"Monolithic" pop culture references #36

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:

Evolution News and Views:

Finally, as another way to see Sober’s error, think of things that we know are designed--the arrangement of stones at Stonehenge, say, or the statues at Easter Island. Now if you are like me, you have no idea who made these things or why. And yet we know they are designed. This clearly shows that design inferences can be independent of assumptions about designers’ identities, motives, and purposes.

BostonHerald.com:
And then there were all the jokes on TV Wednesday night, like Dennis Miller on Fox saying that now Kerry can go back to his old job as a statue on Easter Island.

SportsFan Magazine:
Actually, that might have been unfair since both players are significantly bigger than the goal line pylon and so they could indeed cover it if they could ever catch up to it; but they couldn't cover an Easter Island statue...

Sundance director previously made film about Rapa Nui

Park City '07 SHORTS NOTEBOOK
Create Your Own Shorts Playlist: Over Forty Sundance Films are Just a Mouse Click Away
by Kim Adelman
indieWIRE
January 27, 2007

The director previously made films about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the exploration of Easter Island, and the end of the world. Makes one wonder what the first two trypps covered.

Click here for complete article.

EcoTeam to visit Rapa Nui

Teen on journey of 'Discovery'
Jim Staats
Marin Independent Journal
Article Launched: 01/26/2007 06:02:27 PM PST

The EcoTeam expedition itinerary includes Belize, Easter Island, Antarctica, Madagascar, Kenya, Venice, Harlem, Virginia and the Florida everglades.

Click here for complete article.

Rapa Nui's moai are "more traditional, ancient" New7Wonders finalists

Help choose new Seven Wonders of the World
By Susan Page
The North Wind (Northern Michigan U.)
Friday Jan 26, 2007

Some of the finalists are relatively new, such as the Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel Tower and the Christ Redeemer statue in Brazil. If a structure's ''newness'' contradicts a person's definition of what makes a Wonder of the World, then they can vote for more traditional, ancient finalists, like the statues at Easter Island, to become the new wonders.

Click here for complete article.

Moai a highlight in popular museum movie

Movie review
Tim Ochser
Baltic Times
Jan 24, 2007

I loved the Easter Island head in particular: “Hey, dum-dum. Give me gum-gum.”

Click here for complete review.

Diamond book a stark warning

Is our world sustainable? A stark warning ...
COLLAPSE: How Societies choose to fail or succeedJared Diamond, Penguin Books, 2005
A book review by Roger Beck and David Young
Robson Valley Times
Wednesday, 24 January 2007

Diamond scrutinizes a large number of societies--past and present--to assess their sustainability. The goal is for us to learn how to avoid social and economic collapse before it is too late. Examples of societies that have failed include Easter Island (Pacific), the Anasazi (North America), the Maya (Middle America), and the Vikings of Greenland (North Atlantic).

Click here for complete review.

"Monolithic" pop culture references #35

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:

Geelon Advertiser:
Chariots of the Gods had an incredulous international community believing aliens visited the Earth in prehistoric times, bringing technology to ancient civilisations to explain mysteries such as Stonehenge, the Easter Island statues, Inca ruins and Peru's famed Nazca Lines. And even author Graham Hancock, whose writings argue a sophisticated race of humans inhabited the earth before dying out in the last ice age.

City Pulse:
The cake is served warm, perched vertically on its shoulders like an Easter Island head, with a chocolate sauce and double-chocolate-dipped fork and spoon.

Fox News:
DENNIS MILLER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, first off, Bill, I have to tell you, I'm operating under a heavy heart tonight, what with this John Kerry announcement that he's not going to run, going back to his day job as an Easter Island statue. I'll try to soldier on.

Rapa Nui as eco-morality tale

Age of Inconclusive Wars
Written by Sundeep Waslekar
Media Line
Published Wednesday, January 24, 2007

What happened in Easter Island, a small piece of paradise and advanced civilisation in the Pacific, is of relevance to the entire world. What the Easter Islanders did there is being played out on a bigger screen on the earth.

Click here for complete article.

Another mention of Rapamune

Peruvian Indians root for libido-boosting plant WORLD BRIEFINGS
Washington Times, DC - Jan 22, 2007
... owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., is taken from the bark of the yew tree, and Wyeth's kidney-transplant drug Rapamune comes from Easter Island soil. ...

