half-yearly net profit of…
An End to Sheep Jokes?
NZ’s sheep population is at an all-time low, plummeting from 70 million in 1982 to less than 40 million. Cows and fruit – particularly wine grapes – have gradually replaced the woolly icons as more lucrative…
Enough with the Pavlova War
“ANZAC sibling rivalry must end,” says High Court judge Michael Kirby. Kirby has proposed a common passport, currency and tax system to honour the 2015 centenary of Gallipoli. Visiting Australian Treasurer Peter Costello: “A single Anzac currency…
Inappropriation?
Shock-boxer Mike Tyson has paid a dubious tribute to Maori culture by having a moko-inspired design tattooed around his left eye. New York Post: “‘It was meant to be Maori-ish,’ one source said of the…
FX to rule them all
The Two Towers cleaned up at the Visual Effects Society awards in L.A, winning 8 of the 9 categories for which it was nominated. Towers streaked ahead of Star Wars: Episode II to…
Kuala Tarlton
NZ-based company Aquawalk is developing a state-of-the-art aquarium for the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. An innovative blend of natural and digital, the “discovery zone” will contain a computerised replica of the entire life-support system within the aquarium….
The Taxman Only Rings Once
An end to double-taxation in Australasia seems imminent after meetings between Australian Treasurer Peter Costello and NZ Minister of Finance Michael Cullen. The removal of “triangular-tax” is expected in the near future, in a move sure…
Wireless Oscars
Auckland based company, The Hyperfactory, were commended at the 2003 GSM Awards in Cannes this month for their TXTDJ innovation. This was The Hyperfactory’s second consecutive nomination for what is essentially the wireless industry’s Oscar equivalent.
Tea-total
Auckland University researcher, Joy Hsu, has confirmed the belief of generations: a strong, hot cuppa works wonders. Hsu measured the antioxidant levels of 33 types of green, black and oolong teas to discover that the stronger and…
Long Time Coming
NZ military veterans have applauded a court ruling that a former French serviceman died of leukaemia as a direct result of exposure to radiation at Moruroa. France has consistently denied that any harm was caused by…
Dear Mr President…
West Coast resident Margie Beamsley paid Wellington’s Dominion Post $5,000 to print her anti-war plea to President Bush. The open letter was passed on to the White House by the US ambassador to NZ and…
“It’s Life James, but Not as We Know It”
Time devotes a special issue to DNA and its discoverers, including NZ born scientist Maurice Wilkins. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Nobel Prize winning and paradigm shifting findings of Crick, Watson, and Wilkins: “The…
Owens Squashes the Competition
NZ’s Carol Owens has won her sixth Kuala Lumpur Open Squash Championship, taking her world title count to an impressive 21. Owens crushed Australian rival Natalie Grinham 9-3 9-0 9-2 in the women’s final in Malaysia.
Sir Ed Reflects
Sir Edmund Hillary is celebrating the 50th anniversary of his Everest climb with a round of fundraising for The Himalaya Trust. “When I look back over my life, I have little doubt that the most worthwhile…
Bush Backlash Begins Down Under
A global wave of protests against America’s proposed war on Iraq began in New Zealand, with thousands taking to the streets across the country. In Auckland, a Greenpeace plane with a banner reading “No war, peace now”…
Best man for the job
NZ-born Alexander Grant is in the director’s chair at Boston Ballet’s Grand Studio, where a performance of Ashton’s Fille is currently under production. The 77-year-old, widely regarded as “one of the great character…
Italians do it Better
“Kirwan’s crew a cut above”. All Black legend John Kirwan has been reincarnated as the golden boy of Italian rugby after coaching the game’s “perennial whipping-boys” to their second ever Six Nations victory, and first against Wales….
Caddie by Day…
Steve Williams – the NZ-born caddie to Tiger Woods – is gaining sponsorship recognition in his own right. The race car driver has just signed a lucrative deal with Valvoline, whose logo he will wear while…
Trans-Pacific Soul
NZ-based Samoan group, Pacific Soul, are building a loyal fan base in Hawaii. Star Bulletin: “The soulful foursome performs Samoan-language songs and American-style urban material with equal skill … is a great…
Peace Fest
NZ feature The Price of Milk is to screen at the inaugural Kuala Lumpur World Film Festival. The festival, held in conjunction with the 13th Non-Aligned Movement Summit (NAM), is appropriately themed “Peace, Harmony,…
Give Up Your Day Job?
