Unprivate Moments
“Keep a diary online and you’re exposed to Mom, Dad, potential employers, and strangers in New Zealand with strong opinions about the way last night’s date should have been handled.”
News of New Zealanders via Global Media
Unique urenika
Dark purple and delicious, urenika (Maori potatoes), are on display at the RHS London Flower Show.
Fat Tax
Proponents of the New Zealand “Brain Drain” myth complain about income tax, but the government has so far rejected calls for a “fat tax” on butter, cheese, meat and milk.
Edge of a Lonely Planet
“New Zealand values its independence and is not afraid to take on the world,” states the latest Lonely Planet, labelling New Zealand the place for adventure, coffee and wide open spaces.
A Teaspoon of Honey
Search under ‘Honey New Zealand’ to view Waikato scientist Peter Molan thinks honey doesn’t just help the medicine go down, it is the medicine. Honey from New Zealand’s Leptospermum tree kills bacteria, reduces inflammation and encourages re-growth…
Shorts and sweet
Four NZ films feature in NY’s Shorts International Film Festival, including Felicity Morgan-Rhind’s Donuts for Breakfast. Top shorts will be considered for Oscar noms.
Vertical limit
The stunning slopes of Aoraki (Mt Cook) backdrop Kiwi Martin Campbell’s ice action thriller, Vertical Limit. Starring Chris O’Donnel and Nicholas Lea, Vertical Limit is scheduled for 15 December release.
Kiwi in the House
Kiwifruit-based products from Evolu rate with Estee Lauder, Chanel and Givenchy as a key product line at the House of Fraser, Oxford Street’s newest beauty arena.
Gender Bender
Questions continue to be raised about surgical gender re-assignment, a la Kiwi sexologist John Money.
Late News
The New Zealand-based Afghani terrorist plot to blow up the nuclear reactor during the Sydney Games may not have been so threatening after all…
One mammal, One Moniker
New Zealand is to be included in an Asian flora and fauna database aiming to reduce confusion caused by species with more than one name.
Going Cold Kiwi
The League World Cup Lebanon vs NZ match was played in bitter weather. Three Lebanese players became hypothermic, but the New Zealanders seemed to cope OK. “The New Zealanders were probably used to it,” said…
Drink Up
High-calcium milk Anlene, manufactured by New Zealand Milk, is shown to ward off osteoporosis in Asian women. Dairy exporters will have to bone up on their Asian languages to spread the word.
BSE Breakthrough
Professor Roger Morris of Massey University suggests Britain’s BSE epidemic may have come from “a wild animal commonly found outside Britain that was chopped up for cattle feed”.
Gulf Rugby Shock
The Arabian Gulf 7s team are rather daunted by the thought of meeting New Zealand at the World 7s Series. “When I heard the draw I was lost for words,” said Arabian coach Darryl Weir. …
Godless Digest
“The Digest, however, has been less than honest. In a December 1999 story by Raffaele about the Chatham Islands in New Zealand, a fisherman picked up a lobster trap and exclaimed, “Gifts from Maru…
Clean Green Methane
While some countries battle automobile emissions, New Zealand scientists at the Rumen Microbiology Unit, Palmerston North, are working on producing a gas-less sheep. It’s a tricky business though: “There’s no point in getting rid of the methane…
Democracy Deal
PM Helen Clark was at the forefront of the push to make the Pacific Island Leaders Forum a defender of democracy in the region.
Forbes Gets a Bargain
Forbes Global have included New Zealand company The Warehouse Group in their 2000 list of Best Small Companies: “Dynamism is all about growth and profits; in our opinion these 300 are among the best the world has…
Goldie Rides Again
The prodigiously talented Jeff Wilson – in this age of professionalism, perhaps the last person to be an AB and a Black Cap – has returned to rugby after a year’s refresher. “I’m sure he will…
Disease Beaten
Polio has been eradicated in the Western Pacific, which stretches from China to New Zealand to French Polynesia.
Healing Touch
A new London centre devoted to the study of the “healing touch” is “an outpost of a university in New Zealand whose ideas are based on feng shui and other Oriental philosophies.” Could tight…
Sam Neill is in LA filming Jurassic 3
The grounds of his temporary residence are described as “park-like”…
Macpac Knack
Macpacs made their reputation being hauled up and down New Zealand mountains. They’re also good for gentle English country walks.
Out Out Damn E-mail!
Deleted files may come back to haunt you, says Peter Gutmann of Auckland University. “It is possible to install a computer that overwrites data when you hit the Delete key, making it much harder to recover….
Our Cup Overflowed
The America’s Cup generated NZ$640 million in economic activity. Competing syndicates spent $149.2 mill, nearly matched by $118 mill from super-yacht spectators.
League of Their Own
The Aotearoa Maori League team is “modelled on the Maori battalion,” says John Tamihere. “It will be a team of origin not of residence. And that’s great, it doesn’t matter if they’re on Mars, they’re still Maori.”
Join the army and let the world see you!
New Zealand defence personnel will feature on big screens around the globe – as extras in Lord of the Rings. The soldiers were perfect when the filmmakers needed “big numbers of people who were…
Indomitable Down Under
A young Bangladeshi expresses his respect for the Black Caps: Chris Cairns is “at his magnificent best”; Roger Twose is “that wily customer”, and the whole team displayed “the indomitable spirit of the team from Down Under”.
