The Alexander Communications team was challenged to show kids that ‘reading and writing is cool’, and to encourage them to learn that reading is a valuable life skill whether they dream of becoming a rugby league player, doctor, firefighter or dancer.

Children were invited to write a short story or poem about their favourite Vodafone Warriors player for the chance to win a reading and writing session at an Auckland library with some of the team’s players. The four selected libraries that hosted League in Libraries 2010 were Pakuranga Library, Waitakere City Library, Glenfield Library and Manurewa Library.

Konica Minolta has received an overwhelming response from Auckland schools since the programme began in 2008. From just two schools, the programme grew to 50 schools (more than 500 entries) in 2009.

Each year, Konica Minolta has the tough job of choosing eight winning schools from the many entries. Not only do the students get to meet their favourite Vodafone Warriors players, but each of the eight schools receives two Canterbury of New Zealand rugby league balls and tickets to a Vodafone Warriors home game.

In addition to the library literacy sessions, League in Libraries 2010 included a surprise school visit from Vodafone Warriors NRL Reading Captain Jerome Ropati. Dropping by Northcote Primary School, Ropati presented overall winner Finn Nicholson with a signed Vodafone Warriors shirt, and tickets to a Vodafone Warriors home game for his entire class. Finn’s winning entry was a brilliant short story about the Warriors hat-trick win against the Brisbane Broncos which included colourful descriptions like ‘fighting over the ball like lions’.

Because League in Libraries Auckland received such a great response, there is consideration for a national campaign. To get the ball rolling, some of the Vodafone Warriors took the programme to one lucky Christchurch school – Central New Brighton School. Two classes were selected to meet some of the Vodafone Warriors players and take part in a League in Libraries activity afternoon. 

Results

The local community newspapers were very supportive and super-keen on the involvement of the Vodafone Warriors. We achieved excellent coverage in the Eastern Courier, Howick and Pakuranga Times, North Shore Times, Upstart Magazine, Christchurch Mail and Pegasus Bay News.

Popular children’s television show Studio 2 Live (TVNZ) were most interested in this initiative and sent host Matt Gibb along with his television crew to capture the action at Pakuranga Library. 

The clip included interviews with Vodafone Warriors NRL Reading Captain Jerome Ropati, team mate Michael Luck and stories read by participating students from Oranga School and Sunnyhills Primary School.

Click this link to hear the interview.

Mark Lowndes, of Lowndes Associates talks about this subject on www.unlimited.co.nz. He recently chaired his firm’s Business Intelligence Series workshop for more than 90 senior businesspeople on the topic of clean technology, or cleantech, and its progress in New Zealand and globally. As a result, he shares some insights on how New Zealand is poised to take advantage of what might be called the ‘cleantech revolution’

Click the link to find the whole article on the Unlimited website.

The clinical psychologist designing Auckland’s long-awaited residential eating disorders service for Challenge Trust wants it to have a kitchen located at the heart of the home.

Martin Johnston interviewed Clive Plucknett (pictured left), CEO of Challenge Trust and also Chris Thornton. He wrote about the new service in the Weekend Herald on August 21st.

Click this link to follow through to the story on www.nzherald.co.nz

Clive was also interviewed by Susan Pepperell from the Sunday Star-Times who wrote the article ”Auckland to Get Eating Disorders Unit” on the 15th August. You can read further on the Stuff website where the article is republished.

Hitch-22 by Christopher Hitchens

Few matters of great political or cultural import have escaped the lacerating gaze of journalist, columnist and author Christopher Hitchens over the past four decades. British-born and Oxford-educated, and now a United States citizen, Hitchens has worked as a foreign correspondent and contributor to publications including The Nation, The Atlantic Monthly, Vanity Fair and Slate, in between producing 11 books (on Thomas Jefferson, Mother Teresa and atheism, among other topics).

His turn of phrase is rightly legendary. He once described Mother Teresa as a “thieving tyrannical Albanian dwarf”, and he is no kinder to the objects of his contempt and dislike in his memoir. His account of a meeting with Argentina’s murderous General Videla is one of Hitch-22’s finest passages: “I possess a picture of the encounter that still makes me want to spew: there stands the killer and torturer and rape-profiteer . . . Bony-thin and mediocre in appearance, with a scrubby moustache, he looks for all the world like a cretin impersonating a toothbrush.”

Hitch, as he is called by those who know him, writes lovingly, almost romantically, of his dear friends the writers Martin Amis, Ian McEwan, Salman Rushdie and Peter Fenton – whole chapters are titled ‘Martin’, ‘Salman’, ‘The Fenton Factor’, and the book is dedicated to Fenton.

