Star of the year
Russell Crowe named “Male Star of the Year” at ShoWest 2001, the largest motion picture industry convention.
Blog Archives
Bird DNA
“The first ever functional genome sequences from an extinct species have been mapped by scientists at Oxford University. The mitochondrial DNA sequences were obtained from two giant moa and a Madagascan elephant-bird.”
Old Birds
Entering into the debate over cloning, Dr. Alan Cooper of Oxford comments that, despite the moa-mapping efforts of his team, “it is crucial that we do not become complacent and start assuming that we will be…
Go Russell, go!
“What we do in life/echoes in eternity.” Russell “Maximus” Crowe gets a second Best Actor nomination (last year was for The Insider), continuing a fine run of Wellington actors and filmmakers who have been…
Mad world of Milk
“In the real world, Lucinda probably would be in court-ordered psychotherapy, with a restraining order or two thrown in to boot. In the fanciful world of The Price of Milk, however, Cormack’s Lucinda is…
Nice snap
Kiwi AP photojournalist Greg Baker snapped third place in the World Press Photo of the Year Sports stories category for a series taken at a Chinese sports’ school.
How to remember the holocaust?
As conceptual architect of the “extraordinarily popular Museum of New Zealand Te Papa” Ken Gorbey has earned a reputation as a world leader in museum innovation – head hunted to be project director of…
Seats of Power
New Zealand backpackers unwittingly helped end apartheid, acting as bus-filling decoys for safari-organising gun-runners.
Which Way do I Jump?
Queenstown – the capital of adventure, or, as this ambivalent adventurer puts it, “dumb stuff”.
Foot Gloves
More than 50% of mass-market shoes just aren’t made to go on feet, but a small New Zealand company is an oasis of comfort among the pinching, making shoes that “fit like a glove”.
Wild Scent
Three New Zealand men kayaking across Antarctica have been chased by a leopard seal, run into a humpback whale and they’re starting to smell like penguins.
Thar’ She Blows!
New Zealand representatives at the International Whaling Commission are keeping up the pressure for a South Pacific Whale Sanctuary.
Lost in Te Anau
New Zealand-filmed BBC production of sci-fi dino classic The Lost World set to be “a ripping yarn with some of the most exotic locations we’ve seen in television drama”.
Actually Into It
New Zealand company Deep Video Imaging teams with Philips to incorporate actualdepth(TM) technology in next generation Philips monitors, creating “a new information display paradigm”.
Former Gov-Gen Dies
Sir David Beattie, former Governor-General and Supreme Court Judge, died suddenly in his home, aged 76.
Refresher Course
“New Zealand celebrates its National Day today. Situated in the South Pacific Ocean southeast of Australia, it is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. It has an area of 27,534 square kilometers. Its…
Johnny Appleseedless
Scientists at the New Zealand Horticulture and Food Research Institute have pin-pointed the gene that creates seedless apples. They hope to develop a commercial variety using the gene to switch off seed production.
Defending Champ
Michael Campbell came from behind to retain his title at the 2001 Heineken Classic in Perth.
Spy on Top
Of the bestseller lists that is. New Zealander Richard Tomlinson’s account of his time with MI6, The Big Breach, proves popular despite legal wrangling over publishing and copyright.
Headmaster Steps Down
New Zealander John Lewis, the first non-British headmaster at Eton and the man who shielded Wills from the press, will resign in 18 months, at the age of 60.
Kiwi Leads Brits
“Most of Kiwi Andrew Longmore’s working life has been devoted to the pursuit of sailing’s Holy Grail. No one has helmed more miles in an America’s Cup boat than Barnes, in racing, testing and development over…
Wonderboy
New Zealand apprentice jockey Michael Walker 16 years old, 18 months riding, 224 winners, 100 this half-season. Phenomenal.
Leader Saluted
“They don’t make people like Bob Mahuta very often,” said former treaty negotiations minister Sir Douglas Graham, paying tribute to the Tainui leader who died early this month.
LifeFX
Auckland University’s digital-face email-reading technology attracts interest after the institute invested in the Boston-based firm that’s commercialising the product.
