Wednesday, 21 October 2009

120 – New Zealanders in Global Headlines 21 Oct 2009



From Brian Sweeney, Producer, http://www.nzedge.com/



SAMOA AND TONGA TSUNAMI RELIEF – Help NZ's Pacific neighbours by donating to World Vision or Oxfam, both working on site with local organisations, or bid at the Artists for the Tsunami Relief art auction at Webb's.



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Pictured: Sir Howard Morrison, Ohinemutu Maori village in Rotorua, Hayley Westenra, Toast Martinborough, Caitlin Smith

NEW ZEALANDERS IN GLOBAL HEADLINES

New Zealand headlines in this sampling of global media appearing in Bradenton Herald, WA Today, Daily Mail, Telegraph, Scottish Sun, The Times, The Salt Lake Tribune, Horse & Hound, The Korea Herald, ESPN, Billboard, Courier Mail, Examiner, The Herald, The Independent, Time, Frankie, Earth Times, Northern Territory News, Star Tribune, CNN, Guardian, New York Times, The Independent on Sunday and The Age include:

Sir Howard Morrison, entertainer and man of the people dies, aged 74
Rotorua, “the centre of Maori culture” with hangi pits of smoky kumara
Hayley Westenra, soprano, 22, to become UK Forces Sweetheart
Toast Martinborough now in 18th year; 10,000 tickets sell in minutes
Caitlin Smith, singer, included in Queenstown JazzFest line-up
100% Pure campaign tops UN international branding survey
David Tua, boxer, 36, K.Os Shane Cameron in "smashing fashion"
Ladyhawke, 30, delirious after scooping six Tuis at NZ Music Awards
Sir Edmund Hillary still the “greatest living New Zealander”
Sacha Jones, tennis player, 18, earns biggest career win at in Darwin
Peter Jackson, director, grapples with lofty expectations − his own
Margaret Moth, camerawoman, ‘Fearless’ in CNN documentary
Kerry Fox, actress, ‘Jane’ and ‘Sarah’ in Lantana adaption, London
Ben Ruffell, cameraman, to make film about US journo come vintner
Kate Sylvester “the country’s best kept fashion secret”
New Zealand’s island ecology intrigued Hitchhiker’s Douglas Adams
Bryan Gould, former UK Labour luminary, counsels Party members
Robert Fair’s juvenile pranks behind Beano boy Dennis The Menace
Daniel Vettori and his Black Caps; a team “punching above its weight”
Cliff Curtis, actor, 41, plays daredevil medic ‘Rabbit’ in NBC’s Trauma
Kathryn Wilson, shoe designer, opens apartment to Frankie
Glenn Martin, jetpack inventor, auctions flight on eBay
Kauri Cliffs, "Pebble Beach but better"; “coolest perk ... hunting”
Graeme Solloway, trade commissioner, Seoul, promotes tech. ties
Fashion Week “not an edgy scene so much as on the very edges”
Stanley Makuwe, playwright, premieres latest work in Zimbabwe
WOW, Wellington, 21st year, “glorious rebellion against the mundane”





