Today's the second to last day to enter our competition to win a new Vodafone phone because we're going to draw it at noon tomorrow. Having had a 6121 for a couple of weeks now, I have to tell you that it's pretty damn awesome for checking your email on, especially while waiting for your bags at airports. Except for today when the network didn't seem to be working. So what are you waiting for?

Congratulations Cat! The Randomizer picked your number, so you've won yourself a fantastic new phone. We'll be in touch to get your delivery address.

Sure, you already play Hipster Bingo at the SFBH, but have you thought about playing the real game instead? From the good people who bring you the movie quiz at the Paramount comes a new way to spend your Sunday afternoons: Hangover Bingo!

It will be happening for the first time at 2pm on Sunday 7th September at the Courtenay Arms.

Settle down in front of a warm fire, with yummy food, some hair of the dog and a few leisurely games of bingo!

Cash Money to be won plus loads of other goodies. Go along and make it a success so that it can become a regular event.

Art No Made is a live audio-visual performance staged by Argentinean multimedia artists Niko and Ayelen Schiavi at the Film Archive this Friday and Saturday night.

The artists, who are currently resident in Wellington, marry 3D film created using Chromadepth - which transforms a 2D graphical interface into a striking 3D illusional space - with electronic soundtracks DJ’d live in the cinema. Tickets are available from the Archive, pre-sales and door sales alike are $8 or $6 concession, and on the night(s) 3D glasses will be provided for your enjoyment of and participation in this world premiere event.

Originally Niko and Ayelen designed the project for a party, but have since adapted the project for a lounge format, which “involves the spectator all the more since he/she is not losing energy and concentration in dancing".
Friday 29th & Saturday 30th August at the Film Archive, cnr Taranaki & Ghuznee Sts

You can tell that summer is coming from the touring internationals headed our way, if not by the weather right now! September to December is always a frenzy of northern hemisphere bands escaping the cold to tour down under and to kick it off none other than Brian Jonestown Massacre are hitting (hopefully not literally) Wellington on Sept 4th.

Anyone who's seen the fabulous doco that follows BJM and their friends-turned-bitter-enemies the Dandy Warhols, Dig, will be excited to see the volatile band in the flesh as well as thrilled to know that after a hiatus, tambourine player (yep, that's his instrument) Joel is back in the band.

Supported on their Auckland and Wellington tour dates by Shayne Carter's Dimmer and by Martin Phillipps' ever-evolving Chills in Dunedin, the line-up is like a rock-slash-drama nerd's dream! But to top it off, if you can't make the Wellington show (tix selling fast, by the way - from Slowboat records on Cuba st or through Under the Radar) you should hightail it to Christchurch on the 3rd of September for the super-special support from the Hasselhoff Experiment! I kid you not! They reformed for a one-off reunion earlier this year and blew everyone's socks off so if the deep south is calling you, now's the time to visit. (I have a feeling this might be a secret support slot but, hello, don't tell Wellington's biggest gossip in that case... that's me, by the way). See you at San Fran Bathhouse on the 4th - BYO tambourine.

Ever been sitting in a movie and thought: "Man, this should've ended two hours ago"*

Well then, you will definitely enjoy Mighty Mighty's NEW Monthly Movie Mash!

MONTHLY MOVIE MASH
Wednesday, August 27th 6pm at Mighty Mighty
[koha entry]

The Monthly Movie Mash is a collection of short films made by local film folk (usually with nothing better to do) and will be (as the title suggests) a monthly event.

Not only that but there's going to be a short (3-minute) film competition in October.

The line-up for this month is:

• Re:Generation - a film by Darryl Gray, Michael Roseingrave and Jed Soane. Wellington runner-up in the 2008 48hours contest
• Northwestern Institute of Technology Lecture Series #3: Reconciling Rope Theory with the Gordian Knot Dilemma directed by Adam Brookfield. Another 48 hour film.
• Night of the Hell Hamsters directed by Paul Campion. Filmed in London but written by a couple of Wellingtonians (one of them was me, the other was Michael Roseingrave), this film is quickly becoming a cult classic in the field of Hamster-based horror films.
• A Frank Tale directed by Eric Gambini. I know nothing about this film which make it all the more exciting!

