Video-conferencing enables students to share Rapa Nui research

Student Spotlight
Erica Lamberg
Philadelphia Inquirer
Posted on Sun, Feb. 25, 2007

Through video-conferencing, eighth-grade science students from Sandy Run share their research about Easter Island in the South Pacific with the traveling Discovery Channel high school students.

Click here for complete article.

Lindblad Travel tours of Rapa Nui getting a lot of press

Vacation with educational element is hot travel trend
Sarasota Herald-Tribune, FL - Feb 24, 2007
Sven-Olof Lindblad, whose father Lars-Eric organized the first commercial tours to Antarctica, the Galapagos and Easter Island with a company he founded in ...

Travelling with a thirst for knowledge
Globe and Mail, Canada - Feb 24, 2007
Sven-Olof Lindblad, whose father Lars-Eric organized the first commercial tours to Antarctica, the Galapagos and Easter Island with a company he founded in ...

Educational Tourism A Booming Industry
Hartford Courant, CT - Feb 25, 2007
Sven-Olof Lindblad, whose father Lars-Eric organized the first commercial tours to Antarctica, the Galapagos and Easter Island with a company he founded in ...

Many travelers learning as they go
SunHerald.com, MS - Feb 25, 2007
Sven-Olof Lindblad, whose father Lars-Eric organized the first commercial tours to Antarctica, the Galapagos and Easter Island with a company he founded in ...

More travel businesses highlight learning
BurlingtonFreePress.com, VT - Feb 25, 2007
Sven-Olof Lindblad, whose father Lars-Eric organized the first commercial tours to Antarctica, the Galapagos and Easter Island with a company he founded in ...

Educational trips catch on
Bryan College Station Eagle, TX - Feb 25, 2007
Sven-Olof Lindblad, whose father, Lars-Eric, organized the first commercial tours to Antarctica, the Galapagos and Easter Island with a company he founded ...

Rapa Nui/New7Wonders articles

Vote for world's 'new' 7 wonders
News24, South Africa - Feb 23, 2007
... the Incan mountaintop city Machu Picchu in Peru, the rose-red desert city of Petra in Jordan, Easter Island's mysterious statues and India's Taj Mahal. ...

Rapa Nui "on par with Antarctica, Bhutan and the moon."

Happy Easter Island
By Andrea Sachs - Washington Post Staff Writer
Washington Post
Sunday, February 25, 2007; Page P03

The remote and mysterious Easter Island is one of those once-in-a-lifetime destinations, on par with Antarctica, Bhutan and the moon.

Click here for complete article.

"Hip meat market" in Arizona features moai

A new chef and menu set for Drift
Carey Sweet
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 22, 2007 12:00 AM

It's a hip meat market in Old Town Scottsdale, where guests ogle one another in a 1960s-style grotto of rock walls, tiki poles, blowfish lamps and Easter Island statues under a low bamboo ceiling.

Click here for complete article.

"Peaster Island" moai built from 700 cans of peas

Can sculpture benefit offers participants lessons in teamwork
by Charlotte Ferrell Smith - Daily Mail staff
Charleston Daily Mail
Thursday February 22, 2007

Peaster Island by Moment Engineers, Inc., includes 700 cans of peas for the statues that mimic the prehistoric monuments of Easter Island in the South Pacific. Bags of rice serve as sand.

Click here for complete article.

Development of the double-hulled sailing canoe aided discovery of Rapanui

Hokule'a leaves Majuro
Micronesia circuit realizes goal of cementing cultural ties
By Gary T. Kubota gkubota@starbulletin.com
Honolulu Star Bulletin
February 22, 2007

Anthropologists say the development of the double-hulled sailing canoe represents a major achievement of the Polynesians, and precipitated an era of discovery and migration across an area as wide as Russia, extending from Easter Island to New Zealand and Hawaii.

Click here for complete article.

More Rapa Nui mentions in New7Wonders articles

Help Make History By Your Votes
Waleg.com, Tunisia - Feb 21, 2007
... Rome's Colosseum, Incan mountaintop city Machu Picchu in Peru, the rose-red desert city of Petra in Jordan, Easter Island's mysterious statues, ...

