Leilani Walker

Oh yes, Homer’s famous “Tes Thdpssssps.”

👍🏻

My initial thought too. I'm worried about the collections at MW and NIWA ☹️

Make sure it comes with a fund earmarked to pay a dedicated person to be the A Chen associate curator so they can field enquiries about it forever.

OK fine, what submissions do I have to make FFS?! Don't worry - I got you. Here's everything you need in one place!

Ok, TPB submission finally done. ✅

What's next on the list of evil fuckery that needs opposing...?

No way! Yup that's my mum and I shall 😊

In case there was any doubt - the Act party's submit.treaty.nz url does indeed create confusion for some trying to submit against the Treaty Principles bill. Just received texts from my Thai aunty (late 60s) trying to submit and very confused about why it won't allow her to submit in opposition

Kia ora 👋 checking in from summer holiday bliss to kindly ask you to submit against further restrictions on puberty blockers, which are up for review for transgender kids but weirdly* not for cis kids with precocious puberty. Fantastic advice here:
insideout.org.nz/submission-g...
*sarcasm

All sensible. Playlist is a GREAT shout xX

Probs decorating and activities. These are great calls as there will be some kids 👍 much appreciated

Family emergency means I am, as of this moment, in charge of hosting family xmas. Low effort-high impact tips appreciated

I guess I'm on 0.5 then 😅

Do you still lose #Whamageddon if it's the Taylor Swift cover?

Trail cam image of a feral cat carrying a kingfisher in its mouth

Advertising for an MSc student to work on a feral cat management project - stipend + domestic fees for research year. @aucklanduni.bsky.social Working with different iwi & community partners. More details here: stanleylab.blogs.auckland.ac.nz/opportunities/

Btw do you have a preferred recording for the Britten?

Please tell me there were some fun and apt coincidences between music and writing

Lovely will check them out. And absolutely no judgment - the stuff that ends up on my writing playlist is judged on a completely separate criteria (I.e. whatever it takes 😅)

F***. Recs*

What're y'all listening to at the moment? Need album reqs. I have zero music taste and no genre restrictions so honestly just whatever you're listening to and think is neat

“We know that Māori researchers, communities, and knowledge systems stand to suffer the most from this decision,” says Pou Matarua Professor Tahu Kukutai. “This decision defunds Māori research and Māori researchers by stealth."

20%, under $15m, of Marsden funding went to social sciences while just under $60m went to hard sciences.
Total govt research funding in year to March 2023 was ~$1.1b (0.29% of GDP).
Cutting the humanities out of Marsden is just spite.

It is fucking relentless #nzpol

My stupid addendum to this is that spiders have "book lungs" so I think it must be fair to call them pukapukapukapuka

Something I think isn’t really obvious to non-researchers is that the vast, vast majority of NZ government science spending already goes to funds which are targeted at direct economic outcomes. The Marsden Fund was the last, inadequate bastion of fundamental research funding. 🧪

Farro does nice freezer meals

Given that most Māori and Pacific scholars are based in the humanities and social sciences fields, this will disproportionately impact those groups.
Fun times.

In New Zealand, street work is comparatively easy.

The place we need real courage is from the leaders, both management and governance, of the institutions that we have created to support us. From unions to the Royal Society to small NGOs.

Now is the time is risk it all to save it all.

Small-minded Philistine instrumentalism is no way to do scientific research

By definition, if you know all the outcomes of your work ahead of time, you are not thinking big enough and someone is going to come along and eat your lunch

That's what will happen now, even more

As a scientist who has a Marsden through the social sciences panel this is so so so fucked up. It will have massive implications for Māori research being funded.

The notion that fundamentally better understanding people and how and why they act doesn't matter in achieving social or economic outcomes is, well, interesting. "Humanities and social sciences panels disbanded and no longer supported."

A photo collage of the 2025 bug of the year nominees.

The long wait is over- #Bug of the Year 2025 nominee list is now live! Voting opens January 1st, so you have until February to decide on your top three nominees & place your votes! Winner announced on Valentine’s Day! 💚 Who will steal the crown from Kahukura?
bugoftheyear.ento.org.nz/2025-bug-of-...