Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu Preview

On May 25, 2026 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn MoviesLeave a comment

Wow, the last time I did a movie preview was back in July 2025 with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and as I mentioned last week, we have plans to cover movie previews/reviews for Supergirl, The Odyssey, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day as well. The staff will be working overtime.

However, before these three movies have been previewed and reviewed by the most popular blog this side of the street, we have Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu to discuss. It was either this or The Devil Wears Prada 2, and that’s not going to work, now is it?

With Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, I thought I could give you the illusion of being effective and professional, which, of course, is the total opposite. In that vein, I’ll refer to Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu as The Mandalorian and Grogu from now on.

We have not had a Star Wars movie released since 2019, with the release of Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker; however, we have had several Star Wars movies announced and then cancelled for one reason or another. Of course, as you are well aware, The Mandalorian and Grogu is not an original story, or continuing a movie trilogy, but rather a continuation of the television show on Disney +, Star Wars: The Mandalorian, or just The Mandalorian.

So, a new Star Wars movie is exciting enough for me to take the plunge and visit the local cinema. As longtime fans know, I try to buy my tickets in advance, so I can get the best seat, because, you know, that’s what hard-core geeks do. Anyway, my ticket is for Tuesday, 25th May at 5.45 pm. Centre of the back row, thank you very much.

Dun dun duuun!

To make sure we are all on the same page, The Mandalorian and Grogu is the cinematic appearances of the characters from The Mandalorian TV show on, and say it with me, Disney +. And to establish another concept, I don’t have Disney +, so just like all of the Marvel TV shows on the channel, I have only seen clips from YouTube of The Mandalorian, and never any entire episode, like every single Star Wars TV show on the channel.

It’s my understanding that The Mandalorian was released in 2019, and has aired for three seasons, or 24 episodes; eight episodes per season. Now, why there has been no Season 4 or why a movie has been based on the same characters, could be connected, or they could be as far away from each other as O. J. Simpson and the truth. Whatever the true origin of the movie and its existence is, it’s here.

Though, to the best of my understanding, the movie is a continuation of the third season, but that could be wrong. What the hell do I know about anything?

As for the cast, it’s been revealed as follows: Din Djarin/The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal), Rotta the Hutt (Jeremy Allen White), Ward (Sigourney Weaver), Janu (Jonny Coyne), Trapper Wolf (Dave Filoni), and Garazeb “Zeb” Orrelios (Steve Blum).

These performances are a mix of live action and performance capture/motion capture, along with other characters, because you’re dealing with crazy arse aliens. This also includes Grogu, which, again, to the best of my understanding, is a hybrid of CGI, puppetry, and animatronics. It could make a nice drinking game; every appearance of a CGI character in a new scene, you drink.

The budget for each TV episode worked out to be around US$15 million; however, the movie’s budget was reportedly set at about US$165 million, which could buy you a lot of frozen pizzas and comics. A lot. Disney seems to have very deep pockets, though I don’t know if that’s a positive or negative thing. Still, Episode IX had a US$593.7 million budget in 2019, so who knows?

Will The Mandalorian and Grogu knock it out of the park, will it flop, or will it be somewhere in between? Join me as we preview the latest Star Wars movie.

Toys credited to UMC2. Yes, Din Djarin has no hands.

Am I looking forward to watching The Mandalorian and Grogu?

Like always, it’s a trick question, because if I’ve taken my time to write a preview of a movie, chances are that I’m looking forward to watching it, even as temperatures are dropping across the country, and especially at night. I’ve tried to have a steady diet of Star Wars content since 2019, mainly in the form of comics and novels.

I have discussed this before; not only do I like reading about Star Wars, but I also do not have, and say it all together…“I don’t have Disney +.” So, just to reinforce the point that I have not seen a single episode of The Mandalorian, only memes and clips on YouTube.

I get the general premise of the show, but obviously, not everything. Having not seen Season 3, I have no idea how it ended, because, as I understand it, the movie is set after that season, but I don’t know if it’s the next day, next month, or the next year.

Going into a Star Wars movie has always been an event for me, seriously, I love Star Wars. I also get that Mandalorian lore has been fleshed out over the years, especially with Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels, which is only a positive thing.

