My last photo for 2025

The photo up top is my final photo of 2025, like what I’ve done before, like last year, for example. I guess it’s a tradition, like staying up to see in the New Year. I’ve done that for as long as I can remember, and I expect to do until I can’t anymore, for whatever reason that may be.

My caption on Instagram/Facebook said:

Leo and I are eagerly waiting for 2025 to end in less than 90 minutes, and he thought we should take another dual photo as the last one for the year. But he got momentarily distracted right before the shutter, so he didn’t get a chance to smile. Next year? 😁🐶

Meanwhile, that’s enough of this year. On to 2026!

My mother would be 109

Today (US time) is my mother’s 109th birthday. I always remember it, and this year is no different. Several years ago, I began publishing my post for her birthday when it was her birthday in the timezone she was born in. Ah, timezones again! I’ve mentioned that I often miss the birthdays of US-based Facebook friends because I get the alert in MY timezone, which is really weird. However, when I have the choice, as I do with these posts, I want to acknowledge birthdays on the person’s actual day. This was especially important to me for my mother because she never set foot in New Zealand, and observing her birthday in my current timezone felt off. Perhaps that sounds weird, maybe even utterly bizarre, but it’s where I’m at.

Back in 2018, I talked about why these posts matter to me:

I’ve told so many stories about my mother over the years, and repeated some of them, that finding something new to say is now very difficult. But that’s not really the point of these posts or why I make them. Instead, it’s about the remembering itself.

Part of that is about ensuring I remember her birthday even now, because when she was alive it could get lost in the midst of all the holidays. But the cool reality is that she’s been gone so long now—the better part of four decades—that I can go days, weeks, or even longer (months?) without thinking about her or remembering her except for, maybe, a moment. By making a point of remembering her birthday, I’m assured I’ll think about her not just on the day, but in the weeks leading up to it. I like the comfort of that.

This year marks 45 years that my mother’s been gone, and 46 years for my dad. That’s a very long time. I’m unlikely to make it to 45 years without Nigel—I’d be 105 years old—but I wonder if I do make that far, or even, say, 35 years, will it be similar to my parents? Will I still have long stretches when I don’t think about him, and others where the thoughts and memories are constant? Or will he continue to be a constant presence, so to speak, in my life, as he’s been since he died, and in a way my parents really haven’t been, or will that fade over time? Part of me is fascinated to find out, because I love learning about and observing real life, but some of me that isn’t even remotely detached.

I feel Nigel’s presence in my life every day, much as I used to when he was, say, at work and I was at home, something that’s apparently at least somewhat common among widows/widowers. It’s been comforting, especially when I’ve had the inevitable rough times, but that makes me worried that if it does “go away”, I’ll feel totally alone. If it does happen, I imagine it’ll be a long, slow process of forgetting—not the memories, but feeling his presence. And this is something I now think of every year when my parents’ birthdays come round, when I think about them more intensely than I normally do.

The important thing is that even now, 45 years after she died, and after having spent more than two-thirds of my entire life without her, I still think of her and remember her, especially on her birthday—on either (well, both…) of the two technically “correct” dates). As I said last year, “thinking about my mother two days in a row isn’t exactly a bad thing.” Indeed. And I can’t imagine it’ll ever change.

Happy Birthday, Mom, and thanks. Always.

Previous birthday posts:
My mother would be 108 (2024)
My mother would be 107 (2023)
My mother would be 106 (2022)
My mother would be 105 (2021)
Remembering my mother’s birthday in 2020 (2020)
Remembering my mother’s birthday in a new life (2019)
Still remembering my mother’s birthday (2018)
Remembering my mother’s birthday (2017)
My mom would be 100 (2016)
Mom at 99 (2015)
Remembering my mother (2014)
Mom’s birthday (2013)
Mom’s treasure (2012)
Remembering birthdays (2011)
That time of year (2009)
Memories and words (2008)

Related:
Tears of a clown – A 2009 post that’s still one of my favourites about my mother.

Year-end pop music mashups 2025

Another year ends, and the pop music mashups are out, including these two, the last of the ones I used to regularly watch. This year marks the end of the conversion to a new reality.

I don’t even know most of the artists or the songs in both mashups (Adamusic’s “What 2025 Sounds Like”, the first one I saw, is up top, and DJ Earworm’s “United State of Pop 2025 (Talk to Me)”, released the next day, is below). Sure, I recognise some of the artists, and I probably heard a snippet ot two somewhere, but not the entirety of any of them. I no longer listen to contemporary pop radio, there are no longer and pop music video channels that focus on current pop music, and I rarely listen to Spotify—and when I do stream, it’s not to listen to any pop charts.

In other words, for the first time in my life, I have virtually no exposure to new pop music, and so, I have no idea what’s currently a hit and what isn’t. I’m not exactly happy about that reality, but it IS my reality. Earlier this year, I tried streaming the NZ Top 40 Spotify Playlist, but I just didn’t care enough about it to continue doing it.

I have no idea where this heading: Maybe I’ll find a way to keep hearing new pop music, or maybe that’s it, and I’ll forever be looked into “oldies” music. Honetly, though, I’m not sure I care, especially if these two mashups are reflective of the pop music of 2025.

Ask Arthur 2025, Part 2: Rogues gallery

This is the final post answering questions in this year’s “Ask Arthur” series. A (very) short series, I know, but it is what it is.

This years' fiinal question is again from Roger Green, who wrote:

I'd like you to analyze the Worst of the Worst: your least favorite members of the regime and why. Don't feel limited to the executive branch; if you want to dis Mike Johnson or John Roberts, please feel free.

It would be much easier to list who among the regime’s inhabitants I like, or, at least, can tolerate, because that list would be empty. This is a first for me: Even when I’ve strongly disagreed with whoever was in the Oval Office, there nearly always was someone that I could at least tolerate—and that even includes the Convicted Felon’s first occupation of the White House. But that’s absolutely not true this time.

Most of the regime is made up of utterly incompetent, even demonstrably stupid, people, which has probably been the main thing that’s kept the USA from going fully fascist so far. There are, however, several people who are beneath contempt, the sorts who better pray every day that there are no Nuremberg-style trials once the regime is finally gone.

The worst of the worst are, in my sincerely held opinion, anyone and everyone who is any way attached to to the Department of “Homeland” Security, its secretary and the head of the ICE Gestapo, chief among them (I will refrain wherever possible from using the rogues’ names because refusing to utter someone’s name is probably a human’s greatest gesture of contempt). They have all broken numerous federal and state laws, violated the rights of thousands of people, and committed the sorts of crimes against humanity that in the Beofre Times would get a country on a US government watchlist.

The individual who outranks all of them in this list, though, has to be the guy often called “The Shadow President”, Herr Miller, who is the architect of the regime’s racist, inhuman, and inhumane war against immigrants, regardless of legal status. The Convicted Felon’s personal Stellvertreter, in the more appropriate German, has made deliberate cruelty the focus of his work, though ensuring maximum profits for the corporations that run the detention facilities is also a strong driving motivation for the regime—though much of that speaks to the regime’s general corruption, not merely its evil intent. His sick racist Christmas tirade is just another symptom of his moral depravity.

Also in the rogues gallery would be the head of the Department of Defence who has (allegedly) violated international law and (allegedly) committed war crimes. Beyond that, his open racism, misogynistic sexism, and homophobic über-bigotry make him incredibly gross—at the very least. But it’s his (alleged) crimes against humanity that could cause him the most problems after the regime ends.

