"Monolithic" Pop Culture References #63

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 World Syndrome
Atlantic Online - Jul 25, 2007
(Easter Island, in Polynesia, was then supporting a population of at least 7000 with roughly the same land mass and a less hospitable climate. ...

Maldives: Islands in the sun
Ceylon Daily News, Sri Lanka - Jul 25, 2007
... from ancient mounds bore a striking resemblance to figures he had investigated on Easter Island in the Pacific Ocean, almost 12 time zones away. ...

JUST ASKIN': XLI
Ether Zone, IL - Aug 3, 2007
And along those lines, do the icons on Easter Island bear a remarkable resemblance to Hugo Chavez? Just askin’: Is Juan Williams the poster boy for feigned ...

Barry Bonds Home Run Watch: Celebrating Hank Aaron
Bleacher Report, CA - Aug 3, 2007
... that the pursuit of such a hallowed record has turned into such a sideshow (think World’s Strongest Man meets one of the big heads of Easter Island). ...

BlizzCon 07: Wrath Of The Lich King Impressions
Game Informer, TX - Aug 4, 2007
The Borean Tundra is home to the Tuskar, and while they weren’t shown, we did see their Easter Island-like stone monuments (with tusks, of course) and a ...

'Meerkat Manor' burrows into your heart
Los Angeles Times, CA - Aug 7, 2007
Standing stock still as they scan the horizon for food and predators, their tiny faces are as watchful and wise as the statues of Easter Island. ...

World of Roleplayers sponsors the "Find General British" Beta event
MMORPG blog - Aug 8, 2007
... as well as learn about how the artists themselves drew inspiration from the ever-so-mysterious Easter Island, with its gigantic monoliths. ...

Critique of New7Wonders

Why Go? The World’s ‘New 7 Wonders’
Sara Benson, L.A. Times Travel Deal Detective
Los Angeles Times
Aug 8, 2007

Critique: Not everyone was excited about the ‘New 7 Wonders’ contest, from residents of Easter Island to the British, who didn’t cast enough votes for Stonehenge. I’m not a checklist traveler, although obviously a lot of people are (just look at the popularity of the book 1000 Places to See Before You Die, now a TV show on the Discovery Channel). When it comes to the wonders of world, the most impressive that I’ve been to is Cambodia’s Angkor Wat – and yes, I did vote for it in the N7W contest.

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Royal Caribbean to visit Rapa Nui

Royal Caribbean Announces 2008-09 Seasonal South America Cruises
Earthtimes.org
Aug 7, 2007

Depending on the itinerary, guests onboard Radiance of the Seas have the option of the Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls cruisetour or a five-night Easter Island and Chile cruisetour, which includes hotel stays and sightseeing tours in Santiago, Chile, and the ecological preserve of Easter Island.

Click here for complete release.

Theme park in Shenzhen has "Easter Island" replica

Switzerland comes to Shenzhen
Catherine Jiang
Asia Sentinel
06 August 2007

Shenzhen, itself, with virtually no authentic cultural or historic attractions of its own, hardly lacks for theme parks. Window of the World was the city’s first stab at giving tourists a global experience on a reduced scale, with smaller versions of the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, the White House, Lincoln Memorial, Easter Island, the Matterhorn, Notre Dame, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Stonehenge, Mount Fuji and more, including bikini-clad women prancing to “Sex Bomb” in the “Cultural Palace.”

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Moai-inspired topiary in Essex, England

The Leylandi-eyes on guard in my garden
Daily Mail
Last updated at 19:23pm on 1st August 2007










Mr Geiger used gardening clippers and string to create the characters, which are styled on the faces of the Moai statues on Easter Island in the South Pacific.

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New7Wonders not including Rapa Nui

List of architectural wonders announced
HeraldNet, WA - Jul 15, 2007
... the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the stone statues on Chile's Easter Island, Australia's Sydney Opera House, Cambodia's Angkor, ...

Tourism prospects enhanced for the seven ‘new’ wonders
Monday Morning, Lebanon - Jul 26, 2007
Losing out among the frontrunners on the short-listed sites were the Acropolis in Athens, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the statues on Easter Island, ...

Rapa Nui: We're a World Wonder오
마이뉴스, South Korea - Jul 27, 2007
I had all my fingers crossed just to hear Ben Kingsley saying that Easter Island's moai were chosen to be one of the new wonders... but it didn't happen. ...

Machu Picchu's Odyssey from Hidden Treasure to New World Wonder
PR.com (press release), NY - Jul 28, 2007
The finalists were the following: The Acropolis, Greece - Alhambra, Spain - Angkor, Cambodia - Statues of Easter Island, Chile - Eiffel Tower, ...

