COLUMNS

Bi-Weekly Game Reviews Christopher Curtis Full disclaimer:  I didn’t grow up with Sonic the Hedgehog , in either its 2D or 3D incarnations. The series' identity, then, isn't firmly established in my mind. But games within a long-running franchise don't need to remain stagnant, and while Sonic has often tripped and stumbled in an attempt to evolve, it hasn't been without success.  Sonic CD, which I see as a kind of mirror image to Sonic 2,  perfectly exemplifies the many forms

“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.” This week I set out on an adventure I’m proud of: trying a coffee from every store on Cuba Street. This has been on my bucket list since I moved to Welly, and as a caffeine fiend I usually have about 2-3 cups a day. I made the rules easy enough

A feed for fuck-all Continuing on from last week’s Munch, here are further variations on a theme of sandwich.  Where’s Charlie?  What: Bánh Mì.   Price: $15.00 When: 11:00–2:00pm; Monday–Friday.  A golden -brown shell hiding limp lies and dissatisfaction.  ⭐ Pōneke loves its Vietnamese food; between Kent Terrace and Lambton Quay one might pass (in no particular order) The Old Quarter, Apache, Pho Viet, Lemongrass Kitchen, Nam D, Go Vietnam, Go Vietnam (again), Saigon Taste, S

Record Roundup  2charm: star scum city  These two tatted, shirtless, Australian party boys (who, on the DL, had been flirting with dance music for a decade already as part of the indie outfit Cub Sport) seemed to have come out of nowhere and told us they were the progenitors of a brand new genre, ‘Gooner Pop’. I mean, I first heard of this duo in the pages of Butt Magazine , for Christ’s sake. But the album they turned out has less to do with, I dunno, having epic chemsex at

Right, no one panic, but we’re a month through the semester. This is a mighty stumbling block, where early morning lecture attendance falters and ‘recommended’ readings fade into obscurity. These are the days where you figure out exactly how long it takes to roll out of bed and into your lecture, squeezing out every second of sleep you can get. Or… I do, anyway.  Making your lunch at home is, inevitably, sacrificed to efficiency. Hands down the thriftiest of meals, I don’t wa

Matagi Vitolio   Nō Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi Te Rangi, Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngā Pōtiki, Tūhourangi, Ngāti Wahiao, & Ngāti Hāmoa  Biodiversity is a core characteristic of New Zealand. This is especially confronting when your international flight makes  landfall and they deploy their routine aerosol sprays down the aisles, getting into every corner and crevice of the cabin. This treasuring of Aotearoa’s biodiversity is not unwarranted — it deserves the manaaki and support that is eternal

What to watch on Welly’s local streaming service  In honour of Salient’s  Queer Issue, I’m back to recommend some fun, freaky, feeling-forward queer films available to stream on Arovision. Split the rental cost with your friends, flatmates, or polycule and enjoy a full range of emotions. Go to   ondemand.arovideo.co.nz and get watching! I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987) —  $6 dir. Patricia Rozema, Canada “and those mermaids… were the cocteau twins” —  karwaiwong, Letter

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. This week, I challenged myself to beat Facebook Marketplace. I’ve never really liked using it—aside from occasionally browsing flat listings—but after discovering the “ One Red Paperclip ” story, I felt inspired. In 2005, Canadian blogger Kyle Ma

Welcome back to Munch, where I have startling news. Certain readers of my work have made crude insinuations about the content of my first column, claiming to find lewd double-meanings within my diction. I have chosen not to engage with such libel and will continue to publish my humble guide to eating out with honesty and innocence. However, this week we will deviate slightly.  Pōneke is a beautiful city this time of year and—as the adage goes—you simply can’t beat it on a goo

Hunk Unc:  For convenience, I’ve taken to shitting in the shower and forcing it down the drain. I think my flatmates are on to me but I’m so embarrassed I don’t know how to come clean. What do I do??? Hunk Unc:  I keep putting buttered sausages between my cheeks because it feels so good but I’ve started to notice I’m having more and more intolerance to dairy and my dad is a dairy farmer who always sends cheese down and I’d miss it a lot, I’m conflicted, should I stop? This we

Baby, What Was That?  How Heated Rivalry helped us talk about sex  Mild spoilers ahead.  A number of major album releases last week—Mitski, Gorillaz, Bruno Mars, Bill Calahan, 2charm—but I’m putting them all on hold to cover Heated Rivalry this Sex Week, the softcore-porno-turned-character-drama that captivated the zeitgeist last December. There’s a lot to say about the show as a “phenomenon” generally: how it came together on a shoestring budget; was shot at speed over the s

Anti , Revisited Ten years later, Rihanna’s finest hour begins to sound more and more like her final It’s been ten years without new Rihanna music. To people my age, that might not feel like such a statement. We spent our teenage years seeing the star as everything but a studio musician: as a makeup tycoon, a lingerie designer, an actress, a Super Bowl Halftime Show, a mother, a billionaire, a Jonathan Anderson fan. So it’s hard for me to imagine or to reconstruct that moment

If you’re on a dating app—or honestly just trying to meet anyone—it’s pretty likely you’ll end up getting ghosted at some point. The 21st century gave us great things: streaming, online shopping, and food delivery at 1am…but it also gave us some proper rubbish ones. Ghosting being right up there. Your Hunk Unc has done his time in the trenches of the dating apps, and here’s the reality: it’s hard. So hard, in fact, this Hunk eventually jumped off them, worked on himself over

Holly Rowsell Content Warning: Anti-trans Rhetoric, State Violence (ICE),  Epstein. The state of media ownership is pretty fucking dim right now. Most of the major streamers are owned by mega-rich, MAGA sympathizing white guys who are carefully orchestrating the mass monopolisation of media. These are modern-day super-villians, and each year they’re getting bolder. For anyone unfamiliar, here's a recap of their greatest hits:  Warner Bros. Studio, who we can thank for the big

Guy van Egmond Little Penang What: Nyonya (Chinese-Malay-Javanese fusion) Price: $8.00-$17.00 When: Open for lunch and dinner, Monday–Saturday My one true love, my ride or die. The place to go for a hug on a plate.  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ God bless Little Penang and its delicious, liberally–portioned plates of Peranakan perfection. This shining beacon of a restaurant will be 15 years old this year, but might as well have existed forever. There’s something that I can never quite pinpoint that

Tēnā koutou katoa,   Nau mai haere mai ki te Whare Wānanga o Te Herenga Waka!   Ko Ngāi Tauira mātou!   We are the Māori Students Association here at Te Herenga Waka. Our purpose is to enhance all that tauira Māori experience during their study.  We provide support with hauora, promote academic success, encourage whakawhānaunga, and engage with cultural kaupapa. We provide a voice and advocate for tauira Māori at Victoria University of Wellington and also promote Te Tiriti o

Jackson McCarthy New True Romance  Charli xcx’s Wuthering Heights looks to the past to find a future  “Can I speak to you privately for a moment? / I just want to explain”. So begins Charli xcx’s ninth studio album, in a huskily-voiced spoken-word piece by John Cale (The Velvet Underground). But that opening track, ‘House’, with its creep and crescendo, its screams and distortions, is about as dark as Wuthering Heights gets.  Though it’s been conceived of as a companion piece

Guy van Egmond Nau mai and welkom to Munch , your weekly guide to a bite to eat that won’t devour your budget. I’ll be your taste-tester of Wellington’s finest frugality; your penny-pinching truffle-pig to hunt down dining deals. My appetite is both discerning and decent, so if I’m full, trust that you will be too. But besides taste and portions, I also want to share the places in town that look after you—that feel homely (or surprisingly swanky)—and those that make their mea

Hunk Unc: How do I know my friendships are good and healthy? Most people don’t realise a friendship’s off because something bad  happens. They realise because something small keeps happening. You catch the bus home and feel oddly flat. You lie in bed replaying a conversation. You feel more tired after hanging out than you did before—that’s usually the first sign. Good friendships don’t leave you feeling like you’ve just done a full-body session you didn’t consent to. I had a

Shay McEwan (Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki, Ngāti Pāhauwera, Ngāti Porou) As we head into the final stretch of classes for trimester two, I wanted to take a moment to pause and reflect on how the year has been. Initially I thought it would be a fun idea to speak on my own experiences. Instead, I was lucky enough to be surrounded by a wonderful bunch of tauira in the wharekai of Ngā Mokopuna. While sitting down with them, I was able to ask about their experiences, how the year has been

Column by ISO Socialism can be a suspicious kind of politics. You’ll often find someone trailing the money, or exposing some hidden...

By VUW International Socialists / ISO Is there any point in voting in local elections?  Yes! And  let’s stay active in other ways too....

Mark your calendars, foodies, because National Dumpling Day is back on September  26! This year, we’re leveling up the celebrations with...

Almost two years into the current genocide Israeli soldiers and officials celebrate the destruction of Gaza, and deny the destruction of Gaza. New Zealand politicians advocate for America’s “rules-based order” while America facilitates war crimes.

Words by: Ursula Holmes If you’re a frequent visitor to Unity Books Willis Street there's little doubt that you’ve perused the pillar of...

Nā Kaea Hudson (Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Awa, Tūhoe)  From the 18th-24th of September, Ngā Rangahautira took a delegation of senior Māori law...

By VUW International Socialists / ISO ACT leader David Seymour, Labour leader Chris Hipkins, and National leader Christopher Luxon all...

By Pōneke Anti-Fascist Coalition It goes without saying at this point: trans communities are under attack. Around the world, our lives...

By VUW International Socialists (ISO) Every Pride month, the world becomes swamped with rainbow merchandise and generically queer slogans...

Law & Disorder (VUWCC) What happens when a group of law students decide to take on the world's worst polluters? They trigger the most...

By VUW International Socialists / ISO As promised, the Government is putting more cops on the streets. Green MP Tamatha Paul caught flack...

Ngāi Tauira Column, Shay McEwan (she/her) Te Whānau-a-Kai, Ngāti Pāhauwera, Ngāti Porou. For many student associations, preparing for a...

Ah, the mid-degree crisis—a proud tradition right up there with oversleeping lectures and pretending to understand Student Finance when...

By Pōneke Anti-fascist Coalition Life can feel a bit overwhelming these days. But sometimes, the simplest acts, like sharing kai, can...

By VUW International Socialists / ISO Last month more than 36,000 nurses, midwives, health care assistants and kaimahi hauora voted to...

By VUW International Socialists / ISO We hear all the time that socialism is “when the government does stuff”, but is that actually true?...

Column by: Climate Clinic VUW Was your last essay a work of Chat-GPT? Or break up text for that matter? Generative AI is inescapable, and...

The first time I was introduced to Islam was through a terrorist joke.  Just a kid playing Halo  on my Dad’s Xbox 360, on a tiny TV in...

Whether you like to go out on the town, or a relaxed Sunday Brunch, Wellington has entertainment for everyone. With a vast selection of...

It began probably sometime in the 1800s across the United Kingdom as a collection of words borrowed from other languages and slangs

Solomon Islands & Niue

Over 200,000 Kiwis are registered in the long Covid registry. We’re out here—just struggling in silence. 

We are all pre-disabled. The notion of a liveable life is always connected to an able body.

The Toroa and Blue Duck debate the pros and cons of a job at the student rag

Sextortion, a form of online blackmail, is on the rise, affecting many students who are vulnerable to online threats.

Though AI is a tool that can be utilized for the greater good, using AI to write your essays is 100% using it for the greater bad.

Welcome back to Salient’s Pacific language learning!

Ngā Taura Umanga (NTU) was established in 2006 to encourage, support, and advocate for the needs of tauira Māori studying any commerce paper

Nō te tau 2006 whakarewahia ai a Ngā Taura Umanga hei whakatenatena, hei tautoko, hei hāpai/taunaki hoki i ngā hiahia o ngā tauira Māori

“E tama mā, e hine mā. Tērā te atua e pātai mai ki a koutou, I pēwhea e koutou te reo rangatira i hoatungia nā e au, ki a koutou”