2022 - A Year in Review

 Hello!  I'm still here.  It's just been very busy this past month or so.  It was Christmas time, so it's best to expect delays on the blog around then from now on, I think.

Today I will be briefly going over something I would normally do on my private page on Facebook - my annual review of the year we just had.  I've been doing a review of years (and decades) for some time now, but recently decided to bring it more into the public eye instead of just among my friends.

So, 2022.  What can I say about it?  Before I go into detail for each month, I will state that there was a chunk of it that was kind of a blur.  This has happened in previous reviews, and the best way to explain these blurry moments is that those particular times were most likely to be rather forgettable...because I did forget.  Whatever happened in those moments, it must've been "meh".

 Let's get into it then...

JANUARY

The only thing I recall, really, was my youngest niece turned 18 this year.  Apart from that, I don't remember much else.

FEBRUARY

Still a bit of a blur.  I know that restrictions due to the pandemic were still a thing in NZ around this time, so maybe this contributed to my "meh" days this year?

MARCH

Who knows?

APRIL

I turned 41 this year, but before that I had the most entertaining April Fool's Day online.  The pranks and fake posts on Facebook were so good, I ended up doing a blog entry for it (you can find it under my April listings for 2022 on the right side of this page).  I can tell you now, if it happens again in 2023, there will probably be another blog on this topic.

MAY

My old high school, Linwood College, was rebuilt and reopened as Te Aratai College, and I attended their Open Day to see the new facilities.  This is also a good time for me to mention that prior to this event, I had been working on a website for the school to showcase their photo archive.  You can view it here.

JUNE

It may not be the actual anniversary (I never took note of the date), but in June I celebrate (officially) the beginning of my music project, n-Somnia.  This year was special though, as it marks 20 years since that project began.  To celebrate, I released an EP called "Eliminator", named after the first song I created as n-Somnia back in 2002.  It contains all of the versions available, including remixes that were made exclusively for this release.  Two of which were by me, and a third by my friend, Tim Wood.  It was released along side of a compilation album - an extended version of an EP I released in 2011 - called "The Early Years".  This Anniversary Edition contains pretty much every digital music track I did between 1999 and 2006.

JULY

Aliesha's birthday this month, and on top of this we actually moved next door!  We're still in the same area as the flat we moved into in 2012, only over the fence.  Our old place is under renovation and the one we're in was (at the time) recently finished.  Upon moving, we decided it would be best to stay put even when the old place is completed.

As a result of this, we're (finally) in the process of going through our garage (we have to move our belongings from the old one to the new).  Considering it contains not only our stuff, but the belongings of my in-laws, it's a big task.

AUGUST

My mother's birthday this month.  Can't remember much else.

SEPTEMBER

Not much happening, is there?

OCTOBER

Yet another Halloween I didn't take part in.

NOVEMBER

This month sadly saw the passing of a close friend of my family, Margaret Clark.  I wrote about my memories of her in the blog entry that came before this one.

My n-Somnia song, "Robot Lover From Mars" was released 20 years ago this month.

DECEMBER

Finally, something I can talk about!  This year was different for Christmas.  Aliesha and I actually hosted!  We invited my sister-in-law and her husband, along with my father-in-law to join us for lunch and dinner on the 23rd, as this was the best time we could do it.

On the Sunday prior (a week before Christmas Day), we did our bit with my oldest niece and her family since they were doing things with her in-laws a week later.  Meanwhile, we went to my sister's house on the day for our present exchange.

Very busy December this year!

Also, "Robot Lover From Mars" 20 years ago this month would hit the #1 slot on one of the charts on BeSonic, so I celebrated with a Facebook post.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And that's pretty much it.  Seems 2022 was, in most parts, a throw-away year.  However, there were some very important events that took place either way.

So, what will 2023 bring?  It's anyone's guess, the way the world is right now.  Either way, I'm treading lightly as I enter.

If I don't post in the next day or so, I hope you all have a safe and happy new year.  😁

In Memory of a Close Friend of the Family

If you already follow my Duckman page on Facebook, you may know by now that my family and I, among many others, recently lost someone very special.  In my initial post, I shared a photo of the NZ flag at half-mast and said little about it except that if I didn't post much over the past week, this was why and that I would most likely talk more about it in a blog.  So, here I am now to share some memories and stories in remembrance of who I would consider to be one of the loveliest people anyone would've had the opportunity to have known - Margaret Clark.

When I first met Margaret, I was only a toddler.  From what I remember being told, my mother started going to church when I was around age 1 (this would be around 1982).  We first attended at Linwood Baptist Church in Christchurch.  It was here where we would eventually meet the Clark family (Linwood Baptist would also happen to be where another family, the Johnsons - who lived down the street from us - were also regulars).  I have no memory of how we met the Clarks exactly as I was only little, but I'm told by my mother that it was one of those "Turn around and say hello to someone you haven't met" moments.  My mum and Margaret hit it off and became good friends pretty quickly, apparently.  It's been said that they had to be told to take a seat as they were still talking to each other after the greeting section ended.  From this moment, the bonding of the Clark and Rowbotham families would be sealed.

