#go markets nz

[bcacstuff]

So what is going on with Sam and Graham? What is the discord about? I’ve seen bits and pieces of information but having a hard time putting it all together. And how is Steven Cree involved? Thanks new tumblr member!

Of course I can only guess what has gone on behind closed doors, and that's what i already did about a year ago, when Graham started to launch his booze.

All when Graham launched his booze and at the same time the Clanlands book NZ version would be released, and book events would take place in Edinburgh and London.

While before Sam always liked Graham's posts and often there would be some banter, I noticed how he stopped doing so and not tagged Graham in his posts about the Clanlands book posts. Which led to some more discussion here and here (please read those posts, as I don't see any reason to rehash it all)

Also noticeable was that they didn't record the audible together (while for both previous books they did and there was always a post or even a video about it), and even signing the books was not done together but a day apart at the same location. Their posts and promo for the book events looks like they both did it on their own way without any cooperation. Graham still liked Sam's post and commented on it, but Sam never did answer or acknowledged Graham's post. He never breathe a word about Grahams booze while I'm sure Graham would have sent him some, as Sam did in the past to Graham who did post about Sam's booze back then.

So, to me it all looks like it has a lot to do with Graham launching his booze, and perhaps (but I can only speculate) about that, the way Graham sort of combined it with the launch of the books. Graham did some events on his own as well in Edinburgh around the book events. They did the events together, but people started noticing that something was off between them. Curiously no mention about any of their booze. (while in the past Sam's whisky was always mentioned)

Another thing I noticed was how Graham started to collaborate with the Bourbon with Friends podcast guys. They are the ones that maintain the IG account and marketing (in a more professional way than Sam's marketing imo). In the past these guys had an interview with Sam about his whisky, and tried hard to get involved in his business, which Sam never agreed to. Since they are involved with Graham's brand, Sam unfollowed them (already before he started to unfollow many accounts recently)

What Cree has to do with it, I don't know. I was a bit surprised myself how he 'dished' Graham last weekend to be honest. Cree has always been Sam's friend, so much I know. And for sure they talk about things. But I can't tell you if it had anything to do with Sam's 'distance' from Graham

His 'rant' was about a project Graham asked financial support for and received much from the OL fandom. The project never saw the light and the money was never returned to the ones that donated. It still is there:

You can read the comments of which the last ones aren't that mild on the link

[sgiandubh]

Caitriona didn’t mention Tony. Seems the ‘reporter’ utilized Google. 😂

Dear Didn't Mention Anon,

It's always a sarcastic pleasure to see tension climbing for literally nothing across the street. Some other Brazilian Anon, just like you (best way to convey your thoughts was, in proper English, 'the reporter used Google' - not the Portuguese semantic calque 'utilized'...), even speculated we must be hiding this shattering press article, since no reaction and/or discussion happened as of yet.

Brazilian Anons would certainly have made better use of their time and grey cells if they simply presumed that in another time zone people really have other (simple and boring and prehaps even endearing) things to do. While Brazilan Anons were probably sleeping or having breakfast, someone else was just about to end a shorter Friday work schedule, buy Chinese takeaway on the way home, have a light lunch, take out Baby the Lab for a short pee stroll around the block. And mercifully collapse in flannel sheets for a blessed siesta, waiting for the first snowy day of the year. But enough about me, Anon, you are not here for this: you are here for that article - https://www.mindfood.com/article/caitriona-balfe-looks-ahead-to-life-after-outlander/

It is also an amusing factoid that C's PR and/or *** very often seem to favor second-tier media outlets in order to keep spreading around the Narrative Word. Pinoy regional gazettes, borderline clickbait/gossip websites and now Mindfood, a vanity/hybrid press magazine based and edited in New Zealand and Australia by McHugh Media Group, which main activity, at least in Oz, is (🥁🥁)...paper mills and paper manufacturing - of course.

[Source: https://www.dnb.com/business-directory/company-profiles.mchugh_media_australia_pty_limited.6ded585ed8e21b347589059682b44143.html]

Within that group, the Mindfood project is but an apparently lucrative subsidiary ('integrated media company', LOL), despite some dire client reviews ( 2 out of a resounding global 3, how odd!) on Google:

'Rank amateur's' [sic!] (...) What sort of magazine publisher doesn't have a manned office? (...) They'll go broke very quickly like that.' '(...)pretty shabby treatment of a customer.'

😱😱😱

But let's assume I am twisting again the plot (I don't, I do not need to). Let's assume I am evil like that and I give credence to two very negative (but brutally clear, too) user reviews only. Perhaps I am wrong, you might say. So, let's also have a look at some company figures, shall we?

Nay contest, it's them.

[Source: https://rocketreach.co/mchugh-media-profile_b5d2097af42e3bbb]

Now, my lovelies, how can I put it without offending anyone? What we are looking at, here, is a small company with 5 (five) employees, few web hits (164.480 hits is ridiculous, when we are talking about press/media!), but a comfortable revenue (7 million AUD - about 4.5 million USD). May I remind you that a company's revenue is roughly its gross income, before subtracting operating costs, wages and taxes. But given they have only 5 employees, wage expenses & operating costs must be marginal and taxes are rather friendly in New Zealand, where their HQ is (to the point there was, three years ago, an ongoing debate in order to determine if the country was a tax haven: https://thespinoff.co.nz/business/06-10-2021/is-nz-a-tax-haven-for-the-rich-and-dodgy-the-pandora-papers-reignite-the-debate), you do the maths. Therefore, how can this rather substantial profit be explained, otherwise than by a very friendly editorial policy towards paid and/or sponsored content and product placement galore (Lifestyle, anyone)?

Its immediate competitor is a supermarket chain in-house bulletin/leaflet, Campbell's Cash & Carry. The kind of thing that always lands somehow in your shopping bag and then directly in the kitchen trash:

This is enough to show their real reach and place on the market, I believe.

