Maggie Rainey-Smith
@at-the-bay.bsky.social
Novelist and Poet
(also writes essays, short stories and loves Friday #rāmereshorts) Favourite title 'Grams/Halmoni/Nana
I blog at acurioushalfhour.com
(also writes essays, short stories and loves Friday #rāmereshorts) Favourite title 'Grams/Halmoni/Nana
I blog at acurioushalfhour.com
Oh dear, so many 'good cause' fund raisers of late ... observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
The real Salt Path: how a blockbuster book and film were ...
Penniless and homeless, the Winns found fame and fortune with the story of their 630-mile walk to salvation. We can reveal that the truth behind it is ve...
observer.co.uk
July 6, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Oh dear, so many 'good cause' fund raisers of late ... observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Reposted by Maggie Rainey-Smith
The irony is that lots of publishers would have loved to send info about upcoming books for a nationally syndicated summer reading list. What a waste!
I spoke to the person who AI-generated the Chicago Sun-Times reading list. Says he's very embarrassed. This was part of a generic package inserted into newspapers and other publications, so likely to run elsewhere. He didn't know it'd be in Chicago Sun-Times
www.404media.co/chicago-sun-...
www.404media.co/chicago-sun-...
Chicago Sun-Times Prints AI-Generated Summer Reading List With Books That Don't Exist
"I can't believe I missed it because it's so obvious. No excuses," the writer said. "I'm completely embarrassed."
www.404media.co
May 20, 2025 at 3:09 PM
The irony is that lots of publishers would have loved to send info about upcoming books for a nationally syndicated summer reading list. What a waste!
Reposted by Maggie Rainey-Smith
This kind of reckless contract-cancelling to meet an arbitrary savings figure and please a minister is by no means limited to Oranga Tamariki (although OT seems particularly bad). It has happened across the care sector.
Comment: An Auditor-General's report for the ages finds the children's ministry was so dysfunctional in finding cuts to meet government demands it created an 'unacceptable situation'
When public spending cuts precipitate a meltdown
newsroom.co.nz
May 21, 2025 at 1:00 AM
This kind of reckless contract-cancelling to meet an arbitrary savings figure and please a minister is by no means limited to Oranga Tamariki (although OT seems particularly bad). It has happened across the care sector.
April 20, 2025 at 1:42 AM
Reposted by Maggie Rainey-Smith
I have tariffed
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island
and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods
forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island
and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods
forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold
April 3, 2025 at 7:45 PM
I have tariffed
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island
and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods
forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold
the penguins
that are on
Heard Island
and which
you were probably
assuming
did not export goods
forgive me
they were taking advantage of us
so cunning
and so cold
Reposted by Maggie Rainey-Smith
If this doesn't terrify Kiwis about our media, nothing will
"The Free Speech Union has confirmed it initially encouraged billionaire Jim Grenon’s investment in the NZME media group."
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
"The Free Speech Union has confirmed it initially encouraged billionaire Jim Grenon’s investment in the NZME media group."
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
Is this the ad that sparked Jim Grenon's NZME takeover?
A conversation with a free speech lobby group may have inspired the Canadian billionaire’s audacious media power grab.
www.thepost.co.nz
March 26, 2025 at 9:12 PM
If this doesn't terrify Kiwis about our media, nothing will
"The Free Speech Union has confirmed it initially encouraged billionaire Jim Grenon’s investment in the NZME media group."
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
"The Free Speech Union has confirmed it initially encouraged billionaire Jim Grenon’s investment in the NZME media group."
www.thepost.co.nz/politics/360...
Reposted by Maggie Rainey-Smith
Letter from Mahmoud Khalil in ICE detention:
Read the full letter as a PDF here: ccrjustice.org/sites/defaul...
ccrjustice.org
March 19, 2025 at 2:47 AM
Letter from Mahmoud Khalil in ICE detention:
Reposted by Maggie Rainey-Smith
Yesterday was the 57th anniversary of the My Lai massacre.
I don't think there has been a time where Hugh Thompson Jnr's behaviour, and his actions that day, have been more relevant to US history than they are right now.
I don't think there has been a time where Hugh Thompson Jnr's behaviour, and his actions that day, have been more relevant to US history than they are right now.
On 16th March, 1968 Warrant Officer Hugh Thompson Jnr was flying helicopter recon for a US attack on My Lai, an alleged Viet Cong-controlled village in Vietnam.
But as the attack developed below, Thompson realised he was witnessing something something else:
A massacre.
He decided to act. 1/28
But as the attack developed below, Thompson realised he was witnessing something something else:
A massacre.
He decided to act. 1/28
March 17, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Yesterday was the 57th anniversary of the My Lai massacre.
I don't think there has been a time where Hugh Thompson Jnr's behaviour, and his actions that day, have been more relevant to US history than they are right now.