The Clark family at the time was made up of Margaret with her husband, Malcolm, their sons Darryn and Shane, and their daughter Lavina.  I was only a few years younger than Lavina, so I became a good friend of hers first.  Kids tend to hang around their age range often.  As I would get older and attend high school, I would also find myself becoming a good friend of Darryn as we had a lot of similar tastes in music and on-screen entertainment.  My second oldest sister, Carma was also a good friend of his, but it would become harder for her to keep in touch after she moved out of town shortly after leaving school.

Now that I have added some context to my stories, we now return to more about Margaret herself.

As well as being very friendly and welcoming, Margaret was often found in the kitchen (when she wasn't in the garden).  She had become very fond of cooking and baking.  By the time my family were in the picture, she had gained a reputation for baking what I would consider the best cheese scones in town.  Trust me, they were awesome.  I haven't had a scone from anywhere else that has ever come close to matching.

While on the subject, it got me thinking about this over the last few days.  It seems that I've associated quite a few food items with the Clarks.  Particularly Margaret's side of the family.  For her it's the cheese scones, with her mother (Agnes) it was Griffin's MallowPuffs, and her father (Harry) it's toast (if you're a family member or a close friend, you will understand the meaning behind that reference).  Speaking of food memories with the Clarks, the name Janis Juice comes to mind as well (something you'd have to ask them about to get the full picture).

Some of my early memories involve going to the Clarks' house in Linwood after school, spending a few Christmas events together at their house or dining out.  While growing up, it's as if they were my second family.

As time would progress and times change, relocation would eventually take place.  After living in Linwood for many years, the Clarks would eventually move to the Parklands area.  We may have all moved to a longer distance by this time, but that didn't stop visits taking place.  I was an adult by this time, and I would often take the bus to their home near Bottle Lake Forest.  A nice quiet area.  While visiting, Darryn and I would often listen to music or watch DVD's and have pizza or whatever was on offer that day.  Something that we would start doing semi-regularly while they were still living in Linwood.  Fast forward a few years, I meet my then future wife, Aliesha, and have the honour of introducing her to the beloved Clark family I'd told her about prior to their meeting.  Aliesha always felt welcome in the Clark residence whenever we'd go to see them.  It would eventually become a tradition to meet up each year with them and my mother for our Christmas gift exchange.  Not necessarily on the day (most likely due to their extended family getting bigger by this time), but usually meeting up somewhere public either before or afterwards over a meal.  The visits would become a little more difficult as time went on as the Clarks would eventually move out of Christchurch to one of the neighbouring towns (I won't say where for privacy reasons).  We would still visit from time to time, usually with my mother, but less frequent as it can be quite expensive to go that far on the bus.  We'd still meet up for birthday or Christmas events though.

There's not much I can really say about the reason behind what happened with Margaret and her health later in life.  Mainly because that's a private matter, but also that I'm not 100% clued up on the details anyway.  Either way, it's not my place to say the medical history of the recently departed.  What I can say though is that for many years, Margaret had been a fighter, and a strong one at that.  That's a key word for her - fighter.  Whenever something came up and she was under the weather or worse, she would always bounce back at the other end.  For many years, it seemed that she was almost invincible.

But as you would expect for everybody, this wouldn't happen forever.  Over the past year, she had been in hospital a few times.  One of those times, she had an unexpected and very pleasant visitor.  One of New Zealand's own national treasures of the entertainment scene, Christchurch's own Jason Gunn.  As it would appear, he was visiting someone in the hospital.  It was during this time, he decided to pay a visit to some of the other patients in the ward.  Margaret being one of them.  Because of this and that he was popping in from time to time for his own personal reasons, he would check in on more than one occasion.

Margaret would eventually leave hospital after this time, but we wouldn't know until later in the year that this would be the final battle she would overcome.  In early November, she returned to the hospital and this time it wasn't as promising.  On November 7th - a week before her 77th birthday - she passed away.  It was a sad day for all of us.

It was decided to have her funeral on her birthday (14th) not just to say goodbye, but to celebrate her life in the process.  Many people showed up.  Even Jase attended, which I find very touching considering his high profile and (most likely) busy work schedule (if you happen to be reading this, Jase, we're thankful you could be there with us - very much appreciated).

As sad a day as it was, there were moments of joy and laughter as we heard stories from Margaret's past.  There were even some things I learned about her that I hadn't known before.  For example, I didn't know she once worked for Hay's Ltd.  The department store that would eventually become Farmers, and once had the awesome rooftop playground in central Christchurch.

As I draw to the end of this blog entry, I will close with some thoughts.  To me, Margaret was a loving, welcoming and very pleasant person to be around.  I never left the Clark residence unhappy...or with an empty stomach.  She is sorely missed, but in the end we can't help but smile at what her legacy left behind.  Definitely a sign that whatever she was doing, she did it right and did it well.

Rest in peace, Margaret.  We will see you again soon.  Keep the cheese scones warm for us. 💖

Joy to the World, I Found That Song

Hello.  Long time since my last blog entry.  Yada, yada, yada.  Let's get into it.

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you, in your adult life, remembered a song from your childhood, but couldn't remember the name of the artist/song, and when you try to describe it to someone (in some cases even trying to sing it with no lyrical reference to guide you), only to have them look at you funny?  If you answered no, you're wrong.  At least once in our lives, we'll encounter this problem.

For me it was the case of a song that shared its title with (at least) 2 completely different tracks.  In other words, there were 3 different songs with the same name as each other.  When I mention the song "Joy to the World", which one comes to mind?

