Wednesday, October 23, 2013
The PSA is 100 years old this year
The PSA launched its centenary celebrations in Auckland on April 17 and the celebrations will continue around the country until 31 October.
To mark the centenary, the Dan Long Memorial Trust commissioned a biography of Dan long.
Dan Long was general secretary of the PSA from 1960 to 1976, and saw it transform from a gentlemanly professional body into a well resourced and highly effective trade union. He was also directly instrumental in broadening the range of PSA activities beyond immediate issues of pay and working conditions into the fields of human rights, internationalism and the social revolution of the late 60s and 70s.
Listen here as author Mark Derby talks to the CoffeeBar Kid about the project.
http://coffeebarkid1.podomatic.com/entry/2013-10-23T03_31_29-07_00
Click here to read more about the book (from a previous show): http://grooveradio.blogspot.co.nz/2013/06/adventures-of-coffeebar-kid-is-back.html
The PSA grew out of the New Zealand Civil Service Association in 1913 when three young Education Department clerks decided to form an association to provide ordinary public servants with the support they needed. Their actions followed the passage of the 1912 Public Service Act which created a politically neutral, career public service.
To mark the centenary, the Dan Long Memorial Trust commissioned a biography of Dan long.
Dan Long was general secretary of the PSA from 1960 to 1976, and saw it transform from a gentlemanly professional body into a well resourced and highly effective trade union. He was also directly instrumental in broadening the range of PSA activities beyond immediate issues of pay and working conditions into the fields of human rights, internationalism and the social revolution of the late 60s and 70s.
Listen here as author Mark Derby talks to the CoffeeBar Kid about the project.
http://coffeebarkid1.podomatic.com/entry/2013-10-23T03_31_29-07_00
Click here to read more about the book (from a previous show): http://grooveradio.blogspot.co.nz/2013/06/adventures-of-coffeebar-kid-is-back.html
The PSA grew out of the New Zealand Civil Service Association in 1913 when three young Education Department clerks decided to form an association to provide ordinary public servants with the support they needed. Their actions followed the passage of the 1912 Public Service Act which created a politically neutral, career public service.
New Zealand Festival of the Arts 2014
Starting with...
Notes from the launch of the New Zealand Festival of The Arts
I've just got back from the Launch of the 2014 New Zealand International Festival Of The Arts at the Opera House. Shelagh Magadza took us through the highlights which for Groove listeners will include Jazz singer Madeline Peyroux, Punk/Electronica artists Yo La Tango, The Tiger Lillies, the "Screamin' Eagle of Soul" Charles Bradley and nu-Amercana/singer song writer Neko Case - We at Groove are very excited! For Groove Book worms there's Jung Chang (Wild Swans) and Duncan Sarkies (Demolition of the Century, Two Little Boys, Scarfies) and Booker Prize winner Eleanor Catton plus international stars. And get ready for an invasion, as New Zealand welcomes the Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular to Wellington for a musical celebration of the iconic BBC series. There's Ainadamar - Soloists from the Grammy Award-winning recording star alongside the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra in this exceptional contemporary opera by the “saviour of classical music” (The New York Times). Rhythm and Reels - Join the talented band from Rian - including Hothouse Flowers frontman Liam Ó Maonlaí for a night of lively music and Irish folk sounds. Also cheep symphonies! Experience the drama and excitement of five of the world’s most impressive symphonies – short enough to fit into a lunch break and priced to match ($20-$25- yes really!). Plus - Cabaret noir comes to the James Cabaret as Kiwi rock stars Jon Toogood and Julia Deans join singers Jennifer Ward-Lealand and Tama Waipara to interpret Jacques Brel’s infamous Songbook (Brel - The Words and Music of Jaqes Brel).
Of course there's a whole range of dance, theatre etc - head to http://festival.co.nz/
Thursday, October 17, 2013
Tonite - Get Happy with Pink Martini - on The Adventures of the CoffeeBar Kid
Tonite we feature PM's new album 'Get Happy'.
