January 8, 2008

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?

Tom
Environment
20 Comments
January 7, 2008

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.

Wellingtonista
5 Comments
January 1, 2008

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.

Dan
Food & Drink
5 Comments
December 27, 2007

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.

Che Tibby
Art
3 Comments
December 21, 2007

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?

Joanna
Wellingtonista
7 Comments
December 17, 2007

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.

stephen clover
Music
0 Comment
December 14, 2007

Cinephilia: Opening This Week

Mr. Magorium posterJust the one new film opening this week: Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium about a magic toyshop facing unexpected change. It stars Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman and is reviewed here, at Funerals & Snakes. Magorium is playing at Readings, Regent-on-Manners, Empire and Sky City Queensgate.

It’s a quiet week before the big Boxing Day and New Year’s Day releases which, by my calculation, will see 13 more films open in cinemas around Wellington.

Dan
Film
0 Comment
December 13, 2007

best cities… wtf?

Best Cities on FacebookUsually website related pissing contests (Hot Or Not; Rate My, [er…] Kitteh etc etc ad infinitum) are inherently dull.

But maybe not so dull if you are former Wellingtonian, now Münchener mad-genius developer Ben Nolan.

His Best Cities Facebook application did, for a tiny golden moment, have Wellington in the top spot. Which means of course that this pissing contest is now of interest to us, too!

Unfortunately, Facebook being the kind of random, viral place that it is, the app has been seized upon by at least two distinct regional groups each competing within each other parochially for the title of best city.

The upshot of all this is that towns like Slavonski Brod, a no doubt quite lovely town with a rather pulchritudinous population but not much larger than Invercargill, is the world’s fifth best city, with Wellington relegated to 15th.

This is clearly not good enough. Get to it. peeps!

Alan
Internet/Web
0 Comment
December 13, 2007

Embracing your inner show-mom

Late notice but tonight at the Film Archive, cnr of Taranaki and Ghuznee Streets, at 6:30pm the Friends of the Film Archive present a special insight into baby contests, beauty competitions and screen tests from yesteryear. It’s free. It’s hilarious. Here’s the blurb:

“Contest Films from the silent era and the 1930s are presented afresh. Struggling early New Zealand film makers made a living with their cameras putting the faces of the young, beautiful and talented on the screen to be judged by popular vote.”

Joanna
Film
0 Comment
December 13, 2007

Wellingtonian of the Year, 2006, how’s he doing now?

Time to take a quick look at how last year’s Wellingtonista Wellingtonian of the Year is getting on in the wake of a full year of promotional engagements & speaking gigs.

Wellingtonista Wellingtonian of the year, 2006

llew
Miscellaneous
4 Comments