Aim Off
Twenty years ago, Greg Chappell instructed his brother Trevor to deliver the ball underarm. It was all about sending a message to the Australian Cricket hierarchy …
Hunter is home from the (Beverly) hills
Rachel Hunter features in a movie about a furry antipodean who gets lost and ends up in LA…
In the can
“I can shut my eyes and imagine the movie playing in my head,” says Peter Jackson, spilling the exhaustion and elation of moving from filming to post-production.
Touch of Class
German band ATC’s Around the World (La La La La La) is big in Germany, but hasn’t hit New Zealand yet, home of singer “Joe”.
Philosophical Spilt
“Western philosophy starts with a conflict between reason and faith. But there is no such dichotomy in Indian philosophy where dharma is a part of philosophy. Everything is substantiated by reason,” says Victoria University Philosophy Professor Jaysankar L….
Sauvignon Summer
“Stick with sauvignon blanc. The good ones are so much better, for the price (Cloudy Bay, perhaps the best in the world–certainly the most striking–goes for less than a so-so California chardonnay), than other summer staples that…
Unforgettable
Skiing the South Island of New Zealand is an “unforgettable” experience – a “a must see for every true adventurer”.
Brooke on Board
Former AB Zinzan Brooke shucks his rugby jersey and climbs aboard the Team Veritas yacht for a leg of the BT Global Challenge.
Dalton Speaks
“Home, however briefly, is beckoning. We should be through the Cook Strait, which separates the North and South Islands of my home country, New Zealand, in four days and that means we will, as far as I…
Alas, No Elias
It’s time Britain had a female judge a la New Zealand Chief Justice Sian Elias, the conspicuous lone woman on the Privy Council.
Earthquake Aid
The New Zealand government has pledged $500,000 in earthquake aid for Gujerat, home state of many of New Zealand’s Indian immigrants.
Don’t Try and Amuse
The computer at a Japanese bank – “it isn’t wired for humour,” says the ex-New Zealand student Ramesh Thakur.
Jazzy sound
New Zealand’s c.l. bob impress in Melbourne, “an inventive ensemble whose music ranges from AfroCaribbean shuffles to Hendrix-style mayhem”.
Luna Live!
New Zealand-born Luna lead Dean Wareham’s “uber-romantic, world-weary lyrics” feature on recent release Luna Live!
We Want Waitangi
Canadian victims of the Feb blues want a holiday, citing Waitangi day’s health-giving properties.
Iron Birthday Suits
“It was my destiny to win today,” said birthday boy Kiwi Bryan Rhodes after his record-breaking 8hrs 41:53 win in the Malaysian Ironman Triathlon.
Smail Away
Seven days after coming home to take the New Zealand Open, David Smail won his second professional tournament after eight years playing – the Canon Challenge in Sydney.
Unheralded Edge
“To connoisseurs for whom the thrill of discovering an unheralded wine is almost as much fun as drinking it, educator John Sheldon’s advice is straightforward: ‘Move to the cutting edge’.”
Fast Sail
Grant Dalton’s big cat Club Med stripped 33 hours off the trans-Indian Ocean record, sighting Australia seven days, fourteen hours after passing the Cape of Good Hope.
Political Thrills
“I felt that this picture was made for me, because I love politics and I love making thrillers,” says Kiwi-spawned director Roger Donaldson of missile-drama Thirteen Days, reviewed as “a sleek, fast and…
Anti-nuke Action
Rainbow Warrior survivor Chris Robinson and New Zealand-based Henk Haazen and his family form part of the flotilla prostesting the shipping of nuclear waste through the Tasman sea. Australian shipments also raise ire.
Bonded Money
A province of Ontario 2008 bond in New Zealand dollars creates a flurry among savvy Canadian investors.
Over the Back Fence
“I think we should say this is not small-town New Zealand, it’s big town America. Whether we meet as neighbours is something for the future,” says Jim Bolger, asked about Bill and Hill, his ex-Presidential neighbours.
Big Breach
Kiwi ex-MI6 operative Richard Tomlinson’s memoirs, The Big Breach hits Russian bookshops and are serialised in the Sunday Times, to the dismay of the secret service establishment in Britain.
Hey Prestwick! An Airport
High-flying New Zealand airport developers Infratil snap up Prestwick Airport in Ayreshire, planning to turn it into a low-cost travel hub.
Fit to Judge?
New Zealand research shows juries have “fairly fundamental” misunderstandings of the law in over 7% of cases.