However, after the sequel trilogy, my faith in Disney handling cinematic Star Wars experiences was shaken. Interestingly enough, I really enjoyed Rogue One, and Solo wasn’t half as bad as people made it out to be. But the sequel trilogy thoroughly disappointed me for various reasons. That being the case, I need to be honest. As much as I am looking forward to the movie, I am equally worried, for three main reasons that can be broken down.

The first reason is the previously mentioned concerns about Disney Star Wars movies. Of course, I’m basing these concerns on the sequel movies, and not on any of the animated or live-action TV shows, since I haven’t seen. None of the sequel trilogy movies would make my top five Star Wars movies. However, as I understand, the Disney live-action Star Wars TV shows are a lot better.

Another reason is the fact that since I have never actually seen the TV show, apart from short videos, I don’t know the characters that well, or even at all in some cases. There are three seasons of stories that I’m missing, so I need the filmmakers to have made the movie accessible to people who have never seen the TV show.

Having not seen the TV show, there is the concern that the movie will feel like an extra-long episode. I need them to drive the plot forward, but that’s difficult not knowing where the characters have started from, where they have been, where the audience left them, and where they are going. I want to travel to a galaxy, far, far away, but not feel guilty for not having enough money to pay for the TV show.

Sorry, I have a mixture of emotions, fighting for attention over this movie, and I’m trying to sort them out. I want this film to work.

What is the movie about?

According to Star Wars.com, the premise is this:

The evil Empire has fallen, and Imperial warlords remain scattered throughout the galaxy. As the fledgling New Republic works to protect everything the Rebellion fought for, they have enlisted the help of legendary Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin (Pedro Pascal) and his young apprentice Grogu.

What can we expect?

The running time is 132 minutes, compared to the last three Star Wars movies is short: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (141 minutes), Solo: A Star Wars Story (135 minutes), and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (152 minutes).

A budget of US$165 million is a rather large investment, but other films have had less money and achieved great results, but how many have been set a long time ago, in a galaxy, far, far away? I want to be transported and escape to that galaxy that I’ve grown up loving.

I want to be blown away by visiting funky planets, cool aliens, wicked spacecraft, and bad-arse weaponry. Granted, I can only imagine the amount of time the actors would have performed in front of a green screen, but I still want the razzle-dazzle.

But here’s a problem: what I expect from The Mandalorian and Grogu will be similar to other people who have never seen the TV show, but different to those who are fans of the TV show. Our experiences and connections to the characters will dictate the outcome. Will I be able to adapt to the story being told to me, or will it feel like I’m playing catch-up?

How much of the story is going to unfold versus be explained to us, purely because the filmmakers might have understood that not everyone would have seen the TV show. To prepare for it, I have watched various WatchMojo videos about the TV show, so whether that will help, I have no idea. I believe the movie is set five or six years after Episode VI, but I’m not confident about that.

This is a roundabout way to say, I’m not sure what to expect because I don’t know Din Djarin, Grogu, and their allies and enemies that well. It would be like if they made an adaptation or continued the story of Cal Kestis and BD-1, from the Star Wars Jedi computer games. I know of them, but I have never played the games, so I would feel lost about the plot that has happened previously.

I do understand that in Mandalorian lore (I think), warriors should not remove their helmets in the presence of other people. How much of that relates to other Mandalorians, I can’t really say; however, I have seen Bo-Katan Kryze (Katee Sackhoff) walking around without a helmet. I’ve viewed Pedro Pascal’s performance as Din Djarin from afar and have compared it to the two Judge Dredd movies: Judge Dredd (1995) and Dredd (2012).

This is a weird comparison, but I’ll explain. In the comics, Judge Dredd is (im)famous for never revealing his face. When he is working as a Judge, and when is he never not, Dredd is always drawn wearing a helmet. The helmet covers his upper face, but his lower face, as in his mouth and chin, is exposed.

When the creative team need him to be seen without the helmet, whether he takes it off, puts it on, or if it has been knocked off, Dredd’s face is put into shade or shadow. The idea is that it doesn’t matter what Mega-City One’s top lawman’s face looks like, because justice is supposed to be blind.