Though there is no suggestion that any of the friendships have been more than platonic, Hitchens is frank about the commonplace nature of homosexual encounters in British boarding schools, and his own participation in such adventures, having been dispatched to prep school at the age of eight: “The three great subjects of Beating, Bullying and Buggery are familiar enough to me in their way . . . “, and of the latter, “[t]he unstated excuse was that this was what one did until the so-far unattainable girls became available.” In the end, though, Hitchens concludes that the entire schooling experience was emancipatory, and in fact, the whole book, with one notable exception, is suffused with a sense of his appreciation of life.

Parts of the book are somewhat sluggish – I could have done without quite such an exhaustive recollection of his worthy experiences as a young political activist in Europe and Cuba – and the level of detail in relation to his public life, and his friendships, serves to highlight what is starkly absent from Hitch-22: any account of his relationships with his first wife or his current wife, the writer Carol Blue, or with his three children from the marriages. He explains this away, rather weakly, in a preface, where he notes that he can claim copyright only in himself, so as to imply that he lacks the right to share his family’s stories. But then, he calls it a memoir rather than an autobiography, so fair play.

(In a cogent review in the Guardian, Blake Morrison points out that Hitchens’ objective is intellectual historiography rather than emotional catharsis, which I think is on the money. He has never been one to talk about feelings.)

One aspect of his private life from which he doesn’t flinch is the suicide of his mother, Yvonne, when he was 24 (the aforementioned exception). It occurred as the result of a pact with her lover, with whom she had fled to Greece after the breakdown of her marriage to Hitchens senior, a Royal Navy man referred to by his son as The Commander. In the opening chapter, which bears her name, he movingly describes his last conversation with her and his journey to Athens to deal with the aftermath of her death. Characteristically, this is followed by an intellectual examination: ‘A Coda on Self-Slaughter.’

All beloved Hitchens topics are canvassed – atheism, God, Islam, his conversion from Trotskyism to conservatism, his support for the Iraq War, the Jewish Question – in service of a text that, depending on the depth of your existing knowledge of Hitchens may not greatly enlighten you as to the man, but will certainly leave you more informed than you found it.

4.5 / 5 stars: A rich romp through the mind and memories of one of the intellectual heavyweights of our time.

Note:

There is a sad addendum to the publication of Hitch-22: while on tour in the United States in June to promote the book, Hitchens fell seriously ill and was shortly after diagnosed with oesophageal cancer – the same disease that claimed his father’s life. In subsequent interviews, and in this extraordinary piece on vf.com, Hitchens has indicated his condition is terminal, though he may have up to five years to live. There is no sign that he feels sorry for himself, though; he said in an August interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper that his long-time heavy smoking and drinking – the cover of my copy of Hitch-22 features a close-up photo of the author mid-cigarette – made him a “candidate”. On a lighter note, he instructed Cooper to disbelieve any rumours he might hear of deathbed conversions.

Play Dead by Harlan Coben

It is rather curious that Harlan Coben opens Play Dead, a 20^th-anniversary reissue of the first of his mystery thrillers, with an introduction that hints at its unreadability. Is he being falsely modest? Self-deprecating? Or trying, in kindness and good faith, to guide the reader towards one of his later, better-constructed works?

That he is telling the truth in stating that he did not make any rewrites is clear. Play Dead is laden with cliché and soap opera-like interior monologues, creating a congestion that takes the book to an excessive 500-plus pages. Although these problems automatically relegate it to the thriller D-list, with adjusted expectations it is worth ploughing on for the pay-off.

What of the plot? We meet Laura Ayars, a preternaturally beautiful former model who now runs a successful business, and David Baskin, a basketball superstar who plays for the Boston Celtics, on their honeymoon in Australia. Madly in love, they have eloped after a whirlwind courtship and are unaccompanied by any relatives or friends.

The marriage is only days old when David heads out for an ocean swim – and fails to return. When a night has passed and there is no sign of him, a panicked Laura calls TC, a Boston police detective and David’s best friend, for help. TC gets on the next plane, but his best efforts fail. David remains missing, presumed drowned.

From here, the plot doesn’t so much thicken as veer wildly. Between an opening prologue involving an unidentified murder 29 years before David’s disappearance; brief passages depicting a unnamed character’s recovery from extensive cosmetic surgery; the apparently groundless resistance to the marriage by each spouse’s parents; and the emergence of a new basketball star with a game uncannily similar to David’s, the experience of reading Play Dead is like bumbling your way along a dangerously unkempt garden path. You know where you’re going, but getting there is a frustrating task.

I don’t want to be unduly harsh towards Coben: Play Dead indisputably shows the promise that he has since fulfilled, and for all the laboured unctuousness of the exposition he has evidently taken care with the plotting. The twist in the tale for which he is known is present here.

There are little delights to savour. The extraordinary obtuseness of one of his main characters, who can most charitably be described as as dumb as a bag of hammers, eventually stops being annoying and instead enhances the daffiness of the entire enterprise.

