Pat Hanly for instance – crib one of his paintings featuring sails, if Aklnd wants sails. The protest paintings against Muroroa, maybe, there's some stunning work which is suitably iconic.

His works are bright and zingy, he was an Aucklander most of his…

That Listener cover: "Did Hitler use P?"
They are taking the piss, right? Right?

They remembered it from a blog they read.

Giovanni: I know the wolf suckling Romulus and Remus, and Bull etc are iconic images for those cities, but all I could see when searching around for things with an official imprimatur were bland-looking coats of arms that didn't feature those images.

No, the symbols I have described are strongly…

My point is not that logos are useless, but that they don't deserve to have public resources thrown at them in any quantity. They don't actually contribute to the brand of the city, and the…

They are taking the piss, right? Right?

Cancelled my subscription in the nick of time!

They are taking the piss, right? Right?

And then change it back again when we lose it.

Maybe that's the answer for all cities – when you win the shield you get to make it your logo. It would be cheaper that way.

New York has a flag, a logo and a seal.

Wellington has lots of seals!

Could we change the Wellington one to incorporate the Ranfurly Shield in some way....

And then change it back again when we lose it.

but I also quite like the logo. It's certainly a lot livelier than ours.

Could we change the Wellington one to incorporate the Ranfurly Shield in some way....

Does London have a logo?

Does Paris have a logo?

Hell, does Sydney have a logo?

London, Yes

Paris, Yes

Sydney, Yes

I couldn't link to just the logo in the Sydney one, but you get the idea...
London's is pretty boring, but it is the offish logo.

http://sennoma.net/main/edits/Hicks.html

And what is the dominant letter for "Auckland" in all the languages of this city, not just English?

I'm not buying the idea that if another city doesn't have something that Auckland has, this means that Auckland is the one doing it wrong, not the other way around.

I agree. The logo is a stupid idea because it's a stupid idea, not because other cities aren't doing it.…

Does London have a logo?

If London has a logo, it's the Underground logo.

Does any city of any note anywhere in the world have a logo you can remember?

I'm not buying the idea that if another city doesn't have something that Auckland has, this means that Auckland is…

Does New York have a logo?
Does London have a logo?
Does Paris have a logo?
Hell, does Sydney have a logo?

I would be very surprised if London and Paris didn't have a logo, most European cities do. By way of example, Rome has two babies suckling on a…

(My tooth aches and I will not be seeing a dentist until later in the day. Crotchety commenting may result.)

I'm now stuck with this image of you having only one tooth.

Inasmuch as Pakeha culture has a charm, it is in reticence, self-deprecation, and litotes. Seen in this light the plain (but linguistically quirky) North Island and South Island are a perfect fit. Changing these names is consistent with the Roberts philosophy that if…

Does New York have a logo?

I believe Milton Glaser had a mildly successful stab at one.

Does London have a logo?

Does Paris have a logo?

Hell, does Sydney have a logo?

Does any city of any note anywhere in the world have a logo you can remember?

Logos are simply not a worthwhile civic amenity.

A man who can sincerely write "could we please have new names for the most exciting places with the dullest names on the globe, the North and South Islands" knows nothing about this country worth knowing.

I don't pay much attention to Roberts, but I've always thought the North and…

Now you mention it. I'm quite proud of this passage ...

And I'm dead impressed by your knowledge of lesbian sign language. The lesbians of my acquaintance have only taught me the sign for "go away you idiot" — which is formed by making a fist of your right hand,…

Remember this gem from Saatchi's seven years ago? Auckland only gets the best from Kevin.

Now you mention it. I'm quite proud of this passage ...

Auckland also, as of this week, has a new slogan. Joining such past classics as "Auckland – City of Lovers" is "Auckland A",…

Remember this gem from Saatchi's seven years ago? Auckland only gets the best from Kevin.

Also a useful reminder of how "odious" (a word RB used only twice – how restrained!) the National Party of Shipley, Creech, Sowry and Bradford was.

What an utter pack of wankers they were.

Remember this gem from Saatchi's seven years ago? Auckland only gets the best from Kevin.

Didn't Kevin appear on a panel type tv show (er, hosted by Robert Whatshisname, used to do the music show?) shortly after 9-11, and say that the best thing NZ could have done would be…

Don't tell anyone, but I actually really like that new logo.

Me too, all fibrous and technomological and volcanic. Although in my opinion the K is all wrong, should be less like an R with its head cut off. It's a pity cause it's a sweet font otherwise.

"Come to NZ and experience the thrill of testing dairy farm runoff"

"You're soaking in it!"

Muppet.

He's fun to take the piss out of, though.

Cos my big impression of Auckland is that as much as there are really glorious, beautiful parts of…

What's with the smarmy putdown on Kevin Roberts? I'd imagine it takes a special type of skill to get to his position, but I just skimmed The Edge speech that Russell linked to, and it seemed…

60,000 sailors, 130,000 boats, but more than a million people? Minority pursuit at best

Also, how many of those boats have sails and ever get taken out? I'm sure a lot of them are kayaks, tinnies (the boat sort), cabin cruisers, etc.

I think City of Rainbows would be a…

I would welcome any charitable foundation that sought to establish a peaceful asylum where the Friedmans and Roberts of this world could be confined, so that they…

But I do like the idea that there was a mouldering cough drop in the designer's rubbish bin.

I wonder if anyone has grumbled "fu**ing…

We’ve had big ideas in the past. Jean Batten had a really big idea.

Sir Edmund Hillary climbing Everest was a really big idea.

Nuclear Free New Zealand was a really big idea.

Winning…

I have not until this day had the chance to tell him how true he was.

My week is already a success for knowing this.