Edge Message #80 from Brian Sweeney, producer NZEDGE.COM

Greetings to new friends at NZEDGE.COM from Toronto, Melbourne, Saskatoon, Hollywood, Sydney, London, Perth, Vancouver, Santiago, Munich, Singapore, JinHua, Chaterlault, Monteria, Abu Dhabi, Manchester and Dublin as well as Wanaka, Wellington, Whakatane, Taumarunui, Picton, Katikati, Rotorua, Porirua and Auckland, and many other points between.

Traffic Report: 785,000 page downloads from Jan 01 06; of which 194,000 were for NZEDGE Hero stories /category/legends/ and 135,000 for our Media pages /category/newzedge/. Thanks for visiting.

COUNTING THE BEATS
Global Census of New Zealanders – Hurry – survey closes Sunday 7 May!
Like NZEDGE, Kea (previously the Kiwi Expats Association) http://www.keanewzealand.com believes that connecting the international population of New Zealand is a vital part of our national purpose and groove moving forward. Kea has instigated a global census of New Zealanders. To date 28,000+ New Zealanders in 160 countries have responded. Please participate – your input is extremely valuable. The survey is based on the NZ Census and Kea will produce a research report with the findings after the survey closes. Please hurry as the survey ends on Sunday 07 May. To fill out your survey rush to http://www.everyonecounts.co.nz. There are some exciting prizes available, but you have to be in to win!

Recent ads run by NZEDGE include a series in the recent NZ International Festival programmes in Wellington to highlight the whereabouts of the million or so New Zealanders and families living in the world (new ads are bottom right).

Registered at NZEDGE.COM are people from a 1000+ locations. Our whanau whanui ki te Aonui. Being an exceptional team of five million is a goal shared by both NZEDGE and Kea – New Zealand’s Global Talent Community.

WORLD NEWS OF NEW ZEALANDERS /category/newzedge/
From the online pages of the world’s media, stories of New Zealanders making their distinctive touchpoint on the planet include:

– Nancy Wake WWII heroine honoured by NZ
– Nick Willis’ iconic 1500m win at Commonwealth Games
– Earth Race, 100% Bio-diesel Boat aims for global record
– Malcolm Kendall-Smith puts it on the line on Iraq
– Forbes ranks NZ “investor friendly”
– NZ leads world environmental performance – Yale Report
– Heart surgeon Sir Brian Barrett-Boyes passes
– New Zealanders find source of Nile in Rwanda
– Scientists find dinosaur bones on Chathams
– Sione’s Wedding raved about, sets records in NZ, Samoa
– Artmeisters Jim Barr & Mary Barr profiled in Contemporary
– Sam Neill profiled by BBC in AsiaPacific superstar series
– Fonterra Te Rapa cheese milks Silver at World Champs
– Artist Derek Ward exhibits retrospective in Norwich
– Silvia Cartwright to Cambodian War Crimes Tribunal
– Director Andrew Niccol confronts Lord of War (N.Cage)
– Denim designer Nicole Colvos subject of Me profile
– Hinewehi Mohi among edge women in Adventure Divas
– Carlos Spencer walks on Northampton water
– Artist Julian Dashper dials up first solo show in New York
– Robin Maconie delivers Stockhausen biography
– David Howell graces Interior Design cover
– Frances Upritchard located in the personal and imperfect
– Sculptor Paul Dibble designs London War Memorial
– Saatchi creates podcasts for Patricia Piccanini capital show
– National Geographic big wow on NZ Dreamland
– Frances Hodgkins, Barrie Bates (Billy Apple) in Art Survey
– Bloomsbury founder Liz Calder honoured in Brazil
– King Kong special effects cover feature in Cinefex
– Bic Runga’s new album “lush, dark, majestic”
– Lomak computer navigator design highlight in UK
– Jerry Matepare heads NZ Defence Force
– Fairfax goes to checkout with Trade Me purchase
– Novelist Anne Perry opens up
– Brett Hansen closes on MTV at 50
– Phil Keoghan’s Amazing Race continues
– Toa Fraser’s No 2 wins Sundance Audience Award
– Anna Wilding’s Buddha Wild premieres in LA
– Paul Hunt reports on Guantanamo Bay
– John Kirwan on growing global rugby
– Keith Urban wins Grammy – Best Male Country Vocalist
– Russell Crowe revs up the Rabbitohs in Sydney
– Courtney Love’s mother on Nelson experiences
– Paul Oestreher on guilt and forgiveness
– Rachel Hunter on style and jewels
– Speights gets thumbs up in Indiana
– Waikato U carbon date Chinese world map
– Batch Espresso edgy in Melbourne
– Karen Walker’s London show top trend setter
– NZ’s agricultural industry meets US praise
– Rotorua’s Polynesian Spa makes top 50 list
– Dalai Lama launches NZ/Australia year of Tibet
– Gold and silver for Natural History NZ at NY Festivals
– David Penman elected to Global BioDiversity Facility
– Washington school rugby team with NZ connection
– NZ merino stocks top Italian fashion house
– Teddy Tahu Rhodes sets opera hearts throbbing
– Neil Pearce elected President Int. Epidemiology Association
– Hamilton hosts World Indigenous People’s Conference
– Rex Morgan takes Guardian writer on culinary tour
– New York Times weighs NZ’s role in world cinema
– Bill White’s engine goes back to the future
– Wellington to host world Pinot festival
– Pulling power of LOTR cinema-tourism recognised
– 2005 Michael Campbell’s year

and many more stories about New Zealand’s international edge at /category/newzedge/

