Kei te pēhea tonu tātou? How are we really doing?

If you’re at all interested in language, or in indigenous culture take 10 minutes and watch this fascinating documentary (via Kottke) — Hand Talk:
Hand Talk sign language has been used by indigenous communities for thousands of years

This is a very heartening good news story. Take a moment to read this non-fiction comic by Toby Morris : The Side Eye: Anahera, our neighbour. 🐦
Note: Kiwi is a Māori word. There are very few specific plural forms in Māori, and definitely no plural ’s'.

Image from the comic by Toby Morris.
I was already pretty cheery this morning but listening to Korolova b2b Jonas Saalbach @ Praia da Adraga, Portugal (55 minutes) just lifted me right up. I just love the beat in this one.

Ahhh, my rejoicing was premature… After a couple of minutes the left AirPod just stopped working. From memory, if I put it back in the charging case for a few minutes it’ll work for a few minutes again. Still, I guess the right earbud still works…
It’s a miracle: my AirPods (1st gen) live again! Last year there were problems, fixes didn’t work, they were dead, they sat in my Must ship to Apple for recycling pile for months.
Then I discovered an issue with my charges-everything setup. Charged them for 2 days and they work again!

A Micro.blog Community Library. What a great idea from @KimberlyHirsh.
Time for a needs assessment! Micro.blog community, what resources do you need in the Micro.blog Community Library?
Nope. No Kuaka | Godwits round here. Nope. 🐦

Our beach doesn’t have rocks (unless you count chunks of pumice) but there’s plenty of driftwood. Sometimes a buried log will emerge after the tide flows out.

Late afternoon and I was just walking from one room to another when I noticed these (perhaps juvenile) Eastern Rosellas on the flax plants nearby. I love their bright colours. Photographed through the window. 🐦



Anna Havron is a generally smart person. I like what she has to say here — Inner Trolls and Better Angels: Being a Person, Online:
I see great value in sites that post personal observations. They do what novels do: they help us grow in empathy and imagination. They help us to see one another as full human beings rather than objects, roles, or labels.
I realise Micro Camp 2023 left me on a real high — took me all day to calm down afterwards. I’m really energised by the presentations, keynote and other discussions, the chats and what others have posted since.
I learned a heap, and now I’m so full of ideas, things I want to do and to think about!
This 9 minute video is so good and the food looks delicious. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a wide assortment of mushrooms in our shops.
Julia Child’s Favorite Mushroom Risotto | Cooking with Lidia Bastianich
The actual recipe: Risotto with Mushrooms - (Risotto con Funghi) Recipe | PBS Food.
What’s that big star in the west, Deb asked. The crescent moon, I smartly replied … and Venus. 🤣

There's always one who's late to the meeting… Pāpango | New Zealand scaup on Lake Puna o te Ora. 🐦

A new series but another excellent police procedural from Anne Shillolo: Murder at Elk Ridge (An Elk Ridge Murder Mystery Book 1). Nice character introduction and development, great setting, good story. Can’t wait to read the next in series 📚

Pukeko at the edge of Lake Puna o te Ora. 🐦

Pro tip: when Micro.Blog seemingly just refuses to publish your post — make sure it’s not set to Draft. 🤣 (Wasted a fair bit of time earlier…)
Apparently this orange plastic cylinder I spotted washed up on the beach today is a Burley Pot. The idea is to put bait in it to attract fish.

On this morning’s beach walk I walked in amongst a big spread of driftwood of all sizes. When I turned round I spotted this wonderful orange fungi on a log.

