Time/Electrical Storm/Can't Feel My Face/Freed From Desire: My 4th blog of the year 2025

Well, kia ora guys & girls, as I always say that welcome to all our audience here in New Zealand & around the world, it is Whet here on my usual Kiwiavenger blog that I'm tuning here but first, the AB's (Who had Mark Tele'a scoring a late try as well as Damian McKenzie nailed a conversion attempt from the sideline which secured the win in which that test was the best game of rugby I have ever seen since the 2015 Rugby World Cup final) had a close shave as we managed to cling on for the win against England at Allianz Stadium London who had reserve English player George Ford who just come on for Marcus Smith missed both a penalty goal attempt to take the lead as well as a drop goal for the win which sailed wide (For which I was bursting out laughing about it, but that was lucky eh?), so let's let's dive into the last 10 minutes of the test according to NZ Herald website:

70TH MINUTE, PENALTY ALL BLACKS (FRONT ROW STANDING UP): Monster shove from New Zealand this time! They have the penalty as England pop up and turn in under the pressure!

71ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), SCRUM FEED ALL BLACKS: Lineout set up over halfway, but yet again it's gone straight over the top and unclaimed this time! England clean up, and Randall puts it high off the boot. Clarke does well under pressure to secure it. Roigard sends it back to McKenzie under pressure, and he puts the kick high. England knock it on again under pressure from New Zealand's chase! Jordan sends it through to the left wing where Sititi steps on the touchline trying to burst away! Back for the knock as advantage was still on.

73RD MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), PENALTY ALL BLACKS: Advantage called for the visitors! Quick ball infield to Tele'a who barges up into contact, and there's a second advantage called! Gardner will take them back for the penalty as it's slow ball on the floor.

74TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY ALL BLACKS: Lineout set up just inside the 22. Popped off the top from Tuipulotu to Tu'ungafasi who barges up the shortside into contact. That channel is quickly shut down. Through the midfield they go where Cane and Aumua link up and make a good few metres. McKenzie with the offload to Ioane who makes another couple. Back on the inside now with some quick hands, and Ioane dragged down just short of the 5 in the midfield. Another penalty called for the visitors!

76TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS (M. TELE'A): Tap and go! Roigard sends it to the left for Tu'ungafasi, but he's driven back in the tackle! Sititi stopped short as well. Savea back on the inside going nowhere. Aumua carries it up, and there's another advantage called! Quick hands now to the right wing, and it's Tele'a again! The man is liquid! Somehow he manages to fend off the tackle right on the touchline and slams it down in the corner!

77TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), CONVERSION ALL BLACKS (D. MCKENZIE): A stunner from McKenzie! He slips it just inside the right post from out on the right touchline!

78TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY ENGLAND (DANGEROUS TACKLE): Short restart well reclaimed by England, and it's Dan who barges up into contact. Shift through the width of the pitch to the left wing where Tuipulotu puts in a monster tackle. Back infield where Slade makes a couple of metres before he's pulled down, and the ball comes loose as they shift back to the right. That was surely a high tackle there from the All Blacks... They're being called back for something else though...

YELLOW CARD ALL BLACKS (A. LIENERT-BROWN): Another tackle off the ball from the All Blacks, and Gardner isn't even asking questions here. Straight to the bin goes Lienert-Brown!

TMO REFERRAL & CARD UNDER REVIEW ALL BLACKS (A. LIENERT-BROWN): They're also looking at some head contact earlier in the spell... It's also Lienert-Brown in that tackle, and since that tackle was before the off-the-ball contact, the yellow will be for the head on head contact instead. And Gardner wants an off-field review as well! He has dipped into the tackle, so hopefully for him that's enough mitigation to keep it yellow.

Ford is calling for the tee here!

79TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), PENALTY GOAL MISS & SCRUM FEED ENGLAND: It's 15m in from touch and almost back on the 10, and Ford bounces it back off the right post! New Zealand claim it on the floor, but they instantly knock it on! England will have a scrum halfway up the 22 with a minute left on the clock!

