#too bad i live in NZ

[bigshot-furbiestm]

im living out my snail farmer dreams guys!!!!

my goal is to be a random npc with a snail farm so you can do snail races and also send love letters to my crush for me

[rojichu]

I really wish they sold my meds in coated pill form here!!!! I accidentally tasted them as I tried to swallow them today!!! Nasty!!!!! The US pharma industry sucks but at least my meds came in actual pills when I lived there

[xclowniex]

from a realistic point of view, i dont see how zionism doesnt lead to non-jewish palestinian death or at least repression. if you have a state which has it enshrined in its founding documentation that it is For "Jewish People" (israel has been carefree about fucking over people they dont consider to be Jewish in the right way). two state solution doesnt even solve it since the assumption is just to have another israel and shove all the people they dont think count as jews over to palestinian state and pretend like they didnt just make an ethnostate

The reason you do not see how it doesn't lead to palestinian death is because on a fundamental level, you do not understand zionism from a jewish perspective.

Jews can and have, taken DNA tests and proved that we are descdant from cannanites who lived in Southern Levant. There is history too proving our orign from the region. A lot of jews were forced out due to various empires wanting to kill us, however some jews remained in the region.

Zionism is simply about self determination for jews as one of the indigenous peoples to the region. It does not inherently imply that palestinians are not indigenous as you can very much have two indigenous groups in a region, eg Moriori and Maori for example, both are indigenous to land which is part of New Zealand, but are two different groups.

I'm not going to say that no zionist ever wants harm to palestinians as there are, however the majority of zionists want a two state solution or a land for all solution (which is different to a one state solution of israel or palestine).

Indigenous groups do deserve self determination. This applies to all indigenous groups world wide. One indigenous group gaining self determination does not inherently harm another group of people, indigenous or not.

Ideologies can be implemented badly and not mean that the inherent concept is bad. For example, communism. No country has ever sucessfully implemented communism as they never leave the transition phase without something going wrong. Saying that zionism always hurts palestinians is like saying that communism is inherently genocidal because of China and Russia.

There are plenty of zionist solutions which does not harm palestinians which are deemed as ideal solutions by zionists, such as versions of a two state solution and land for all solutions.

Israel is also not an ethnostate. The percentage of israeli jews is almost equal to those who are New Zealand European in NZ, yet no one calls NZ an ethnostate. There are plenty of other countries whose majority population is around a similar percentage of 70% - 75% of a country and that country does not get called an ethnostate. Either, all countries with the majority ethnicity percentage above are ethnostates, or the threshold percentage needs to be higher for a country to be an ethno state, or if its only Israel who is an ethnostate and other countries with similar percentage are not, then you hold an antisemitic belief as the only jewish state should not be an exception for purely being a jewish state.

I would also like to touch on yoru usage of "non-jewish palestinian".

Whilst palestinian jews do exist (and I do know one personally), they are a very small minority of palestinians. It is illegal to be jewish in Gaza and the West Bank, so there are no rabbi's there for palestinians to convert. So I am very confused as to what you mean as there are no palestinian jews in palestine, and those that exist in the diaspora are a minority in both aspects, so whilst they deserve recognising and care, your wording is very strange and dogwhistle like. The reason I say dog whistle like, is because it is a common dog whistle for people to say that palestinians are the real jews and who we refer to as jews today are fake jews, which is obviously antisemitic.

[sapphia]

The Right Are Engineering A Recession In NZ

tumblr isn't very good at local news, which is why i tend to get my nz politics information from elsewhere. so i can confidently tell you that aotearoa under national is totally, utterly fucked. like, not just in terms of all the social progress they plan to undo, though they do very much do plan to do all of that.

national+act+nzfirst have committed to a financial policy that makes zero fucking economic sense. you know how every time the economy is in bad shape, tories sieze the good economic opportunity to slash services or give tax cuts to the rich? imagine if that was happening for just no reason at all. there’s no crisis we’re facing this would even marginally help, but that's what nact+nzfs tax cut policy is anyway.

aotearoa is currently in a cost of living crisis, like much of the world, and our inflation is, to give it it's technical term, "sticky". This means that it's not still shooting up the graph like crazy, but it should have started to go down more by now according to predictions, but it hasn't, and is sitting at an unsustainably high level.

Inflation is bad because it eats away at the value of your money (not something you want generally) but this inflation is especially bad because it's inflation we created to ward off a recession back in 2020. NZ had the hardest and fastest lockdowns in the world, but at a huge cost -- our economy basically stopped overnight. Without goods and services being bought and sold, we would have been plunged into a financial crisis. But instead the government borrowed money to fund the wage subsidy and pay workers through the lockdowns, injecting money into and stimulating the economy.

This was a bill that was always going to come back to bite us, and for the past several years, the Labour government and the Reserve Bank had been playing a balacing game with our economy, steering us between a recession and a wage-price inflation spiral, with a recession definitely being the preferable one of the two. We actually had short soft one that we’ve come out of, exactly what Grant Robertson and Adrien Orr were aiming for.

Recessions can be small or big - inflation spirals are usually just big. We wanted to aim for a "soft" landing recession by hiking interests rates just enough to bring inflation back under control. The Reserve Bank uses it's tool - the Official Cash Rate, or the OCR, which basically sets the price of interest rates across the country, and the government also can use it's powers to create monetary policy to help the economy. A lot of the criticism Labour received before losing the election was about overspending in areas post-pandemic, as putting money into the economy through government spend by using debt to fund it genuinely causes inflation.

What a government should do during a time of inflation is remove money from the economy. For example, a right wing government would often issue an austerity policy, where the cut the amount of government spending through slashing programmes, benefits, staff, etc etc. A government could also increase taxes so people have less money to spend, could pay down government debt, could invest the money into a fund (e.g. NZ has a superannuation fund that's designed to be eventually self-funding set up by Labour that National have paused payments on when getting into government). It doesn't matter too much what, theoretically speaking -- the point is to get the money out of the economy.

What you definitely, definitely don't want to do during a period of high and sticky inflation is put more money into the economy. That would do the opposite of what you want. Labour were rightfully (at some points) criticised for their inflationary policies. So you'd think National would take their criticisms of Labour’s debt blowout and start paying it down to show how responsible they are, right? No, they’re cutting taxes for (mostly) the wealthy while offsetting this with austerity measures to make this “fiscally neutral”. They will make up for the inflationary effects of doling out money to landlords by cutting back essential government services, trying to frame it as a personnel and budget blowout (it’s not) and saying Labour mismanaged the books and we are in terrible financial shape (we are not; we have a triple A credit rating).