Similarly, the Secretary of State has been shockingly disgusting. Was the guy the Felon used to call “Little” always so sick and twisted, or did joining the regime give him permission to stop pretending he was ever anything other than sick and twisted? Maybe one day a Truth and Reconciliation Commission can find out.

Although generally notable mostly for incompetence, the “Attorney General”, so-called, is in the gallery because she’s been tripping over herself to eagerly do whatever her Felonious Lord and Master demands, no matter how illegal or unconstitutional it is. She better hope someone gives her a pardon.

Finally, among the denizens of the cabinet/politburo is the weird and flaky guy in charge of health. Were he merely a crackpot shouting on the Internet, he could be safely ignored. Instead, his actions will result in the deaths of tens of thousands of people before everything he’s done can be reversed when sanity finally returns.

The next group in the rogues gallery are sort of second-string players, though still central to the regime’s fascistic dreams. First, there’s the Shady VP who lately has been desperately trying to convince the Republicans that he alone can be the successor to their God-King. What places him in this gallery, apart from his aggressively boorish behaviour, is that he’s now trying to convince the cult that white supremacism has a place in their cult, the very thing that’s causing deep divisions precisely because so many cultists are saying, “Nah, bro, that’s too racist even for me”.

Special mention, too, goes to the two Roger specifically mentioned, starting with Maga Mike, the worst House Speaker in my lifetime, and that includes his fellow Republican who was convicted of historic sexual abuse of young people. For a man who’s so arrogantly smug all the time, he never seems to know anything whenever he’s asked about the latest crimes or excesses committed by the regime—though perhaps he gets that from his God-King, because he, too, always lies that he doesn’t “know anything about that”. Worse, for someone who constantly parades his supposed religious beliefs, often seemingly performatively, he has done more to not just reject the message of the Jesus he claims to follow, he actually chooses to do the exact opposite. There are rumours that his slavish devotion to the God-King is because the regime has something on him, but it the real explanation is probably just he’s this awful because it’s his nature.

John Roberts gets here, too, but only as an associate member of the rogues gallery, and that, in turn, is only because three of his fellow Republicans are far, FAR worse. Mostly, he’ll go down in history as being singularly responsible for destroying all public respect for the Court, something he seems to actually care about. If he really does, maybe he’ll do better, and reject the authoritarianism of the regime, even if that means he’s in the minority in a ruling.

The one who tops them all is, of course, the Rogue in Chief: Conman, grifter, utterly devoid of any compassion, morality, or ethics, he’s overseeing a deliberate campaign to destroy freedom, democracy, and human rights, all so he can get ever more huge piles of money for himself that he’ll never live long enough to spend. If the rot starts at the top, if the most important organised crime figure is the boss, then he has to have a tier in the rogues gallery all to himself.

Thanks to Roger for participating! Hopefully my response doesn’t make him regret doing so—though it does demonstrate why I almost never talk about politics anymore. Still, it was cathartic.

I don’t know whether I’ll do an “Ask Arthur” series next year or not. I suppose it’ll depend on how well 2026 goes. Thankfully, that decision is nearly a year from now.

All posts in this series are tagged “AAA-25”. All previous posts from every “Ask Arthur” series are tagged, appropriately enough, ”Ask Arthur”.

Previously in the 2025 series:

”Doing the annual inquisition AAAgain?” – The first post in this year’s series.

”Ask Arthur 2025, Part 1: Popping bubbles?”

Rain on my parade

Projects, I have a few, but then, too few to mention. But that’s mostly because the most important ones have been stalled for the past couple weeks. I knew that could happen because this is a La Niña year (technically, it’s part of the “El Niño-Southern Oscillation”, or ENSO), and that can mean a lot of rain—and it did, and still is.

I made a mental list of the “must do” things and the “would be nice to get done” things. It turns out, the only true “must do” thing was clearing off the patio for the installation of the cover. I wanted to clear out the weeds around the patio, and also re-paint the exterior of the house facing the patio, but the patio roof won’t interfere with either of those.

However, it would be helpful to be able to prepare the new (technically old…) spot for the VegePod raised planter. I’ll need to move it off the patio so it still gets full sunshine, but if the weather doesn’t allow me to get that done before the roof is installed, I can just move it onto the lawn with the other patio furniture—and hopefully it won’d sink into the lawn too much…

So, all the outside projects I need to do can wait for some stable weather, even if I’d rather get them done. That also means the rain delays aren’t as frustrating as they might’ve been otherwise. Besides, there are four public holidays this time of year, including Christmas, so not all of the delays were wet and windy (not even metaphorically).

One way or another, I’ll get those projects completed—at some point, weather permitting. I have no excuse reason for not working on inside projects, though. Maybe I just needed a rest? All things in their own time.

Ask Arthur 2025, Part 1: Popping bubbles?

This is the first of two posts answering questions in the truncated 2025 “Ask Arthur” series. This year, I forgot to promote the series, and so, there will be only two posts. But… at least there are two posts? Yeah, that’s it.

Most years' first question is usually from my pal Roger Green, and that’s true this year, too. In fact, he asked the final question for the final post, too. Roger’s question is in two parts. First, he asked:

Are we going to have an AI bubble? You may have seen this graphic where Nvidia is in this loop with the companies they are selling chips to; it looks unsustainable to me because things don't always get bigger and bigger.

Short answer: Yes, it’s a bubble, and it will eventually burst. Okay, that’s that, then! Just kidding: It’s obviously more complicated than that.

Nearly everything in the tech world is built with hype as much as actual products or services, and it’s been that way for decades. Also, there’s no such thing as a market that can’t crash, and so, it’s entirely possible it will happen to AI (speaking in general terms).

There are many tech and investment commentators who have their own reasons for warning of a bubble for the AI industry, and they’re quite persuasive, however, I’ve never found the “tech bros” particularly—what’s the right word? Let’s say persuasive, served with a side dish of scepticism in incredulousness sauce. Most of the tech bros are showmen, and it’s in their insterests to, shall we say, oversell what they’re offerening. That’s true in a lot of industries, of course.

While I haven’t seen the specific graphic Roger was referring to, I think his scepticism is exactly right, and for me, it comes down to one thing: Where’s the income? We keep hearing how the market capitalisation of Nvidia is reaching ever higher unprecedented levels, and that it’s because of all the cards they’re selling to AI companies. AI companies may offer paid accounts to users, and other companies are trying to force their customers/users into using AI, companies like Microsoft, Apple, Google (Chrome in particular, but also for search), among others. So: Where’s all the profits? Not one financial commentator has reported how the tech companies are making massive profits from all their expenditures on AI. At the same time, there’s noticeable reistance from consumers who resent having AI forced on them, particularly when there are still no regulations or saftey measures.

At the same time, there are places where AI could change everything, like medical research, for example, because of its ability to evaluate, say, medicines much faster than humans ever could. However, without safeguards or regulations, we’ll see more “AI slop” foisted on us, and deep fakes used to destroy people or promoote propaganda. Ordinary people are increasingly worried about all that—and they couldn’t possibly care less about corporate profits or the salesmanship of the tech bros.

Add it all up, and there are plenty of reasons to think the AI bubble could burst, and also reasons to think is definitely will.

In the second part of Roger’s question, he asks:

AI is an incredible energy suck; is it worth it, or will this end up hurting consumers?