Erecting moai inconsistent with Rapanui ecology

David Keller
NetXNews
January 21, 2007

For example, Easter Island culture's ritual of erecting gigantic stone monuments was not consistent with the ecology of the island ecosystem, and led to the end of that civilization.

Click here for complete article.

Rough landing at Hangroa Airport

Simon Calder: The Man Who Pays His Way
by Simon Calder
Belfast Telegraph
[Published: Monday 22, January 2007 - 14:11]

The airport in question is Easter Island's lovely little landing strip (right). Every plane landing here touches down heavily. The reason: each is carrying enough fuel to fly for at least five more hours, in case the airport is fogbound, or otherwise incapacitated.

Click here for complete article.

Popular around-the-world dancer danced in Rapa Nui

YOUR NIGHTLY VIDEO: "Dancing Matt," or -- 4.4 Million YouTube Viewers Can't Be Wrong
By Greg Mitchell
Editor & Publisher
Published: January 22, 2007 11:30 PM ET

This slacker literally danced across seven continents. Watch him dancing on top of the Great Wall, on Easter Island, in Monument Valley, Antarctica, Rwanda and Machu Picchu, and seemingly, everywhere else, captured by his own little video camera. For the background, see his bio from his site reprinted (below) here.

Click here for complete article.

Deforestation led to extinction of dodo on Rapanui

Bird extinctions may quicken
Loss of habitat, warming, cats are all factors
BY JIM WAYMER
FLORIDA TODAY
January 23, 2007

Polynesians, for one, cut down too many trees on Easter Island, killing off most birds there, including the dodo.

Click here for complete article.

Rapa Nui/moai-inspired graffiti photographed in London

Moai Graffiti in London
posted by Tiki Chris
Photography by Emiana © 2007
Tiki Chris
Monday, January 22, 2007










The other day while strolling along Regents Canal and Essex Street in Islington, Emiana and I came across these samples of street art with a bit of Polynesian flair.

Click here for complete post.

"Monolithic" pop culture references #34

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:

City Pages:
Her face is three-fourths Beautiful Woman and one-fourth androgynous Easter Island moai, and her charismatic dignity balanced out the dour chords and on-their-last-leg beats of Haines's latest, Knives Don't Have Your Back.

Jackson Hole Star Tribune:
Western hospitality is one thing, but on Easter Island the whole town showed up at the airport. "It's a major welcoming committee," Mueller said.

Hawaiian forest disappearance similar to Rapanui's

Rats likely decimated Ewa forest
Oahu's Ewa Plain once had a large native dryland forest that suddenly disappeared, similar to Easter Island
By Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.com
Honolulu Star Bulletin
Vol. 12, Issue 21 - Sunday, January 21, 2007

Oahu's Ewa Plain once had a large native dryland forest that suddenly disappeared, similar to the forest on Easter Island, according to archaeological studies.

Click here for complete article.

Rats the cause of Rapanui deforestation?

Rats latest culprit in Rapa Nui's demise
A UH researcher disputes that people caused deforestation
By Helen Altonnhaltonn@starbulletin.com
Honolulu Star Bulletin
Vol. 12, Issue 21 - Sunday, January 21, 2007

Millions of rats, rather than humans, may have caused Easter Island's ecological devastation, suggests a University of Hawaii-Manoa anthropologist.

Click here for complete article.

Moai-style climbing walls

Climbers: Don't let winter keep you down
In or out of town, climbing walls may be more available than you think
By SAM DOLNICK
The Associated Press
Mail Tribune
January 19, 2007

The company builds custom climbing walls for private use, public playgrounds or any organization that wants its own gigantic climbing rock. They can be made to look like arches, boulders, Easter Island heads — any structure you'd like to climb.

Click

Night at the American Museum of Natural History

Night of the Iguanas (and Dinosaurs and Whales) in the Museum Wilds
By LAUREL GRAEBER
New York Times
Published: January 19, 2007

In a nod to the film, which features exterior shots of the museum but none of its interiors, the goodie bag for campers has a sheet describing which objects seen in the movie can actually be found in the galleries (an Easter Island head and a cross-section of a giant sequoia, for example) and which cannot (Sacagawea and Attila the Hun, for starters).

