Jared Diamond's "paradigmatic case" is Rapa Nui

Accountability: the other climate change
An appeal to both self-interest and long-term thinking is essential to tackling the pressing threat of global climate change, says Simon Zadek.
Simon Zadek
openDemocracy
31 - 10 - 2006

This prognosis is suggested by Jared Diamond's best-selling analysis of why societies collapse. Societies are endangered, he argues, when their elites insulate themselves from the negative impact of their own actions in pursuit of power and privilege. His paradigmatic case is of Easter Island, where the overuse of wood products in the production of competing religious totems eventually destroyed its inhabitants' survival prospects.

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Chilean Ministry of Education to save Rapanui from extinction

Mapuche: Attempt to Save Dying Languages
Source: the Santiago Times
Unrepresented Nations and People Organization
October 29, 2006

Chile’s Ministry for Education is developing a program to save the country’s indigenous languages from extinction by teaching them to children in indigenous communities. The program, led by Education Minister Yasna Provoste Campilla, will aim to provide teaching materials for Mapudungun, Aymara, Quechua, and Rapa Nui.

Click here to read the complete article.

Unbroken "Easter Island Code" in new book

Author: Stephen Pincock
NDTV.com
October 30, 2006

Codebreaker surveys the entire history of codes through an eloquent narrative and an evocative range of illustrations, paying special attention to famous codes that have never been broken, such as the Beale Ciphers, the Voynich manuscript, the Easter Island code, and many more.

Click here to read the complete review.

Rapa Nui in top half of New7Wonders votes

Will Taj be among New Seven Wonders?
Neelam Raaj
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
Times of India
[ 29 Oct, 2006 0059hrs IST]

"At the moment, the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, Petra and the Easter Island statues are all in the top half of the voting but the Taj Mahal needs all the support she can get, since the other countries are also voting more strongly every day,"says Tia.

Click here to read the complete article.

Rapa Nui among exotic choices for destination marathons

Running Around During a Vacation
Jim Hage (hagej@washpost.com)
Washington Post
Sunday, October 29, 2006; Page E04

But more exotic locales, including the Safaricom Marathon in Kenya, the Great Wall Marathon in China and the Easter Island Marathon -- 2,000 miles from the South American Pacific coast, and "definitely a niche market marathon," Gilligan said -- have grown increasingly popular among runners whose pace is determined by a very different drummer.

Click here to read the complete article.

Chilean education program to save Rapanui's indigenous language

CHILE ATTEMPTS TO SAVE DYING LANGUAGES
By Cate Setterfield (editor@santiagotimes.cl)
SOURCES: EL MERCURIO, UNESCO
Santiago Times
(October 29, 2006)

Chile’s Ministry for Education is developing a program to save the country’s indigenous languages from extinction by teaching them to children in indigenous communities. The program, led by Education Minister Yasna Provoste Campilla, will aim to provide teaching materials for Mapudungun, Aymara, Quechua, and Rapa Nui.

Click here to read the complete article.

"Monolithic" pop culture references #19

Ever searching for news about Rapa Nui, this blog's administrator comes across many references to Rapa Nui and its famous moai. Often, these references are quite comical and have nothing to do with the island or the culture of Rapa Nui. Other times, they appear to be speculative, based more on misconceptions than reality, or downright bizarre. Here are some of the more recent references:

New York Observer:
The lighting upstairs is better than it was but still needs work. Although dim, it beams down from overhead, turning the people underneath into Easter Island sculptures. Apart from that, the room is very comfortable and the service, as in all Danny Meyer’s restaurants, is impeccable.

World Peace Herald:
For example, if a pattern etched into stone is discovered in ancient Egyptian ruins, people unconsciously perceive the involvement of a “designer.” Looking at the gigantic Moai statues on Easter Island, no one would think they came about by chance through many years of wind and rain.

Movie City News:
MEN AT WORK (Narrative, Iran), four middle-aged friends returning from a ski trip in Tehran find a strange object at the edge of a cliff. It might be an Easter Island-like stone statue or a fossilized tree, but in any case, its phallic monumentality presents a challenge and they become obsessed with literally overthrowing it. A hilarious comedy of machismo emerges as the men strategize, enlist passersby, and risk life and limb in this absurd project.

Plain Dealer:
Vhooda's design affects “Pirates of the Caribbean” meets Easter Island. It's just engaging enough to be whimsical without feeling forced.

