Rapa Nui among finalists for New7Wonders

Will wonders ever cease?
By ELIANE ENGELER and ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS Associated Press
Dallas Morning News
12:00 AM CST on Sunday, December 31, 2006

In addition to the Statue of Liberty, Egyptian Pyramids, Eiffel Tower, Taj Mahal and Machu Picchu, the finalists are Greece's Acropolis; Turkey's Hagia Sophia; the Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral; the Colosseum; Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle; Stonehenge; Spain's Alhambra; the Great Wall of China; Japan's Kiyomizu Temple; the Sydney Opera House; Cambodia's Angkor Wat; Timbuktu; Petra, Jordan; Brazil's Statue of Christ Redeemer; Easter Island; and Chichén Itzá, Mexico.

Click here for complete article.

"Monolithic" pop culture references #30

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:

Tallahassee.com:
Oh, looky there, it's a tissue dispenser ($19.95) shaped like one of the giant stone heads on Easter Island and the Kleenex comes out of his chiseled nostril.

Australian:
WHATEVER happened to the arch-conservative prime minister who inspired comparisons to Easter Island statues and satirical T-shirts reading "put value back in the pound - vote Malcolm Fraser"?

Santiago jumping-off point for trips to Rapa Nui

PASSPORTS FROM 2006
Randy Curwen, TRAVEL EDITOR
Chicago Tribune
Published December 31, 2006

For most tourists to Chile, Santiago is a jumping-off point for the lakes and wildness of the south, the history and mystery of Easter Island to the west, or the deserts and desolate beauty of the far north.

Click here for complete article.

Rapa Nui's allure part of trip to Chile

Discoveries from Santa Fe to Chile
By Alfred Borcover - Special to the Tribune
Chicago Tribune
Published December 31, 2006

On my final leg, I flew 2,300 miles from Santiago to Easter Island, population 4,000. This 64-square-mile speck in the Pacific is considered the most remote populated spot in the world--2,500 miles from Tahiti and 1,500 miles from the closest inhabited island, Pitcairn. Easter Island's allure will always be its mysterious moai figures, 887 of them.

Click here for complete article.

Moai-shaped BBQ grill

Mr. Rapa Nui tiki-shaped BBQ grill
How Bowers
Tiki Talk
posted on Wednesday, December 27th, 2006 at 7:39 am

The Mr. Rapa Nui mini grill is designed for cooking skewers, but is large enough to hold two New York steaks or four pieces of chicken as well.























Click here for complete post.

Door of London bar framed by moai

Boogie nights
The stink of fake tan, ruthless door bitches and out-of-bounds VIP areas ... When Kate Faithfull set out on a week-long mission to find the best dancefloor in the capital, she didn't expect to end up back at her local kebab shop
Kate Faithfull
The Observer
Sunday December 31, 2006

In search of cheer, I venture to the South London Pacific in Kennington on Wednesday night. It's a tropical oasis along a grim road; Easter Island-style faces frame the door, palm trees grow from the walls, chunky wooden carvings grace every corner, garlands of flowers trail from bamboo poles - this is a beach hut of the coolest order.

Click here for complete article.

"Monolithic" pop culture references #29

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:

Lebanon Daily News:
I do not opt for hideous inflatable or life-size plastic replica elves, carolers or Santas littering the front lawn like a Kmart version of Easter Island, nor those all-the-rage and revolting blow-up bubble domes with fake snow swirling inside. What were these people thinking?

ContaCostaTimes.com:
Meltdown: O.J. Simpson/Judith Regan. One of history's great mysteries, right behind the Easter Island idols, Stonehenge and why we drive in parkways and park in driveways, is the following. WHAT THE HELL WERE THESE TWO THINKING?!!!

Rapa Nui among Phoenix Award recipients

Forks wins high award
Recognized for way site's been preserved and developed
By Heidi Hagenlocher
Winnipeg Free Press Online Edition
Sat Dec 30 2006

"It shows that we've maintained the historic elements of the site... it's a significant award to be recognized by the Society of America Travel Writers because their standards are so high," said Clare MacKay, manager of marketing and communications for The Forks North Portage Partnership, which manages The Forks. Previous winners include Walt Disney World in Florida, Easter Island in Chile and The Municipal Art Society of New York City.

Click here for complete article.

Pacific Encounters book features objects from Rapa Nui

Pacific Encounters: Art and Divinity in Polynesia
By www.tepapa.govt.nz
Huliq
December 30, 2006

The book presents over 250 items with short captions, including sculptures in wood and stone, feather and basketry images, feather cloaks, wood bowls, decorated bark cloths, ornaments and valuables of ivory, shell, bone and nephrite. Objects come from across the Pacific – from the Society Islands (Tahiti), Austral Islands, Cook Islands, Marquesas Islands, Hawaii, Easter Island, Tonga, Fiji, Samoa and Aotearoa New Zealand.

Click here for complete post.