Click here for complete article.

Should Rapa Nui's moai be picked as New7Wonder?

Picking new wonders of the world
By Rich Lewis, January 18, 2007
Sentinel Online
Last updated: Thursday, January 18, 2007 10:26 AM EST

But should it be Stonehenge or the Easter Island statues? The Acropolis, the Colosseum in Rome, or the Kremlin? Macchu Picchu, Angkor, Taj Mahal or Alhambra? The Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Christ Redeemer in Brazil?

Click here for complete article.

TV show mixed Rapa Nui speculation with spirituality

Aurora-based network producing television, movies with a message
Herald News
January 18, 2007

TLN initially got involved in film production after the success of its "Encounters with the Unexplained" series, hosted by the late Jerry Orbach. The show, which aired on the PAX network, took an "Unsolved Mysteries" approach to topics like Bigfoot and Easter Island, and mixed in biblical stories and other spiritual tales.

Click here for complete article.

Panel experts included Rapa Nui among New7Wonders finalists

Chichen Itza:A new world wonder?
Admirers of Mexico, stand and be counted.
By Karla Barnes
Times-News: Magicvalley.com
Story published at magicvalley.com on Thursday, January 18, 2007
Last modified on Thursday, January 18, 2007 12:08 AM MST

What was once a list of 77, has now been whittled down to 21 finalists by a panel of experts chaired by the former Unesco chief Federico Mayor. This list includes the Acropolis, Alhambra, Angkor Wat Temple, Chichen Itza, Christ the Redeemer in Brazil, the Colosseum, Easter Island Statues, Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China, Hagia Sophia, Kyomizu Temple in Japan, Kremlin, Machuu Picchu, Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany, Petra, the Pyramids of Giza, the Statue of Liberty, Stonehenge, Sydney Opera House, Taj Mahal and Timbuktu.

Click here for complete article.

Rapanui "ignored nature"

THE NEXT ADDED 100 MILLION AMERICANS' PART 17
Frosty Woolridge
NewsWithViews.com
January 18, 2007

In his book, “COLLAPSE: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed,” Pulitzer Prize winning author Jared Diamond illustrated how great civilizations dismantled their own sustainability. On tiny Easter Island, humans ignored nature, cut down all the trees, built 50 ton rock monuments and died of overpopulation via starvation.

Click here for complete article.

Rapa Nui News now on MySpace

Make sure to visit the new Rapa Nui News MySpace profile and to become a "friend."

Just click on the image below or visit http://myspace.com/rapanuinews.

Moai stood guard at Ohio's Kahiki

Lavish, award-winning bar rebuilds in Hilliard
Jim Baird
Latern
Issue date: 1/17/07

Easter Island statues with fires burning on their heads stood guard at the entrance. Among thatch huts and palm trees, luau music rang out, as thunder from the rain forest echoed over the fog.

Click here for complete article.

Hurst TV to feature Rapa Nui

Hurst TV airs ‘Digging for the Truth’ marathon
Mercyhurst College
Released on Tuesday, January 16, 2007

... whether it’s trekking through Ethiopia in search of the lost Ark of the Covenant, tackling the mystery of Cleopatra’s death, searching for the hidden treasures of the Incas, or exploring Easter Island. “Digging for the Truth” is educational and fun for people of all ages.

Click here for complete article.

Custom climbing walls can be made to look like moai

Weather no barrier for fitness-minded with indoor walls, boulders to scale
By SAM DOLNICK
The Associated Press
Green Bay Press-Gazette
Posted January 16, 2007

The company builds custom climbing walls for private use, public playgrounds or any organization that wants its own gigantic climbing rock. They can be made to look like arches, boulders, Easter Island heads — any structure you'd like to climb.

Click here for complete article.

Rapanui culturally connected to other peoples in Oceania

The ties that brine
Tracing connections between the people of Oceania.
ANU Reporter
January 16, 2007

Melanesia butts up against Polynesia, which dips down beneath New Zealand and stretches as far east as Easter Island.

Click here for complete article.