All this for what, Madam Knife? All this to say that paper is probably paid by the talent's PR/***. I will not go into useless detail, because there is very few new-ish/relevant information (e.g.: 'With a long season seven concluding in January, the Outlander epic will close out within the next 18 months, taking the episode total to 101. '). But I will, gleefully even, point out two tiny details, all of you patiently read this long rant for, in fact.

As always, McGill doesn't even deserve a quote, only reported speech that is, in fact, snowballing prior reference (this is exactly where copy/paste comes in very handy, you see). And a clumsy one at that, sugar on top - hence the copy/paste certainty and this is so, so rude, I could cry (nope...):

But... but... such a nice, thoughtful touch for her Stans, who spent DAYS in a row proving he was not a music producer, but the Night Media Manager (and I have to say, delivered actual quotes - still No Face, No Name, No Number, though):

[Tait rhymes with hate, alright - I know, darlings, it pisses you off to no tomorrow 😉.]

Copy paste/Goes to waste. Finally, I had to snort (not a pretty, nor feminine sight) when I realized Mindfood takes its readers for complete, amnesic idiots:

So she became 'a mother in August of 2021', but she did film 'the sixth season of the drama while pregnant'. Granted, this paper is written for casual OL viewers, the kind of people who did find C interesting/beautiful/clever/extraordinary, but who don't remember her name when prompted on candid camera, for example. The kind of superficial audience who will never do the maths and never question the fact a pregnant actress was filming beautiful (but steamy) scenes with her... ahem... with her co-star she is now 'consciously uncoupling' from.

ROFLMAO.

Not even sorry for the length, Anon. There you go, let's say good bye with a merry little song - I am told I have the best tunes on Tumblr (SMH). Really, Mindfood's client could have curated and tailored better the Retconning Operation - but perhaps even PR has trouble taking that man and his narrative role seriously?

[zahri-melitor]

If you want to read comics and you want to test the waters:-

Yes, RCO and clones exist, everyone uses them, I do it weekly too for titles I cannot access any other way (The Warlord) but let me tell you, it’s not the only option, particularly if you want to read reasonably modern comics back issues rather than deliberately suppressed obscure stuff. Plus, don’t you want to look at comics without worrying about getting viruses?

Your Local Library: your library probably has comics as trade paperbacks, and inter library loan will have more. It’s not the most consistent way to find things, but you should definitely look them up, there’s probably something there you’d be interested in reading. Good for having multiple presses, and most take suggestions for their collections, which is a slow but free way to read titles with highly detailed art like Wonder Woman Historia in person.

Digital libraries: my local libraries have ComicsPlus subscriptions, which I can use for free. Now you won’t get DC or Marvel on them, but BOOM!, Dark Horse, Image, Oni Press, Papercutz? All options. A really helpful way to easily sample other presses.

Internet Archive Library: the IA is again going to have an eclectic collection and be difficult to search, but it’s there and it has a lot of stuff and you’re not going to be worrying about computer viruses.

DCUI: if you’re in US, UK, Canada, AU or NZ, you can get a DCUI account. There’s a free trial available of course, and if what you’re interested in trying was published more than 6 months ago, you don’t even need to shell out for Ultra. It costs me less than a Netflix subscription per month, even for Ultra. There’s also a small handful of comics you’ll be able to access for free without ANY subscription - essentially advertising for new runs etc.

MU: just like DCUI, only Marvel, and available more places. Also runs on a subscription model. MU also has the quirk that you can manage digital ownership of individual issues also through their app (if you buy Marvel floppies there is a mechanism to obtain a legal digital copy within ~6 months of the publication date)

Local Comics Shops: you can also…buy floppies and trade paperbacks for yourself. If you really love a story and it’s out in trade, I highly recommend buying it for yourself to have forever. It just sidesteps so many future problems. An LCS is also more likely to have a back catalogue of titles available - if you’re looking for a trade published 8 years ago, they might have it while an ordinary bookshop won’t. If you’re less certain, events like Free Comic Book Day and Batman Day are largely a marketing exercise more than new original material these days, but they’re also a good way to get to handle and own actual comic books if you’ve never done that before.

Other bookshops: if you don’t have a local bookshop with a specialist comics and manga collection (I do) it’s going to be a bit like trying to find comics at your local library: you’ll see lots of stuff with Batman and Joker in the title, and a random selection of anything else. Sometimes you can get surprisingly good deals from them as collectors are less likely to use them to get titles.

Overstock/Remainder Sellers: always worth a look, particularly if you’re trying to pick up titles printed several years ago. My local one has found some absolute gems for me, at a significant discount (I have picked up parts of Dixon’s Nightwing run, Bennett’s Batwoman run, Rowell’s Runaways, some Wonder Woman trades from Rucka and Perez, Gotham Central, I just managed to get the second n52 Blue Beetle trade…)

EBay/second hand shops/Abebooks/Biblio: a decent way to measure what the actual value of a comic title is on the second hand market. Sometimes you can find that the market value is far lower than you expected (Cassie’s Wonder Girl series is remarkably affordable). In other occasions you realise DC is leaving a LOT of money on the table by not reprinting (look up Red Robin trade prices and weep).

Friends: do you know anyone else who likes comics? They may already own stuff they can loan to you! (Once I lent out my Birds of Prey collection to a friend and he returned it with the first two n52 titles added. Still unsure if that was meant to be a kindness or just letting me store them)

[ataliagold]

Hello!

Thought it was about time I introduce myself and link all my fics in one place, so here we go, in the order I wrote them.

I'm from New Zealand (I try hard to keep NZ slang/terms out of fics but sometimes they slip in...sorry!) am 30, autistic and pan...

I only write Steddie, I enjoy AU's, Steve whump, hurt/comfort and fluff, so there's alot of that here. Animals often feature strongly in my fics too, because I love them.

Fics below the cut, all complete unless specified:

Multi Chapter:

The Wreckage Of You I No Longer Reside In -

Rating - M, W/C - 55,708

Steve had escaped an abusive relationship with Billy three years ago, fleeing in the middle of the night with his young son, Dustin. Working odd jobs and struggling to get by, Steve catches the eye of music teacher Eddie Munson. But when Steve's dark past crashes back into his life again, will Steve be able to find a reason to stop running?