Moai inspire contemporary art at Memphis museum

Brooks Introduces: Urban Primitive Works
Artdaily.com
Friday, October 27, 2006



















Easter Island idols, African ceremonial masks, voodoo dolls, and references to Lisa Marie Presley come together in an exhibition of contemporary work by at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. Urban Primitive Works by Christopher Wollard and Steven Troy Williams is part of the museum's ongoing series, Brooks Introduces, a program designed to showcase the work of young artists who are either currently in art school or recently graduated.

Click here to read the complete article.

Around the world dancer stopped in Rapa Nui

The Guy Who Danced Around the Globe
By Andrea Sachs
The Washington Post
Wednesday, October 25, 2006

Antarctica is the kind of place where it's very difficult to go to, and it costs a lot of money, and it takes a lot of time. It was somewhere I figured I'd never have an opportunity to go to, so that was at the top of my list. Also, Easter Island and the South Pacific, Micronesia, the Galapagos Islands.

Click here to read the complete article.

Shuffling off on worldwide tour
Web poster dances way across globe
By Andrea Sachs
Washington Post
Posted on Thu, Oct. 26, 2006

It was somewhere I figured I’d never have an opportunity to go to, so that was at the top of my list. Also, Easter Island and the South Pacific, Micronesia, the Galapagos Islands.

Click here to read the complete article.

"Ecocide" and Rapa Nui

How the World Works: Are we not rats?
Andrew Leonard
Salon.com
17:25 EDT, Oct. 23, 2006

In August, anti-environmentalists of all stripes pounced upon the publication, in the American Scientist, of University of Hawaii anthropologist Terry Hunt's account of why Jared Diamond ("Collapse," "Guns, Germs and Steel") was wrong about what really happened to the inhabitants of Easter Island. The executive summary: human-caused "ecocide" didn't result in the destruction of Eastern Island's civilization; instead, rats deforested the island and Western genocide wiped out the people.

Click here to read the complete article.

"Monolithic" pop culture references #18

Ever searching for news about Rapa Nui, this blog's administrator comes across many references to Rapa Nui and its famous moai. Often, these references are quite comical and have nothing to do with the island or the culture of Rapa Nui. Other times, they appear to be speculative, based more on misconceptions than reality, or downright bizarre. Here are some of the more recent references:

SpokesmanReview.com:

I'm talking about Easter Island vs. the Great Wall of China.

The Cud:
(Aside from Easter Island, Hawaii is the body of land furthest from any other landmass in the world.)

Lebanon Daily News:
Another option would be Easter Island, supposedly the remotest place on the planet. That would be somewhat relative, geographically I guess. Antarctica also is pretty remote, unless you live at the bottom tip of New Zealand’s South Island.

Moai "Canstruction" in North Carolina

Exploris exhibit - Projects illustrate artistic can-do
From Staff Reports
News and Observer
Published: Oct 23, 2006 12:30 AM
Modified: Oct 23, 2006 02:11 AM

Competing teams, led by architects and engineers, showcase their talents by designing giant sculptures made of canned foods. At the close of the exhibitions, the canned foods will be donated to the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina ... Among the landmarks created: the Taj Mahal in India, Big Ben in England, St. Basil's Cathedral in Russia and the Easter Island statues off the coast of Chile.

Click here for the complete article.

New7Wonders "race" is on

Race on to name new seven wonders
Herald Staff Report
Monterey County Herald
Posted on Sun, Oct. 22, 2006

Among the 21 finalists: The Acropolis, the Alhambra, Angkor Wat, Mexico's Chichen Itza, Rio de Janeiro's Christ the Redeemer statue, Rome's Colosseum and the Easter Island statues.

Click here to read the complete article.

New book about Rapa Nui's history, geology, and current affairs

Book Briefs
A crush of new books
Santa Cruz Sentinel
October 22, 2006

"Blue Planet & Beyond" tells the history of the island, its geology and what its modern-day inhabitants are doing to reinvigorate their society.

Click here for the complete article.

"Monolithic" pop culture references #17

Ever searching for news about Rapa Nui, this blog's administrator comes across many references to Rapa Nui and its famous moai. Often, these references are quite comical and have nothing to do with the island or the culture of Rapa Nui. Other times, they appear to be speculative, based more on misconceptions than reality, or downright bizarre. Here are some of the more recent references:

Press-Enterprise (PE.com):
Or picture a guy recording images as his performers fly on motorbikes past the impassive features of the sacred stone monuments on Easter Island. Or into the mouth of a volcano in New Zealand. Add a heavy-metal soundtrack, some half-naked women, lots of gnarly crashes, running commentary and razor-sharp, warp-speed editing -- and you've entered a truly "Crusty" universe.