Pink Martini is probably the finest small orchestra playing today. They play beautiful, lush jazz of the 40’s dance era, international songs, again in the big band style and plenty of enchanting orchestral, cinematic pieces that would sit perfectly on the shelf with the great 40’s movie scores – many from the Disney and RKO production houses. The new release, Get Happy, demonstrates their amazing versatility, beyond simply just playing the standards. Although they've never really just done that. Even a simple and well known tune like 'Perhaps' is subtly reinvented into a Spanish version, adding an additional layer of sexual tension and mystique.
Pink Martini is probably the finest small orchestra playing today. They play beautiful, lush jazz of the 40’s dance era, international songs, again in the big band style and plenty of enchanting orchestral, cinematic pieces that would sit perfectly on the shelf with the great 40’s movie scores – many from the Disney and RKO production houses. The new release, Get Happy, demonstrates their amazing versatility, beyond simply just playing the standards. Although they've never really just done that. Even a simple and well known tune like 'Perhaps' is subtly reinvented into a Spanish version, adding an additional layer of sexual tension and mystique. Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Congratulations to Eleanor Catton – winner of the Booker Prize for The Luminaries
Catton, who’s only 28, is only the second Kiwi to do so, and the youngest author ever, to win this, the most presitigious literary award ever.
Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones (which has just been released as a film, starring Hugh Lauriw), was shortlisted in 2007, and The Bone People by Keri Hulme, won the Booker Prize in 1985.
Catton is youngest in the Prize’s 45 year history to be short-listed. The prize, announced at a ceremony in London, is worth $95,000, enogh to keep her in typewriter ribbons for some time! .
RNSZ quotes Catton who said that her book has been a publisher's nightmare from the very beginning, so winning made it all worth while: "The shape and form of the book made certain kinds of editorial suggestions not only mathematically impossible, but even more egregious, astrologically impossible”. The judges said her book, which beat five other contenders, is an exuberant and dazzling homage to Victorian sensation novels.
Wednesday, October 09, 2013
This Thursday the CoffeeBar Kid Gets Hot in the Kitchen
This Thursday the show is all about food. The Kid is in the kichen and he reviews four books: Jo Seager's new book A Bit of What You Fancy, Laura Vincent's Hungry & Frozen and Simon Gault's homemade and Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall's The River Cottage Cookbook. Click here for more on three of these books - http://adventuresofthecoffeebarkid.blogspot.co.nz/2013/10/getting-hot-in-kitchen.html
Tune in from 7.30PM on www.groovefm.co.nz
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Thursday Night on the Adventures of the CoffeeBar Kid. Pop-Op goes the Tre-Belle! 7.30 This Thursday Night
Big Day out Line up news and Music
Stay tuned to Groove all through October/November and December to hear more about what's playing at the big Day out. We'll be doing bios, playing some music and getting abit newsy, too. As things roll on we'll have interviews with the artists on our regular show too, - The Adventures of the CoffeeBar Kid - Thursday nights from 7.30. Get excited!!!!
Pearl Jam * Arcade Fire * Blur * Snoop Dogg aka Snoop Lion
* Major Lazer * Steve Angello * The Lumineers * Tame Impala Dillon Francis * Mac Miller Ghost * Grouplove * Flosstradamus *Portugal. The Man * Toro Y Moi * DIIV * The Naked And Famous Mudhoney * The 1975 * The Phoenix Foundation * SJD * P-Money * Ladi6 * Beastwars * Concord Dawn * Clap Clap Riot * Kody Nielson *
Randa * PleasePlease
And more to Come!!!!
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Tonight on the Adventures of the CoffeeBar Kid: Author Stuart McBride, Canteen, Calexico
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Stuart McBride signing my advance copy of Stauart McBride
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Tonite we have a 'fireside chat' with Author Stuart McBride - "the Tartan King of Noir".
Stuart is a Scottish writer, most famous for his crime thrillers set in the "Granite City" of Aberdeen and featuring Detective Sergeant Logan McRae. He was in Wellington 2 weeks agon and popped in to talked to the Kid about his latest book "Close to the Bone"
Someone's leaving little knots of bones outside Detective Inspector Logan McRae's house, but he's got more pressing things to worry about. Rival drug gangs are fighting over product and territory; two teenage lovers are missing; someone's crippling Asian immigrants; and Logan's been lumbered with an ambitious new Detective Sergeant, a mountain of paperwork, and the unwelcome attention of his superiors and the local crime boss.