Imaginative Traveller's "Easter Island Extension"

‘BRAZIL’ IN FOCUS WITH IMAGINATIVE TRAVELLER
Source = The Imaginative Traveller
e-Travel Blackboard
January 14, 2007

The operator has added new FIT options if passengers want to extend their stay in South America. On the 6 day ‘Rio Carnival Extension’ ($1955 per person twin share or *$2975 single), passengers have the option to witness the colour and magic that is ‘Carnival’! A 5-day ‘Easter Island Extension’ costs only (AU$575 per person twin share or AU$715 single), where they’ll spend time exploring the most isolated place on the planet.

Click here for complete press release.

Rapanui divided over future of moai

Easter Island divided over future restoration of historic stone statues
LARRY ROHTER
Scotland on Sunday
Last updated: 14-Jan-07 00:06 GMT

AS REMNANTS of a vanished culture and a lure to tourists, the mysterious giant statues along its rocky coast are Easter Island's greatest treasure.

For local people, though, they also present a problem: what should be done about the hundreds of other stone icons scattered around the island, many of them damaged or still embedded in the ground?

Click here for complete article.

January's Conde Nast Traveler has Rapa Nui info

Soup and Snorkeling in Tunisia
Washington Post
Sunday, January 14, 2007; Page P04

WORTH A TRIP: January's Conde Nast Traveler has several destinations to ornament your dreams: Easter Island, Italy's Dolomites and Gjain, a gorge in Iceland filled with wildflowers.

Click here for complete article.

More Rapamune mentions

Bioprospecting: Who has rights to nature's cures?
Seattle Times, WA - Jan 12, 2007
... Taxol owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb is taken from the bark of the yew tree, and Wyeth's kidney-transplant drug Rapamune comes from Easter Island soil. ...

Patent piracy
Online Athens (subscription), GA - Jan 14, 07
Wyeth's kidney transplant drug Rapamune comes from Easter Island soil. But bioprospecting is mostly unregulated and there are mounting calls to establish ...

Prospecting in the biosphere
Houston Chronicle, TX - Jan 14, 07
... owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is taken from the bark of the yew tree, and Wyeth's kidney transplant drug Rapamune comes from Easter Island soil. ...

"Monolithic" pop culture references #33

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:

GameInformer:
Blow up some of those crazy Easter Island statues with your spiffy spaceship. Don't ask what those Easter Island statues are doing in space. It's a secret.

International Herald Tribune:
They are Easter Island-like heads, the size of baby rhinos. Or they are abstract, in hollow shapes like lozenges or lima beans or dumplings — he calls them "Dangos," which is Japanese for dumplings.

Observer:
But at other times, especially if the conversation is veering in a direction he doesn't like, he can give you the blankest of blank stares and turn into an Easter Island head.

Blog post summarizes recent Rapa Nui articles

Rapa Nui to World: 'We Don’t Want to Become an Archaeological Theme Park'
Posted by Michael Yessis
World Hum
1.10.07

Should Rapa Nui restore more of its iconic and mysterious stone statues?

Click here for complete post.

Moai management issues

Many on Easter Island Prefer to Leave Stones Unturned
By LARRY ROHTER
Photography by Tomas Munita for The New York Times
New York Times
Published: January 9, 2007

... what should be done about the hundreds of other stone icons scattered around the island, many of them damaged or still embedded in the ground?








Click here for complete article.

More about Rapamune

Indigenous people, commerce clash over bioprospecting
Winston-Salem Journal (subscription), NC - Sunday, January 7, 2007
... owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., is taken from the bark of the yew tree, and Wyeth's kidney-transplant drug Rapamune comes from Easter Island soil. ...

Sex-drive elixir at root of dispute
Rutland Herald, VT - Sunday, January 7, 2007
... owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is taken from the bark of the yew tree, and Wyeth's kidney transplant drug Rapamune comes from Easter Island soil. ...

An 'emblematic case' of biopiracy
Baltimore Sun, MD - Sunday, January 7, 2007
... owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., is taken from the bark of the yew tree, and Wyeth's kidney transplant drug Rapamune comes from Easter Island soil. ...

The root of a global dispute
Ventura County Star (subscription), CA - Sunday, January 7, 2007
... Taxol owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is from the bark of the yew tree, and Wyeth's kidney transplant drug Rapamune comes from Easter Island soil. ...

A clash of ancient culture, modern commercialism
The News Journal, DE - Sunday, January 7, 2007
... owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is taken from the bark of the yew tree, and Wyeth's kidney transplant drug Rapamune comes from Easter Island soil. ...

