Edge Message #102 from Brian Sweeney, producer NZEDGE.COM
Time for a bit of a catch-up …
New Zealanders living overseas have been vastly under-represented as voters in past General Elections – and so our friends at www.keanewzealand.com have launched a global campaign to encourage them to vote in this year’s election.
“It’s estimated that half a million of the Kiwis living overseas are eligible to vote,” writes Kea co-founder Stephen Tindall. “In the 2005 election, only 28,000 of them voted.” Kea’s Every Vote Counts campaign is an independent, non-partisan, non-government campaign launched to help redress that imbalance by reaching tens of thousands of eligible voters overseas and encouraging them to enrol and vote.
Any New Zealand citizen who has visited New Zealand in the last three years is eligible to vote – by Kea’s stats, that’s up to 90% of New Zealanders living overseas. Enrolling and voting is easy. The Every Vote Counts website www.everyvotecounts.co.nz shows you how to enrol, and has other election information and links to the political parties.
NEW ZEALANDERS IN GLOBAL HEADLINES
Photos above: Merino Kids, Patterson Associates’ “Mai Mai” house, Phoenix Foundation and Te Reo Google interface.
New Zealand headlines in this past month’s sampling of global media appearing in Daily Mail, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Rockford Register Star, The Monthly, The Washington Times, Forbes, Bloomberg, Denver Post, The Boston Globe, The New Yorker, Horse & Hound, Daily India, PhotoIcon, Art World Magazine, The Age, Moscow Times, Travel + Leisure, The Age, Los Angeles Times, Guardian, Telegraph, Post-Bulletin, International Herald Tribune, The Australian, Times Online, The Seattle Times, Irish Arts Reviews, Poetry London, Art Daily, National Post, The American Spectator, Independent and Fashion Week Daily include:
INNOVATION
– Patterson Associates finalists in World Architecture Awards, Barcelona
– Merino Kids founder Amie Nilsson’s Cocooi Wrap goes global
– Glenn Martin’s jetpack launched at aerospace show in Wisconsin
– Ed Mumm’s Colorado earthmoving sandpit Dig Thisa US first
– 2C Solar Light Cap, “perfect” in the dark on the Mississippi River
– ASR Limited, Raglan marine consultants, design Bournemouth reef
– Victoria University researchers add pure gold to fine merino
– Waitangi Park Wellington environmental model for urban renewal
– Jock Freemantle to launch ’08 version of BMW V8 Hulme supercar
– ZESPRI scientists consider kiwifruit’s potential as biogas
– Wayne McIlwraith, veterinarian and world authority on equine joints
– Wellington and Ottawa compared as “younger, new world” capitals
INTERNATIONAL SPORT
– Valerie Vili, 23, throws shot put 20.56m and wins gold in Bird’s Nest
– Evers Swindell twins beat German rivals by 0.01sec for gold medal
– Tom Ashley, 24, relieved at windsurfing past rivals to earn gold
– Nick Willis’ 1500m bronze “outstanding performance” – Walker
– Bevan Docherty wins men’s triathlon bronze – “I’ll be back”
– Rotorua’s Danny Lee youngest ever winner at US Golf Amateurs
– Jonah Lomu’s final try in “greatest” Bledisloe match recalled
– Pete Bethune, Earthrace skipper, smashes round-the-world record
– Anna Wilding on tennis champion Antony Wilding in New York
– Kathryn McPhee, freediver, 28, holds breath to clinch world record
– Michael Pickens, speedway driver, 25, dreams of NASCAR future
– Scott Campbell, 23, a Toronto Blue Jay, plays Yankee Stadium
– Barbara Kendall, windsurfer, 41, to Beijing and fifth Olympics
– Dion Lane, Auckland lumberjack, saws to victory in Rochester, US
– Jonah Lomu will play Twickenham match in aid of UK soldiers
– Mark Todd revels in competition, considers London Olympics, 2012
– Mark Todd jumps surprise hor concours at UK amateur event
– Marina Erakovic, 20, tennis No 1, an “amazing striker” at Wimbledon
– NZ under-20s win with “intelligent rugby” at world champs in Wales
– Michael Campbell dodged sheep on rural courses before US Open win
– Phar Lap’s mysterious 1932 death confirmed: arsenic poisoning
TE REO
– Maori art part of Musée du quai Branly Pacific exhibition, Paris
– New Zealand advances the land rights lantern into the future
– New Zealand’s military culture “proudest and toughest of 20th Century”
– Te Reo interface goes live on Google with 8750 words translated
– Maori population in Australia, dubbed “Maussies”, numbering 110,000
– Maori taonga part of extensive Pacific collection at Dublin museum
– Mountain Landing example of “undiscovered” land aimed at US buyers
– Charles Royal, chef, creates outdoor Maori feasts with ferns, tawhara
TRAVEL, TASTE, STYLE
– New Zealand’s “wondrous” winter sunsets, tempt photographers
– Nigel Coventry, travel editor, earns PATA Journalist of the Year award
– Alan Blundell-designed/owned Wellington boutique Ohtel reviewed
– Ataahua, design company, create “must have” coffee sack trilby
– Jessica McCormack, jeweller, designs “meticulous” diamond creations
– The Farm at Cape Kidnappers makes Travel + Leisure 2008 “It List”
– NZ wineries preferable to French and Californian says wine guru
– Far North Olive Oil finds its way to US farmers markets
– Matt Moss, caterer, in charge of feeding 10,000 athletes, Beijing
– Julianne Frith, 21, selected as barista for NZ Olympic team in Beijing
BUSINESS LEADERSHIP
– Stephen Jennings, CEO Renaissance Group, “phenomenal story”
– Graeme Hart tops NZ rich list surpassing Trump and Branson
– James McArthur takes CEO reins at Harrod’s reporting to Al Fayed
LITERATURE, ART, FILM, DANCE, MUSIC, THEATER
– Janet Frame’s 1954 A Night at the Opera features in New Yorker
– Janet Frame’s novel Towards Another Summer, “numinous”, “piercing”
– Kiri Te Kanawa “sang and conquered” with the Chicago Symphony
– Et al.’s “altruistic studies” at Basel, sparks curiosity about group
– Toa Fraser feature Dean Spanley for Toronto Festival premiere
– Joy Cowley, “genius of her place” like Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
– Cut Off Your Hands’ frontman Nick Johnston “the new Iggy Pop”
– Lemi Ponifasio, choreographer, and MAU perform ‘Requiem’ in NY
– Elizabeth Knox’s Dreamhunter Duet highly recommended in Canada
– Melanie Lynskey to star in Taranaki-based film, Show of Hands
– Shane Cotton’s latest paintings “perversely beautiful”, Art World
– BillyApple continues making art, life in ‘The Bruce and Denny Show’
– Indian Ink Company’s “enchanting” Candlestickmaker on in Brisbane
– Ladyhawke, indie rocker, 28, likened to Debbie Harry, Stevie Nicks
– Fat Freddy’s Drop latest 9-minute single ‘The Camel’ “ambitious”
– Martin Campbell, director, filming Edge of Darkness, stars De Niro
– Ruth Harley appointed CEO of new film agency, Screen Australia
– Ken Rea, Guildhall drama teacher, honoured for 30-year contribution
– Daniel Crooks, wins $100,000 Australian art prize for ‘Static no. 11’
– Russell Crowe “mercurial, irreverent” in lipstick on cover of PhotoIcon
– Bret McKenzie, actor, enjoys moonlit rollerdiscos and pies in LA
– Phoenix Foundation promotes album, Happy Ending in Australia
– Rozi Demant, artist, has international debut in US with Lovebirds
– Francis Upritchard, Judy Millar, to represent NZ at ’09 Venice Biennale
– Bill Manhire features on the cover of London literary magazine
– Ruby Suns, Auckland pop band, fuses NZ and Californian sounds
– New Plymouth’s 3-day music festival WOMAD “truly remarkable”
– Kerikeri pub setting for romance between US author and foundryman
– Sharon Finn’s debut exhibition ‘The Gilded Cage’ opens in Sydney
NATURE
– Auckland U marine biologists solve sonorous reef mystery
– Firth of Thames mudflats a feeding-ground for flocks of godwits
– Tuatara may become all male with global warming patterns
– Muttonbird nest reveals salmon tag, 10,170km from US origin
– Little Spotted Kiwi moved to the mainland for first time in 100 years
OBITURARIES
– Charles Dempsey, champion of NZ soccer’s ’82 campaign, dies, 86
– Brian Purchase, actor, cult reputation for “Dr Who” role, dies, 69
NEW: NGA KUPU AROHA: BLOG #25 BY DENIS O’REILLY, JULY 2008
