Eloquentsonia

A view over a ploughed field towards an ancient barn topped with snow. There is a hard hoar frost tracing cobwebs and making the going hard for the corvids in the field

Ladybird Artists Advent Calendar
Window 7
‘Frost’
Artist: CF Tunnicliffe

My favourite grasshopper fact: Grasshoppers first appeared on the planet 250 million years ago.

Grass did not appear on the planet until 40 million years ago

Imagine it: 210 million years, hopping around on any random surface you can find, waiting for the grass that will make you truly yourself.

He looks like he’s trying to stop his dog from leaving him

Two children’s books from the “Violet and the Velvets” series by Rachael King: “The Case of the Missing Stuff” with an orange cover showing a girl playing guitar, and “The Case of the Angry Ghost” with a green cover featuring the same character surrounded by ghost imagery. Both illustrated by Phoebe Morris.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Just finished the first book. Books I wish were around when my daughters were at primary school! But after I’ve read them I can give them to my mokopuna! Ngā mihi nunui. I loved the synesthesia when Violet was playing ♥️

Violet and the Velvets nā @rachaelking70.bsky.social

Summer reading: A year of resistance and hope | E-Tangata Alongside the many critiques of government policies that we published in 2025, we also ran many pieces about fortitude, accomplishment, and optimism. These are the stories that we’d like to leave you ...

Alongside the many critiques of government policies that we published in 2025, we also ran many pieces about fortitude, accomplishment, and optimism. These are the stories that we’d like to leave you with over the summer. Stories of restoration, resistance, and hope.

Restoring Aunty's real name | E-Tangata “She began life as Narua, and she was Narua when she passed. In between, a wrong was corrected. The mana of her name was restored.” — Maureen Sinton.

“She began life as Narua, and she was Narua when she passed. In between, a wrong was corrected. The mana of her name was restored.” — Maureen Sinton.

Making an uncommon land | E-Tangata “They were unwitting participants in the violence of colonisation, imperialism and capitalism, just as we, their descendants, continue to be today.” — Catherine Knight on her settler ancestors.

“They were unwitting participants in the violence of colonisation, imperialism and capitalism, just as we, their descendants, continue to be today.” — Catherine Knight on her settler ancestors.

Brown and sorted | E-Tangata “Every ancestor that has ever lived is still a part of your family. Their physical absence doesn't alter their ongoing impact on your life. One of the beauties of living a brown life is to know you're...

“Every ancestor that has ever lived is still a part of your family. Their physical absence doesn’t alter their ongoing impact on your life. One of the beauties of living a brown life is to know you’re never alone.” — Tainui Stephens.

Long Covid's long reach

Comment from Victoria University: The easiest way to prevent others contracting Long Covid is to stay home when sick, and for govt to increase paid leave

YouTube video by Mountain Tui Chris Luxon too scared to front Q&A with Jack Tame

Mirror Mirror
On The Wall
Who's The Most Cowardly Poli
Of Them All?

Luxon, Peters and Upston compete for Political Dunces of the Year #nzpol #kiwi

🦠 #NZ Measles

- Many new locations of interest
- Close contacts
Auckland: G.A.Y. Club, Eagle Bar, Karagahape Road
Nelson: BP Connect Richmond
Otago: Emergency Dept, Dunedin Hospital
Hikari Teppanyaki & OPSM, Frankton
Ballarat, Chemist Warehouse, Carters, Queenstown

info.health.nz/health-topic...

It is an absolutely delightful irony that the richest man in the world is universally acknowledged to be a huge fucking loser who not a single living person envies in any way at all

Watch and learn.

💯 this.

Hate and anger raise cortisol levels.