Otago-born Peter Lyons has the attention of the American art world, with shows scheduled for Manhattan’s Richard York Gallery and the St Botolph Club in Boston. The 42-year-old security guard works nights at Boston’s…
Captain Kirk at the Helm
Former All Blacks captain, David Kirk, has been appointed chief executive of troubled Australian publishing company PMP. Chairman Graham Reaney believes the ex-Rhodes scholar and governmental advisor has what it takes to turn PMP’s fortunes around: “He…
Saint Cruise of Taranaki
Tom Cruise – Taranaki’s favourite adoptive son – has come to the financial aid of a local school. The Edge radio station had offered $5,000 to whoever could get the Hollywood star on air….
Principaled Principal
NZer Graham Cherry, director of the Baghdad International School, intends to stay on in Iraq despite repeated warnings for Westerners to leave. Cherry: “I have no plans to leave. The school is open. I don’t want…
Get Thee to a Nunnery
Detroit Free Press recommends Marlborough’s Old Saint Mary’s Convent in a feature on romantic getaways “off the beaten track.” “Lavender, vineyards and olive groves surround the property, and there’s a pond you can putter in with a…
Sevens Heaven for Home-crowd
NZ’s rugby sevens team delighted a 32,000-strong crowd in Wellington, beating England 38-26 to win their first home series in four years. NZ now lead the 11-leg International Sevens series with 68 points, followed by Fiji and…
On the move
Teenage singer Hayley Westenra – “the next Charlotte Church” – is making her move on the UK market. The 15-year-old has based herself in Kensington, London, and is currently recording an album for Decca…
Black Caps’ Dark Horse
Stephen Fleming will come out looking good no matter where NZ places in this year’s Cricket World Cup. So says Johannesburg’s The Star, which included the Black Caps’ captain in their official “World Hunks XI.” “One…
Round one…
“The food is sooooo good — we want to lick our plates. And the breathtaking views – islands, harbours, volcanoes.” Edmonton Journal travel writer is so impressed by his whirlwind North Island tour he’s…
Reel-time Direction
NZ-born Rodney Charters (The Pretender, Roswell) is the directing force behind the latest US television sensation, 24. Described as “a heart-stopping hit,” the 24 hour-long episodes represent one day in the life of Jack…
Million Mark
NZ’s population is expected to hit the 4 million mark in the next few months, according to the latest figures released by Statistics New Zealand. Last year the population grew by .5% on account…
Premium quality: South Seas art
Aotearoa-Pasifika artist Michael Tuffery talks to the ABC about recycling identity. Tuffery has recently completed an artist’s residency at Artspace Mackay in Queensland, Australia, where he ran a series of workshops for aspiring artists…
Pays Au Long Nuage Blanc
Special assignment NZ: Le Monde heads Down Under in search of good wine and finds it in abundance. “NZ, long considered a land of beer-drinkers, has made a sudden and remarkable appearance on the world wine…
Crowe KO’s the Competition
Empire‘s 2003 awards had a strong NZ flavour, with Russell Crowe picking up Best Actor and Peter Jackson and The Two Towers winning Best Director and Best Film. In other Crowe news, the NZ-born…
Best Beach
Waikiki, Daytona, Copacabana … 90 Mile Beach. Northland’s prized stretch was voted one of the world’s top 20 beaches in an Expedia poll of thousands of British travellers. Winning poll-participant Pete Shannon now has the arduous job…
Grand Dame
Dame Judith Mayhew has been elected chairperson of Scotland’s Royal Opera House, the first time the position has been held by a woman. The NZ-born high-flyer previously helmed the Corporation of London, and remains…
From Dreams to (Augmented) Reality
SMH interviews “augmented reality” guru Mark Billinghurst, director of NZ’s Human Interface Technology Lab. HIT works in conjunction with Seattle’s University of Washington designing cutting-edge communications technology reminiscent of Star Wars’ virtual projections. Billinghurst: “Twenty years later, we…
More of Southland’s Finest
“If the landscape above the Okaka mountain hut had been the work of a garden designer it would have won Chelsea.” Times writer roams the “enchanted forest” of the Tuatapere Hump Ridge Track, Southland’s latest “Great Walk,”…
