Barmy Army enthusiasts - a survival guide

Here at Wellingtonist Towers there are two camps regarding the British & Lions rugby tour that's happening as we write. One school of thought is that it's a waste of money, time and energy that would be far better spent on Kiwi music; the other is that this is what life is all about.

Even if you've experienced a Lions tour before (last one was 1993) you might be in for a bit of a shock when the hordes descend upon our fair city - anything from 10,000 to 25,000 depending upon which commentator you want to believe.

Do not fear, MiramarMike has outlined your very own "Barmy Army enthusiasts - a survival guide" covering everything from how to recognise a Barmy Army enthusiast to safe interaction in common supporter-type situations.

Enjoy it and don't be afraid to pass it on.

Wellington Lions dates to remember:

• Wednesday 15th: Wellington v Lions
• Saturday 2nd June: All Blacks v Lions

We suggest you're either in total party mode OR forget about coming into the city center.

Bars to be particularly wary of are The Loaded Hog (down by the Days Bay Ferry wharf) and possibly The Bristol & Black Harp. These have been nominated by the Barmy Army as their official headquarters and 'overflow bars'.

If you've not got tickets for the test then watch this space for news of a fantastic big screen venue in the centre of town.

Wellington Film Society screenings for June

What with Queen's Birthday and all, it's a light, but good month for Film Society screenings.

First up is the 1998 German movie 23, a film by young German director Hans-Christian Schmid is based on the true story of Karl Koch, a young computer hacker who stumbles across a hidden world of intrigue, deception and danger. After the light tone of the first hour the film becomes more chilling as the hidden forces of law and order close in. The classification is R16 (contains drug use and offensive language). Made available through the Goethe Institut, 23 is free to members, with the public admitted by way of donation at the door.

Screens Monday 13, 6.15pm at the Paramount.

Next is Shanghai Express (1932). This American classic by Joseph von Sternberg stars Marlene Dietrich as Shanghai Lily. This mystical and exotic story of love and destruction is stylized to have everything done to the rhythm of a train. The plot concerns an evacuation from Peking to Shanghai, but it's in every sense a vehicle for something else: a parade of deceptive appearances and identities, centering on the notion of a prostitute with more honour than those around her. It's a while since we've been able to say it, but this screening is for members only.

Screens Monday 20 June, 6.15pm at the Paramount.

And finally, Distant Lights (2002). The distant lights in Hans-Christian Schmid's engaging ensemble drama are those illuminated by the promise of a better life. The Polish town of Slubice is a dangerous place for
Russians and Ukranians who hope to slip across the Oder River to greater economic opportunities. The film, set over a 48-hour period, follows several criss-crossing trajectories into the morass of treachery, opportunism, desperation and suspense. This film first screened in the 2003 Wellington Film Festival. Made available through the Goethe Institut, Distant Lights is free to members, with the public admitted by way of donation at the door.

Monday 27 June, 6.15pm, Where else but the Paramount?

That's it for June. Plenty to keep you occupied mid-month in deciding what to book for at the Wellington Film Festival, which commences on 15 July. The list of films already confirmed can be found on the
34th Wellington Film Festival link here.

More information on the Wellington Film Society, including screening scedules, subscription information & membership forms can be found here.

(lifted from the WFS monthly emailed newsletter)

Links for Tuesday, 31 May 2005

• Yet more Wellingtonist 'let me count the ways' goodness, this time from Ratpony (no permalinks on the site, so you'll have to find it for yourself if it's dropped off the frontpage).
• Mouse running across Island Bay woman's foot sparks multi-national efforts emergency services into action.
• Wellington doctor Ken Looi rides around Basin Reserve 814 times. On a unicycle.
  

Links for Monday, 30 May 2005

• A couple more additions to the 'Let me count the ways...' Wellingtonist meme, from Sibylle at heimatseeker and Mr Reasonable at Whispering Inferno
• The Wellington City Council in-fighting reaches new lows
• Tornado action in Paraparaumu, resulting in this from MetService...

Severe-weather forecaster Paul Mallinson said he had "almost mentioned weak tornadoes" in predictions for the West Coast and Nelson area overnight on Saturday, but had decided against it.

