The Wellingtonista

July 31, 2009

Shock horror! Ranfurly Shield generates excitement!

There was proof today that provincial rugby can still actually get pulses racing: it just requires a giant inflatable Log o’ Wood and a typical Wellington day. Some sort of promotion was going on in Civic Square, when a cheeky gust did what [insert name of provincial team that you actually give a monkey’s about] has always longed to do: grabbed the Ranfurly Shield and whisked it away.

For some reason, there were only modest crowds to be endangered by the marauding trophy. Other than a macabrely gallows-like structure for a "test your passing skills" game, the only victims appear to have been a mother and child who were bowled over, and with any luck just momentarily dazed.

Luckily, there was a smattering of other passers-by ready to rush in and help subdue the quivering giant beast. If only the actual rugby were this exciting!

July 30, 2009

Old dogs and new tricks

Wellington’s "ol’ faithful" taxi-cab company Combined (or Wellington Combined Taxis to give them their full title) have gone through a bit of a transformation in the last 12 months or so.

With the arrival on the scene of new "green" player Green Cabs (about whom we have written — and been witness to some controversy — in the past), I guess they were faced with the choice of adapting, or get added to the bottom of the endangered species list.

Happily (for them, us, consumer choice AND the planet that we share) they chose the former.

Read on after the jump to find out what they have been up to..

July 28, 2009

Use ’em or lose ’em

[EDIT: comments were inadvertently disabled on this post, but they are now enabled.]

According to a story in the Dom Post today, a Greater Wellington regional council report up for debate this week suggests closing the least-used stations in the region (Muri and Kenepuru stations on the Paraparaumu line). Council transport and access committee chairman Peter Glensor said the council and KiwiRail would decide early next year whether to close Muri station, and would consider the future of Kenepuru.

[Slideshow via hadleywood’s album of Wellington Railway Stations]

Apparently while passengers make about 16,000 trips on the Paraparaumu line each day, only 26 people use Muri during morning peak-travel times and 22 use Kenepuru. That’s not a lot, and its easy to understand the argument behind ditching them. However, in these times of climate and environmental concerns, it’s hard to get behind the (potential) closures.

[more after the jump]

July 24, 2009

A ray of sunshine in a wet and windy July

It’s time for the Craft 2.0 Winter Warmup. Whether you want fully-formed hand-crafted gifts and homeware, or the supplies and advice to make ’em yourself, all your craft essentials are available under one roof when the most popular craft fair in town hits the Hutt at TheNewDowse on Saturday 25 July.

Join New Zealand’s homebased handmade revolution and shop local. Why? It helps the environment by reducing your carbon footprint, and it keeps your hard-earned money in the community.

July 23, 2009

Review: Strike Sessions with Adam Page

Strike Session with Adam Page is about halfway through its run at Downstage. Strike is a long-standing New Zealand-based percussion group, and they’ve teamed up with Adelaide multi-instrumentalist Adam Page for this show.

After the jump, kumaras, mirimbas and old car parts.

July 20, 2009

Fight of the Conchords, Part Deux

Recently the gals over at Pretty Pretty Pretty ran a poll to settle the age-old argument about which of the Conchords is prettier – Bret or Jemaine. Bret won that round, but now that Jemaine has been nominated for an Emmy for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, that means he’s at least the sixth funniest actor on telly, and Bret isn’t. Right?

Oh, and they were also nominated for Best Comedy Series. Good for them.

July 20, 2009

Same old

The Graffography and Wgtn Wall Street graffiti blogs noticed that the Wellington City Council’s anti-graffiti posters (you know, these ones) had illustrated the evil graffiti by using a photo collage of actual non-illegal graffiti.

Wgtn Wall Street says:

My man over at Graffography first alerted me to the work by Drypnz and Random being used in the campaign, artwork that broke no law and was now put under a negative spotlight by the Council.

So then Wgtn Wall Street emailed the council with his concerns.

They were apologetic and apparently the ‘photographer’ didn’t know that the work used in the campaign was deemed legal. They agreed to remove the work from future campaigns but god knows how many posters, stickers etc that have already printed and not to mention the amount of money wasted on a poorly researched scheme.

It doesn’t reflect so well on the council. Their anti-illegal-graffiti campaign seems to demonstrate that they don’t actually know what they’re fighting.

July 20, 2009

Remembering Dr Seddon Bennington

Quite apart from the work he did at Te Papa, Dr Seddon Bennington was someone who will be remembered by many Wellingtonians, both personally and professionally. I met him a couple of times through the Civic Trust, and was always impressed with his charm and intelligence.

His funeral will be at Rongomaraeroa (Te Papa’s marae) on Wednesday afternoon and his casket will be brought onto the marae on Tuesday 21st July at 4pm. Those wishing to pay their respects will be able to do so until 10pm that night. Dr Bennington will remain on the marae overnight until the conclusion of the funeral service on Wednesday, and there is also a memorial book to sign on Level 2 of Te Papa.