Global vote will pick world’s seven wonders
Today's Zaman, Turkey - Feb 22, 2007
... the Incan mountaintop city Machu Picchu in Peru, the rose-red desert city of Petra in Jordan, Easter Island’s mysterious statues and India’s Taj Mahal. ...

"Monolithic" pop culture references #42

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:

Vegas.aol.com:
There is Stonehenge in England, I drew a line from Stonehenge to the statues in Easter Island in Chile and another line between the Pyramid of Gaza in Egypt to the Pyramid of the sun in Mexico and those four lines intersect at a specific spot in the ocean and it so happens that is where my islands are.

Boston Globe:
Easter Island has totems. Our Age of Celebrity has Schoeller's portraits.

SI.com:
I don't think I could ever interview Bonds. I would want to ask him questions like "how do you sleep at night?" and "what's it like to be one of the Easter Island guys?" I could never cow tow to him and ask the questions he'll answer. You know, like "how come you're so wonderful?" and "Isn't it nice out today?"

Express: A Publication of the Washington Post:
Melinda Doolittle is the boring backup singer everyone on the planet loves but me. She can sing very well, has a huge face like an Easter Island statue, only less structurally interesting, and bores the living daylights out of me.

More on Lindblad Travel tours of Rapa Nui

Educational travel growing
Montgomery Advertiser, AL - Feb 21, 2007
Sven-Olof Lindblad, whose fa­ther Lars-Eric organized the first commercial tours to Antarc­tica, the Galapagos and Easter Island with a company he found­ed ...

More tour operators highlight educational travel
USA Today - Feb 21, 2007
Sven-Olof Lindblad, whose father Lars-Eric organized the first commercial tours to Antarctica, the Galapagos and Easter Island with a company he founded in ...

Beyond the beach: More tour operators highlight learning
CNN - Feb 21, 2007
Sven-Olof Lindblad, whose father Lars-Eric organized the first commercial tours to Antarctica, the Galapagos and Easter Island with a company he founded in ...

Field trips for adults
Providence Journal, RI - Feb 22, 2007
Sven-Olof Lindblad, whose father, Lars-Eric, organized the first commercial tours to Antarctica, the Galapagos and Easter Island with a company he founded ...

"Easter Island endures and visitors are welcomed"

The island of statues
By Doreen Kerby - Travel writer
BCNG Portals Page
Feb 18 2007

Of great interest is the Mercado, where local artisans sell a variety of handicrafts, including excellent carvings in wood and stone. Many items sold here are not available on the mainland so this is the place to buy.

Click here for complete article.

Lindblad Travel educational tours of Rapa Nui

Travelers flock to educational tours
By SETH SUTEL
The Associated Press
February 20, 2007, 2:17 PM EST

Sven-Olof Lindblad, whose father Lars-Eric organized the first commercial tours to Antarctica, the Galapagos and Easter Island with a company he founded in 1958, Lindblad Travel, says the discussions on his tours have increasingly focused on environmental topics such as global warming.

Click here for complete article.

Tour Operators Highlight Learning
The Associated Press
6abc.com
February 20, 2007

Sven-Olof Lindblad, whose father Lars-Eric organized the first commercial tours to Antarctica, the Galapagos and Easter Island with a company he founded in 1958, Lindblad Travel, says the discussions on his tours have increasingly focused on environmental topics such as global warming.

Click here for complete article.

Budget Travel tips for Rapa Nui

Easter Island: If These Statues Could Talk
Generation after generation carved the giant stone figures, thought to have represented ancestor spirits.
Reid Bramblett
Budget Travel Online
Tuesday, February 20, 2007

The Rapa Nui civilization flourished for more than a millennium, then abruptly collapsed, leaving Easter Island strewn with hundreds of enormous stone statues called moai. As to how and why the moai were built and moved, or even how people came to the island in the first place, there are at least as many theories as questions.

Click here for complete article.

More about Night at the Museum DVD release

Night at the Museum Comes Home
Source: Fox Home Entertainment
ComingSoon.net
February 20, 2007

When it closes at night, Larry soon learns that things are not what they seem when a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton wants to play fetch, an Easter Island monolith talks to him and Attila The Hun attacks.