"We were already talking about wind gusts of 110km/h. So I actually expected there would be some weak funnels, but we have to be a little bit careful when we mention the tornado word. It has to be used judiciously.

"So while I don't wish damage on anybody, when I heard about this one (at Paraparaumu) I was so pleased..."

The Phoenix Foundation - Pegasus

The Phoenix Foundation's second album Pegasus is out now, and has followed the lead of recent releases of fellow Wellington bands Fat Freddy's Drop (Based on a True Story) and Shihad (Love is the New Hate) by going straight into the top 10 of the NZ album charts.

Ten years ago it would have been unthinkable that three of the ten top-selling albums in the country would be from New Zealand bands, let alone bands from our fair city (in fact, if you include all the NZ bands, with The Feelers and Breaks Co-Op, half the top 10 is homegrown). How many small cities around the world, can boast similar proportions of success in their national charts? Not many, etc...

And it's not just some jingoistic NZ music month marketing coup. The Phoenix Foundation's alt-country, pop, instrumental, and occasionally prog-rockish album is all class, and has been on high-rotate at Wellingtonist Towers over the last week. From the bass-driven and theremin laced instrumental spookiness of the first single 'Hitchcock' (accompanied by an incredible video from Rueben Sutherland, soon to be showcased at the onedotzero9 festival at London's ICA alongside the most innovative music videos of the past year), to the wiggly guitar classic that is new single 'Damn the River', the whole album is a gem.

The band are touring in June and July (playing in Wellington at Indigo on the 24th June), and their live performances are, if possible, even more brilliant than their recorded efforts, so it goes without saying that we recommend you head along.

Some useful links...

• Buy the Pegasus CD at Real Groovy
• Buy and preview MP3s from Amplifier
• Phoenix Foundation Homepage
• Interview with Grant Smithies in the Sunday Star Times

Links for Friday, 27 May 2005

• Make Tea Not War adds to the list of Wellingtonist 'let me count the ways' meme
• Falco over at addict.net.nz proclaims his site is made up of 'columnists', not 'bloggers', goddammit!
• Wellington bands on the up. Keep up with the cool kids with this nzmusic.com primer on the welly bands whose names you should be casually dropping into conversation when talking about the local scene (especially useful if the last gig you went to was two years ago when you took the kids to the Wiggles).
  

Meat on Tory

We Wellingtonists are all vegan of course... bacon is a vegetable, right?

But calling all carnivores! - there's a new place in Tory street you'll probably want to check out...

STUFF : FOOD & WINE - STORY : Meat on Tory

Links for Wednesday, 25 May 2005

• Ecoqueer waxes lyrical about Maui - One Man Against the Gods, which is being performed at the St James Theatre until early June.
• The Supreme Court may be getting shifted to the Thorndon Tavern. Question is, will the judges demand that the bar remain behind?
• Karaoke Poetry at Bats. Better (much better, we've been told), than the title suggests. (25-28 May)
  

Your own personal shopper

I don't want you to think that it's the Wellingtonist policy to be lazy & recycle another contributor's photo... that's just me...

But did you know that Kirkcaldies on Lambton Quay offers a free personal shopping service?

We're considering taking the concept to the next level: The Wellingtonist Complimentary & Complementary Personal Consumer Service. Your personal shopper will buy it, we'll consume it. No need for you to be concerned in the transaction at all. Aside from we'll need your card numbers.

Consider it the future of shopping.

let me count the ways...

Here at Wellingtonist towers, we're always thinking of new ways to let people know just how cool this town is. And we know we have lots of readers out there who like to do the same.

So here's our suggestion: people of a mind to participate can post to their website an article talking about exactly that. It might cover:

• why are you here?
• what do you like about the town?
• what don't you like about the town?
• do you remember your "first time experience" with Wellington?
• what were the best times and worst times?
• what does the city mean to you?

We think you get the picture.

When you finish and post yours, link to this very posting, and then we'll link back to you for some all round linky goodness.

And... without further ado, here are Wellington's stories.

• Llew at Sunnyo
• Alan at half-pie
  
• Martha at Wanda Harland
• Mike at MiramarMike
• Ben at ben.run
• Make Tea Not War
  
• Sibylle at heimatseeker
• Mr Reasonable at Whispering Inferno
• Lisa at rat pony
• Jessie in The Backyard

Links for Monday, 23 May 2005

• Kakariki has a good time at the Green Room 004: Hope CD release party.
  