In the two movies, there is a small but subtle difference in Sylvester Stallone’s (Judge Dredd) and Karl Urban’s (Dredd) portrayal of Judge Dredd. In Judge Dredd, Stallone does an alright job of convincing people that he is the law. You know it’s Stallone wearing the helmet, because you’re not an idiot, plus, the lower part of his face is exposed; you know who it is.

Stallone is kicking arse until his helmet is removed, and it doesn’t go back on. From this moment on, the film transforms from a Judge Dredd movie to a Stallone movie. He stopped being Judge Dredd and was just Sylvester Stallone, running around without a helmet. It went from a crime-ridden futuristic landscape to just another 90’s Stallone movie. The rumour mill said that Stallone wanted to have the helmet removed, so the audience would recognise him. But like I just mentioned, we’re not idiots. Does that make sense?

Alright, flash forward to 2012’s Dredd, and Urban knew the assignment. Apparently, as the rumour mill went, Urban knew the comics and understood the character, so as a fan and audience member, you discovered this fact in the introduction.

When Urban is putting on his uniform, his face is never exposed to the camera, even when he places the helmet on. I was in Nelson at the time when I saw the movie, and when I saw that the filmmakers had obscured his face, I smiled and thought, “Yes, they get it.” I knew from that moment that we would never see Urban’s face, because the filmmakers were not going to treat us as…say it with me, idiots.

Now, going back to Pascal’s Din Djrain, and I could be wrong about this, but from the clips I have seen, the creative team took the steps to conceal Pascal’s face. People knew what Pascal looked like under the helmet; they didn’t need to be reminded. I did need to look this up, but his helmet was removed in the first season by a droid to receive medical treatment.

In the second season, he removes the helmet to infiltrate an Imperial base with Bill Burr’s character (I’ve seen that), and also says goodbye to Grogu, without a helmet. Now I believe, and I could be wrong about this, that in the third season, he had to atone for breaking the Mandalorian creed for removing his helmet in front of someone.

So, given the fact that someone like me, who has never seen an entire episode, understands that Pascal is Din Djarin, and the filmmakers have established the rule about never removing the helmet, there are scenes in the trailers that have Pascal as helmetless!

How much of the film will Pascal be running about without a helmet like Stallone? Is this due to part of the new audience members who won’t understand who is under the helmet? Is it part of a contract clause by Pascal?

Personally, I want to see Pascal’s Din Djarin be like Urban’s Judge Dredd, and not like Stallone’s. Then again, what the hell do I know?

Do I have concerns?

Of all of the movies that I previewed/reviewed, and let’s be honest, it’s not that many, The Mandalorian and Grogu have been the one that I’m most concerned for. Movies based on television shows, and I’m sure you’ll agree, have either hit the target or missed it; rarely settling in the middle. I am worried about this movie, mainly because it’s so unknown to me, and as a Star Wars fan, it’s an odd feeling. Some of my specific concerns are as follows, and will be answered in the review.

Will there be an opening crawl, since this is a Star Wars movie? (I know Rogue One and Solo did not have one)
How much time has passed since the end of the third season?
How accessible will the movie be to people who have not seen the television show?
Are there any remnants of the Empire?
Will Grogu’s performance be a mixture of puppetry, animatronics, CGI, or everything?
Wasn’t the Razor Crest previously destroyed?
Will Ahsoka Tano, Boba Fett, or any other major character feature?
Is the plot going to drive the story forward, or will it be flat?
Will we get to visit any new planets (to me at least) or discover new alien species?
Will any bad-arse weapons be involved?
Will we meet any force-sensitive characters?
Who will be the main antagonist?
Will the movie work as a movie, or behave like long television episodes?
If the future of Star Wars movies is going to be based on television shows, how will I feel?

There’s probably going to be more things to think about, but I’ll hopefully cover them in the review. I love Star Wars, so I hope this film works, I really do. Are you planning on watching Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu? As always, please let me know.

Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, get ready for the FIFA World Cup next month, and I’ll see you next week for the Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu Review.

Also, I know it sounds boring, and it is, but the New Zealand Government will be announcing its budget for 2026 on Thursday, 28th May, and since it’s an election year, expect a lot of outrage across the media. I love it. Take care, and I’ll see you next week.

