Levity among the commenterati

I mostly like Ryan Bridge’s earthy, turn of phrase. Even if his politics aren’t my jam.

But as his fanboying for Luxon continues this week, he goes out on a lonely limb and declares Luxon is on a roll, not going to be rolled.

Playing to his crowd he has a sexist snipe at a private citizen who wrote a kids book, in a confused, paternal analogy.

“Jacinda Ardern spent time this week hawking a new children’s book via Instagram entitled Mum’s Busy Work (also available stateside, of course, as Mom’s Busy Work) for $35, thank you very much.

Back home, Daddy was also very busy with work. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon spent the first half of the week trying to mop up perceptions of a school lunch mess and a bad poll.”

But that has nothing on his glorious effort in calling the PM’s alleged laser focus on growth in his state of the nation blathering, as the g-spot.

“He charged from the stables with the energy of a jockey saddling a thoroughbred at Ellerslie – chomping at the bit for growth. He nailed the issue. We need to grow our way out of Dodge… What Luxon failed to do was articulate how we’d hit the G-spot (growth that is).”

A cryin, talkin, sleepin, walkin, livin doll

Another true case of a 61-year-old man accidentally falling onto a cylindrical object and ending up in A & E.

...becoming a literal final encasement of this particular set of Russian nesting dolls (Matryoshka dolls). link

Peak TV

Adolescence (Netflix): I watched the most devasting, impactful and important piece of television this weekend. There has been a lot of hype about this drama. Believe it. The acting is excruciatingly good, the script (and improvisation around the script, I imagine) is bang on. Each episode is shot in one continuous scene, which just adds to the realism and the power of the story. But most importantly, the story about how ideologies from the likes of Andrew Tate are harming young men, is one we need to hear.

The Sixth Commandment (Neon - 27/3): A harrowing four-part BBC true crime story of retired schoolmaster Peter Farquhar (Timothy Spall) and his neighbour Ann Moore-Martin (Anne Reid) who were befriended, manipulated and then poisoned for financial gain by a young churchwarden. How the invisibility of age made them vulnerable and lonely, and the gratitude for what they thought was love, left them defenceless.

Mo (Netflix): I really enjoyed this comedy-drama series from Palestinian-American comedian Mo Amer. The show follows Mo Najjar, a Palestinian refugee living in Houston, Texas, living according to two cultures while seeking asylum and U.S. citizenship.

Paradise (Disney+): Trouble with dystopian drama’s like is they don’t feel so farfetched these days. The climate change end of times plot and a billionaire bunker build for 25,000 seems like it might be in the planning stages, somewhere. This show has been renewed for a second season, so you won’t be left hanging on the edge of the cliffhanger for all eternity. Don’t you hate that?

The Weather Girls

Small worldly horrors

Forget Marmite sandwiches, let them eat flies: Emily Writes scooped a school lunch scoop revealing that New Zealand Food Safety has received a complaint about flies in school lunches. After Libelle went into liquidation, the School Lunch Collective began importing meals from Australia. Cause that makes sooo much sense. “It’s not known if the flies were from Australia, quips Emily. Read more here.

Ultimate buzzkill: A Taiwanese woman sought treatment for what she thought was a simple infection. Instead she and her doctor were horrified to discover four bees living under her eyelids, feasting on her tears.

Hidden stats: News broke that nearly 22,000 more Kiwis are receiving the Jobseeker benefit “roughly equivalent to the entire estimated population of towns like Levin or Ashburton,” declares the Herald. That is no surprise to those looking for work, but it only paints half of the grim the picture. What about the numbers, who are unemployed or under employed like me who are sponging off a spouse? Then the real amount of unemployed be more like the population of Upper Hutt.

Trump facts

64 Times Mentioned In Epstein Report.
97 Times Pleaded The Fifth.
34 Felony Convictions.
91 Criminal Charges.
26 Sexual Assault Allegations.
6 Bankruptcies.
5 Draft Deferments.
4 Indictments.
2 Impeachments.
2 Convicted Companies.
1 Fake University Shut Down.
1 Fake Charity Shut Down.
$25 Million Fraud Settlement.
$5 Million Sexual Abuse Verdict.
$2 Million Fake Charity Abuse Judgment.
$93 Million Sexual Abuse Judgements.
$400+ Million Fraud Judgment.
First President in history to serve a full term increase the deficit every year he was in office.
First President in history to maintain a debt to GDP ratio over 100% for his entire term.
Highest annual budget deficit.
Most added to the national debt in a single term. Most new unemployment claims.
Largest single day point drop in the history of the Dow.
First major party candidate in half a century to lose the popular vote twice.
Longest government shutdown in history (and he did that while his own party controlled both chambers of Congress).
First President in the history of approval ratings to maintain a net negative approval rating for his entire term. First President to be impeached twice.
First President to have bipartisan support for his conviction after impeachment (which happened both times).
Most indictments, guilty pleas, and criminal convictions of members of an administration.
First president to have a mug shot.

Via Chris Rilling @tokitaeII

I love a good backlash

Algorithms manipulate, billionaires profit, all the while a world economic superpower gaslights the world.

The inevitable backlash to overreaching tech is already here, because it’s no longer enhancing human life. It has all reach peak enshittification.

In The Honest Broker’s list of 52 signs that tech progress is reversing spells it out, firstly with bloody microplastics:

“Your body is now the epicentre of industrial pollution” and ultra-processed foods jam-packed with unhealthy fillers and the infuriating switch in purpose of social media platforms.

“Facebook no longer wants me stay in touch with friends overseas, or former classmates, or distant relatives. Instead, it serves up memes and stupid short videos.

That whole rich tapestry of my friends and family and colleagues has been replaced by the most shallow and flattened digital fluff. And this feeling of flattening is intensified by the lack of context or community.”

Finally, anti-tech sentiment has seeped into popular culture with shows like Severance or Zero Day. Villains were mobsters now they are tech bros.

WTF?

We are here for you…right?

Dutch sketch comedy analogises the Oval Office ambush of Zelenski.

Share