• Some media attention for Whispering Inferno will hopefully have a couple of local real estate agents and developers shaking in their boots.
• Conversations overheard on the Cable Car. Examples of the sort of stimulating chat you're likely to overhear on Wellington's iconic hill-climber.
  

Left or right

Nothing more than a Wellington observation really but have you noticed how all the "good" shops are on the left-hand side of the road.

"Good" being determined by those that have buckets of money to spend on the flashest shop fronts - nothing to do with the quality of service or products.

And of course "right" and "left" are subjective - depends which way you're going.

Nevertheless, here are a few examples to try and get our slightly dodgy point across:

• Dixon Street: Courtenay Place to Willis Street
• Lambton Quay: Willis Street to parliament end
• Courtenay Place: Molly's down to The Embassy
• Pipetea Quay - nearly all shopping on the one side of the road.

OK, OK we admit it we're shoe-horning the argument into a "left/right" stance. But there's definitely a one-sided view of many of the streets within Wellington.

We wonder how much, if any, difference there is in rent either side of the tracks. Here in Wellingtonist Towers we're definitely on the cheaper side what with the 'house of ill repute' one side and the disused car yard on the other.

And a theory as to why. After much argument amongst the Wellingtonistas with only Natalie able to keep her voice below screaming volume (it's hard to scream via a webcam) this was the result.

Everybody wants a view of the harbour.

If you imagine all the Wellington buildings are people then they're all standing with their backs to the hills and staring out towards the harbour. If you're standing in front of someone big then you're told to squat down and look backwards.

Of course, for every theory there's a fly in the ointment.
In this case the biggest fly in our theory is Kirks .. standing there, with it's back to the harbour and not caring.

Places We Like to Eat At - Dojo

According to their website, Dojo is Japanese for "Place of the Way". If memory serves, a dojo is also Modesty Blaise's weapon of choice - kind of like two door handles joined together, which can be applied with force to pressure points on your opponent's body to inflict all kinds of harm & incapacitations. And Modesty Blaise, you may recall, was the book John Travolta was reading in the dunny in Pulp Fiction. But that's irrelevant.

I don't know what you call the cuisine at Dojo in Woodward Street (where Chow used to be - Chow is now in Tory Street), and neither did the waitress. Asian/French fusion perhaps? Perhaps we could just call it delicious. .

The restaurant itself is at the top of Woodward Street, and up some stairs which bring you right to the well stocked bar. The eating area is small, but remarkably uncluttered.

Service is super prompt! And friendly. Three of us started with the "Dojo Remix", which is a plate of entrees & appetisers: Seared salmon, prawn cakes, satay beef & chicken. Very tasty.

We followed with mains of satay chicken, braised pork hock with stir fried udon noodles, and steamed salmon with lime, galangal and lemon grass, with a shared dish of steamed asian vegetables. We all tried each others main & each dish was divine! I personally recommend the pork.

Somewhat unusually for us, we then all had desserts. My steamed date & ginger pudding was light & lovely. My wife's ginger & basil creme brulee was too. Our daughter's green tea icecream was... interesting to my palate... but she scoffed it no problem.

Since it was a birthday occasion, we also had cocktails - the waitress told us it was compulsory. The birthday girl had a yummy plum daiquiri, but my pear & elderflower martini was a little sweet for my taste. Maybe I should have let them go ahead & stir it.

The whole lot came to about $195, but that included a bottle of Huia Chardonnay & the cocktails.

Overall, the food was delicious & novel & we will definitely be going back.

They also do take-out. And will possibly do home deliveries in the future, if the barman is to be believed.

"The best Elvis-fighting-a-mummy-movie I have ever seen"

So said (words to that effect) Simon Morris on his National Radio movie programme about Bubba Ho-Tep.

I haven't seen it yet, but I've read & heard quite a bit about it since its release in 2002. And now it's coming soon, to the Paramount & Lighthouse Theatres.

I've suggested to my wife on several occasions that we really must see this when it gets here. She always says "What's it about again?" and I reply:

"An aging Elvis Presley & John F Kennedy battle an Egyptian mummy in the old people's home they live in." Around about here she interjects:

"No f*cking WAY!"