And further, it’s becoming increasingly hard to ignore our infrastructure crisis at nearly every level and every location. Our water systems needs billions of dollars of investment that our councils can’t afford to borrow, our rates are shooting up (and so will our rents), our ferries are old and broken down and Nicola Willis Minister of Finance just canned the “too expensive” deal that was needed to replace them — with most of the money going to into wharf upgrades that are desperately needed. There was a huge sunk cost; we’re not going to be able to to buy shit now. The ferries link the North and the South Island and are vital infrastructure; when they break down (which they did multiple times last year) it causes chaos and brings things to a standstill.

Why are they doing this? Land. It’s always about fucking land. All of National have divested in shares and have bought into land under the guise of this removing the “conflict of interest” that would exist if they had invested into specific companies. The usual alternative that solves this is a blind trust, but that’s not what most of the caucus has money in. Luxon alone sold about 12 million dollars worth of Air NZ shares and now has a property profile worth 20+ million. Oh, and he’s charging the taxpayer $50,000 a year to live in his own house. Thats 2.5 times what I get on the benefit that he’s cutting and putting sanctions on.

Nact don’t care if businesses go under and share prices crash; they’ll just sell their houses and buy stocks for cheaper. Their only concern is propping up the housing market ponzi scheme that they have all invested at the top of. This is why they’ve allowed councils to opt out of densification requirements and why they cut back the brightline test and are trying to boost the population with migrant workers; all of these things make house prices go up, make housing better for investors who make millions in untaxed capital gains.

NACT will not let the property market crash any further. Despite what they’re saying out loud, they actually want it to increase.

And they’re more than happy to wreck the economy to do it.

[halevren]

FHJY Spoilers || my live thoughts as I watch episode 6

I had to pause Taskmaster NZ for this. Did you guys know that the episodes are on YouTube for FREE?!?!?!?!!?!!

Love the intro as usual, Sarah Barrios goes so hard

HELLO ONE AND ALL!!!!!!!

Hiii intrepid heroes!

AYDA AGUEFORT PLEASE COME BACK I MISS YOU

I wonder if adaine will get a new job this episode

rest in peace Conor Counterspell

I forgot how much happened last episode

"Buttered to perfection"

IT'S ALWAYS HAPPY HOUR AT APPLEBEE'S

RAGHHHHHHHHH

SHE OWES OODLE OF STOODLE?!!??!? SHE LOST HER JOB AND SHE HAS TO PAY THEM?

MILK WITH VODKA...??

"I don't do this to you" I can tell this will be a giggly episode

OH NO. OH NO. THE HELIO RAT GRINDER CLERIC. OH NO

"It's filled with water!"

SPIKED MILK

"Who's a bad baby?" FABIAN I LOVE YOU

CAN YOU FILL THIS RED SOLO CUP WITH BAD BABY MILK

"I'm self sabotaging" I feel you Kristen. I feel you.

"I know in my heart that in his final moments he must have repented and gone—" "No.... No..."

"You should go to hell sometime"

ANOTHER SHRIMP JUMP

HELL HOUND FORM ART OH MY GOD LOOK AT HANGMAN!!!!!

"Smells good"

"Whatever you didn't like about your old self, you feel like, oh, it's present in this kid who is also drinking water out of a beer can." Brennan why must you be so good at pulling heartstrings

Double Kristen 🔥🔥

MOLMAN HOLDEN

SOIL CLUB

AVIATION CLUB

We got like 18 votes 🔥🔥

With disadvantage? oh no.

omg ivy has the same accent as garthy

"Your family is from Fallinel" her mom is gone and she killed her they can't help pay for the diamond

"Hot dragonborn is about to know your shit"

oh adaine... I understand you so well

Adaine and Fabian duo is so under appreciated I need more of them

"Everyone can suck a nut, fuck off"

There is so much sexual tension between Gorgug and Ragh rn

"If you push me too hard, I'm going to shit"

CARBO LOAD ON MILK?

"I think I ate some glass— there was vodka in it???" Oh Ragh my beloved....

Riz rambling is so real

Oh Ragh I love you, you're trying so hard to help I love you you are perfect

LYDIA'S MESSAGE BACK I LOVE HER

CRUSTACEAN NATION

ohhhh Fabian.....

The High 5 Heroes...

OISIN AND IVY... ARE THEY PART OF THE RAT GRINDERS????

"It's not the library, you can't rip the pages out!"

This is a very duo episode. Fig / Kristen, Fabian / Adaine, Gorgug / Riz

I'm starting to think Kristen is trying to be the president of the steelworker union at this rate

FETTY WAP AT HOMECOMING

"I'm gonna be kick flipping the system"

Fantasy High Senior Year main objective is going to be getting Fetty Wap to homecoming

"It's gonna be weird to not be you. I feel home here."

ohhh Emily what are you strategizing rn

oh no.. I think Ivy noticed her change

Fabian is struggling rn

ADAINE, PARTY WIZARD!!!!!!

"I can impersonate the dead when I want"

So much destruction of Fabian's property this episode

ivy isn't very nice. don't go for our girl mazey

THE ICE MUFFETS

oh is Brennan about to make Fabian choose between Ivy and Mazey? I swear to GOD

oh no..... Fabian.....

Mazey being straight laced (?) But still being the absolute life of the party is so good

"(Murph Sobs)"

Fuck the record labels

"Just trying to decide if I want to be bard any more..." OH?

Rough day for Fabian. So rough.

Murph rollin' better.

At least none of them actually did drugs. Just. The bad baby milk. What is the drinking age of Spyre? I don't know

Bad Kids Apicology Arc

OHHHH I LOVE GERTIE THAT'S SO CUTE THE BEE

oh no Fabian vs Gertie

actually it's more like Fabian vs everyone

NEW NEMESIS DETECTED???? OH MY GOD

Riz panic is so real, them getting kicked out of school would be awful

Tracker and Kristen call...........

oh no....

"I'm gonna be President, bitch."