Tour of the Solar System: The Moons of Pluto

On May 18, 2026 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn ScienceLeave a comment

I was thinking the other day about things that seem to drag on: The Fast and the Furious franchise, election cycles, accident and emergency wait lists, time between Saga issues, and Some Geek Told Me’s Tour of the Solar System. It’s still chugging along, like the little engine that has no right to exist.

Roughly every nine weeks, another chapter is added to the tour, which is the equivalent of vomiting and having diarrhoea at the same time. So, with that rosy image in your heads, you can visit previous chapters of this magical tour.

1.) Meet the Family

2.) The Sun

3.) Planets vs. Dwarf planets

4.) Mercury

5.) Venus

6.) Earth

7.) The Moon

8.) Mars

9.) The Asteroid Belt

10.) Ceres

11.) Jupiter

12.) The Galilean moons

13.) Saturn

14.) Titan

15.) The Moons of Saturn

16.) Uranus

17.) Titania

18.) The Moons of Uranus

19.) The Literary Moons of Uranus

20.) Neptune

21.) Triton

22.) The Moons of Neptune

23.) The Kuiper Belt

24.) Pluto

25.) Charon

As you can see, the last tour stop was Charon, the largest of Pluto’s moons, but we need to meet the other members of Pluto’s children. Without delaying this highly popular blog post any longer, may I present to the academy’s pleasure, the Moons of Pluto.

This image, taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, shows five moons orbiting the distant, icy dwarf planet Pluto. The newly discovered small moon, Styx (initially designated P5), is the innermost of the moons found by Hubble over the past seven years. The diagram shows that Styx is in a 58,000-mile-diameter circular orbit around Pluto that is assumed to be co-planar with the other satellites in the system. Though Charon (discovered in 1978) is an even closer moon to Pluto, some astronomers consider the Pluto-Charon pair a “double planet” because Charon’s mass is 12 percent of Pluto’s mass (by comparison, our Moon is 1.2 percent Earth’s mass). This image was taken with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 on July 7. Other observations that collectively show the moon’s orbital motion were taken on June 26, 27, and 29, 2012 and July 9, 2012. The new data will help scientists in their planning for the July 2015 flyby of Pluto by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft.

Even though the International Astronomical Union kicked Pluto out of the planetary club, it still belongs to another club; a club that only has seven known members: planets and dwarf planets in our Solar System that have moons. For the record, Pluto had five moons, and since we met Charon last time, it’s time to meet the other four. I’ll present them in the largest diameter size after Charon, of course.

Hydra

Hydra is the second-largest moon of Pluto, with a diameter of about 51 km, which, in the scale of the solar system, is practically nothing. It orbits Pluto at around 64,738 km, which is quite close. It is not tidally locked to Pluto, and I can only imagine the relief for tourists and such.

The rotation period of Hydra is only 10.3 hours, and it has an axial tilt of 110°. In dating terms, Hydra is a hot mess. It’s very interesting and mysterious, but very unstable. Its rotation is chaotic, while it flips and tumbles, because of Pluto and Charon’s gravitational influences.

Hydra was discovered on 15th May 2005, by the Hubble Space Telescope, after the New Horizons team wanted to investigate the region. So, when the New Horizons spacecraft did its flyby in 2015, it sent back some astounding images. As for its name, it sadly is not named after the terrorist group from Marvel Comics, but from Greek Mythology, where else? The Lernaean Hydra is a multi-headed monster from the 12 Labours of Hercules. Spoilers, it was the second one, and Hercules, along with his nephew, Iolaus, kicked its collective arse.

Hydra is quite small, with an elongated, non-spherical body. Scientists believe Hydra is covered in water ice, which has a 83% reflectivity, so it is one of the most reflective objects in the Kuiper Belt.

Near true-color image of Hydra, taken by *New Horizons* on 14 July 2015. Credit: NASA

Nix

Keeping with naming celestial objects from Greek or Roman mythology, Nix was named after the Greek goddess of darkness and night, Nyx. She was also the mother of Charon, Hades’ (Pluto) ferryman. And just because I can, Nix is not named after Nyx, the character from Spawn, who is now the Queen of Hell. Yes, yet another comics reference!