Click here for complete article.

"Peaster Island" moai built from 30 cases of peas

Charity event requires can-do attitude
by Charlotte Ferrell Smith
Photo: Bob Wojcieszak
Daily Mail staff

Tuesday February 20, 2007

















Peaster Island is among the architectural masterpieces now under construction at the Charleston Civic Center. Built from 30 cases of peas, the tall structure is meant to mimic the prehistoric monuments of Easter Island in the South Pacific, said Doug Richardson of Moment Engineers Inc.

Click here for complete article.

Night at the Museum to be released on DVD

The $230 Million Box-Office Family Favorite!! NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM Exhibits on DVD April 24, 2007 from Fox Home Entertainment
Ben Stiller Leads an All-Star Cast Including Comedy Favorites Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Dick Van Dyke, Mickey Rooney and More ... Two-Disc Special Edition Features Tons of Bonus Features Including Deleted and Extended Scenes, Blooper Reel, an Alternate Opening, Featurettes and a DVD Rom Game; Single Disc Also Available
Business Wire
February 20, 2007 06:03 AM Eastern Time

When it closes at night, Larry soon learns that things are not what they seem when a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton wants to play fetch, an Easter Island monolith talks to him and Attila The Hun attacks. With the museum denizens loose and not wanting to lose his job, Larry turns to a re-animated wax figure of President Theodore Roosevelt (played by Oscar®-winner Robin Williams, Best Supporting Actor, Good Will Hunting, 1998) to help save the museum.

Click here for complete article.

New7Wonders articles

'New' 7 Wonders Via Online Poll
Techtree.com, India - February 20, 2007
... the Incan mountaintop city, Machu Picchu in Peru; the Rose Red desert city of Petra in Jordan; and Easter Island's mysterious statues - to name a few. ...

Global Vote to Pick World's "New" 7 Wonders
Tech2, India - February 20, 2007

... the Incan mountaintop city Machu Picchu in Peru, the rose-red desert city of Petra in Jordan, Easter Island's mysterious statues and India's Taj Mahal. ...

Final NEW Seven Wonders of the World Chosen
The Spoof (satire), UK - February 20, 2007
They were the Incan city Machu Picchu in Peru, the desert city of Petra in Jordan, Easter Island's mysterious statues and India's Taj Mahal. ...

New wonders for a new world
Chicago Daily Herald, IL - February 20, 2007
... the Incan mountaintop city Machu Picchu in Peru, the rose-red desert city of Petra in Jordan, Easter Island’s mysterious statues and India’s Taj Mahal. ...

Petra may be one of seven wonders
Hindustan Times, India - February 20, 2007
... the Coliseum in Rome, the Great Wall of China, Peru's Machu Picchu, India's Taj Mahal, Egypt's Pyramids of Giza and the stone statues of Easter Island. ...

Global vote will pick world's 'new' seven wonders
The Dominion Post, New Zealand - February 20, 2007
... the Incan mountaintop city Machu Picchu in Peru, the rose-red desert city of Petra in Jordan, Easter Island's mysterious statues and India's Taj Mahal. ...

"Monolithic" pop culture references #41

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:

theage.com.au:
While Melbourne Victory coach Ernie Merrick often comes across as icy cool — his lack of emotion when his side scored a last-gasp winner over Kosmina's Reds in the major semi-final evoked comparisons with an Easter Island statue — the United boss wears his heart on his sleeve.

Science Magazine:
... Iowa City, who compares the jars to other enchanting and better-known megaliths: Britain's Stonehenge and the Moai faces of Rapa Nui (Easter Island).

Tuscaloosa News:
After the song, Lovett, he of the Easter Island head, told Hiatt that he obviously wasn't the NASCAR fan Hiatt was, but that it was really something to see "all those cars just disintegrate" as "Ricki Martin" got nosed out.

Enchanted by Rapa Nui

The Enchanting Easter Island
By Marilyn Diggs
Gringoes.com
2/19/2007

















At the small airport, smiling copper-skinned islanders tossed purple flower lays around necks and drivers whisked tourists off to their lodgings. It was pitch black. I could hear the ocean outside my comfortable cottage at Hangaroa Hotel, but had to wait until dawn for my first glimpse of Easter Island.