Peruvian Root in Bioprospecting Dispute
Wyoming News, WY - Sunday, January 7, 2007
... owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is taken from the bark of the yew tree, and Wyeth's kidney transplant drug Rapamune comes from Easter Island soil. ...

Libido-enhancing root central in global dispute over bioprospecting
Napa Valley Register, CA - Sunday, January 7, 2007
... owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is taken from the bark of the yew tree, and Wyeth's kidney transplant drug Rapamune comes from Easter Island soil. ...

Root raises specter of biopiracy
San Mateo County Times, CA - Sunday, January 7, 2007
... owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is taken from the bark of the yew tree, and Wyeth's kidney transplant drug Rapamune comes from Easter Island soil. ...

Peru files lawsuit over `bio-piracy'
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer, GA - Monday, January 8, 2007
... Taxol owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb is taken from the bark of the yew tree, and Wyeth's kidney transplant drug Rapamune comes from Easter Island soil. ...

"Monolithic" pop culture references #32

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:

Christian Science Monitor:
Another rookie to look out for in January is Lily Allen, already a phenomenon in her native Britain. On her debut, "Alright, Still," Allen's swaggering pop tunes surf atop currents of reggae and hip-hop. It's joyous enough to bring a smile to an Easter Island statue.

Los Angeles Times:
Like the 10-ton stone statues on Easter Island, totem poles are an expression of human creativity and a telling of the past.

Beacon News:
The show, which aired on the PAX network, took an Unsolved Mysteries approach to topics like Bigfoot and Easter Island, and mixed in Biblical stories and other spiritual tales.

News 10 Now:
One reason for a passport is to show off all those cool stamps, but nowhere are the bragging rights bigger than on Easter Island, where tourists actually stand in line and pay for the privilege.

Were rats the cause of Rapanui's deforestation?

Rats, not men, to blame for death of Easter Island
A vast army of rodents gnawed its way through the Pacific paradise's palm nuts and left it a wasteland
By Roger Dobson
Independent Online Edition
Published: 07 January 2007

Although Easter Island has long been held to be the most important example of a traditional society destroying itself, it appears that the real culprits were rats - up to three million of them.

Click here for complete article.

Moai are "compelling draw" for tourist to Rapa Nui

Easter Island looks to the future
By Jayne Clark
USA TODAY
Updated 1/4/2007 9:44 PM ET

The compelling draw, of course, is the stone giants. There are 887 of these monolithic statues, some of which stand with their backs to the sea, hollow eyes locked on the barren, windswept terrain as if guarding vanished villages. Forty restored figures have been erected at 11 sites. .

















Click here for complete article.

Rapanume comes from Rapa Nui soil

Libido-enhancing root fuels global dispute
guelphmercury.com
Jan 5, 2007

The key ingredient in the breast cancer drug Taxol owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is taken from the bark of the yew tree, and Wyeth's kidney transplant drug Rapamune comes from Easter Island soil.

Click here for complete article.

Peruvian root in bioprospecting dispute
RICK VECCHIO
Associated Press
Mercury News
Posted on Fri, Jan. 05, 2007

The key ingredient in the breast cancer drug Taxol owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. is taken from the bark of the yew tree, and Wyeth's kidney transplant drug Rapamune comes from Easter Island soil.

Click here for complete article.

Rapa Nui "archaeological theme park?"

Easter Islanders wonder how many statues are enough
By Larry Rohter
International Herald Tribune
Published: January 4, 2007

RANU RARAKU, Easter Island: As remnants of a vanished culture and a lure to tourists, the mysterious giant statues that stand as mute sentinels along the rocky coast here are the greatest treasure of this remote island. For local people, though, they also present a problem: What should be done about the hundreds of other stone icons, many of them damaged or still embedded in the ground, that are scattered around the island?

Click here for complete article.

Auckland Museum's Vaka Moana exhibition includes Rapa Nui information

Vaka Moana Exhibition At Auckland Museum
By www.aucklandmuseum.com
Submitted by ruzik_tuzik
Huliq
Thu, 2007-01-04 07:45

Hawaii, Rapanui (Easter Island) and Aotearoa/New Zealand were the last places to be discovered because getting to them involved overcoming enormous physical and technological challenges.

