We were walking along the coast towards Raglan and saw it last Thursday while sleeping on a beach and looking out to sea just after sunset. Dead perfect ringside view out to the West, as the trail grew longer...except, having been away from civilisation for a few days, we had no idea what this 'crazy star' was. Which possibly made it even more exciting. The only cameras we had present weren't up to the task, unfortunately.

It's pretty geeky 'round here and pwned is always pronounced p-own-d,

Ditto for our also-fairly-geeky workplace.

The thought of frantic media immediately getting their fastest readers on the staff to sit down, speed through the book and collate the salient points fastest in order to get the story to the internet first is entertaining. I presume the other staff get to rally around them and chant 'Read! Read!" in the manner of a sculling competition.

It probably doesn't quite happen like that, but I like the idea.

I agree that Bro'Town often seems hard to hear/understand, with all the lines jumbled together. I usually like it but last week I just couldn't be bothered in the end. Which is a shame, as it still contains the odd laugh out loud gem. And it's personally inspiring to see homegrown animation being made, screened and enjoyed.

From interviewing Elizabeth Mitchell, it seems the turnaround time between hurried production and actual screening is really slim (ie, on a week-to-week basis) so I guess that doesn't help. A $$ issue, maybe?

In Hamilton, they're apparently having a 'Fuel-free Family Fun' day...a picnic with 'no-emissions games' (intriguing), organised by the Waikato Greens.

I won't make it there myself but it looks like a jolly day out, complete with sack races, three-legged, egg-and-spoon and slow-bike races, petanque, badminton, croquet, kite-flying etc etc. Seedlings as prizes. According to the guff, it's all happening from 10 till noonish, at Claudelands Park on Heaphy Tce in Hamilton. 'IF THE CLIMATE CHANGES TO RAINY IT WILL BE CANCELLED.'

Personally, I'll be spending all day at a medical centre having fake diseases for trainee doctors, but I will be biking there due to stinginess and mild goddam hippy tendencies.