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Friday Ideas | Aug 28, 2009 12:15

Last night's Media7 covered three topics dear to my heart: rugby football, music and copyright and public data geekery. You can watch it here.

I haven't seen it yet because I was jointly MCing the New Artland launch last night. That was fun, and the associated art auction raised $40,000 for the Stroke Foundation to spend on art therapy and other rehabilitation in the community. I was tired and my feet hurt afterwards, but it was a good thing to do.

One particularly good part about it was working with the New Artland people. They're a nice bunch. Their new season, with Chris Knox presenting, launches at 9.35pm Saturday night, on TVNZ 7.

But wait! There's more! The stage is now clear to pursue the original idea that came to me after David Herkt's A Very Simple Stroke was posted here. He talked about the dull visual environment in rehab, and I thought: let's put some art on the walls, then. But I'm great with ideas, not so good at execution. (The charitable way to put it is that the supply of ideas exceeds the capacity to fulfil.) So I'm grateful to Sofie and islander in particular for keeping me honest on this one.

It's this: we solicit art (and in some cases, solid sculpture) to give to Rehab Plus, the Auckland facility where Sofie's healing from her stroke began and where Chris is now. Not all art is suitable: David advises me that anything busy or jarring would not be right. Photography might be particularly good, and I've talked to some Flickr group people. Generally, then, beautiful and healing.

There will be some costs associated with, say, mounting and enlarging photographs, and we'll cover those to the extent possible with donations from you lot.

If we fill up Rehab Plus, we start filling another rehab centre.

I don't have much idea about logistics at the moment, but Sofie reckons we should get it nailed by Christmas. She does seem a woman to get things done. I'll consult her and try and get back with some more next week.

Righto.

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Auckland Museum's game-changing LATE at the Museum is back for another season, under the theme WHEREYAFROM? The opener, next Thursday, features Finlay Macdonald talking to Dr John Merson, the Director of the Australian Institute of Environmental Studies, along with Rod Oram. The musical performers are Ladi6 and King Kapisi, and the museum's new exhibition Wonderland: The Mystery of the Orchid will be open.

The website is here. Tickets are only $15, but I'm in a position to offer up eight free double passes to the event to lucky Public Address readers. Just click Reply and email me with LATE as the subject line.

I'm in Wellington for an NZ On Screen trust boarding meeting tomorrow, so don't expect me to sort out winners till Monday morning.

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Claudette Hauiti, producer of Eye to Eye among others, now has a blog. As you might expect, it's informal and forthright.

And you can get an advance look at the soon to launch internet video network Ziln. I'm not sure about the user interface -- are those pop-ups always going to be there ? -- but the content looks interesting.

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My main man Andy has been uploading some of his video catalogue: both music videos he directed, like this one for Voom's 'Beth':

And, less, er formal works. Check out Meatboy in the back yard of Club Richmond, 1993. Perhaps you're even there!

Okay, I need to eat lunch then resume the board meeting. Feel free to post stuff in the discussion and have a lovely weekend.

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No Surprises | Aug 25, 2009 09:54

Is anyone really surprised at the government's decision on Maori seats for the Auckland Council? I rather doubt Rodney Hide would have put his baubles on the line if he had not already calculated his likely success. And I don't think John Key had been saying or doing anything to suggest Hide wasn't on a winner.

Indeed, on Sunday I bumped into a Public Address reader who had had the opportunity to ask Key personally about the prospects for the reserved Maori seats. The Prime Minister's response would not have gladdened the hearts of his Maori Party partners – but I suspect that the Maori Party leadership has really known for some time what the score was.

I'm with the Herald on this one. There was a case for the seats, given both Ngati Whatua's unique role in Auckland's development, and the fact that seating allocations will be determined in innovative ways whatever happens: it wasn't going to be business as usual anyway.

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In this week's Media7, we're looking at the national game. What have the demands of rugby's broadcast partners done to the game? What do we make of the little bump in support for provincial rugby, against the UMR survey finding interest in the game at its lowest since the survey began? And did a schoolboy rugby punch-up really warrant two front page leads in the Herald?

Joining us for that discussion will be: Spiro Zavos, Richard Boock and John Roughan.

Then we'll discuss the flap over a feared steep rise in PPNZ fees for businesses that use music, with Kristin Bowman of Phonographic Performances NZ, Damian Vaughan of Independent Music NZ and Sale St bar owner Luke Dallow.

And we'll go all geek with an interview with Glen Barnes of Open New Zealand about Open Government Bar Camp (Public Address will have Keith, Hadyn and any number of regular readers in the house there) and Open NZ's general mission to "host projects around transparency, participatory democracy, and generally making central and local government useful to citizens and businesses.

If you'd like to join us for the recording, we'd need you at TVNZ from 5pm tomorrow. Hit "Reply" and let me know.

PS: Whoops: I promised I'd mention the BNZ's Closed for Good project, which, on November 4, will see the bank close all its retail places and most of its support offices and send staff out into the community to work on projects nominated by members of the public. (Internet banking will stay open, as will a call centre.) About 5000 BNZ staff will be providing their labour to nominated projects on that day. You can find out more and propose a project at the Closed for Good website.

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