Song #1:  Would it be the Christmas carol?

Song #2:  Could it be the 1971 rock classic by Three Dog Night (a.k.a. "Jeremiah was a bullfrog")?

Chances are, you've all heard both of these completely different songs called "Joy to the World" in your lifetime (if not, play the embedded videos above).  But for me, I grew up with the knowledge of a third and more obscure song of the same name, and for decades it would plague my mind, sometimes in the form of an earworm, pestering me as if to say, "Go on then, Music Man!  Who sings me?"

When this happens, after having it go on for so many years, you sometimes wonder if you're going crazy.  "Did that song even exist?"  "Is it a song I subconsciously wrote in my head without realising?"  For me though, I knew for sure that I didn't write it in my head, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone I described it to was thinking that about me instead.

Jump to a few months ago.  I was yet again randomly thinking about this third "Joy to the World" I was trying to identify.  As I sat there pondering how it sounded, I got to thinking about who the singer sounded like.  Something I probably should've done in the first place, because moments later it dawned on me...  "Hmm...he kind of sounds a lot like the guy who sings "Poetry in Motion"...  Off to Google I go!"

It was here where I would finally crack the case.  The ever so evasive version of "Joy to the World" is in fact by none other than Johnny Tillotson!

Finally, I can sleep at night!

I'm curious.  What are some of the songs YOU have tried to identify?  Feel free to comment on this.  Also, if you're currently struggling with this issue with another song, you're welcome to ask me about it.  I may be able to help.  You won't know until you ask. 😀

Top 20 Most-Viewed "Nostalgia Duck" Uploads on YouTube

 Some of you may already know by now, I have 2 YouTube channels.  One of them (Stuffed Duck Productions) focuses on videos that I've had a hand in making, from sketches to video games among other things.  The other (Nostalgia Duck) is an archive of videos that I didn't make, but most people (at least in NZ) should know about them as they all come from TV.  Particularly the commercial breaks.

I've been uploading classic NZ TV commercials (more specifically, ads that ended up on NZ screens but were not necessarily made here) since 2011.  So, right now there is more than a decade's worth of uploads.  I don't post videos on a regular basis like most YT channels, however, and there are some long breaks in between batches, but there is still a lot that I've shared.  Quite often uploading a huge batch within days (or even hours) of each other when I do.

As I was going through my statistics, I was curious how many views some videos now have (as of 16 August 2022).  I then wondered what the most-viewed video overall was, leading to an idea for this blog entry...

Today, I would like to share with you the Top 20 Most-Viewed "Nostalgia Duck" Uploads on YouTube.  I will be counting down from 20.  The title and the total views, as well as the videos themselves embedded in the list below.  So, without further delay, here's the Top 20 list:

 

#20 - "Fresh Up" (Marc Ellis & Matthew Ridge)

Views: 9,546.

"What's the name of this creek again?"

#19 - "TV2 Ident" (circa 2000)

Views: 9,763.

 

"You'll only wanna be with 2."

 

#18 - "Hudson Toffee Pops" (circa 1992)

Views: 9,759.

 

I always wanted a couch like the one in this ad...but not one that could eat me.

#17 - "Lotto - The Name of Our Game" (circa 1995)

Views: 9,885.

 

New Zealand's Saturday evening earworm.

#16 - "Chesdale Cheese - The Reunion" (circa 90's)

Views: 10,024.

 

Ches and Dale have a singalong.  Also introducing Little Ches.

 

 

#15 - "Smokefree Rally New Zealand 1997"

Views: 10,314.

 

"Aww, check it out.  Two moons!"

#14 - "Cleopatra Soap" (circa early 90's)

Views: 12,248.

"Sensual as a perfume."
 

#13 - "Sunraysia Cranberry Juice"

Views: 13,253.

"Where's the cranny, Granny?"

 

#12 - "Cadbury Take 5"

Views: 14,570.

One of many Cadbury products that are yet to make a comeback.
 

#11 - "Timotei Shampoo" (circa 1997)

Views: 15,769.

Every shampoo ad is Timotei, according to my friend, Gary.

 

And now for the Top 10...

 

#10 - "Commodore Amiga 500" (Full Promo)

Views: 16,243.

Before uploading this one, the only version available was a heavily edited one to suit YouTube's now defunct 10-minute limitation on videos.  I was the first one to upload the full near 15-minute promo for the classic computer, so it's no wonder it has so many views.

 

#9 - "Energizer Batteries" (Space)

Views: 17,849.

"Hey!  What took you so long?"

 

#8 - "Codral Cold & Flu" (Soldier On)

Views: 18,020.

Another earworm for you.  I uploaded this within the last couple of years, so it's no wonder it caught some attention in the comments section, considering what the world's been going through since 2020.

 

#7 - "Telethon NZ" (Thank You Very Much For Your Kind Donation)

Views: 18,720.

"Thank you very much.  Thank you very, very, very much."

 

#6 - "Raid Odourless Low Allergenic"

Views: 21,757.

 

#5 - "Duracell Bunny - Boxing" (circa 1995)

Views: 23,810.

 

#4 - "Whiskas Vita-Bites" (Bungee Jump)

Views: 24,696.

 

 

#3 - "TV3 - Clear & NZ on Air " (circa 1995)

Views: 43,931.