It’s already hurting consumers. Part of the reason that electricity proces are so high in the USA is the skyrockeing demand for electricity from AI data centres—though the situation would be dramatically better if the current US regime hadn’t made the idiotic move to ban new renewable energy projects, particularly because it’s far cheaper and faster to build clean, renewable generation than to build fossil fuel power plants. This represents an existential threat to the AI industry, particularly as consumer anger grows at having to pay high power bills because of AI data centres.

Also, the data centres often have high demands for water at a time in which climate change is making droughts more frequent. If all that wasn’t enough, the centres usually offer little employment in areas where they’re located—not counting the short-term construction jobs, of course.

Maybe the tech bros should use AI to solve some of the problems they’re creating. If they don’t pay attention to the needs of ordinary people and ignore ordinary people’s suspicion of, and resistance to, AI generally, they may end up popping their own bubble.

Thanks to Roger for today’s question! The next installment will be on Wednesday, December 31.

All posts in this series are tagged “AAA-25”. All previous posts from every “Ask Arthur” series are tagged, appropriately enough, ”Ask Arthur”.

Previously in the 2025 series:

”Doing the annual inquisition AAAgain?” – The first post in this year’s series.

Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 27 – The Finale

Welcome to the final post in the “Weekend Diversion: 1985” series. I first did a wrap-up post for the final post in last year’s series, which isn’t saying much: I’ve only done these series for three years.

Be that as it may, last year I noticed that the posts about songs would end the Sunday before Christmas, and that would happen again this year. I didn’t bother to look in 1983, but it was the same story, as it is in many years, actually. However, it’s not the Sundays themselves, but, rather, whether there was a new Number One on the final Sunday of the year. There wasn’t one in 1983, 1984, or 1985, and there won’t be in next year’s series, either.

The thing is, the final Number One song of a year may remain there for the last Sunday of the year, too, and that means it’s usually also the first Number One of the new year, too, because Billboard usually published a two-week edition wrapping up each year. So, the first new Number One of 1986 reached the top of the charts on January 18, so the first of next year’s series will be then, too. More time to plan the series?

Each year I do more than merely look at the charts and research the songs, I also look at the “Year in Music” to see what was going on in that year, and Wikipedia make it easy by having pages for each year. So, I looked at“1985 in music” page, mainly because it talks about things that aren’t about Chart Position, and so, things I probably wouldn’t mention in a post. They’re often things I either never knew or had forgotten.

For example, on March 27, 1985, “the South African Broadcasting Corporation bans Stevie Wonder's music in response to Wonder dedicating the Oscar he had won the night before to Nelson Mandela.” On April 1, David Lee Roth left Van Halen to begin his solo career (I didn’t know that was in 1985). On April 10, Madonna launched her first tour, “The Virgin Tour”, in Seattle. One forgets every famous person had to start somewhere. On September 19, the Parents Music Resource Center's (PMRC) US Senate hearing on music censorship begin in Washington, DC. Dee Snider of Twisted Sister, rock star Frank Zappa, and country singer John Denver all testified against the PMRC’s censorship plans. One of its leaders, Tipper Gore, was the wife of US Senator Al Gore, and when Bill Clinton picked Gore to be his running mate in 1992, and that choice felt kind of icky to me because I remembered all the self-righteous busybody grandstanding of the PMRC and Tipper.

In addition to learning (or being reminded) about the music events of 1985, there were also some other things I learned this year, often by accident. I learned that the band Eurogliders was Australian, and that Dire Straits wasn’t (I have no idea why I thought they were). Worse, it was only last night that I learned that Mark Hollis, the lead singer of one of my favourite 80s bands, Talk Talk, died from cancer in February 2019. I found out because I was catching up on videos from “The Professor of Rock”, Adam Reader, who recently published a video about Hollis and Talk Talk. Adam mentioned that many people may not have known because it wasn’t widely reported at the time. That made the news even sadder to me.

Every year has good songs and—well, those that are less good. Some brilliant songs never reach Number One, and some that do—well, they’re less good. Good or bad, every pop song on the charts may carry memories for us, or help us to remember things. The songs we listened to at significant times in our life can help us celebrate, remember, heal—and feel. And, isn’t that just about the most wonderful thing ever? That, in a nutshell, is precisely why I do these series. I love pop music, I love the memories the songs stir up, and I seriously enjoy learning new things about the songs, artists, and anything/everything about them. As long as that’s true, I’ll keep doing this.

The new series, “Weekend Diversion: 1986” will begin on Sunday, January 18, 2026. I can’t wait to see what I learn—or remember—next year!

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1985” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 1 – February 2, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 2 – February 16, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 3 – March 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 4 – March 30, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 5 – April 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 6 – May 11, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 7 – May 18, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 8 – June 1, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 9 – June 8, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 10 – June 22, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 11 – July 6, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 12 – July 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 13 – July 27, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 14 – August 3, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 15 – August 24, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 16 – September 7, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 17 – September 21, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 18 – October 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 19 – October 19, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 20 – October 26, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 21 – November 2, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 22 – November 9, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 23 – November 16, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 24 – November 30, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 25 – December 7, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 26 – December 21, 2025

Boxing the days

Yesterday was Boxing Day here in New Zealand, and that meant people flocking to the shops to take advantage of the Boxing Day Sales. I was not among them. But I did buy some things. I also learned a few things, too.

Just like last year, I bought another pair of jeans because since last year two pairs of jeans now have big holes in one or both knees, and I turned a third pair into cutoffs. I also bought a black and brown belt, one of which is a replacement, and a couple shirts. It’s rare that I’ll even look at new clothes, much less buy anything, but most of my summer shirts are now suitable only for wearing around the house, not out and about. I’m trying to slowly add to what I have available to me.

I decided that today I was going to head out to one of the home centres to buy supplies for some of my projects around the house, and then maybe head up to the supermarket. I had no idea what the traffic would be like, particularly up by the supermarket I was headed to because it’s directly across from the main car entrance to The Base shopping centre. Boxing Day Sales are still on, after all.

On the other hand, many people head out of town for some (or all) of the holidays over Christmas/New Year, so I knew it was also possible the roads would be empty. It turned out to be the latter. In fact, the main (busy) road I was on had only a bit more traffic than at night. I was impressed and pleased.

The traffic was a little thicker up by the supermarket, as I expected, but there was ample parking and was able to acquire all necessary purchases (and a few unnecessary ones…). The traffic was thicker heading toward the road I needed to turn onto, but that was totally clear after that point. It ended up being a good trip home.

The project supplies were mainly for things I’ve already talked about, plus a little for other ones I haven’t mentioned, but will as I get to them. Actually, I still hope to video at least some of the projects I work on, but if that doesn’t work, I’ll at least have photos to share.

Yesterday I worked on an expressly political blog post using the Boxing Day public holiday as a starting point, but I got bored with it. However, it may resurface around a different public holiday at some point. Maybe.

In that post-that-wasn’t, I talked about how the origins of Boxing Day are uncertain, however, one possibility is that it may date back to the late middle ages and the use of the “alms box” to collect cash donations for the poor. Those boxes were apparently opening on The Feast of Stephen—December 26, a holiday for a person some claim was “the first Christian martyr”.

I’d heard that possibility before, but this time it was the reference to “the Feast of Stephen”, because earlier I’d heard it referred to by it’s more common name, “St. Stephen’s Day”. The “feast” name is, of course, a line from the Christmas carol, Good King Wenceslas, and is based on a story about Saint Wenceslaus I, who was Duke of Bohemia ca907–935CE, who some regarded as a martyr after his death.

