Culture wars: Coming to a town near you

On November 25, 2024December 1, 2024 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Children, Parents, People, Politics, Social Media

I want to talk about culture wars today. Why? Well, it’s easy, because as popular, hilarious and crazy as they are, they seem to be spreading everywhere faster than The Flash’s diarrhoea.

Old Mac (Insert name of politician/celebrity) had a country, E-I-E-I-O!

And in their country they had a culture war, E-I-E-I-O!

With a culture war here, and a culture there,

There a culture war, here a culture war,

Everywhere a culture war,

Old Mac (Insert name of politician/celebrity) had a country, E-I-E-I-O!

Culture wars have been making headlines for a few years, around different places on our beautiful planet. Even here, in Godzone, sadly.

Before I venture into my lecture, let’s take the time to define what a culture war is, because just like Christmas or Salt and Vinegar chips, it can mean different things to different people. However, for today, we are going to define a culture war as:

1.) A conflict that is usually between two different social groups, that disagree about a particular subject that involves challenging ideas, virtues, or beliefs, that are political, social, or religious.

2.) It’s not really a war, but rather a battle of words, backed up with protests and other expressions of free speech.

I’m not an expert on this because if I were, I would have much more fun with it! Maybe in the last 10-15 years, culture wars have slowly invaded our lexicon, like cuckoos laying their eggs in another bird’s nest.

They have infected our homes, schools, workplaces, supermarkets, and even the highest levels of government. I mean, our glorious 79-year-old Deputy Prime Minister, The Right Honourable Winston Peters, loves discussing how he works against the “secret woke agenda.”

The culture wars of today involve debates about areas like politics, religion, society, and entertainment, but also views concerning prejudice, racism, sexism, and bigotry are getting tossed around like a hot potato. Sadly, even science has been dragged into these ridiculous discussions because of conspiracy theories.

There is also a case to be made that culture wars are just a different form of class war. Food for thought? Preferably pizza, thanks.

So, what are some examples of culture wars? Great question; you’re good at that! I’m looking at this through the lens of a New Zealander, but I think some culture wars are global. Here are some of them, but not all of them; but they emphasise the “us vs them” mentality, depending on what side of the fence you sit down or land on. These examples get people angry and passionate, whether you are for or against them.

Do any of these culture wars seem familiar to you?

Having bilingual names for government departments, along with street and road signs.
Promoting an indigenous or native language.
Drag story time at libraries.
Painting rainbows over pedestrian crossings.
Pushing a “woke” agenda, or just being “woke”.
Hakas should only be performed on a sports field, marae, or on a stage, and nowhere else.
Being pro-Israeli means you’re anti-Islamic.
Being pro-Palestinian means you’re Anti-Semitic.
Embryos should have the same rights as humans; so IVF and abortion are murder.
Immigrants are the root cause of our country’s problems.
Governments promote smoking to generate revenue.
If someone can’t speak the official language of the country they live in, they should leave.
Islam is evil.
Pronouns are a source of conflict.
Urban policies vs rural policies.
Annexing or invading another sovereign country is fine and legal, if, to you, that country is not legitimate.
Vaccines and face masks don’t work.
The Earth is Flat.
Climate change is a hoax and not real.
Indigenous people should not be given a representative voice in government, nor have any extra or special rights.
Burqas, hijabs and turbans should be banned in Western countries.
The Great White Replacement Theory.
The gender you were assigned at birth should determine the gender related to the public and school toilets or changing rooms you use. This applies to both children and adults.
Members of the LGBTQIA+ should not be able to marry each other, along with not being able to adopt or work with children.
You’re a Nazi or fascist if you believe in right-wing politics or conservative policies.
You’re a communist or socialist if you believe in left-wing politics or progressive policies.
People should be allowed to peacefully protest, but only for the values and beliefs you agree with.
Politicians who are multi-millionaires but show conflict of interests.
Is hate speech a form of free speech?
Critical Race Theory.
Black Lives Matter.
Defending a country’s right to protect itself, means they need to break international law to do so.
Wars in another countries are not relevant to my country, because we don’t look like them, therefore, they are not our concern. Eg Sudan and Myanmar.
Punishments for breaking anti-homosexual laws.
MeToo movement.
Major tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy, landlords, and large corporations.
Depending on the country you live in, having great access to firearms.
Whitewashing history.
There are only two genders.
Suppressing some people’s right to vote is important because they might not vote for your party.
The vandalism and removal of statues of historical figures linked to racism, slavery, colonisation, murder, sexism, or genocide.
The increasing amount of book banning, challenging, and censorship, across school and public libraries.
Any person born a male, should not be able to participate in any female sports; regardless of age or level of transition.
Males should not be able to work in a female-dominated industry.
Females should not be able to work in a male-dominated industry.
Criticising another country because they have a theocracy government, but actively promoting and advocating for your own country to be one as well.
Totalitarianism, authoritarianism, and dictatorships are effective because they can weed out the undesirables.