If you are always hateful. Always angry. Cortisol destroys the body from the inside out.

you do that google that you do

As we are now in a period where one party has, in the past two months, bought enough political ads on YouTube to have shown 1 to everyone in the country if they were evenly distributed, just a reminder that the Google Ads Transparency Centre is still a thing & the Political Ads tab tracks showings

Didn't we say that was some bullshit! #NZPol

And our beautiful neighbours, who will need refuge when their islands have been swamped thanks to Nicola’s thoughtlessness and inability to consider anyone less financially secure than she is. 😢

Cartoon. Title; “Trick Shot” Image shows PM Christopher Luxon standing on an archery range, with three targets, one in front of the other. The first is labelled “Climate” the second in smaller one is labelled “Economy” and the third large one is labelled “Climate Catastrophe” The first one has no arrows in it at all, the second is peppered with arrows, and the third one has an arrow in the bullseye. The PM is clapping and saying, “Oh, Bravo Nicola. Bravo!”

The NZ Govt is reneging on climate commitments, which could have trade and legal risks for the country. Not to mention contributing to us all frying or drowning.
My #cartoon today #NZpol #Climate

$20 billion could end homelessness in the US

$40 billion could end hunger globally

Both would still only cost 3/4 of what Meta blew on Mark Zuckerberg’s obviously bad ideas because nobody would tell him they were stupid because he’s worth over $200 billion because he doesn’t pay his share of taxes

The old view from Yanaka Ginza Yūyake Dandan

The current view from Yanaka Ginza Yūyake Dandan

The view from Yanaka Ginza Yūyake Dandan ("sunset starircase") is now largely blocked by apartment blocks under construction. www.yomiuri.co.jp/national/202...

This is your annual reminder, from me, that Facebook launched Groups in 2010, meaning the company has fostered, repeatedly refused to ban, and defended its Holocaust denial groups for 15 years. A generation.

"When you encourage Holocaust denial, you get a Trump."

www.engadget.com/2017-05-26-t...

fog settled over small lake - reflected trees, and gliding geese at blue hour

Each time,
the found world surprises
- that is its nature.

Jane Hirshfield

Andrew Coster alleges Hipkins, Mitchell knew more about McSkimming than they admitted The former police commissioner claims he told Hipkins about McSkimming’s affair during a car trip.

Informal briefings are used to stay off the radar. If you intend anything to done by an organisation, you make it a formal briefing/communication. So even if Coster is telling the truth, he didn't want anything to happen.

www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/3609...

A selection of toys (one much much older than others) all sitting around guarding Secret Santa presents on a stool in front of Santa Bears. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . Toothless. Gugri. Eve. Soo Bartok. Brave Heart Lion. Tigger

Starting #SecretSantaAoNZ guard duty off strong today.
Can you name all the characters?

Wide shot of my garden in bloom

Pink Foxglove

Delphinium with hydrangea

Lavender foxgloves

My garden is STUNNING right now!

The founder of nz heritage seed charity (koanga.org.nz) posted on Facebook about their origins.

After chenobyl in the 80s, she was trying to get beans to plant, and learned that our nation's seed beans all came from Europe. And there were none to buy,

1/3

Zack Polanski: ‘I’m going to confess I haven’t finished The Climate Book by Greta Thunberg’ The Green party leader on his ‘floordrobe’, doomscrolling, and getting arrested on Waterloo Bridge

“Which living person do you most admire, and why?
Chlöe Swarbrick who is co-leader of the New Zealand Greens. She’s demonstrating the bold leadership that I look to do every single day.” Zac Polanski, UK Green Party leader www.the-guardian.com/lifeandstyle...

In today’s HeraldOnSunday

“He’s making his nest now. … There! See it!? That son-of-a- … he’s got himself a futon!”

“He’s making his nest now. … There! See it!? That son-of-a- … he’s got himself a futon!”

Rachel Harlow, her hair pulled back in a chignon, in an Oscar de la Renta dress in 1972

A very important thread. When I was probably no more than 10, I saw this picture of the woman known as Harlow in the Philly Inquirer. A little babygay, I was shocked that such a glamour queen could live in my hometown and even more shocked to see her described as "a former man."

A tall red crayfish mascot and a short blue carp mascot pose for the camera at a busy street festival.

Zarigani Hakase, a professorial crayfish, and Funadon, a guileless carp, are local characters from Hanyu City.