The lyrics for the carol was written in 1853 by English hymn writer John Mason Neale to fit the melody of a13th Century Spring/Easter Carol (maybe even back then creators were wanted to use public domain works to avoid copyright infringement?). Neale’s motivation was that he wanted to revive some of the pomp of the Catholic church in the Anglican church, including Feast Days, and that’s why his carol promoted “The Feast of Stephen”. Interestingly, some folks were angry that he’d appropriated a carol for Spring/Easter and changed it to Christmas. Apparently even back then critics didn’t approve of changing public domain works for new uses.

The Christmas Carol isn’t directly related to Boxing Day, apart from the fact that they’re both connected to the Feast of Stephen. However, because I was looking into Boxing Day, I saw the Feast of Stephen and became curious about what it had to do with the carol that mentioned it, which, in turn, led to the story of its creation and who the heck “Good King Wenceslas” was.

So, this year I again bought some “Boxing Day Sale” things online for the second year in a row, and I also learned a few things, too. I consider that a win.

The King's Christmas Broadcast 2025

The video above is the annual Christmas broadcast by King Charles III, the King of New Zealand (and other places). As is usually the case, I didn’t see the message broadcast on New Zealand television, though I assume it was (I was at our family Crhistmas gathering at the time), however, I didn’t check that. At any rate, I’ve been sharing the royal messages every year for more than a decade.

I’ve never been a fan of the religiosity that the royal messages have always contained, something they do because the UK monarch is head of the Church of England (aka Anglican Church). But I’m not even remotely religious, and only a minority of New Zealanders are Anglican—actually, people who say they have any religious identification now make up a minority of New Zealanders, the majority of whom now identify as “Nones”, something I talked about last year. Still, it’s traditional for the monarch to talk about the UK’s homegrown brand of Christianity, and, of course, what I think about it is irrelevent.

These TV broadcast messages are also a tradition themselves, dating back some 68 years. As long as they (and this blog…) continue, I’ll keep sharing them. That, too, is now a tradition.

Previously:

The King's Christmas Broadcast 2024
The King's Christmas Broadcast 2023
The King’s first Christmas Broadcast – 2022 (oddly, the video is no longer available, but the post has my commentary about it.
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2021
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2020
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2019
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2018
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2017 (and 1957, too…)
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2016
The Queen’s Christmas Broadcast 2015
Previous years’ broadcasts are no longer available.

Meri Kirihimete 2025

It was Christmas Day in New Zealand today, and I had a good one. Not for the first time, of course, but it’s always a good thing when it happens.

I had a lovely Christmas Day at the home of my sister- and brother-in-law, their kids and grandkids, plus my mother-in-law, and maybe a dozen other family members, plus LOTS of laughs, good food, and even bit of karaoke (not by me, thankfully for everyone there, LOL). I left around 8:30pm so Leo’s dinner wasn’t TOO late. He forgave me for being late with his dinner by hopping up in my lap after I sat down to watch TV (the photo above is right before Leo jumped into my lap). He’s a good boy, and it was a perfect end to a good day.

Nigel and I never had any particular traditions for Christmas, apart from spending it with family, and I know it would make him so very happy to know I’m still doing that. There are always reminders of him on the day, of course, but this isn’t a family that’s silent about those we’ve lost, and that, I think, is one of its strengths.

The important thing, though, is that today was Christmas Day and I had a good one. Again, and despite everything.

Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 26

Well, well, well: Here we are with the final Number One hit on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” for 1985—and the first of 1986, but more about that later. While this is this series' final post about a specific 1985 song, next week will conclude the series with a wrap-up post.

40 years ago this week, on December 21, 1985, the new Number One hit on the Billboard “Hot 100” was "Say You, Say Me" (video up top), by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie , who wrote and performed the song. It was featured in the 1985 movie White Nights. Yes, it was yet another song from a movie, and yes, it’s the second song from that movie that reached Number One (the first was "Separate Lives" by Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin, which I talked about in Part 24 of this series back on November 30).

The song wasn’t included on the movie soundtrack album because Ritchie’s record label, Motown, wanted to save the song for his next album. Instead, the song was the lead single from the Ritchie’s third solo studio album Dancing on the Ceiling. However, the ties with the film weren’t totally severed: It won “Best Original Song” at the 58th Academy Awards ("Separate Lives" was also nominated).

The music video for “Say You, Say Me”, like that for "Separate Lives", used scenes from the movie, however, it wasn’t made as if it was part of the film’s story. I think that choice made Ritchie’s video the better of the two, though I didn’t really like either one. I’m picky, I know, and I also know that videos of songs used in movies also promoted the movie they were from. However, as I’ve said a few times, music videos were a unique art form, and I preferred ones that were more original. Yeah, well, Arthur’s Law and all that.

Actually, the same Law applies to the song itself. I never bought the song or album, nor any others, by Lionel Ritchie, however, years later Nigel bought digital versions of some of Ritchie’s music, and I still have those, of course. Which isn’t to suggest that I didn’t like the song—I was just more or less indifferent to it, though I liked it better than some of his other hits. There’s nothing even remotely unusual about that for me, of course..

"Say You, Say Me"reached Number 3 in Australia, Number One in Canada (Platinum), Number 8 in New Zealand, Number 8 in the UK (Silver), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, on their “Adult Contemporary” Chart and on their “Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs” Chart. The song was also Number One on the Cash Box “Top 100 Singles” Chart. The song was certified Gold in the USA.

The Dancing on the Ceiling album reached Number 2 in Australia, Number 3 in Canada (3x Platinum), Number 3 in New Zealand (Platinum), Number 2 in the UK (2x Platinum), and Number 1 on the USA’s “Billboard 200” chart, and also Number 3 on their “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums” Chart. The album was certified 4x Platinum in the USA.

The final post in this series will be next week, December 28, a kind of liner notes for this year’s series.

The first post in next year's series, talking about the Number One Songs of 1986, will be on January 18, 2026. “Say you, say me” was Number One for the first two weeks of 1986, too, partly because of a combined year-end issue of Billboard.

Until next week, keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars. Or, something like that.

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1985” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 1 – February 2, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 2 – February 16, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 3 – March 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 4 – March 30, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 5 – April 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 6 – May 11, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 7 – May 18, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 8 – June 1, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 9 – June 8, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 10 – June 22, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 11 – July 6, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 12 – July 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 13 – July 27, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 14 – August 3, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 15 – August 24, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 16 – September 7, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 17 – September 21, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 18 – October 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 19 – October 19, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 20 – October 26, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 21 – November 2, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 22 – November 9, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 23 – November 16, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 24 – November 30, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 25 – December 7, 2025

Yes, we have no commercials

There are a lot things I forget to write about for this blog, but Christmas TV ads haven’t been one of them. This year, I didn’t even have the choice.

I’ve shared and written about Christmas ads since 2010, though that post was called “Classic Christmas TV” and was just about, well, classic ads—obviously? In 2016, I started writing about ads from around the world, the first of which was an ad from the UK’s Marks & Spencer (and I still love that ad). However, over time many of the YouTube ads would disappear, leaving the “Video unavailable” placeholders. Annoying.

In 2021, I started creating YouTube Playlists of New Zealand Christmas TV ads, That way, if a video was no longer available, I oculd just delete it form the playlist, and the rest would still be visible—and the display frame would also be visible—no more “Video unavailable” placeholders. Instead, I’ll just do a strikethrough on the title of any deleted video. Amd this has worked well—until this year.