And the list could go on and on.

Given the rise of culture wars worldwide, I’d like to offer some reasons why and how this has happened, or maybe I’m just talking out of my arse. Again, I’m coming at this from a New Zealand perspective, but also observations worldwide, so some culture wars could be known or relevant to you.

1.) The name “culture war” is relevantly new, but the concept and notion of it are not. At a best estimate, some culture wars started over 150 years ago. The concept is not new, just the name.

2.) With elections, whether they are at local or national levels, always seem to bring out an increased amount of warriors, fighting in their particular culture war. I feel this is done to target minorities, or fringe communities, and highlight how dangerous they could be because they are different and not mainstream.

The result is that people are encouraged to become passionate and empowered about these ideas, instead of focussing on larger and more important subjects like crime and unemployment rates, or the state of the economy.

It’s a form of distraction; it’s all smoke and mirrors. You can’t vote for/against or understand an important policy if politicians only even talk about trivial things that don’t matter.

“Don’t worry about the tobacco lobbyists having meetings with government ministers, you should worry about the man dressed as a woman, reading books to children at the library.”

3.) Using social media, conspiracy theories and misinformation makes it harder for people to differentiate fact from fiction, truth from lies, and understanding from bigotry.

“I read it on the internet, so it must be true.”

“I saw a news report about it, this is serious!”

“I agree with the TV host, they need to be stopped. We need to think of the children.”

Sound familiar? It’s easier to believe in a beautiful lie, than to accept the awful truth; especially if someone you trust is saying exactly what you’re thinking.

Judging people is easier than helping people, isn’t it?

4.) I think culture wars can bring out the best and worst of humanity, which causes more division within our communities; especially with gaslighting. Oh, gaslighting, where would the righteous few be without gaslighting? Not living in the White House I would imagine.

How many arguments have you had with your father over public protests? Or your mother over immigrants? Or your co-workers about vaccines, or drag story time with your siblings?

If culture wars keep getting pushed onto us by politicians, religious leaders, celebrities, and billionaires, then who wins? The conservatives? The progressives? I’ll tell you this for nothing, I may not be able to tell you who wins, but I can tell you who loses, and that us. You, me, the vulnerable, the prosecuted, the poor, and the oppressed.

I think some culture wars need to be explored, debated and argued. It helps you to draw a line in the sand, so you can understand and define your own morality, but also to understand where your neighbour, friend, child, parent, or spouse’s ideas are coming from. Some things need to be discussed.

Some culture wars, on the other hand, don’t need to be discussed, because it’s about common sense, or the lack of it. I mean, you’re not going to win an argument with a person who has the IQ of a carrot, are you? In these cases, I feel it’s better to smile and ignore them, so let them live their best life by being stupid. Let them do them, so you can do you.

The problem is identifying the real culture wars from the batshit crazy ones; which I’ll admit, I’m still learning how to do.

Did I miss any culture wars? What culture wars are you invested in? As always, please let me know.

Thanks for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, and I’ll see you next week.

Also, if you happen to see Vladimir Putin or Benjamin Netanyahu cruising around in a country other than Russia or Israel, please do me a favour, and tell the ICC and your government. That would make my year.

The Lincoln Project: Living rent-free in Trump’s head

On October 28, 2024 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn People, Politics, Social Media

Growing up as a member of the Commonwealth, the 5th of November has always been synonymous with the Gunpowder Plot, in the form of Guy Fawkes Night, Bonfire Night or Fireworks Night. 419 years later, people still remember it.

