the wellingtonista -

Girls are different from boys - apparently

Joanna — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:16:48 +0800

So tonight was the Silicon Welly magazine launch party (which we twittered about yesterday), and naturally I was there, representing for the Wellingtonista. I was interested to see that in this IT networking occasion, the ratio of guys to girls was about 7/2, and in talking to the rare woman there, I found that - like me - the majority of them worked in project management, comms or organisation. As Wellington's official Queen of the Geeks Brenda has asked before (sorry, I can't find the link, maybe she'll comment with it) - where are all the female programmers at? And if you look at the cover of this issue of Start-Up, you'll see that only ONE of the Silicon Welly honorees is female. What's going on, people?

I don't have the answers, so I suppose all I can do is promote some gender-separate events. Pretty Pretty Pretty which is the girlie site I run with Welllingtonista PAG Amy, is having a big girlie party to celebrate our third (month) anniversary, and if you're a lady, you're invited. Meanwhile, in response, the boys are holding another Chap's Night that you might happen to come across. Enjoy!

We got a great big convoy, filling up the streets

Joanna — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 09:03:05 +0800

If you're planning on driving to work tomorrow, or even if you're planning on taking public transport, you should read the following press release about the great big mother-trucking protest that's planned for tomorrow morning in Wellington.

A little challenge

llew — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:40:23 +0800

The first person who can supply us with photographic evidence of any workmen in the city, operating heavy or noisy machinery, AND WEARING EAR PROTECTORS!!

Will win a 1kg bag of Rahui Lodge Macadamia Nuts.

But I'm not sure you'll find one.

On the off-chance anyone wants a bag of nuts... photos of ear muff wearing Wellington workmen can be emailed to andrew.llewellyn@gmail.com.

Holy Smoke!

Tom — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:12:36 +0800

The historic St Peters church, on the corner of Willis & Ghuznee St, is currently on fire.

There are seven fire appliances and one ambulance attending the fire, and just now they seem to have stopped the smoke belching out of the doors and windows. More updates & photos as they come to hand...

Something to get off our chests

Joanna — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:12:08 +0800

If, like many of us, you're furious about the way many media outlets treat women, you need to start reading the American magazine Bust. It's fiercely feminist, but also riffs on craft, culture and fashion - in a good way (they use 'real' people for models, of all shapes, sizes and sexualities etc) In fact, their new issue is the perfect place to start, because it features our Wellingtonians of the Year, the all-conquering Flight of the Conchords on one side of its flip cover, along with the Wellington landmark-defiling Elijah Wood.

I recommend subscribing, because this magazine is really so very very awesome, but if you just want to give it a go, you can buy it at Vic Books, Magazzino, and probably Unity Books.

Wahine disaster anniversary

noizyboy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:36:33 +0800

Just in case you've managed to avoid the saturation coverage across the news media for the last week or so, today marks the 40th anniversary of the Wahine disaster.

We won't add to the plethora of stories (well, we are with this story I suppose, but, well, err...) we mostly just wanted to make note of one article in the NZ Herald, entitled...

Wahine ticket revives terrifying memories (+photos, audio)

Ahhh, yes. It'll be the ticket reviving those terrifying memories. Not the barrage of photos, audio or video.

Anyway, cynicism aside, it was a tragic event in Wellington's history, and we'll be taking a quiet moment today to remember the victims, and to salute the many brave people who risked their own lives to head to the beaches (and, in some cases, out into the storm-lashed waters), to help rescue the hundreds of passengers and crew of the ship who had been thrown into the sea from the foundering ship.

Nicked!

noizyboy — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 10:54:57 +0800

The above piece of artwork is part of a series entitled Eye Candy and was skilfully hand painted by resident Wellington artist, Brad Williams aka Slope, and until sometime during the 31st of October, was on display at (best late nite venue nominee) Sandwiches.

On which date it was nicked - during daylight hours - and both the Sandwiches lads and Slope are understandably upset.

So, if you happen to catch sight of this piece of work (approximately 2m x 0.7m, so shouldn't be too hard to see if is in the vicinity) hanging in a flat, for sale on trademe, or under the arm of some shifty-looking charcter on the street, give the cops a call. Cheers.

Spotted Around Town

Dan — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 20:34:17 +0800

A reliable informant tells me that former hobbit and tv star Dominic Monaghan is in town, spotted browsing the fine fare at Whitcoulls in Courtenay Central.

I wonder whether he'll be around long enough to have Sunday brunch at Fidel's like the old days.

P pipes seized from dairies

noizyboy — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 05:52:29 +0800

Anyone else find it amusing that every single dairy in Wellington today had the Dominion Post's "P pipes seized from dairies!" story on proud display out in front of their respective shops.

(And is there a technical term for those wire-frame things that hold the big one-page headline banner for the day?)

when you come back home

Alan — Sat, 21 Apr 2007 19:09:20 +0800

Sometimes there comes a time when you must leave this town, your town for a break - it could be a holiday; it could be your OE; it could be that career move; it could be to do a geographical and just get away.

What's that? Your favourite barista moved to Westport, and you had to follow? (Yeah, OK. There's always an excuse.) But sooner or later, you must come back. And when you do there is always a moment when you know you are home.

Here's one such:

Coming down the Ngauranga Gorge there's that long sweeping curve where the Hutt and Porirua motorways meet. Look up from the road and you'll see Wellington arrayed in full panoply before you. There are our small cluster of tall buildings standing proud, feet in the sea and backs to the hills. There are the hills themselves, steeply carpeted with houses in defiance of tectonics and plain good sense, looking on to and out to the sea. There is the bowl of the harbour, rimmed with bush and filled with reflected sky. There is the sky, mostly blue, sometimes grey, often set with clouds scudding.

There it is. Our town. Where you live. Where I live.

Where is this moment for you?

Is it, as the Front Lawn once had it, flying overhead?

over Wellington Harbour
Oriental Bay is standing there in the sunlight

Is it that first sip of Mojo or Fuel?

Is it Courtenay Place at the weekend?

Where? What? With whom? Comment, zoomin, or blog away!