June 2006 Archives

Itinerant observer

Itinerant observer

Groundbreaking NZ anthropologist, Michael Jackson, currently Visiting Professor in World Religions at Harvard Divinity School, has released his memoirs. Titled The Accidental Anthropologist, the book details his nomadic lifestyle since leaving NZ as…

A floating world

A floating world

Titirangi’s Brake House features in architecture magazine Monument’s inaugural guide to Australasia’s seminal residential projects. Designed by Auckland architect Ron Sang, the Japanese-inspired house was built for world-famous NZ photojournalist Brian Brake in 1976….

When Denzel met Peter

When Denzel met Peter

Oscar winning actor Denzel Washington made a fleeting visit to Wellington in June to discuss a possible film project with Peter Jackson. According to Wellington’s Dominion Post, Washington wants Jackson’s Weta Workshop and Weta…

Epic in More Ways than One

Epic in More Ways than One

NZ director Vincent Ward relates the harrowing experience of filming River Queen in a candid interview with the Sydney Morning Herald. Weather, illness and car crashes aside, it was lead actress Samantha Morton who…

Agencies with Edge

Agencies with Edge

The Kiwi ad industry once again proved its strength on the global stage, picking up a slew of awards at this year’s Cannes Lions Advertising Awards. Saatchi & Saatchi won a Gold Lion in the media…

One for the True Fan

One for the True Fan

In the era of selling Britney Spears’ used chewing gum on eBay, Adidas has released a limited edition All Blacks poster containing DNA samples from every member of the national team. According to Chris…

Power Shift in World Wine Community

Power Shift in World Wine Community

The EU is instructing struggling European winemakers to follow the example of their increasingly successful New World counterparts in NZ, Australia, and America. The “wine lake” situation in Europe has now reached crisis point, with one in…

Indigenous Art in the Spotlight

Indigenous Art in the Spotlight

The Musée du Quai Branly, French President Jacques Chirac’s long-awaited €235.2 million shrine to indigenous art, was officially inaugurated on June 21 in Paris. The Quai Branly boasts a collection of 300,000 works from Africa, Asia, Oceania…

Wonder of the Natural World Reborn

Wonder of the Natural World Reborn

Rotorua’s famed Pink and White Terraces – destroyed in the 1886 Mt Tarawera eruption – are being replicated 8km away at Wairakei by businessman Jim Hall. The original staircase-like tiers of pink and…

Fur Patrol: Lydia

Fur Patrol: Lydia

The video for the 1990s hit, Lydia, by Fur Patrol.

From Screen to Stage, Henderson Impresses

From Screen to Stage, Henderson Impresses

Kiwi actor Martin Henderson is currently walking the boards at London’s Apollo Theatre with a lead role in Sam Shepard’s Fool For Love. Henderson stars alongside American actress Juliet Lewis (Natural Born Killers) in…

Fonterra Gets Bigger

Fonterra Gets Bigger

NZ dairy giant Fonterra has established a strong foothold in Australia’s eastern states thanks to a crucial new partnership with Lismore-based co-op, Norco. Under the agreement, Norco will provide the manufacturing facilities and supply milk to the…

Right Royal Exposure

Right Royal Exposure

The Queen’s official 80th birthday was marked in suitably sumptuous fashion, with a 4-course lunch at Mansion House for more than 350 guests. The four British chefs charged with overseeing the dinner won the honour after competing…

History Maker Remembered

History Maker Remembered

International archery associations and Olympic committees have paid tribute to Neroli Fairhall, who has died aged 61. Fairhall won a gold medal in archery for NZ at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in…

Another Webby for Edge

Another Webby for Edge

Exponents Tourism NZ’s consumer website newzealand.com, designed by Shift, has won the Webby award for best tourism website in the world for a second time. Known as the Oscars of the internet,…

Pedalling Their Wares

Pedalling Their Wares

NZ features in a New York Times guide to “less-pedalled wine regions to please the palates of cyclists.” Writer Stefani Jackenthal recommends Marlborough, Hawke’s Bay and Central Otago for their respective viticultural and scenic pleasures. Her picks…

Card Sharks Revealed

Card Sharks Revealed

Swimming with the Devil Fish, Des Wilson’s timely history of the British poker scene, gets a great review in the Guardian. “While the US market is saturated with poker manuals and ghosted autobiographies, the…

Return to Peak Form

Return to Peak Form

Commonwealth Games medallist and Olympian, Greg Henderson, marked his return to form with a convincing win at the inaugural Commerce Bank Reading Cycling Classic in Philadelphia, USA. Riding for the Health Net-Maxxis team, Henderson beat Uzbekistan’s Sergey…

A Place in the Sun

A Place in the Sun

Granta editor, Ian Jack, writes about Katherine Mansfield’s convalescence in Menton for the Guardian. Menton, a resort town on the French Riviera, was renowned for its curative sea air in the early 20th century….

Poi Reaches New Audience

Poi Reaches New Audience

The traditional Maori poi has surfaced in Penticton, British Columbia. 22-year-old Penticton native, Donalee Davidson, teaches poi classes in her home city and tours the world performing her own interpretation of the art. “You…

Global Roaming

Global Roaming

Auckland-based company RoamAD has secured another major international contract, providing a high-speed wireless network to the Italian university city of Bologna. The free wi-fi network is the first to be deployed in the historic centre of a…

Next Generation Public Transport

Next Generation Public Transport

NZ bus design company, Designline, has developed a prototype electric commuter bus powered by renewable fuel. American firm Alchemy Enterprises Ltd is producing the magnesium-based fuel, which it created with the help of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labs…

Rowing World Comes to Waikato

Rowing World Comes to Waikato

NZ has secured the hosting rights for the 2010 World Rowing Championships. The event will be held at Lake Karapiro in Cambridge, Waikato, with Hamilton acting as the official host city. Lake Karapiro previously hosted the championships…

Big fish, little fish

Big fish, little fish

Bic Runga talks about her new album, Birds, her “secret little country,” and being a big fish in a small pond in The Guardian. The biggest selling solo artist of all time in NZ,…

Trailer: Sione’s Wedding

Trailer: Sione’s Wedding

The trailer for Sione’s Wedding.

Wellington a Global Talent Magnet

Wellington a Global Talent Magnet

A Cato Unbound essay by Richard Florida – The Future of the American Workforce in the Global Creative Economy – uses the Peter Jackson led Wellington film studios as an example of “a profound shift in…

Top Dog,Top Bloke

Top Dog,Top Bloke

Former Air NZ CEO, Ralph Norris, graces the cover of June’s Australian Financial Review Boss magazine. The lengthy profile is devoted to his new role as head of Australia’s Commonwealth Bank – the first major interview the…