If you haven’t already guessed or been living in Worzel Gummidge’s hat, this 5th of November is also unique, because it’s the date for the United States presidential election. At the time of writing this blog post, the polls are tighter than Uncle Scrooge’s wallet, between Kamala Harris and everybody’s favourite bankrupting casino owner, Donald Trump.

Over the years, you don’t have to do a lot to incur Trump’s wrath, by getting under that beautiful orange skin or living rent-free in his head. And nobody does it better than the Lincoln Project. For the uninitiated, the Lincoln Project was founded by former Republican Party members and moderate conservatives, who publish and release anti-Trump content. And they are very good at what they do. They oppose Trump and his policies, along with his Dick Tracy villain doppelgangers.

I can’t remember the first Lincoln Project video I saw, but I was stunned and confused to learn that it was Republicans and conservatives bashing Trump. Even though I’m a New Zealander and not a US citizen, I thought this was weird; however, I thought it was so brilliant that I subscribed to them.

Whether it’s because their origins are based on right-leaning politics or they have some extremely driven people, they seem to have an uncanny way of pissing Trump off. Whenever I hear the phrase, “If you can’t say anything nice, say something clever and devastating,” I will always think of the Lincoln Project.

The ‘Lincoln Project’ is made up of Republicans dissatisfied with the direction the party has taken under Trump. Credit: Reproduction/Facebook.

Their videos fall into several groups. Some videos have focused on promoting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, by encouraging people to vote for them. Other videos highlight American values and how Trumpism and Republicans are against it. There are also videos highlighting the shenanigans of some Republicans, comparing Harris to Trump, and talking about the January 6th riots.

The irony is that these videos are created by conservatives. Additionally, the ones directed at Trump can be described as “beautiful nightmares.” They are devastating, accurate, intelligent, funny, and sharp. I often show them to my wife while doing my geek dance, saying, “Oh, you need to see this; it’s amazing!”

In my opinion, all of the anti-Trump panels, videos, columns, podcasts, and articles combined, pale in comparison to the humiliation that the Lincoln Project has inflicted on everybody’s favourite 78-year-old convicted felony.

Below, I have collected several of my favourite recent Lincoln Project videos that directly attack Trump and his policies. And damn, these are burns! Some honourable mentions are the recent Things Fascists Say videos, highlighting Trump’s love for dictators and strong male leaders. It would be hilarious if it wasn’t so serious.

Without any more delay, let’s look at some of my favourite Lincoln Project videos that belittle Trump’s age, cognitive ability, intelligence, morals, and just about anything. Please enjoy!

The next two videos are not humorous, but they are very effective at highlighting how dangerous Trump is. As for that last one, well, it’s my favourite.

What’s your favourite Lincoln Project video? As always, please let me know. If you haven’t already subscribed to the Lincoln Project, I suggest you do so. They are exceptional at what they do.

That’s another rant, for another week. Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. And just like last week, please remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, and if you’re a US citizen, please vote for Kamala Harris. I want to witness Trump whine about losing and how difficult his life is being a 78-year-old white male billionaire. Please!

Take care and I’ll see you next week.

200 posts and counting

On September 23, 2024September 18, 2025 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Animals, Social Media

Well, here it is, my 200th blog post! This is not exactly what I had in mind to celebrate the milestone, but you play the cards you’re dealt. This post highlights a Pyrrhic victory for me. Firstly, let’s discuss the 200th blog post of New Zealand’s 5th least favourite website!

I started this project of hubris and vanity in December 2020, writing one blog post each fortnight. Once I found my uncoordinated groove of writing awful posts, I switched to one per week, which created a different level of anxiety.

Creating pressure on yourself to write one blog post per week about something people may find interesting and not getting paid for it? Quick, sign me up, that sounds amazing!

I’ve discussed many different topics and subjects on Some Geek Told Me. These rants have covered the Ukraine-Russia crisis, flags, comics, movies, books, children, 10 Downing St shenanigans, history, music, ANZAC Day, socks, the Rugby World Cup, the Solar System, and so many more absurd things.

There have been times when I’ve been extremely enthusiastic about a topic, while other weeks, I’ve had to stop myself from quitting this whole enterprise.

Added into the equation that I run daily Mastodon and Twitter accounts about random stuff, makes me sometimes feel I need my head examined for all the time and effort put into Some Geek Told Me!