 

#2 - "Lux Body Wash"

Views: 76,060.

For what it's worth, I deliberately chose this screenshot as the thumbnail to grab attention.  Judging by the number of views, it worked.

 

 And the most viewed Nostalgia Duck upload is...

 

#1 - "Whiskas Vita-Bites" (Dancing)

Views: 307,044.

 

 This one actually surprised me.  I did not expect this to be my most viewed video, especially the huge jump in numbers between this and the #2 video.  I guess people love dancing CGI mice.

 

Reminder: All info in this blog entry is based on data collected on 16 August 2022.

The data will have changed after a long space of time.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

 Many apologies for the long gap in between blog posts this time.  It's been a hectic month-and-a-bit since my previous one.  I won't go into a lot of detail about it as it might take a while.  Instead, I'll just make a brief update on what's happened and things on the horizon.

Firstly, my wife and I have moved from our flat in Hornby.  We were there for almost 10 years.  A part of the reason why we moved is because our landlords have been busy with some renovations of other flats in our block, and this time it was our turn.  We had the choice of moving back once it's finished, but we decided to let someone else take it instead.  I won't say too much, but we needed a slight change of environment after being there so long.  So, where have we moved to, you may ask?  Well...next door, actually!  One of the flats over the fence was vacant and had already been renovated, so we were offered it and said yes.  We've been in this place for almost a month now, and it's doing well so far.  The floor plan is basically the same as where we were, but it has some distinctive differences here and there, apart from the new features that's been put in.  This was the main reason why I've been so busy and hadn't blogged in a while.

Secondly, 'tis the season for family birthdays.  My lovely wife, Aliesha had hers a couple of weeks ago, my mother a few days ago, and my oldest Great Niece just recently turned 4.  Almost time for school.  We'll be going to her birthday party this coming Sunday, which will be nice.  We don't get to see my relatives very often, as most of them live out of town.  It's really just me, my mother and 2 of my aunties that live within the city.  Maybe an uncle here and there, but I haven't seen them in many years.  No idea where they are, to be honest.

Lastly, an update on what's to come in the near future.  Since moving into flats, I've been working on making my music creation more active than I was able to in the old place.  I've deliberately refrained from storing my musical instruments in the wardrobe and blocking the door with who knows what, denying me the access needed.  I now have sitting on the floor, next to the computer, my guitar amplifiers.  The guitars are nearby, but there's still some unpacking to do in the spare room yet.  Once that's done, accessibility of the guitars (and keyboards) will be a lot easier, and will be more likely to inspire me to pick them up for a play around more often.  Maybe even some recordings...  About that, I have made some plans for future music releases.  Ones that may take some people by surprise, if they're used to all the digital stuff I've been doing for the past 20 years.  I'm not going to give any spoilers tonight, but let's just say that I'll be going back to my roots for the next chapter.  That'll do for now...

On that note, I should finish preparing for my Great Niece's birthday party tomorrow.  I promise to blog a little more, now that we're starting to get more settled in the new place.

P.S. If anyone can give me tips on how to stop my computer mouse from double-clicking without my permission, that would be great.  I've tried slowing down the speed settings, etc, and it's still doing it.  Any help would be much appreciated.

Celebrating 20 Years of n-Somnia

 Greetings, one and all.  Sorry it's been over a month since my last blog post.  I've been rather busy.  With June being the month of celebrating my solo music project, n-Somnia, turning 20 this year, I felt that I should be prepared.

 Well, actually, it was a combination of that and the fact that I've been playing the campaign missions of "Watch_Dogs", "Watch_Dogs: Bad Blood" and "Watch_Dogs 2" one after the other.  Took me about a month all up.

But with all that out of the way, the time has arrived to celebrate n-Somnia turning 20.  To do so, I re-released a compilation that started out in 2011 as a 7-track EP, called "The Early Years".  Now it's a 21-track compilation album, filling in the gap that was a list of tracks that were either remixes or songs that I moved over to my other project, Kingrow, back in 2006.  This 20th Anniversary Edition is a more complete collection of the music I made when n-Somnia started out.

Along side of this compilation album, I also released an EP called "Eliminator".  This, of course, is the track that kicked off the n-Somnia project back in 2002 ("Red Alert" was 1999, but n-Somnia wasn't around for another 3 years after).  With this EP, I take every version of "Eliminator" and put it in one place, including 3 new remixes that were made over the past year or so.  One of which being a remix that was made by an old high school friend of mine, Tim Wood (listen to the Ersatz Remix of the song - it's very good).

To listen to my new celebration releases, you can find them both on n-Somnia's page on Bandcamp.com. 

Regarding the 20th anniversary of my first hit, "Robot Lover From Mars" (November/December), there won't be any remixes made for this song like "Eliminator" has.  As big an event as it was back in 2002, I think doing what I'm doing now is enough for the 20 year mark.  I will, however, acknowledge the fact it became a hit when the time comes, but nothing new will come out of it.  Just a heads up, in case you were wondering.

That's all I need to say at the moment.  Sorry again for the long wait.  I plan on blogging a little more often after this.

Enjoy the music!