There have been NO new New Zealand Christmas TV ads this year. Instead, the two supermarket chains, New World and Woolworths, are running the same ads they ran last year (ads 2 and 3 on my 2024 playlist), there are no new Christmas ads from anyone else this year, either. As in past years, retail chains are running ads promoting whatever’s on special that week, but nothing else. Even Air New Zealand hasn’t done a Christmas ad this year, instead releasing their new general promotion video that debuted this week.

So, there’s no playlist Christmas ad playlist this year. That’s too bad, but I’m kind of matter-of-fact about such things these days. Maybe if the economy is stronger next year there’ll be new ads, but for now, take a look at the playlists for 2021 onwards (links in the left sidebar), because I play them periodically to make sure that all the videos are still there.

And, have yourself a merry little Christmas, even without my annual Christmas ad playlist.

Flying in from the past

Tonight I saw a new Air New Zealand commercial on TV (video above). It was a new version of an ad that was running on TV when I arrived in New Zealand 30 years ago (a version is in the video at the bottom of this post). I was already in love with Nigel, of course, but that ad? It extended the love to New Zealand, too.

Both ads use the traditional song “Pōkarekare Ana”, which was composed sometime in 1914, and it’s essentially a love song. Some scenes in the new version are reminiscent of ones in the 1990s ad, with some influences form their c2000 ad (about which more in a bit).

The 1990s and current ad are both effective at creating an emotional response, particularly for New Zealanders, who are the primary target of the ads. They certainly work for me, anyway. It’s the scenery combined with the song and the arrangement of it. But I always thought that the birds coming together to form the Air New Zealand logo at the end of the 1990s ad was especially magical.

Here’s the 1990s version:



Between the two versions I liked was the circa 2000 ad (at the bottom of this post, and it’s the longest version, and so, seldom aired). That ad didn’t move me. I think the difference was that the 2000s ad was about New Zealand connecting with the world and vice versa, and so, it was less focussed on New Zealand. That’s neither good nor bad, just a difference, and, I think, the reason I didn’t like it as much as the other two. Having said that, I wasn’t a fan of the key change in the middle of the song in that version, but it may have only been in the long version—I honestly can’t remember.

The tagline is different in all three versions, too. In the 1990s, it was “Air New Zealand. The airline of the world’s greatest travellers.” In the circa 2000 ad, it was “Air New Zealand. The world’s warmest welcome.” And in the current version, the tagline is, “Of New Zealand. For New Zealand. Air New Zealand.” Given New Zealand’s bad economy of the past few years, and the fact that the United States now seems hostile to foreign tourists, maybe it;s a good idea to centre the current ad on New Zealand, and to do so while offering “all the feels”. In my opinion.

Finally, the lyrics of the part when they soar to sing were stronger than I expected: E hine e / hoki mai ra. / Ka mate ahau / I te aroha e. In English, that’s “Oh girl / return to me, / I could die / of love for you. I knew the song was a love song, likely written about soldiers heading off to fight in World War One, but it’s also a quintessentially New Zealand song, and that’s the context I first connected with it (I didn’t read the lyrics, especially the translation, until many years later).

This new ad reminded me so much of an ad I fell in love with when New Zealand was still new to me—and me to New Zealand, for that matter. That 1990s ad really was a small part of what gave me an emotional connection to the country, and the new ad reminded me of that, too. It’s nice when that happens.

Mow big deal

The most common reaction of folks to me arranging for a company to mow my front lawn was a variation of “What took you so long?” Fair question. In facr, my Blogging Body™ Roger Green left a comment on the post linked above (direct link to the comment). He wrote:

You get to make your own choices, of course. But I've been saying to myself for at least a couple of years, "Why doesn't he just get someone else to mow? He doesn't seem to be getting any joy from it." AND your list of To Do kept getting longer and longer and… So good on you.

There was a time when I quite liked doing the mowing: Back when I began doing it, when the lawns were still some patches of grass, some weeds, and a whole lot of bare clay. I rralised recently that this house is actually the first one where I’ve mowed lawns since I moved form my paretns’ house to Chicago, more than 40 years ago. Between there and moving to New Zealand, I lived in apartments, and here in New Zealand, we had two houses with lawns that we hired companies to mow, as well as three houses that had no lawns. So, it was a sort of nostalgic adventure for me, I guess. But as the mowing became harder on me physically, the novelty truly wore off.

There, of course, other factors I’ve spoken about in the past. First, and the biggest one, was that I bought a battery-powered mower and also have a battery-powered line trimmer, both of which I recharge using solar power as part of my desire to tread more lightly on the planet. I knew that mowing services all use petrol-powered machines, and which are polluting, obviously. I needed time to adjust to the need to compromise my values.

As time passed, however, the physical challenge becamse hared to tolerate. Up until this year, mowing was my biggest form of exercise by far. Now, of course, I walk every day, often farther than a mowing adventure provided. I think it’s kind of ironic that the main reason I felt it was time to stop mowing the front is that doing it became increasingly hard on me physically, especially if I did both lawns in one session. So: My biggest form of exercise became too hard, even though I now do daily walks—or was it because the mowing is now on top of those daily walks? Actually, it could just be one simple word: Age.

Regardless of why mowing the front became physically difficult for me, it certainly did. I needed time to accept that reality, and the implication that this will be a repeating reality the older I get. If I’m truly honest with myself, this was actually a far bigger thing for me to adject to than compromising my values was.

Despite all those barriers, there was something I was quite keen to leave behind: Unnecessary stress. As I said when I announced the change, “the front lawn is the only one anyone sees, so it’s important it’s always tidy—but making sure it’s tidy puts pressure on me that isn’t helpful.”

This brings me, in a round about way, to my “To Do” list. It is indeed of extraordinary length—well, more accurately, they are, because I have several different ones. I really must write the blog post about that I’ve planned for ages—and, of course, I even created a list for future blog posts, though the “To Do” list one isn’t on it. The larger point is that all those lists exist because I forget the same things constantly and repeatedly, and so, their real purpose is to reduce the stress that the constant forgetting, remembering, and forgetting again was stressing me out. Listing literally everything I need to do “sometime or other” means I can check anytime I want to see what I have to do, so I don’t actualy have to remember any of it (I put urgent things on my calendar or Reminders App so I’ll get specific on-time reminders). As it happens, most of the stuff on my “To Do” list(s) isn’t urgent.

All of that combined is what both drove my decision to hire mowers to do the front lawn, and also “what took me so long” to get to that point. There’s almost always a story or two behind our stories. This is just an example of that.

The photo up top is a kind of, sorty of, “before and after” of the front law. The “before” is actually from a 2022 blog post. I took the photo on the right shortly after the mower left, but I never even thought of taking a photo before he started. Oops. Fortunately, I have an archive of relevant photos, because that 2022 photo is pretty much what it looked like the day it was mowed.

Busy days, and more to come

It was busy couple days here at the mansion. The broken (and also no longer needed) heat pump and its indoor unit for the living area were uninstalled yesterday, and he also took away two other air conditioners Nigel bought on Trade Me. They were for our last house, but he never got the chance to install one, and we didn’t even know if either worked. They were useless for me and taking up space in the garage, but now they, too, are out of my way.

I have to patch a hole in the gib (aka plasterboard or drywall), which was used for the power and coolant tubes to enter the house. Similarly, there’s a companion hole in the exterior brick where the tubes and wiring entered the house from the exterior unit on the patio. There’s also a small hole where the condensation tube exited the house, and a few small holes for the screws that held the protective plastic sheathing carrying the wires and coolant tubing.

