National Geographic's explorer-in-residence about voyage to Rapanui

Footloose and Fancy-free
He’s battled the rough seas on a Polynesian boat and discovered unknown islands. Wade Davis promises viewers something special with his latest show
Namita Kohli
Delhi Newsline
Tuesday , April 24, 2007

Similarly, the Polynesian wayfinders still know how to study waves and find their way in the waters. “As I undertook the voyage from Easter island to Hawaii with them, I rediscovered not only the land, but also human genius as they found their way without any modern implements.”

Click here for complete article.

More about Night at the Museum on DVD

CONTEST: Own Night at the Museum on DVD!
MovieWeb - Apr 23, 2007When 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 ...

Night at the Museum DVD Review
UGO, NY - Apr 23, 2007...
a T-Rex that's dying to play fetch, an on-going Civil War battle, talking Easter Island monoliths and the late, great Teddy Roosevelt. ...

Movie Review: Night at the Museum
Groundlings Review - April 24, 2007
... to the car ride home where all my kids kept repeating the lines delivered by a giant Easter Island head, (“Hey dumb-dumb, give me gum-gum.”) We had fun. ...

Night at the Museum: 2-Disc Special Edition
Ultimate Disney - April 24, 2007
... welcoming Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton to stuffed wild animals, from miniature cowboy and Roman soldier figures to an immobile Easter Island head. ...

Award winning novelist has visited Rapa Nui

Isabel Allende returns to Chile
Her childhood home has seen turbulent times. But for the award-winning novelist Isabel Allende, the beauty of the landscape and kindness of its people endures.
Interview by Jenny Cockle
Independent
Published: 22 April 2007

I've travelled all over the country - to Easter Island and Patagonia in the south and to the desert in the north. Chile is a great destination to explore but it's a long way away from Europe, so you'll need at least two weeks there.

Click here for complete article.

New7Wonders/Rapa Nui

New wonders await
Malaysia Star, Malaysia - April 22, 2007
Or do the Easter Island heads put her to shame? Check out the proposed new list of the Seven Wonders of the World and cast your vote. ...

"Monolithic" pop culture references #50

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:

Silver Chips Online:
Blair's tribute to those famed big rock heads of Easter Island: really big cat heads arranged haphazardly in the University Boulevard parking lot. This will add a sense of timelessness, a sense of mystery, a sense of wonder — as many drivers will wonder (particularly if they've just backed into one and pulverized their rear tail light), "What in the world are a bunch of concrete cat heads doing in the parking lot?" It's a mystery!

Gulfnews:
I didn't know what visas and passports and travellers' cheques were about, but I could describe the grandeur of Byblos, the mysteries of the Easter Island behemoths, and certainly the feel of the powdery desert sand under my feet.

New York Times and International Herald-Tribune:
In a room whose dark-paneled walls are hung with flags once planted in the far-flung precincts of Everest and Antarctica, the man at the lectern had just finished talking about his anthropological travels through almost 40 countries, across some 500,000 miles, where he recovered from food poisoning and chigger bites in Peru and swam through shark-infested waters off Easter Island.

Easter Island Marathon a "great trip for runners"

Eight great trips for runners
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Apr 22, 2007

3. CHILE: Easter Island Marathon, ½ marathon and 10K, June 10. Eight-night trip includes airfare from Atlanta; $2,689 per person based on double occupancy. Includes nights on mainland Chile and on Easter Island. Marathon Tours and Travel (www.marathontours.com, 800-444-4097).

Click here for complete article.

Jared Diamond/Rapa Nui

Yourhealth / Holistic Healing: A sick planet is not healthy for us
By : Dr Rajen M.
New Straits Times
2007/04/22

In his ground-breaking follow-up book, Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed, Diamond provides the failing examples of the US state of Montana, Easter Island, Polynesians, Anasazi of the southwestern USA, the Mayans of Central America, and the Norse of Greenland.

Click here for complete article.

Environmental Op Ed: "What were they thinking?"

State of Denial: The Bush Administration and Global Warming
by Scott O'Reilly
OpEdNews
April 20, 2007 at 12:14:04

Once upon at time, the inhabitants of Easter Island cut every last tree down before disappearing without a trace. The anthropologist Jared Diamond, who studies ecological collapses, often wonders what the islander of that Polynesian paradise, was thinking when he (or she) cut down the last tree.

Click here for complete article.

