CYCLONE VAIANU WARNINGS UPDATE 🔴 RED STRONG WIND WARNING - Coromandel Peninsula and Great Barrier Island 🔴 💨 Strong Wind Watches and Warnings updated 🟠 🟡 🌧️ Heavy Rain Watches and Warnings updated🟠 🟡 More warning information: metservice.com/warnings How to prepare: GetReady.govt.nz

Our Hutt South and Remutaka Green candidates are hosting a relaxed Meet-the-Candidates evening on Thursday 16 April, from 6 to 8pm @ The Crooked Elm in Lower Hutt. A chance to connect, talk about what matters to you, and hear a bit about what we’re thinking for the year ahead. Hope to see you there!

Doing a research survey about marine protection in Aotearoa, and I don't know whether I should point out in the extra comment space that I wrote the select committee report on the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana Marine Protection Bill, so my awareness might not be representative of the wider population.

Peters tells us that taking a stance would be "mindless moral posturing and vacuous virtue signalling", while the Government condemns Iran's retaliation but not the US and Israel's illegal war of aggression. But when the President of America *goes on social media* and threatens to commit...

Went to read this article to get some insight on what the Foreign Minister was actually saying in the room with Rubio, got... some of that, but mostly came away thinking "oh fuck OFF", god forbid he ever stop trying to erase Te Reo at every opportunity. newsroom.co.nz/2026/04/08/w...

Every day our Government refuses to condemn these genocidal actions and brazen war crimes the moral wound deepens. We've spent decades playing the "NZ Inc" game, the idea that we don't do partisan politics on the world stage, we present a united front in support of the international rule of law.

Trump is threatening to erase an entire civilisation. We are watching genocide and war crimes become normalised in real time - Just look at Gaza. And where is the Minister for Foreign Affairs? In the United States, playing footsies with Rubio

These unhinged rants are why we should not be following the US into war. Also a reminder that Israel and the US started this war by dropping a bomb on a school full of children. Say no to AUKUS. Say no to US military payloads being launched from Aotearoa soil.

this is my barbenheimer #maulshadowlord #witchhatatelier

As I walked past a Supermarket while out on my constitutional, I thought I would make this.

Me deciding which anime to watch this season

Toshiro Mifune driving his MG TD on the set of Yojimbo with his sword on the dash

Presenting: The Queersar Not An Award for 2021! 10 (+1) examples of top-quality queer SFF. Brilliant fantasy cities, some great SFF romance, anti-Brexit Epic Fantasy, dark fantasy mystery, space opera, gonzo slipstream, a great spin-off with a particular spotlight on a throwback of the best sort.

No helped by the realtime info on bus replacement routes being incomplete (all buses are empty and heading due north).

I don't begrudge Metlink shutting the trains down every single public holiday (well, I do a little) but it is insane to me that they think two-ish buses, running on a reduced timetable, is a sufficient replacement.

Off to Armageddon for the first time in years this morning. Throwing together an extremely rough attempt at a Magnus Quinn from The Locked Tomb costume from shit I've got in my wardrobe. Will I be recognisable? Almost certainly not. But will it at least win me the admiration of my peers? Also no.

I've decided to put my stuff on a 50% off easter sale! If you're looking for something to bring to your #ttrpg table, we've got you covered; adventures, classes, subclasses, 5e, PF2e, FATE, one-shots and more! Check it out, running for the long weekend: itch.io/s/183692/eas... #kiwirpg #5e #dnd

A few years ago, James Shaw got up and made a speech on a Member's Day about a particularly odious bill in the name of Simeon Brown. I think about this speech a lot. I am thinking about it again today. #nzpol

Me trying to bond with sports fans "wow yea, VAR sucks, didn't he burn down all those churches in Norway?"

I’m in The Spinoff! Musings about writing while the world is *gestures at everything*.

The worst urban fantasy novel you've ever seen

Got an email t'other day saying that, because I'd filled out a Council survey, I'd won a year's membership to the Hutt City pools & gym. So I went for a swim this morning, and hoo boy am I out of shape.

"If appointed Chief Executive, I pledge to build a strong working relationship with Harold the Giraffe, as I assume is the primary function of this role."

Important parliament question. Is the speaker and the clerk at the table basically the political version of the taskmaster combo of Greg Davies and Little Alex Horne? They even basically have a big throne and a little throne.

Final ice block of Hot Dave Unemployment Summer. Or, perhaps, the first of Slightly Chilly Dave "Self-Employed" Autumn.

This post in particular ran into trouble with the character limit. Hard to be accurate AND eloquent in so few words, and "problems facing NZ's democracy" doesn't really do the topic justice I fear. But I especially appreciated Dr Knight's manifesto:

Out now on Win for #ratjam is RUN RATBOY RUN, a game about imposter syndrome and the anxiety of showering with dudes you don't know that well. It has more physics than you would expect. Probably don't play it on your work computer caseylucas.itch.io/run-ratboy-run

Back to the ol' stomping grounds today to attend Democratic Resilience and Transparency, hosted by @duncanwebbmp.bsky.social. Promises to be an interesting day, though I'm not looking forward to having to pick between different sessions.

My favourite seal story this year: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

cheers to seals! here are some freshly spotted sea dogs who have taken over a beach in Tōtaranui / Queen Charlotte Sound

Kurosawa on watching Solaris with Tarkovsky

You there, boy, what day is it? Why, it's International Day of the Seal! Then I haven't missed it! Let us go forth and celebrate seals and sea lions.

What I’m saying is, the first vampire a show like this has to slay is Joss Whedon

A year ago, ministers met to consider tightening NZ’s pay equity law. Their decisions went further than officials had advised, hardening the policy to the point some groups were cut out from ever making a claim. Why? And on what evidence? They won’t show us. www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Bad news lads, still no new Ponsonby Pope.

Surrounded by festival goers this morning at Auckland Polyfest 2026, The Green Party announced that a Green Government would bridge the funding gap currently faced by Polyfest organisers.

Let's make WorldCon truly WORLDCon and bring it back to the southern hemisphere. It hasn't been in Australia since Melbourne in 2010. It was *supposed* to be in Wellington, NZ in 2020. So let's get behind Brisbane for 2028. Brissie is a fantastic city. I'll be there. Will you? www.brisbane28.org

Fables has announced her debut album Change Is A Slow Moving Beast will be out on 17th April via Home Alone Music + she's touring nationwide with band & special guest Mali Mali! Get Ōtepoti, Tāhuna and Ōhinehou tickets via UTR ☀️

New library: it's good.

Putting on my scratched record to play what should be plainly obvious to everyone now. Rocketlab are just a part of the US war machine.

Bad news lads, still no new Ponsonby Pope.

A selection of finest Hesters

What you can't tell from the image is that this ship isn't long and thin, it's short and very wide.

Back to my half-hearted job-hunting (haven't heard one way or t'other for the job I interviewed for the other day, such is life), and uh... this is a bit on the nose (for a job in the Labour Leader's Office).