That, in the end, should be the expectation for what you might get from an afternoon with Play Dead – a residual sense of charming battiness. There are some ugly scenes and nasty people, but also firm friendships and true love of the candyfloss-and-paper-hearts variety. It’s worth reading for the schlock factor, and for the reminder that all good genre writers have to start somewhere, and a lot more skill and effort goes into creating a well-written thriller than the writers would have us know.

(If Play Dead leaves you with a weird filminess on the roof of your skull, wash it away with the sharpness of Caught, Coben’s 2010 thriller involving social media and missing children. It features every virtue and none of the flaws of his debut.)

 1 / 5 Stars: Days of Our Lives on crack.  Click here to view more Easy Mix Book Reviews.

With their eyes firmly set on the 2010 ITM Cup, the Bay of Plenty Steamers turn their attention to Bayfair Shopping Centre for a signing evening on Thursday 12 August, from 7pm to 8pm. 

This is your chance to get up close and personal with 13 Bay of Plenty Steamers stars, including Captain Colin Burke, Lance MacDonald and Jason Hona. The players will be signing free posters that are available from the Bayfair Shopping Centre Information Desk from Friday 6 August onwards, while stocks last.

Getting out in the community is an important part of the Steamers’ schedule. The team is looking forward to meeting its supporters first-hand and generating interest.

Bay of Plenty Steamers Sales and Marketing Executive Warren Kibur says, “Meet and greets are fantastic. Bayfair Shopping Centre is helping the team give back personally and opportunities like this generate great enthusiasm among players and supporters alike. These occasions are our way of saying thank you.”

Bayfair Shopping Centre Marketing Manager Nina Rivett says, “Bayfair is proud to support the Bay of Plenty Steamers and help bring them closer to our community. It is a pleasure to be associated with the team.”

From Thursday 12 August to Sunday 22 August, Bay of Plenty Steamers fans will be given the chance to win two signed Bay of Plenty Steamers jerseys. Anyone that purchases a snack or meal from participating retailers at Bayfair can enter the draw to win one of the two jerseys.

In addition, if a shopper discovers a rugby ball sticker on a soft drink purchased from the same retailer, he or she has won two tickets to see the Bay of Plenty Steamers vs. Southland game at 2.35pm on Saturday 16 October at Baypark, Mount Maunganui.

ends

The Killing Place

The titular ‘place’ of Tess Gerritsen’s pacy new thriller is stumbled upon by a hapless group of holidaymakers after, as befits a crime-driven novel in which suspense must be ramped up quickly and the pitch maintained, they suffer irreparable vehicular damage in just the fifth chapter.

Among those on board is Dr Maura Isles, a beloved recurrent Gerritsen character who has, against her better judgement, accepted the invitation of a weekend excursion to a ski lodge from a former classmate she has run into at a medical conference in Wyoming.

Now, in a snowstorm, the stranded quintet trudges along a lonely back-road looking for the slightest sign of civilization, and thinks it has found it in the form of a village bearing the sign KINGDOM COME. But the village is preceded by a two-mile long road, at the top of which is another sign – Private Road / Residents Only / Area Patrolled – suggesting that the Kingdom Come residents might not be warm and welcoming.

But needs must, and the book’s foreboding tone, set by the initial car accident in severe conditions, deepens further as the travellers arrive at a completely abandoned settlement. The garages hold cars, tables are set with plated food, windows are open and cupboards fully stocked. But where are the people? Why is the frozen body of a dog lying under a dusting of snow outside one house? And in another dwelling, where did the puddle of blood at the base of the stairs come from?

Back in Boston, where Maura lives, the apparent vanishing of the doctor prompts her friend, Detective Jane Rizzoli, to up sticks and head to Wyoming to assist the search team looking for the missing group. As the searchers work their way towards Kingdom Come, and evidence that the five may be lost for good is discovered, Jane is forced to rely on her instincts and a tight cadre of trusted colleagues as the reliably dysfunctional concept of the ‘religious commune’ hoves into the reader’s view.

Gerritsen’s style is unadorned, as befits the genre: there are few mellifluous descriptive phrases to demand re-reading and admiration. It is her characterization that is a great strength – after seven novels featuring Isles and Rizzoli, she is clearly comfortable with the pair and other than nudging them towards key plot points seems happy to let them take the lead.

They lack all the dimension of the key players of some of Gerritsen’s writerly rivals, but are permitted sufficient introspection and back-story to appeal to the imagination, and after all, an enthusiastic thriller reader only has to care a little for the protagonists to happily join their adventure.

Meanwhile, the sharpness of Gerritsen’s content can be attributed to her training as a medical doctor, and she has long balanced her practice with writing, logically producing (among the odd excursion into romantic suspense) a handsome back catalogue of medical thrillers in addition to the Isles/Rizzoli series.