"Must" see Rapa Nui "before you die"

So many things to read, see, hear and do
You'd need 1001 nights and days to make even a dent in this list.
Jane Sullivan
theage.com.au
December 30, 2006

I have some places to visit. They're in 1001 Natural Wonders You Must See Before You Die, edited by Michael Bright. I can start with Uluru, which is relatively close to home, and work my way round to Stromboli, and a few Alaskan glaciers, and Mount Fuji, and Easter Island, and take a quick dip in the Mariana Trench. Oh, but then I've missed Australia's Nude Night Surfing Contest, which turns up in 100 Things To Do Before You Die, by Neil Teplica.

Click here for complete article.

More about the moai in "Night at the Museum"

A stocking full of gags
Taipei Times, Taiwan - Dec 28, 2006
A stone head from Easter Island demands bubble gum. And a cheeky monkey named Dexter steals Larry's keys, tears up his instructions and engages him in a ...

Information for parents deciding which movies are best for kids ...
Kansas City Star, MO - Dec 29, 2006
They should also learn about Sacagawea, Theodore Roosevelt, Easter Island and Attila the Hun. They may enjoy the books and movie versions of Jumanji, ...

Rapa Nui as metaphor for planet

Future grim, despite the festive season
by Sanitsuda Ekachai, Assistant Editor
Bangkok Post
Thursday December 28, 2006

Like Easter Island, our Planet Earth is an isolated island in the universe, says Nidhi. We have nowhere else to go if things go bust.

Click here for complete post.

School project's toy bear visited Rapa Nui

If you go round the world today..
Paddington may have travelled to England from "darkest Peru" but his exploits pale in comparison with the 25 bears at one North Yorkshire school.
BBC News
Last Updated: Wednesday, 27 December 2006, 09:51 GMT

Another bear, Jimbo, took part in a round-the-world jaunt taking in Brazil, Antarctica, Chile and Easter Island among others.

Click here for complete article.

French electricity company compares world to Rapa Nui

French electric company EDF has a new ad campaign, which compares the consumption of energy in the contemporary world to that of the Rapanui during their moai construction period.

Click here to visit the EDF website and to view its Rapa Nui campange publicitaire.

Thanks to Virani for suggesting the content for this post.

Blog post about the Rongorongo

The Other Mystery of Easter Island
Posted by Stephanie Benson
Damn Interesting
December 26th, 2006 at 1:15 pm

Where the moai are fascinating for their unknown purpose and mysterious craftsmen, the island's lost language of Rongorongo is equally perplexing. The unique written language seems to have appeared suddenly in the 1700s, but within just two centuries it was exiled to obscurity.







Click here for complete post.

Thanks to MrBaliHai for suggesting the content for this post.

More "Night at the Museum" articles

'Museum' all-around fun film
Syracuse Post Standard, NY - Dec 25, 2006
... of dad. So, Larry goes to work to learn how to dispatch their tyranny. The Easter Island head is pacified by bubble gum. But the ...

Imagination runs wild during night at museum
Baltimore Sun, United States - Dec 26, 2006
... Ben Stiller as a security guard who, every night, is forced to contend with everything from a bounding Tyrannosaurus to a bubble-gum-chewing Easter Island idol ...

Night at our museum
Baltimore Sun, United States - Dec 26, 2006
... Ben Stiller as a security guard who, every night, is forced to contend with everything from a bounding Tyrannosaurus to a bubble-gum-chewing Easter Island idol ...

Ancient history
Portsmouth Herald News, NH - Dec 27, 2006
... But it doesn't just come to life the way Strawbery Banke says "history comes alive"; this thing makes an Easter Island statue chew gum, turns Attila the Hun ...

Moai in peril

World treasures under attack
Sydney Morning Herald
December 26, 2006 - 11:52AM

While visitors commune with the moais they rarely learn about the serious problems confronting Easter Island and its 4,000 residents.









Click here for complete article.

Crab found near Rapa Nui warrants new family designation

From the ashes comes baby Nessie fossil
Bureau Report
Zee News
December 25, 2006

A new type of crab with a furry appearance, near Easter Island. It was so unusual it warranted a whole new family designation, Kiwaidae, named for Kiwa, the Polynesian goddess of shellfish. Its furry appearance justified its species name, hirsuta, meaning hairy.

Click here for complete article.

Rapa Nui among New7Wonders' current list of finalists

Effort under way to name today's 7 wonders of the world
By Eliane Engeler and Alexander G. Higgins, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Inside Bay Area
Article Last Updated: 12/24/2006 06:28:51 AM PST

-Easter Island. Hundreds of massive stone busts, or Moais, on this island off Chile are all that remain from the prehistoric Rapanui culture. The statues, some more than 70 feet tall, were crafted between 400 and 1,000 years ago to represent deceased ancestors.

Click here for complete article.

Trip to Chile offers Rapa Nui's "remote wonders"

Catch Chile's wine train for tasty reds and a troubled past
The Tren del Vino offers an affordable trip to the rich Colchagua Valley for cabernets and history
DAVID MOLYNEAUX
OregonLive.com
Sunday, December 24, 2006

Travel to Chile offers high adventure into the mighty Andes Mountains, the lakes and glaciers of Patagonia, the remote wonders of Easter Island and the treacherous ice of nearby Antarctica.

Click here for complete article.