I relate to Kristen too much, this is painful for me to listen to because it's too real

"Maybe she had a shrimp allergy, you don't fuckin' know"

"I hope your new partner is really fucking hot." Oh Kristen

"Riz you're the only one who is honest with me"

OH THE POTENTIAL OVERLAP........

"Tough but fair. Have a great life" KRISTEN.....

Drunk texting Aelwyn.

I MISS AYDA.

Murph is going full investigator rn

The egg slurry

"Fuck!"

I was NOT expecting Fig to be the one to do a full class switch but honestly it's understandable

"We're having to destroy ourselves to pass these classes." As someone who was severely depressed in high school, I resonate with that statement a little too much.

I want to go to a Lydia lunch

"So what's up" Kristen's god is dead.

"took an orb to the chest"

Oh Lydia.... I want to hug her so tightly.

"God baby hospital"

Now I'm hungry for chicken parm

downtime

STRESS TOKENS?????

looks like next episode is dice rolling

[russell-crowe]

gimme some random fun facts about russell !!

most of these are going to be young russell because he was. an idiot.

i think my fave is that he chipped his tooth when he was 10 playing rugby, and that he never considered to get it fixed. even arguing that he "shouldn't" need to fix his tooth to get roles. and then the director of 'the crossing' had to sit him down like. this character does not have a fucked up tooth. i do not want you to have this fucked up tooth. i am going to pay for your fucked up tooth to get fixed from my own pocket. it is peak dumbass russell moments. (and he mentioned that after he got his tooth fixed it was A Lot easier to get roles. my man. my dude.)

i also love how silly and dedicated he is to his roles, and that for the sum of us he'd go to bars in the sydney gay scene.... so much so that some people were discussing his sexuality when his girlfriend was in ear shot. 😭

he was fired. for using naughty words. at his gig as a bingo host.

he was actually seriously considering being a musician for someone (thankfully) told him that he should try acting. nowadays he refers to russ le roq (his teen music project) as "the worst performing single in NZ history"

when they were shooting la confidential he stayed in a tiny apartment so he'd feel bigger. 😭 (but tbh they were also trying to squeeze him out of that movie role, so maybe he simply couldn't afford bigger too <3)

i think it's important to remind people of his theatre kid days

speaking of theatre... when he played in rocky horror he dealt with a heckler by saying "if you squirt me one more time with your water pistol, I shall come off this stage and I shall jam my stiletto in the crack of your ass.” which is the greatest sentence he's ever formed, probably

the story he told during is igp concerts last summer about him living in sydney & busking to earn his rent. and sometimes having to choose between food and cigarettes. my bank account can relate

this entire quote: "just yelling and screaming and waving a gun around doth not a bad guy maketh. you have to have something in the ideology or the essential motivations of the character that take it beyond the average. but that is the same of both protagonists and villain, heroes and bad boys, or bad girls. but i haven’t been asked to play a bad girl lately."

i love how he always tries to figure out a way to bond with cast members. during les mis he'd invite people for sing-alongs, the whole master & commander thing with the t-shirts, always giving cast and crew merch from his band/rugby team, taking people to places. he's so often praised by cast members for this <3

[louisisalarrie]

super random q but do you think louis is ever coming back to asia? 😭 lol honestly his team fucked up big time and a lot of the fans are (rightfully) pissed off nfndidks but i think it also had a lot to do with the countries they chose?

i remember the initial announcement was him going to countries he didnt visit during Itwt, which is nice and all i guess but i'm not sure they thought that through... clearly there weren't enough fans in those countries fo then after cancelling those he announce ONE SINGULAR show in jakarta... which, logically, makes sense since it's one of his top cities on spotify. and yet the turnout was terrible skndjdsk

i'm sure a lot of it had to do with fans still holding a grudge (honestly same) and being scared of cancellation again, but i was thinking maybe he should've chosen a different city? manila for instance had to have their Itwt show upsized from a 2k capacity venue to a 12k one if i'm not mistaken?

Hey lovely anon, and welcome to the show! (Late night VIP access for you - I’m only awake because god some of these bands take fucking forever to load out, so apologies if this is a bit scrambled!)

Yeaaaahhhh it’s definitely part of his team’s fault, but could also likely be the promoter’s. I think it was Live Nation for this one. At LN AUNZ they really try everything they can to not cancel shows, and just downsize (usually discreetly only to ticket holders, but sometimes posted on socials), and it comes down to ticket sales, but also supplier issues is a major one too.

I’m honestly not too across Asia’s music scene at the moment, it’s just not a territory I’m deep in, but maybe there were other major acts touring at the same time and therefore caused supplier issues too? Usually ticket sales are the main factor but you’ve got everything from trucking, backline, crew, sound, lights, accomodation, staging, tour manager fees, staffing, flights, venue rental, catering, LED etc. vs the guaranteed fee, so there’s a lot more to consider.

Promoters, like any business, obviously wanna lose as little money as possible, and so they do look at all avenues before having to propose a cancellation to the team because it makes them look bad. They obviously want Louis to choose them next time because they make money, so they don’t just cop out if they have low ticket sales, they try to make it work but sometimes it just… doesn’t.

I’m not sure what kind of deal it was - happy to go into different types of deals sometime with y’all if you’re interested - but depending on budgets and the type of deal, it could’ve just been a lot of artist costs and it would’ve costed louis more money to go there than the payoff would’ve been.

I understand it’s frustrating, 100%, AUNZ, particularly NZ, don’t get half the bands the rest of the world get, because it’s expensive and it’s a gamble. Unless the promoter is willing to put no caps in the tour offer and just gamble with fees because they’re sure of ticket sales and budgets, well, they won’t. And it is a gamble for louis to go to countries he’s not been to before while he’s still establishing a bigger turnout there.

He’s the kind of guy that wants to tour all over the world and see everyone no matter the size of the venue, and it’s ridiculous because with his net worth he can afford to lose some money lol, but his manager and team just… don’t get paid that way. They don’t do their job so they don’t get commission. Idk what kind of contract they have with him, but I doubt he’s gonna give them a free handout if he can’t even make enough money to cover half that shit mentioned above through ticket sales. It’s just not how a business runs. It’s not how management works.