Click here for complete article.

Michigan mini-golf course to feature moai

Big changes at small store on Lake Sanford Road
By Cheryl Wade
Midland Daily News
02/16/2007

The drawings of the mini-golf course already are up for customers to see. With the theme of "the Wonders of the World," it will have models of Hoover Dam, Mount Rushmore, Easter Island, the Great Wall of China, Big Ben and the Mackinac Bridge. The models will be done in natural stone with landscaping, and sign boards will explain each piece.

Click here for complete article.

North Andover moai-like statue missing

Missing: Miss Paula, 'built like a rock'
By Drake Lucas
Staff writerEagle-Tribune
Published: February 16, 2007 12:00 am

For three years now, Miss Paula, a squat statue resembling the stone monuments of Easter Island, has delighted passing neighbors with an ever-changing wardrobe that has included a pink hat, pink boa, and, during one warm season, a pink bra.

Click here for complete article.

New7Wonders articles

The 21 Finalists for the New Seven Wonders of the World
Signal, CA - Feb 16, 2007
EASTER ISLAND, CHILE: Hundreds of massive stone busts, or Moais, are all that remains from the prehistoric Rapanui culture that crafted them between 400 and ...

FEATURE - Global vote will pick world's "new" seven wonders
Reuters India, India - Feb 18, 2007
... the Incan mountaintop city Machu Picchu in Peru, the rose-red desert city of Petra in Jordan, Easter Island's mysterious statues and India's Taj Mahal. ...

Global vote will pick world's 'new' seven wonders
The Age, Australia - Feb 20, 2007
... the Incan mountaintop city Machu Picchu in Peru, the rose-red desert city of Petra in Jordan, Easter Island's mysterious statues and India's Taj Mahal. ...

World casts vote for seven new wonders
Cape Times (subscription), South Africa - Feb 20, 2007
... the Incan mountain-top city Machu Picchu in Peru, the rose-red desert city of Petra in Jordan, Easter Island's mysterious statues and India's Taj Mahal. ...

Petra on course for new seven wonders title
Telugu Portal, India - Feb 20, 2007
... the Coliseum in Rome, the Great Wall of China, Peru's Machu Picchu, India's Taj Mahal, Egypt's Pyramids of Giza and the stone statues of Easter Island. ...

Wired vote will pick "new" Seven Wonders
Newindpress (subscription), India - Feb 20, 2007
... the Incan mountaintop city Machu Picchu in Peru, the rose-red desert city of Petra in Jordan, Easter Island's mysterious statues and India's Taj Mahal. ...

How You Can Help Choose The New "Seven Wonders Of The World"
CityNews, Canada - Feb 20, 2007
What about the Sydney Opera House, the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, Peru's Machu Picchu, the Easter Island statues (top left) or the famous monument of ...

Konami's moai statue-shooter

Gradius Neo Review
Konami's classic Easter Island statue-shooter returns to mobile.
by Levi Buchanan
February 15, 2007
IGN














The in-game graphics are pretty good -- this is classic Gradius, complete with colorful Os for enemy shots, Easter Island heads for enemies, and screen-sized boss battles. Unfortunately, the sound department trails the visuals.

Click here for complete article.

First time capture of hagfish off coast of Rapanui

Slurp gun used to capture hermaphrodite from hydrothermal vent
mongabay.com
February 15, 2007

Researchers used an "Alvin Slurp Gun" to capture a hagfish from a deep sea hydrothermal vent. It is the first time that a member of the jawless fishes (agnathans) has been captured from a hydrothermal vent site ... at a depth of 2211 meters during the Easter Microplate expedition, 12 March–6 April 2005 to the East Pacific Rise, a region of sea floor spreading under the eastern Pacific Ocean (37 degrees South, 110 degrees West, several hundred miles from Easter Island).

Click here for complete article.

Manchester, England sculptor created two moai

Can anyone chip in to help sculptor?
by Alex Phelan
South Manchester Reporter
Published: 15th February 2007

Among the pieces he has created are two Easter Island-style heads which sit either side of the driveway at his Errwood Road home, magnesium chalk water-features and a Roman symbol.