JournalStar.com:
"It amazes me how spoiled-rotten Americans are, with our gas-guzzling SUVs and oversized...everything! If we don't nurture our habitat, our entire world will become one big Easter Island!"

Chicago Reader:
But even the stolid original had its undercurrent of the strange. It showed up in the plotting. The on-screen action achieved an Easter Island immobility, but the stories would shift and twist like dreams.

San Luis Obispo Tribune:
The style of owner Susan Schinsing’s baby-boomer generation can be seen everywhere in her store, Moai Sue. She sews her own retro bags, aprons and pillows. T-shirts of 1950s B-movies, Hawaiian leis and a tiki room are also on display. Schinsing sells accessories and helps people organize parties with odd themes. “The more unusual things are a challenge. I like that,” she says.

Rapa Nui presentation by John Kahn in New Paltz, NY

Arts Briefs Oct. 19-25
By Germain Lussier
Times Herald-Record
October 19, 2006

Unison Arts & Learning Center. "Easter Island," a multimedia presentation with John Kahn, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 20, 68 Mountain Rest Road, New Paltz. Cost $10. Call 255-1559.

Click here for the complete article.

Click here for details about the event.

New7Wonders' 21 finalists includes Rapa Nui's moai

The world is eagerly awaiting the newseven wonders of the world...And the finalists are...
Non-profit Swiss foundation called New7Wonders which specialises in the preservation, restoration and promotion of monuments, announced 21 finalists for the New Seven Wonders of the World. The results will be announced on July 7, 2007, in Lisbon. Besides the Pyramids of Giza, none of the seven ancient wonders of the world made it to the list.
Mumbai Mirror
Wednesday, October 18, 2006



Moai are statues carved from compressed volcanic ash on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The statues are all monolithic, that is, carved in one piece. The largest moai erected, “Paro”, was almost 10 metres (33 feet) high and weighed 75 tonnes

Click here to read the full article.

"Monolithic" pop culture references #16

Ever searching for news about Rapa Nui, this blog's administrator comes across many references to Rapa Nui and its famous moai. Often, these references are quite comical and have nothing to do with the island or the culture of Rapa Nui. Other times, they appear to be speculative, based more on misconceptions than reality, or downright bizarre. Here are some of the more recent references:

Bloomberg.com:
But the point of the Gergiev-Tsypin ``Ring'' remains elusive. Its symbols are mixed (the Egyptian motif is especially vexing) and its logic fuzzy. (Why is Hunding's rustic hut constructed of giant carved figures suggesting Easter Island?)

Daily Sentinel:
Mysterious, enormous heads dot the island — which was discovered by the Dutch in 1722. At that time, 3,000 people were living in squalid reed huts and caves, engaged in almost perpetual warfare and resorting to cannibalism in a desperate attempt to supplement the meagre food supplies available on the island.

Lonely Planet writer's journey into solitude

Two similar articles by Lonely Planet's Gregor Clark discuss his recent trip to Rapa Nui - and offer travel suggestions.


Ancient statues magnify journey into solitude
Lonely Planet: Easter Island
By Gregor Clark
Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:10/13/2006 05:27:51 PM MDT

A two-hour walk brought me to the island's easternmost point, where cliffs dropped in all directions to the unbroken sweep of Pacific below. I felt like the last man on Earth.

Click here to read the complete article.

Sleeping at the feet of stone giants
Wild horses roam and statues guard the tranquil Easter Islands
By Gregor Clark
LONELY PLANET
Photography by Paul Kennedy/Lonely Planet Images
Contra Costa Times
Posted on Sun, Oct. 15, 2006

Back at my campsite, nightfall brought soft South Pacific breezes, the smell of dried grasses and the constant rustling of leaves. I was alone, under the stony gaze of hundreds of moai, their pockmarked faces gleaming in the moonlight.

Click here to read the complete article.

"Thought Travels" artist inspired by moai

Thought Travels at The James W. Palmer Gallery
Artdaily.com
Sunday, October 15, 2006

Works by the sculptor Strong-Cuevas, including those in her new exhibition Thought Travels, often suggest objects produced by mighty civilizations. Comparisons can be made to figures seen, for example, in Mayan and Egyptian art, from the profiles of people depicted in narrative wall paintings to the simple lines of works in stone made in tribute to revered rulers and omnipotent deities, including the enigmatic heads of Easter Island.