“Low Blow”: Friends and whanau of friends pass into the long night: Tam Wong Shi, Joe Dread and Paris Magdalinos. A cross-cultural hari-mate at Waiohiki, Jacob Scott and Para Matchitt provide sculptures, Jimmy Baxter and Aeschylus the words. Denis reviews Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori and likes what he hears. Asian apprehension about crime unleashes the fury of the tiger and Mr Low invokes the threat of the Triads. Baroness Vivien Stern claims NZ is creating criminals by redefining problems of poverty as problems of crime. Denis believes we need to forget about tougher sentences and rethink the destination and application of our “justice dollars”. Winter solstice means time for planting and maybe some early crops, but like the outcomes of our community action, “ma te wa”, we’ll wait and see. (3,105 words) Read More
NEW ZEALAND EDGE INTERNATIONAL DATEBOOK
Rotterdam, Netherlands, 15 July – 30 November, Matariki Exhibition
Semi-permanent exhibition of Maori and Pacific art at the Groot Handelsgebouw, Rotterdam. Visit www.matariki.nl/News/GHG.php for more info.
United States (Various Locations), 30 August -14 September, Tim Finn
New Zealand music royalty, Tim Finn, plays across the States as a precursor to his latest album ‘The Conversation’ set for release in October www.myspace.com/timfinnmusic.
New York City, 10 September, Auckland Youth Symphony Orchestra
60-strong contingent perform the likes of Strauss, Ravel and Tchaikovsky on their two-week North American Tour. Starts 8pm at The New York Society for Ethical Culture (2 West 64th Street). Email to ayo@xtra.co.nz for more info.
London, 27 September, Toast New Zealand
New Zealand food, wine and beer, with entertainment from Supergroove and OpShop. Tickets £30. Email to info@toastfestivals.co.uk for more info.
Send International Datebook event details to isobel@nzedge.com.
See also http://www.keanewzealand.com/events/index.html.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Yum. Martin Bosley Cooks Award-winning Wellington chef and restaurateur Martin Bosley has launched his first book – down-to-earth recipes and stories that reflect Martin’s food philosophy of eating fresh, eating what’s in season, eating local, that food should please the eye as well as the palate, and that dining is a social event, not just a culinary one. Chapters from Bread to Liquid Assets. Photography by Jane Ussher. NZ$45.00 from
www.martin-bosley.com
Gum. Connecting the Clouds by Keith Newman documents the rise of the Internet in New Zealand and looks to the future as it becomes an increasingly vital part of our economic and social infrastructure. “From promising beginnings – New Zealand was the first nation in Asia-Pacific to fully connect to the US-based Internet backbone – we’re lead to the question of what went so wrong that a nation of early adopters of technology and the Internet plummeted to the bottom of the OECD scorecard for broadband, research development and technology reinvestment. We look at just why New Zealand has had to re-regulate the telecommunications market and, looking ahead, examine what happens when telecommunications, broadcasting, entertainment and computing converge on a common platform.” Writer Keith Newman has conducted over 100 interviews with visionaries and scientists, computer programmers, telecommunications experts, engineers, business leaders and politicians who have played a part in the rise of the Internet and those who will drive it forward into the next wave. 720pp
www.nethistory.co.nz
Hum. Rock from the Edge. The story of New Zealand artists and bands from the 50s through to the 80s who made an impact of one kind or another beyond these shores. This is an encyclopedic romp through the cream of our showbands, rock ‘n rollers, crooners and soul and pop outfits footing it in Australia, the USA and the UK. Also features jazz, classical and crossover. Also produced by Keith Newman.
http://www.wordworx.co.nz/
For full stories see /category/newzedge/, a 6,000-story whare of international activities by New Zealanders 2000-08.
Best regards from Wellington. Brian Sweeney, Producer, nzedge.com