When another body turns up, it looks as if the similarities between these murders and the plot of a bestselling novel are more than just a coincidence. And perhaps those little knots of bones are more important than they look..."
http://www.stuartmacbride.com/books/Close-To-The-Bone.php
• Bandanna Challenge 13 – 29 September 2013 is CanTeen’s annual public fundraising appeal.• The campaign focuses on why CanTeen exists – that no young person living with cancer should go through it alone. Two members from each category feature in the campaign, and they are: Patient Members Annabel Sopoaga-Ariki and Richard Yap (both from Christchurch); Sibling Members Natalie Lagesse (Timaru) and Grant Hawthorne (Wellington); and Bereaved Sibling Members Lucy Coombes (Wellington) and Tony Bayard (Nelson).
• Five bandanna designs feature in this year’s line-up – collaborated designs from CanTeen ambassadors Dan Carter and Patient Member Annabel Sopoaga-Ariki (Christchurch), Maria Tutaia and Sibling Member Azura-Eve Silberschmidt (Rotorua), the NZ Breakers and Patient Member Jessica Hamilton (Auckland), plus individual designs from Clara van Wel, winner of last year’s NZ’s Got Talent, and Patient Member Miro Tidswell-Groot (Nelson).
• People can donate by either calling 0800 22 34 34, visiting neveralone.co.nz or texting CANTEEN to 4325 to make a $3 donation.
• Bandannas are $4 each and are available from PAK’nSAVE, New World, Four Square, BP, Farmers, Burger King, Repco or Warehouse Stationery or online at www.canteen.org.nz or neveralone.co.nz (site will launch 9th Sept)
• Bandanna related Facebook/Twitter Avatars have been created for this year’s campaign and are available for download on CanTeen’s website www.canteen.org.nz for people to show their support online.
www.canteen.org
Calexico return to Wellington on Friday to play at the Opera House. Groove will play some of their music tonite. Calexico is a Tucson, Arizona-based Americana / Tex-Mex / indie rock band. The band's two main members, Joey Burns and John Convertino, first played together in Los Angeles as part of the group Giant Sand.
http://www.casadecalexico.com/
Tuesday, September 03, 2013
This week on the Adventures of the CoffeeBar Kid - Fly My Pretties (Ria Hall), Michael Van der Elzen (The Food Truck Guy) and A tribute to David Frost
This week we interview Ria Hall, new recruit on the Fly My Pretties Homeland Tour, which is about to kick off around the country. We play a few songs by new Pretties recruits.
We also talk to Michael Van Der Elzen - the Food Truck Guy and master chef of 'Healthy Takeaways'- ahead of the launch of his new book, The Food Truck Cook Book No.2.
For more info and to watch shows on demand check out The Food Truck TVNZ homepage tvnz.co.nz/the-food-truck/
The Food Truck follows Michael Van De Elzen, owner and head chef of Molten Restaurant and Liquid Molten Bar in Mt Eden, Auckland, as he attempts to create healthy, restaurant-quality alternatives to New Zealand fast food favourites from the back of a 1970 Bedford truck.
http://vandeelzen.com/the-food-truck/
And finally we also pay tribute to a great journalist David Frost, who passed away two days ago. British broadcaster David Frost, famed for coaxing an apology for Watergate from Richard Nixon, has died on a luxury cruise liner where he had a speaking engagement.
Frost's, 74, sudden death brought tributes from international celebrities and political leaders, many of whom called him a good friend as well as an acute interrogator.
Read the Stuff article here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv/9114466/David-Frost-killed-by-heart-attack
Fly My Pretties : New cast welcomes: Anika Moa, Mel Parsons, Ria Hall, Barnaby Weir, Jarney Murphy, Kara Gordon, Louis McDonald, Mark Vanilau, Mike Fabulous, Nigel Patterson, Ryan Prebble & Shaun Blackwell. Full 2013 cast info HERE.
For more info and to watch shows on demand check out The Food Truck TVNZ homepage tvnz.co.nz/the-food-truck/
The Food Truck follows Michael Van De Elzen, owner and head chef of Molten Restaurant and Liquid Molten Bar in Mt Eden, Auckland, as he attempts to create healthy, restaurant-quality alternatives to New Zealand fast food favourites from the back of a 1970 Bedford truck.
http://vandeelzen.com/the-food-truck/
Frost's, 74, sudden death brought tributes from international celebrities and political leaders, many of whom called him a good friend as well as an acute interrogator.