You Fell, I Caught You -

Rating - T, W/C - 8621

How many ways can a camping trip go wrong? When Steve agrees to take the kids on a short trip, he finds out.

Hopefully, I Won't Wake Up This Time -

Rating - T, W/C - 4029

While everyone moves on around him, Steve finds himself stuck, pushing his friends away and turning to alcohol to cope. Eddie intervenes.

Love Like Ghosts -

Rating - E, W/C - 10k + (still updating)

Three months after the main gate opened and Eddie died, Steve is not ok. His bat bites refuse to heal, and his dreams are haunted each night by a shadowy creature. After hearing Eddie's voice, Steve clings to a shred of hope that perhaps he is alive somewhere, and is determined to find him even if it's the last thing he does.

Oh Darling, Please Be Mine -

Rating - M, W/C - 56,249

Eddie brings six dumped kittens into the vet clinic Steve works at. Steve falls in love.

I Can Wait For You At The Bottom -

Rating - M, W/C - 57,524

Steve drives to an isolated cabin intending to end it all. He wasn't counting on a desperate boy breaking into the cabin on the same night.

I Need You To See Me For What I Have Become -

Rating - M, W/C - 5604

The car came around the corner both suddenly and in slow motion at the same time.

Steve saw the headlights, registered it approaching at speed, heard the blare of the horn, but it was as if he was watching from far away, not in his body. He stood stock still even as his brain screamed at him to move.

The impact knocked him down, sending him lurching across the surface of the road, skin giving way against asphalt, and suddenly he was in a dry lake bed being dragged across rough ground like a fish on a hook.

My, My, Those Eyes Like Fire -

Rating - M, W/C - 65,433

When Steve and Dustin are captured by King Munson, their home destroyed by his army, Steve fights for their lives in the arena every day. He captures the eye of Prince Edward who is immediately intrigued by Steve's refusal to give in and the sheer fury with which he fights. Edward, whose father had slaughtered Steve's family and burnt his home to the ground.

Edward, who should be his sworn enemy, but may now be his only way to stay alive.

Keep My Hand In Yours -

Rating - M, W/C - 91,714

The entire world fell apart just over a year ago.

Steve's just trying to get by on his own, on a desperate mission to find his best friend.

Enter Eddie Munson.

We Made Universes Out Of Bitten Lips And Broken Hands -

Rating - M, W/C - 65,770

Steve is working with the Wild Horse Inmate Rehabilitation Program. He's good at his job, exceptional with the horses, and makes sure to keep a healthy detachment from the inmates he works with...

...until Eddie Munson.

the edges of your soul i haven't seen yet -

Rating - T, W/C - 50k + (still updating)

Eddie's reluctantly helping Wayne with his produce stall at the farmers' market. He's resigned himself to a boring summer - until a new face shows up at the market to run a baking stall with his best friend. Steve is...odd, like no one Eddie's ever met.

And it doesn't take him long to fall head over heels for him.

Oneshots:

"But You Love Me?"..."Always" -

Rating - T, W/C - 6026

“Oh, I told him not to order the chicken, the dingus…”

When Steve Harrington is struck down by a nasty case of food poisoning, Eddie does his best to take care of him, but ends up calling in backup in the form of Joyce Byers.

We Were Gods, We Were Kids -

Rating - G, W/C - 1595

Steve suffers from migraines.

Luckily for him, he doesn't have to suffer alone anymore.

My Heart Has Changed And My Soul Has Changed -

Rating - T, W/C - 1797

Steve helps Hopper stack firewood at the cabin. The two have a much-needed talk.

I'm Naming The Stars In The Sky After You -

Rating - T, W/C - 2074

In the aftermath of Vecna, Steve is struggling. Eddie looks after him.

But My Heart Is Just A Little Boy -

Rating - T, W/C - 2017

Steve wanted to surprise Eddie by joining in on D&D. Unfortunately, he's struggling with the math involved, and the kids aren't making it any easier.

Found -

Rating - T, W/C - 1787

Steve has been frantically looking for his missing cat for nearly a week, when he receives a voicemail from a stranger.

Knocking Me Out With Those American Thighs -

Rating - T, W/C - 850

Steve sunbathes in the tiniest shorts Hawkins has ever seen. Eddie tries and fails to keep his cool.

The Night Belongs To You -

Rating - T, W/C - 2004

It's the night before Eddie is leaving Hawkins. Things between him and Steve come to a head.

Sip The Sunlight From Your Eyes -

Rating - G, W/C - 706

The whole gang has gathered at Steve's place for a summer BBQ. Part way through, Eddie realizes Steve is missing, and finds him fast asleep in the midday sun.

All Along The Watchtower -

Rating - T, W/C - 1578

In the aftermath of the partial destruction of Hawkins, some of the group find a new home in a bunker outside what’s left of the town.

Steve has the night watch.

I Can't Hide From You Like I Hide From Myself -

Rating - T, W/C - 1535

Both suffering from the flu, Steve and Eddie aren't doing the best. Robin steps in.

Flowers In Your Hair -

Rating - G, W/C - 1250

Eddie enlists some help to find the perfect flowers for Steve. Despite his own insecurities, Eddie is learning that his boyfriend loves soft things.

you told me once that i'm selfish (and i kissed you hard, in the dark) -

Rating - G, W/C - 1452

Steve is used to spending time doing what Eddie wants to do. On a hot summer afternoon, the tables are turned when Steve asks Eddie to go hiking with him and Eddie is...not so thrilled about it.

Under July Stars That Would Glow Like Sparks -

Rating - G, W/C - 1243

At the end of their final summer in Hawkins, Steve and Eddie spend a bittersweet evening catching fireflies with Dustin.

Slippery When Wet -

Rating - M, W/C - 967

On a sweltering July afternoon, Eddie watches Steve practicing basketball with Lucas, and struggles to keep his hands off him.