I really hope yourself and the folks up there don’t hold a grudge against him, because it’s so often out of the artist’s control (again, sounds stupid but it is the way this works), and I’ve seen artists offer to pay for a show with like 6% ticket sales because they just wanna make that 6% happy. But it’s not feasible and their management think it’s a waste of time if it’s not successful. I disagree, but, that’s the way the cookie crumbles with the big dogs. And I’m sure he’d love to tour more cities and be with fans everywhere.

With how much of a gamble it is going to cities he’s not been to before, I imagine even with demographic studies, the promoter’s offer would’ve stated for louis to pay for most of the expenses I stated above, so the promoter doesn’t lose money because it’s a risk. The more risky the tour sales are, the more is deemed an artist cost. It’s just… business.

Anyway, ticket sales for all artists are really struggling these days because of this damn economy and “cost of living”. Fans aren’t often buying tickets til the last minute, like you said, for fear of cancellation. Particularly after covid, it’s really hit the music industry hard. Refunds are great, fine, sure, but if you’re spending a chunk of your pay to see an artist and it doesn’t happen, you lose a bit of faith in buying tickets for them/other artists the next time they come to your city.

In Australia, we have a website called Tixel, founded in Melbourne a few years ago. Changed the absolute game. Now folks aren’t buying off Ticketmaster marketplace or official ticketing outlet resales, and are using Tixel instead.

Tixel is a platform where you can sell your ticket to another person with very little fees taken. You can’t list your ticket for over 10% of the price you bought it for, you have to upload/scan your ticket into the system and it verifies its legitimacy, and then you can put it on sale for whatever price you like (with upwards of 10% of og price, or lower if you need to just get rid of it). It’s fantastic, stops scammers because they can’t upsell the ticket by 200% like on ViaGoGo, and all tickets are proved to be legitimate. I’ve waited last minute to a show, to see if I’m free/if it’s going ahead if it’s super far in advance to buy tickets on Tixel, because I know if I buy tickets the day of/a few days before, that there’s like a 1% chance they’ll cancel. Shit happens, sure, but by that time, you’ll know it’s going ahead.

Because of the concerns of buying tickets when they’re released, promoters and management teams can’t guarantee there will be a turnout and whether they will be able to gain a profit/at the very least break even, because it’s just too risky and of course suppliers want money well in advance. But if a band does a show, and it sells out last minute, great, cool, but you can’t bank on that. It’s changed the ticketing game and really fucked with artists, their teams, and promoters, because you can’t rely on the numbers early on.

There have been a few major festivals here that have cancelled, due to “unforeseen circumstances” usually (which is mostly a way to hide the fact it’s ticket sales), and it’s like… a week after tickets go on sale. This happened to a festival I bought tickets to the day of release, and a lot of folks I know were waiting for their next payday or until tickets were on resale closer to the time. It’s such a shame, and hurts a lot of people in the industry financially. It’s not just the big dogs who have a fuck ton of money, it’s the crewing on the ground, the caterers, the venues, suppliers etc. who get hurt the most. It’s devastating down here, at the moment.

You can bank on certain artists selling tickets everywhere, but unfortunately it wasn’t strong enough for Louis.

He couldn’t skip out on Asia all together, no way. He needed to do at least 1 show to cross that territory and fulfil the global deal that he may have with LN (not 100% on if it’s a global deal or co-pro but yeah, either way), because it would’ve looked shit if he didn’t and probably negotiated his touring deal and cost him more money to cancel. Idk, there’s so many moving parts to touring that it’s hard to give you a solid answer, anon, but I’m sure he’ll be back. They’ll focus on Asia to really crack it, I think. We’ll see how competent/how much his team cares, and what promoters are willing to offer to get him back. Deals change throughout the initial offer up until very close to the tour, so, yeah. Hopefully there’s more money from the promoter backing him next time.

It’s shitty, but the money they saved goes towards the next leg of the tour to cover higher artist costs. This can include nicer accomm, better flights, better catering, better LED/Lights/Sound for confirmed shows, depending on the deal. So it’s stretching yourself a bit thinner for more shows that will cost you money, or putting some more money into those shows to make it better. It’s a weird balancing act. And yeah. It’s a multitude of things, not just his popularity.

Anyway, hope this helps a bit! Let me know if any q’s xx <3

[angelfireeast]

Ofmd ep 4 & 5

EPISODE FOUR

- the way the crew chewed Ed out on his walk of shame lol

- The sandwich hitting Lusicus in the face was hilarious and seemed unplanned.

- Ed immediately finds something alive & wants to make it his BBF. He is so needy

- It's Rachel House! I love her. She's hilarious. Really getting some amazing NZ talent now they are filming in NZ

- I'm so glad Ed & Stede worked it out. Ed has it so bad he trusts Stede again to run off after his confession.

- Ed learns a lesson about CHANGING! My heart. Mary & Anne are a cautionary tale but I feel like they both decided not to follow that path.

- Is it crazy that I feel a little hope for Anne/Mary when Anne burn down the house & they decided to move on together facing their fears & showing they love each other. Not saying they aren't still going to be toxic and full of kinks but it's a step in the right direction.

- I knew Bottons would turn into a bird! Yes king!

EPISODE 5:

- So much happened I. These two episodes but can we just appreciate that Roach invented peanut paste aka planet butter & immediately Frenchie was allergic to it

It's the little things honsetly

- Don't think I didn't notice Roach commenting on Frenchie's beautiful body cause that was 100% on my radar

- laughing at making Ed wear a bell

- Lucius was way too into pushing Ed off the ship lol I laughed at Ed yelling "do you feel closer yet"

- Ed hanging on the side of the ship & Fang rowing up and asking him if he wanted to go fishing felt so Marior

- loved Fang calling Ed out. It needed to happen. love that Fang got to tell Ed that those "games" weren't fun. I think Ed delused himself a lot about bad things to live with himself. We know he loves to play pretend & get lost in it. Yet we also know from the gravy bowl that Ed was upset about the way his old Captain hurt his crew & he was talking to himself really...so part of him knows it's wrong, dislikes it & part of him doesn't care or pretends not to care and it's no big deal as way to deal with what is happening.

- The way Olu, Jim & Archie just quietly and quickly rolled into a little united threesome is giving me life. I don't know the state of the romantic relationships and it doesn't matter cause them just being a united them is everything

- Fang is just adorable when he was telling Ed to be quite😂 he's so soft I love him. Kevin Jr lol I want more Fang pls

- Is it possible Ed has ADHD but also has trouble sitting with himself quietly cause he doesn't like himself & feel unlovable.