But no kidding, this movie has not had a single bad review. That I have seen anyway.

Bruce (the Evil Dead) Campbell apparently lays down the definitive Elvis portrayal on film. It goes like this: years ago, looking for some anonymous R&R, he traded places with an Elvis impersonator for a spell. It's the impersonator who deep fried peanut butter sandwiches, got fat & died in the Graceland can, dooming the real Elvis to the rest of his lfe in obscurity. Meanwhile, by chance, the very much alive JFK (Ossie Davis) has had his appearance changed by the CIA (he's now black...) & is living in the very same retirement home as Presley.

And then there's the Egyptian mummy... wearing a cowboy hat....

How could they go wrong with a plot like that?

So forget for a while, the dark & dismal goings on in a galaxy far, far away (keep an eye on that dodgy Senator guy & the Dark Lord of the Sith played by the same actor...I reckon there could be a connection there).

And go check out Bubba Ho-Tep when it gets here. The wife & I will be in the front row, opening night.

the death of the British Weather Symbol

The BBC has, of this week, started using the Weatherscape XT graphics package created by Wellington-based MetService (the only commercially run state weather forecasting service in the world, wouldn't you know?).

You'll see the new graphics if you tune into the hourly weather updates on BBC international. They'll look familiar to New Zealand viewers who have been seeing the 3D 'Flybys' and 'Hovers' on TV1 and TV3 for the last few years, but, for the Brits, and, indeed, a decent proportion of the rest of the world, this sort of technological wizardry has come as a bit of a shock. From the BBC 'Have your say' page, come these quotes from dismayed Brits...

Sorry but the constant zooming around makes me feel seasick and leaves little time to digest what is going on in any one region before zooming off somewhere else.
Ian Kirk, Poole, UK

The old symbols were clear and well understood by everyone (including the visually impaired) - now, this smudgy fudgey mess makes it hard to work out what is going on, and the motion around the country is sick-making.
Stuart, Edinburgh, Scotland

Sorry, I don't like it - I want clear concise information. What on earth is the point of doing pseudo 3D maps? If the weather was 3D I'd understand it but I'm not a pilot - I have my feet firmly placed at ground level. 2D is just fine, very clear and very concise. Another example of technological madness.
Stuart Quick, Manchester

"If the weather was 3D"? Really. (And we hope the people getting motion sickness from watching a short 3D animation on telly get whatever problem they're suffering from seen to.) All this, and dozens more complaints, after just one day of broadcasting. Ahh, the Brits. Did anyone mention 'national stereotypes'? No, thought not.

Our favourite quote was from another discussion forum running red-hot with criticism of the new system, where Chris, a man presumably au fait with the vagaries of English weather, laments...

Does this mean the death of the British Weather Symbol? You know that black cloud with a bit of sun behind it and a rain drop and a snow drop coming out of it? It covered all bases that one.

Anyway, also keep an eye out for more Wellington-based creative-IT successes in the near future, with Sidhe Interactive going from strength-to-strength in the highly competitive console games market (a new release due from them soon for the PSP handheld), and some company called Weta Workshop is involved in what looks like to be quite an interesting project out there in Mirarmar.

Sanctuary

"Sanctuary! Sanctuary!" was the cry from within Wellingtonist Towers.

The young 'uns were blasting out the latest local tunes as some old 'uns moved their bodies in decidedly unfunky ways. The antiquated communications system was being updated with new tubes resulting in lots of bangs and crashes. The rest of the staff were in the reception practicing for the Wellingtonist netball team.

AND it had been a hard day.

So I escaped for some sanctuary. Wellington is full of some wonderfully quiet places inviting us to flee from the rigours of everyday.

Some of the Wellingtonistas swear by the many darkened corners of bars in town - back of Kitty O'Sheas, downstairs of the Dog & Bone, Concrete before the suits invade at 5pm and even the Malthouse balcony during the day. The ultimate is possibly Bodega.
Where's yours?

Embassy Blondini's Bar during the day gladdens the soul. Cool, calm and very collected as she sits in all her glory. The wine bar and snack bar is always open with some extremely pleasant staff. The sofas ease you in and whisper in your ear, "You don't ever have to leave. Let me look after you".