He then put some aluminium tape (the sort used to seal ducting joints) over the hole inside until I can get to the store and buy a patch kit (it’s not a very big hole). On the outside, he left the sort of cowling that the protective plastic sheathing went into (it covered where the coolant hose and wiring passed through and bent to enter the house, and it also kept water out of the hole). He put aluminium tape over the bottom of the opening to keep bugs, birds, etc, from getting in.

I’m going to steal a bit of insulation from the attic to insulate the wall (I only need a very small amount), and patching the small holes in the brick outside will be easy enough, but I’ll have to do some research before patching the bigger hole in the brick.

I was (not very) surprised to see that the air conditioning was installed before the exterior of the house was painted (but after the interior was). The builder gave me the name of the specific colour of white, but it turned out that there’s no such paint colour in NZ. I plan to have the whole exterior of the house repainted (or more?), so for now I just need to use a little white house paint—and sealer, since whoever painted the house never sealed or primed the brick first, which is the entire reason I need to have the house exterior re-painted so soon. Still, my little “paint patch” will protect the brick until the whole house is painted, and I don’t mind doing that (I actually love painting), however, it never occurred to me that I’d have to do that, and it’s a little annoying. Oh, well.

Being me, I decided to start cleaning up where the old heat pump was, including pulling out weeds I’d never really been able to get to before. This was in the hot afternoon sun, which wasn’t ideal, but I was determined to make a start.

The wall where the inside unit was looks weird now that it’s empty, and the picture I had hanging in that spot may look too small, but I was going to move pictures around, anyway, as part of my refresh. That refresh is the next thing on my agenda for now.

However, I’ve added a new project I’ll hire people to do: I’m having the kitchen range hood moved up—and the company who did all this air conditioning work for me can do that, too (they’re also electrical contractors), so in the new year I’ll get that sorted—and then a new backsplash behind the hob, and that’ll be something I’ll do myself or hire out.

Finally, yesterday the front lawn was mowed by someone other than me for the first time ever (not counting the one time that Hamilton City Council mowed the verge part—it’s their property, and they were mowing the verges of empty sections and did mine, too) a month or so after I moved in and before I bought my lawn mower in March 2020. He did a good job, and a much better job with the line trimmer than I ever did. There was some Kikuyu sticking up in a couple spots at the edges, where neither the mower nor line trimmer could get it, so I pulled them out by hand. Other than that, there wasn’t anything I felt I needed to do—which was the whole point of course.

I did a quick look at my stock of DIY supplies, and I have the primer I need (and ample paintbrushes, rollers, etc), so I just need to get stuff to patch the holes, and I expect to do that on Monday. We’re not supposed to get any rain until Tuesday or Wednesday, so I have enough time to finish the outside in good weather. Even so, I plan on repainting the entire wall of the house facing the patio (only around four metres or so), but I’ll talk about that in more detail when I do it so it’s easier to follow (I realise that with so many projects in play, things can get confusing, because they certainly do for me).

Onward.

Mowing down challenges

I mowed the back lawn today. When I began, my watch said it was 22 degrees in my part of Kirikiriroa-Hamilton, and when I finished some 25 minute later, it said it was 24 (71.6F and 75.2F, respectively). The MetService App said the humidity was 70%. It certainly felt like both the temperature and humidity were higher (the projected high for today was 27, which is 80.6F, something it hit, apparently briefly, later in the afternoon).

The back lawn usually grows faster than the front, probably due to the fact that the type of plants that make up the two areas of “lawn” are different. This means that the back looked absolutely terrible—and also kinda pretty and meadow-like with the weeds’ flowers blooming and gently swaying in the light breeze. Still, suburban necessity demanded I chop it all down, but I’m sure Leo will appreciate being able to walk over the entire area without the weeds’ flower stalks tickling his nether regions.

Tomorrow, the front lawn is being mowed by the contractor I hired, mid-to-late morning, probably. I’d hoped to mow it last week so the guy would have a fresh start, but high temperatures (and me “feelin’ poorly” a couple days) meant it was already this week before I even could mow, and, well, I didn’t do it. The lawn needed to be mowed when I talked to the guy last week, and now it really needs it, but, like the back did, it looks worse than it is due to lots of weeds’ flower stalks, though unlike the back, few are actually blooming.

I’m the type of person who absolutely would clean before someone was coming to clean the house (something I inherited from my mother…) so that the job facing them wouldn’t be as big. I had the same impulse with the mowers. These days, though, I have a bit more of the “it is what it is” fatalism that so many others seem to have naturally, and that I now understand how sometimes that attitude can be really helpful, and even important, for our well-being.

So, the back lawn is done, and the (despite everything I just said, nevertheless embarrassing) front lawn will be done tomorrow. Doing only the back lawn left me hot and tired when I was finished, of course, but my recovery time was short, with a glass of cool (not cold) water, a towel to wipe the sweat, and then a rest in my chair for a bit being all I needed to be ready for Part 2 of my day. Mowing the back lawn, my watch tells me, meant walking a bit more than 2km (around 1.25 miles), and my average heart rate was a healthy 128bpm (peak was 139bpm), meaning it was a decent workout, though not dangerous for me. Mowing both lawns often pushed me a little too far in all respects.

This afternoon, I went on a shopping expedition to Mitre 10 Mega. They were having a promotion offer double Air Points for folks (like me) with an Air New Zealand Air Point card, a loyalty/rewards programme I mentioned almost a year ago. I’m also a member of Mire 10’s programme, and their card is in my Apple Wallet on my phone, which is handy. And then, too, I presented my Senior Gold Card for my 65+ discount. I mainly went for a cleaner to use on the cement patio when I clear it in preparation for the patio cover to be installed, and also to use on some of the outdoor furniture that’s so dirty that I won’t keep them if I can’t clean them. Stay tuned.

I also wanted to get a new clothesline to replace the one I last attempted to repair back in 2022 (and it broke again not long after). Back in my battles with the clothesline, I worked out that the problem was that it had been mounted to fence panels, and not the posts (as I thought they should be). So, before I headed out this afternoon, I measured the distance between all the fence posts in suitable areasm, and in all but one pair, they were space a little over 2 metres apart. At Mitre 10, I discovered that that all the models are either 2.4 meteres apart or 1.4 metres. Clearnly more research was needed, and I wouldn’t get the double Air Points for that kinda large purchase. Oh, well. It runs out I still got a discount of $7.06 (the till receipt didn’t say what gave me that discount…).

I think the solution may be to install boards horizontally between two sets of posts, and then affix the clothesline supports to that. If I do that, I’ll talk about it after the fact. If not, I’ll talk about whatever solution I come up with. The thing is, I used to use clotheslines all the time at our last two houses, and even here, too, until the Collapsing Clothesline Era began, and I’d like to do so again. But it’s also true that Kiwis generally expect a clothesline, and installing one will help with the eventual sale of my house.

So, today was a big day. I’m already glad I’ve hired someone else to do the front lawn—though I still wish I’d mowed the front lawn last week. Somethings don’t change. Including my clothesline, apparently.

Doing the annual inquisition AAAgain?

As the year draws to a close, most people are concentrating on holiday preparations, but for me it’s also included my end of year series of “Ask Arthur” blog posts. It’s something I’ve done since 2012, but over the years the number of questions have declined, so much so that I seriously considered not doing it anymore. Still, this annual series been around awhile, and I generally don’t like just abandoning something like this without saying something first—maybe I just did? We'll see.

