So after an intensely frustrating day for local politics anoraks, as every other city got to find out who its mayor was going to be, the preliminary Wellington results have been announced, and we have…

…no winner?

With all the other candidates knocked out and their preferences redistributed (this might be a good time to brush up on how STV works if you’ve forgotten) Kerry Prendergast is ahead of Celia Wade-Brown, 24,468 votes to 24,428.

Yes, that’s a 40-vote gap. And what’s more—all the votes haven’t actually been counted yet. Say what?

Update: The preliminary results are now up on elections2010.co.nz and the City Council website. And we’ve added a roundup of the council results down the bottom.

The search for a gay man’s best friend in Wellington is on again with Aaron and Andy’s fourth annual Miss Fag Hag taking place at Club Ivy, 13 Dixon Street, this Saturday, 9 October.

The “pageant” isn’t too serious, and celebrates one of the most important relationships a gay man will ever have, with prizes from Salute Hair & Day Spa, The Guava Tree, Club Ivy, and Kylie Minogue’s new album Aphrodite up for grabs, it promises a fun-filled night!

Hosted by the notorious Shaaron and Shandy, entry is free, and registrations open from 11pm, with the competition starting at 1am.

The very choice Mattgeeknz has written a guest review for us, because we knew we’d be unable to write a review about being blindfolded and sticking everything put in front of us in our mouths without being smutty about it. 

Capitol and CBM have teamed up to host three blind-dining evenings in Wellington. The first was on Monday, and there are two more sittings on Monday and Tuesday next week. It’s a fun twist on the dining experience: you’re blindfolded for the entirety of your meal, and at the end of each course you’re told what you’ve just eaten. 

 Y’know, it’s not often that I’d ever consider running a Wellington City Council press release in full, but I’m going to do it right now, cos BLOODY HELL, Wellington, get your act together! PS: this is how to work your STV vote, explained quite simply. Now hop to it. 

You may have seen a lifestyle column in this weekend’s DomPost where Hadyn Jones bemoaned the "fact" that you can’t get milkshakes at cafés in Wellington, and blamed this on the idea that Wellingtonians are too cool and stuck-up for such things. There are just a few things wrong with this:

• Just off the top of our little insect brains, we came up with Fidel’s, Midnight Espresso, Sweet Mother’s Kitchen, Espressoholic, Maranui and Offbeat Originals as noted enablers for the shake-addicted.
• Those are hardly obscure, hard-to-find underground establishments. If the DomPost’s esteemed correspondent is not aware of their menus, then one has to ask: just where has he been hanging out?
• If anything, those are the sort of places preferred by the cool kids, so it’s hardly a hipper-than-thou attitude that is keeping the oppressed milkshake down.
• And finally, if he did happen to ask for a milkshake in one of the more upmarket restaurant-style cafés, then I believe the staff would be quite justified to respond "No, we don’t serve milkshakes. Neither do we serve lollipops, Rashuns or hot dogs on sticks. We’re a café, not a dairy, burger bar or provincial tearooms circa 1983."

But there’s clearly a nostalgic hankering for gelatinous concoctions of artificial flavour and industrial-strength saturated fats, given the number of local establishments that do serve them. So, please help out the DomPost’s confused and bemused journalist by letting us know where your favourite milkshakes are: which place has the best shake, the best value and the best range?

We don’t want to alarm you, but there are creatures living under your bed! You can see them lurking around in dark corners everywhere. They live in mutated cupboards and ancient stories. Don’t take a breath. They are here to stay…

From the artists that brought you ROBOTS in 2009, Run Amuck Collective is proud to present MONSTERS! For 3 weeks only, Wellington will have the unique opportunity to explore the wonderful world of monsters as never seen before. Artists from all over New Zealand will be transforming the basement rooms of Mygalaxi Gallery on Dixon St into an explosion of delicious beasties: from sculpted fantasies to scrap metal creatures Installations, paintings and sculptures will line the walls as each artist expresses their own creative vision. Ranging from the comical to the frightening, each fantasy is inspired by the artist’s own love affairs and fascinations with monsters, resulting in an eclectic mixture of madness. Hand holding may be required.

Run Amuck Collective is a group of New Zealand based artists that have come together for the love of art, theatrics and cheeky pop culture. Roughly 20 artists strong and growing, each comes to the collective with a unique background and eclectic style.

Last night, our fearless editoress Joanna appeared on Media7. The episode was dedicated to regional media coverage of mayoral campaigns, from Northland to Southland. Joanna talked about the Wellingtonista’s mayoral candidate questionnaire, including that one candidate who couldn’t follow directions.

Jo did us proud, and skilfully managed to glamorously coordinate with the Media 7 set. You can watch the episode in full here.

After seeing the clips of regional telly in other parts of New Zealand, it makes me wish for Wellington to have its own low-budget, slightly crappy regional television channel.

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And speaking of Wellington local body politics and TVNZ 7, on Wednesday night, Back Benches held a debate with the Wellington mayoral candidates, focusing on transport and tourism. Watch the episode here.