 

 

Reboots vs. Remakes: Understanding Movie Lingo

 There's yet another misunderstanding in language that's on the rise at the moment.  Being able to distinguish what movie is a remake or a reboot.  In some cases, people are confused about which is which, and in other cases they seem to be using the words interchangeably, as if they meant the same thing.  But that's the thing - they don't.  So in today's blog, I'm here to set things straight to avoid any further confusion.

REMAKES - When a movie is receiving the remake treatment, it means that it's going to be a new version of what we already have.  In the musical sense, a remake is basically a cover.

For example: The original 1976 movie, "Carrie" starring Sissy Spacek got its remake in the form of the 2013 adaption starring Chloë Grace Moretz.  And that's another key word to look out for - adaption.

Another example: The 1971 original of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" starring Gene Wilder getting its remake in 2005 with Johnny Depp.

It's basically the same film.  Mostly shot for shot, but not in all cases.  It tells the same story, but with a different cast.  The script isn't always word for word, but you get the idea.

REBOOTS - To understand movie reboots, you need to know the dictionary definition of the word:

 

As you can see from the screenshot above, under the list of verbs you can see one that states a reboot as a form of restarting or reviving something.  In other words, it's a completely different thing to what we already have.  A new story.

 

Example: The "Ghostbusters" franchise now has 4 movies in total.  However, only 3 of those are what the movie industry calls "canon" - following a particular series of stories and events to tell an even bigger story.  In this case, "Ghostbusters" from 1984, "Ghostbusters II" from 1989 and "Ghostbusters: Afterlife" from 2021 are all a part of the same timeline.  "Afterlife" may be the 4th movie made, but it's basically the third in the story.

 

The 2016 version of "Ghostbusters" - the one with the female cast - is considered a reboot.  It doesn't follow any timelines attached to the previous 2 movies.

 

Another example: The 1995 movie, "Judge Dredd" starring Sylvester Stallone was rebooted in 2012 as "Dredd" and starred Kiwi actor, Karl Urban as the lead role.  "Dredd" is not one of those cheap, unwanted sequels that had a different cast to the original (that's another movie topic for later).  It's a separate story detached from the Stallone version, as if it never happened.  That is how reboots work...it is the law! 😜

MIXING IT UP - In some rare cases, you may have a movie franchise that likes to tell stories that are canon, and yet it doesn't really matter that much about the order in which you watch certain ones.

For example: "The Matrix" franchise now has 4 movies with its recent addition in 2021, "The Matrix Resurrections".  However, there is a 5th title attached - "The Animatrix" (2003).

In this case, you can get away with binge watching the 4 live action movies from the 1999 film to the most recent and not worry too much about "The Animatrix" and at what point you should throw it in there (but if you're going to, I would recommend watching it before the 2021 film).  "The Animatrix" is kind of a stand-alone movie, as it's just a collection of 9 animated short stories in the Matrix universe that help explain some of the origin stories and lore behind it, to give you a better understanding of things.  But in the end, you can get away with not watching it if you didn't want to.

WHEN BECOMES A HOT MESS & CONFUSING - On some occasions, you might get a franchise that likes to use a weird combination of both reboots AND remakes in a strange series of events that mess with your mind.  They don't necessarily have confusion in mind when telling the story, but when the following example does it, it kind of gets a little out of control.

In the case of this example, a part of the confusion is due to its heavy emphasis on time travel.  The possibility of various versions of the future based on past/present events, and the fact they've had a LOT of movies so far, it's easy to get lost in all that information and go, "What?  Where and when does this happen, and how is it relevant to this?  I'm so confused!"

"The Terminator" started off in 1984 as a potential throw-away B-grade 80's sci-fi, but it got so popular that it would become a franchise through its 1991 sequel, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day", which was obviously a smash hit.  After its success as one of the greatest sequels of all time, it was unknowingly on its way to becoming a very confusing series of films.

In 2003, people were excited to see that "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" was coming.  Needless to say, it wasn't as great as the first 2 films, but it was entertaining either way.  Also, no Edward Furlong?  There is no other John Connor (apart from the older version in the opening scene to T2).  Then the franchise continued in 2009 with Christian Bale in "Terminator: Salvation".  This one got mixed reviews as it wasn't quite the adaption of the future war we were expecting.  However, it was the release of the next movie that made it all messy...

"Terminator: Genesys" in 2015 came along and started to shake things up by having future versions of the original characters going back in time to as far back as 1984, during the events of the first movie.  This idea alone should be considered a sign that things are about to get out of control when it comes to holding all that information in your head.  What you watched in the first movies was about to get thrown out the window, if not walked upon.  By the end of this reboot within a sequel within an original film (see what I mean?), you're wondering what the heck just happened.  Also, there was a post-credits scene that hinted towards another sequel to follow, but the actual follow-up we got went in a completely different direction...again.

"Terminator: Dark Fate" in 2019 decided to push the reboot button, taking you back to the end of "T2" and basically removing the existence of "T3" and beyond at this point.  Therefore, making this franchise have both remakes and reboots as one big, happy and massively dysfunctional family.

CONCLUSION

So, a summary of what is and what isn't a reboot/remake.

A remake is a retelling of the same story from either a different or the same perspective, but with different cast members.

A reboot is a completely new story altogether as if the originals never happened.

So, next time you discuss movie franchises, look further into whether or not the story of the newer films fit with the older ones.  That way you should be able to tell what's what and how you should watch them if you wish to binge them at any point.  In short, "remake" and "reboot" are NOT the same thing, ladies and gentlemen.  Knowing this will make discussions run a lot smoother and be easier to understand.

FOOTNOTE

If you want my advice on the order in which to binge watch the movies I've mentioned above, here's an overview:

"Ghostbusters" - 1984, 1989, 2021 (you can get away with not watching the 2016 reboot - I hear it was bad anyway).

"The Matrix" - 1999, "Reloaded", "Revolutions", "Resurrections" ("Animatrix" can go anywhere before "Resurrections").

"Terminator" - Timeline #1: 1984, "T2", "T3", "Salvation"; Timeline #2: 1984, "T2", "Dark Fate" (I wouldn't even bother with "Genesys").

As for remakes and original versions, it doesn't matter what order to watch them.  They're the same story anyway.

The Unfriended

If you've been using social media long enough, you have most likely experienced this.  You have a connection with someone you met in either real life or online.  Things go well for so many years.  You see their posts in your news feed once in a while.  Then at some point, without really thinking about it at first, you realise that you haven't heard from them for some time.  Concerned for your friend's well-being, you decide to look at their profile to see if they're OK.  To your surprise - depending on their account settings - you see they have indeed shared posts in recent days/hours, but only ones set for public viewing.  Then moments later, you realise as your eyes move towards a particular area of their profile page (it may differ depending on which social media platform you're on), the truth is staring at you in the face - the "Add Friend" button has returned.

 

By this time you begin to hear Take That playing in your head.  "Whatever I said, whatever I did, I didn't mean it.  I just want you back for good."

But your mind also very soon starts to think about how offended you are that someone you thought was fairly close (in some cases) would decide to ditch you without saying why.  You begin to contemplate some of the most recent posts you shared and whether it may have triggered something.  In the end, you're never really sure if that's what happened though, because you don't know when they decided to unfriend you in the first place.  If it was a post you shared, it could've been days, weeks or even months ago, and I know you're not going to spend the next few hours going back on the posts you shared that far back, just for the sake of figuring out what went wrong.  So, you're now left with a choice between 2 options:

1. Confront them.  Send a message to them in private.  It's not like you can comment on their posts anyway (some profiles may have public posts, but the ability to comment can be limiting if it's for friends only).  Now, this option could go either way.  On the optimistic side, you might actually come to an understanding of what happened.  And who knows?  You might actually convince them to reconnect with you.  Maybe it was a misunderstanding on their part and they made a decision without thinking about it, or even talking to you about it in the first place.  In which case, it's on them.  Communication is a very important part of a friendship, people.  Start talking!  But on the pessimistic side, however, it could open a very messy can of worms.  Maybe there was a big issue there somewhere, and instead of resolving it, it makes things worse.  It's not very common that it goes in this direction though.  If anything negative were to happen as a result of your approach, the worst that could happen is that you don't get a response - or maybe they decide to block you (if their profile seems to have disappeared at this point, this is a sign that they've gone that far).

2. Let it slide.  In a lot of cases, sometimes it's probably for the best that you let it remain a mystery and leave them alone.  If you've taken the time to weigh the pros and cons of confronting them, you may have come to this decision for the sake of not coming across as pushy and demanding.  If you know your friends well enough, you may be able to name a few who might read too much into things, and if those friends have unfriended you, you probably agree that they might react that way.  So, the best thing to do in this case is to just step back.  You never know, they might (and that's a big might) decide to send you a friend request in the future.  Maybe they just needed to cool off for a bit?  We don't know everything our friends are going through, no matter how much they may post online.  Social media has a reputation of people who overshare, but believe it or not, those who are notorious of this behaviour do still have their own secrets.

You're probably wondering why I'm talking about this subject.  Why does it matter to me so much?  It's simple.  I've been at the receiving end of the dreaded unfriending without warning.  More than once.

I'm not going to be outing anyone here, but I am hoping that if those who have unfriended me for whatever reason sees this post, maybe it'll get them to think about their actions.  To make sure that they know it's them if they do see this blog post, I will share a few experiences of my own regarding this topic.  Experiences that are somewhat unique to those people.  They were there at the other end of the conversation, so they should know if what I'm about to share is to do with them or not, even though I'm making them anonymous.

Case #1

This person was somebody I met in my final year of high school.  I was in my final year, they were in their first.  It was an interesting introduction.  Long story short, we found we had a mutual love for the TV series, "The Young Ones".  After I left high school, we reconnected a few years later through a now defunct website called OldFriends.co.nz.  We interacted via e-mail from time to time for years to follow, until we discovered social media, gradually joining a number of them until we found Facebook and Instagram.

Fast forward to sometime in the past couple years or so.  There was something I wanted to share with them that I thought they might like (probably something Young Ones related), only to find that their Facebook profile had seemingly vanished.  However, I did notice their Instagram page was still there, so I decided to send them a private message, simply stating that I hadn't seen them on FB in a while.  Moments later, it seemed that my ability to message them had also gone AWOL.  Soon after this, her husband - whom I had also been connected with on FB - sent me a message through FB Messenger.

Long story short, the reason for her removing our connection and eventual blocking was because she misinterpreted my actions on FB.  Those actions?  Liking a lot of her posts/photos she shared.  She thought I was doing it a lot in a short space of time.  In reality, I only like a post I enjoy if it pops up in my news feed.  I don't go to people's profiles and "like bomb" their notifications.  That's not how I do things.  If I were on the receiving end of someone who actually does that, I'd get annoyed too.  So, why would I go ahead and do what I wouldn't wish to receive?  The truth is that I only ever liked her posts as they appeared in my news feed.  It's not my fault if many of them came up within a short space of time.  Maybe she shouldn't have posted so much?  Either way, she misread this as me being a FB stalker, which is bollocks.  We were connected with each other for a little more than 20 years(!!!) before this happened.  Why would I start behaving like that all of a sudden?  And to top it off, why didn't she just talk to me about it instead of triggering the need to get her husband to speak for her?  I repeat what I said earlier - communication is important!

Because of all of this, I ended up blocking her husband after trying to get my side of the story through to them.  So, thanks to her misinterpretation and poor decision making, I lost 2 friends that day.  The thing I hate the most about it though is that I can't look at her name or school photo in the yearbook we share without getting a little angry.  It seems this particular situation offended me deeply, like I had been betrayed or something, and all because of a little misunderstanding that could've been resolved if she had just talked to me in a civil manner.  If you want my interpretation of this, all it shows is that she may have some insecurities of her own to deal with, and if you're the person I'm talking about (based on the unique details I've shared), I'd take that into consideration before you end up taking it out on another innocent bystander.

Case #2

This one won't be as detailed as the previous one, I promise.  If anything, that one was the big kahuna of all the unfriending situations I've experienced in recent years.  The next one won't be as big a case.

I met this person at a small gathering I went to sometime in 2019, not too long before the pandemic hit.  This event was with some people I was already a friend of by this time, and they had some people attending that I hadn't met before.  So, a connection with potential new friends was possible.  And that's what happened.  This one person in particular was someone I teamed up with while playing a particular game (it was a dinner and board games kind of event).  Thinking they seemed like a fun person, I decided to add them on FB after I went home.

Jump forward to the first few weeks/months of NZ first going into lockdown in 2020.  At some point I discovered that they had unfriended me after only a few months.  I decided to approach them in private, using a polite manner, etc, asking if I had said something wrong.  Their answer was something along the lines of them "not knowing me very well".  So I decided to be nice about it and left the conversation with a response like, "I understand.  Perhaps another time in the future."  Deep down, however, my mind was screaming at them - "Well, isn't Facebook one of the ways to get to know somebody better, especially during a lockdown?"  I still stand by those words 2 years later.  If you can't connect in person, how else are you going to get to know someone other than social media?

Case #3 & #4

Because this blog has gone for so long, I'm going to end on 2 former friends that know each other (online only).  I'll try and keep this one short.

In my early days of having my own personal Internet connection (when I moved into my own home in the year 2000), I met both of these people in a now defunct chatroom called Excite (a.k.a. VP or Virtual Places).  The first (Case #3) was a girl from Melbourne, Australia, and they introduced me to the second (Case #4), a girl from the US state of Indiana.  These would be my first 2 online friends that I would never meet in person, and the only 2 to stay connected with me for close to 2 decades.

The fall of Case #1's friendship with me wasn't actually a discovery like the others in this blog entry.  This fallout took place as a result of political differences (seriously, people, don't let politics get in the way of your livelihood).  I don't know the full details, but they seemed to have taken it all too personally about what was going on between NZ and Australia in the first few months of the lockdown in 2020.  There were a few posts I shared about what the NZ government was doing, etc, but at one point, Case #1 commented on it in a way that seemed like it could trigger a political argument.  If not with me, one of my other friends, maybe.  I don't like these arguments, so in an attempt to prevent it from starting a flame war in the comments of one of my posts and endless notifications (which can be annoying, by the way), I removed her comment altogether.  I'm not sure how many times I did this, but it can't be any more than 2 occasions.  It might have been just the once, but I don't remember that far back.  Either way, this led to her sending me a rather fired-up message in private about it.  Not being in the mood to respond to a message of that nature at the time, I deleted it from my end of the Messenger conversation instead.  I'm not sure if she knew or not, but it wasn't long after this that she unfriended and blocked me.

All of that took place only a few months before we were to acknowledge the fact that our friendship was approaching the 20-year mark.  The fact that she let politics destroy the bond that we had offended me quite deeply.  So, if this story is about you and you can see this, you need to grow up.  Why let the governmental system make such an impact on your friendships like that?  What my government does has nothing to do with me as a person.  Get over yourself!

As for Case #4, this was completely out of the blue.  Our friendship lasted longer than Case #3 (obviously), but in the past year or so she decided to vanish also.  No blocking though, just the lack of connection.  It sucks because we do have some good memories.  In fact, we share a musical collaboration together.  So, if you are also out there reading this, I'm not going to make the first move this time, like I have done with others in the past.  I would like to know what made you decide to do that, but I'm not going to do that on social media.  If you see this, you know how to get hold of me in private.

So yeah, I'll wrap this up now.  I think we can all agree that there's too much misunderstanding in this world, and lack of communication is one of the key reasons why it's happening on such a large scale.

Duckman's final thought - start talking.  I will use the title of my latest n-Somnia EP as a word of advice: "Stop Fighting, Start Writing".

April Fool's Day 2022 - The Review

 Everywhere you go, there's always somebody who wants to be a comedian.  Therefore, every year on April 1st, they all come together for one purpose - to make people laugh.  Sure, there are those who do pranks for the sake of humiliation - whether it's to put shame upon others or to cause pain - but those people aren't funny.  It's the ones that make something funny who should be celebrated, and if it's good enough to fool people (at least until 12pm that same day), then they've earned some extra points.  But overall, if you can laugh at it for a long time after the event, you've struck comedy gold.

Below is a list of posts I have hand-picked from Facebook that I think are among the best I've seen in years.  People (or in this case, companies and organisations) have been extra creative and clever in 2022, so I felt that they deserve some recognition.  So without further delay, here are some screenshots (and a few of my own thoughts):

 

1. TVNZ on Demand / The Bachelor

We all know about the TV series, "The Bachelor".  The show watched by women who hate men that see multiple women at once, despite the fact that the show is exactly that (don't ask me why - must be a girl thing).  But, can you imagine "The Chase" / "Beat the Chasers" host, Bradley Walsh being the star of the show, and not the host?  Neither can I.

 

 

In addition to this, they temporarily changed their page logo to...

 

 

2. The Australian Food Shop

 

 Ever wondered what Vegemite tastes like as a drink?  No, neither have I.

 

 

 

3. SAFE.org.nz

 

Why buy the cow, am I right?

 

 

 

4. Reading Cinemas (The Palms)

 

Don't expect this to be fully widescreen.

 

 

 

 

5. Pizza Hut

 

If it's chicken pepperoni, I'm sold.

 

 

 

6. NZ Police

 

Our police force has a bit of a reputation on social media for some witty posts from time to time, so April Fool's Day is definitely a time for them to shine.

 

 

 

 7. Night 'n Day

From the chain of convenience stores comes a fake product to challenge the Australian Food Shop's entry mentioned earlier.

 

 

 

 

8.  Mt. Smart Stadium

The only entry in this list from a performance venue, this one definitely had some thought put into it.

 

 

 

 

9. McDonald's

 

This would be sooooo gross.

 

 

 

 

 

 10. Hornby - Greater Hornby Residents Association Inc.

 

FYI, the suburb of Hornby is not in the countryside. 

 

 

 

11. Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools & Spa

 

Apparently, this one fooled quite a number of people.  Not me though.

 

 

 

 

12. Gregg's Sauces

 

Not sure if this one really counts as a prank as it appears to be more of a question.  Either way, it's not your average post from Gregg's.

 

 

 

 

13. Golden Sun Jalapeño Peppers

This one fooled a few people as well.  Such comments as "What's the point?", for example.  If this were real, they'd probably use capsicum.  Just saying.

 

 

 

14. Goat Simulator

 

Even video game developers got into it this year.  Can you imagine this being real?

 

 

 

 

15. FMG

 

Rural insurance company, FMG popped up in my news feed in the form of a sponsored post.  This time suggesting the use of leashes on sheep.  This is probably the most Kiwi one of the bunch.

 

 

 

16. Cookie Time

 

This one is probably cashing in on a post we saw within the last few months, suggesting that McDonald's in China were selling coriander ice cream sundaes.  Either way, it's a no from me, dawg.  Thank goodness this is fake.

 

 

 

17. Christchurch Casino

 

FYI, people outside of NZ, this is not legit Kiwi cuisine.  It's not only fake, but an abomination.  But since we're on the subject, kiwifruit or pineapple on pizza?  It's not as bad now that I've put it out there, isn't it?

 

 

 

 

18. Burger King 

Similar to the McDonald's post.  In fact, the posts were a few hours apart.  Makes you wonder if the people at BK saw the Macca's one and had to scramble for ideas.  Since we're asking questions (re: #17), would you want to try these ones or the McDonald's one (Mac sauce)?

 

 

 

 

19. Briscoes

 

Even the Briscoes Lady got involved.  Ned Flanders would've been devastated if he saw this one!

 

 

 

20. Beef and Lamb New Zealand 

The prank in this one was more about the cooking instructions, with the joke being that most people seem to like their meat anywhere between rare and medium well done.  They seem to hate on anyone who like it well done or well and truly dead.  If you're asking, I personally like it between medium well and well done (the pink gone, but still juicy).

 

 

 

 

21. Armadillos Restaurants

You know what?  I actually like this idea.

22. Wattie's

You'll always be a Kiwi / Weet-Bix kid if you love our Wattie's sauce & beans.

 

 

 

 

23. Vogel's

 

Local bread company, Vogel's suggested that we try their take on the traditional dessert (bread & butter pudding).

 

 

 

24. The Hub Hornby

The final entry on this list is an obviously fake energy-saving technique by local shopping centre, The Hub Hornby, using a new form of hydroelectricity through the use of toilets.  I tell you what though, and I speak from my experience as a mall slave...I mean cleaner (and no, not at the Hub, by the way) - the number of times the urinals flush automatically throughout the day, you probably could generate some power.  It's just a shame that they take power to automatically flush.  So yeah, this was an obvious fake.

 

 

I hope you've enjoyed this year's entries for April Fool's Day as much as I have witnessed it.  This was actually kind of fun, so I may end up doing this again next year, depending on the contestants out there.

 

Bring on April Fool's Day 2023!