Elevator Not Included
NZ runners Jonathan Wyatt and Melissa Moon won the men’s and women’s categories at the World Towerthon in Malaysia. The event involves an 800m run from the Kuala Lumpur Tower entrance, followed by a grueling climb…
Blog Archives
“Musician Who Revitalized Maori Culture”
Dalvanius Prime, pioneer of Polynesian soul and hip-hop, has died aged 54. Prime developed his own take on American soul by merging its ballad form with traditional Maori vocal harmonies. In the early 70s…
Booker Prize: end of an era?
Observer critics liken this year’s Man Booker Prize win to that of NZ’s Keri Hulme on “that unforgettable night in the mid-80s.” Yann Martel’s The Life of Pi won thanks to “a virtuoso display…
Sun Sets on “The People’s Horse”
NZ mare Sunline, Australasia’s grand lady of racing and a champion that uniquely inspired anthromomorphic devotion, ended her five-year domination of Australian tracks with a brave final run at October’s Cox Cup. The winner of 32…
King of Greece Honours King of Sailing
Sir Peter Blake has been posthumously awarded the prestigious Olympic Order for his services to sport. Honorary IOC member, the former King Constantine of Greece, presented the award to Blake’s wife, Pippa, at the Emsworth Sailing Club….
#57 Taking New Zealand To The World
Edge Message #57 from Brian Sweeney, producer NZEDGE.COM TO NEW ZEALAND EDGE GLOBAL COMMUNITY: NZEDGE.COM has just hit the million page download milestone since inception. 28,000 NZ Heroes stories downloaded in September. Thanks for the traffic….
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 innovations section; other ‘innovative’ entries…
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 search of The Next Big…
“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. Moving to Sydney in the…
“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 artist Joanne Gair – the…
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 New Zealand” is the main…
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 enchanting” book challenges the place…
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 revolves around a video-tape curse….
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 round ever – 10 under…
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 Stadium devoted a segment entitled…
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 called Arts & Letters Daily.”…
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 yet to come; according to…
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 Guardian calls him “an internationally…
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 as the modern workplace.” Evidently, shared…
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 achievers were the Christchurch Star,…
“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 to serve a three-course lunch…
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 their toes is the Blue…
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 Endeavour from Australia to Indonesia….
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 findings derive from a technique…
“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 Britain’s future, look not to…
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 can buy, sometimes moving them…
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 Roosters 3-8. From ruin two…
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 and green, is now adding “safe.”…
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 city, the Swedes blasting ABBA,…
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 favouritism at the whistle. The match…
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 100 percent New Zealand wool. The…
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 – sent to him by women…
“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 past two decades from…
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 25 cities, and shares a…
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 TimeZoneOne. Boosted by the value…
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’ tribute to an artist he…
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, you may be doing the…
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 company with strong ties to…
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 preaches love but hates management;…
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 throughout history: “we milk the…
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 Ed Hillary in its bid…
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” yet reflects on criticisms of…
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 twins knocked more than three seconds…
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, and over 100 volunteer nest-minders, NZ…
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 against men embracing, “their long-haired,…
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 “perfect.”
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 warmer weather” are the top…
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 special.
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 offspring via a “personality test.” By…
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 ever – could 2002 go…
“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 the title of “next big thing”…
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 Guardian puts the increase down…
“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, the film was inspired by…
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 by Amelie and …
Brydone & Davidson
New Zealand has long been heralded, mythologised (and of late, analysed) as a country that ‘rode to fortune on the sheep’s back’. The $4 billion+ export food industry of today might never have happened…
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 persona oozes onto the screen.”…