Click here for complete article.

"Monolithic" pop culture references #40

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:

Townsville Bulletin:
Those closest to Merrick will tell you he does like a joke and a laugh and drink. After all, he is not an Easter Island statue.

TheSpoof.com:
Liberal Theologian, Sitchu A. Shunethics believes that the image represents: "The unitive kiss of east meets west. We have here the consummation of global unity as the RedNeck osculates with the Easter Island Deity" ...
Easter Island witch doctor, Tiki Barber Ph.D. failed to perceive any image but the high-browed island sentinel: "What ball cap? These western religious believers tend to impose their religious iconography on everything!"

Huffington Post:
The foot-dragging and resistance on the part of our ruling class to accepting these ideas will be seen as yet another example of raw human idiocy, on the level of using all your manpower to raise one last Easter Island head before everyone dies in the attempt.

Rapamune key ingredient in breast cancer drug Taxol

Big dispute over tiny root
Peruvian Indians to fight U.S. patent of libido concoction
By Rick Vecchio
Associated Press
Daily Herald
Posted Wednesday, February 14, 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 Dengue Fever outbreak

Several cases of dengue fever on Easter Island
Three new cases of Dengue Fever (DF) were reported last weekend on Easter Island, a Chilean outpost in the South Pacific. Two men and one woman, both native islanders, were found to be infected with the disease.
Mercopress
Monday, February 12, 2007

The outbreak occurred in the Hanga Roa sector of the island, and the area was quickly put under surveillance to avoid further outbreaks.

Click here for complete article.

Turtles from Central American found off Rapanui

Scientists to microchip fish to track movements
By David Ljunggren
Scientific American
February 12, 2007

Until recently, scientists had little idea how far fish can swim. Tuna crisscross the Pacific, great white sharks travel from Africa to Australia and turtles from Central America have been found off Easter Island.

Click here for complete article.

Rapanui seaweed and algae as vaginal suppositories

A history of contraception
What do elephant dung, sheep innards and wild yams have in common? Long before the time of multicoloured condoms and "morning-after" pills, these items were once used by couples who wanted to prevent pregnancy.
Mandy Lo
The Varsity Online
Issue date: 2/12/07

Women in ancient times ingeniously used materials native to their habitat-crushed roots from Western Africa, bamboo tissue from Japan, seaweed and algae from the coast of Easter Island-as vaginal suppositories to physically block the entry of sperm.

Click here for complete article.

More about travel to Rapa Nui with new LAN airpass

LAN Airlines expands South America Airpass
AsiaTravelTips.com
Monday, 12 February 2007

Travellers also can use the Airpass to fly between the remote Chilean territory of Easter Island and LAN’s main hub airport in Santiago.

Click here for complete article.

New LAN airpass includes flights to Rapa Nui

LAN launches expanded South America Airpass to accommodate soaring growth in tourism
Source = LAN Airlines
e-Travel Blackboard
Monday, February 12, 2007

Travellers also can use the Airpass to fly between the remote Chilean territory of Easter Island and LAN’s main hub airport in Santiago.

Click here for complete press release.

Forensic anthropologist inspired by Rapa Nui to speak in Ohio

Real, fictional 'Bones' keep Reichs occupied
Author will be at Miami tonight
BY SARA PEARCE - SPEARCE@ENQUIRER.COM
Enquirer
Last Updated: 10:28 am Monday, February 12, 2007

I was always attracted by physical anthropology, although I didn't know that's what it was called. I was interested in National Geographic and popular archeology. In Easter Island and things like Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki rafting expedition.

Click here for complete article.

"Monolithic" pop culture references #39

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:

Voodoo Extreme:
The island is small, and is topped by what can be described as a giant, mutated Easter Island-like head with three faces.

Daily Iowan:
A goat's eyes have rectangular pupils … just like the colleges on Easter Island.

CHUD.com:
"Please don't notice my enormous head." ..... "How drunk was I to go home with Easter Island?"

More New7Wonders articles

World gets chance to name 7 wonders
Akron Beacon Journal, OH - February 11, 2006
... the Sydney Opera House; Cambodia's Angkor; Timbuktu; Petra, Jordan; Brazil's Statue of Christ Redeemer; Easter Island; and Chichen Itza, Mexico.

