Pop along to the Book Fair
The DCM Book Fair is on this weekend at the TSB Arena on Wellington’s Queens Wharf.
On sale will be books, magazines, records, CDs, puzzles, stamps, artworks and DVDs. I was one of their helpers in setting up books this afternoon and i can confirm there are some supremly awesome bargains to be had.
Plus you can feel smug about doing good things. The Book Fair raises many valuable dollars towards DCM’s work with those who struggle in the city.
and that can never be a bad thing.
1st Day of Spring
Because not all Wellingtonista are indestructible, I was ensconced at home this morning with a touch of a cold.
Actually, a hell of a cold. But I’m persevering.
And the weather helped! It’s miraculous!
Stepping out onto Cuba Street, I wandered along to Truffle to buy some Pain au Chocolat (chocolate croissants. they’re frozen, but you can defrost them and cook them for breakfast).
Now, you can believe what you like. But Wellington Winter’s aren’t always that bad. It’s the freakin Spring that is truly awful. The winds really start to wind up, and the rain starts.
Today though… today the wind was gentle, the sun was out, and people were out with it.
I heard a young couple talking about who had the most duvet last night. They sauntered past with nary a glance in my direction.
People were all over Cuba St eating in the sun.
That girl with Down Syndrome was out juggling. She’s terrible at it, but I flicked her a dollar anyway.
That guy who plays the bamboo flute that looks a lot like a bong was out, playing the same tune over, and over, and over, and over.
And I thought to myself, “You know, on a day like this you almost forget what the Spring is like. This Wellington, she is a fickle mistress”.
So that’s what they mean by ‘isolated showers’
Looking south from Waitangi Park as yesterday evening’s southerly change was coming in.
Any poor sod who was stuck under this could feel justified in feeling picked on by the elements, but most of the Wellingtonista Great Blend team was already safely ensconced in Port Café scoffing fish ‘n’ chips with BYO wine. A Great Blend round-up will no doubt follow from one of my diligent colleagues.
Gigging of a Friday night
Tonight you can have your cake and eat it too.
Longtime guitarist and co-conspirator of Greg Johnson’s, Ted Brown is playing a free gig at Bodega. Singer-songwriter Brown has been based in Los Angeles over the past few years, after making the big move there with Greg Johnson (U.S. site) in 2002. After 5 years building a following they now tour regularly across America. And did I mention that the gig is free? That’s better than bad.
Across town at the Adelaide, the post-rocking Dukes of Leisure are playing with rock-posters Marineville. They’ll be starting at a sensible time, providing as much opportunity as possible for drinking plenty of that cheap cheap Adelaide booze. Door $5 for that show.
Why I love Wellington Public Library
Well to start
– it’s prutty
– i can never resist the whit chocolate and raspberry muffins at clarks at the central branch.
– the karori branch has a fully integrated cafe so one can have a coffee in the library
– most importantly they keep on doing new and cool things.
My latest library discovery is downloading audio books, and not at the library but from the comfort of my own computer
It looks like a recent thing, and to access this all a Wellingtonian needs is their library card
so for now their downloadable media section is now taking pride of place in my toolbar.
Plus you can win a DVD rental by check out their new visual catalogue
which adds one more thing to my list
i also love the library because they use logical names for new things.
Cinephilia: Opening This Week
A fairly insane week for new releases is headed by NZ horror-feature The Tattooist, about Samoan tattoos that take on a life of their own and turn their owners into blood-thirsty zombies – or something like that: Readings and Sky City Queensgate only.
Also Readings and Queensgate is Sandra Bullock’s new mystery Premonition about a woman who may have foreseen her husband’s death in a car accident. I get to see this one tomorrow but the 8% rating on the Tomatometer doesn’t fill me with enthusiasm.
[Remaining new releases listed after the jump.]
You know who ELSE ran for Mayor?
I received unsolicted spam (yes, it was an electronic letter by email) this afternoon:
Hello Joanan,
I’m John McGrath and I am standing for Mayor. It’s time to put the Mojo back into the Mayoralty.
If you love Wellington as much as I do, please take a look at my website and let me know what I can do to make Wellington a better place for you.
www.johnmcgrath4mayor.co.nz
Cheers,
John McGrath
Why am I republishing his spam after he spelt my name incorrectly? Why, so that I can tell you, my dear reader, about how you can go about winning a bottle of wine. Just head to his blog, note that on the 23rd he declared
“Oh and for all those Gramma Nazis out there we are more than happy to stand corrected. My Campaign manager is putting up a Bottle of Te Kairanga Reserve Pinot Noir 2002 for the person who finds the most errors in the Blog. We aren’t perfect but we do have a sense of humour!”
… and get counting! I found 54, and that didn’t include any issues with the actual content I might have had (like “Kerry has done a good job”).
Footnote: yes, the title of this post is a Nazi joke.
Vote for the blockhead of your choice
Disclaimer: that’s a Peanuts reference, rather than a comment on the quality of candidates. Ahem.
Nominations for local body elections closed last week, and the candidates are all listed on the WCC website (residents of other Wellington Territorial Authorities should find them on their respective council sites). While it can be argued that the choice of Mayor is less important than the composition of the council as a whole, it’s certainly the role that generates the most heat. So, here’s a full list of the mayoral candidates, followed by a call to action:
- Ray Ahipene-Mercer
- Paul Bailey
- Carl Gifford
- Rob Goulden
- Nick Kelly
- John McGrath
- Bryan Pepperell
- Kerry Prendergast
- Helene Ritchie
- Jack Ruben
- Nick Wang
Other than sitting councillors and John McGrath, I don’t know much about the candidates. I’m sure you’ll find plenty of comments about Kerry P on the Wellingtonista, and I’ve mentioned McGrath in passing on WellUrban, with the odd reference to Jack Ruben as well. But here’s your chance to comment sagely, speculate wildly or just generally vent spleen. Here’s a starter for ten: if you don’t like the incumbent mayor, who can and should get the numbers to unseat her?
Phoenix in Thriller at Stadium
Fourteen and half thousand of us watched the Phoenix get their A-League campaign under way with a thrilling 2-2 draw at Westpac stadium this afternoon. An estimated (by myself and a couple of other self-appointed experts) couple of thousand more were stuck in queues for the first quarter and gave up and went home.
Yes, it was another triumph of event ticketing with the combination of a huge walk-up due to the good weather plus a huge pick-up queue for those that booked by phone yesterday causing chaos on Fran Wilde Walk.
If it hadn’t been for Sky and other Asia-Pacific broadcast commitments I’m sure the kick-off would have been held back but, as it was, those of us in our seats were treated to an entertaining spectacle with the Phoenix saving their best for a sensational last 15 minutes.
[Match report after the jump]