Make your own Moai at the Woodbury Public Library

At the Woodbury Public Library
The Photo News
Jul 28, 2007

Monday, July 30, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Middle School “YNK - You Never Know” activity program at the Central Valley branch entitled “History’s Mysteries.” Explore Atlantis, Stonehenge, crop circles and make your own Easter Island Moai. Open to all residents of the Town of Woodbury and the Monroe-Woodbury School District who are entering Grades 6-9. Call 928-2114 to sign up.

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Easter Island by Jennifer Vanderbes for book club reading

Book groups, other resources available
Holly Teasdle
South Lyon Herald
Jul 26, 2007

Nov. 21, 2007: Easter Island: a novel, Jennifer Vanderbes. It is 1913. Elsa Pendleton travels from England to Easter Island with her husband, an anthropologist sent by the Royal Geographical Society to study the colossal moai statues, and her younger sister. What begins as a familial duty for Elsa becomes a grand adventure.

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Jimmy Buffet to perform concert on Rapa Nui?

Jimmy Buffett Charms
Posted by David Hoekstra
Scratch Crib
July 23

[Jimmy Buffet is] seriously thinking about a show amongst the tiki gods on Easter Island in the South Pacific.

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Moai at Museo Fonck in Viña del Mar

Don't scrimp on this savings advice
By Richard P. Carpenter, Globe Correspondent
Boston.com
July 15, 2007

It is one of only six true moas [sic] outside Easter Island, and there is no charge to view or pose for pictures with it. Museo Fonck is an archeological museum containing 1,400 items.

Click here for complete article.

"Monolithic" Pop Culture References #62

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:

I can't believe it's not Mutter
The Sun, UK - Jul 15, 2007
MAY we be so boulder as to suggest a link to Chile’s Easter Island statues? Or is it just sheer coincidence? JUTTING out to sea with its craggy features and ...

A Triumph for the Russian ‘Ring'
New York Sun, NY - Jul 15, 2007
I thought of Easter Island statues on their backs. Alternatively, I thought of giant ETs, straightened out and horizontal. In any case, I suspect they are ...

Hopefuls pitch potential TV hits to executives at Montreal's Just ...
680 News, Canada - Jul 19, 2007
That got a laugh but most times the execs were as emotive as the faces of the stone statues on Easter Island. Then they might jot a note or smile. ...

Never trust a conspiracy analyst, either.
ScienceBlogs - Jul 18, 2007
... see for yourself what the 9/11 nuts operating from inside the Easter Island statues that are not of terrestrial origin have been saying for centuries. ...

Rain or shine, Luminara will glow tonight
Times Colonist, Canada - Jul 21, 2007
... of Luminara Victoria's lantern festival, combined with dozens of displays evocative of everything from the Far East to Abbey Road and Easter Island. ...

UI professor is conversant in many dialects including computer
Urbana/Champaign News-Gazette, IL - Jul 15, 2007
He's interested in Chinese cultural history and the history of the Arabs and in Easter Island and its largely undeciphered script called "rongorongo. ...

Groups looking for original music
Sudbury Star, Canada - Jul 19, 2007
Northern Music Resources, the Kids in Conflict Program and Easter Island Studio is looking for original music to be included in a compilation CD/DVD to be ...

A break for passionate shopping
Boston Globe, United States - 4 hours ago
... my generic tape recorder in favor of a rack-component system with speakers that towered over my room like the giant stone heads of Easter Island. ...

Southern Gothic
Washington Post, United States - Jul 21, 2007
... Annie, although twice abandoned, is given immortality. · Jennifer Vanderbes is the author of the novel "Easter Island" and a current Guggenheim Fellow.

An Even Exchange, Part One
Today's Sunbeam, NJ - Jul 21, 2007
... hopes maybe the local Rotary Club will sponsor an Easter Island trip for her and the other foreign "I'm excited about the whole experience," she said. ...

Tourism and media spotlight bring changes to Rapanui life

Easter Island Fights Prosperity
Mayor Pedro Edmunds wants "his people" to be lovable. They're more interested in getting rich.
Juliet Samuel
Reason Magazine
July 13, 2007

“My people are changing due to development,” explains Pedro Edmunds, the democratically elected mayor of Chile’s Easter Island. “The people are getting more and more individual-thinking—and it’s not good.”

Click here for complete article.

Collapse of Rapanui Civilization

Time for change's Journal
Posted by Time for change
Democratic Underground
Jul 14th 2007, 09:31 AM

Diamond’s book describes the environmental causes of past and present failed societies, such as the collapse of the ancient Easter Island civilization, and compares them with other societies that have succeeded, in order to identify the causes of failed societies.

Click here for complete article.

American songwriter's song about Birdman Cult of Rapa Nui

sound check
By BOB HAM
Oregonlive.com
Friday, July 13, 2007

One particular tale she points to is the song, "Oh Bring Back the Egg Unbroken," concerning the cults of Easter Island. "The tribes there gradually cut down all the trees on this lush island to transport those giant stone heads," Craeger says, "and what they expected to happen didn't work out and they died out. I saw it as a kind of a microcosm of the problems we're having with our planet, and it got me wondering how long we would last if we cut down the last tree."

