FNC - Links for the long weekend
Ngā mihi o Matariki, te tau hou Māori
Hello! Friday Night Chats is usually a paid subscriber perk, but since it’s a long weekend I thought I’d open it up to everyone! I also thought I’d include some extra reads for the long weekend and post it early - so it’s Friday Afternoon Chats now!
If you like this edition of FNC - why not become a paid subscriber? Then you can get all of the insider goss every Friday!
And by insider goss I mean, pictures of my cat.
No really, it’s a lovely community we have here! You should join! Friday Night Chats is my fave thing here 🥰
Anyway - Manawatia Matariki, Happy Matariki. Hopefully you saw my Matariki guide. Whatever you’re doing today on this Government sanctioned day off - I hope it’s lovely.
I’m still working, as per. Trying to get all of my mahi done before the school holidays. It feels like it’s always school holidays. Were they not just on school holidays? Like two days ago?
Anyway, I’m hoping to take a week off in the school holidays so it’s super busy until then. I’ve been working on my little spinoff. There’s just two of us working on it right now so it’s slow going but I AM EXCITED! You can follow The Weekly here.
I also wrote about drag story time this week - which unfortunately got cancelled because they couldn’t guarantee the safety of the children and performers. Which is just….awful. If you want to throw a few dollars Willy’s way - please do. I can’t imagine how awful this week has been for Willy and their whānau.
Yesterday was a long day but a nice day. I was marshal at the Palestine rally and then I took my youngest out to see the Matariki lights on the waterfront.
At the Palestine rally a butterfly landed on me and just stayed chilling on my arm which felt like a lovely tohu! A little blessing for Palestine.
Friday Night Chats (today it’s Matariki Afternoon Chats) is usually where we share what we are reading, watching, and listening to…and eating and doing. So let’s go!
What I’m reading:
Well, I’m still working my way through Trashley.
The 700-Mile Journey to Get an Abortion
‘It felt like bad news after bad news’: why record numbers are leaving New Zealand - I will never forgive this government for being the reason why my friend moved overseas!
This Is Not an Escape Story - I will read literally anything about the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Dog Food Is So Fancy Now That I Ate Some
I really love
’s words, they really soothe me. “If we embody freedom, democracy, and creation with one another it’s not a guarantee of victory. But it gives us a shot.”The Cruel Reality of the HRT Patch Shortage for Perimenopausal & Menopausal Women
When a Māori person goes to hospital, they don’t leave their Māori identity at the door
Why hasn't the press broken the Dr Disrespect Twitch ban story?
What Happened to People Magazine? - Culture Study
This megachurch warned of hell. Then it concealed its own sins.
I absolutely love the term ‘bitch eating crackers syndrome’ thanks as always
!The sad, stupid rise of the sigma male: how toxic masculinity took over social media.
Stalking is a Crime in Much of the Rest of the World, But Not in NZ. So… How Come?
I’m quite obsessed with
- just like as a person and a poet. She is wildly talented. I definitely think you should subscribe to her newsletter, but also read this poem - amazing. has a great piece on the King of the Cookers Winston Peters. of has a great new comic and write up on the housing crisis in Aotearoa and this government’s hard on for landlords.What a headline: The Rock's $250 Million Piss Bottle Movie.
What I’m watching:
Well, definitely this guy who is breaking down niche internet celebrity BS because there’s nothing I love more than niche internet celebrity BS!
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I extremely extremely relate to this right now:
I did end up watching After the Flood on TV3 but I literally could not tell you what happened or how it ended because I was also looking at my phone. I told my therapist I was going to spend less time on social media and instead read. I did it for a week and it was so good for my mental health so of course I’ve just completely abandoned it. Don’t tell her. She will know anyway by looking at my face probably. I cannot lie, my face betrays me every time.
I am watching The Boys on Amazon Prime and the Firecracker character is so great. She’s played by an actor who is a lesbian which is just so fantastic to me. Related: The Boys' Firecracker Actor Enjoys Playing The Homophobic Supe As A Real-Life Lesbian.
I also have a strong rec from the group chat: Fans of himbos will love Muscles and Mayhem on Netflix.
What I’m listening to:
I just really want to talk to anyone and everyone about the Bronwyn podcast. Is nobody else listening to it? I’ve seen very little chatter online about it. I suppose it’s an open and shut case like - the husband did it for sure. But what fascinates me is how few people pushed the police to do more.
It doesn’t surprise me that the police didn’t particularly seem to care about a missing woman, what surprises me is that this town kind of accepted it? It’s beyond frustrating to hear everyone tell Hedley Thomas “I’ve thought from day one she was killed by her husband”. Like, were they all saying that but none of them were telling the police? What is this phenomenon?
Sadly, the only other thing I’m listening to is the same six Eurovision songs my nine-year-old is obsessed with over and over. Eurovision is his new obsession as I mentioned last FNC. Let’s just say I now know all the words to these songs even though they’re mostly not in English. Europapa has especially been on repeat. Maybe my son feels an affinity with Joost because he too has a questionable haircut.
Enjoy!
What are you watching? Listening to? Reading? Doing?
This weekend I’m working and I have a friend’s 40th on Saturday night. We are having a lazy morning, the kids are lying next to me rabbiting on about Minecraft. What are you doing?
A final thought, is it weird that I wanted to be owned and kept and cared for by this woman?
Ok Re: Trashley it’s almost 1am and I finally finished it. I feel very weirdly uncomfortable with Laura as a narrator and some of the comments on #40 kind of reflect the concerns which have started to arise. I really hope if it’s a true story 1) Cecilia gave her permission for it to be shared including their texts 2) she has financially compensated Cecilia. Because Lauren is obviously incredibly wealthy - and asked no questions about enormous sums of money she didn’t need and knew couldn’t possibly have been earned.
Also this doesn’t really matter but is her sister called Llaura with two Ls and also does that mean they’re Laura and Lauren wtf?
My husband who loves Nickleback is making me watch the Hate to Love Nickleback doco 😂 and it does feel mean to say mean things about Nickleback but it’s just that they kind of look like dorks you know? Like I know that’s not the reason they’re unlikeable but it’s def part of it 😂