DENIS O'REILLY: BLOG #35, BREATHE THROUGH THE NOSE
While this website charts the achievements of the nation's go-getters, we also provide breathing room to those who are dispossessed and socially excluded. Of the 238 nations in the world, New Zealand slots in at #125 in population size, yet in the top quartile (#57) in terms of our (racially skewed) prison population. New meaning to the cliché “punch above our weight.” The eloquent rage of Hawkes Bay's Denis O'Reilly – protestor, priest, and poet rolled into one – is felt in each of the 35 Nga Kupu Aroha columns he has written for nzedge.com since September 04. Not much stands in the way of Denis this month – our nation's thinking (“dominated by talk-back rant, angry invective, intolerance, and sensationalist tabloid journalism”), Whanganui Mayor Michael Laws (”a populist white knight, clad in vitriolic armour”), the triviality of political life (“an appearance by the PM on Letterman's talkshow is accorded the significance akin to a huge oil find in the Southern Basin”), white collar criminals (“whilst we call these Maori gangs 'organised criminal groups' they're a far call from the really organised criminal groups, particularly those 'banksters' in the Pakeha financial sector"), and our “criminal justice industrial complex” (“What we are doing now is dumb. It's wrong economically. It's wrong in terms of the human wealth and health of the nation. It's wrong in terms of social justice, and our international obligations around human rights. It is going to poison our society.”) I met Denis in 1979 at Waikato U, giving stage to his views and voice. In my pol sci studies I became aware of one of New Zealand's great civil servants, Secretary of Justice John Robson, whose work is archived in the Napier Public Library. Robson was significantly responsible for the abolition of the death penalty in New Zealand, and was the leading voice for restorative justice and prison reform. In many ways Denis is channeling Robson in his advocacy for strong communities and a just society. Den is a radical optimist; his latest column is Breathe Through the Nose (6,500 words).





BIRDS OF PARADISE
Jeremy “Newsboy” Wells (Eating Media Lunch, The Unauthorised History of New Zealand) tackles unfamiliar territory in a new TV series Birdland (TVOne Saturdays, 7pm), which has him celebrating New Zealand’s unique bird life and, true to form, it is not your typical wildlife show. Wells freely admits that he’s no expert when it comes to birds and his reasons for undertaking the project are typically atypical. “Sadly every other subject for a television show had been taken. Lush took trains, Hamish Keith stole art and Radar mucked about on a farm. As far as I'm aware birds were the last subject of national importance left to milk,” says Wells. The show takes viewers on an unconventional yet informative journey that soaks up some of our most beautiful scenery, our most glorious birds and some wonderfully eccentric characters of the birding world. During the series, Wells visits the Moa graveyard of Karamea (found only after a eight hour underground caving expedition), meets Woof Woof, the talking Tui of Whangarei, and explores the arcane world of poultry and pigeon breeders at their annual competition. “After six years scratching around insulting minor celebrities on late night television it’s been a revelation to get outdoors and rub shoulders with people passionate about something other than themselves.”





Here are the Top 10 titles for September:
  1. This Is Your Life – Sir Howard Morrison, TV 1989 – Tribute to 'The Sinatra of New Zealand'
  2. Flare – A Ski Trip, NFU short film 1977 – Funky promotional doco featuring snow 'ski ballet'
  3. Heavenly Pop Hits – The Flying Nun Story, TV 2002 – Run-down on iconic indie music label
  4. Best of The Billy T James Collection, TV 1992 – Swansong for much-loved comedian
  5. Moa's Ark, TV series 1990 – Investigation into our unique flora and fauna by David Bellamy
  6. Woolly Valley, TV series 1981 – Low-tech children's puppet show with rustic charm
  7. Britten – Backyard Visionary, TV 1993 – Homage to maverick DIY motorcycle designer
  8. Open Door – M.E, TV 2008 – Community-based show looking at Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  9. Peter Snell – Athlete, NFU short film 1964 – 800m gold medalist's lead up to Tokyo
  10. Kaikohe Demolition, feature film 2004 – Florian Habicht's 'far out' Far North demo derby


THE NEW ZEALAND EDGE is a new way of presenting our identity, people, stories, achievements and our role in the world. Home to a global community of New Zealanders. Aotearoa whanau whanui kite ao nui.





Top image, Raumati South; above, Wellington's central cityscape. More pictures at http://www.paradiseroad.com/. Fern symbol via http://www.nzflag.com/.



You are receiving this as a registered member of the website NZEDGE.com.

You can contact Brian Sweeney by sending an email to brian@nzedge.com.