Like Hydra, Nix is small and has a diameter of only 42 km, making it the third-largest moon of Pluto. Coincidentally, this is the distance of a marathon, though technically, it’s 42.2 km. Facts matter, people, facts matter. Nix is the third-farthest moon from Pluto, orbiting at an average distance of 48,694 km, which is a lot less than the Moon’s orbital distance from the Earth of 385,000 km. Nix’s orbital period is about 24 hours and 20 minutes, and it has a near-circular orbit to boot.

It was discovered by Max Mutchler and Andrew Steffl, members of the Pluto Companion Search Team. They used photos of Pluto taken in 2002, as well as images from the Hubble Space Telescope, to identify Nix in May 2005, but it wasn’t announced to the public until October 2005.

The average distance from Earth to Nix is roughly the same distance as Pluto, at 5.9 billion km, with New Horizons being the only spacecraft that has been able to complete a flyby and send images back in 2015. During the flyby, it was discovered that the moon was in a retrograde rotation, every 43.9 hours with a 132° axial tilt, flipping and tumbling like Hydra. Since its discovery, Nix’s spin rate has increased.

Nix’s surface is similar to Hydra’s, but it does have a unique red patch. It also has two craters, named Gleti and Metztli, named after moon goddesses from Dahomean and Aztec mythology. Science is so cool!

Enhanced color image of Nix, taken by *New Horizons*. Credit: NASA

Kerberos

Kerberos was discovered on the perfect day, 28th June, and confirmed on 20th July 2011 by Mark Showalter and a team of researchers, using the Hubble Space Telescope. Ironically, they were not looking for moons, but rather to see if Pluto had any rings. Kerberos has a diameter of 19 km, making it the fourth-largest moon of Pluto. This distance is so minuscule that it’s a distance that I can run. Badly, I might add, but I can still do it.

The moon is named after Pluto’s (Hades), loyal and large three-headed dog, Cerberus, who famously guards the gates to the Underworld. He had two functions: to allow the souls of the dead to enter the Underworld, but also to prevent living souls from entering, as well as to prevent dead souls from leaving. The immortal story of Orpheus, Eurydice and Cerberus is a classic bedtime story for children.

Kerberos orbits Pluto at about 57,780 km, and it cuts an orbital path between Nix and Hydra, making it the fourth-farthest moon from the dwarf planet. For its rotation, Kerberos completes one about every 32.167 Earth days, which is 772.008 hours.

And just like Hydra, Nix, and a gymnast, Kerberos spends a lot of time flipping and tumbling. One leading theory for its creation is that Kerberos is a contact binary. This means it could have been formed from combining two objects, since Kerberos has two lobe-like features. The smaller lobe is roughly 5 km across, but the bigger lobe is 8 km across.

This image of Kerberos was created by combining four individual Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) pictures taken on July 14, approximately seven hours before New Horizons’ closest approach to Pluto, at a range of 245,600 miles (396,100 km) from Kerberos.
Credit: NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI

Styx

We have now moved onto the final known moon of Pluto, Styx. It is the smallest of all of Pluto’s moons, with a diameter of 16 km, which again, is within the realms of a running distance for me. It was discovered in June 2012 by Showalter and a team of researchers again. The discovery was later verified in July 2012.

Styx is a popular name in pop culture, considering there’s a band, a video game, and yet another Marvel character that shares the name. The moon’s name has two sources, though it depends on who you ask. The first reference is the River Styx, which is one of the rivers that run through the Underworld, and the same river that Charon ferries the souls of the dead across; and the second reference is the Greek goddess, who was the personification of the River Styx, and possibly the daughter of Nyx (Nix). It’s not like her parents filed a birth certificate as such.

Styx is actually the closest moon to Pluto, averaging a distance of 42,650 km, which in cosmic terms is a coat of paint. Like Styx’s siblings, it is not a sphere, but elongated and lumpy, as well as flipping and tumbling. It takes about 20 days to complete a rotation.

Pluto’s moon Styx, as seen by the *New Horizons* spacecraft on 13 July 2015, from a distance of 632,000 km. Credit: NASA

I have to add two things as general statements about the Plutonian system.