- the kiss in moonlight🥰

- Buttons & The Swede are off the ship. Archie & Izzy are on

What other changes are to come?

- Black Pete and Lusicus are engaged!!!🥳🍾

[malarkgirlypop]

Misc. Tag Game! ✨

thank you for the tags @1waveshortofashipwreck

Made by the amazing @ronald-speirs 💖

Favorite place in the world you’ve visited?

Just went to Japan and Korea and it was so fucking amazing.

Something you’re proud of yourself for?

Finishing my nursing, getting a job. Like go me, get that big girl job!

Favourite books?

Trial by Fire, I will never not brag about it!

Something that makes your heart happy when thinking about it?

This one person I'm getting to know at the moment. Ah they are the best, literally makes me feel so good.

Favorite thing about your culture? About being American?

Um I am not an American. But NZ is so cool, we are super chill, such a vibe. I'm here for bringing back Māori culture into New Zealand!

When did you join the HBO War fandom? What was the first show you watched?

I think it was August 2023. Band of brothers was the first show I watched with my friend.

Have you read any of Easy Company’s books? If so, which ones were your favourite?

No I haven't. I want to, but im so busy rn. Maybe later.

Favorite HBO War character and your favorite moment with them?

Ah all I have to say is Malarkey, and just all Malarkey things ever. Please and thank you.

Do you make content for any fandoms, if so; what sort of content?

A little, only a teeny tiny amount, only small, not much, hardly any, it doesn't fill my whole brain all the time. I don't constantly live in a fictional story i am writing, I don't know what you're talking about.

Favourite actor/actress and your favourite film of theirs?

Sebastian Stan, The Winter Soldier. like why he so hot. He also scared the shit out of me in Fresh, but that was also a good movie.

Favourite quote/s that you wish to share with others?

"I'm tired of this Grandpa!"

"Well that's too damn bad!"

Holes, 2003.

Random fact your mutuals/followers don’t know about you?

I have no filter on here so there is nothing I don't think people know about me.

If you’re a writer, do you need a beta reader (say yes so I can be your beta reader 🤭)?

what's that? I'm confused.

Three things that make you smile?

My friends

BoB

A really special person

Any nicknames you like?

Kate doesn't have any nicknames, but because of my hair my dad calls me Floss, like candy floss!

List some people you love to see around on tumblr!

@panzershrike-pretz @ithinkabouttzu @executethyself35 @ronsparky @venus-haze @joetoyesbrassknuckles101 @footprintsinthesxnd @mutantmanifesto @jump-wings @mads-nixon @blueberry-ovaries @b00ks1ut @next-autopsy @1waveshortofashipwreck @paula-912 @brassknucklespeirs

What would you do during a zombie apocalypse?

Be a zombie

Favourite movie?

All movies, any movie, I'm good at entertaining myself with bad movies.

Do you like horror movies?

I do, but I'm still scared.

No pressure tags:

@georgieluz, @b00ks1ut, @blueberry-ovaries, @next-autopsy @land-sh @grumpy-liebgott @venus-haze @goneandbackagain

[ignitesthestxrs]

are you a kiwi? I'm american myself, but honestly feel like I haven't seen enough kiwis talk about the locked tomb (though i think im partly just missing most of the discourse anyway somehow??)..

if you ever feel like layin out some more thoughts ab tlt id love to read em! <3

i am a kiwi! there is a small but thriving kiwi sf/f community, but overall people are not...terribly online, or terribly into fiction lol. i definitely know there are kiwi fans of the series out there but in general i can imagine most of them simply not wanting to get into it. i don't really want to get into it! i just saw a reply on a post i reblogged and lost my mind about it for a couple of seconds.

as a pākehā/white kiwi i am like, both protective of these books, critical of them, and kind of ill-equipped to be the person criticising how māori characters and māoritanga/māori culture is depicted in them.

tamsyn muir is a pākehā author writing māori characters that she didn't initially identify as such getting like,,,increasingly more māori in depiction as the books go on and she learns more about the general consensus on how white people should write characters of colour. and those māori characters are involved in instituting, recreating, participating in a uh....very roman? sort of societal structure? and in the latest book there's this further māorification of Jod while also depicting him as a radical under fire from the government in a compound, and act which has both deep historical and very recent (2007!!)roots in aotearoa nz culture.

this māorification of gideon too with the prince kiriona stuff is also: something. what is it? i don't know. i don't think it's Cancellable Offense Bad, or even bad at all. but there's an overall freedom of mishmashing aspects of kiwi and māori culture into a broader sf/f context that muir has kind of taken it upon herself to perform, when ultimately it's not her who should have been the person who got to do it, you know? the structural racism of the global publishing industry means that a pākehā writer can step up onto that stage with an ease and popularity that a māori writer is going to have institutional difficulty accessing in the same way. do i think carl tor editor picks up these books if they're written by a brown author? idk man

and then on the flip side - this is a part of her lived experience too. as a pākehā writer, choosing to write, do you include your pākehā-ness? your kiwi-ness? choosing to do that, do you include your knowledge and understanding of te ao māori/the māori world? are you stealing or are you sharing? what is yours to share in the first place?

these are questions that i think every pākehā writer should ask themselves as they're writing and they're also questions that i don't think have a Correct Answer, or even an answer full stop. they're things that i think muir started asking around book 3 lol which is a very better late than never kind of thing, but it's also clear as the books go on that she's laying down her road as she runs on it, so to speak.

i think muir is Trying In Public, which is a deeply vulnerable thing to do, but also, she is right now a very popular pākehā writer introducing māori character and culture to a broader audience, many who have not encountered any of this before, in an environment where very few māori writers have an opportunity to do the same.

so when that broader american audience comes and picks up what muir has put down and then unthinkingly applies their own american cultural lens to what they have in their hands - it's weird, right? it's weird in ways that many (i generalise - not all, obviously, there are also many americans who do have global context) americans can't understand, because those americans don't live in a world where they are outsiders on the global stage. even americans who understand that the rest of the world is not america have not necessarily experienced that in a way that is intrinsic, intuitive.