In the case of The Killing Place, the end results of the characters’ quest for truth is surprising and unsettling, taking the novel, previously developing within a relatively narrow, personal frame, into the realm of the political and industrial. Even the most jaded reader will likely be shocked.

3/5 Stars: A solid thriller from a writer unafraid of venturing into the political. Click here to view more Easy Mix book reviews.

TVNZ's ONE News Breakfast host Tamati Coffey with children at the Kids Cook at LynnMall kitchen

Inspired by the huge popularity of MasterChef, LynnMall Shopping Centre briefed the Alexander Communications team with a creative cooking concept to encourage kids to embrace healthy eating and learn basic cooking skills.

During the July school holidays, kids were invited to don their chef’s apron and hat and come down to the Kids Cook kitchen at LynnMall. For $5 per class, children got the chance to create a delicious and nutritious 5+ A Day approved recipe with all proceeds going to the Foundation for Youth Development (FYD).

More than 370 children participated in the cooking classes over the two-week period, creating pizza, fruit parfait, oaty pancakes and pizza kebabs in the Fisher and Paykel kitchen. Fresh produce and products were supplied by Countdown and Healtheries.

Kids Cook at LynnMall was an event for the whole family to take part in, and with the Family Cook-Off challenge, several families took up the opportunity to submit their favourite family recipe online. Team Madison and Team Hannah took out the top two spots and were challenged to a cook-off on Sunday 18 July. 

The special guest judges – Nestle Hottest Home Baker winner Toni Causley, Deputy Mayor of Waitakere City Penny Hulse, and TV personality Trudi Nelson – had a difficult time deciding between the two dishes created by Team Madison and Team Hannah. In the end, Team Madison won the overall prize for their chicken pesto wrapped in bacon, while Team Hannah received a runner-up prize.

The Saxon Twins Olivia and Hayley with a variety of pizza toppings

In addition to the funds raised from the children’s cooking classes, LynnMall Shopping Centre was proud to present an even bigger cheque to the Foundation for Youth Development, with money raised from a charity auction that took place after Family Cook-Off.

The celebrity guest visits by Sticky TV’s Sam Wallace and Auckland Blues players caught the attention and interest of shoppers who passed by the Kids Cook kitchen.   

The concept received great reviews. Kids Cook at LynnMall was an unforgettable learning experience for everyone who participated.  
 

Results

TV1’s Breakfast programme broadcast live from the Kids Cook at LynnMall kitchen on Friday 2 July 2010. The five weather segments were presented by Tamati Coffey outside LynnMall Shopping Centre and around the Fisher and Paykel kitchen. 

The community papers and children’s publications were also supportive and keen to find out what the children created. We achieved front-page coverage in Education Weekly, a feature in the Western Leader and coverage in the Titirangi Tatler.

We were also supported radio stations The Edge, Easy Mix and The Breeze also supported Kids Cook at LynnMall by giving ad-lib mentions about the programme.

There was an excellent response from online media with posts at Eduvac.co.nz, Freshinthekitchen.co.nz, whatnow.co.nz, familytimes.co.nz and on various event-listing pages – Eventfinder.co.nz, whatsonmsn.co.nz and eventsyahoo.co.nz, among others.

Auckland Blues Communications Assistant James Rigby filmed the players’ visit to LynnMall and as a result, the footage is now featured on Youtube.com, Aucklandrugby.co.nz and worldcuprugbynewzealand.com.

Recently I was asked by Simon O’Shaughnessy of TEC to address his group of executives on the subject of Building Reputation / The Media Is Your Business.

Many business leaders are either in awe of, afraid of or indifferent to the media. They think of it as something that exists separately to their activity – ‘it has no bearing on my business success’. Despite consuming media each day, they create a mental, usually subconscious, division between the media world and their own.This is a mistake. While the media can never quite be tamed, it’s possible to harness some of its star power or halo effect to achieve commercial outcomes within your chosen markets.

My session , (which was rated  4+ out of 5 by the TEC executives) was aimed at:

•  Demystifying the media
• Unpacking some simple but effective ways of becoming (and staying) relevant to the media
• Being ready for your opportunity when it happens
• Being ready for disaster or the unexpected call from a journalist who has heard something bad about you / your company/ your industry
• Using your opinion to build your business
• Making the most of a time-poor, overworked media contingent in New Zealand

Providing at least 15 business-building techniques: using media profile as a business tool.

Here is a link to the presentation on Slideshare

About TEC

TEC is a global organisation that promotes the effectiveness of CEO’s and enhances their personal lives. It is global, with approx 1400 members in Australasia.
In Auckland the new group is building a think tank of 16 CEO’s who are able to access the support and improved decision making which TEC uniquely delivers.

About Simon O’Shaughnessy

• Mentor to CEO’s at TEC
• CEO at Walrus Spa Designers
• CEO at Carista

Thank you for the invitation Simon and for writing your recommendation on Linkedin.com for me.