Click here for complete article.

Rapamune mention

Merck's New Cancer Pill
Matthew Herper
Forbes.com
07.12.07, 12:00 PM ET

The drug hits a cell receptor that was discovered because it is the target of Rapamune, a Wyeth immune suppressant discovered on Easter Island decades ago. ...

Click here for complete article.

"Monolithic" Pop Culture References #61

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:

Jake, If You Can Hear The Sound Of Their Voices
Tampa Tribune, FL - Jul 10, 2007
Easter Island. Allen, Gruden come ashore on one of world's most isolated places. No Jake. Gather samples of volcanic rock, examine massive, ...

Judges get to work on songs
Sudbury Star, Canada - Jul 12, 2007
The first-place prize is studio time at Easter Island Studios to record a 10-song CD. The second prize is a guitar from Innovative Guitar Ideas. ...

Travel: Taos and Its “Unforgettable Inspiration”
American Heritage - Jul 13, 2007
... and single window over the entrance door, it finds beauty in austerity as assuredly as does any Shaker barn or Easter Island monolith. ...

Rapa Nui no "New Wonder"

Is It Any Wonder?
Commentary, NY - Jul 11, 2007
... Brazil, and India) dominate the list, and that monuments without constituencies (one thinks of the Stone Heads of Easter Island) do not figure. ...

Frenzied Voting Campaign Helps Taj Mahal Join '7 Wonders'
San Leandro India West, CA - Jul 12, 2007
The seven beat out 14 other nominated landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower, Easter Island in the Pacific, the Statue of Liberty, the Acropolis, ...

The Taj gets ‘elected’!
Mauritius Times, Mauritius - Jul 13, 2007
Nominees such as the Easter Island's Moai statues and Angkor Wat were at the top of the rankings until eventually the choice was influenced by those with ...

Celebrities help make History!
LA Canyon News, CA - Jul 14, 2007The 21 finalists: The Acropolis, Alhambra, Angkor, Chichen Itza, Christ Redeemer, The Colosseum, Easter Island, Eiffel Tower, Great Wall of China, ...

Out with the old - seven new wonders of the world
UVSC NetXNews, UT - Jul 16, 2007
Other nominees included the Statue of Liberty, Easter Island, the Eiffel Tower, and Stonehenge, but all came up short in the votes. ...

List of architectural wonders announced
HeraldNet, WA - Jul 15, 2007
... the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the stone statues on Chile's Easter Island, Australia's Sydney Opera House, Cambodia's Angkor, ...

Rapa Nui mention in global warming article

Global Warming and Solar Radiation
By D. Bruce Merrifield
American Thinker
Jul 10, 2007

Massive sand dunes were formed in Nebraska during this period, and the Easter Island culture in the Pacific Ocean also collapsed at this time. ...

Click here for complete article.

No Easter Island landmarks among New7Wonders

Greece and France hit out at new wonders
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - Jul 9, 2007
As well as the Eiffel Tower and the Acropolis, short-listed sites that missed the final cut included the Easter Island statues; Britain's Stonehenge; ...

长城名列“世界新七大奇迹”之首
腾讯网, China - Jul 9, 2007
The top contenders that lost out are the Acropolis in Athens, Greece, the Stonehenge in Britain, Angkor Vat in Cambodia, the statues on Easter Island and ...

Greece, France hit out at Seven Wonders
Sunday Times, South Africa - Jul 9, 2007
As well as the Eiffel Tower and the Acropolis, short-listed sites that missed the final cut included the Easter Island statues; Britain’s Stonehenge; ...

The New Seven Wonders of the World revealed
Gizmag, Australia - Jul 9, 2007
Surprise omissions from the shortlist of 21 sites included The Acropolis, Easter Island Statues and Stonehenge, which were all among the top contenders when ...

New Wonders Of The World Chosen
Holiday hypermarket, UK - Jul 11, 2007
Unmistakable monuments like the Eiffel Tower, the Acropolis in Athens, or the Moai statues on Easter Island all failed to make the final cut.

This 'n' that: It’s no wonder that many Americans hit a wall with ...

Canton Repository (subscription), OH - Jul 10, 2007
Neither did the Eiffel Tower (too French), Easter Island (too weird), The Statue of Liberty (too American, plus the French gave it to us), or the Sydney ...

"Monolithic" Pop Culture References #60

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:

Finding zen
Ottawa Citizen (subscription), Canada - Jul 7, 2007
In true trickle-down fashion, now one of my neighbours has blue sticks sticking out like rays of sun behind an Easter Island head in her garden. ...

Sharon Osbourne misses husband Ozzy
Holy Moly, London - Jul 9, 2007
Sharon, who is increasingly beginning to resemble an Easter Island statue with a terrible wig on top, moaned: "I try as much as I can to fly back and forth ...