I'll Sing Silence -

Rating - T, W/C - 2702

A series of unfortunate events leads to a bad day for Steve. Luckily, Eddie's there to take care of him.

Or Maybe We Don't -

Rating - G, W/C - 1289

Steve wanted to be Eddies.

It's the final day of Steve and Eddie's summer trip, and Steve has something he needs to tell Eddie.

Keep Me Afloat -

Rating - G, W/C - 1735

Standing in ankle-deep water watching his friends enjoy a summer beach day, Steve looks down at himself and hates what he sees.

I Just Wanna Get To Know Ya -

Rating - T, W/C - 1289

Dustin convinces Eddie to drive them to the indoor climbing gym where his old babysitter works. Eddie's reluctant at first, but changes his tune when he lays eyes on the instructor...

Drove Through Ghosts To Get Here -

Rating - T, W/C - 1237

During his last summer in Hawkins, Steve teaches Robin how to drive.

If Love Was Contagious I Might Be Immune To It -

Rating - T, W/C - 1914

Steve's early life is mostly devoid of love - until Eddie Munson.

He Loves My Heart Shaped Sunglasses -

Rating - G, W/C - 938

Steve's at a barbeque with his friends when he's hit with the painful consequences of too much sun.

I Want Ours To Be An Endless Song -

Rating - T, W/C - 1257

Eddie's been trying for months to keep his feelings for Steve in check. But unbeknownst to Eddie, Steve's taken him on a date.

Boy Don't You Worry, You'll Find Yourself -

Rating - T, W/C - 3879

Steve joins Wayne and Eddie on their fishing trip. He and Wayne have a much-needed talk.

Come Back Home For The Lightning Chase -

Rating - T, W/C - 1311

Several years after the death of Vecna, Steve and Eddie return to Hawkins during a summer storm.

Spirits Follow Me Where I Go -

Rating - T, W/C - 2156

Steve takes Eddie kayaking, and experiences a panic attack while on the water.

When The Night Was Full Of Terrors -

Rating - T, W/C - 8048

A camping trip goes seriously wrong for Eddie and Steve.

Show Me Yours And I'll Show You Mine -

Rating - T, W/C - 1882

Eddie is self-conscious about his scars. Steve shows him he doesn't have to be.

you're the only one who knows, you slow it down -

Rating - T, W/C - 1800

Eddie's at a farmers market when he's approached by a very determined black and white cat. On a whim, he follows him to a young man having a panic attack in the woods.

and the moonlight baby shows you what's real -

Rating - T, W/C - 1103

In the aftermath of Vecna, Steve's left with a variety of issues, including frequent episodes of sleep paralysis. Luckily, he doesn't have to suffer through them alone.

you still dance but you're out of time -

Rating - T, W/C - 3181

Until now, nobody's worked out that Steve's essentially homeless, living in his car. But one night, when Steve's cold and alone and in pain, Hopper chances across him.

trouble's always gonna find you baby, but so am i -

Rating - T, W/C - 1555

Steve's found by some men looking to pass Al Munson's drug debt on to his son.

But he'll die before he gives Eddie up.

Series:

It Was Always Burning -

Firefighter AU, collection of 66 (so far) oneshots in this universe, some written by floralsunrise. Ratings range G - M.

[brakingpoint]

wait, i'm totally out of the loop. what is the gossip? (if you don't want to post it publicly I can message you privately too)

well according to the new zealand herald, which i'm sure is a completely neutral publication when it comes to news and speculation about kiwi athletes, helmut marko has given ricciardo an ultimatum that if he doesn't perform in the next two (2) races he will be replaced by liam lawson for the rest of the season. now obviously ric has not been performing spectacularly this year so far (with that said, although yuki has outqualified him 3-0 so far australia is, importantly, the first race where he has actually finished several positions below yuki; even without the team orders bullshit in bahrain they'd likely only have been 1-2 positions apart at the end), and red bull are no strangers to a mid season driver swap, but also

1) delivering this ultimatum 3 races in to be executed by race 6 would be extremely early even by red bull's standards, and especially when it comes to booting a longstanding red bull darling who is also one of the sport's main marketing forces at a time when the red bull industrial complex frankly needs all the positive PR spin it can get

2) the nz herald is not usually regarded as a notable source for f1 gossip, and is obviously not going to be a neutral source when it comes to making a kiwi driver look really good and in high demand (esp if they get to slander an aussie at the same time lol) - why would they be the ones to hear about & report on this speculation first when they are not really any kind of prominent voice in f1 journalism?

anyway it's mostly people on twitter moreso than tumblr getting overexcited about this but it does tickle me how like, genuinely every other week people forget how to look out for reputable sources of news and speculation when it comes to f1 drama

[chaithetics]

american anon. i am not white but i am usually white passing in most contexts. my most important question is about the direction of democracy there. (also i heard a lot of conservative Americans moved to NZ because they made up some fetishized version of it in their head and imagined it as a white haven or something; is that true?) but also yeah would be interested to hear about the current government's social policies.

Yes! That is true, a lot of Americans think this is some white utopia! And I've even seen some who moved here on tik tok say that racism doesn't exist here because you can actually see Māori when you go outside 🙃

We're in a cost of living crisis, unemployment is up, job ads are down, there are cuts in every industry, massive ones in education and the public sector, it's so crowded people with postgraduate degrees are struggling to get basic office jobs and even retail jobs, not even specialist roles to their degrees. House and renting market is insane. You would need a guaranteed job and supported financial system to financially do it here. It's not an environment you could come to right now and 'wing it'.

We have the highest incarceration rate of indigenous women in the world (yep! We're even beating the US there!), Māori are overrepresented in the justice system as prisoners, victims, and offenders. Māori have poorer health and education outcomes. Overpolicing exists and I even have stories of uncles and cousins who have experienced police violence in 'the modern era' like millenial family members.

