nzjanette

This is just to say

I am ignoring
the polls
that are so bad
and so low

and which
you were probably
going to use
as an excuse for the spull

I’m not sorry
I can’t be rolled
I will have my entitlements
and I won’t be told.

Namibia: Live stream in the Namib Desert YouTube video by NamibiaCam

Here it is.

This the season for babies at the watering hole in the Namib desert. Baby gnu resting in the heat of the day. Half grown ostrich chicks. And just now, three teeny tiny warthog babies.
I've been watching the live feed regularly for about a year now - it's fascinating and very soothing.

And there’s almost a pathos in her, a honest-to-god government minister, asking an LLM to make her *sound* smart and inspirational. Has she no faith she can just be those things on her own?

I can deal with all the other typos - god knows I make enough of them myself - but the random capital m in froM is taking me out. It takes work to do that. My phone corrected it to a small m when I typed it here.
#nzpol

Gross. She looks so pleased with herself with her dirty shoe in all our faces.

Mr Luxon is one of those very rare people whom its impossible to apply a theory of mind. Can you imagine his inner life in any form but its absence? The only books he reads are self-help. He cannot maintain an exchange of complex thoughts. Every interview descends into banalities within minutes

And why is he always so awkward? He manages to mostly look like a Doctor Who alien in a human skin suit.

New Zealander, watching the cricket, posts on BlueSky: “Only four more overs in this innings.”

Americans flood the replies: “They’re called outs not overs and there are only ever three of them per innings. Don’t watch if you don’t understand the rules.”

😂 yep. That was a wee bit of a tell.

A sandy coloured spoodle resting his head against my knee and smiling up at me. His face is a bit lopsided because he had some kind of virus or infection that paralysed one side of his face a few years ago. He recovered and the paralysis eased, but one side of his mouth is pulled back still.

Portrait of a dog who's very happy that all his people are in their proper places again.

What message were they trying to send? Luxon as relatable man of the people?
Ick.

Looking fancy! Those glasses are 🔥

Photo of Luxon looking awkward as fuck sotting in a chair with one leg up on a table and his hands raised.

This is an official photo that's up on Getty Images, so this is purposeful.

But who puts their feet on the table in someone else's space?

And who, in a New Zealand context, where this is not only gross but *not* tikanga, thought this was a suitable pose for the PM to assume?
#nzpol

Yes! The writing is sooo turgid. I lasted to the end of book five, thought this whole book could have been dealt with in a couple of chapters, metaphorically threw the book against the wall, and have never gone near WoT again.

So cool. I love this about us.

Yep. It was totally clear as soon as he showed up that he was only in it for the status and had no interest in or qualifications for the job.

And, on the third hand, the gleeful focus on the spectacle of Luxon's discomfiture (satisfying as it is) is a distraction from the wider issues with the coalition.
Their shit policies and dodgy behaviour ought to be the focus.

On the other hand, I'm annoyed.
Presumably the press gallery has known for some time that Luxon truly is as self-regarding, vapid, and unsuitable for the office of PM as we always thought.
That's pretty consequential information, so why didn't they share it with us until now?

On the one hand, I'm a petty wench so I'm enjoying the articles reading Luxon for filth.
#nzpol

this is like

the thesis statement of our times

I'm just annoyed that I feel like all the knowledge and the technology we have means we could all be having a really nice time and scientists could be doing science and everyone could have enough food and shelter and everything they need but instead *gestures at everything*

Also, people don’t want to accept it but he wasn’t a good Air NZ CEO either. I would hazard a guess he also wasn’t a good Unilever exec. Just because you have the job doesn’t mean you are good at it. Leadership skills ARE transferable and there’s zero proof he is suitable for anything high profile.

Good effort from you!!

I didn't even know that was a thing.
I think I'm a washing machine cleaning goddess because I run the cleaning cycle regularly and empty the filters.
Clearly I need to up my game.

#nzpol Make time to read this excellent article this weekend because Sanjana always find the bullseye. 🎯

He doesn’t think much of us does he.
His failings are apparently our skill issue, not his.
#nzpol

As an old-school hater, I very much appreciate this deep dive thread into why Luxon sucks

New Dunedin Hospital's 'approved budget' higher than government claimed The approved budget for the new Dunedin Hospital is just over $2b, though the government continues to use a figure millions less than that.

Hey so remember how the govt paused work on the hospital to avoid budget blowouts and then rescoped it to have fewer beds than the current hospital and the budget still blew out and will continue to blow out.

www.rnz.co.nz/news/nationa...

Oh but we see them fail all the time, it's the public acknowledgement of their incompetence that we thirst for. So sweet, and so cold.

My husband has tested negative for covid for a couple of days now, so he’s rejoined the world.

The dog’s a happy camper because all the doors are open again. I’m also happy - I’m still testing negative and I got to bend Travis’s ear about the cricket *and* about Luxon’s embarrassing day.