Lamb-blasted
The WTO ruled in favour of New Zealand in the appeal against US tariffs on our lamb. The Prime Minister was pleased with the result, but said “ideally, you don’t want to be taking your best…
Three Foot Six and still growing
Vanity Fair estimates the cost of Lord of the Rings at NZ$623 million. If correct, Wellington company Three Foot Six is producing the second-most expensive movie ever.
No Tree Hill
One Tree Hill of U2 fame lost its signature pine, removed due to safety considerations after attacks over six years to highlight indigenous land claims. The exotic Monterey pine replaced a native Totara cut down by a…
Wright for the Job
The Indian cricket team is looking for a new coach and former New Zealand opener John Wright seems to be the man for the job. The final appointment will be announced before the team’s November tour…
Fruit Nuts in Mumbai
Kiwi fruit and Enza apples are status symbols in Mumbai: “New Zealand apples are more juicy and have a better shelf-life … these are basically popular in higher middle and elite class of the town.”
Big Cheese
Juliet Harbutt, self-described “brash, open, jolly New Zealander”, founded the British Cheese Awards to “preach the Gospel of cheese”.
Murderball Awe
New Zealand collected the Bronze at Sydney, impressing with their toughness along the way. “These are the hard men of the Paralympics. New Zealand’s heavily-tattoed Curtis Palmer emerged unscathed from a high-impact collision that sent him somersaulting…
Kiwi-Pom Oggie Oi
Ron Knox, originally of England, now New Zealand, introduced the stadium-filling “Oggie, Oggie, Oggie, Oi, Oi Oi” chant to the ockers. “I wonder if they will send me a gold medal,” says Ron.
A Little to the Right…
New Zealand entrepreneur James Sampson is launching a live sex site based in Christchurch. Viewers will be able to issue instructions to the workers.
Wearable Art to Edinburgh?
Nelson’s Wearable Art Awards “come close to sensory overload … dazzling light displays, innovative props … and the exceptional Wearable Arts creations”. Organisers are hoping to show the creations at the next Edinburgh International…
Against the Grain
New Zealand scholar Aurelia Mulgan’s The Politics of Agriculture in Japan launches a “brutal assault on antifactual strategies such as rational-choice theory, but also brusque rejection of social science as science”.
Say Fish
Mi’kmaq Indians look to New Zealand’s lead on fishery settlement deals. “Strong, tradeable property rights in fishing can be powerful economic and environmental force,” argues this article.
Avvid Attention
New Zealand Government Departments can talk to each other with maximum efficiency, thanks to AVVID, “one of the largest end-to-end IP telephony networks in the world.”
From Gold to Gold
The sponsor of this year’s Boston Head of the Charles Regatta put up $30,000 prize money for the men’s and women’s sprints. Rob and Sonia Waddell scooped the pool, coming in first and collecting the reward.
HRH Touchdown
The Queen will visit her farthest-flung domain in October, 2001. Her visit will provide “an opportunity for New Zealand to mark the impending Golden Jubilee of the Queen’s Reign”.
Naked Success
Toa Fraser’s first play, Bare, hits Sydney with “a saltiness that is unmistakably NZ”. Fraser is compared to Raymond Carver and Tom Wolfe, masters of edge and bite.
Great Steaming Geysers!
18 year old Rawiri Waru’s developed a system to check Rotorua’s geysers don’t run out of steam, winning himself a Grand Award and an internship at Bayer AG in Singapore at the Worldwide Young Researchers for…
Conner Cautious
Dennis Conner will be in Auckland contesting the Cup in 2003, but he sure isn’t feeling complacent: “There’s so much depth of talent in New Zealand…They’ll still be difficult to beat, ” he told the NY…
Motoring On
Elva Shepard, 99, passed her re-licensing test. The experienced drivers only fault? A little slow at times, perhaps due to Bubba, her youthful 43-year-old car.
Avian Aphrodisiac
There are only 62 Kakapo in the world, and they don’t always seem that interested in making more. DOC scientists, hoping to see some action from the feather fellows, have concocted a special kind of muesli…
Well-ing-ton!
Wellington took out the NPC, beating a Canterbury side that fielded 12 AB’s in the starting line up. International stars did their bit for the Lions, with Lomu scoring twice and Cullen setting up for Inoki…
Frankenfood
New Zealand’s Royal Commission on Genetic Engineering is being watched closely as the first chance for citizens of any country to say what they think about Frankenfood.
Top Class
Chopper, New Zealand-born director Andrew Dominik’s acclaimed bio-pic of the maniacal murderer, has received Australian Film Institute noms for Best Film and Best Direction, plus eight other nominations including Best Screenplay (penned by Dominik).
Kiwi KO
The Black Caps beat India in the ICC knock-out final, making 265 with four wickets and two balls to spare. Chris Cairns, player of the match, got his century in a “heroic performance” that rescued the…
Acing It
Wellington hair maestro Constantin Harach played his cards right to win the Moscow International Poker Tournament Pot Limit Omaha: “Aram rolls over 8K510 and Constantin 6QJA. Constantin’s up and down straight is made with a K…
Choice Joyce
Leilani Joyce, New Zealand #1 since ’97, didn’t drop a game on the way to becoming British Open Champion and World Squash #1. “The plan was quite simple,” says Joyce of her final game against England’s…
Eco Edge
“Politicians have got used to being told by their clever advisers and focus groups that the environment isn’t sexy. It doesn’t lead to votes. But that’s where the leadership thing comes in. If politics is merely about…
