A illustration of a robot, in a book about Robots. The caption states: lan Miller. One of the illustrations for which 'Machine Screw' was written. The ten-foot robot Alpha. Alpha has an angled head with a tiny human face, a boxy chest with jointed arms, large flared legs, and a huge phallic cylinder as long as said legs at a right angle to its body.

The cover of the book, The Dirdir by Jack Vance, part of the Mayflower Science Fantasy Planet of Adventure Series. A humanoid figure stands on a metal platform with regular square holes overlooking a series of mountains. Advancing on the figure and spindly tumbleweed like aliens.

The blurb for The Dirdir. The important thing is the title of Book 2, though the mention of sequins is interesting in itself. WHERE MEN ARE BEASTS AND BEASTS ARE MEN All Adam Reith needs is a spaceship. To get him away from the hostile atmosphere of the planet Tschai and the conflicting factions of its several star-born races. To get him back home to Earth. But to obtain a spaceship from the Great Sivishe Spaceyards Reith needs sequins - a great many sequins. And so Reith and his ill-assorted companions - Traz the nomad and Anacho the fugitive - travel to the lottery lands of the Carabas. Rich hoards of sequins lie there in the ground tor the picking. But the carabas are the traditional hunting grounds of tearsome space predators - the Dirdir. And two thirds of all sequin hunters pass through Dirdir guts... Also available in this series: 1 - CITY OF THE CHASCH 2 - SERVANTS OF THE WANKH Cover illustrations by Peter Goodfellow U.K.50p CANADA $1.95 AUSTRALIA $1.50 NEW ZEALAND $1.50 SCIENCE FANTASY 583 12342 2 SATIS

The stuff you find in your dad’s garage/library/hoarding ground.

BOOK 2 IS CALLED WHAT NOW

john waters at a No Kings rally in Provincetown

(not my pic, Peter Toto, x)

huh.

#time_flies ⌛

Beats In Space 198: Fcukers (DJ Mix) by Fcukers on Apple Music Album · 2026 · 13 Songs

Sisters Underground?!

The nats should bring Ariel Pink over

Screenshot from a BBC educational website. The expanded section reads: "10. How to be polite and show respect In the old days of feudal Japan, a samurai warrior would shout You are trying to view Flash content, but you have no Flash plugin installed."

Remembering the ancient ways

Some of the most hideous framing of a live event that I've witnessed recently — we all should be outraged our $$$ is going towards this

A strategy I am recommending to people who don’t want to mask all the time is always in healthcare facilities and public transportation, AND if you see someone in a mask, put yours on. The first helps protect spaces high risk people may have no choice but to go, the second shows them support.

no rocks for war crimes pls

👍

U.S. Suffers Additional Casualties In War It Won Last Week

U.S. Suffers Additional Casualties In War It Won Last Week

“As a thought experiment, imagine [gal gadot version]”

Didn't know that Live Nation donated $500,000 to Trump's 'Inauguration Fund' Handy when they're weaseling out of the anti-trust case against them with a settlement agreement that is less than 1% of revenue. I see local artists, supposedly right on ones, choosing them. Why?

Two Live Nation Entertainment Inc. executives bragged about the high fees the company charges fans at its venues, joking in internal messages that the company is "robbing them blind" and that "these people are so stupid" that "I almost feel bad taking advantage of them." In a series of chats from 2022, Ben Baker and Jeff Weinhold, two regional directors of ticketing for Live Nation amphitheaters, boasted about their ability to raise so-called "ancillary fees" - like parking, lawn chair rentals and VIP access - and still get concertgoers to pay for them. In one exchange, Weinhold gloated about raising VIP parking costs at a Virginia concert venue to $250. "These people are so stupid. I almost feel bad taking advantage of them," Baker wrote, adding later, "I gouge them on ancil prices."

Oh.

@leahnylen.bsky.social

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The Power of Music (Te Kaha o Te Waiata) | Short Film | NZ On Screen The Power of Music (Te Kaha o Te Waiata) - Auckland band Herbs could have released their new album in the comfortable confines of an Auckland nightclub. Instead, they travelled to Ruatoria — a troubl...

Lee Tamahori and John Day's doco, following Herbs to Ruatoria to launch their album Sensitive To A Smile, is always worth a watch - all the more so with Dilworth Karaka's passing this week.

remember when that cronenberg movie 'existenz' came out and it seemed like a fun and silly conceit for there to be freedom fighters taking on corporate conglomerates in an attempt to protect consensus reality from an ocean of digital hallucination

The judge wondered what he was supposed to tell the jury, and bemoaned the government’s “absolute disrespect for the court, the jury, and the entire process.”

And Live Nation stock went up 5%, which tells you who won here.

“Just Peachy,” and Other Fruity Feelings “Just peachy” Things are going well… not! “Very cherry” You’ve got a pit in your stomach. “Basically banana” Today feels like your day. You wer...

"Positively kiwi"

1. You’re feeling like you’re going to surprise yourself today, like you’re going to be a version of yourself you don’t typically get to see, but that version will be fun, unexpected, and leave a lasting impact.

2. You’re from New Zealand.

rimshot

Trump is once again fighting wokeness this afternoon

Isn’t “with all your microphones in front of me” business as usual for any politician, let alone a minister?

Following racism/mistake [take your pick] with this lame excuse is pretty revealing.

Glad media are leaving this blameshifting quote in.

Wait, like in a dating show, did they not come here for the right reasons?

A screenshot of the Polymarket website showing a prediction market titled "Nuclear weapon detonation by...?" under the Geopolitics and Ukraine categories. The market displays three betting options with their current probabilities and "Buy Yes" or "Buy No" prices: "March 31" at 5%, "June 30" at 12%, and "Before 2027" at 22%. The total trading volume shown is over $843,000.

Polymarket has created a betting market on the use of nuclear weapons. Everyone involved in this should be put in prison for life.

Flatchat — Dunedin | Know Your Flat Before You Sign Read honest rental reviews from real Dunedin tenants. Search flat reviews by address, check landlord ratings, and find your next flat in Dunedin.

And here’s the platform itself:

flatchat.co.nz

‘I could hear my flatmate having sex’: A new flat review site tells it like it is The creator behind a new website rating Dunedin flats wishes the site was around before he moved into a cold and damp student flat.

What if the flat listings had a comments section?

We know that the Healthy Homes standards haven't been the silver bullet for rentals.

Until we have stronger regulation - and a system that doesn't put the burden of proof on tenants - sites like this go some way to level the playing field.

A rogue state brought down the rules-based postwar international order, you'll never guess which one

Why Qatari LNG will soon set NZ power prices LNG terminal in Taranaki will tie NZ wholesale electricity & gas prices to global gas prices; Gas price rose 47% last night after Iranian drones shut Qatar's LNG plant; NZ power prices would follow

Chorus out: LNG terminal in Taranaki will tie NZ wholesale electricity & gas prices to global gas prices; Gas price rose 47% last night after Iranian drones shut Qatar's LNG plant; NZ power prices would follow #nzpol open.substack.com/pub/thekaka/...

The trial kicks off today!