Ahhh, 1982 - when every month was Movember for the All Whites, and our bewhiskered team of British ex-pats and hard-grafting locals (and Wynton Rufer) took on the likes of Brazil at that year's Football World Cup.

It's been a long time since the All White's graced the stage of the World Cup Finals, but, amazingly enough, over the next few months there's an (outside) chance of the lads going 'all the way' again.

Since Australia has joined the Asia Confederation, the Oceania group is now pretty much there for the taking by the Kiwi boys. Barring disasters like the 2006 campaign's loss to the Solomon Islands, New Zealand is most likely to go through and face the 5th-ranked Asian qualifier (again, a pleasant change from previous qualifying rounds, where the Oceania qualifier would have to battle past the 5th-ranked South American nation), in a home-and-away playoff for a spot in the 2010 World Cup Finals.

Given the current Asian rankings, that's most likely to be one of Saudi Arabia, Japan, Bahrain or Uzbekistan - any one of whom the New Zealander's would fancy upsetting on a good day.

But before this can happen, the All Whites need to nail down the Oceania qualifying pool, and, to that end, you can help by heading down the Stadium this Wednesday evening and cheering on the team to a win over Vanuatu - a win that would guarantee our spot as top team in the Pacific.

New Zealand v. Vanuatu
Wednesday, November 21st
Westpac Stadium
Gates open at 4.30 pm.
Kick off is at 6pm.
Adults - $27
Child (15yrs and under)- $15
Family (2 adults and 2 children) - $64
Concession (Senior Citizens 60+) -$15
Students with valid ID - $15

Get tickets online at Ticketek

Ever been wandering around town and seen a group of youngsters behaving like a bunch of naughty monkeys? Whaddya know.. they're probably doing parkour.

Parkour (sometimes abbreviated to PK) or or "free-running" or l'art du déplacement ("the art of displacement") is an activity with the aim of moving from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body.

Founded by David Belle in France, parkour focuses on practicing efficient movements to develop your body and mind to be able to overcome obstacles in an emergency. It is also practiced by many as a form of entertainment or as a pastime.

As I hinted above, there's a thriving parkour scene in Wellington; especially in and around the urban/recreational areas of the waterfront and Civic Square.

Interested? There's more after the jump..

Poster tells it all, really...

The good folk who brought you the Berlin Bonanza invite you to savour the sights, sounds and flavours of Berlin once more. Relive the city's ubercool vibe with the Saturday market, get the true Berlin with a mondo doco, dig in to hot'n'heapin' plates of currywurst, thrill to the heady mashup of ping pong and country music, groove to alt-country cowpokes channelling the Heimat, and finish the night with a flourish of Deutschland disco dancing.

Full programme after the break...

You have been told so don't complain to us when you miss out at 9:05am

Tickets are ONLY available online or Ticketmaster:

... only available via the Internet at www.sevens.co.nz or by calling Ticketmaster on 0800 111 999. No tickets will be available through retail outlets.

(ticket details and how to get them after the break)

Hadyn originally posted this over at The Dropkicks, but since we used Wellington as the example (and the map looks so nice), it seemed appropriate to cross post it over here...

The gist of the story is that the International Rugby Board, in a bid to halt 'ambush marketing' around the venues for the 2011 Rugby World Cup (being held in NZ, didn't you know?), is requesting a 5km advertising ban around venues where games are being played. To quote Hadyn...

Now without any bias, that is downright in-frickin-sane!

...which is entirely right. Take a look at what a 5km non-advertising zone around the Stadium would actually catch...

...yep - pretty much the entire central city and inlying suburbs. Are all those dairies going to have to take down the hoardings of non-authorised soft-drink manufacturers? Will the buses have all their advertising removed for inner-city services? Oggi's gonna take down all their billboards? Methinks: No. Way.

It has been brought to my attention that "a common complaint ... from native Aucklanders when they venture south, or even tourists, is that, after three days in Wellington there is nothing to do". While the writer of that comment doesn't agree, looking around the city at the moment, I can see that they may have a point.

Here's a bit of fun to be had - the Star Boating Club (that's that cool place by the lagoon that you've probably attended more than a few weddings at, or other occasions & got yourself completely trashed & may or may not have ended up in the water in your dinner suit or ball gown...) in conjunction with Wellington Girls College, Queen Margaret's College and Wellington College, is holding a 20 hour Row-A-Thon to raise funds for the current season of races, regattas & camps.

It takes place at the Reading Complex Foyer (Courtney Place) between 4pm Friday December 8, and Noon Saturday December 9.

And what is a Row-A-Thon when it's at home? Well... they're putting 3 ERG machines (that's shorthand for Rowing Machine apparently - I'm not sure if it is acronymous, or if it represents the noise the average person makes while being subjected to operating it), one will be operated continuously for 20 hours by the boys' teams, another by the girls, and the third dear reader, is for you to have a go at.

The rowers have been diligently scouring their neighbourhoods, families, and families' business colleagues getting sponsorship, and on the day, those not ERGing will be shaking tins & persuading punters to part with a little Xmas dosh. All for a good cause - those ERGs & the boats don't grow on trees you know.

