Still the 12th nicest city in the world
Not much movement at the top of the Mercer Human Resource Consulting “Most Livable Cities” rankings this year, with, like last year, Wellington coming in 12th, trailing our northern neighbours Auckland, who come in at a very credible 5th. In fact, there’s really no movement at all in the top 20, with Zurich and Geneva still 1st and 2nd respectively, Vancouver 3rd, Vienna 4th, before a bunch of German cities slot in below Auckland. The rankings are …
based on 39 key quality-of-life issues. They include political stability, currency-exchange regulations, political and media censorship, school quality, housing, the environment and public safety.
We’re tracking you.
So, I hope everyone’s now up to speed on creating false identities, after the Dominion Post’s useful step-by-step front-page guide yesterday, which talked you through the steps required in getting a fake driver’s license or passport. Thanks DomPost!
What really got us nervous though, was the myriad of ways in which our moves and actions throughout the day are tracked by ‘the man’.
The DomPost listed several examples of supposedly ‘nefarious’ personal data-collection. Did you know that the web-browser you’re using this very moment to look at this page keeps a record of the fact that you’ve looked at the page? It’s true. Doctors, apparently, also keep records of your various visits. Suspicious? Almost certainly.
And, even more insidiously, the library keeps a record of what items you have borrowed from it at any given time? Why, oh why!? The pervading finger of ‘the man’ permeates every facet of our life. Our private lives, and indeed, our very identities, it would seem, are under constant threat, from the authorities, or figures who know how to manipulate the system.
Or, on the other hand, maybe it was just the worst front-page ‘shock’ story, ever.
Bowling: It’s OOOOOOOOOOON!
We are super pleased and excited to announce that the Wellingtonista Bowling League is officially a happening thing. Game nights will take place once a month until the round-robin is played out. The first night will be Tuesday 24 April at 8pm, so that we can all recover the next day.
There will be four people to a team, and your website/organisation may enter more than one team if you like. There will be a trophy. Register your team here in the comments, or email the.wellingtonista @ gmail.com before next Wednesday 18. We’ll be bowling at The Lanes on Wakefield St, and it’ll cost probably $10 per person per game. Plus the drinks you will want to buy us.
Please do participate. Or are you scared that we will KICK YOUR COLLECTIVE ASSES? Cos we totally will.
Flight of the Conchords: Hiphopopotamus v. Rhymenoceros
Another Wednesday, another Flight of the Conchords video clip for your enjoyment.
Yeah they call me the Hiphopopotamus,
My lyrics are bottomless…
theNewDowse goes ape sh*t
Taken straight from the Weta Holics website:
As if you needed another reason to live in New Zealand! The wonderful Dowse Museum in Lower Hutt has just re-launched and is now calling itself TheNewDowse . . . AND they’re hosting a King Kong exhibition from June to November this year!
They’re calling it Becoming King Kong. I feel excited just thinking about it!
It’s opening on 23 June and runs until 11 November 2007. A wee bird tells me that it’s packed with insights into the ground-breaking film-making technologies used to make the movie, as well as the creative processes used in the conception of the character of Kong. That’s right – the grumpy ape that keeps on turning up in the film he he…
The exhibition will take you behind the scenes to experience the Weta way of working, the expansive collection of the sculptured creatures, the beauty of the sketches, the innovative techniques and the secrets of how these were achieved: it took thousands of drawings, hundreds of design maquettes and Weta Digital’s visual effects team years of work to create the character of Kong.
To celebrate the exhibition, we’ll be revealing previously never seen before online images from the making of the film in the new Weta Gallery …
Stinky poo, stinky poo
Whilst Wellingtonista Towers is home to the funky, the hip and the connected it also houses the dads, mums and general caregivers to the next generation of the funky, hip and connected.
For those that are also parents can I recommend the latest Kapitall Kids Theatre show at the Gryphon Theatre of Spike Milligan’s Badjelly the Witch
Whilst a paid theatre reviewer would probably use phrases such as “professional”, “engaging”, “a delight”, “something for the adults” and “a must see for all the family” my son and I can only say – GO! It’s a total hoot and you’ll love the music (pop), jokes (topical) and acting (awesome).
Details
Where: The Gryphon on Ghuznee [ZoomIn map]
When: now until Saturday 14th of April
Time: 11 am, 1 pm; 3pm Mon – Fri
Price: $10 per person, $36 for family
How to book: 04-934 4068 or just turn up
Age: 3+ years
Anti-Fascist Protective Rampart
Our very own Anti-Fascist Protective Rampart has been up for months now, and remains as ugly as ever.
Looking south towards Friedrichstraße *cough* I mean Abel Smith Street:
… and north towards Ghuznee Street. In the distance, over the wall, we see the symbols of capitalism brazenly and proudly flaunted:
All we are really missing are some sentry towers, razor wire, and anti-personnel mines. Somebody really needs to finish this damn “bypass” already.
Extravaganza of Progressive Post-Rock
Post-rock is a done-to-death description but as a semaphore of intent it still serves a certain purpose. First coined by music-journo Simon Reynolds as a term to describe progressive music “using rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes, using guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures rather than riffs and power chords”, its use was rapidly spread during the 90s by breathless writers suddenly overwhelmed by seemingly-infinite possible music-futures. Reynolds further expounded:
perhaps the really provocative area for future development lies… in cyborg rock; not the wholehearted embrace of Techno’s methodology, but some kind of interface between real time, hands-on playing and the use of digital effects and enhancement.
… which in itself has turned out to be suitably ambitious, as in general attempts at an amalgam of real-time instrumentation and digital frippery have turned out to be a big horrible mess (with notable exceptions, of course).
Flight of the Conchords: Think about It
It’s Flight of the Conchords Wednesday!
Here’s one for ratpony. Think about it. Think, think about it…
We answer: Boy and dog
Remember when we asked you about what was filming that would involve a boy and a dog?
Turns out it was a New World ad. Of course. It’s making a big deal about how New Worlds are the only local supermarkets nationwide. Personally, I think the only big deal about something that a New World has done is give Maurice Bennett enough of an income to start Bennett’s Beer. But maybe that’s just me.