Cemetary/Museum in California has "actual" moai

Gregs Getaway
Forest Lawn Glendale
By Greg Aragon
Pasadena Independent
Apr 19, 2007

In another room I found an extensive collection of old-west bronze sculptures by artists such as Frederic Remington and Charles Russell. In the same area I examined rare jewelry from India and England; ivory art from Africa; a 15th century suit of armor; and an actual “moai” head from Easter Island, made from volcanic stone.

Click here for complete article.

Recollection of Gay Rapanui tour guide

The Wild Issue: Dan Ware
Gay Tour Guide Walks On The Wild Side
Queerty
Wed, Apr 18, 2007

Yeah, Easter Island is like a 3 hour flight out of Santiago, Chile. Our guide didn’t have a partner, and he said that the gay people on the island all pretty much knew each other. Of course there was no gay bar or anything, but the local gays would get together and hang out.

Click here for complete article.

Traditional Maori navigation to Rapanui planned

Waka voyage begins
Northern Advocate, New Zealand - Apr 17, 2007
... years since Te Aurere has sailed any distance. Crew have been training for a trip to Easter Island, a three-month journey planned for the end of next year.

Waka heads for Norfolk Is, part-crewed by women
Radio New Zealand, New Zealand - Apr 18, 2007
He says the four-day trip to Norfolk Island is a training run in preparation for a six-week voyage next year to Easter Island. ...

Newly released DVD features talking moai

The week's best releases from the pop culture universe
Minneapolis City Pages, MN - Apr 17, 2007
... in this box-office hit about a nightwatchman and some very mobile artifacts — including a playful T. rex skeleton and a talking Easter Island statue. ...

Here are the week's best releases from the pop-culture universe:
Cleveland Scene Weekly, OH - Apr 19, 2007
... in this box-office hit about a night watchman and some very mobile artifacts -- including a playful T. rex skeleton and a talking Easter Island statue. ...

Rapanui on Romantic Islands List

Easter Island and Galapagos on Romantic Islands List
From Bonnie Hamre
About
Apr 17, 2007

Easter Island: "Although located on one of the most isolated places on the planet, the stone icons known as moai which guard the austere beauty of Easter Island guarantee that the visitors to this paradise never feel alone."

Click here for complete article.

North Pole visitor also visited Rapa Nui

North Pole could receive oldest visitor this weekend
BY BRENT HOPKINS, Staff Writer
LA Daily News
Article Last Updated: 04/16/2007 09:10:53 PM PDT

And, along the way, he raised a family of adventurers to follow his lead. They've arranged trips to Easter Island and the Galapagos.

Click here for complete article.

Rapanui among "world's best islands"

The World’s 10 Best Islands
Lovetripper.com
Apr 16, 2007

Although located on one of the most isolated places on the planet, the stone icons known as moai which guard the austere beauty of Easter Island guarantee that the visitors to this paradise never feel alone.

Click here for complete article.

About Jared Diamond's recent lecture in Virginia

Learning to draw lessons from the past
Learn from earlier societies' bad and good, author says at Forum
BY MELODIE N. MARTIN - TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Times Dispatch
Apr 15, 2007

Using Easter Island as an example, he described how its original Polynesian inhabitants depleted its supply of lush subtropical trees, resulting in a lack of protection from wind and water, erosion, civil war, starvation and cannibalism.

Click here for complete article.

Travel discussion near Troy, NY about Rapa Nui

Community Calendar
Troy Record
04/15/2007

LOUDONVILLE - Don and Donna Traver will discuss their trip that included Machu Picchu, Easter Island and Sierra Leone to see the nest site of the White-necked Picathartes at 7 p.m. June 4 at the William K. Sanford Town Library, 629 Albany Shaker Road. Admission is free and the public is welcome. The program is sponsored by the Hudson-Mohawk Bird Club Inc.

Click here for complete article.

Jared Diamond and the decline civilization of Rapa Nui

Clear and present danger
The environment, the digital alternative and Mohamed El-Assyouti
Al-Ahram Weekly
Apr 12, 2007

Geography professor Jared Diamond cites the decline of civilization on Easter Island, in the Pacific Ocean, as metaphor for the possible decline of human civilization at large. A few centuries ago, the inhabitants of the island had consumed all their natural resources; unable to move, they warred amongst themselves, turned to cannibalism and eventually perished.

Click here for complete post.

