Are we a modern city?

We CAN do this Wellington!Case in point … why do we not have broadband access to everyone in the (wider) city?

This from Singapore:

Singapore gets free wireless connectivity with Wireless@SG while no one gets left behind in the digital revolution. Find out about how the Singapore Government is reaching out to more Singaporeans and equipping everyone to take full advantage of the digital opportunities that are opening up.

So why don’t we do that?

Is it a case, as some think (in the comments), that the Government should stay out of providing infrastructure and leave it to the private industry (to which I assume they are referring to Telecom or TelstraClear)?

To be fair the Council is doing something about it – read their broadband plan

Wellington City Councillors have agreed to a vision that could see affordable, high-speed broadband access throughout the city by 2012.

But we all know how fast technology moves (have you seen the just announced, 2cm deep Apple MacAir?) and so this promise for 2012 by our Council seems, at best, limited in vision and at worse, a huge missed opportunity. For instance, what we’re promised for 2012 South Korea has had for 3 years.

A possible solution for you after the jump …

Wellingtonista Radio Show ep 02

Last week saw the quiet but confident debut of the Wellingtonista Radio Show on The VBC. You can listen to an edited version of the show here Wellingtonista_Show_EP01 (right-click, save as), and hopefully we’ll get our podcasting steez together and start publishing the shows as umm.. podcasts.

I’ll be presenting the second show, same time: 7pm – 9pm, tonight.

Tech info after the jump…

These are the fixtures of your neighbourhood

One of the things about living in a great city like Wellington is that there are a hell of a lot of things to take for granted.

I mention this because while listening to Don McGlashan in Civic Square the other day he mentioned that Auckland doesn’t really have any civic art. I’m not sure that’s entirely true… But, in the spirit of parochial one-upmanship I thought I’d bring you some of Wellington’s oft-overlooked art and sculpture.

Why oft-overlooked? Well, we have the Wellington Sculpture Trust and its glamourpuss art all over the blimmin place, but there’s also a lot of smaller, less noticed stuff that we here at the Wellingtonista want to celebrate.

DSC00197 So with no further ado, here is a sculpture. And ain’t it a little cutie?

The real question is of course whether you recognise it. And you probably don’t. This of course being the problem with a place like Wellington, sometimes there’s so much bloody public art you can’t walk three feet without tripping over the latest “abstract something”…

But I digress. So what is it?! More after the jump!

The Wellingtonista events calendar – you know you want it

The Wellingtonista has a calendar of events that we think you really REALLY want to know about. We also know that you want this vital information delivered into your own calendar – easy peasy, just follow the instructions after the break …

Tui hooligans

Tui with megaphoneThe recent flap (no pun intended) over noisy tui may seem like a typical silly season non-story, but believe me, it’s a real problem. I live above a major central city intersection, and people sometimes ask whether I’m disturbed by road noise. “No,” I say, “but those bloody birds wake me up at 5 in the morning!” A small patch of harakeke eight floors down is enough to attract hordes of juvenile tui flitting around and chattering and generally carrying on like kids in Manners Mall. Tsk tsk, youth today!

It’s probably just the morning-averse urbocentric biophobic grump in me, but does anyone else notice it? And what is the best collective noun for tui? A disturbance? A larrikin? A raucous?

Wellingtonista Radio Show

Just a wee heads up: I’ll be presenting the very first Wellingtonista Radio Show on The VBC tonight. The VBC is the student owned and operated/community LPFM radio station broadcasting on 88.3FM, based at the Kelburn Campus of Victoria University of Wellington, in New Zealand.

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Coffee in Newtown?

Can anybody help me locate a decent coffee in Newtown during these interminable public holidays? Peoples’ is shut until Monday, as is the café at the Med. The only option I have located thus far is Eva Dixon’s at the Zoo (which was a lovely walk in the sun) but resulted in a small latté in a large takeaway cup topped by prodigious amounts of froth, cost me $5.20 including the surcharge, and tasted like filth.

So, tomorrow I need a better option. Any ideas?

UPDATE: Thanks to the helpful comments I headed north today to find that The Ballroom, The Recovery Room and Pranah are all closed (which I suspected after having the same problems last Easter). And I did feel fairly strange prowling the corridors of the hospital looking for the Fuel kiosk which was also closed.

So, I’m off to the movies at Island Bay where, hopefully, the Empire can serve me up a brew before Alvin and The Chipmunks.

Bill Hammond – City Gallery

Hammond_MASTER Assuming you haven’t swanned off to sun yourself in the miserable bloody New Zealand Christmas weather, dashing in and out of the rainstorms and/or hail with your bottle of BananaBoat, toweling hat, and lawnchair, then you’re probably still around Wellington.

Assuming you’ve made the right decision (and are having your hols in February), then we here at the Wellingtonista advise you to get yourself along to the City Gallery for the FREE Bill Hammond exhibition, Jingle Jangle Morning.

And why? Because even when it’s crappy out, Bill’s painting is there for you.

Patting ourselves on our collective back. Again.

So, 2007 has pretty much kicked some ass, and sucked some ass, but let’s concentrate on the goodness.

In 2007, the Wellingtonista:

  • Gained eight new members (Anna, Che, Dan, Kimberley, Kowhai, MG, Mitch, Stephen and Sue)
  • Got four new dayjobs (Me, Llew, MG, Noizy)
  • Grew one baby (Kimberley)
  • Opened one shop (Martha)
  • Launched one magazine (Mitch)
  • Got Russell Brown drunk a couple of times
  • Hugged Blam Blam Blam
  • Made a total of at least six appearences in the Dom Post, not counting Kimberley’s stories
  • Got on the bad side of Rex Nicholls and John McGrath
  • Had a 1100% increase in voting for our awards.

Yay for us! What are your predictions for 2008?

Malty Media Chillax Yo!

In the third of their Malty Media Chillout Sessions, homebred Wellington electronica gurus Jet Jaguar (home after a long spell o’seas) and Aquaboogie will be playing delectable tunes and delightful compositions this Wednesday night, at Katipo Café.

This is a free event.