And how could we not mention the cafe scene. Wellington is famously run on coffee and despite the recent invasion of Starbucks the majority of coffee places are excellent. Midnight Espresso, Fidels or even Mr Bun on Courtenay Place come to mind. We're sure you could pass on more.

Where exactly did your hassled correspondent run to? Wellington City Library
As soon as the doors swoosh open the worries of life slip away. No-one is going to remind me about anything I don't want. I can pick up any book and lose myself on a desert island, in space or any other place. I can be accompanied on my travels by characters from the past, present or future.

Whilst you're alone, you also not. Humanity is all around as they sit and read - you can just feel the knowledge moving around in the air.

And there's the kids zone which is full of squeals, giggles and laughter as the adults re-discover the books from their childhood.

Haven chosen three books (always three, two to read and one just in case) we pop upstairs to Clark's Cafe to rest some more with coffee, Phoenix Cola and a sausage roll.

So we urge you all to take time out in your busy lives to re-discover the restful areas of our city, give yourself a little time to just be and let it happen around you once in a while.

Enjoy your sanctuary.

Ready to Roll

Despite the fact that it's New Zealand Music Month, there's no shame in celebrating the fact that the #1 and #2 spots in the New Zealand album charts are taken up by Wellington bands.

Wellington's original and now reborn rock riff-meisters Shihad's sixth album Love is the New Hate is being kept at only being kept at bay from the top spot by local, and very laidback, soul-dub-reagge legends Fat Freddy's Drop, whose debut studio album Based on a True Story is the first locally-produced indie-distributed album to go straight to #1 on its first week of release in this country.

And with the release of The Phoenix Foundation's second album Pegasus tomorrow (Mon 16 May 2005), there's the chance we may see three albums from local bands occupying the upper reaches of the album charts for a few weeks to come.

Shihad, Fat Freddy's Drop and The Phoenix Foundation will all be touring soon, and we guarantee* that at least one of the bands is likely to fall into your potential gig-going parameters, and that you will, indeed, enjoy the show.

* not an actual guarantee

investing for the future

There are many kinds of investments available on the market today: putting a little something aside for later can be very rewarding.

One of our favourite kinds is a bottle or two of nice wine. And where better to source your investment than just over the hill from Wellington, in Martinborough?

Set aside a Sunday. Haul yourself out of bed by about 10am; drive through the Hutt and onward, and by lunchtime you'll conveniently arrive in Martinborough for a spot of victuals. There's lots to choose from. Then cruise the vineyards, credit card in hand.

Make sure, of course, that you have a designated driver. Or, if you can't find anyone mug enough to be driver on a trip like this, seek some professional advice. Even better, save up and get in line for Toast Martinborough, a much anticipated annual wine festival.

And so, with time you can reap the rewards. Right at this moment, we are enjoying a nice bottle of 1994 Dry River Pinot Noir that we purchased nearly ten years ago: back in the PK era.

You don't need to be serious about wine to do this: we weren't. But whenever you get the opportunity to get hold of something you like, put some of it away. And like us, come a dull Saturday night sometime in the distant future you'll have something to sup on... once the kids have gone to bed.

Psst... wanna be a movie star?

48 Hours - Officially NZ's largest film competition.

Hundreds of teams of film-makers kick off tonight all around the country & finish on Sunday night.

Damian Christie suggests "if you're approached by a bedraggled film crew (the chances are high, there's a couple of hundred teams around the country), be nice to them, do what they want, and offer them a cuppa if you can."

To increase your chances, maybe hang around the Paramount Theatre in Courtenay Place, from about 6pm tonight, looking photogenic.

Failing that, be prepared during the rest of the weekend for whatever may happen...

And failing that even (you must be ugly & untalented), tickets for the heats (screening between May 19 & 24) go on sale from May 16th, and tickets for the City finals (May 29 at the Paramount) are on sale now.

The Grand Final is live on C4, 8pm Sunday June 12 (which coincidentally, is also Rose Pruning Day at the Botanic Gardens - more on that later).

So see you on the big screen?

Hurricanes down amongst the one-eye'd

If you're a rugby fan you'll know that the Hurricanes are already through to a semi-final to be played at either Christchurch or Sydney depending upon how the weekend pans out.