So head on down for a look - 91FM & the Black Thunders will be down there at 4pm Friday dispensing cheer & freestuff - or if you happen to be passing, please do donate a little spare for, as I may have mentioned, a very good cause.

And of course, you have the opportunity to try an ERG for yourself. It has to be good for you right?, and there is almost no chance you'll end up in the lagoon. Bonus.

Rugby fever has forced its way into our consciousness, ousting football fever for another four years. Expect the fever to become seriously inflamed and critical on Saturday when the MIGHTY ALL BLACKS take on the (cough) springboks.

It should be a good contest. The All Blacks made eight changes to the team the beat the Wallabies. The Boks have made five changes to the team that lost to the Wallabies. Take from that what you will.

But from a Wellingtonista point of view, I would suggest avoiding wearing green and yellow combinations this weekend. Black should be the colour du jour, like it normally isn't here in the Capital.

Also on Saturday, expect large numbers of men, wearing black, and standing on Lambton Quay outside of women's clothing stores. This phenomenon is particularly funny when it's cold, as the men have to huddle by the doorway (never talking to one another); too scared to set foot inside in case the urge to try on a blouse overcomes them.

If you don't want to watch the rugby (or even acknowledge its existence) I suggest popping into the Matterhorn for a Jerry Collins.

Wellington City Council has caught football fever with two FIFA Football World Cup matches left to go. Well done WCC for dodging that illness.

The Council will be screening the play-off for third place between hosts Germany and Portugal at 7.00am on Sunday 9 July, and the World Cup Final between Italy and France at 6.00am on Monday 10 July at the Michael Fowler Centre. Doors open 30 minutes before kick off.

Just over 2000 seats are available for each game and will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.

Just to sweeten the deal, a breakfast menu and bar service will be available. Which goes somewhat against Tom’s favourite quote: “A meal without wine, is breakfast”.

By the way it seems the WCC have sided with Italy.

"This is the best possible way for football fans to start the day – seeing the mighty Azzurri take on Zidane's men.”

How often will someone from Wellington tell you to wear blue?

Well, our initial short-list of potential under-achieving teams to support through the World Cup has proved somewhat too accurate: site favourite Holland weren't in such Ruud health; personal pick Spain went down the drain like rain on the plain; and the poor old Mexicans wave goodbye to their cup hopes for another four years.

Of the initial shortlist, only Portugal remain. And of the other quarter-finalists who meet any of our criteria (under-achievers, exciting players, erratic form), you can't consider the Ukraine, who are really too boring by half, as are one-time winner England, who might have come away with our sympathy vote if it wasn't for the fact they're playing such dour football.

Italy, Brazil, Argentina and Germany are all multiple winners, so that rules them out, leaving the other one-time winner France as our outside pick. They might be the go, actually, as on closer analysis, they certainly meet the criteria: only the one Cup championship in 1998, but then had the form-reversal of the tournament's history when they couldn't even score a goal in defending their title at the 2002 tournament. And plenty of flash players: Henry, Zizou, Saha, Vieira...

So, who's it to be? Portugal, France...?

There's been a bit of discussion up here at Wellingtonista Towers as to just who we should be supporting in the World Cup. We need a team with whom we Wellingtonians can identify with - soccer's equivalent of the Hurricanes: a team that blows hot and cold; a team full of star names, but who inevitably fall at the final hurdle; a team that are a joy to watch, but typically lose to more dour, joyless sides.

To that extent, we came up with a short-list of four: Holland, Spain, Portugal and Mexico. All these teams have been frustrating their fans for years, making the latter stages on relatively regular occasions, only to lose to more methodical plodders like Germany or Italy, or falling to the perenially brilliant Brazilians.

At the moment, we're veering towards Spain, partly because they're sure to be a good source of sporting ups and downs, but mostly because they're our Earth Sandwich partner, and if that doesn't count for something, what does? Any votes from anyone else?

And, tell you what, there's some 'interesting' hits for "World Cup" on Google image search. Keep your eyes on the ball, son!

Well the weather packed in and so it seems that the State Championship will end in a draw. Which means that Wellington wins.

No, I don't understand it either. Though I will say this, more runs were scored in this game than people attended it.

There is no Super 14 rugby for Wellington (and lower North Island) fans this weekend so you'll have to pick another team to support. I suggest the Chiefs.

As Tom mentioned the 2Hot2Handle auto-show will be on the stadium. Ironically this will mean a paucity of carparks and horrible traffic snarls around the stadium. I just hope someone brings a "pimped out" Prius. It seems like a good idea.

Tonight the St Laurence Wellington Saints basketball team is taking on two-time champs, the Auckland Stars at the Queens Wharf Events Centre. It promises to be a good game.

Finally, if you'd like to spend your weekend watching Wellington micro-celebrities play badminton then head to the Wellington Badminton Festival (yes, "festival") at the Wellington Badminton Association's hall in Hataitai (it's the one with a big [shuttle] cock on the roof). It's a five day show that starts on Saturday (08/04/06) and finishes on Wednesday. The festival only comes around every three years so don't miss out on Mark Blumsky playing Kerry Prendergast.