the world is shaped by america, either by its presence or by its absence. so when a pākehā writer creates māori characters and uses te reo māori/the māori language in her work, which then gets read and used and consumed by an american audience as though it is a creation that belongs in their worldview - it becomes disconnected entirely from the source muir borrowed, or stole from, or grew up with. it forces the conversation into this place of whether or not the americans playing with this particular doll know what they're doing or where the doll came from or why it's a doll anyway, instead of like, why has muir made this doll and should she have and are there other people making dolls, or are other people making different things entirely.

links to some sf/f by māori writers:

THE DAWNHOUNDS by Sascha Stronach

LEGACY by Whiti Hereaka

WATCHED by Tihema Baker

PŪRAKAU, ed. Witi Ihimaera and Whiti Hereka

GUARDIAN MAIA

[out-and-aboot-eh]

Day 5 - Emerald Lake & White Water Rafting

A slightly later start today as we set our alarms for 06:00 as that would give us enough time to thaw out, get packed up and get some breakfast at 07:15am before leaving at 08:00 sharp! Today’s breakfast was ‘mystery meat’, which tasted to me like those frankfurter sausages you get in jar, but these were flat and round, topped with a runny fried egg. A runny egg that G bit in to and it exploded all over her. Spirits in camp were high with many an egg pun flying around, but no sooner had we finished our ‘eggcelent’ baps then the rain decided to come out in full force. After a bit of a scramble to get everything under some sort of cover temporarily, it was time to load up the trailer and be on our way to our first stop of the day, Takkakaw Falls.

As transportation goes our minibus is pretty damn good; a decent sound system, some charging ports, cool air-con and for days when you’re left a bit soggy, very good heating. Too good some might say if you’re sat cooking in the back! As it was a jam packed day it was a swift visit to Takkakaw Falls, but as always it was a beautiful spot to take in before heading off to Emerald Lake. Georgie and I were both in agreement that if we were to return to Canada we’d stay somewhere like this for a few days, lovely lodges, a lovely lake and a lovely cup of hot chocolate… might be time to crack out the thesaurus!

We were given an hour and three quarters to explore and by the time G and I had jumped off the bus and nipped to the loo, everyone else was half way around the lake! Which is no bad thing as I know how important a bit of alone time is to G, so we got a hot chocolate and set off on the trail around the lake, which even we couldn’t get lost on… in theory! There was a gentle trickle of rain as we followed the path through the little village of lodges which looked extremely luxurious compared to the sodden tents we’d be setting up later that day! The lake was a smooth pool of flat emerald blue water surrounded by forest and mountains. We stopped to take a few photos, but had to hot step the final stretch to make sure we were on the bus in time (which we were with a few minutes to spare!)

Our next destination was the Kicking Horse River, for a spot of White Water Rafting, but before we gave that a go, it was time for a spot of lunch. A nice easy picky lunch of meats, dips, crisps, veg and mini naans. Once fuelled up, it was time for the group to split. Myself, Georgie, Iain, Michaela, Hannah, Daisy and Christine aka Little Fingers (the only person whose nickname has stuck on the trip so far!) were off to get our dinghy on after signing our lives away. We were given a comedic overview from the river manager Josh and headed off to get booted and suited, wet suited that is! Apparently there’s some weird fish lurgy in the river which can impact other fish which means you should wash your swimmers before going in any other water. And apparently the less clothes you wear in a wet suit, the warmer you’ll be. So this was a no brainer for Iain and I, birthday suit straight in to wet suit and away we went to get fleeces, life jackets and helmets. We boarded a yellow school bus and headed to the start of our watery trail whilst enjoying a bit of banter with one of the leaders who was Scottish.

Once there we were given the health and safety talk and divided into groups. As a group of 7 we had a whole raft to ourselves with the Captain of the establishment, Josh at the helm. As we took off down the river he told us what to do when he called out the various instructions, which must be global as they were the same in NZ! We started off with Georgie and Christine at the front, with the most important job on the boat, blocking the water from the guide! Behind them were Michaela and myself aka the front paddles, back paddles were Iain and Hannah with Daisy on chilling duty. We practiced a few commands before our first ‘get down’ which saw us well and truly introduced to the Kicking Horse River as we were submerged in to the rapids! It would have been worth bringing the Go-Pro just to capture G’s reaction of shock in that moment when we realised the water was 4 degrees!

Josh was a good craic and guided us down the river effortlessly, behind the other 7 or so boats ahead. The watery road was awash with rapids, rocks and drops, which meant we did have to pull our weight on occasion when instructed. Around the half way stage we swapped around so me and G were in the back and the other 5 in the front.

Daisy and Hannah were placed at the top of the boat like a couple of mermaids. As all the other groups were ahead of us we could see what was coming, but Josh decided to pull a move that none of the others had - ‘The Titanic’. He shouted at Daisy and Hannah to ‘get down’ at the front of the boat whilst Iain, Michaela and Christine bundled on top, essentially pinning them down! Aghast with shock, Daisy’s mouth was left gaping for the waves of water that crashed over the boat and subsequently down her gullet! A combination of raucous laughter and spluttering followed after being done so dirty by our captain, who I think at one point (after a fair amount of laughing or crying from Daisy it was hard to tell) was genuinely concerned that he might have gone too far! But it was all good and on our merry way we went, as thankfully no ice bergs were hit, just half a river swallowed! As we came towards the end of the river we were given the opportunity to see what it would be like had we fallen out, so Iain and I hopped off and dangled for a bit before being reeled back in like a couple of big ol’ white sturgeons. Aka grabbed by the life jacket and heaved, which for those on board was quite an effort! Iain had a possy to do the job, but Poor G had the gargantuan task of hoofing me into the boat on her own, which she managed! Go on muscles!

Once back to shore we loaded the boats onto a trailer and hopped back on the yellow buses, all buzzy from our trip down the river, although a few of us would have been keen for some more extreme rapids and drops, but it was still a lot of fun and better still no black eyes from rogue paddles! Once back at camp it was a quick strip and change before checking out the photos, which were a good selection and between the group, a reasonable purchase! We did our best to recount the Daisy waterboarding story, but for full effect you really did have to be there!