Rapa Nui mentioned in article about kite history

Come fly a kite
by David Khorram - MDSpecial to the Saipan Tribune
Saipan Tribune
Friday, April 13, 2007

After its appearance in China, the kite migrated to Korea, Japan, Myanmar (Burma), India, Arabia, and North Africa, then farther south into the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, and the islands of Oceania as far east as Easter Island. Since kites made of leaves have been flown in Malaya and the South Seas from time immemorial, the kite could also have been invented independently in that region.

Click here for complete article.

Exhibiting photographer has applied his art to Rapa Nui

The sorrow and the pity
The works in 'Impossible to Forget: The Nazi Camps Fifty Years After' are indirect yet powerful
By Robert L. Pincus - UNION-TRIBUNE ART CRITIC
SignOnSanDiego
April 12, 2007

Michael Kenna has an eye for spare, subtly beautiful scenes, which he has applied to places all over the globe – from Easter Island to Japan to his native England and even to his adopted home, San Francisco. In doing so, the widely exhibited and published photographer has crafted pictures with the idea of creating space “reserved for the viewer.”

Click here for complete article.

"Monolithic" pop culture references #49

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:

Coast Weekly:
My front tire buckles on the hard-packed sand as I tightly round a bank. One second I am ducking under branches on the shady trail, the next second the canopy opens to blue sky. Tall snags stand like moai statues on Easter Island.

Decatur Daily:
Q: Where would you choose if you won a choice of trips to the Great Wall in China; Venice, Italy; Paris, France; or Easter Island?
A: Paris. I’ve seen pictures of the Eiffel Tower. I’d like to see it up close and see those museums, too. I’d like to see the Grand Canyon one day, too.

New Zealand Herald:
Other big nations seeking South Pacific talent had better get in quick. They won't want to be left working with Easter Island as they've got big heads.

News Tribune:
Further on, you’ll see a series of giant concrete structures that resemble something from an industrial-era Easter Island. These are the remnants of bins used to sort gravel from the pit. The county left them standing as a reminder of the site’s industrial past.

Human Events:

Why England Isn’t Easter Island

Rapa Nui as example of negative environmental consequences

Your Views: Wednesday views on global warming
New Zealand Herald, New Zealand - Apr 11, 2007
Loser - global warming or not he only needs to look at what happened on Easter Island to see that we are in trouble! We are definitely running out of ...

Your Views: Are those scary predictions about climate change true?
New Zealand Herald, New Zealand - Apr 11, 2007
Loser - global warming or not he only needs to look at what happened on Easter Island to see that we are in trouble! We are definitely running out of ...

New7Wonders/Rapa Nui

Foundation asks residents to nominate 'Eight Wonders of Kansas'
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, PA - Apr 11, 2007
... Angkor in Cambodia; Brazil's statue of Christ the Redeemer; the Eiffel Tower in Paris; the Easter Island statues and Stonehenge in England. ...

Trip Tips: New National Historic Landmarks in 10 states
North County Times, CA - Apr 14, 2007
... Angkor in Cambodia; Brazil's statue of Christ the Redeemer; the Eiffel Tower in Paris; the Easter Island statues and Stonehenge in England. ...

Matt Lauer/Rapa Nui

Where on the Web Is Matt Lauer?
New York Times, NY - Apr 10, 2007
SINCE 1998, NBC has been sending a “Today” host to far-flung locales like Angkor Wat, Easter Island and Machu Picchu, all for a feature on the show called ...

Where on the Web Is Matt Lauer?
Tuscaloosa News (subscription), AL - Apr 11, 2007
SINCE 1998, NBC has been sending a “Today” host to far-flung locales like Angkor Wat, Easter Island and Machu Picchu, all for a feature on the show called ...

Photo of large coral colony near Rapanui

Ancient Coral Reef Tells The History Of Kenya's Soil Erosion
Source: Stanford University
Photo Credit: Rob Dunbar, Stanford University
April 13, 2007










In 2005, Professor Rob Dunbar and his colleagues collected core samples from a large coral colony near Easter Island. That colony is about the same size as the coral reef that was the focus of Dunbar's Kenya study.

Click here for complete article.

Same photo may be seen here:

Ancient Malindi coral reef tells story of soil erosion in Kenya
Stanford Report - Apr 11, 2007
In 2005, Professor Rob Dunbar and his colleagues collected core samples from a large coral colony near Easter Island. That colony is about the same size as ...