Over four years (2020-2024) we had over 14,000 hate crimes reported to police. Between 2022-2024 more than a third of reported hate crimes targeted people of Asian descent. Between 2022-2023, Muslims reported 205 hate crimes, that's just over one every two days and Muslims don't even make up 1.5% of our population! Pasifika communities experience racism, our incoming Deputy Prime Minister, David Seymour made a joke on live radio about how he'd like to blow up the Ministry for Pacific Peoples (which IS a government agency and he was an MP then too) last year BEFORE the election and there were no repercussions. The current government has no interest in racism except enabling it, they've demolished a group that were investigating hate crimes and white supremacy, the Māori Health Authority which was established to promote better health outcomes for Māori, want freedom of speech laws to pass and make Universities have to agree to uphold freedom of speech policies to receive funding. They're changing the tertiary and primary education landscape with no thought for learners or educators. They're destroying the tertiary education sector and creating so many job losses that'll also have intergenerational losses for the students who won't get qualifications and training, especially in the trades sector. What they're planning to do, over 90% of our polytechs won't survive.

Gender affirming healthcare is extremely inaccessible here, some schools still don't allow students to use the bathroom or wear the uniform that matches their identity. NZ First want to make it illegal for trans women to use women facilities and for sports to be based on biological sex assigned at birth rather than gender identity and are disguising their transphobia as 'concern for women's safety and wellbeing' when every single man in their party voted against abortion law reform to decriminalise it a couple of years ago.

We're moving more to privatisation of prisons, more prisons being built, youth boot camps being set up for young people, especially Māori. One of the parties in government, NZ First, is very much interested in trying to make prison slave labour part of their punishment and accountability.

Education and healthcare is fucked with cuts and legislation. So many teachers and healthcare workers have moved to Australia. They've done cuts to make it harder for people to use childcare services, families are struggling whether they work or not. They're trying to force people to not work from home.

Our PM has said he won't touch the abortion legislation but he has said in the past that abortion is "tantamount to murder". Our incoming Deputy PM is the reason why it's legal for people to harass people at abortion and gynecological healthcare providers, because it's freedom of speech.

There are so many bills going through to kill the environment and just make money. It's damaging for the environment and Māori as the land is part of us and we are her privileged caretakers. There's too many bills there to name. There are some conflicts of interest that are getting involved with this.

Our cabinet is stupid, those ministers are only doing work that is a waste of time and money. It's people establishing unnecessary projects to waste taxpayers money and boost their ego and dissolving other ones for the same reason.

This country is a racist place. These are just vague brief points and I honestly just don't have the brain to type up more. It's four am, I want to not be stressed and sleep. I hope you're having a nice morning. And I do not want to hear something like "oh it's so much better than america though!/shut up and be grateful!" because it is a DISGUSTING time to be Māori here, we are being told that we do not matter and are second-grade citizens in our own country.

[louisisalarrie]

I must say that best was panic in between hairballs after louis' mexico concert. I know it maybe wasnt 70k people on the end (32k is still massive in my opinion) but how they were stressed that louis can have this big audition ( it was really near to harrys numbers, and they live in their own fantasy that harry is something better than others) , they spreaded lies about people going random around and whatever they could think right from their ass. Even if all these people on videos were AI it worth it....and dont take me wrong im very proud of harry and his succes, it is only about this type of his "fans"

hehehe I love watching them scramble. it’s the same when we get some solid larry proof, it is so very funny.

but yes, I don’t think he’s very proud of the way his fans treat people. There are a lot of them that are great, don’t get me wrong, one of my best friends (who also works in the industry) is a MAJOR harrie. like… followed him around AU & NZ to go to all of his shows etc. (respectfully like not camping out his hotel just going to the shows), and she’s also an anti. but she does not say a single disrespectful thing about Louis and has seen all harry, louis, and niall’s solo shows. she’s a stan, but has really stayed away from the toxicity. it’s possible to be a fucking beautiful and lovely human while also being a solo harrie, but fuck, so many people are so far from it.

and twitter is a major factor for that. back in the day, whatever we wrote on twitter, we risked the boys seeing it, so even when things got heated, we kept in mind they could reply to us at any time and call us out if necessary. hence why all the chaos was on tumblr.

but the boys did in fact see so much and respond to so much - we used twitter to tweet at them more than each other. but now, it’s a vacuum hellscape and FULL of bots, folks who shouldn’t be allowed in any fandom, and politics. it’s icky. and that change, obviously came with the way Twitter started being used for marketing purposes only, and an influx of solos when 1d went on hiatus. instead of waiting for the boys to jump online and start a twitcam, or fighting the beliebers, all we get now is promo, or a half hearted q&a which is usually just to push a stunt, and our for you pages just don’t align with what we want to see. Everything is an argument.

But my point is that, while they probably do take a solid amount of time off Twitter because it is such a hellscape, they would check, and be told by their pr coordinators, as to what’s going on. harry would see his fandom fucking creating hurt and chaos and divide, and his response has been ‘treat people with kindness’, which is as diplomatic as he can be without causing more chaos. But those fans just… ignore that. And half the time they don’t even treat HIM with kindness, is the most embarrassing fandom I’ve ever seen.

Every fan in the 1d days had their fave boy, and it was NOTHING like this. I didn’t yell at someone who loved zayn because I loved niall, we were just all there together, fucking supporting these terrible, terrible dancers as a team. sorry but fandoms just don’t have the same community vibe they used to. The only consistently loving and supportive and sweet people I’ve seen throughout all these years are larries (I’m sure there are a couple instigators, but overall).

anyway sorry I really ended up floating away here but yes, they have a severe superiority complex that goes hand in hand with their insecurities.

[goldenpinof]

I used to send a bunch of asks to you during WAD about logistical shit and I remember how you (we) stayed up late during that one show in NZ when it was storming crazy and no one knew if the show would go on or if it was cancelled. Anyway bad times but also not because they're good times and I can't wait for the chaos of this tour but dear lord better management and marketing pls

yaaaas, 4 am, checking all updates and seeing Elton John's concert being cancelled by the same promoters. and praying for any updates on wad. crazy times!

i hope you are sending me any mild and big logistical shit about this tour. i'm not ready for this mess, but we're gonna do it.