Some weeks I’m very organised, but other weeks, it’s utter chaos. This whole writing experience has been fascinating because my writing probably hasn’t improved, but by doing this; and I’ve said this before, it stops me from going to bars or trading comic books under dark bridges.

I thought I would have failed by the 5th post, so reaching my 200th post is something I didn’t know was possible. Though, to be fair, what defines a successful blog? It is the number of subscribers? It is the number of blogs published each week? It is the amount of money earned for each post?

I have no idea, but I’m not tired of this yet. If people keep reading and subscribing to my stuff, I’ll keep writing my rants. However, none of this could be possible without the support of my family, which includes my wife, UMC1, UMC2 and our dog.

This brings me to the second part of the blog. With Some Geek Told Me, I not only discuss national and international events and topics that interest me, but I also share what’s happening to me in general. Granted, I don’t discuss everything that matters, but today is something I can’t avoid.

As many long-time readers and subscribers to this account know, I have a dog named Indy. He’s a bichon frise cross, and Indy has been the subject of a few posts, namely his eating style.

I’m sorry to say that our beautiful boy died on Friday. We said goodbye to him, and the concept that he’s no longer here with us is heartbreaking. He was my favourite non-human, and he was a fucking good dog. Indy was a part of my life for 12 years, and I’m so grateful for that time.

Indy is displaying his famous muddy paws

I’m not going to spend a lot of time talking about him, mainly for the fact that I don’t know how to write any more about him without crying. I promise I’ll write about him at a later date, just not today.

I’m going to miss and love our beautiful boy forever. To me, Indy was a tōtara.

Sorry, I’ve started crying again, so I need to stop. Anyway, like I said, this blog post is a Pyrrhic victory; Yah, I’ve written 200 blog posts, but I lost my dog.

And with that, I need to go to bed. Thank you for continuing to read, follow, and subscribe to Some Geek Told Me. Please remember to walk your dog, read a banned book, be kind to yourself, and I’ll see you next week for the return of the Tour of the Solar System.

To follow the news or not to follow the news? That is the question.

On August 19, 2024 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn People, Social Media

Over three years, I’ve amassed a delightful collection of topics on New Zealand’s 5th least favourite website. I’ve ranted about science, comics, books, movies, and Christmas. I’ve even discussed particle accelerators and my socks.

I sometimes use levity, or at least I try to when I’m discussing topics. But today’s topic is quite different because I have a question. As usual, some much-needed context is required for me to translate what I’m trying to discuss.

A few days ago, my wife read an article about a horror story in Palestine. When I saw her after work, she asked if I had heard of the story, to which I hadn’t. She then explained the story but also mentioned that she read about it in the morning, and for the entire day, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it.

She also explained how reading the article made her feel awful and that it had affected her deeply. When she finished talking about the article, she said she was torn about whether she was better off learning about the story or not.

This led me to the question, how does someone watch or read the news and not feel overwhelmed and negative about the world?

I’m not an expert on this, but it seems a rather important question.

Hundreds of years ago, and depending on where you lived, when an event occurred in your country, you may have heard about it after a few days, through the newspaper, or weeks or months later if there were none. For international news, it could have taken longer to learn about it.

It’s a little different nowadays. You can watch the live results of your general election while eating dinner at the table; you can watch the verdict of a high-profile trial while riding public transport; or even watch villages and cities get attacked in real-time, during your lunch break.

Through the internet, this connection to the world is in the palm of our hands. This connectivity is a double-edged sword, as both information and misinformation can spread rapidly.

The news can be inspiring and positive while instilling different amounts of hope in us. But what about the opposite? What if all the news you read and watch is negative? Inflation, rape, genocide, government corruption, drug scandals, climate change, cancer, wars, house prices, riots, racism, prejudice, gaslighting, well, the list could go on and on.

When is it time to stop watching the news? People complain that the world is going to shit, and it’s obvious through news coverage. Right? But in my humble opinion, I think it isn’t.

The world has always been a mixture of good, bad, and everything in between. There’s always been strife, wars, and chaos throughout history.

When the Black Death was ravaging Western Europe, people would have thought the world was going to shit.

When the conquistadors plundered and murdered their way through the New World, people would have thought the world was going to shit.

When Imperial Japan invaded China, people would have thought the world was going to shit.