Firstly, the information, data, and knowledge gained from Voyager 2′s 1989 flyby of the outer planets and moons significantly enhanced humanity’s understanding of these cosmic objects. This understanding can also be applied to New Horizons’ flyby of Pluto and its moons in 2015

Standing on the shoulders of giants.

I remember when the information was being released to the public, and, being me, I was explaining it to other staff members, because they made the mistake of asking me a question about it.

Secondly, a very basic observation has been made; Pluto is a hobbit. It is about 20% times smaller than the Earth, as you could fit 170 Plutos inside it. Pluto is also smaller than seven moons in the Solar System, which includes the Moon. So that being the case, why does something like Pluto, a dwarf planet, have five moons, when its much larger sibling, Earth, only has one?

It’s a fair question. Since no one was present, or at least not communicating with scientists, when the Solar System was formed, scientists must rely on observable and detectable evidence to prove their answers.

The leading hypothesis is that since Pluto is located inside the Kuiper Belt, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that either one or multiple collisions of Kuiper Belt Objects (KBOs) have resulted in three things:

1.) KBOs have been smashed into each other and produced smaller objects.

2.) These new objects have been disturbed and knocked out of their orbit, and left drifting within the Kuiper Belt.

3.) These objects have been caught in Pluto’s gravity well, as small as it is, and have settled into a stable orbit around Pluto.

Clearly, the time frame for these events to occur is longer than it will take for New Zealand to win the FIFA World Cup. Maybe.

With advancements in technology, scientists may discover that Pluto could still have some hidden children out there. Who knows? However, what I do know is that this week’s 6-7 minute lecture is finished. What’s your favourite moon of Pluto? Do you have any awesome facts about Charon, Hydra, Nix, Kerberos, or Styx? As always, please let me know.

Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. My Twitter and Mastodon accounts are still ticking over with content that will surely bore you, so you should definitely check them out and dazzle your family, friends, and enemies with the information.

As I’m packing up, I need to give you a heads-up about three things. The FIFA World Cup is starting next month, so don’t be surprised if you notice some increased posts about the World Cup across my three accounts. I also have a few movie previews/reviews planned soon, which will include Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu, Supergirl, The Odyssey, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. I haven’t decided about Masters of the Universe, or Disclosure Day, but my bank account could make that decision.

The final point is that some new amazing followers and readers don’t already know that we are slowly reaching the first of my two holidays from running New Zealand’s 5th least favourite website. Basically, it will be my mid-Winter break, which is around the end of June-start of July, which is followed by the mid-Summer break, also widely known as the Christmas holidays.

Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, thank the bus driver, and I’ll see you next week for the Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu Preview. Cool bananas and take care!

New Zealand Music Month

On May 11, 2026 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Music

We are deep in Autumn, with Winter trying to show its ugly face now and then. This means the calendar is getting a great workout. Free Comic Book Day, Star Wars Day, Sir David Attenborough’s birthday, the FA Cup Final, the Champions League Final, Spider-Noir, and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu are all in May, which, to someone like me, is pretty gnarly.

And speaking of May, there’s another reason it’s quite rad: it’s New Zealand Music Month. Now, I am fully aware there will be a tiny fraction of my reader base who will either a.) know what I’m talking about or b.) be able to quote some songs. For the sake of convenience, I’m going to explain what I’m talking about in a way that does not make me look like the Swedish Chef.

I believe it was established in 2000, when May was recognised in New Zealand as New Zealand Music Month. What that means is that during May, local and national musicians are heavily promoted via television, radio, social media, and just about anywhere else. It’s the time when the country and the New Zealand music industry can celebrate current artists, as well as honour past musicians.

In May, many radio stations will feature songs by New Zealand artists, and numerous gigs will take place. This month is an opportunity for our country to showcase local and national musical talent. New singles are being played, new tours are being announced, and fresh music videos are premiering—all aimed at promoting and celebrating the New Zealand music community.

Over the years, New Zealand Music Month has grown in popularity, but it also remembers the classic Kiwi songs that we’ve grown up listening to, whether on the radio, your parents’ record collection, school, or at pubs and nightclubs. So in the spirit of New Zealand Music Month, I’ve searched the land of YouTube for 20 of my favourite New Zealand songs.

