Awa mini-blog (From the Editorial Desk)
The Overused Ditty28/ 4 / 10; 4:10:59 PMA few months ago I might not have uttered more than a passing groan on hearing that the mandarins of New Zealand rugby had chosen a tired 20-year-old song celebrating the downfall of the Berlin Wall as the theme song for the Rugby World Cup's stint in NZ. But having heard the Feelers sing That Song on Campbell Live this week I'm really stirred up. In the last year I've got up close and personal with the work of New Zealand songwriters as editor of Nick Bollinger's fantastic new book '100 Essential New Zealand Albums'. What an education. It's not surprising that so many great songs have come out of New Zealand. What's amazing is that some people appear not to have noticed. The fact that two of my sons are musicians may be swaying me here, but dear Jesus Jones I have heard at least a dozen original songs from their bands alone that would do more to rock the stadia than this overused old ditty. If you don't believe me, come and hear Nick and Dave Dobbyn roll out great NZ music at the Wellington launch of NZ Music Month: Mighty Mighty this Saturday, May 1, at 6pm. All free. All welcome. Breathing Space23/ 2 / 10; 1:59:33 PMHow many small business-owners hover on the brink of expansion? In the six years that Awa Press has been publishing, the number of books has increased, the number of staff hours has increased, our sales - both through bookstores and special sales, export and the internet - have increased, the number of phone calls and emails we receive every day has increased. The one thing that hasn't increased is the size of our office. We operate out of a heritage-listed cottage in the heart of Wellington. We love it here. We even have a garden filled with sunshine and edible fruit, herbs and vegetables. But alas, the time has come to move. So in between commissioning, editing and producing exciting new books, we are also perusing vacant office space. So far, only one place has taken our fancy. We'll keep you posted.... Stretch those limbs today31/ 8 / 09; 11:16:21 AMApparently 80 percent of cyclists who do the Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge don't start training until September. Some real layabouts leave it until October. On the other hand, I've seen an awful lot of people on bikes hurtling along Karaka Bay Road in the howling southerlies recently, so, yes, there are some bloody keen types out there and they're looking good. One wrote that our book Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge Guide has changed his life. 'Since I learned about cadence , my cycling's improved 5000 percent.' We're feeling real good about that. |
|