Chile Moais, Possible New World Wonder
Prensa Latina, Cuba - February 11, 2006
... that the most interesting aspect of the Easter Island (Rapa Nui), in the Chilean Pacific, famous for its huge Moais statues, is precisely its mystery. ...

Accessing Rapa Nui

Easter Island is remarkably accessible
A visit to Easter Island is probably a once-in-a-lifetime event, so don't shortchange yourself by not giving it enough time. Four nights are the minimum you should consider. A week lets you build in some time to relax and enjoy the rhythms of island life.
Janet Fullwood
StarTribune.com
Last update: February 10, 2007 – 10:42 PM

A visit to Easter Island is probably a once-in-a-lifetime event, so don't shortchange yourself by not giving it enough time.

Click here for complete article.

Initially "creeped out," American journalist won over by Rapa Nui

Easter Island casts its spell
History and mystery converge on this small Polynesian outpost.
Story and Photo By Janet Fullwood, Primary Color
StarTribune.com
Last update: February 10, 2007 – 10:51 PM









The eerie silhouettes of the statues loomed behind a cemetery whose sea of crosses seemed to mock the ancient icons.

Click here for complete article.

Meaning of Rapanui word, tingo, charms readers

Discover a whole new world of words...
BOOKS By SARA HORTON
Gulf Daily News
Sunday 11th February 2007

What reader can fail to be charmed by the meaning of Tingo - a Pascuense word from Easter Island meaning 'to borrow things from a friend's house one by one, until there's nothing left'?

Click here for complete review.

Rapa Nui movie provides "tropical heat wave" for winter

Video 6-Pack
Tropical heat wave
By Robert Bong Staff writer
Daily Southtown
February 11, 2007


"Rapa Nui" (1994) -- Two tribes on Easter Island go to war when a young man and woman from rival clans fall in love in this South Seas adventure. Stars include Jason Scott Lee, Esai Morales and Sandrine Holt.

Click here for complete article.

Architectural historian visits Rapa Nui for TV show

Around the World in 80 Treasures
Architectural historian Dan Cruickshank passes through a stream of cities to discover the greatest surviving treasures of our world.
Michael Idato, Reviewer
Sydney Morning Herald
February 10, 2007










For now, though, we're still very much in South America, in the spoilt-for-riches Peru, which seems to dominate this episode, and then off to Easter Island - come on Dan, those Moai statues get too much press - and then to Brazil and even Rio.

Click here for complete article.

More New7Wonders

Rio’s Christ Redeemer competes for World Wonders titleMercoPress, Uruguay - Feb 7, 2007Christ Redeemer is competing with twenty other world monuments man built among which the Moais statues of Easter island, China’s Great Wall, the Inca ruins ...

Brazil Lovers Called to Make Christ the Redeemer a World WonderBrazzil Magazine, Los Angeles - Feb 7, 2007Christ Redeemer is competing with 20 other world monuments man built among which the Moais statues of Easter island, China's Great Wall, the Inca ruins of ...

Rongorongo tablet decoder works on Indus scripts

German Indologist claims to have decoded Indus scripts
Bureau Report
Zee News
Feb 07, 2007

"Already 1,000-odd seals are decoded and of them, 300-odd are printed in monography -- the message of Indus seals and tablets," stated Richter, who has also decoded tablets from Easter Island in Pacific Ocean and disc of Phaistos on Island of Crete in Meditarrenean Sea.

Click here for complete article.

Animated TV series has a moai as underwater home

Spongebob SquarePants
BuddyTV
February 9, 2007

The kooky show Spongebob SquarePants is about a sponge who lives in a pineapple. His wacky neighbors consist of Squidward Tentacles who lives in an Easter Island head, and Patrick Star who lives under a rock.

Click here for complete article.

Moai 'snowmen' popular at Michigan Tech competition

All-nighter delighter
MTU students uphold tradition
By DAN SCHNEIDER, DMG Writer
MiningGazette.com
Published: Thursday, February 08, 2007










Elsewhere, other pieces were becoming more defined as the night wore on. Easter Island statues were a popular take on this year’s theme, “Ancient Worlds Come to Play in Snowy Drifts of Modern Day.”