Read the Stuff article here: http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv/9114466/David-Frost-killed-by-heart-attack
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
This Thursday on the Adventures of the CoffeeBarKid - Duncan Sarkies demolishes the Century!
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| Demolition of the Century |
Ok, We're Back - This week the Kid has Duncan as his guest.
Also, for father's day we have a special facebook give-away - Precious Metals by Gavin Conroy. Check out the Facebook page for more info.
See you 7.30 PM This Thursday Only on Groove 107.7FM
In the meantime here's a few notes the Kid scambled together:
It was one of the great southern scandals of the 1990s. Dunedin's beloved Century cinema was pulled down in 1993 to make way for a tyre shop that's never been built.
"With this, I had to pull a lot of stuff from outside my own life. I'm not an expert on demolition, and I wasn't an expert on horse insurance, so many aspects of the book involved a massive research job. I thoroughly enjoyed all of it, but it took a long time."
He describes the novel- writing process as similar to marathon-running. "A weird mental marathon - you've got to push yourself through, even though you know the end is a long, long, long way away, and the first draft is not one you are going to enjoy reading for posterity." Having taken a long time to get to the writing phases this time, Sarkies set himself goals via a reward system.
"I'd say, 'in this hour I'm going to write 750 words or a full hour, depending on what comes first', which is a good motivation to get the words done so you can knock off early. Setting time goals isn't a good idea because it encourages you to procrastinate." In Sarkies' case, that involved an addictive online game he refuses to name for fear of encouraging others. "I don't know why my brain needs to organise balls and colours, " he lets slip.
He was pretty fit and his Wellington home spotless during Demolition's construction phase.
"I didn't set out to write a detective novel but suddenly it turned into this major piece of structuring and I've always found that the most challenging part of writing. I tried to turn it into a fun process but spent a long time putting cards on the wall and reorganising them - it just turned into a big mess of cards." Ad Feedback Some things are familiar. As in his first novel, Two Little Boys, Demolition uses multiple narrators. "I haven't explored that style of writing of where you play God and get into the thoughts of everyone. I'm quite curious to try that at some point in the future. I do really love getting locked in someone's head, I guess that's the secret buzz of the whole thing in terms of writing prose - getting lost in someone else's thoughts. I have to engage those thoughts, so I guess it's method writing."
With that in mind, Sarkies admits that at times Demolition was quite stressful to write. "When I was writing well that was very painful. That Spud character is really wound up." Although Sarkies currently has no plans for Demolition to follow Two Little Boys' footsteps to the big screen ("I've written too many film scripts that haven't been made"), he's working on projects for both TV and radio. "I've written two episodes for a kung fu comedy for the ABC (currently titled Maximum Choppage) - one features an aphrodisiac duck recipe that causes all sorts of chaos and the other has a fighting fish. It's set in Cabramatta, which is a Vietnamese, Chinese and Cambodian district of Sydney . . . All the whiteys used to be too scared to go there. "When I went there years ago I went to a video game parlour and within two minutes someone was offering to sell me drugs. I think it has changed vastly."
Meanwhile, The Mysterious Secrets of Uncle Bertie's Botanarium is an audio collaboration with artist Stephen Templer and musician Lawrence Arabia. Jemaine Clement plays a fictional Joseph Banks who is on a voyage to look for his long-lost Uncle Bertie who believed he had discovered a plant known to be the source of all pleasure. Having made one episode so far, Sarkies says they're trying to work out what to do with it. "We might pitch it to the BBC or go the podcast route and sell it for $1.99 online."
The Demolition Of The Century by Duncan Sarkies, Penguin, $30.
Also, for father's day we have a special facebook give-away - Precious Metals by Gavin Conroy. Check out the Facebook page for more info.