Click here to read the complete article

Princess Cruises to visit Rapa Nui

Escape to exotic destinations few ships visit
Source = Princess Cruises
e-Travel Blackboard
Friday, October 13, 2006

Twelve of Princess’ 17 luxury liners - from 670-passenger boutique ships to 2670-passenger superliners - will take modern day explorers in comfort to faraway, rarely visited ports such as Chuuk Island in Micronesia, Panama’s San Blas Islands, Quito in Ecuador, Christmas Island in Kiribati and Easter Island with its famous ancient statues.

Click here to read the full article.

"Monolithic" pop culture references #15

Ever searching for news about Rapa Nui, this blog's administrator comes across many references to Rapa Nui and its famous moai. Often, these references are quite comical and have nothing to do with the island or the culture of Rapa Nui. Other times, they appear to be speculative, based more on misconceptions than reality, or downright bizarre. Here are some of the more recent references:

Seattle Times:
Jeju's basalt is the raw material for its historic and ubiquitous harubang — carved "stone grandfathers" whose original purpose is as big a mystery as that of the Easter Island monoliths they vaguely resemble. Today these whimsical figures, with their bulging eyes and protruding bellies, are to Jeju what Mickey Mouse is to Disneyland. You'll find reproductions at every souvenir stand on the island.

Oregonian:
Mr. T is an economy-sized man whose python-like biceps erupt from a sleeveless shirt. Whose massive chest glitters with gold. Whose face is twisted in a perpetual sneer. Whose Easter Island-caliber skull sports a severe Mohawk.

Taunton Gazette:
In the end the Dighton Rock, like many ancient mysteries - Stonehenge, Easter Island - comes down to examining all the theories and all the evidence and deciding for yourself.

New York Sun:
Completed in 2002, the Forum is one of the latest landmarks in Midtown, a 24-story structure squeezed into a lot intended for a town house. To the consternation of passersby, its hulking, gray metallic mass slopes sharply downward, the bastard child of an Easter Island totem and a Tyrolean skiramp.

Tingo book review

A word for it
Robert Colville on The Meaning of Tingo Self-Made Man Lee Miller Benedict XVI Benjamin Franklin and the Birth of America
by Rober Coville
The Observer
Sunday October 8, 2006

On Easter Island, you can 'borrow things from a friend's home one by one until there is nothing left' - the 'tingo' of the title.

Click here for the complete article.

Click here to buy The Meaning of Tingo at the Guardian bookshop.

"Monolithic" pop culture references #14

Ever searching for news about Rapa Nui, this blog's administrator comes across many references to Rapa Nui and its famous moai. Often, these references are quite comical and have nothing to do with the island or the culture of Rapa Nui. Other times, they appear to be speculative, based more on misconceptions than reality, or downright bizarre. Here are some of the more recent references:

Press & Argus:
Howell school officials reveal that they'll be removing "Easter Island" from all but 30 percent of the world maps in the district.

Australian:
Malcolm Fraser was troubled with a back problem which might on some days have accentuated his Easter Island stone statue look so beloved by cartoonists.

Buzzle.com:
Today's grand prix drivers are taught to give nothing away. They live in a world of secrets. They are permitted to betray neither technical strengths nor psychological weaknesses. In public their utterances are purged of substance. And never is that blankness more apparent than in the post-race press conferences, when the men who finished second and third - the first of the losers, in other words - impersonate a pair of Easter Island statues.

Rapa Nui as environmental "tipping point"

Reaching our environmental 'tipping point'
By JOHN M. CRISP
Capital Hill Blue
October 2, 2006 2:05 PM

It's hard to imagine, but it's happened before, on a smaller scale. In his book "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed," geographer Jared Diamond examines the factors that led to the extinction of a number of ancient societies, including Easter Island, the Anasazi, the Maya, and Norwegian colonies in Greenland.

Click here to read the complete article.

World cruises entice with Rapa Nui visits

Cruise the world
Prepare to be pampered, but you'll need deep pockets
By BARB FOX & JIM FOX -- Special to Sun Media
Canoe
Sun, October 1, 2006

Sightseeing excursions are equally enticing such as four-wheel drive trips in the Namibian desert, evening concerts at Ephesus in Turkey or explorations of the mystical Moai statues on Easter Island.

Click here to read the complete article.