Friday, 2 October 2009

119 – New Zealanders in Global Headlines 2 Oct 2009



From Brian Sweeney, Producer, http://www.nzedge.com/

Follow the nzedge.com headlines twice a day on Twitter. Register for updates at http://twitter.com/nzedge


Pictured: Richard O'Brien, Melanie Lynskey, Ursula Bethell, Suraya Singh, Gin Wigmore

NEW ZEALANDERS IN GLOBAL HEADLINES

New Zealand headlines in this week's sampling of global media appearing in Variety, Telegraph, Daily Mail, Indian Country News, Sky News, The Miami Herald, The Ecologist, Wall Street Journal, Guardian, The Age, Drift Magazine, The New York Times, The Georgia Straight, Courier Mail, Dumbo Feather, The Independent on Sunday, Los Angeles Times and The Australian include:

Richard O’Brien, Rocky Horror writer; career began in Tauranga
Melanie Lynskey, 32, actress, has "pivotal" roles in three films at TIFF
Ursula Bethell, a “seminal figure in 20th century NZ poetry” – Guardian
Suraya Singh, 30, Filament editor, first to publish erection pictorial
Gin Wigmore, 23, singer, releases Holy Smoke; dedicated to dad
Jason Wynyard, 36, lumberjack, chops to first place in World Champs
Topp Twins, Toronto darlings, massage NZ identity with affection
Scott Dixon, 29, wins Indy Japan 300, tops leaderboard, one to go
Jonah Lomu, 34, 114kg, second in +90kg class at bodybuilding comp
Robert Pearson gains 2nd in IPA's Abstract Pro section for ‘Entrophy’
Taieri Gorge a Telegraph one of the ‘world’s most remarkable places
New Zealand a campervanning mecca, scenery like the Lake District
Auckland University scientists develop $122,000 wireless heart pump
Dan Simon, art collective leader and squatter “with serious purpose”
Linda White Wolf, Chickasaw and Maori US TV host, discovers roots
Wanganui now Whanganui; spelling debate dubbed the ‘H’ bomb
Ewan Kingston, on limited budget forgoes air travel from UK to NZ
Julian & Camilla's World Odyssey broadcasts to 117 countries
New Zealand’s Emissions Trading Review “green PR gone wild”
Ladyhawke and artist Sarah Larnach, 30, collaborate on Becks label
Brendon Hartley, 19, Red Bull F3 driver, wins maiden Euro race, UK
David Trubridge, furniture creator, considers localising quality design
New Zealand researchers find living with animals wards off sneeze
ASR Ltd, Raglan-based reef designers, create waves with geotextiles
Black Mag one of 23 independent “style bibles” featuring on FTape
Hoki, McDonald’s filet-o-fish staple; “bounty it seems, is not limitless”
Nick & Val Martin, Pelorus posties, deliver to “people varied as terrain”
Jane Campion, to adapt Munro’s Runaway in current vein of love
Dr Kerry Spackman, The Winner’s Bible author, to help ABs rewire
Haast’s eagle, extinct predator, not scavenger, attacked moa
Andrew Prieditis, 30, published in 60 global papers in past six weeks



DIGITISING OUR CULTURE
Set up in 2002, the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre (NZETC) is a fantastic and precious resource initiated by the Victoria University of Wellington, with the aim of creating a digital library providing open access to significant New Zealand and Pacific Island texts and materials. The standards-based collection is delivered through an Open Source framework and offers full and free access to a range of materials in multiple formats for download or online browsing. Today the NZETC collection contains over 2,600 texts (around 65,000 pages) and receives over 10,000 visits daily. To read the news on developments at the NZETC visit their blog. There you can find out what texts have been added to the collection and what projects they have been working on.



NZEDGE.COM ENDORSES WHANGANUI



THE NEW ZEALAND EDGE is a new way of presenting our identity, people, stories, achievements and our role in the world. Home to a global community of New Zealanders. Aotearoa whanau whanui kite ao nui.




Top image, Mount Tutuko, Fiordland; above, clouds above Raumati South. More pictures at http://www.paradiseroad.com/. Fern symbol via http://www.nzflag.com/.



You are receiving this as a registered member of the website NZEDGE.com.

You can contact Brian Sweeney by sending an email to brian@nzedge.com.