See you 7.30 PM This Thursday Only on Groove 107.7FM
In the meantime here's a few notes the Kid scambled together:
A pocket carpark still taunts film-lovers as they head along Princes or Jetty streets. While this sorry episode from Duncan Sarkies' hometown wasn't the direct inspiration for his new, second novel The Demolitionof the Century, he says the story was very pertinent. "I interviewed quite a lot of people from the demolition industry and it was very interesting chatting to them about it and how it happened." Those discussions helped form the character of Spud, whose wrecking ball is taking down the movie theatre of the book's title. He is also one of the men following Tom Spotswood, an insurance investigator who has lost his socks, suitcase, career, ex-wife and son Frank.
Despite still featuring a main cast of "loser" characters ("I've always been drawn to characters who are a little bit ugly and aren't necessarily going anywhere"), the detective novel represents a departure for the now over-40 Sarkies. "I bit off several challenges here and also had to research for the first time. While I love that I can read my own books and go 'Oh, that comes from here, that comes from there', I thought I'd mined my own life for all it's worth...  |
| Duncan Sarkies |
"With this, I had to pull a lot of stuff from outside my own life. I'm not an expert on demolition, and I wasn't an expert on horse insurance, so many aspects of the book involved a massive research job. I thoroughly enjoyed all of it, but it took a long time."
He describes the novel- writing process as similar to marathon-running. "A weird mental marathon - you've got to push yourself through, even though you know the end is a long, long, long way away, and the first draft is not one you are going to enjoy reading for posterity." Having taken a long time to get to the writing phases this time, Sarkies set himself goals via a reward system.
"I'd say, 'in this hour I'm going to write 750 words or a full hour, depending on what comes first', which is a good motivation to get the words done so you can knock off early. Setting time goals isn't a good idea because it encourages you to procrastinate." In Sarkies' case, that involved an addictive online game he refuses to name for fear of encouraging others. "I don't know why my brain needs to organise balls and colours, " he lets slip.
He was pretty fit and his Wellington home spotless during Demolition's construction phase.
"I didn't set out to write a detective novel but suddenly it turned into this major piece of structuring and I've always found that the most challenging part of writing. I tried to turn it into a fun process but spent a long time putting cards on the wall and reorganising them - it just turned into a big mess of cards." Ad Feedback Some things are familiar. As in his first novel, Two Little Boys, Demolition uses multiple narrators. "I haven't explored that style of writing of where you play God and get into the thoughts of everyone. I'm quite curious to try that at some point in the future. I do really love getting locked in someone's head, I guess that's the secret buzz of the whole thing in terms of writing prose - getting lost in someone else's thoughts. I have to engage those thoughts, so I guess it's method writing."
With that in mind, Sarkies admits that at times Demolition was quite stressful to write. "When I was writing well that was very painful. That Spud character is really wound up." Although Sarkies currently has no plans for Demolition to follow Two Little Boys' footsteps to the big screen ("I've written too many film scripts that haven't been made"), he's working on projects for both TV and radio. "I've written two episodes for a kung fu comedy for the ABC (currently titled Maximum Choppage) - one features an aphrodisiac duck recipe that causes all sorts of chaos and the other has a fighting fish. It's set in Cabramatta, which is a Vietnamese, Chinese and Cambodian district of Sydney . . . All the whiteys used to be too scared to go there. "When I went there years ago I went to a video game parlour and within two minutes someone was offering to sell me drugs. I think it has changed vastly."
Meanwhile, The Mysterious Secrets of Uncle Bertie's Botanarium is an audio collaboration with artist Stephen Templer and musician Lawrence Arabia. Jemaine Clement plays a fictional Joseph Banks who is on a voyage to look for his long-lost Uncle Bertie who believed he had discovered a plant known to be the source of all pleasure. Having made one episode so far, Sarkies says they're trying to work out what to do with it. "We might pitch it to the BBC or go the podcast route and sell it for $1.99 online."
The Demolition Of The Century by Duncan Sarkies, Penguin, $30.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
This week on the advetures of the CoffeeBar Kid - we get dogmatic!
This week our guest is the venerable Max Cryer - author, broadcaster and dog-bert. Indeed, he's with us to talk about his new book: Every Dog Has Its Day - A thousand things you didn’t know about man’s best friendFor more go here:
| http://adventuresofthecoffeebarkid.blogspot.co.nz/ | ||
Plus new (err old) episodes of the great super hero drama - Planetman! See you at 7.30 only on Groove! | ||
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