[ms-demeanor]

Hiya,

Hope your day is going well. You are The Computer Lady who has Knowledge and is Very Nice.

Mum needs a new laptop, she doesn't want to spend a lot of money (NZD350) but will nonstop complain if it is slow. She only uses it for internet things like banking or word.

Help? She keeps asking me questions and I don't know anything!

So the quick answer is that she's not going to get anything decent for that price; I just did a check of PBTech NZ for the type of specs that I'd recommend the absolute minimum that I'd say is okay costs around $700 (and that's even going to a lower-end processor because it doesn't sound like she's a heavy user).

$350NZD converted to USD is about $210, and that's about what you'd expect to pay out of pocket for a cheap smartphone. You can get chromebooks for that price, but they are going to be pretty slow at anything that requires multi-tasking, and they won't have any amount of storage on the device.

However, depending on how old her device is, anything made in the last three years will be faster than what she's got, so it might be worthwhile to get anything at all.

This is probably going to be the fastest computer you can get that's close to budget: https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NBKLEN820064/Lenovo-100e-G3-Chromebook-116-HD-Intel-Celeron-N51

And it looks like they've got a lightly-used floor model for sale that comes in just under her limit: https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/NBKLEN820064/Lenovo-100e-G3-Chromebook-116-HD-Intel-Celeron-N51?type=ex-demo

I don't know if that's a reasonable place for you to purchase a computer, but shopping internationally and not being familiar with the markets there this is the best I can do.

If you do go out looking for something similar to this the one thing I think your mom really should stick to is at least 8GB of RAM. All of the processors in that price range are going to be somewhat slow, but she's going to be much happier if she can get 8GB RAM instead of 4GB.

(AARGH i meant to answer this privately if you want me to delete the post let me know and I will)

[ornerykarakul]

Going to have a little grump fest here but

I spent my lunch break going to the local Gong Cha because their delivery app said they had the collab drinks. I get there and that girl had no fucking idea what I was talking about. There are only 2 other locations in my city and they're about 30 min away.

It's crap enough that AU gets overlooked for everything, but then when we do finally get a collab we don't get the keychains, we have extremely limited supply, zero marketing from Gong Cha AU, and not even clear understanding of which locations are participating.

How hard is it to just make a list of confirmed participating locations?

Why can NZ have silly novelty plastic keychains but AU is left out?

SE region favoritism is so goddamn annoying and they shit the bed with every single collab like this.

[tloaak]

long time political and ideological rivals Helen Clark and Don Brash have issued a joint statement of deep concern (text included below) in regard to current NZ Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's comments in a recent interview with the Financial Times. in her interview with Radio New Zealand today, she specifically highlighted the risks - diplomatic, military, and economic - of deploying NZDF personnel to the South China Sea. Luxon had indicated to the Financial Times - announcing for the first time publicly - that his government intents to complete a “status of visiting forces agreement” with the Philippines by the end of the year.

“Prime Minister is jeopardising both New Zealand’s independent foreign policy and its economic security” Statement from Rt Hon Helen Clark and Dr Don Brash. 16 July 2024 “Just one month after the New Zealand Government  hosted the Chinese Premier in New Zealand, and with no hint of a major change in New Zealand foreign policy in the National Party’s election campaign last year, the Prime Minister’s comments to the Financial Times strongly suggest that he has abandoned New Zealand’s independent foreign policy”, said former Prime Minister Helen Clark and former Leader of the National Party Don Brash.  “In his interview with the Financial Times, the Prime Minister spoke of New Zealand defence assets being a “force multiplier” for Australia, the United States, and others; of completing a “status of visiting forces agreement” with the Philippines which would facilitate New Zealand making military deployments there; of boosting defence spending at a time when public spending is under pressure; and of continuing to “name and shame” China for alleged spying. He also asserted that New Zealand is “very open” to participating in the second pillar of AUKUS – a position which goes well beyond “exploring” options for engagement with it.  “These statements orient New Zealand towards being a full-fledged military ally of the United States, with the implication that New Zealand will increasingly be dragged into US-China competition, including militarily in the South China Sea. While the rhetoric from both sides is heightened, it must be noted that the US is demanding that China accept the presence of US naval forces in its vicinity in a way which the US itself would not for a moment accept if the boot were on the other foot. “Does China spy on New Zealand?  Almost certainly, just as the US, the UK, and countless others, including New Zealand, spy on other countries. Is China the only country spying on New Zealand, and is it only governments that engage in spying? Almost certainly not. The obsessive focus on spying by China suggests an agenda going beyond alerting and equipping New Zealanders to better manage all relevant risks. “China not only poses no military threat to New Zealand, but it is also by a very substantial margin our biggest export market – more than twice as important as an export market for New Zealand as the US is.  “New Zealand has a huge stake in maintaining a cordial relationship with China.  It will be difficult, if not impossible, to maintain such a relationship if the Government continues to align its positioning with that of the United States.  “New Zealand has for decades sought engagement with China and its inclusion in the international system. A policy of isolating China serves no one’s interests, and has major implications for New Zealand’s economic security. “A better approach would be to follow the example of Singapore – friendly to both China and the US, but definitely not in a treaty relationship with either. The course which the New Zealand Government is now taking, with no electoral mandate for a radical change to foreign policy, carries huge risks to our country”, Helen Clark and Don Brash said.

[oldphanny]

I'm honestly perplexed by the Tenacious D news. I could understand cancelling the tour for safety concerns in the US (considering it was marketed as 'go vote' promotion), but to can the whole Australian and New Zealand leg and then putting the band on hiatus indefinitely seems completely blown out of proportion. Bad joke? Absolutely. But wow, I really didn't expect this kind of aftermath.