More mention of Matt Lauer on Rapa Nui

IT'S A SMALL 'WHERE IN THE WORLD' AFTER ALL
by Jaclyn Levin
AllDay
Posted: Tuesday, April 10, 2007 7:55 AM

“Where in the World is Matt Lauer?” It’s one of my favorite things to work on, as I have seen so many amazing things throughout the years: Easter Island, Shanghai, Machu Picchu, Marrakech, Botswana, the Taj Mahal, the Panama Canal, Moscow, Reykjavik – the list is almost endless.

Click here for complete article.

Chilean call to Brits to visit Rapa Nui

Chile aims to draw British tourists
Go Travel Insurance
Apr 9, 2007

Mr Moll also pointed to a wide range of attractions including the Atacama desert, ski resorts which are open all-year-round and Easter Island located 2,000 miles away from the mainland.

Click here for complete article.

History of and tourist tips for Rapa Nui

Easter Island
By: Valarie D'Elia
News 10 Now
4/8/2007 5:00 AM










The main town, Hanga Roa, seems to be populated by as many dogs as people and is where most of the hotels and restaurants are situated. The post office offers the ultimate souvenir, a passport stamp that is worth every cent of the Chilean dollar.

Click here for complete article.

Easter Island Marathon mentioned

Around the world 26.2 miles at a time
Marathon tourism is racing as more runners are turning into globetrotters.
Ellen Creager - Detroit Free Press
Orlando Sentinel
Posted April 8, 2007

Worldwide, escorted tours for marathoners are becoming more exotic. Sure, you can take a marathon vacation to London or Rome, but Boston-based Marathon Tours and Travel also offers trips to Kenya, Easter Island and the Great Wall of China.

Click here for complete article.

Marathoners' quest for new races turns into travel inspiration
By Ellen Creager - Detroit Free Press
Memphis Commercial Appeal
April 9, 2007

Worldwide, escorted tours for marathoners are becoming more exotic. Sure, you can take a marathon vacation to London or Rome, but Boston-based Marathon Tours and Travel also offers trips to Kenya, Easter Island and the Great Wall of China.

Click here for complete article.

"Monolithic" pop culture references #48

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 Zealand Herald:
Curtis has Lord of the Rings producer Barrie Osborne to thank for diversifying his film career. He encountered the American on Easter Island epic Rapa Nui - actor-turned-producer Kevin Costner's forgettable attempt at an Apocalypto.

Boston Herald:
“Tada!” He pulled off the sheets with a flourish, revealing four life-size Easter Island heads. “To make them lighter and ecofriendly, I constructed each from Rice Krispie treats,” he explained. I wondered why we had a Dumpster filled with marshmallows in the driveway, but I don’t like to pry.

South Bend Tribune:
The average temperature on Easter is 68 degrees … Easter Island, that is, in the South Pacific Ocean.

Independent:
I swear tonight's the first time I've ever seen her smile, and it looks as artificial an addition as her piercing and tats. At all times, Mutya Buena was as impassive as Easter Island.

Herald:
... incorruptible detective, Martin Shaw capitalised well on his large, slab-like head's growing resemblance to one of those Easter Island statue efforts. ...

Moai-shaped birdbath stolen

The Whig-Standard
Kingston Whig-Standard
Saturday, April 07, 2007 Updated @ 10:44:27 PM

A unique bird bath, shaped like a miniature Easter Island head statue, was stolen sometime between the end of March and April 3 from the front lawn of a home on Fergus Street.

Click here for complete article.

Easter Island Easter spoofs

"Jesus Choked On Easter Egg" - Claim
The Spoof (satire), UK - Apr 5, 2007
Christians gathering for their annual feverish shindig at the isolated outpost of Christendom, Easter Island, are up-in-arms over the radical views on ...

Yoda, Jedi Master, found in Easter Island tomb
The Spoof (satire), UK - Apr 9, 2007
Archaeologist have discovered a hidden tomb beneath a statue on Easter Island that appears to contain the remains of Yoda, the Jedi Master and his wrecked ...

Rapa Nui's history a "hair-raising tale"

Easter Island's environment drama
We can avoid environmental disaster if we're smart enough to act now
Shelley Willson, Special to the Sun
Montreal Gazette
Apr 6, 2007














Picture a lush, green little island, settled in the 5th century AD by a handful of neighbouring migrants. It was Eden itself with tropical trees, fertile soil, pure spring water and surrounded by abundant seafood.

Click here for complete article.

Rapa Nui, "mysterious island of Easter"

The mysterious island of Easter
Montreal Gazette (subscription), Canada - Apr 6, 2007
Easter Island fascinates the human race the way Nessie or Stonehenge do. Located more than 3500 km west of continental Chile, it is home to the moai statues ...