Injustice, cruelty, and evil have always been with us. The difference is our access to these events in real-time. So are we better off not knowing about racism in New Zealand, a new school shooting in the United States, or gang rapes in India? Are we better off not knowing about the increasing dangers of climate change? Are we better off not knowing about the daily death counts in Palestine, Yemen, Ukraine, Myanmar, Sudan, or the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

I can’t answer those questions for you, but I know and understand the desire not to follow the news. Some of it is awful, whether it’s local, national, or international. It’s enough to make you crawl up into a ball and stay in bed. Who wants to be thinking about children starving, hospitals being bombed, and billionaires running in elections, when you can’t pay rent or the mortgage?

Sometimes reading, listening and watching the news is truly horrific and terrifying. However, from my perspective, there’s something worse than following the news; and it’s not following it.

Listening and following the news means a substantial amount to me. It means that I’m not living in ignorance about events, even if they are halfway around the planet, and I can’t do anything other than educate people about them.

You may feel helpless and overwhelmed when you learn about truly horrible news, but you’re not alone. It may seem that you are, but you’re not. Because you have these negative feelings, it proves two things; one is that it shows you have compassion and empathy; it shows your humanity, even if it doesn’t look like it.

The second point is that if you feel upset or outraged by a particular news story, chances are that people around the world, or even someone you know may feel the same way. It’s okay to allow yourself to feel angry because your anger is a gift. It really is.

Anger can bring about social reforms and real changes in your community, country, and the world. It really can.

If your council was screwing over veterans in your region, would you want to know?

If your local politician was targeting minorities and blaming them for your country’s problems, would you want to know?

If your government was cutting funding to the disabled people of your country, and giving that money to landlords as tax breaks, would you want to know?

There’s a phrase that I’ve always liked:

An entire ocean can only sink a ship if the ocean gets inside it. And just like the ship, you can only sink into despair, if you let the negativity of the world inside you. Don’t let it.

I feel it’s important to follow the news, regardless of how it makes you feel. If it makes you happy, then smile. If it makes you sad, then cry. If it makes you angry, then rage. Accept the feelings and experience them, because, strangely, it confirms that you’re still alive and that you matter.

Sorry, but I’ve ranted on far too long. I hope this helps someone like it helped me to talk about it.

Anyway, it’s time for me to go. Thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, watch an Asterix movie, and I’ll see you next week because we’re visiting 1953.

Larry the Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office

On July 8, 2024July 8, 2024 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Animals, Politics, Social Media

My Mid-Winter break is over, so the staff at Some Geek Told Me have purchased new handcuffs and chained me to my desk, with the intent of releasing me around Christmas time. Aren’t they kind and thoughtful?

Since I’m back in my writer’s chair, what insightful content will I discuss? World Peace? Cure for cancer? New climate change initiatives? New element discovered on the Periodic Table? Even though they would be great, it’s no to all of them.

In today’s rant, I want to talk about a cat named Larry. He’s arguably one of the most photographed cats on the planet. I find it interesting that his name is Larry, because that’s a pretty boss move! But there’s a small detail I need to share about Larry. To explain this, I’ll need to talk about the recent general election in the United Kingdom. These topics might seem unrelated, but trust me, they’re connected!

British politics is similar to New Zealand politics, with the fact there are many different parties in parliament, which can give rise to coalition governments, just like our current one.

Last Thursday, after being in power for 14 years, Rishi Sunak’s Conservative Party suffered its worst defeat ever. Out of a possible 650 parliamentary seats, they only won 121 seats; losing 252 Members of Parliament. It was an armageddon level event for the Tories.¹

Their rivals, the Labour Party, achieved a majority of 326 seats in the House of Commons, winning 412 seats, and gaining 214 new seats. Their leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has now become Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and one of the perks of being the British Prime Minister is living at the famous address, 10 Downing Street.

Larry the Cat in a Union flag bow-tie in the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street on April 28, 2011.
Credit: *James Glossop/WPA Pool/Getty Images*

We can now bring it back to Larry because his residence is also at 10 Downing Street. Larry’s official title is Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office, an inaugural title that was given to him; however other cats have been employed by the British government, going back to the 16th century with Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, as well as the first official mouser in 1929.