As always on this account, there are rules and exceptions for those rules. Yes, I have found 20 New Zealand songs that I love, but that doesn’t mean they are my top 20. Oh no, because to make this list, I decided only one entry per band or artist. That means Split Enz, Shihad, The Dance Exponents, or The Feelers, only get one entry each. However, there is one expectation.

There is one artist, Sir Dave Dobbyn, who appears in a band, but later on as a solo artist with a song; however, the solo song is really a duet with another group. Apart from that, the list is sound as a pound.

If the list were to look like my all-time New Zealand song list, regardless of multiple entries of bands or artists, then it would look different. However, that list is for another day. Some of these songs stretch back to the early 1980’s to about 2010, but they still get me singing when I’m alone. So sit back and enjoy some of God’s Own Country’s best songs, according to one of its least favourite sons. The list has been put together in a random order, because that’s what happens here.

Also, if you’re at a party or a bar, somewhere out in the big old world, and you want to find a New Zealander, play one of these songs, and I promise you they won’t be able to resist singing, especially Bliss, New Zealand’s unofficial drinking song.

And lastly, this song gets played at a lot of weddings.

And that’s it. What do you think of my list? Do you know of any New Zealand songs? What songs would you recommend? As always, please let me know.

Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, remember to charge your batteries, and I’ll see you at the week, where the most unhelpful tour returns. Sounds like a plan, Stan.

Happy 100th Birthday to Sir David Attenborough

On May 8, 2026 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Animals, People, Science

Welcome to this brief and special blog post! It’s a Friday, which is quite uncommon for me to post on, but today is a celebration of the 100th birthday of Sir David Attenborough. In my opinion, he is one of the greatest science communicators of all time.

Since 1954, this broadcaster has brought fantastic content into our homes, educating us about the natural world, ourselves, and the responsibilities that come with that knowledge. Over the years, I have learned so much from him that I would genuinely enjoy listening to him narrate even the most mundane activities, like paint drying on a bathroom wall.

Sir David Attenborough with a black lion tamarin Credit: Photo: BBC/Emily Garner

Just like many of my other heroes, I have never met David, but his animal and plant education, coupled with advocacy for animal welfare and the protection of the planet, have had a huge impact on me and how I view the world, and the non-human residents who live on it.

The man is a national treasure to the United Kingdom, but also a treasure to the world.

Essentially, what I’m saying is, Happy 100th Birthday, David! My birthday wish for you would be for more people, companies, and governments to not just listen to you but actively change and bring about environmental reforms. You are amazing.

And after this short blog post, I’ll return you to your scheduled programme on Monday. See you then.

Happy Star Wars Day 2026!

On May 4, 2026 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Books, Comics, Movies, Television

I find your lack of celebrating Star Wars disturbing. I’m kidding, but today is the best day to celebrate Star Wars, because it’s 4th May, or for my North American friends, May 4th, Star Wars Day! Once more, we can revel in the adventures of our favourite characters, set a long time ago, in a galaxy, far, far away.

You could be a fan of Star Wars movies, television shows, books, toys, comics, video games, cosplay, board games, and everything in between, but today’s the day you can wear your Star Wars t-shirt with pride. To be honest, you could treat every day like Star Wars Day if you really wanted to.

May The 4th Be With You has taken on new meaning this year, because only a few weeks from now, Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu opens in cinemas, as well as new TV shows, books, and comics to be consumed. One day, I’ll get Disney +, so I’ll be able to catch up on all the television shows. Again, maybe.

I’m still waiting for the last five Star Wars: The High Republic books to arrive at our local book shop, so that will keep me off the dark and cold streets when I finally get to read them.

Credit: Dark Horse Comics, now Marvel. I’m not sure!

I’ve mentioned this before, but Star Wars is quite big in our house. My wife and UMC1 enjoy the vehicles, UMC2 is all about the droids, and as for me, I love the aliens. Star Wars has been a massive part of my life, especially now with boxes of Marvel (Canon) and Dark Horse (Non-canon or Legends) Star Wars comics. I could bore with a retelling of my love for Star Wars comics, but I’ll save that for another day.