I don't think there has been a time where Hugh Thompson Jnr's behaviour, and his actions that day, have been more relevant to US history than they are right now.
Looking forward to the Welly launch of this special book (40 languages) ....
I have a small contribution in Kiwi English, Te Reo and Korean about my granddaughter, TJ Perenara and the haka.
I have a small contribution in Kiwi English, Te Reo and Korean about my granddaughter, TJ Perenara and the haka.
February 25, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Looking forward to the Welly launch of this special book (40 languages) ....
I have a small contribution in Kiwi English, Te Reo and Korean about my granddaughter, TJ Perenara and the haka.
I have a small contribution in Kiwi English, Te Reo and Korean about my granddaughter, TJ Perenara and the haka.
Looking forward to the launch of this ... Looking forward to the launch of this (my wee poem is about my granddaughter, the haka and T J Perenara.
February 7, 2025 at 8:09 PM
Looking forward to the launch of this ... Looking forward to the launch of this (my wee poem is about my granddaughter, the haka and T J Perenara.
Just re-read this book (a gem from the late 90's) - if you haven't read it, get yourself down to the library now. What a cracker of a book. Loved it the first time and loved it even more the second time. One of my book group's all-time favourite read!
February 5, 2025 at 4:18 AM
Just re-read this book (a gem from the late 90's) - if you haven't read it, get yourself down to the library now. What a cracker of a book. Loved it the first time and loved it even more the second time. One of my book group's all-time favourite read!
Reposted by Maggie Rainey-Smith
Good summary of the American coup over the weekend. At the same time it sounded like the takeover was executed by like half a dozen grad engineer dorks working for Musk, I feel like a roomful of South Korean civil servants coulda held them off with just a fire extinguisher and some light bullying.
1/ Musk seeking control over nerve systems of the federal government. As someone who spent a decade studying how centralized information systems are used for coercion this is a five alarm fire. We need to name it, identify risks, and seek to mitigate their impacts.
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/01/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/02/01/u...
Elon Musk’s Team Now Has Access to Treasury’s Payments System
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave Mr. Musk’s representatives at the so-called Department of Government Efficiency a powerful tool to monitor and potentially limit government spending.
www.nytimes.com
February 2, 2025 at 7:34 PM
Good summary of the American coup over the weekend. At the same time it sounded like the takeover was executed by like half a dozen grad engineer dorks working for Musk, I feel like a roomful of South Korean civil servants coulda held them off with just a fire extinguisher and some light bullying.
Days Bay is a beach in Greece today - the clearest water and the largest starfish I've ever seen.
January 20, 2025 at 8:31 PM
Days Bay is a beach in Greece today - the clearest water and the largest starfish I've ever seen.
Reposted by Maggie Rainey-Smith
Cheonggyecheon is proof that removing highways can make cities better. 20 years ago, Seoul replaced concrete with a stream, and the results are remarkable: cooler temperatures, cleaner air, and 12 million visitors annually.
My latest for the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
My latest for the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
‘Everyone thought it would cause gridlock’: the highway that Seoul turned into a stream
Cheonggyecheon stream in the South Korean capital has become an attraction – and helps with flood management, fighting air pollution and cooling the city
www.theguardian.com
January 17, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Cheonggyecheon is proof that removing highways can make cities better. 20 years ago, Seoul replaced concrete with a stream, and the results are remarkable: cooler temperatures, cleaner air, and 12 million visitors annually.
My latest for the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
My latest for the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
Wordpress tells me my December stats were low, so here it is the New Year and a new poem acurioushalfhour.com/2025/01/13/l...
Laughing with pigs
Laughing with pigsIt’s 1973 and I’m breathless withlife hitching a lift in Norwayit’s dusk going on evening anda truck stops to pick me upwe chat with my newly learned Norska real conversation, I’m…
acurioushalfhour.com
January 13, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Wordpress tells me my December stats were low, so here it is the New Year and a new poem acurioushalfhour.com/2025/01/13/l...
Reposted by Maggie Rainey-Smith
Radical libertarian ideologies are generating extreme inequality and ripping the social fabric of NZ, writes Anne Salmond. Don’t we want to be a place where talent wants to live? newsroom.co.nz/2025/01/04/a...
Anne Salmond: Hunger Games in the Beehive
Comment: Radical libertarian ideologies are generating extreme inequality and ripping the social fabric of NZ, writes Anne Salmond. Don’t we want to be a place where talent wants to live?
newsroom.co.nz
January 6, 2025 at 9:21 PM
Radical libertarian ideologies are generating extreme inequality and ripping the social fabric of NZ, writes Anne Salmond. Don’t we want to be a place where talent wants to live? newsroom.co.nz/2025/01/04/a...