Onward we went to our final destination of the day, Canyon Springs Camp Ground in Revelstoke. This wasn’t on our original itinerary, but due to wildfires in Jasper (which is where we were supposed to go) that was our heading and home for two nights. It’s a beautiful location, with excellent facilities near to our spot, if you’re willing to part with your hard earned loonies and toonies! Including a hot spring pool, warm swimming pool and showers, shop and cafe. And some of the group were excited at the prospect of being on grass as it’s softer on the old bones (but wetter on the smelly feet!) As we were given a sizeable patch of turf to set up, it was a free for all, but we’ve pitched in quite close proximity to one another so G’s snoring (or possibly mine on occasion) can’t have offended anyone too much! I’d used all camp/hiking birthday presents by this point (thanks guys!) except the cutlery, which it turns out can double up as tent pegs (as there’s a shortage) to help keep it dry, thanks Cal!

It was a sausage couscous for dinner followed by little s’mores type dessert. As a self confessed chocoholic, I emphasised my appreciation to Megan at having something sweet after every dinner! We chatted for a bit after but didn’t stay up too long as it had been a long day and we all needed a good long sleep!!

G’s highlight of the day was: A walk around the Emerald lake with a hot chocolate in hand!

Photos to follow once the service picks up!!

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

A few very quick points now that I've caught up on the first episode of Taskmaster NZ, season 5:

- I'd never heard of any of these comedians before, and it's been a while since I've seen a Taskmaster season where I went in without knowing any of them at all, so I've spent a lot of it just trying to remember what names go with which faces. They kept saying one of the women was named Hayley, and it took me about 3/4 of the episode to get clear that this was not the blond woman sitting on the end. I realized my brain was automatically matching the name Hayley to her because she looks like Alice from The L Word, particularly when she's in the house and wearing her suit jacket costume, and Alice was played by Leisha Hailey. That Leisha Hailey-looking woman in a suit brings back strong memories of being a closeted teenager watching sketchy streams of The L Word and immediately deleting the history, because it was 2005 and 1) I didn't have a computer of my own yet, and 2) The L Word was the only thing I knew about that had lesbians on TV, until I discovered Buffy just after.

- Having said that, comparisons to L Word characters aside, after one episode I'm pretty sure Abby, the one who looks like Leisha Hailey but isn't named Hayley, is my favourite. I loved watching her nail the live task, especially contrasted with falling apart completely one task earlier. The woman who is actually named Hayley comes in at second favourite. The women are grabbing my attention far quicker than the men in this season.

- On the subject of women... and lesbians on TV... I was just saying to someone yesterday that my interest in comedy isn't usually based on being sexually attracted to the comedians. I mean... not never. But not usually. And then they put Madeleine Sami back on my screen, and good God. Not never, I was reminded. What an excellent choice of guest star. Not just because of that, she's very funny. The ball boy thing was great. The defending of the lackluster goal celebration by asking how the crew reacted was great. The telling the other contestants to just roll with it because the whole season's like this was great. She's great.

- Good choice in nicking the goal celebration thing from Taskmaster UK. They're right - the celebrating bonus point was more interesting than the actual goal scoring task, in that one. They picked the best part.

- I liked the prize task category. Big fan of prize task categories with an adjective besides "best", so they can argue about more than one aspect of the remit.

- Paul is so good in the assistant role. I passed up a chance to see him live last week because in what I've seen/heard of his live stuff, music and comedy, I quite like it, but not enough to rank among my favourites and make the cut of my Edinburgh schedule. In terms of stand-up, I believe - if I may quote a bit from this episode out of context - I metaphorically prefer the touch of his brother. But he's amazing at being a Taskmaster's assistant. He copies Alex Horne's shtick more clearly than someone like Tom Cashman, who carved his own path a bit more. But Paul Williams does Alex Horne's shtick so very well that I can't complain about the copying at all. He might, at times, do Alex Horne better than Alex Horne does.

- I enjoyed Tofiga's energy in the house and think that energy would be fun in the studio, too bad we don't get that. On the other hand, Madeleine Sami! Parade of guest stars! I'm not complaining about that.

- This doesn't quite live up to the incredibly high standards set by the opening season of the other most recent English-speaking Taskmaster season to air, which was AU season 2. But very few seasons from any version have lived up to that high standard. By regular standards, this was quite a good opener. I'm looking forward to the season.

[yinlotus]

as far as i'm aware from reading US news (ny times) most of the smoke on the US east coast is from the canadian fires. also, the fires in canada are a lot lot lot worse than looks on the image you can see - hundreds of fires burning all across canada.

as a californian myself, i've also been kind of annoyed seeing all the news about like 'unprecedented smoke in nyc' like seriously? this isn't unprecedented, just for them specifically. I understand that seeing the orange skies was crazy but like...it's not new...I literally saw that myself during the fires of 2020 in Calif. i've had friends and family had to evacuate from nearby fires, i had to wear an n95 during the summer before covid because being outside in that air quality made me feel sick. my brother had school and sports cancelled because it was too dangerous to be outside breathing the air.

calif, oregon, washington, british columbia and all of the western US and canada (maybe mexico too, I don't know about impact of smoke/fires in central or latin america) have been dealing with this for years. australia and nz have been dealing with this too for years.

I'm sorry...I kind of just wanted to complain a bit...it was a bit jarring seeing all those headlines about it being new when it's really not, it's just only new for the US east coast which has the biggest & loudest mouthpiece coming from america.

i'd also love to see some resources about the fires in canada if anyone has sent you any. i know for california, Cal Fire (fire.ca . gov) has info on calif. since there was a lot of rain this year (i've never seen so much rain in my life) i'm hoping fire season won't be too bad but we never know...

hi anon!

it's okay to vent about it. i understand that for those who have dealt with or are currently dealing with large wildfires would be annoyed by those who are not experiencing it as they are. still, i don't think it's right to blame those people without educating them a bit on it first.

honestly even when it comes to the east coast smoke most news talk specifically about nyc than the other places dealing with the same thing. picky news coverage can be frustrating to say the least.

and you're certainly right about it being new to us but not everyone else. the east coast is generally pretty wet with hurricanes in summer (which hurricane season officially started around a week ago, which i'm curious if it'll be affected at all since the smoke is also going east into the atlantic and wildfire smoke throws off marine ecosystems and cyclones are worse when the water is warmer) and snow storms during winter. i think no matter where you are, people will react extremely if something out of the ordinary happens. personally i can't even imagine it since even when i lived on the west coast, it was near seattle and mostly wet.

thank you for providing some info on california! nobody else has sent anything yet, but i'll definitely post if they do! :)

my screenshot was from fire.airnow.gov and from zooming in more i get a slightly better picture of where the fires are but the low accuracy is likely because the site's focus is only the us. nasa is usually quite good in capturing this things in the states, so i checked the canadian space agency to see if they had better images of the fires. while i didn’t find any recent satellite images (best i found was a video from a month ago), i was directed to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) which has an updated interactive map on the homepage. This site alao has links to individual centers in each province.