We also play Star Wars: Risk on Star Wars Day, but only if it lands on the weekend, purely because the game takes hours. It usually ends up with UMC1 (The Rebels) teaming up with UMC2 (The Hutts), against The Empire (me). Oh, the fun and the arguments, I love it.

Anyway, it’s rare for Star Wars Day to fall on a Monday, because this is blog day for me. However, I always release a Star Wars blog post on 4th May, and this year is no different.

So, whatever kind of fan you are, and whatever kind of activity you do today, I hope this Star Wars Day is the one you’re looking for. This is short and sharp this week, but I’ll be returning to Star Wars very soon, for my Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu Preview blog post. Two geek events in three days, it’s great to be a geek. Enjoy today, and I’ll see you on Friday for yet another special blog post.

Happy Free Comic Book Day/Comics Giveaway Day 2026!

On May 2, 2026 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Comics

Welcome, welcome, welcome to arguably the apex event on a geek’s calendar. Yes, it’s Free Comic Book Day, but also the very first edition of Comics Giveaway Day as well. If you’re scratching your head over what that means, then your friendly neighbourhood geek is here to explain it! To understand the unique position we are in, please read this blog post about the situation. Be warned, though, the author is an idiot.

Credit: Diamond Comic Distributors and Penguin Random House

I have said this before, but today’s the day that geek culture gets to celebrate…geek culture. It’s the day where comic book stores give away, wait for it…free comic books! It also celebrates TV shows, movies, video games, cosplaying, and just about anything else that is geek-related!

Whether an event is staged at your local comic book store, library or school, check them out, because there will be something for everybody! There are over 45 free comic books to choose from, and since every store is different, you could walk away with 1-3 free comic books, but every store has different rules.

This event is always held on the first Saturday in May, and even with the rival Comic Giveaway Day running parallel to it, all of the comics will have age-appropriate logos: All ages (green logo), Teen (blue or orange logo), and Mature (red logo), which can be identified on the covers.

While you’re at the comic book store, please also purchase something, because even though the comic books are free to us, the retailer pays about $0.10 and $0.50 per issue. Basically, it costs them money to run FCBD and CGD events, so please, please support them.

Even though it’s a global event that’s been running since 2002, every year, the number of comic book stores being involved is decreasing because of the financial burden that comes with it. So, if you are passionate about your geek interests and are planning on visiting an event at a comic book store, please purchase something as well as receiving your free comic books.

The closest physical comic book store is about 140 minutes away from where I live, so I won’t be going, but I have a list of titles that I’ll be interested in receiving via the post. Maybe.

I love Free Comic Book Day, and hopefully you will have a great time, so enjoy your day and your free comic books!

Also, dear readers, I would like to acknowledge the death of Gerry Conway, the prolific writer, who dabbled in screenplays as well as writing comic books. He died on 27th April, aged 73 years old. His career spanned decades, and he created and co-created many heroes and villains across the industry, including:

Killer Frost, Tarantula, Atomic Skull, Jackal, The Punisher, Man-Thing, Ben Reilly, Power Girl, Tombstone, Killer Croc, Demogoblin, Ms Marvel, Secret Society of Super Villains, Jason Todd, Vibe, Vixen, and one of my favourites growing up, Firestorm.

He also worked on G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero and Transformers as a screenwriter, but also wrote Batman, Amazing Spider-Man, Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, The Incredible Hulk, Justice League of America, Thor, Legion of Super-Heroes, and many more.

Gerry Conway speaking at the 2019 Phoenix Fan Fusion in Phoenix, Arizona. Credit: Gage Skidmore

Conway also wrote the famous issues, The Amazing Spider-Man Vol 1 #121–122 (released in 1973), which, to the untrained mind, features the death of Gwen Stacy; one of the biggest deaths in superhero comics, as well as the first crossover between DC and Marvel; Superman vs. The Amazing Spider-Man: The Battle of the Century, released in 1976. These storylines are seared onto my subconscious.

From the bottom of my geek-laden heart and soul, thank you so much, Gerry, for your amazing work.

And with that, I’ll see you on Monday because we are visiting a galaxy, far, far away.

SOME GEEK TOLD ME

Month: May 2026