Tuesday, September 27, 2011

This Week on the Adventures of the CoffeeBar Kid: The Man Cave.


This week we'regoing Man Caving, exploring all the different ways a Man can find a little peice of santury in a household of wives, kids, grannys and domesticity!

We also look at Steve Hale's new book: The Kiwi Man Cave (Harper Collins - $39.99.And some of the innovative characters and we look back on the most famous man-caver of all - Burt Monroe, Motor Cycle Record breaker and legend of the Indians!

All this from 7.30 this Thursday nght on Groove 107.7 FM.
Steve Hale's 'The Kiwi Man Cave'.
The Kiwi Man Cave invites you in, in full colour, to over 30 man caves from all around New Zealand, as well as giving you a bit of humorous background to this well-established Kiwi phenomenon.


Steve Hale lives in the picturesque Thames Valley town of Te Aroha. He has enjoyed and endured a variety of occupations including bull hide flesher and pub bouncer. He played endless winters of senior rugby in the front row as a combative tighthead prop and was also a onetime sumo wrestler. The 36 year old is passionate about scrummaging, reggae, road trips, stout, painting and flame grilling red meat.

Check out Man Caves ....

Check out the Official Man Cave website: http://mancavesite.org/
Check out the most expensive Man caves : http://www.oddee.com/item_97008.aspx

Ok, More about Man Caves.

To get started - what is a Man Cave? According to the great Wikipedia a man cave, sometimes a mantuary[1] or manspace,[2] is a male sanctuary,[3] such as a specially equipped garage,[4] spare bedroom,[3] media room,[5] den,[6] or basement.[6][7] It is not a cave but rather a metaphor describing a room inside the house, such as the basement or garage or attic or office, or outside the house such as a wood shed or tool room, where "guys can do as they please" without fear of upsetting any female sensibility about house decor or design.[8] Paula Aymer of Tufts University calls it the "last bastion of masculinity".[8]

While a wife often has substantial authority over a whole house in terms of design and decoration, she generally has no say about what gets "mounted on the walls" of a man's personal space.[8] Since it is generally "accepted that women have the rest of the house to decorate, including the closets," a man cave or man space is in some sense a reaction to feminine domestic power.[8] While the term man cave has connotations of retreating to a more primitive primal place, the term man space has been used which does not have the negative connotations.[8]

So what are they for?
Man caves have multiple purposes: they're a place to be alone, to be away from women and from female sensibilities, to indulge in hobbies, and to hang out with male friends. It is, loosely, a male-only space to retreat to,[9] watch sports matches,[10] or play video games.[6] According to psychiatrist and author Scott Haltzman, it is important for a man to have a place to call his own, referring to a male area to which to retreat. Some psychologists claim that a man cave can provide refuge from stressful surroundings and be beneficial to marriage.[1] Rules are relaxed; it is a place where female sensibilities about standards of cleanliness are not necessarily observed; as one man said, "You spill a beer there or leave a hamburger overnight, who cares?"[2]

In a sense, for married men, it is a way to recreate some of the space and freedom of their bachelor days since it was like a "pad" similar in feeling to a frat house game room or a college dorm room where people could come and go "as if they owned the place."[2] It is where a man doesn't have to be on his best behavior, where no women are around, and where "no one is going to make you watch your p's and q's" and "no one is going to ask you to explain yourself".[2] Writer and handyman Sam Martin explained:

“ Men have had an identity problem since the women's movement. They have tried to figure out who they're supposed to be. For a while women wanted them to be more sensitive, so they were more sensitive. Then women wanted them to be more manly. One of the things I discovered is when men have their own manspace, what they put inside of it is really an expression of who they are. Manspace is about establishing an identity for a man. Our premise is that women have control of the look and the feel of the house and that left guys wanting more. Anybody who has a specific interest or hobby or work or collection is going to want a space to indulge that.-- Sam Martin, in the Chicago Tribune, 2007[11] ”

Click below to read much more fascinating insight!

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

This Week on the Adventures of the Coffee Bar Kid - Other People's Wars



That's right we have Nicky Hager on the show, Author of OtherPeoples wars - a comprehensive look at the New Zealand Defence Force's involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nicky takes us through the salent points and demysities some of the military jargon. Far from being the major conspiracy the mainstream medi have hinted at, this is a great red for anyone who wants an independent view on what's hapenin over there.