[xclowniex]

So if that terror attack on Lebanon is justified for the death of those 12 Druze children (which I'm sure you wouldn't be as heartbroken about them if they were killed by the IDF instead), what should the IDF punishment be for killing thousands of Palestinians children and how many Israeli civilians are you willing to let die in order to get to those Israeli terrorists? Assuming you think Israelis should even be punished for killing children (or that the word terrorists can be used to describe someone that isn't Muslim)

I wasn't going to answer this as I know it's obviously in bad faith but I'll bite

Stop putting your US centric views onto me. Here in New Zealand, we considering March 15th a terror attack. If you don't know what happened that day, a white supremist opened fire on two mosques in Christchurch. The white supremist who did it? He is a terrorist. I consider him a terrorist. All the media here considers him a terrorist. He is a terrorist.

New Zealand has designated a few white supremist groups and individuals as terrorists

Do you know who else is on this list?

Hezbollah.

Do you know who is not on this list? The IDF. You can check for yourself too

To quote the Terrorism Suppression Act 2002, which is ya know, laws surrounding terrorism, the IDF currently is exempt from it.

"However, an act does not fall within subsection (2) if it occurs in a situation of armed conflict and is, at the time and in the place that it occurs, in accordance with rules of international law applicable to the conflict."

(Sub section two refers to civilians being harmed or killed)

Fun fact about war crimes! Individuals get arrested for them and designated as war criminals, not everyone who is apart of the military. Bibi can be arrested for war crimes. Any individual IDF member who did the war crime can be arrested for war crimes. Whatever the Israeli version of John Smith is, who has never committed a war crime during his service, cannot be arrested for a war crime, and therefore cannot be labeled a terrorist.

But wouldn't Hamas and hezbollah be excempt from being a terrorist group as they're in an armed conflict? They've both committed terrorist acts outside of armed conflicts, ergo, terrorist organizations.

Also, you can read the act I was quoting if you want

https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2002/0034/latest/DLM152702.html?search=ts_act%40bill%40regulation%40deemedreg_terrorism+suppression+act_resel_25_a&p=1

So, now that we have established that the IDF has not committed a terror attack as they're currently in armed conflict with Hezbollah, the rest of what you said falls apart, but to address it.

1. I would be equally as sad if the IDF killed 12 druze children

2. I think that any IDF members who have committed war crimes + bibi should be arrested for war crimes as I've stated so many times

3. If I lived in an ideal world, all hezbollah members would simply be arrested and there would be no loss of life. But we don't live in an ideal world. Hezbollah won't allow themselves to be arrested. Hezbollah also remains an active threat. If IDF members who have committed war crimes + Bibi refuse to be arrested and are still an active threat to people (key word active threat), yeah killing them would be best. Considering the exploding pagers had a mortality rate of 0.3%, and not all of that were civilians, I would expect a mortality rate of less than 0.3% of civilians near the individual war criminal to be killed.

Oh whats that? Not the answer you expected yeah I thought so. How about instead of frothing at the mouth trying to find a gotcha you can use to dehumanize me, you actually A) read up on laws* and definitions and B) read through my blog first because I've said many times that individuals who have committed war crimes should be arrested

*I know that NZ law may differ from laws elsewhere but they're pretty similar in the US, Canada and the UK

[peachandpinwheel]

hello peeps with sensory issues living in sunny countries, especially Australia and Aotearoa NZ.

do you avoid using sunscreen because it sets off your sensory sensitivities? me too!

just wanted to PSA as we head into summer that many Korean beauty brands have sunscreen that you can't feel, barely smell, and that is SPF 50. I use Etude House Sunprise on my face and it has changed my life. my wife favours the Beauty of Joseon Matte Sun Stick, which is similarly unnoticeable. you can get them (in Australia at least) at k-beauty stores in person or online.

dermatologists do not rate moisturisers with SPF - you need a proper barrier. the ozone layer has been bad lately, and we are heading for a hot ass summer, so please be safe.

[devianttxrts]

yo ho hello. under the cut is a little explanation of my absence from here and what's been going on with me (fun times)

my mental health hit a downward spiral mid/late last year and it hit it hard. it's the worst my depression has been in a long, long time. it got to the point where i couldn't feel things properly, the only thing i could feel is sadness and the only thing i could do is cry even when i didn't know why. but over the last month or so it's slowly been getting better, music has been helping again and i can actually laugh now. if that's not progress i don't know what is.

last november i was in a car accident, it wasn't super bad. the car was a write off but no one was seriously hurt. i had a wicked concussion for two weeks, and i'm still dealing with anxiety whenever i'm in a car (to be expected after you've been hit by an asshole who was in your lane instead of theirs, and hidden by one of the many corners on the way home).

there's been a lot of ups and downs over the last few months, or year really. i've had to say goodbye to a few relationships i never thought i would, and one that should've been a strong one but never really existed at all. i'm still dealing with ongoing neighbour drama too, which has been the cherry on top. i'm also trying to find a new job because shit has nonstop been hitting the fan in the hell hole i work at for months now, i've been there over eight and a half years and while it's definitely been a rollercoaster over that time, this is the worst it's ever been (if you live in nz/aus... try not to shop at cuntdown/woolworth$ challenge).

i'm hoping to slowly get back into writing, most likely this week. it might be a little slow because i'm in the long process of doing my house up (i've still got two bedrooms and the laundry to paint before i can get the flooring and bathroom done). slow and steady wins the race, so i'll be balancing that/general life and writing.

in saying that, if i reply to a thread we have and you aren't feeling it anymore, absolutely feel free not to reply! it's been a long time so it's more than fair enough tbh, i get it!

here's to a year of better activity, i'm looking forward to being on the dash again 🌈