Click here for complete story.

"Monolithic" pop culture references #38

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:

Tformers.com:
The arms are actually pretty well done. There is a lever which exposes fists from the engines that form his forearms and there is good jointing there. His head is rather plain looking. Almost looks like something from Easter Island. Overall, not bad but the Alt mode is the better of the 2 modes here.

Herald:
In fact, if Beauly-Denny doesn't happen we might as well give up on the planet, because it will indicate an Easter Island state of denial about the nature of the threat posed to the environment.

Butterfly found on Rapanui susceptable to "male-killing" bacteria

Male-killing bacteria widespread in insects
Germs can cause infected females to reproduce without males
By Charles Q. Choi
Special to LiveScience
MSNBC
Updated: 6:05 p.m. ET Feb. 6, 2007

Evolutionary biologist Sylvain Charlat at University College London and his colleagues investigated the common eggfly Hypolimnas bolina. This butterfly is found in locations ranging from Madagascar to Asia, and from Australia and to Easter Island.

Click here for complete article.

Climbing walls made to look like moai

Even in winter, it's easy to reach new heights
Asbury Park Press, NJ - Feb 4, 2007
They can be made to look like arches, boulders, Easter Island heads — any structure you'd like to climb. Mike Gilliland isn't an avid climber, ...

CLIMB EV'RY (ARTIFICIAL) MOUNTAIN
Asbury Park Press, NJ - Feb 4, 2007
They can be made to look like arches, boulders, Easter Island heads -- any structure you'd like to climb. Mike Gilliland isn't an avid climber, ...

Hawaiian navigators to visit Rapa Nui

Canoes zero in on 'needle in haystack'
By Jan TenBruggencate - Advertiser Staff Writer
Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, February 4, 2007

Thompson, Blankenfeld and a handful of other Hawaiian navigators have done this before. They have sailed Hawaiian double-hulled canoes throughout the Pacific by traditional means — as far east as Rapa Nui or Easter Island, and as far south and west as Aotearoa or New Zealand.

Click here for complete article.

Journalist wowed by trip to Rapa Nui

Head trip
Dig deep during a visit to Easter Island, and you'll discover far more than expected.
Janet Fullwood Universal Press Syndicate
Orlando Sentinel
Posted February 4, 2007









The first ones I spotted were from the plane -- black slabs sticking up like tombstones in a tawny, treeless landscape. As soon as I had settled into the hotel, where I had to borrow a broom to sweep away a harvest of freshly fumigated cockroaches, I walked up the coast from the village of Hanga Roa toward an archaeological complex called Tahai.

Click here for complete article.

Rapa Nui and "environmental suicide"

‘Tide’ forecasts grim future
By Laura Axelrod - Special to THE DAILY
Decatur Daily
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2007

Read about Easter Island, a society that committed environmental suicide.

Click here for complete article.

Environmental Stewardship, Religion, and Rapa Nui

Environmental Stewardship, Religion Linked
By Tom Palmer
The Ledger
Published Saturday, February 3, 2007

Today the island's a Chilean colony with a growing tourist trade that threatens its soul as well as its ecology. The Easter Island example was presented as a microcosm of the threats facing the planet.

Click here for complete article.

More New7Wonders articles

Make Stonehenge one of 'New 7 Wonders of the World'
24dash.com, UK - 02/02/2007
... in alphabetical order: the Colosseum, the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, the Pyramids at Giza, Petra, the Statues of Easter Island and the Taj Mahal.

'Vote for Stonehenge' urges bossBBC News, UK - Feb 3, 2007Currently, the top finalists are: the Colosseum, the Great Wall of China, Machu Picchu, the Pyramids at Giza, Petra, the Statues of Easter Island and the ...

"Monolithic" pop culture references #37

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:

MercuryNews.com:
But do people really know much about Manning, beyond recognizing the No. 18, and the profile that looks like an Easter Island statue?