You can read a comprehensive review for yourself at: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL1109/S00109/book-review-nicky-hagers-other-peoples-wars.htm



Thursday, September 15, 2011

Tonight on The Adventures of the CoffeeBar Kid

New Music from the Nukes (A Westie Ukelele Band), Oval Office and Holly Smith. plus Check out everything you need to know about 'Gurbing'. See you at 7.30 tonight only on Groove 107.7FM

Click here to see more about tonight's guest : Janet Luke http://adventuresofthecoffeebarkid.blogspot.com

Green Urban Living-Simple Steps to growing Food, Keeping Chickens, Worm Farming, Beekeeping and more in New Zealand.


This week we interview Janet Luke about her new book and her philosophy on 'Gurbing' (Green Urban Living).
Her new book offers practical and sensible advice on keeping small livestock, planting the right food and vegetables, involving the kids and more. Also check her website for more helpful info: http://www.greenurbanliving.co.nz/

A bit about Janet.

Janet is a Landscape Architect and have a Masters degree, with Honors, in Environmental and Resource Planning. Click for contact details.

She has always enjoyed growing vegetables but since having our three children has become more and more concerned about the state of our environment and the rising cost of living. "I want our kids to learn where food comes from and how to grow it, I also want my family to do our bit for the environment and as I do have Scottish heritage, I want to save money and learn to live a more frugal lifestyle, without having to give up my daily Lattes!"

"Many people think that if you live in an urban environment you can’t grow your own food or have animals but after looking through my web-site you will see that that is not the case. My goal is to help you produce more and consume less in ways that make you and your family live a more healthy, sustainable lifestyle, connected to nature, whilst saving money. There are so many ways we can all live more green and eco friendly".

"I have a passion for sustainable design, edible landscaping and permaculture and I want to share this knowledge. I am completing a Certificate in Permaculture Design and run Green Living Courses from my urban garden".

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

This Week on the Adventures of the Coffee Bar Kid - The Kids Are All Right?

This week the Kid reviews a selection of Kid's Stories and CDs, and features the book 'Lost and Found' , a delightful, Penguin tale by Oliver Jeffers. Check out the GROOVE BOK REPORT : http://adventuresofthecoffeebarkid.blogspot.com/2011/09/toddlers-are-readers-too-groove-book.html

Also, New Music from Beruit and Kimbra.

And ... a sneak peak at the controversial new book by Nicky Hager 'Other People's Wars'. We hope to get Nicky on the programme next week!.

The Adventures of the CoffeeBar Kid, on the eve of the tournament of the unusual shaped ball! This Thursday Nite from 7.30PM.

Toddlers are readers, too! The Groove Book Report: Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers Harper Collins rrp $17.50



It may have been coincidence, or serendipity that the rep at Harpers sent me this delightful little tale. For the first time in many a years the back of my house in Alicetown was knee deep in snow! And, that night on the news Wellington's own Antarctic hero, Happy Feet was preparing for his journey back home on NIWA's next vessel to the pole. All this provided great context for the littlest readers in the household. Lost and Found proved to be an immediate favourite. The simple, beautiful, watercolour illustrations and enchanting story have won over the two year old on the first sitting. I can understand why it won the Blue Peter Book of the Year 2006.

Oliver Jeffers using an economy of line and colour and focuses most of his message in the subtle expressions of his two characters. This is unusual in a book designed for such a young readership. Normally the template approach is big and bold colours, simple colours, references to shapes, colours and family surrounds. Repetition in the manuscript and a reinforcement of ideas and laces usually wins over a two year old. It also helps if the book works when read out loud.

Jeffers doesn't really do any of this, yet the charming story, two line per page speaks volumes in the silence between the words. It requires the reader and the listener to prompt each other about what's happening. I like that. The young missy and I have spent much time talking about the details of each page - where is the penguin going; why did he leave; what do concepts like 'lonely' and 'love' mean and what is the value of a hug?

A bonus - the book is now available for in toddler friendly board format so the youngest generation can enjoy this unforgettable story about friendship and the search for a home.

Worth a look is Jeffers own website, where you can see his latest projects, his stunning art and find out about more of his writing.

You can see Oliver Jeffers work at: http://www.oliverjeffers.com/

And, don’t forget Happy Feet is now on his way to the pole. You can track his journey at: http://www.ourfarsouth.org/Track-Happy-Feet.aspx

Thursday, September 1, 2011

...And now Back to the Music! 1 September - On tonight's Show : The New Album by Caro Emerald

Tonite we feature new music from Caro Emerald.


Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor : Caro Emerald (Grandmono / Dramatico Records)

Dutch Pop Jazz Chantuese Caro Emerald features on tonite's show. Her debut album Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor set an all time chart record on 20 August 2010 by spending its 30th week at number one on the Dutch album chart, beating the previous record set by Michael Jackson's Thriller by one week.[1] The album has become the biggest selling album of 2010 in the Netherlands, selling over 270,000 copies so far. On 3 October 2010, Van der Leeuw was awarded the Dutch Music Prize "Edison" for Best Female Artist.[2] On 15 January 2011, she won the Popprijs 2010 for best Dutch pop act of 2010.



With a nogstalgic swing meets DJ thing, it's like a mix of Sola Rosa and Madonna (Circa Dick Tracy Album). That Man is the top tune on this generously swinging hunka wax. Just One Dance follows up with a slightly more poppy tune, backed by some nice bandstand brass.

From there the execursion begins towards mainstream. The strings and Carribean undertow on Riviera Life are a little too sachrine for my taste (Think Madonna's Holiday) but redemption is at hand with followups Back Up (Sultry Sax Samples) and the The Other Woman (Some sexy breathy vocals and xylophones, a la Luis Bega and a great Bond guitar riff too).

This is Caro's debut album was released on 29 January 2010 and immediately occupied the number 1 position of the Dutch Album Top 100 charts.

The album has been at number one in the Dutch Album Top 100 almost continuously since (except for two weeks when it went down to number two to make way for a new number one). On 20 August 2010, the album grabbed another record by spending its 27th (non-consecutive) week at number 1. The previous record was held by Michael Jackson's album Thriller, which spent 26 weeks at number one in 1983 (although that album still holds the record for most consecutive weeks at number 1, with 23 weeks).

The album reached double platinum status in the Netherlands on 5 July 2010. In August 2010 it reached triple platinum. and in November 2010 it reached four times platinum, which means over 200,000 copies sold.

The first new song from the album was A Night like This. The song was listed in the Dutch Top 40 for 26 weeks and peaked on the number 2 position. The song was selected as the official song of a 2009–2010 Martini ad campaign. In May 2010 Caro announced she was going on a promotion tour to France. In an interview on the Dutch TV show "X de Leeuw" she announced that her debut album will be released in October in France. After having released her singles and album in France she will try to release it in other European countries. In August 2010, it was announced that the album would be released in the UK by Dramatico Records, home of Katie Melua. Caro was supposed to support Melua on her upcoming UK tour in October, but the tour was cancelled, because Melua is suffering from exhaustion. In December 2010, a second single, Riviera Life, was released in the UK. A Night like This was released as the third UK single early in 2011. A small number of UK concert appearances are planned for 2011.

There are other surprises like the reggae tinged Stuck, the darkly cool Dr Wanna Do, another big swinging number and the Bassey retro reacher The Lipstick on his Collar (My personal fav).

Consistent through this album is the constant references to 20's bandstand swing, horns and sax, the images are all aural cinema, sampled and mashed underneath Emerald's competant, confident vocals. The title fits perfectly. This girl is one to watch and to jive to, meantime.

A bit about her ...

Caroline Esmeralda van der Leeuw (born 26 April 1981 in Amsterdam), better known by her stagename Caro Emerald, is a Dutch jazz singer. She debuted on 6 July 2009 with her single "Back It Up".
Caro Emerald first gained public recognition for her debut single "Back It Up". The single was initially written for a Japanese pop group, by David Schreurs, Robin Veldman and Jan van Wieringen, who are Dutch producers, and Canadian songwriter Vince Degiorgio, who had previously worked with various artists including 'N Sync, Atomic Kitten and Aloha from Hell. Van der Leeuw was approached to record the demo of the song and consecutively added it to her own set. Before 2008, when Caro sang it live on local Amsterdam TV channel AT5, the song was unknown to the general public.


Back It Up was officially released by Grandmono Records on 6 July 2009. It was listed in the Dutch Top 40 for 12 weeks and reached the 12th position in the charts. Kraak & Smaak made a remix of the song. Back It Up was the most played song by radiostation 3FM in 2009 and Caro received the 'Schaal van Rigter' award for this achievement.[3]

Official website
Official Uvumi Profile
Caro Emerald Profile and Discography on This is Vintage Now