A win over the Crusaders this weekend would have a huge psychological advantage at this semi-final

To ensure some balance to the unbiased cheering the Wellingtonist has sent one of their loudest reporters south where he is already secretly camped amongst the 'one-eyed'. And he's not alone as reports come back of other Wellingtonians already arriving in the Garden City ready to cheer the 'Canes on to a second memorable win.

The latest team news is that both teams are resting key players with Tana not in contention and Jerry & Andrew (Hore) starting on the bench.

The Crusaders have Dan "Nice dags" Carter, Mose Tui'ali and Casey Laulala watching from the stands but keep an eye out for "Panadol" McCaw making a storming run off the bench at some point

Rumours that "Mad" Maxwell was to play but his Probation Officer isn't allowed to accompany him onto the field have been found to be untrue.

For those not at the game the Wellingtonist would like to point out excellent local screens at:

• The Black Harp
• Brewery Bar
• Shepherds Arms
• JJ Murphys (Cuba Mall)
  
• The Malthouse.

If you know of other fine rugby viewing venues then don't hesitate to pass it on

The Lions are coming: if you've not got yourself a ticket to the test here in Wellington then watch this space for news of an excellent event with a truly large screen.

Be The Difference: We believe in recycling

The Wellingtonist office (penthouse, with panoramic harbour views, and a helipad to which James & Natalie get dropped off from their weekly commute from Barbados... the rest of us park our matching porsches in the subterranean carpark downstairs...) received this email today.

It said to pass it on... and since we think it's a worthy cause... voila!

Hi Esteemed Wellingtonists,

We're Greater Wellington. This is our cheeky commercial that ran in cinemas last year, encouraging people to recycle and do their bit for Wellington region's environment, click the following link to view. We hope you enjoy watching it.

Now we're asking 'Be the Difference' members to forward this email to family or friends in the region and get them to join as well. To join or find out more visit: Be the Difference.

By joining before 7 June 2005, they could win the use a Honda Civic Hybrid for a year.

As a member, you're already in the draw for this exciting new car that combines a petrol engine with an electric motor to increase fuel efficiency and substantially reduce exhaust emissions, the biggest contributors to air pollution in our region. The Honda Hybrid produces less than 2% of the exhaust emissions than the average New Zealand car.

Send this on now to someone else who wants to keep the region great. Who knows, you or your friend could be exploring it in the Honda Civic Hybrid!

Visit Be the Difference for terms and conditions.

The Film Festival that lasts all year long...

We thought we'd be the first to post here actually. That's "we" because James has given strict instructions that there is no "I" in "Wellingtonist". Um... possibly he said it "starts with "we"". But anyway, it's clear already who the team players are, eh?

So we had this epiphany in the bath last night. (By all means avoid the wrong idea & look that up).

No. Actually, we wandered around town this lunchtime wondering what our first post would be about. Seeing as... it's unlikely it'll be about anything we'll actually be going to see. Contrary to Alan's assertion below, he's not the only ennui inducing, middle-aged gaseous emission. We are too.

But that doesn't mean there's not an awful lot going on that we'd like to go to. Feel we really should go to. But probably will never actually get around to. So do as we say... maybe. Not do as we do... certainly.

Anyway, if you really want to experience some of the delights that we actually experience very often... by all means take a stroll on a nice day around the Botanic Gardens. See the bare earth that in four months time will be wondrous fields of tulips. See the thousands of ducks in the pond who are sitting out the hunting season. See the boring old fart trying to restrain his slavering dog from getting in amongst them.

Or go to almost any shop & see the poster of the pretty ballerina striking a fetching, if unnatural pose, because we probably won't go & see the actual performance. Although we should really. So go! Someone's got to do it, or they'll go out of business & stop making those posters. You owe it to us. Really.

So we'll post about something that we do know a little about...

Fan of the Wellington Film Festival then? It's coming up quite soon... but consider this: There's a film festival that runs pretty much all year round (oh, OK, between March & November. It's even programmed by pretty much the same people who bring you the Film Festival.

It's the Wellington Film Society. To quote their brochure "Membership gives you free access to a wonderful range of local and foreign films that you won't see on the big screen anywhere else, as well as discounts at downtown cinemas. All full year members also qualify for generous discounts at the Wellington Film Festival in July."

