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.

Lyrics? Oui! Après l’interruption!

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?

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]

I’m sure you know by now that tomorrow the fantabulous Craft 2.0 fair is happening again at the NewDowse tomorrow from 11am-3pm. And even though this does mean you’ll need to venture out to the Hutt, you’re willing to make that sacrifice. Plus, since you can also go see the exhibitions that are on at the same time, you can take advantage of this:

When you travel by bus to see Becoming King Kong – get a free ride home! Simply bring in your bus ticket to TheNewDowse and you’ll receive a voucher for a free ride home. Must show a valid ticket from a Cityline Hutt Valley, Stagecoach Wellington or Go Wellington bus service.

And if you need even more of an incentive to get along other than just the great range for stuff for sale, Wellingtonista members Martha, Sue and Joanna will all be there in the flesh signing autographs selling their wares, which you can sample for free if you get there at 11am for the giftbags. Hurrah!

Just remember to take cash along for all your shiny purchases as there is no ATM.

PS. Wellingtonista Che will be selling someone else’s wares.

P.P.S. 101 gift bags get handed to the first people through the door at 11am.
You can check out Craft2.0 before 11am, but the the gift bags get handed out with the official fair start of 11am.

There are a couple of things that we’re universally fond of here at the Wellingtonista. Bars. Being entertained. Experiencing different things. Sexual perversity. If only there was a way we could combine all those things together… Hang on, there is! David Mamet’s one-act play Sexual Perversity in Chicago starts tonight at 6pm (doors at 5.30) at the San Francisco Bath House, and we’re guaranteeing* it’s going to be a good time. If you need more convincing, here’s five good reasons you should see it.

1. David Mamet‘s plays and screenplays for things are generally witty and hilarious.
2. It’s one act only! This means it starts at 6pm sharp and you’ll be out by 7.15pm, which is perfect if you’re not much of a theatre-goer and you just want to dip your toes in.
3. You can drink while you watch!
4. It’s only $15 a ticket (or $10 for students), and is a great way to see some seriously talented up-and-coming talent, like the lovely Laurel Devenie (pictured).
5. SFBH is one of our most favouritist venues (not just because of how late they’re open) and the play has been specially staged to fit the space, which will be very interesting to see.

It runs from Thursday 16th – Saturday 25th August 2007, so we’ll see you there, right?

* Well, not technically. But we are giving you our word as a gentleman.

EDIT: And now I’ve actually seen it, I recommend it like, ten times as much as before. Cabaret-style shows where you can sit at a table and drink and eat while watching hilarious dialog and pretty convincing mid-west accents and also hott boys in their panties are alright by me!

Since the rest of the Wellingtonista are doing it, here are a few things about Damian Christie’s article about Wellington that I disagree with.

• He advocates avoiding Courtenay Place. Don’t do that. Yes, it’s horrible on Fridays and Saturday nights, but without Courtenay Place there would be no beloved Wellingtonista institutions Sweet Mother’s Kitchen, the Paramount, Arashi, or access to Boulot on Blair St.


• He says “A real city should have at least one bar that stays open 24 hours a day.” Well, The San Francisco Bath House is often open until 6am, and Sandwiches until 7am, and after that, you can jump in a cab and go get a pie from the Hataitai Bakery, and eat it in the laundromat, both of which are open 24 hours. Perhaps you’ll find some anonymous sex there while you’re at it.


• He mentions that Wellington lacks celebrities. Hello, don’t you know who I am? The Wellingtonista are socialites. Llew in particular bears a striking resemblance to Glinda Kirkpatrick.


• Damian’s mentioned before how all the girls in Wellington wear skirts over their trousers. I know I do every day, but I don’t know anyone else who does. And I know everyone.


• Seriously, talking about Fat Freddy’s and Fly My Pretties? Yawn. It seems like he just googled ‘Wellington Music’ and took those names from a Wallpaper article. For someone seen around town as much as he is, you’d think he might have realised that there’s a lot more going on in our music scene.