For more details about the competition or if you have a short film you'd like to show at an upcoming Mash email: themighties@gmail.com

*I was going to put in a film I thought was too long but I thought you'd all like to bitch about it in the comments instead.

On Friday night, Fur Patrol played at Bar Bodega. They announced their last song, played it with aplomb, and left the stage. Now, everyone knows that the last song isn't really the last song because the band comes back for an encore or two - well, everyone know that, that is, except for the DJ, who started playing MGMT again, even as curious heads emerged from around the corner of backstage going "What? Can you turn that off please?" to no avail. The crowd were confused - DJ music always means the end of a gig - and shuffled off, so by the time the DJ got the message that they'd fucked up, Fur Patrol would have played to an empty room.

So, because someone didn't know the rules of the encore, we missed out on Fur Patrol's first airing of 'Dominoes' in like, eight years. You suck, DJ.
Photo by Rat Pony

Yesterday at 4pm a nun-chuck wielding shoplifter (no seriously) held police at bay, created a huge crowd to gather in Manners Mall, and caused a mini-riot.

First of all, nun-chucks. In terms of a weapon to pull out while being arrested, nun-chucks are equal parts "WTF" and "Napoleon Dynamite".

Second of all, where are the Jpegs? Fair enough it sounds like you'd have to be an intrepid photographer to brave the "youth gangs" who were fighting with "anyone who looked at them the wrong way". But still it sounds like a spectacle, with the gathered masses apparently calling for the police to "taser him".

What's something that this fair city has been needing since it was founded in... say, when was Wellington founded anyway?

That's right, you guessed it, you KNEW it all along, Wellington needs a sonnet!

And here's where you can help: You can write that sonnet!

Wellington Sonnet Competition 2008

Wellington needs a sonnet. London has ‘Upon Westminster Bridge’ by William Wordsworth and in more recent times, other poets have written sonnets about their favourite cities. So have you got what it takes to write Wellington’s sonnet? We are looking for the best unpublished sonnets about Wellington and you could be in to win $1000.

This competition, sponsored by New Zealand Post, is being run as a promotion for the Wellington Writers Walk, an initiative of the New Zealand Society of Authors, Wellington Branch. The walk pays tribute to nineteen New Zealand authors with a series of sculptural and ‘benchmark’ quotations set in surprising and unexpected places around the waterfront.

The Wellington Writers Walk is continuing to develop, assisted by generous individual sponsorships for each commemoration and overseen by a small, voluntary committee. By entering this competition, you are contributing to the continuity of the project.

Find out more about the walk here

Prizes
1st prize $1,000
2nd prize $500
3rd prize $250
Plus 10 highly commended prizes of $50 each

Click here for further details, an entry form & the small print.

Please note: there are very specific rules governing the construction of sonnets: the number of syllables in each line, the number of lines in the sonnet, metre, rhyme scheme etc etc...

I have two double passes up for grabs for the silent film screening at the Film Archive tomorrow night - the 80th Anniversary of The Bush Cinderella - Rudall Hayward's fourth and final silent feature.

First and second person to email me at anna.dean@nzfa.org.nz and tell me the name of Rudall Hayward's wife, who worked closely alongside him on his film projects, gets tickets to tomorrow night's rare event with live piano accompaniment.

Sometimes a fly likes to take time out from frequenting the fine bars of this city to spend some time in the fine cinemas of this city.

But when one buzzes into a cinema foyer, one does not expect to find that one has walked into a staff meeting, especially when one is in the posh section of the cinema - the part that charges $31.50 a ticket.

Yet there I was, trying to procure tickets to Mamma Mia for me and mi amore, when I found myself the unintentional audience of a manager who was loudly announcing some important news to staff: the posh $31.50 tickets would soon no longer come with free popcorn and soft drink.

