Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in Trashy Reality TV

 Oh come on, strip these two of all titles...

Latest Political Poll New Zealand

I don't trust the latest public opinion polls as published by TV3's Newshub. That's not because they have National too low on 29%, but because their results show Advance NZ not registering at all. That I don't believe, right now Advance NZ are everywhere and they're packing halls. It is simply not credible to think they're not registering. And I'm going to stick my neck out and say I don't believe National are so low either. If true, it would be a first as voters always return to National when times are tough and that's right now, with New Zealand's biggest economic crisis in its entire history.

What's going on? The media are rigging things, that's what. 

YouTube Reaction: Jamel_AKA_Jamal

You may be familiar with reaction videos on YouTube. They're popular, my favorite person for his reactions is Jamel_AKA_Jamal who is on a musical journey. I believe he lives in the Los Angeles area, he was brought up on Rythmn and Blues, Hip Hop, Rap and so on. He really enjoys all this other stuff and now people are sending him requests and things through the mail. His latest video is his reaction to the band America's, A Horse With No Name

Judith Collins Wins Debate

The odds were against her; TVNZ had stacked the deck by having current public opinion polling released an hour before the leaders debate itself, but Judith Collins pulled off a stunning victory. She did all the right things, said the right things, and looked like a prime minister in waiting. Meanwhile, her opponent Jacinda Ardern looked as if she wanted to be somewhere else. Maybe her mind was somewhere else, we'll never know. She was average, lacklustre and considering this is 2020 and global economic shambles time, we expect more of our leaders. 

Currently National are trailing in the polls, but I don't trust them, they've got to be rigged. National are doing fine and I'm picking a change of government will be the result on election day. Remember, I called it the other way back in 2017.

Auckland Harbour Bridge Falling Down

It's a minor example of the decay and lack of investment in New Zealand's infrastructure; Auckland Harbour Bridge was hit by a truck crossing the bridge and now several lanes will be out of action for weeks while repairs are underway. For decades a second option for crossing the harbour has been touted but nothing has ever been done about it. Successive governments have sat on their hands. So commuters have to queue for hours, instead of using a viable alternative.

But this is only the start. Bridges across NZ are chronically underfunded and their maintenance and upgrade has long since been abandoned. With an election just weeks away, hopefully the issues can be kept in focus leading up to polling day, and hopefully voters will bear the lack of investment in mind when they cast their ballot.

How About We Cancel Cancel Culture

NBA: Clippers Massive Choke

I've said it many times; the Los Angeles Clippers will never win a championship. They don't know how to win, the club lacks the right culture. With all its talent, how could they give up a 3-1 series lead and lose in game 7 to the Denver Nuggets. It is just incredible how they clutch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Mind you, the Nuggets played good team tactics, never allowing the Clippers easy looks. More often than not a Nuggets player contested shots and if they didn't, the Clippers shooter was probably in his secondary spot anyway. This told in the end, the Clippers looked awful.

Have a look at this highlights reel of the fourth quarter, it shows just how bad the Clippers were, and how organised the Nuggets were as well:

Advance NZ

There's a small political tsunami occurring in New Zealand right now; they're called Advance NZ. This new political party was created by ex-National MP Jamie-Lee Ross but where it found its feet was when they joined forces with the New Zealand Public Party. The latter group merged with Advance NZ so they could be on the ballot for the 2020 general election.

Musician Billy TK Jr is behind NZPP. They're an odd bunch, often holding what may be called fringe beliefs; opposing vaccinations and the 1080 poisoning of pests and so on.

Why the tsunami? COVID-19 and the associated lengthy and damaging lockdowns have fuelled support for this group. People already alienated by the existing power structures and the lockdown has led to a feeling of powerlessness. Into this void strode Advance NZ. Combined with an effective social media campaign, numbers attending meetings, protests, rare but well handled appearances on television, Advance NZ are gaining traction. They could make the 5% threshold, while the Greens and NZ First may be out altogether. If this happens, it'll be a major shift in the NZ political landscape.

The next few weeks will be interesting to watch. 

We Are Standing on the Precipice

Worth a watch this, from Triggernometry

 

RIP Diana Rigg

Confession time; back in the 60's I had serious hots for the character from the TV show The Avengers, Mrs Emma Peel. Played by Diana Rigg, Mrs Peel was partnered with John Steed as a counter-intelligence agent. Mrs Peel had it all, she was stylish, kick-ass, and witty. Her partner, John Steed drove a Bentley and wore the type of shoes a man could really admire. I actually bought the very same type and still have them to this day.

Sadly, Diana Rigg has died at age 82, a great loss.

https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/sep/11/diana-rigg-emma-peel-the-avengers-swinging-sixties-style-icon-fashion

Frogmore Cottage

Does anyone believe, even for a minute, that Prince Harry and his wife have paid back the British taxpayer for their excessive and pointless renovation of Frogmore Cottage out of their own money? I certainly don't. I suspect we'll find out that Prince Charles forked out, just to make the matter go away. Stop enabling Harry, he's shown his true character, let him sink or swim on his own.

Novak Djokovic at the US Open

While Novak Djokovic being defaulted out of the US Open may look harsh, it was the right call in my opinion. Hitting any ball without a clear idea of where you're sending it can result in disaster. The line judge was hit in the neck, an area of the body that is potentially fatal with a knock like that. Think of all the cricketer batsmen who have died from fast balls to the neck region. Add to that the line judge was not expecting the hit.

Typhoon Maysak: Ship Lost at Sea

Tragic circumstances, a ship carrying almost 6,000 head of cattle has sunk while sailing through typhoon Maysak off the coast of Japan. The ship was on the way to China from New Zealand. Here's a picture of the vessel:

This ship doesn't look like it would be comfortable to be on board during a typhoon. It does look top heavy. Reports are the ship capsized and that does sound right.

Pure speculation: what would have caused the ship to capsize? Well, as anyone who has experienced a typhoon will soon tell you, water absolutely buckets down. In this storm I'm guessing a lot of that precipitation was coming in sideways. Note the upper decks are open. If enough water was coming down, so much it couldn't drain away quickly enough, together with the weight of the livestock and their water supplies, the ship would become top heavy, unstable, and any large wave side-on would tip it over.

Bad news I know and no consolation to the family of those on board. This looks to have been poor seamanship, the captain should have tried to avoid the weather, but once in it he should look to reduce the amount of time he was sailing side-on to the wind. He needed to be sailing the boat directly into the wind. Maybe his lack of knowledge about how much water you can take on in a typhoon was a factor.

Only one survivor thus far, let's hope the Japanese Coast Guard find more.

Bonus Free Kindle Reads

Two more of my books are now available as free Kindle reads over the next couple of days.

Dana Point https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07FP5DLJ1

And for those interested in everything New Zealand:

Snob's Guide to New Zealand https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07J9XRCWK