Has Luxon been listening to 50 Cent or reading the second novel in the Jack Reacher series? Or did he just pluck the melodramatic, completely hollow sentiment out of thin air at a presser, where he is wilfully ignoring the question about his soft poll numbers.

Ah, if I still worked in television, I would trawl through the footage of all his pressers and cut together his gratuitous repetitions, dribbling out his gob with no conviction and even less action.

Growth. He said it 43 times in his speech to the Auckland Business Chamber. Through mining our clean green rep, over tourism and having more concerts at Eden Park apparently. And challenging our “culture of no” with a theatre sports trope of “yes, lets”, while still using the no word when asked aout actually investing in any of those things.

NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi President Richard Wagstaff is gobsmacked.

“It beggars’ belief to hear the Prime Minister talk up the need for investment in science and innovation, when over the last year his Government has cut research funding and axed more than 500 jobs in the public science sector. The new policies to merge Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) and “commercialise science” miss the point. The focus should be on increasing investment in science and properly funding CRIs and universities, not mergers, cuts, and slogans.”

Where is the nudity?

This ‘Where’s Waldo?’ beach scene caused a lot of outrage in 1992 after some parents spotted a topless woman sunbathing, exposing a cartoon bosom and nipple combo. Despite the context - the woman had been alarmed by a boy dropping an ice cream on her back — the book was quickly pulled from libraries in the US and re-released in 1997 once a bikini had been added on the woman.

Trump round-up

Gonebugers (as we say in NZ) were fast and furious in Trumps first week. Government-backed diversity programs, he signed executive orders mandating federal recognition of only two sexes (“Bud Light Dad and Stanley Cup Mom”) and withdrawing the United States from both the Paris Climate Agreement and the World Health Organization. He expands domestic fossil fuel production, and gave the big tick to carrying out mass deportations.

Scottish Sunday Herald TV Guide goes full satire:

Freakiest phone call ever: Danish PM Mette Frederiksen hadn't considered the possibility Trump was serious about Greenland. That changed after the 45 minutes phone call (described by senior European officials who were briefed on the call, as horrendous) during which he was described to be aggressive and confrontational about Frederiksen’s refusal to sell Greenland to the US. Trump said that the US needed Greenland, which is rich in oil and gas and various raw materials for green technology. “for economic security”.

Liar, liar pant on fire: During the election Trump made out he had nothing to do with Project 2025, now emboldened y his second win he appears to be following the conservative playbook. TIME magazine found that nearly two-thirds of the executive actions Trump has issued so far mirror or partially mirror proposals from the Project 2025 document, ranging from sweeping deregulation measures to aggressive immigration reform, challenges to civil-rights protections, and a substantial reduction of the federal workforce, all with the aim of reducing the size and scope of government while reasserting executive authority. (Sound familiar?)

The Beast and beauty: A shift into more feminine and masculine ideals will be part of Trump’s Golden Age, after all beauty standards are awesome tools for oppression. This from Jessica DeFino’s Review of Beauty.

“Appearance ideals are born out of systems of oppression — they’re the physical manifestations of those systems — and as such, make for very effective political propaganda. Consider the way the fascist movement shaped beauty standards in Nazi Germany: The regime used ideals of physical “perfection” — blond hair, blue eyes, fair skin, symmetrical features — to reinforce its eugenics-driven racial hierarchy. It sought to “purify” the German population by encouraging the reproduction of those who embodied Aryan ideals and persecuting those who did not, including Jewish people, Romani people, disabled people, and others deemed “undesirable.” Beauty standards “constituted the core of a racial theory that relied on outward appearance to determine who was good, bad, healthy or sick; who was allowed to reproduce and who was not; who was permitted to live and who was not,” Moshtari Hilal writes in Ugliness. Nazi propaganda frequently featured imagery of fit, youthful citizens, and women in particular were expected to embody traditional femininity while avoiding overt cosmetic use (a way to prove their biological superiority, and a concerning parallel to the current Western focus on skincare rather than makeup, “natural”-looking procedures, and the new “undetectable era” of plastic surgery).”

Punching above our weight

A sick ad for The New Zealand Herpes Foundation, by ad agency Motion Sickness (October 2024), Starring Graeme Henry.

TV Escapism

Every Family has a Secret (Netflix): Like David Lomas Investigates, but Australian, this SBS half hour is riveting, with stories unearthing double lives, war criminals and mob connections. There are 3 series to get stuck into.

Hospital drama: As a fan of the Emmy-winning show ER, which ran from 1994 to 2009 and launched big names like George Clooney and Julaine Margolis, I tried to get into Netflix’s New Amsterdam; but man-o-man it is smug and sentimental and patronising. In one scene two very slim and toned doctors give a diabetic patient a gift of seeds. So he could grow vegetables and cure his diabetes. Cringe. I was glad to see The Pitt (starring Noah Wyle, from ER) on Neon. It’s pacey with real grit and the interpersonal stuff plays like a drama, not a soap. Love it.

Uncomfortable content

Weird name for a cosmetics company, right? Not if the company’s main product is embalming fluid. "Frigid Cosmetics" (makeup for dead people) is a full make-up kit "designed to accentuate the natural features and accurate colour hues, tones and complexions of decedents."

This was before racism was called out: German ad for Chinese food released in 1988 will make you squirm.

Womb with a view: For men, here’s your chance to see what it is like getting a smear test. Be brave!

Operation Trolley: After a three-day operation in Rotorua Police have made 13 arrests (mostly homeless people) and reunited 45 trollies to their respective stores. Awesome use of resource.

Peak Novelty Socks

Supercut — breaking the fourth wall

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