That's loco, crazy-insane, I thought. Popcorn and soft drink cost cents to make - surely they can afford to give it away to customers paying $31.50 a ticket.

The problem was, the manager explained to his charges, that punters were filling up on the free popcorn and drinks and not buying any of the food offered on the menu. It was, after all, a business that needed to make a profit. And not, one presumes, a food bank.

Now I don't want to go reading too much into this, but I can't help but wonder if management is taking the wrong approach here. I suggest they start with not holding staff meetings in public areas, and then consider how many people just take the free food because it's there, rather than because they're hungry/thirsty.

I was planning a romantic night at the posh lounge cinema seeing the Dark Knight, but instead I'm switching to some nibbles at Sweet Mother's Kitchen, followed by a private screening of the 1966 Batman movie ($9.99 from the Warehouse).

Photo courtesy of Aim and Shoot!'s Flickr photostream.

In an age of whizz bang graphics and fancy camera techniques, it's a real treat to be able to watch a silent film with speech titles such as: "Where Mary was concerned Sammy, the hired hand, had the soul and ardour of a fifth century poet" ??WTF!? and all with live piano accompaniment.

On Wednesday 20 August, 7pm The Bush Cinderella is screening, a presentation by the Friends of the Film Archive, to celebrate the 80th anniversary of this Rudall Hayward film.

Starring Miss New Zealand Dale Austin, "who combines Hollywood experience and technique with a faultless photogenic face." - The Sun, 1928.

No New Zealander Should Miss It! A Triumph of Dominion Enterprise, Filled with the Familiar Sentiments, the Typical Humour, and the Glorious Scenery of God’s Own Country.
Tickets $8 / $ 6

September is the month for dance lovers - whether observational or more involved - with the Dance Your Socks Off festival running all month.

The festival is a celebration of contemporary dance and dance theatre, and to kick it off there are two interactive events organised by DANZ. The lead-in is on August 26th from 5:30 - 7pm with a (free) forum at the Film Archive, featuring performers and producers of festival shows talking about their work and sharing ideas with interested observers and people within the industry alike. It looks like the perfect introduction to the festival if you're unsure where to start after looking at the program here. Then on September 6th there's a contemporary dance workshop at Toi Poneke (aka the Wellington Arts Centre at 61 Abel Smith Street), only $5 on the door, with tutor Anita Hutchins. Aimed at beginners aged 15 and up, the promo says you should wear non restrictive clothing with bare feet or soft dance shoes, and take your lunch! Call (04) 802 0536 for more info about either of these events, or check the Feeling Great website for the extensive line-up of Dance Your Socks Off events and workshops.

There have been a few recent (re)openings on the hospo scene recently, and a few more are either imminent or rumoured. A quick round-up of drinkie and foodie news, including drunken pigs, an Italian invasion and a touch of cinnamon, after the jump.

Tomorrow why not pop out to the very lovely PATAKA in Porirua for the Day.

Because as well as their very lovely Japanese garden you can have a bit of a shop and a browse at all sort of Crafty goods.

Why? Well it just so happens that from 10am till 2pm Crafting is being held.

Think fun, funky, unique and you've got an idea of the range of crafty things for sale at CRAFTING.

There will be jewellery, crochet, dolls, stuffed toys, cushion, clothes, badges, bags Russian dolls, and all sorts great things for sale from a bunch of crafty types from around the wellington region.

You can find PATAKA on the corner of Norrie and Parumoana St, Porirua.

And heck I bet if nothing else you'll find some great inspiration for entering our competition to win a phone from Vodafone.

Do you love the nightlife? Do you love the roti? Then you will probably love the Southeast-Asian Night Market.

Tomorrow night (August 16) from 2pm to 10pm you can sample the sights, sounds and tastes of an Asian night market. The local Indoesian, Malaysian, Filipino, Singaporean, Thai, and Vietnamese communites have come together and offer a feast of kick-boxing, puppets, games and, naturally, food.

Wonderful, spicy, tasty, oily food!

What: Southeast-Asian Night Market
Where: TSB Bank Arena
When: 2pm - 10pm