Larry is a tabby cat, born a stray around 2007; making him 17 years old. He was adopted in 2011 from an animal rescue centre, by Dowling St staff, for his hunting and mousing skills. Because of this, Larry does not belong to the UK Prime Minister, since he’s a civil servant. To put this in context, when a Prime Minister needs to leave 10 Downing Street, they can’t take Larry with them.

This has led to Larry living with, and outlasting five prime ministers; David Cameron, Theresa May, Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, and now Rishi Sunak. His new housemate is, of course, Sir Keir Starmer.

Larry, outside his home at 10 Downing St.
Credit: *Chris J Ratcliffe, Getty Images*

If Larry is a civil servant, what are his responsibilities?

According to The Downing Street website, his responsibilities include:

Greeting guests to the house.
Inspecting security defences.
Testing antique furniture for napping quality.
Contemplating solutions to the mouse occupancy of the house.

The employment of Larry is not paid for through taxpayers’ money, but rather funded voluntarily by members of Downing St staff.

Larry sleeping in the window of 10 Downing Street. Credit: *Simon Walker*

Over the years, Larry has built a reputation as a great mouser, with several confirmed kills; but it hasn’t gone all to plan.

In 2011, the increasing mice population at Downing St, drove Prime Minister David Cameron to throw a fork at one.
Larry had earned the moniker, Lazy Larry, from the media.
In 2012, Larry was spending more time sleeping, than hunting for mice, as well as hanging out with a female cat named Maisie.
Displeased his Larry’s work, an extra Chief Mouser, named Freya was employed in 2012, at 11 Downing St.

Larry is a busy and famous cat, which has created some tension with other animals. Firstly, there was Freya, who moved in next door, and they tolerated each other. In 2014, Freya moved away, forcing Larry to go back to being the sole Chief Mouser.

In 2020, Larry stalked and attacked a pigeon, but for unknown reasons, the bird escaped unharmed.

In 2022, Larry confronted a fox outside 10 Downing and chased it away.

The brutal fight between Larry and Palmerston. Credit: *Steve Beck*

Sir Keir Starmer has brought his family cat, JoJo to 10 Downing St, so the world will have to wait and see what happens with Larry, and his new housemate.

I must mention Larry’s rivalry with Palmerston. As the Chief Mouser for the Foreign Office, Palmerston and Larry were frenemies who had fought each other numerous times. In 2016, Palmerston even entered 10 Downing Street and had to be evicted by staff.

However, one of their best/worst fights was outside 10 Downing St’s door, which was recorded by Steve Beck, a political photographer. The brutal fight resulted in Larry losing his collar, and Palmerston receiving a badly cut ear and several deep scratches.

Larry has become a beloved icon to the British public, having photobombed politicians, paraded in front of the world’s media, and forced police officers to help him inside his home. Larry also has an unofficial social media accounts on Twitter and Mastodon.

Larry is a hard-working cat that faces daily pressure from being Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office. I mean, not every cat could handle the responsibilities. Keep it up Larry, you’re amazing!

That’s it for me. Congratulations to the UK Labour Party, but also Ensemble and New Popular Front, from the French election. I was expecting the former, but the latter was a pleasant shock.

Thank you for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, watch the Copa América and Euro Football Championships semi-finals, and I’ll see you next week.

¹I know you can’t tell, but I haven’t stopped smiling over this.

It’s time for a Mid-Winter break

On June 24, 2024July 1, 2024 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Blogs, Social Media

Currently, in the Southern Hemisphere, we have entered into that delightful season that is well known for being full of hope, warmth, and light: winter.

By putting on your detective hats, you would have already figured out what my special announcement, which I hinted at last week, was going to be. Yes, I’m taking a break—a Mid-Winter break, to be precise.

My most recent break was over Christmas when I had a two-week holiday from managing New Zealand’s 5th least popular website. After discussing this with the HR department, we agreed that I would take breaks every six months, at the end of June and the end of December, essentially during the start of winter and the Christmas holiday season.

I plan to catch up on sleep, eat some pizza, get more exercise, and try to make a dent in my to-read piles. It’s cold, dark, and damp here, and I have a few health issues I need to work on, so this is the best time to take a break. I bet The New Zealand Sour Cream and Chives Preservation Society, along with Beetroot Awareness Aotearoa will appreciate it!