Sportingo:
My Easter island: The virtual world of a Wycombe Wanderers fan

Express:
It is impossible to care which coach wins. Both Lovie Smith of the Bears and Tony Dungy of the Colts are personality-devoid robots who are as unfamiliar with emotion as they are with space travel. It's like asking which Easter Island stone figure is more compelling.

Miniseries episode about settling of Polynesian Triangle

Finding rays of light as world's cultures teeter on the edge
Modern-day explorer's miniseries illuminates problem of dwindling ethnic diversity
Jim Bawden - TELEVISION CRITIC
Toronto Star
Feb 03, 2007 04:30 AM

In Episode 2 we look at the magnificent achievements of the Polynesians who settled a great triangle in the Pacific that is a million square miles of what? Tiny islands and yet with their seafaring canoes they could pinpoint Easter Island and hit it without any of the modern navigational equipment.

Click here for complete article.

USFDA approves Rapamune for high-risk kidney transplants

Rapamune OK'd for high-risk transplants
United Press International
2/2/2007 5:33:00 PM -0500

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Friday expanded the labeling of Wyeth's anti-rejection drug Rapamune for high-risk kidney transplants.

Click here for complete article.

3800 tourists expected for Rapa Nui's Tapate

CHILE’S EASTER ISLAND POPULATION TO DOUBLE FOR TAPATI FESTIVAL
SOURCE: LA TERCERA
By Cate Setterfield (editor@santiagotimes.cl)
Santiago Times
February 2, 2007

Over the next two weeks, more than 3,800 tourists are expected to land on Chile’s Easter Island to celebrate the popular Tapati festival. Hotel rooms have been booked solid for months, and the island is upping security to protect its iconic Moai statues.

Click here for complete article.

Collapse by Jared Diamond a best-seller

The BusinessWeek Best-Seller List
BusinessWeek Online
FEBRUARY 12, 2007

4. COLLAPSE By Jared Diamond (Penguin $17) From Easter Island to Mayan Central America, why civilizations fall apart. Last Month: 4; Months on List: 11

Click here for complete article.

Rapa Nui offered to International Pacific Marine Educators Conference

International Pacific Marine Educators Conference Establishes Network to Protect the Ocean
E-Wire
February 1, 2007

Offers to host the next conference came from Australia, Easter Island and Fiji.

Click here for complete article.

Noted ethicist to speak on Rapa Nui as "Microcosm Earth"

Noted Ethicist to Speak at FSC
Holmes Rolston to give keynote address for Florida Center for Science and Religion meeting.
By Cary McMullen Ledger Religion Editor
TheLedger.com
Published Thursday, February 1, 2007

In the other lectures on tap for the meeting, Harding said Kjellmark will speak on "The State of the Earth," giving a scientific overview. Gray's lecture, "The Okeechobee Experience as a Profile of Florida Environmental Issues," will present a study of a specific environmental case. Schaab will speak on "Beyond Dominion and Stewardship: The Environment through the Lenses of Christian Theology." Masters' lecture, "Easter Island: Microcosm Earth?," will discuss the impact of civilization on the environment, Harding said.

Click here for complete article.

Rapanui easter end of Polynesian Triangle

End of an era for former navy Steam Driven Frigate
New Zealand Defence Force Te Ope Kaatua O Aotearoa Media Release
Press Release: New Zealand Defence Force
Scoop
Wednesday, 31 January 2007, 11:29 am

"The mountain is one of the pillars of the Sacred House of Ngapuhi and a pivotal point of the Polynesian triangle that stretches from our motherland Hawaaki (Hawaii) to Rapanui (Easter Island). The decision of our elders to rest the ex-Canterbury in our tribal area was not taken lightly. We see it as a unique partnership made with our Hapu."

Click here for complete article.

More New7Wonders articles

The New Wonders of the World? 7
Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription), MN - Jan 28, 2007
... the Statue of Liberty; the Eiffel Tower; the Great Wall of China; the Kremlin/St. Basils; Angkor, Cambodia; Petra, Jordan; Easter Island statues, Chile; ...

Stonehenge lags behind in poll
This is Wiltshire.co.uk, UK - Jan 31, 2007
The top seven includes the Pyramids of Giza, the Jordanian city of Petra, the Statues of Easter Island and the Taj Mahal. ...