I honestly didn't find out about what happened until JB made his statement on Instagram which was hours after the newcastle show got 'postponed' like an hour before doors opened. KG has since apologised too, so it really seems excessive to cancel the aus/nz leg completely. Postpone for safety? Yes, I can understand that considering the weight of the joke and the current political landscape. But you're in a country on the opposite side of the globe, idk.

I'm interested to see if anything else comes out or whether that's just the end of Tenacious D all together.

[ginnyzero]

dwf-24-3-nz asked:

In one of your videos on creative writing you suggested an author should read contemporary works in the genre he/she wishes to write. For myself, I tend to read fiction - mostly supernatural - written in the nineteenth and early to mid twentieth century. There is a reason for this: I don't like graphic horror and needless sex and violence; also I have the fear of hitting upon an idea of mine in whatever I read which induces me to reject that idea for fear of plagiarism. Would you regard this as negative and self-defeating? Or should I just go ahead and turn my ideas into writing - despite coming across similar ideas in stories I've read?

Okay, the short answers to "is this negative and self-defeating?" is Yes. And "Should I turn my ideas into writing?" is Yes.

Long answers after the Read More.

If you have any plans whatsoever in querying traditional publishers here in the US and the UK, you need to read contemporary supernatural horror. For 2 reasons. 1) you need to know today's writing voice. Poe and Lovecraft won't sell in today's market. 2) Comps. You need to know who your writing style is like within the last 5 years that aren't on the bestseller lists. Agents will ask this. It's a check of your ego, and if you're paying attention to today's publishing. They want to know if your work will sell by who you think your books are like either content or stylistically. If you say "my books are like Lovecraft" you're going into the bin.

Now, on the creative side. Don't worry about anyone else's ideas. This is the stuffman's 2 cakes comic. The reader is going to be happy there are 2 cakes, or there's a cake without icing (graphic violence horror and sex!) (My librarian would like to talk to you. My area hates graphic sex.)

Ideas aren't copyrightable. Only the execution of ideas is copyrightable. Don't worry about plagiarism if you find the same "core idea." What you are looking is, "are you subverting" the idea? Are you doing something new? When John Carter came out as a book, it was revolutionary. By the time it got a movie, people called the movie cliche and trite. Because Burroughs ideas had become so fundamental to the genre, everyone uses them.

Creatively, you need to know the "rules" of your genre by today's standards so you can choose to either follow the "rules" or deliberately break them. There's a fine line of 'staying in the box' and cliche. (In Urban Fantasy, this would be "my mentor has been killed and I've been framed. I must solve the murder and clear my name without being caught!" That's cliche at this point.)

If you have a library nearby, talk to your librarian about supernatural horror without sex or graphic violence. You're looking at a very niche genre compared to thrillers etc.

I'll do a video on this later, it will be a few weeks. Please check out my "Is there a thing as bad ideas?" video coming out today, 9/7/2023. (USA date order) It might help you.

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

We obviously still don't (and likely will never) know the actual reason for Louis' Asia leg cancellation, there are many options, but it does seem reasonably likely at this point that it had something to do with the touring economics. Do you think that if that was the case, we'll see some kind of change in his promo strategy going forward?

So I'm not quite sure what you mean anon - what aspect of Louis' promo strategy are you thinking of?

The issue with touring economics at the moment is that costs are soaring on all fronts and there are lots of acts out on the road at the same time, which puts the squeeze on both venues and customers (as well as contributing to the increase in all sorts of other costs). For most artists tis means that it's important to tour as economically as possible.

What stands out to me about the leg that has been cancelled is that it's not the most economical way of touring that part of the world. It's stand-alone, rather than sharing costs with Australia (and hopefully NZ). It doesn't seem to have hit all the key markets in the area - let alone nearby key markets that he may want to expand into. He has talked about touring in India, if that's going to be economical the transport costs are going to have to be shared with the wider region.

I don't think fandom discussion of touring pays much attention to the actual economics of touring. I've seen a lot of fear that Louis might cancel dates with low ticket sales in the US. But that's really not how it works. Every day on the road costs money - if you have a gig in one city, then a rest day, then a gig in another city, then a gig in the third city - tour tour saves very little money by cancelling the other gig. You still have to pay for all your crew every day, you still have to pay for the transportation costs, you still have to pay for the equipment rental for the entire time. A low selling gig will always be much better economically than a cancelled gig. The importance of playing the dates was demonstrated when Louis and Harry cancelled Canadian dates because of the different pandemic restrictions - in each case a US date was booked relatively last minute.

I'm sure they're constantly evaluating their promo strategy - but I think promo strategy for touring is much more mundane and technical than what fans think of when they talk about 'promo strategy'. The goal of tour promo is to get people who are already engaged with an artist to buy tickets. There's probably a lot of discussion of things like the relative value of different social media advertising and the best use of newsletters. I assume that's not what you meant, but I don't really see what you could have meant.

[thejewitches]

places a kiss on your foreheads. shipping to nz and aus i am begging

There is nothing we would love more...But here is the thing:

We've been monitoring the prices and it isn't getting any cheaper--We tested out a recent small shipment that was less than 1 lb. It was a small box (6x4.5x4.5) and the shipping for Priority International (which comes with insurance & total tracking, as the cheaper option only tracks when USPS has it and will not track all the way to you, plus takes between 1-4+ weeks) costs a whopping $57.98 when going to NZ or Aus.

The original price for the order being shipped was $34, so you would be spending nearly double on shipping. Here are two more examples:

Our smallest package, say for a single deck, still came out to $57.98 in shipping.

For a larger package that weighed about 4lb 15oz, 12.75"x 6.5x6.5", it came out to $101.42

If you are wondering how other businesses are able to ship internationally without being so astronomically expensive there are three answers:

Eating the cost. Some businesses are willing to lose money in order to maintain a monopoly on your business and maintain brand awareness and popularity. The money, however much it is, is made up for in brand awareness and whatever business they may get by you posting about it, sharing with friends, etc. We simply cannot do that at this point in time.

Access to Shipping Secrets. It sounds sketchy, but it isn't really--it is just not something we have access to. Brands like Shmamazon have their own trucks, but so do many, many others--and if they don't have their own shipping methods, they have access to companies that provide massive discounts on their shipping.