It's easy to join - pick up a brochure from many places around town, or front up to any screening which are mostly held at the Paramount on Mondays at 6.15pm. It's not too late.

And what exactly will you be seeing this year if you rush down & join up?

Glad you asked.

The WFS is currently in the middle of a Yasujiro Uzo retrospective. Beautiful & moving, simple tales of Japanese life, in other words. The very next one to screen will be Ozu's most famous: Tokyo Story. It's on May 16.

The Ozu season runs till 30 May. By all means visit the WFS website & check out the rest of the year's coming attractions, and we will try & remind you by giving the Society a plug each month anyway.

The Wiggles; and an introduction

Hello. I'm Alan. You may remember me from such blogs as half-pie.

No? Oh.

James has added me to the roster of contributors, for which I am very flattered. I'm still figuring out what I could possibly relate about this fine city of ours that could be relevant and timely. And indeed, I was going to make excuses for my lack of with-it-ness by explaining that I'm just a suburban Dad-of-two, but as I think Mike, Andrew and James also fall into this broad category that's not going to work. Those three are all more with-it than I.

And then there's Joanna and Jessie on board too, hip young things both.

Oh well. Best foot forward and all that. Perhaps one of them can review tonight's Nick Cave gig for an old fogey that only found out about it after it had sold out?

And now, Wellingtonist hat on, we'd like to remind all the other Dads and Mums out there that those multi-coloured Beatles of the pre-school set, The Wiggles, return to Wellington for two shows at the Town Hall on June 10. Unlike Mr Cave's gig, neither show is sold out (yet).

Book at, er, Ticketek.

Flash Harry and OdESSA

As we've mentioned elsewhere, Flash Harry is without a doubt among our absolute all-time favourite Wellington acts. He's only done a handful of shows in Wellington, let's see... Cuba St Carnival last year - great fun!, a show at the Massey Bar - somewhat drunken on our part, and at the tsunami appeal gig at the Town Hall, headlined by Trinity Roots. There have been others, but we weren't there, so they don't count.

The good news is that Flash Harry and band the Future of Love are live and local this Friday at Bodega! HURRAH! Now there's something to come home to. The Future of Love includes members of one of the Wellingtonist's other favourite band, the Phoenix Foundation ... need we say more? Yes, actually. The Phoenix Foundation's album number two, Pegasus, comes out on Monday! We cannot contain our glee!

Flash Harry's eponymously titled debut album came out in early 2003, and it remains on high rotate in the Wellingtonist offices to this day. Yet another string to the bow of Barnaby Weir, also up for the top musician award at this year's bNets. The sound combines reggae, pop and electronica, and is perfectly finished by Weir's sexy vocals. We'd better stop it with the gushing or we'll start quoting lyrics...

As for OdESSA, we've seen them quite a few times too, and they always put on a great show. The sound is very funky, and lead man Matt sure knows how to move! Might be just about time to replace the suit, though.

Kaikohe Demolition

A reminder that the Film Archive's Media Theatre has a couple more screeings of the excellent Kaikohe Demolition documentary later this week, on Saturday 14 May at 6pm and 7:30pm.

...[A] documentary by intrepid New Zealand filmmaker Florian Habicht captures the gracefulness and poetry of demolition derbies. Ah, yes: there is a harsh, strangely lyrical beauty to be found at the speedway: the mangling impacts and hoicking engines; the expert hoons clustered 'round raised hoods; the lone girl standing at a wire mesh fence, solemnly licking an ice cream as she watches the carnage in the mud. Such is the beauty of Florian Habicht's documentary.

Entry is $8, or $6 for those eligible for a concession.

[via House of Evil Monkey]

a Beehive of Wellingtonista

Knowing full well how hard it is to maintain even a couple of blogs, we couldn't help but reach out, and pull a few of the finer Wellington bloggers into the digital quagmire with us.

So a welcome to those responsbile for Hubris, SunnyO, MiramarMike, The Backyard, and Half-Pie.

The obvious question arises. What is the collective name and plural of 'wellingtonist'?

1) A Beehive of Wellingtonists.
2) A Cafe of Wellingtonista.
3) Some Wellies.
4) A Villa of Nonhuttties.