AN EDGE IN THE USA – NEW ZEALAND MAGAZINE
Publisher Marty Behrens moves a sophisticated face of New Zealand through USA newstands with Issues #2 and #3 of NEW ZEALAND MAGAZINE, featuring the haka, pounamu, the Kepler Track, Richard Pearse, Las Vegas/Nelson connoisseur Glenn Schaeffer, Michael Campbell, World of Wearable Art, Pinot Noir, Queenstown property and a terrific pavlova recipe.

Here is a link to the digital version of the magazine LINK, which will stay live until June 30. If you are in the States, head into one of 1,800 magazine sellers nationwide including your local Borders or Barnes & Noble to get a copy of the issue # of the magazine which features tangihana, glacier heli-touring, paua, rugby, Pinot Gris, Peter Gordon’s Dine, Dick Frizzell, Hawkes Bay, Antarctica, our Wairarapa Stonehenge and fishing with the ghost of Zane Grey.

http://www.nzmag-digital.com/nzmag/20060203/?sub_id=DOhi0ztQamK3P

NGA KUPU AROHA: WORDS OF LOVE. DENIS O’REILLY BLOG

# 11: Reo of the Nation
From P to Parihaka and the Pentagon, Den travels the inspirations and issues that make us lively in Aotearoa 2006: the continued exposure to te reo Maori and the repetitive cultural rituals that refuel the soul; the Parikaha Interational Peace Festival and a debate held on the site of Te Whiti’s house about an alternative approach to methamphetamine; a new sense of cultural fusion in Taranaki; new projects at the Waiohiki Creative Arts Village in Hawkes Bay and the Mokai Whanau Ora project in Wellington; Maori Television; media tripe; and Kiwi or Iwi? – “will we be brave enough to use a bicultural approach to create a sense of place and space rather than a division?” read more

# 10: Crime and Punishment
9,000 New Zealanders will be imprisoned by 2010. Re-offending is running at 86% within five years of release. Programs to overcome illiteracy, drug and alcohol addiction are remote. There is a massive racial skew. About a billion dollars is being spent on building more prisons. Denis notes Finland had a higher rate of imprisonment than NZ, but halved it. Via a Whanganui gang scrap between the Mongrel Mob and Hells Angels, a run-in with Mayor Michael Laws, and a salute to Robert Muldoon’s “intelligent pragmatism and genuine humanitarianism”, Denis makes a challenge for sustainable strategies that are inclusive, that invest in people’s lives and help them find what is more meaningful in their lives than substance abuse and self-defeating behaviour. Plus a jab at the classic Kiwi “we gotta do something” response to the matter of P. read more

JANEINSIDE
JaneInside is a New Zealand teenager’s journey from the age of 12 to 21. While it is Jane Thomsen’s own story, it could apply to any teenager in any town. The book is about Jane trying to fit in and find out who she should be as opposed to who she is. This leads to a downward spiral at school, relationship problems, drugs and her own near suicide. The story provides a unique teenager perspective on suicide, drink driving, abortion and abuse.

“Five stars. This is a must-read for all ages. It’s raw, it’s real and it’s a true story.” NZ Girlfriend. “What an awe-inspiring book! A true account from a parent who isn’t in denial about what it is like to be a teenager. JaneInside gave me a greater understanding of why we as teenagers feel the way we do.” Keisha Castle-Hughes. “This is one extraordinarily powerful book…a unique teenage perspective on dysfunctional family relationships, school problems, peer pressure…Jane’s voice is gritty, to the point credible teenspeak.” Malborough Express.

KR ON RUGBY

Prince Obolensky Lecture
In February NZEDGE.COM co-founder Kevin Roberts gave the Prince Obolensky Lecture to a British parliamentary audience at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London – a tour through what makes the All Blacks (“obsidian warriors”) so compelling, and a swathe through the issues and solutions to the great global game.

Six Nations Sub Optimum
”The Northern Hemisphere is suffering from too much rugby played in sub optimum weather conditions. Teams are over programmed defensively, over coached, and under skilled. Injuries were common place reflecting an impossible playing schedule and outdated conditioning training. There’s a lot of ground to be made up in the next 12 months to prevent the All Blacks, the Springboks and, I’m sure, a resurgent Wallaby side under Connolly, from dominating World Cup action in France.” < Kea AWARDS WORLD CLASS NEW ZEALANDERS
Seven high achieving New Zealanders were honoured at a gala dinner in Auckland in March for their individual achievements and their global impact on New Zealand’s reputation and economy. Congratulations. The winners: