If you can’t be in the live audience at SKYCITY Auckland this Saturday, August 12, you can watch the Grand Final live on Bravo from 8 p.m.! You can also check in on http://nextmissnz.com/ where they will stream the Grand Final live online.
And I have to rep this chick of course because she’s awesome! Goodluck 😀
UPDATE: She won herself a crown! Form 200 candidates to Top 20 to Top 3, congratulations Shek Delos Santos 2nd Runner Up of Miss Universe New Zealand 2017. And mad congrats to the new Miss Universe New Zealand 2017 Harlem-Cruz Atarangi Ihaia
Now that that’s over, I feel safe saying how cringe the televising of it was XD In dire need of a revamp and culling on the old conservative (boring) fashioned middle aged men representing MUNZ, me thinks. But that’s just me and my mixed feeling on the whole thing. As for Shekinah the and all contestants, way to go!
When I was sweeping behind the cold kitchen bar, she was filling a glass jug with the unused soy-sauce from the tipping pots. That’s when I saw a camera flash go off behind her and the man who took it. A photo of her. I let it go then. I suppose I was taken-aback by the man’s shamelessness, and not in a funny Frank Gallagher-esq way. I had to calmly walk into the hot kitchen where no one could see me, and lean on the bench with my head cradled in my folded arms to hide the contempt in my face. Fists clenched. I heard Carlos behind me refitting the stove elements, and before he left he said to me, “don’t cry my friend.” We lol’d about it afterwards, but at the time, I was just really fucking pissed with that shady fucking customer.
I collected myself and went back out, only to see another flash go off again and him with his camera phone so obviously pointed at Harriet’s derriere. When she went behind the kitchen to deliver the tipping pots for rinsing, I met with the man face to face and confronted him about the nature of his snap happy antics (fully aware he was a dirty fucking pervert anyway) and his response to me was that “it was for facebook.” What a chump. A pathetic fucking excuse, yes, and also one that doesn’t actually lend itself to being less creepy — the moron. I grilled him before finally posing the simple question, of which I knew he wasn’t going to be able to answer, “so why didn’t you take a selfie instead?” He went on about going to the bar area and something about me being in the photo with him, really though, I switched off because he was being verbose. I starred at him (possible resting-bitch-face) before simply leaving him mid-sentence. I was prepared to fuck his shit up. Too close. Pity got in the way I think. Maybe I should have… IDGAF
The only thing I feel remotely satisfied with is how I had gotten across to him that I had Harriet’s back, the burnout fuck. There were no more flashes after that. I had expected him to leave. But the man had moved from his table to strike up a conversation with the Maître D’ manager at the front desk and stayed by his side conversing the rest of the night, right up to when I had signed-out and was ready to go home. A strategic move on his part, perhaps. Or just saving face. I had a quiet word with the girl who was unaware of the man’s shadiness, which I must admit put me in a peculiar frame of mind; if she was blissfully unaware of him, would not telling her have been better? I know what went down. The man knows that I know what went down. The manger WILL know of him tomorrow. But is her knowing just making the day longer for her? Why did I even get involved? Was it for me or her? Whose character is shaped more by the exchange or are we all just the same? Being sensitive is a right burden sometimes. Fucking people, amiright! Got me feeling like Dr. Manhattan, minus the cosmic powers.
Harriet is sweet. Man was a degenerate. I’m discombobulated. All three the same now as we were before. Has something profound and/or subtle changed or are such social interactions merely a means to retain the status quo of social normality between strangers? If this were a video game I’d pickpocket his phone and wallet and gift it as recompense. Maybe hire the thieves guild to do some digging, then maybe pay some spellcaster to turn me into a werewolf so I could claw his dick off with my pinky. H-o-w-e-v-e-r in RL, all I can warrant is an equal reaction otherwise I’m the degenerate. The fucking minor. I do wonder how much of a deal this is to Harriet though. Her opinion could subdue my thoughts somewhat.
The title (I do pride myself on titles) is a reference to a 1996 Nickelodeon movie (their first), Harriet the Spy, an American family comedy-drama film based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Louise Fitzhugh. I remember liking this movie when I saw it to the point of actually carrying a magnifying glass around with me. I was already an avid journaler by then too (future blog post perhaps). Youthful innocence ohh how I miss thee .·´¯`(>▂<)´¯`·.
Lily Ki a.k.a. LilyPichu, wanders the corridors at IndyPopCon finding unsuspecting cosplayers to follow while she lovingly plays them their respective theme tunes on her melodica (blow-organ). I personally would love to have a soundtrack follow me wherever I went. Lily bolts when she has been made though. I like this:
I decided to start writing a short story online instead of keeping my words in longhand form and to myself. I am using Wattpad and for the most part, it seems a decent community for readers and writers of all tastes. I have some issues with the limited UI (user interface) options for formatting my work though. Like, I can’t justify or indent my paragraphs, which is something I like to do. Uniform and beautify the shape of it. Control over presentation is an oversight on their part I think, but it is a straightforward and free to use platform after all. I shouldn’t complain.
Today, Izzie Hardbottle is going to catch lightning. Tomorrow night, she is going to throw it back. Electric Annelida is an ongoing, six part short story about a young meteorologist who inadvertently creates a monster during a weather experiment.
Scary! Sensory-deprivation must have surely set in for these yougins. Last month, after three days lost in the tunnels of catacombs that sit under Paris, two teenagers have been found and rescued successfully with the crucial help of rescue dogs, who used their scent to track them down. Police alerted firefighters on Wednesday morning of the missing teens, a search team was formed and within a few hours the boys were discovered. They have been treated for slight hypothermia after spending almost 72 hours in the cold underground burial labyrinth.
It’s not entirely clear how the teens got lost, considering only a small section of the 150 miles of underground tunnels is open to the public. But people have been known to find ways to sneak into off-limit areas of the skeleton maze, hold parties and play games. Even if you don’t believe in ghosts, those are bound to be some of the scariest days of those kid’s lives so far and there’s no doubt they’ll be firmly shaken for a little while yet. Fortunately, they have made it home safe and relatively unscathed.
The Paris catacombs, established in 1738, hold upwards of six million bodies and draw a large flow of visitors from around the world. The tombs were initially only opened for private viewings to satiate the curiosity of Parisian aristocracy with a penchant for human remains in the nineteenth century – openings only became regular towards the 1900s.
For a more fictional affair about the Paris underground I would recommend the movie Catacombs (2007) starring indie darling, Shannyn Sossamon, and pop artist, P!NK
On her first trip to Paris, a young woman hits a party in the Catacombs, the 200-mile labyrinth of limestone tunnels under the city that’s lined with the remains of 7 million people. Separated from her friends, she becomes convinced that someone or something is chasing her.
Directed by the creative duo, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. Upon finishing the video shoot, the band flew to New York to perform. However, all tapes of the footage were accidentally left sitting on top of a car, and were lost as the driver departed. The group later flew back to re-shoot the entire video. Billy Corgan considers it the Pumpkins’ best video calling it “the closest we’ve ever come to realizing everything we wanted.” [Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, April 1996]
Shekinah is a friend I met at Uni who made it through to the top 20 finalists! Public votes cost $1 and count for 50 per cent of her overall score, with $1 of every $5 proceeds made going to the SCOT Foundation to help children and orphans in need.
She is Filipino, a recent law graduate, and just between us, she’s a gamer geek (She invited me to play League of Legends one time but I couldn’t get into it). I don’t know what sort of audience this draws or who the judges are, and that photo makes her look like a badass, but I can tell you that Shekinah is unassuming and kindly, and if you have a passing interest to vote, you should give it to her (click image for link to voting page):
The Miss Universe New Zealand 2017 winner will be named
during a live Grand Final show at SKYCITY Theatre on August 12, 2017.
Why do I get the feeling that video essayists are running out of ideas for their supercuts? They’ve exhausted the clichés and troupes to the point that they have to Sesame Street things for our entertainment now, lolz! Here are 100 characters counting down from 100:
YouTuber Mikhail Kramer, made a shot-for-shot recreation of TERMINATOR 2 using the Grand Theft Auto V game engine. Given the limitations, it is totally impressive:
🎭 