Shipping Money Baked In. We try to keep our prices as low as possible and our products as accessible as possible. Our prices have stayed nearly the same over the last two years, even though prices around us are rising. Very early on we asked our customers "would you rather have cheaper pricing and pay for shipping or higher pricing and no shipping" and the answer was clear. Despite the marketing thought process of hiding the pricing in the product, we decided we wanted transparency by simply charging for shipping...Even though there are still times we end up paying for shipping, even if it is just a small portion.

Bottom line: We have opened up shipping...but it is expensive and we more than understand if it isn't in your price range!

[louisisalarrie]

Hey lovely. Wanted to ask you this as you work in the industry but who funds Louis’ tour? Is that the record company or is he doing it himself? And who pays his band, manager etc? I’m just curious as to how much support he’s getting from his record label or if he’s really doing a lot of self funding.

Hello, my love! I’m gonna try and explain this the simplest way possible so I don’t get into too much jargon and make you read a 3,000 word essay hehe. Also, contracts can all vary, but this is the most standard way of touring when it comes to big artists. Let’s goooooo!

Okay, SO, when a big artist (or band) go on tour, they will 99.9% of the time have a contractual Agreement with a concert promoter, this includes the likes of Australian exclusive promoter TEG (who Niall is touring Australia with this year), international promoter Live Nation (Harry toured worldwide with them, Louis did Australia/Asia with them and probably worldwide too because of global deals), Australia/NZ exclusive promoter Frontier Touring (T Swift for Australia, but she was with Live Nation in the US) and there are many other promoters worldwide too. You’ll see on some specific marketing material that the artist and promoter put out, it will have their logo at the bottom of the tour poster, and shows they are what is called a “sponsor” or the concert promoter for this tour. See examples of this below:

^ niall’s Australian tour with TEG live on the bottom right

^ one of Harry’s US posters with Live Nation at the bottom

^louis’ Singapore tour poster, also with Live Nation at the bottom

So basically, what these concert promoters do, is sponsor the artist. That means, the booking agent/tour manager will sign a contract with whichever promoter offers the best deal, and will tour with them. The reason why they sign up for a tour with a promoter, is because the promoter provides a safety net, and takes care of a lot of the things that come with touring that the artist and their team don’t wanna think about organising, and so they let them do it for them. This includes stuff like paying and organising crewing teams and riggers and those guys, work Visas to get into the country, marketing, venues and available dates for shows, catering, sound/lights/backline/LED, rent costs for the venue, security, flights, accommodation, etc., which is negotiated per the contractual Agreement.

The tour manager of the artist also works really closely with these guys to approve any staging, catering, or locally rented lighting rigs and all that specific fun stuff that the artist doesn’t travel with, but is particular about to make the shows/tour exactly how they want them (this will be in their production rider and hospitality rider that they supply the promoter with).

Let’s say, for example, Niall really wants to stay in a specific 5 star hotel in Brisbane, he wants a flight to Aus at a very particular time on a very specific date, he wants to bring 40 crew members with him, he needs a specific set of lights and a particular sound desk at each show (bc he’s my little drama queen). Him and his team are super busy on the other side of the world, they just don’t have time to organise all of that. It would be constant emails and phone calls back and forth with quotes, availability, submitting 40 work Visa applications, multiple suppliers saying “yes we can do that” and “no we can’t”, time zones, etc., so why not sign up with a promoter and let them do it for him?

So now, we get into the money side of things. Sure, niall knows he will make money if he tours without a promoter, he knows he’ll sell tickets in Aus, and he knows that he’d probably come out with a profit. But apart from not wanting to organise and spending a heap of money on all of this stuff, is it worth touring if he doesn’t think it’ll be sustainable and he’s basically lost money from doing it? No, it’s not. SO promoters know this, and they all fight for artists to sign with them, by offering up the biggest guarantee they can. This is often a guarantee vs ticket sales scenario.

So, if TEG were like “hey niall, we’ll guarantee you $800,000 to tour with us, or, 80% of ticket sales, whichever amount is higher”. A guarantee means he’s not relying on ticket sales alone. He knows that if none of his shows sell out and less people come than he thought, he’s still gonna get $800,000. Or, if he sells a heap of tickets, he gets more than that, yay! But if Frontier Touring were like “nah, come with us, we’ll give you $700,000 vs 90% of ticket sales, he’d have to consider the fact he might not make as much money, unless he really trusts that all of his shows sell out. So they usually go with whoever can give a higher guarantee.

Now, within these deals, sometimes the higher the guarantee, the more the artist has to pay for themselves (I’m keeping this at like… what a Harry/Niall/Louis level deal would kind of be, not like an Elton John level or something, because that would probably vary entirely). So, Niall has been guaranteed this insane amount of money, but TEG are then like “well… we’ll do all of this and you know you’re making money, but we do have a budget. So you can pay for your flights and work visas, and everything that you want that is above our budget cap, but we will try to keep everything under budget unless you approve to pay more for a specific thing you want”. Ya know? So yeah, Niall is like “hell yeah dudes, sounds good. Sign me up”. And then it’s all a bunch of finance organising etc., but yeah. Usually the smaller the band, the more they’ll pay for if they go with a promoter, because the promoter doesn’t want to take too many risks on them and still needs to make money. They’ll still get a guarantee, but will have to sort out more by themselves, and not treated exactly like royalty like Harry would be.

So long story short, the concert promoter funded Louis’ tour, and probably organised just about everything. The concert promoter sends the money to Louis’ agent (whether it be the guarantee or higher due to ticket sales), and they divide that amount to him, his manager (which is usually 15-20% but can differ with how famous the artist is), anyone else involved in contracts for % of touring, and then happy days. The tour is over and everything has been a lot easier than the tour manager(s) having to organise it all by themselves, and risk losing a bunch of money in doing so.

Thanks for the q, anon! Let me know if you need clarification on anything xx