Anyway, just to clarify some things:

1.) I’ll be publishing another blog post next Monday, but just like this one, it will be greatly reduced in size and nonsense.

2.) I’ll still be posting daily stuff about stuff on Twitter and Mastodon, so that won’t change.

So that’s it. This project, born out of vanity and hubris, began in December 2020. Despite feeling tired, I find myself working on Some Geek Told Me content almost every day. Because of this, I want to express my gratitude to everyone who reads, follows, and subscribes to my ludicrous content.

Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, keep watching the Copa América and Euro Football Championships, and I’ll see you next week.

Until last week, I had never heard of Harrison Butker

On May 20, 2024May 27, 2024 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Parents, People, Politics, Social Media

I’m a sports fan, but even I find it difficult to follow every sport. I mean, it’s impossible. Well, maybe not for Chuck Norris, but for mere mortals like us, it is. Because of this obvious fact, I’m not an expert on North American sports, so a lot of NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL information can easily slip by me.

It could be that some team has a new manager, another team has won 13 games in a row, another team has a new stadium, or a player has a new $200 million contract, and I wouldn’t know. My interests in these sports annually peak around the Superbowl, the World Series, the Stanley Cup playoffs, and the NBA finals, then they die down.

I do know enough, however, to understand that the New York Mets and New York Jets are terrible. At least, according to late-night hosts.

As a New Zealander, I’m just pleased I can roughly match the name of an American team to its sport. If it’s not rugby union, rugby league, cricket or football, I shamefully filter things out. However, despite all of this, I had never heard of Harrison Butker, until last week.

I was on my lunch break, resting my weary feet and enjoying my Vegemite sandwiches when I read an article about Harrison Butker. This led me to discover that I didn’t know who he was, but I knew about the Kansas City Chiefs because they won Super Bowl LVIII. That news even reached New Zealand.

I’m getting off-topic as usual, but after reading the short article regarding Butker’s commencement speech at Benedictine College; which I thought was a prank, I discovered videos about him from various news sources.

It was about that time when I realised that this news story was about a real event, it wasn’t a prank. After discovering the real existence of this speech, I made the decision not to mention it to my wife. The reason was I knew it would piss her off, so I wanted to avoid mentioning it to her. The joke was on me, though.

When I got home from work, my wife asked if I had heard about some guy in America who gave a speech. With a deep and regretful sigh, I said I had. I’m not going to repeat what my wife said, but she used a lot of adjectives about Butker’s speech.

In his speech, Butker seemed to throw a lot of shade at various things, including, men, women, Joe Biden, COVID lockdowns, IVF, abortion, LGBTQ+ and others, which have brought praise and criticism across the United States, but also around the world.

Am I going to add my opinion on this topic?

No, I’m not.

Why not? Everybody has an opinion, what’s yours?

My answer is in two parts. Firstly, any person who reads, follows, and subscribes to my daily/weekly posts, will already realise my views and opinions on these topics. If not, please read three years’ worth of nonsense.

Secondly, why would I want to add my voice to the thousands of comments about the speech, when other people have already done so, with far more articulated and wittier results?

So, sit back, relax and enjoy social media and its amazing responses to Butker’s speech. I’ve removed people’s names on the posts because I hope that’s the correct thing to do.

From X

From Mastodon

From Facebook

Free speech is a double-edged sword; no one can physically stop you from speaking your mind and giving your opinion. However, it doesn’t mean you are free from consequences or repercussions, because of your words.

I’m a not smart man, but I’m wondering how long those consequences and repercussions will catch up to Harrison Butker. Maybe it won’t, I mean, we do live in reality and things don’t always go the way we want or need them to go.

Anyway, thanks again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me.

Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, go and divide by zero, and I’ll see you next week.

Happy New Year MMXXIV

On January 1, 2024January 8, 2024 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Blogs, Social Media

Well, the Gregorian Calendar has knocked off another year. MMXXIII is now a distant alcohol-infused memory, so we now welcome a brand new year, that we have labelled MMXXIV, or 2024 to make things easier. Not everybody in the world uses the Gregorian Calendar, but it’s the most common; at least in my house.

So what can you expect from Some Geek Told Me in 2024?

More spelling mistakes.
More grammatical errors.
More badly chosen topics.
More movie previews/reviews.
A blog about the Summer Olympics.
The return of the ever popular Tour of the Solar System.
The annual blogs about Star Wars Day and Free Comic Book Day.
There will be probably be blogs about some sport tournaments.
More comic and manga blogs.