“Traditional” blogs like this one have steadily declined in readership over the years, the rise of subscription-based platforms like Substack or Patreon notwithstanding. Actually, maybe the rise of paid options helped the decloine of free generalist blogs? Maybe paying for something brings connections that free options don’t. To me, offering something for a fee implies I’m an expert on something, or can plausibly present myself as one, when I’m not even an expert on being myself. Besides, charging a fee carries possible tax burdens in two countries, so it could well end up costing me money (that’s also true for podcasts, YouTube videos, etc).

As I said last year, “I’m sure that there will come a time when there won’t be any questions,” and I added, “I’m quite relaxed about whether I get any questions or not. Everything changes, and nothing lasts forever, after all.” All of which is still true.

To ask a question , simply leave a comment on this post (anonymous comments are allowed). Or, you can email me your question. Whatever method you choose, you can tell me to keep your name secret, although, why not pick a nom du question?). You can also ask questions on the AmeriNZ Facebook page, however, please keep in mind that all Facebook Pages are public, just like this blog, and anyone can read what you wrote. If you want to avoid being public in any way, the best solution is to email me.

Finally, as always, I have an obligation as the gracious thief blogger that I am, to note that this idea is stolen from inspired by Roger Green’s “Ask Roger Anything” (“ARA”) posts. After all, imitation is the sincerest form of thievery flattery.

So, over to you: Ask your question whatever way works best for you, and I’ll do my best to answer. And if you don’t want to ask anything, don't worry: We’re still good.

All posts in this series will be tagged “AAA-25”. All previous posts from every “Ask Arthur” series are tagged, appropriately enough, ”Ask Arthur”.

Previously:

What do you want to know? (December 2012)
Ask Arthur (July 2013)
Ask Arthur – Again (December 2013)
Ask Arthur Again, again (December 2014)
Ask Arthur yet again (July 2015)
It’s that time again (December 2015)
It’s ‘Ask Arthur’ time again (December 2016)
Let the 2017 asking begin (November 2017)
Let the 2018 asking begin (November 2018)
There was no “Ask Arthur” series in 2019.
Sure, why not ask again? (December 2020)
Yes, ask again (November 2021)
AAA 2022: A decade-long inquisition (November 2022)
Let the annual inquisition begin (November 2023)
Let the annual inquisition begin for 2024 (November 2024)

Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 25

This week's song is the penultimate in this year’s series, though there will be a wrap-up post after the the last song post. This week in 1985, December 7, 1985, the new Number One hit on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100” was "Broken Wings" (video up top), by American pop rock band Mr. Mister Released in June 1985, the song was the lead single from the band’s 1985 Album Welcome to the Real World. The song was the band’s first Number One.

This is another song from that era that seemed to be everywhere at the time. I never bought the song or album, nor any other by Mr. Mister, however, I do have the song one at least one comilation CD bought some years later. I didn’t mind the song, and the sound was nice, but I did think that the lyrics were kind of banal. Even so, I didn’t hold that against it, mainly because that’s true for a lot of hit songs. Maybe the lyrics of this song weren’t banal enough?

I didn’t pay all that much attention to the music video for the song, thoug I didn’t mind it. either—I mean, I didn’t love it, but that’s not that unusual, actually. Still, when researching this post I read at the link that “lead vocalist/bassist Richard Page driving through the desert in a classic Ford Thunderbird” was “the first allusion to birds”. Okay, then. That was far too subtle for me to notice, though I seldom paid that much attention to any video, so there’s that.

"Broken Wings"reached Number 4 in Australia, Number One in Canada (Gold), Number 29 in New Zealand, Number 4 in the UK (Gold), as well as Number One on the USA’s Billboard “Hot 100”, Number 3 on their “Adult Contemporary” Chart and Number 4 on their “Mainstream Rock” Chart. The song was also Number One on the Cash Box “Top 100 Singles” Chart.

The Welcome to the Real World album reached Number 17 in Australia, Number 2 in Canada (3x Platinum), Number 21 in New Zealand, Number 6 in the UK (Gold), and Number 1 on the USA’s “Billboard 200” chart. The album was certified Platinum in the USA.

This series will return in two weeks (December 21) with the last Number One in this series. The final post in this series will be after that post.

Previously in the “Weekend Diversion – 1985” series:

Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 1 – February 2, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 2 – February 16, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 3 – March 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 4 – March 30, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 5 – April 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 6 – May 11, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 7 – May 18, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 8 – June 1, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 9 – June 8, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 10 – June 22, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 11 – July 6, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 12 – July 13, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 13 – July 27, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 14 – August 3, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 15 – August 24, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 16 – September 7, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 17 – September 21, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 18 – October 12, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 19 – October 19, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 20 – October 26, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 21 – November 2, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 22 – November 9, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 23 – November 16, 2025
Weekend Diversion: 1985, Part 24 – November 30, 2025

Memories can trip us

Facebook “Memories” pop up every day, of course, and most I ignore. But this week has been filled with “Memories” about the trip Nigel and I took to Australia for his sister’s surprise birthday party. This particular series has aspects I didn’t mention at the time, and lessons I couldn’t comprehend back then.

The “Memory” at left mentions that norovirus “hitched a ride”. While Nigel and some other family members got quite sick, neither I nor Nigel’s mum were sick at all. That’s probably because we’d both had norovirus in December 2015 (caught at a different family gathering…), and that ordinarily gives one at least some immunity to the same strain for 6-18 months (or even for several years). However, Nigel didn’t get sick earlier, or maybe just mildly, but in Australia he was utterly miserable for the first 24 hours.

We couldn’t fly for 48 hours, but, fortunately, we had travel insurance, However, Nigel had to get a medical certificate in order to file the claim, and he managed all of that in the second 24 hours. The arranged details were arranged, the replacement flight booked, and and we flew home two days later, arriving in the evening.

Sunny and Jake (Leo wasn’t part of the family yet) were being looked after by Nigel’s cousin in Hamilton, and we could have driven down to pick them up the next day, but Nigel loved our babies, so we drove down immediately after we arrived. Nigel perked up noticeably when we did that, but we got back to our house in south Auckland pretty late that night.

That as the last big trip Nigel and I ever had together, though we did go to more family gatherings here in New Zealand. Fortunately, norovirus was not invited to any of them.

Three years later, in 2020, I went to Queenstown with some of the family, and much as I enjoyed the trip, it was challenging for me, to say the least, because it was the first time I’d travelled anywhere since Nigel died, roughly 14 months earlier, and it was also around three years after we all went to Australia. All of that was on my mind at the time.

In January 2024, a bit more than four years after the Queenstown trip, and just over six years after the Australia trip, I went with even more family on a trip to Fiji. That trip had challenging moments for me, because Nigel wasn’t there, and it was my 65th birthday. Even so, by then the bigger challenge came from discovering that, in fact, there IS such a thing as weather that’s “too hot” (and humid) for me. Nigel’s sister Carolyn was on the trip, and we lost her a bit more than a year later.

My last post in Australia in 2017.

The moral of this travelogue through space and time is really this: Everything we do, everywhere we go, we bring memories with us. Good or bad, they always come along. In 2020, as a still-new widower, I had every reason to not go on the trip to Queenstown, but I went anyway, felt what I needed to feel, and enjoyed what I wanted to enjoy. The Fiji trip was similar, though for me the challenge on that one really was more about the tropical heat—but memories of that the trip now carry some pathos of their own because of losing Carolyn a bot more than a year later.

