Stuart Dickinson's Rugby World Cup Diaries

It was Rugby heaven last night as much of the fraternity turned out to the launch of referee Stuart Dickinson’s new book, The Rugby World Cup Diaries, less than a month after the final where Stuart ruled against an English try (which cost them any hope of winning the cup). Stuart has recounted it all in his new book.

The launch took place at the Harlequin Hotel in the Sydney suburb of Pyrmont.

Among the one hundred or so attendees were senior people from the Rugby referee fraternity, former NSW Opposition Leader Kerry Chikarovski, cricket referee Simon Taufel and Wayne Erickson.

Wayne Erickson, soon to be the new principal of St Andrew’s College paid tribute to his years of working alongside Stuart as a referee with the ARU.

Stuart talked about the importance of getting decisions right and Wayne made the comment that ‘Stuart was the most conscientious person he new when it came to making accurate decisions on the rugby field’.

The book is a day by day account of Stuart's World Cup including every game and his experiences in France during his two-month referring campaign. There is the thrilling conclusion of Stuart's role in the final, but also the behind the scenes emotions of the refereeing fraternity during the selection process to determine who would be responsible for the various games.

The Rugby World Cup Diaries is available now.

Media Turn Out for Zemanek Book Launch

Last night more than one hundred of Sydney’s top media personalities and producers joined friends and family of Marcella Zemanek to pay tribute to Stan and launch the new book, My Way or the Highway.

The launch was held at the Astral Bar, Star City Casino in Sydney.

Among the attendees were Kerri-Anne Kennerley (Nine Network), Brian Walsh (Foxtel), Alan Jones (2GB), John Brennan (2GB), John Stanley (2UE), Glenn Wheeler (2UE) Simon Townsend, Ian Ross (Seven Network), Ray Chesterton (Daily Telegraph), Barry O’Farrell (NSW Opposition Leader) and former co-stars of Stan Zemanek's Beauty and the Beast, Prue Macsween, Ita Buttrose, Jan Murray, Jeannie Little, Carlotta and Susie Elelman - just to name a few.

Speaking to the audience, New Holland CEO Fiona Schultz said “that it was a privilege and pleasure to have worked with the Zemanek family and publish this book”.

Foxtel’s Brian Walsh introduced the “Beauties” from “Beauty and the Beast” to launch the book. Jeannie Little, Jan Murray, Ita Buttrose and Prue Macsween entertained the crowds with funny anecdotes about Stan. Jan even proclaimed that she “wished she married Stan, so she could divorce the bugger!!”.

Marcella gave a heart felt speech about those people who supported her and the family through Stan’s most difficult times.

Janise Beaumont, who helped Stan and Marcella bring the book together, was congratulated on her efforts in making it work.

Alan Jones and Marcella Zemanek

Tutankhamun and Cultural Treasures

The immense publicity over the recent public undressing of the mummy of pharaoh Tutankhamun in Egypt has reinforced the fascination there is with the mysteries of the ancient world.

In fact The Times has written an interesting piece on our continued fascination with ancient Egypt. Unfortunately, this fascination is destroying the very relics that are so interesting, leading to the Egyptian authorities placing new limits on the number of people that will be able to see the tomb of Tutankhamun .

There may come a time when the only access we have to precious relics is through literature – although for many of us the logistics and cost of travel may have always made this the case.

Author Pamela Bradley has delved into those mysteries with her new book, Cultural Treasures of the Ancient World. By looking at 55 artefacts from a range of ancient civilisations - including Egyptian, Greek, Roman and those of Asia and the Americas – we gain a great insight into how people lived as far back as the 7th millennium B.C.E.

Ancient relics are more than just objects of beauty, but also of cultural significance. For example they can show us, through innovation and inscriptions, how the Roman Empire changed from pagan to Christian, or how the birth of modern democracy occurred in ancient Greece.

The treasures of Tutankhamun, including the life-sized death mask of the young king, are just one of the many glorious photographs and stories contained in Cultural Treasures of the Ancient World.

The book is available through New Holland Publishers.

Marcella Zemanek appears on Today on the Nine Network

Marcella Zemanek has continued her publicity tour to promote My Way or the Highway with appearances on the Nine Network's Today Show.

Marcella was interviewed by Karl Stefanovic and Lisa Wilkinson just after 8am.

My Way or the Highway is the autobiography of Australian radio and television personality, Stan Zemanek, who died in July, 14 months after being diagnosed with a brain tumour. The finishing touches to the book we completed by his wife Marcella and author Janise Beaumont after Stan's death.

The interview from the Today Show is available for viewing online.

Daily Telegraph Publishes Zemanek Extracts

The story of Stan and Marcella Zemanek is continuing to touch Australians with intense media scrutiny of My Way or the Highway.

The book is about the life of Australian radio and television personality Stan Zemanek, who began the project after being diagnosed with a brain tumor last year, and was completed by his wife Marcella and Janise Beaumont after Stan's death in July, 2007.

The story is both that of a truly love lasting almost 30 years between Stan and Marcella, plus an insight into the succes of Stan's career, his bulldog presentation style (hence the title of the book) and the numerous run-ins with other major Australian media personalities including Mike Carlton and Ernie Sigley.

Extracts of from the book first appeared in New Idea, but a new set of extracts also appeared in The Daily Telegraph on Saturday, November 3.

Marcella's interview are appealing to all ages.. This week she has appeared on the Kyle and Jackie O Show on 2DAY-FM in Sydney. She will also be soon appearing on the Alan Jones Show on 2GB, 9am on Network TEN and the Today Show on the Nine Network.

A Current Affair on the Nine Network has covered extensively Stan's fight with cancer, so it was very appropriate Marcella made her first television appearance to promote My Way or the Highway on that program. Many of the segments they have produced about Stan are available for viewing online.

Also touching was that Marcella's first radio interview about the book was on Stan's old radio timeslot on 2UE in Sydney, now hosted by Stuart Bocking. Marcella appeared again on 2UE at the weekend, this time and the George and Paul breakfast show. That interview is available online.

Stan Zemanek - My Way or the Highway

Stan Zemanek's biography My Way or the Highway is creating a storm, particularly because of the often-controversial relationships Stan had with fellow talk radio personalities in Australia.

Written with his wife, Marcella, and journalist Janise Beaumont, the book is a reflection of the two sides of Stan Zemanek's life, his strong devotion to his family and the bulldog styled media personality known through 2UE, 2GB, 3AW, 4BC and a string of other station across Australia, plus his role as the longest serving host of the television show, Beauty and the Beast.

Stan died of cancer in July 2007, after being diagnosed with a brain tumor 14 months earlier

New Idea magazine has focused on Marcella Zemanek's life without stan in the article My Stan Lives On .

However, it is the rifts between Stan and other media personalities, including Mike Carlton, Steve Price and Ernie Sigley that has been the focus of other media articles. The NINE network's A Current Affair , called its story Radio Wars. The Daily Telegraph wrote its story on Stan Speaks from the Grave

My Way or the Highway is now available in stores for $29.95