This year, I want to write more blogs about science, whether it’s about facts or news. I do have an idea concerning biology, so keep reading to see if it works.

I’m also going to be checking in with Lupesey and the Coalition of Chaos, the US election, various wars around the world, and other really fun and positive things.

Don’t panic though, Some Geek Told Me is still 100% committed to taking an anti-Sour Cream and Chives stance. Now and forever.

I’ll still be posting daily on Twitter and Mastodon this year. I realise Twitter is now known as X, but I just can’t be bothered in calling it anything else, other than Twitter or a dumpster fire.

I’m very sorry to mention this, but the quality of the writing, and the humour, are probably not going to improve here.

Alright, that’s it. This is another short blog because I’m still taking a short break with UMC1 and UMC2. I’ll be back next Monday with my regular awful blog.

Happy New Year, be safe and I’ll see you next week.

Happy Third Birthday to Me!

On December 4, 2023December 11, 2023 By somegeektoldme@gmail.comIn Social Media

Well, wouldn’t you know it? Some Geek Told Me turned three years old on 1st December, so I’m officially a preschooler now, and all of the craziness that goes with that. Blackmailing people into being my friend, throwing food under the table, telling my parents they’re not my friends anymore, and having meltdowns at the supermarket. Cool.

So what does it mean for Some Geek Told Me to have another birthday? Simply put, this random little blog is important to me. I’ll explain that later on, but for now, it’s time to look back and reflect on the last 12 months, and ask the eternal question, “Have I learned anything?”

Spoilers, the answer is not a lot.

My observations of life and social media for the last 12 months, will be in random order, very much like the topics at Speakers’ Corner. Oh, I’m writing poetry now, that’s odd.

Lying can get you expelled from government, just as easily as lying can get you into government. I’m talking to you George Santos and Lupesey.¹
After another 12 months of blogging, sadly I have not earned a pay raise. I’m still on $0.00 per hour.
Discovering your dog asleep on your pillow, after they have been playing in the rain, is disturbing.
The war in the Democratic Republic of Congo is showing no signs of ever ending.
Election interference has never been as funny. Thanks, John Oliver.
I’m still proofreading and editing my work at 11 pm, and still doing a crap job at it.
Whether UMC1 and/or UMC2 go to bed early, on time, or even later, they still wake up at the same time. I still haven’t managed to work out whether this is a positive or negative thing.
After 3 years and 157 posts, my writing is still as awful as the day I started.
Even though I live in New Zealand, there’s a house in my town with an official Trump 2024 flag, hanging on the outside. WTF?!
Going to the cinema and purchasing two adults and two children’s tickets, along with food and drink, requires a bank loan.
Vladimir Putin still needs to read an atlas.
When reading one of my posts, my wife still thinks I’m going to be funny. The joke’s on her because I’m not.
Listening to UMC2 use new words correctly in context, can be quite unnerving.
Someone thinking that a military solution in the Middle East would be a good idea, needs to talk to their Human Resources and Public Relations departments.
Who would have thought that the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, as well as the CEO of X, formerly known as Twitter, would be complicated?
UMC1 loves to point out technicalities, just like his dad and Vulcans.
There’s only an estimated population of 1000 pūteketeke in New Zealand. Thanks, John Oliver, for pointing that out.
Changing your dog’s diet, results in some really disgusting farts.
I’m enjoying reading manga far more than American comics currently.
The 2023 Rugby and Cricket World Cups have aged me terribly.
And just like last time, I’m still trying to promote the blog, without promoting the blog. What an idiot!

There’s probably some other insightful stuff that I have discovered over the year, but like Leonard Shelby in Memento, I’ve forgotten it. Some Geek Told Me will enter a new year, full of strange and weird things to discuss. The stupid ideas are endless.

And speaking of stupid, this blog is an outlet for me. Granted it’s simple and awful, but it still matters to me. Thank you once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. Please don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, go and lose at UNO to a 5-year-old, and I’ll see you next week.

¹Lupesey is the term for the new triumvirate in New Zealand politics, featuring Christopher Luxon, Winston Peters, and David Seymour. If you don’t know who they are, I envy you.