🐑So NZ is becoming less sheepish🐑

+ Bel Chimes In, & Rubes and I are going to the Eras tour 👯

My angel!! This is that last normal newsy (are they ever normal?) that you’re going to be getting for two weeks while Rubes and I are in NYC!!! And I realised I didn’t actually tell you yesterday but RUBES AND I ARE GOING TO THE ERA’S TOUR

I REPEAT - YOUR GIRLS ARE GOING TO SEE TAYLOR SWIFT

So you better BELIEVE Close Friends are coming along for the whole experience - AH!

I’ll be back with usual programming in a few Wednesday’s time when I’m home and emotionally recovered, but if you’re needing something to fill the newsy-sized hole in your heart all I can say is WATCH SUCCESSION. If you haven’t watched it before I am so jealous of you, and I truly think it’s the best thing that has graced television ever.

See you in a few weeks, and don’t forget that I LOVE YOU xxx

• So NZ is becoming less sheepish 🐑

• Bel Chimes In: With a nostalgic hoon into the naughties fashion renaissance

• META’s latest venture is… Twitter

• Another thought about the writers’ strike

• Today’s mundane poll: is the saying ‘my favourite pastime’ or ‘my favourite pass time’?

🐑So NZ is becoming less sheepish🐑

Just as I was asking Flo what the hell I should write about today, Squish pulled through by sending me a very him-coded story: ‘Ratio of sheep to people drops below five to one for first time in 170 years.’ Anyone that’s ever been outside Aotearoa, or served as an ‘honorary kiwi’ somewhere and had to give a fun fact about themselves has given some iteration of the ‘in NZ there are 5 sheep to every 1 person’ fact, but my friends, that is no longer true.

“Stats NZ's new Agricultural Production Census for 2022 reveals the national flock dropped two percent on the year before, to 25.3 million sheep in June 2022.”

So now we’ve only got a tiny 25.3 million sheep, and I’m down a fun fact.

here’s taylor breaking the news to some sheep

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Bel Chimes In: With a nostalgic hoon into the naughties fashion renaissance

This section is written by my crush, the refreshing-as-a-house-chardonnay-on-a-steamy-day, Bel Hawkins. She also writes our Sunday newsletter ‘No News is Good News’ which all our paying supporters receive. Upgrade your plan to get her newsy here!

Mōrena crushes! How was your weekend? Mine? Oh, you know, busy spending mine over-committing socially and trying to make the concept of gumption go viral in Auckland for the better of the universe. Help me if you may.

This week, I thought it would be funny to reveal myself as a mid-millennial (is this a thing? Maybe that makes me sound older than I am) and glimpse at the 90s/00s fashion resurgence trends that are making me lol/in awe the most. It's an extremely lukewarm take to say that fashion trends work and circles but a fun thing to look at them through the lens of time and all the places those clothes used to take you.

The low slung jean
Potentially the culprit for any on-set body dysmorphia, the low-slung jean gives me SO MUCH anxiety, feeling like I was clawing at my wide studded belt all day just to keep them up and alive. Best paired with a pointy sling-back kitten heel and a trial song to get on the set of Coyote Ugly.

Chunky resin jewellery
Perhaps reminiscent of what your first boyfriend (his mum) bought you as a gift or what your funky art teacher wore, the statement neckpiece is BACK with a vengeance. Honestly? I have huge respect for anyone who can pull this off and not feel like a training psychic which is, to be fair, how I would describe some of my personal style.

Uncut hair
Think high school steeze with no shape, no body, could have been a runner up in a band competition Incubus-style energy. Could drop a burned mixed CD on your desk at any moment.

Weird graphic tees

Short, tight or VERY oversized tees with nondescript graphic prints on them that look like a computer created some expressionist self-portraiture when it was first invented and turned it into apparel. Best paired with a pipe chain necklace for that urban surfer feeling.

Conceptual strappy tops
Asymmetrical, ties, drawstrings, cut-outs - tank tops that look like very initial architectural drawings for the Sydney Opera House met with a low-slung pant. A simple piece to elevate a look from day Chill Girl to performing in a music video with Atomic Kitten.

Tiny Matrix-style sunglasses

Think Matt Damon at Cannes. Think old-fashioned Keanu Reeves (side note — always loved this song by The Courtneys called Lost Boys apparently about how he never ages), think your teen crush in a rom-com with script complexities you can't yet quite comprehend.

Seinfeld Sneakers

Ok, heavily in praise of the resurgence of an ergonomic shoe (which reminds me of going clubbing in my early 20s in sports gear after a dress-up party and that sheer grip on the dance floor feeling), these are like wearing your 2003 pair of netball sneakers with a baggy jean. The audacity. Incredible.

If you're rocking any of the above, I tip my trilby to you for being able to pull any of it off 🌹! A feat! I've been musing on the concept of 'recessioncore' lately, which is, post-pandemic maximalist, dressing with less dazzle and more bagginess and comfort. Basically an outward reflection of how expensive the world is right now and how financially impossible it would be to try any other way.

Hope this made you lol! Love u, love what u wear — see you for some Good News on Sun! xox

PS! Are you reading Romantic Comedy for Book Club you? It's such a fun, fizzy read, get on it! We're launching next month so you still have time to catch up!

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META’s latest venture is… Twitter

META are the GOATs at the ‘acquire, copy, kill’ technique when it comes to business, and they’re at it again with their latest copy-paste - a Twitter-like platform. This new decentralized app, (codenamed P92), is still under development, but according to Lisa Haberman (in her brilliant newsy ICYMI):

• There’s a single sign-on with your IG username and password

• You can sync up with your existing followers

• Your handle, bio and even verification will carry over from IG

• Users on other apps will be able search for, follow and interact with your profile and content

• You can post text updates up to 500 characters (that’s less than an Instagram caption, an extended tweet or a LinkedIn post so be concise!)

• You can attach links, photos, and videos up to 5 minutes long

• You can engage with likes, replies and reposts

I’m not gonna lie to you… as someone who does a lot of comms on Instagram (and has to make an image-sharing platform work for text) I would use this.

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A thought about the writers’ strike

This actually Dunc’s thought from our chat last week on the podcast about it but in tweet form so it’s easy to digest:

Not to be dramatic but like what if…. this is it for TV as we know it...

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Today’s mundane poll:

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SEE YOU IN NEW YORK!

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