The trick, I think, is to accept that sometimes painful memories will come forward no matter what we do, and even in the midst of good times. Because of that, I think it’s important that, if we’re able, we need to push through the pain, and not let it hold us back—and I know all too well how damn hard that can be! I also know firsthand that emotional pain can keep us from fully experiencing good times—but not necessarily keep them away entirely, maybe just dull them a little.

All of that has been on my mind this week as I saw one Facebook “Memory” after another about that trip and the trip to Queenstown, which was around the same time of year. It’ll happen again next year, but I don’t mind at all. I’d rather feel pain because I loved, than to feel nothing at all. Honestly, that’s a huge gift.

I think it’s time

The die is cast: Today, I went out front to put a plastic bottle in the recycling wheelie bin (because it hadn’t been emptied yet), and I saw the guy mowing the nextdoor neighbours’ lawns was there, so I asked him if they could take on mowing my front lawn, too. I think it’s time.

I’ve been thinking more and more that this is the time: Mowing the front is extremely hard on me physically, which I think is mainly because the land gently slopes down from my house to the footpath, and because parts are thick with kikuyu, which is quite difficult to push the mower through. Also, the front lawn is the only one anyone sees, so it’s important it’s always tidy—but making sure it’s tidy puts pressure on me that isn’t helpful.

I’ll still do the back lawn myself for now. It’s is easier on me despite being roughly twice the area, possibly because it’s flat. Also, I plan to make physical changes to the back of the property after the pergola is installed over the patio (after it is, I can actually see the whole space I have to work with), and that’ll affect what routine maintenance I’ll need done. At this point, I expect to keep doing the back until my mower battery stops accepting a charge.

Friends and family will be glad about this news, probably mainly because I’ll finally stop moaning about how hard it is on me to mow the front lawn (LOL. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of other things to moan about). I’ll be really glad to no longer have to do a routine job I’ve grown to pretty much loathe, but if I’m truly honest, it’s kind of hard to accept that I need to make allowances for a body that can no longer do all the physical work it once could, and also that this won’t be the last time I have to do that.

Still, given the realities of aging, it makes sense to use my physical energy and strength for things I actually want to do or enjoy (even gardening, sometimes), and not force myself to do things I loathe but must do anyway, and that’s especially true when I can hire people to do it for me.

I got a text this evening that they’ll start this coming Friday (December 12), and it’ll be $30 each time (every week right now, every other week at other times of year). That’s a lower cost than a typical mowing costs because it’s only the front lawm, but it seems perfectly reasonable to me. Sure, I could probably do it “cheaper” if you consider my time as worth minimum wage, however, when one takes into account how much the mowing wrecks me, the price is both fair and a bargain.

So, progress. But, yeah, I’m sure I’ll have plenty of other things to moan about.

The photo up top is from a 2022 post—about mowing, oddly enough.

Shopping opportunities

Tomorrow is a big day for (some) folks in New Zealand: The first IKEA store is finally about to open in New Zealand. There are plenty of people who couldn’t possibly care less about that, and some who are probably even angry about it, for whatever reason, but I’m not one of them. In fact, I’ve been excited about it ever since it was announced. There are a lot of reasons for that.

I’m not sure whether I’d even heard of IKEA before I moved to New Zealand, but I know that when I arrived here Nigel had some things he bought at IKEA while he lived in Australia. In fact, I still have some of them. After Nigel died, and after I was living in Hamilton, I began watching various YouTube Channels of folks (especially in the UK) who went to or got things from IKEA, and I became more an more intrigued.

However, there was no way for me to visit one unless I boarded a flight to Australia or somewhere else that had stores, so, to this day I’ve never been in side of a store. In 2021, I ordered some Billy bookcases from an Auckland company that imported them from Australia. A December 2021 update at the end of the linked post mentioned that IKEA had announced it was coming to New Zealand for real. That first-ever store for IKEA New Zealand opens tomorrow.

I won’t be going to the store opening tomorrow. Among other things, people were warned about traffic chaos on the all the roads leading to and around IKEA. Related to that, area businesses are ”preparing for mayhem”. I can’t stand crowds, and dealing with awful traffic, but, that aside, I also have a lot on this week.

However, I’ve been getting ready for IKEA’s arrival at every opportunity. I followed the Instagram account for IKEA New Zealand as soon as I knew it was there, signed up for their email marketing (so I’d know about things like when it would open), When IKEA Family (their loyaly/rewards programme) was launched in New Zealand, I immediately signed up for it. Then, when they announced their phone App for IKEA New Zealand could be pre-ordered, I did so, and I’m pretty sure it was the first time I’ve ever done that. The App was ready for download today, and it’s now on my phone.

Much as I’m looking forward to visiting IKEA for the first time ever (after the hoopla subsides…), I’ve always assumed that I’d probably mostly order online rather than buy things in person. The App and having IKEA Family are both good for both, but very useful when ordering online.

One thing I’ve been curious about is how pricing here compares with Australia, and TVNZ’s i1News compared prices. It turns out that many of the prices are comparable, which isn’t really a surprise for them.

Through that price comparison, I discovered that IKEA NZ sells the Billy bookcases that I bought through an Auckland importer aare sold by IKEA around $25 less than what I paid, however, I don’t know how much IKEA charges for shipping for bigger/heavier things like the Billy bookcases. Actually, I also don’t if I’ll order any bigger/heavier things, so maybe those charges won’t matter?

Many people seem to intensely dislike the very idea of IKEA, for different reasons, b ut one of them is that they perceive of the famous flatpack furniture to be cheaply made. While my only experience with their flatpack furniture was the Billy book cases, and I thought their quality was exceptional—in fact, better than any similar shelves I’ve ever bought.assembled. That doesn’t mean I think everything there is as good, but their pricing on nearly everything is extremely affordable.

A more specific complaint is about how it may negatively affect New Zealand retailers, because a big international retailer entering the NZ market is always a potential risk. However, I’m not convinced it will be quite as disruptive as some people worry it will. There’s been a lot of talk about how it could negatively affect NZ-chain The Warehouse, which sells categpries of things that IKEA sells, like flatpack furniture and homewares, for examle, but they sell clothing, sports equpiment, tools, automotive and gardening supplies, etc. Their more direct competition is Australian retailer Kmart, which sells the same sorts of things.

I also think that having only one store may blunt its impact, just as having one Costco hasn’t caused disaster for the two supermarket companies in New Zealand. Costco, like IKEA, is unique in its segment of the retail market. Both are shopping destinations, and not the sort of place one pops into on the way home to pick up something. What’s different between the two is that IKEA is attractive to all sorts of people, while Costco is more suitable for large families than, say, a one-person household.

For me, both stores are a long drive: Up to a couple hours to IKEA and up another hour to get to Costco (though Costco plans a second location in South Auckland, whichh will be maybe an hour and a half drive from here, though it would still be of dubious value for my one-human household). Even so, I also plan on going to Costco some day, too, because I’m also curious about what its like.

So, I like IKEA’s product lines, I think I’ll like their store, and I’m not convinced it’ll be as disruptive as some people fear. While the store and online shopping both open tomorrow, my first-ever trip to an IKEA will probably be several weeks from now, maybe in January or February. It’s always nice to have something new to do, especially when it’s something I’ve been curious about for years.