Click here for complete article.

"Monolithic" pop culture references #31

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:

News-Review:
Hoke said the faces she used to draw looked like Easter Island statues.“I’ve always kind of deeply wanted to draw a face that looked like a face,” Hoke said. Now she is turning out better work than she would have imagined.

Times Online:
Alec Norton as DCI Matt Burke, who makes an Easter Island statue look positively cheery, did the glowering instead.

A Night at the Museum with "mentally impaired" moai

Rekindled 'Toy Story' skimps on comedy
By Christina Choi
Michigan Daily
1/4/07

After he's attacked by miniature Indians, ridiculed by a mentally impaired statue from Easter Island and barely escapes an encounter with Attila the Hun, Larry is rescued by a gallant Theodore Roosevelt (Robin Williams, "Man of the Year").

Click here for complete review.

Students learn "harsh lesson" of Rapa Nui

A new Earth curriculum
EARTHFUTURE.COM by Guy Dauncey
Common Ground
January 4, 2007

By the time they leave school, students will have learned the harsh lesson of Easter Island: when humans over-consume resources, the result can be hunger, cultural collapse and death.

Click here for complete article.

Climbing structures can be made to look like moai

Even in winter, it's easy to find height to climb
Midland Reporter-Telegram
01/03/2007

"You're definitely seeing it move beyond the basements and the garages and into more fixtures in the houses," said Ryan Spence, project coordinator at Monolithic Sculpture in Boulder. The company builds custom climbing walls for private use, public playgrounds or any organization that wants its own gigantic climbing rock. They can be made to look like arches, boulders, Easter Island heads -- any structure you'd like to climb.

Click here for complete article.

Demise of Rapanui civilization explored in Diamond's Collapse

A new 'American century?'
By: Bruce Smart
Loudoun Times-Mirror
01/02/2007

In his recent compelling book, "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fall or Succeed," Jared Diamond explores the demise of civilizations: among them, in the past, the southwest's Pueblo Dwellers, the Mayans, Easter Island, and in the present, Haiti and Rwanda.

Click here for complete article.

Robin Williams helps Ben Stiller contend with moai

Night at the Museum (PG)
By Joanne Mace
This is Basingstoke, UK
Jan 1, 2007

Then there are the warring model figures, the African jungle animals, the cavemen, the mischievous monkey, Attila the Hun and the Easter Island head to contend with. But thankfully, Theodore Roosevelt (Robin Williams) is there to help.

Click here for complete review.

Writer ponders ancient Rapanui's thought

Global warming or global crisis
By Sally Breen
keepMEcurrent.com
Jan 2, 2007

Research has revealed that the folks on Easter Island did just that. I wonder what the man thought as he chopped down that last tree to use to roll the huge stones into place to glorify their gods?

Click here for complete article.

New book mentions Rapa Nui's isolation

Pathfinders: A Global History of Exploration
Historian retraces the steps by which the far-flung people reconnected in 'Pathfinders'
by Michael Upchurch [The Seattle Times]
PopMatters
2 January 2007

For centuries, maritime explorers deliberately headed into the wind—this, despite the better headway you make if you have the wind behind you. But, he notes, if the wind is behind you, your chances of getting back home are severely diminished. Hence the isolation that Hawaii, Easter Island, New Zealand and other far-flung, Polynesian-settled locales found themselves in when, once established, they were unable to keep up contact with their parent culture because of unfavorable winds over vast distances.



















Click here for complete article.

Rapa Nui is "a most unlikely global hot spot."

More Than Just A Pretty Face
Wild horses, white sand beaches, world-class scuba, and even a high-end hotel or two? Jennifer Finney Boylan reports on the making of a most unlikely global hot spot: Easter Island
by Jennifer Finney Boylan
Condé Nast Traveler on Concierge.com
Published January 2007

Last spring, as I boarded a 767 in Santiago, Chile, bound for Easter Island, I couldn't believe that there were other people on the flight. Like everyone else, I'd been exposed to images of the island over the years—so many that at times I felt as though I'd already been there.











Click here for complete article.

Happy New Year from Rapa Nui News!

Sunrise at Tongariki
Photograph by Emiana © 2006