The mysterious island of Easter
Vancouver Sun (subscription), Canada - Apr 6, 2007
A picture of some of the 390 abandoned huge statues (moais in Rapa Nui language), in the hillside of the Rano Raraku volcano on Easter Island. ...

Journalist recounts Rapa Nui visit

Easter Island's faces
Giant statues tell only part of the tale
By JANET FULLWOOD - Sacramento Bee
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Posted: April 7, 2007











There the eerie silhouettes of the statues loomed behind a cemetery.

Click here for complete article.

French frigate to stop at Rapa Nui

French frigate here for a week
Warship on way to military exercises off South America
Carl Nolte, Chronicle Staff Writer
San Francisco Chronicle
Friday, April 6, 2007

The Prairial, named for a month in the old French revolutionary calendar, sails Wednesday for San Diego, then to several Central and South American ports. The ship will participate in a joint exercise called Teamwork South with U.S., Chilean and Argentine navy ships, and then return to the Marquesas with a stop at Clipperton and Easter Island.

Click here for complete article.

Varig's Mercosur Airpass excludes Rapa Nui

Varig Brazil launches New Air Passes
ASIATravelTips.com, Thailand - Apr 5, 2007
The Mercosur Air Pass, for travel within and between Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile - excluding Easter Island - offers travel to a minimum ...

Varig Brazil introduces new air travel options
e-Travel Blackboard (press release), Australia - Apr 3, 2007
The Mercosur Airpass, for travel within and between Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile – excluding Easter Island - offers travel to a minimum of ...

Varig Brazil launches New Air Passes
MercoPress, Uruguay - Apr 5, 2007
The Mercosur Air Pass, for travel within and between Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile - excluding Easter Island - offers travel to a minimum ...

Brazil Varig's New Air Pass Is Just for Non-Brazilians
Brazzil Magazine, Los Angeles - Apr 6, 2007
The Mercosur Air Pass, for travel within and between Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile - excluding Easter Island - offers travel to a minimum ...

Rapa Nui and ham radio

Surfin': Hamming at CE0Y
This week, Easter Island is our destination, and a ham radio Web site is our port-of-call.
By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU - Contributing Editor
ARRLWeb
April 5, 2007












A Web site that claims to be the “first Web site associated with an Amateur Radio expedition” extensively documents the September 1995 XR0Y DXpedition to Easter Island and Sala y Gómez (XR0Z), a tiny island East of Easter Island. It is a very interesting read about a fascinating DXpedition.

Click here for complete article.

Chile "gears up" for more Rapa Nui visitors from UK

Chile to launch tourism campaign in UK
Easier, UK - Apr 2, 2007
And of course there is Easter Island - famous for its stone moai statues - more than 2000 miles west of mainland Chile, one of the remotest islands in the ...

The Chile Challenge
Travel Connect, UK - Apr 3, 2007
And of course there is Easter Island - famous for its stone moai statues - more than 2000 miles west of mainland Chile, one of the remotest islands in the ...

Chile Tourism in UK marketing drive
Utalkmarketing, UK - Apr 4, 2007
He added, “We are going to organize a series of press trips in 2007 to Chile, including to Easter Island as very few people know that it is part of Chile. ...

Chile offers Brits warm welcome
Opodo, UK - Apr 4, 2007
... fascinating country is only one of its attractions, which include excellent wine, deserts, glaciers and the astounding mute monuments of Easter Island. ...

Easter Island Marathon among marathon vacation destinations

Globetrotters: Traveling the world to run in marathons is booming
ELLEN CREAGER - Detroit Free Press
Wilkes Barre Times-Leader
Apr 3, 2007

Worldwide, marathon escorted tours are also becoming more exotic. Sure, you can take a marathon vacation in London or Rome, but Boston-based Marathon Tours and Travel also offers trips to Kenya, Easter Island in Chile and the Great Wall of China. In January, it sponsored its first trip to the Dubai Marathon in the United Arab Emirates.

Click here for complete article.

Free to see moai at British Museum

Free museums soften London cost
Wichita Eagle
Posted on Sun, Apr. 01, 2007

Every American visitor should be aware that several top attractions in London -- the British Museum (sculptures from Athens' Parthenon, the Rosetta Stone, monumental totems from Easter Island), the National Gallery, the Tate and the Victoria & Albert -- offer free admission, a major act of British magnanimity. It is possible to fill a rich week of touring without spending a cent.

Click here for complete article.