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Who’s Afraid of Ethical Non-Monogamy? The Invite is one of this year’s best (and funniest) films Mild spoilers ahead. Nobody in this damned country remembers Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, one of the last century’s nastiest and most nastily brilliant playscripts. An eviscerating document of a marriage falling apart at one epic dinner party in which nobody is allowed to leave (much less consume food), it's the closest literary antecedent to the latest Olivia

A feed for fuck-all Aunty Mena’s What: Vegetarian/Vegan Malaysian Price: $13.50 - $20.00+ When: 12:00 - 9:00pm, Monday - Saturday Homely and healthy, but keeping it budget is a struggle. ⭐⭐ Many of you will read today’s title and, being in your seventh month or umpteenth year of living in Wellington, ask, ‘he’s only just now discovered Aunty Mena’s?’ And to that I say a quiet ‘yeah…’ It’s been one of those places that I’ve heard a lot of other people’s good opinions about

This Unc is sad. Football is coming to a close, and by the time you read this, the FIFA Club World Cup will be over, the All Blacks will have absolutely annihilated Italy, and the Blues will have beaten the Maroons. Do you know what all these situations have in common? They’re full of people with drive, ambition, and the desire to do well—to change their lives and win a Cup, Trophy, or Shield for their country. Well, except for Italy. That was just a test match. These charact

Weekly Pacific Politics with Otis Whinney Aotearoa’s own Tāmaki Makaurau is often referred to as the largest Pacific city in the world, and there is much truth in that description. The city’s Pacific population exists in all corners of Aotearoa’s most populous city, but suburbs and neighborhoods within South Auckland have become the most famous examples of the Pacific community in the city. Māngere, Manurewa, and Takānini in particular have become significant targets for a ce

Bi-Weekly Game Reviews I’m cheating a little bit with this one, but look—I’ve played these games as far back as my earliest memories, they feel like two halves of a whole, and their recent ports bundle them together on the same cartridge. I feel justified in this. You’re never too old for Mario, no matter what anyone says, something the Super Mario Galaxy duology perfectly exemplifies. Across 91 different galaxies and hundreds of missions, you’ll run, jump, fight, and fly thr

Good news stories (and more) for the planet Kia ora, Salient reader! Welcome to our fortnightly column on the environment, sustainable living, and the small, stubborn act of hope amongst a world on fire! Check in every second week for waste-free recipes, genuinely good news, and practical ways to lend a hand—nudging a happier, healthier earth a little closer into view. Solar success! Renewable energy, the poster child of a clean green world. We can dream right? But what if w

A feed for fuck-all Jugnu’s Duniya What: South-Asian + ‘world’ cuisine Price: $5.00 - $10.00 When: 11:30am - 6:00pm, Monday - Sunday A nice idea for a very nice price, but overreaching. ⭐⭐ There’s a new kid on Cuba Street, who might make you double-take, and then double-take again. Just up from the Bucket Fountain, left of the red brick podium that hosts a weekly rotation of swing dance groups, high school buskers, and Falun Gong protesters, sits Jugnu’s Little India. Or wh

What to watch on Welly’s local streaming service This week's focus: animation! Though this genre has become somewhat synonymous with family-friendly films (which do deserve credit themselves—The LEGO Batman Movie (2017) is in my top 4, after all), animation can also feature adult themes for older audiences such as yourselves to enjoy. This doesn’t necessarily mean sexy stuff—theres plenty of melancholia to go around. Arovision has a lovely selection of artsy animation, so go

Love, death, and the very essence and origin of hard rock. Taine Knox for The Mindstate. The disbanding of legendary band Cream in 1968 changed music history. The supergroup featured Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker, who all went on to have solo careers of their own—to varying degrees of success—while others were left in the fallout. One such example was their producer and frequent collaborator Felix Pappalardi—a man who would go on to lead a career which was, more

Hunk Unc: i wanna start fwb with this guy but we live together and he’s my ex’s best friend - how cooked am i Before we begin, this Unc has unfortunately gotten into the FIFA, so expect a few references throughout. I’m sorry. I contain multitudes now. Well, I think the question is this: how much do you want to burn bridges with your ex? Because, realistically, that’s what you’re asking me. This is not just a harmless little situationship. This is you voluntarily walking into

Speaker 1 (Regular) Speaker 2 (a newbie) Dear dating diary, As of late, my wonderful friend (who is co-writing this with me) and I have been humbled by men who frankly care a little too much. I was casually seeing this one guy from uni and we had gone on one (1!!!) date before both going to the same gig (separately, of course). We spent some time together that evening before parting ways and never texting again. I felt completely and utterly okay about this; it was a mutual

Madonna’s dance music has always been social. This might sound obvious; isn’t all dance music social?; aren’t dance floors literally composed of a mass of people? But if you’ve been to a techno or trance gig recently you might be able to hear the difference. (And see the difference, too; as in, a disconcertingly large number of promising young lads slumped over in a K-hole.) Some dance floors are focussed on a self-pleasure kind of hedonism, where the dissolution of oneself i

MDMA (molly, MD, or 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine when it’s in trouble) is an empathogen that increases the feel-good chemicals in your body, mainly serotonin. KnowYourYes MDMA increases empathy and enhances sensations like touch and taste, so it is important to remember that consent is key! Your boundaries might get a little fuzzier than normal, so before taking any substance, keep these things in mind: “What does my yes look like?” What will you say yes to? Is yes eve

I Got My Driver’s License Five Years Ago Olivia Rodrigo’s you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love First impressions matter. Olivia Rodrigo introduced herself to the world with the late-pandemic smash “drivers license", a beautifully accomplished ballad replete with an eat-your-heart-out bridge where the bottled up emotions of the verse and chorus are spilled out in a gory half-time. If the song up until that point seems a little one-note, that’s largely Rodrigo’s point: she

By Will Tickner, Tam Maxwell, and Teg Ward Within the span of a week, I’ll be trying to accomplish a long-term task just to see if it’s possible, and to see what I can get out of it. Life lessons, skills, resilience training? The stimulation alone should be enough motivation. During an event last year, I had to move a big load of tables and chairs from Fairlie Terrace to the Memorial Theatre. What I thought was a ten-minute trip turned into a half-hour sweat-fest of cussing a

A feed for fuck-all Welcome back folks! It’s been a little while since we were last here, since I’ve had to sit down to a meal not for enjoyment or pleasure, but for work. Woe is me. For those like me who have no clue what happened last trimester, or for those new students who’ve stepped in mid-year, here’s a ranking of the places I covered in my last twelve eleven columns. This tier-list is reasonably subjective, but know that value reigns supreme. After the cost-per-bite fa

Good news stories (and more) for the planet Kia ora, Salient reader! Welcome to our fortnightly column on the environment, sustainable living, and the small, stubborn act of hope amongst a world on fire! Check in every second week for waste-free recipes, genuinely good news, and practical ways to lend a hand—nudging a happier, healthier earth a little closer into view. Waste-free recipe of the week: The easiest homemade muesli recipe you can find!1 big jar of oats (screw mea

Ciph’s Cabinet Bi-Weekly Game Reviews Christopher Curtis I’ve been waiting for the day I get to talk about this game. One of my biggest gripes with modern gaming culture is the tolerance towards unfinished products and reliance on patches to alter games post-release, allegedly creating a “better experience”, whatever that means. Rivals of Aether II is the sole exception. Forced to release early and to focus on competitive appeal meant I couldn’t freely recommend it, but it ha