Archive >> June 2006

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Fur Patrol: Lydia

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

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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….

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…

Trailer: Sione’s Wedding

The trailer for Sione’s Wedding.

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…

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 -…