80TH MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER): Messy ball out the back of the scrum, and Ford is smashed in the tackle as he has to take a loose pass! Baxter with the next carry gets them back into the 22. Itoje stopped short. Slow ball here as the clock hits the red!

80TH MINUTE + 1ST MINUTE (1 MINUTE LATER), DROP GOAL MISS ENGLAND: Curry out on the right stopped short, so back on the inside they come for another phase. Recycled back to Ford for the drop, and he's missed it! Pushed away to the right under pressure from the All Blacks chase! The New Zealanders have it!

FULL-TIME: 22 - 24

It wasn't pretty, but New Zealand have done it! They had the lead through most of the first half and into the break, but it was England who came back hard early in the second half to hit the front and open up a bit of a lead on the scoreboard. But those last 13 minutes from the Kiwis were brutal. England went from having conceded just two penalties in the whole match to conceding back to back to back penalties in the final couple of minutes as the visitors stepped up the intensity and really started to string some big phases together down in the right areas of the pitch.

England were excellent on defence throughout the match, with great line speed putting huge pressure on New Zealand and preventing the visitors from being able to get onto the front foot when they had ball in hand. Some absolutely brutal tackles from the Roses as well, forcing the All Blacks onto the back foot and forcing a couple of knocks as a result as well to break any momentum the visitors were able to build up.

The set pieces were messy throughout the game. New Zealand conceded a couple of scrum penalties in the first half, but once the replacements came on they got the upper hand on the shove and won a couple back. The lineouts, however, were problematic throughout. A knock here and there in the air, but mostly the ball was thrown straight over the top of the jumper and resulted in loose ball that everyone scrambled to clean up at the back. The All Blacks scuppered more than a few opportunities with their poor lineout form, and gave England the opportunity to put them straight back under pressure.

New Zealand's handling really left something to be desired today. While a couple of knocks can be attributed to some epic tackling from England, there were plenty of knocks that were just... unnecessary. Passing too quickly, passing in front of the support player, trying to offload when the better option would have been to take the contact and recycle the ball cleanly. Some of those knocks cost them some great opportunities to score points.

England capitalised well on penalties conceded by the All Blacks, with Marcus Smith on point off the tee to keep England in touch with New Zealand on the scoreboard. They didn't really get themselves too close to the tryline, opting instead to take points on offer whenever they were in range in that first half when the Kiwi discipline slipped. It was in the second half before they got themselves over the chalk, and it was very much against the run of play as Smith intercepted a pass down on his own 22 to create that opportunity for the home side.

New Zealand will be relieved to have come away with this win after a bit of a wobble in that second half, but they have a tonne they will need to do before they face Ireland on Friday night. The handling, the lineouts, and, possibly most importantly, their discipline will be key areas Scott Robertson will want to focus on this week, because Ireland will punish them if they play like they did today.

England were absolutely gutted when that drop-goal from George Ford didn't go over at the death, but they will take plenty of positives from this clash. Their line speed on defence was brutal, their discipline was excellent until those final couple of minutes, and their scrums were putting New Zealand under enormous pressure in the first 60 or so minutes. They need to convert all that into more points, but they will be revving to go when they come up against the Wallabies next weekend!

And what do I think of the test? It was absolutely spot on from Wallace Sititi who was one of the best performing rookies for the All Blacks as he made searing breaks through the defence, but what about Mark Tele'a, how good? As he bagged in for a double, including his 2nd try he scored in the corner with the scores locked up at 22 with a kick to come, before Damian McKenzie slotted in to nail that conversion from the sideline that potentially was the match winner before George Ford missing both the penalty goal (After Anton Lienert-Brown who got originally sin binned for a tackle off the ball as he repeatedly infringed before being given a card under review for taking out English reserve hooker Theo Dan on purpose with high contact which was at fault) & drop goal attempts that went astray that derailed England's chances for a win in which they didn't get the result, but bring on Ireland (Whose last win against the AB's was back in 2022 where the Irish (Who is currently the reigning Six Nations champions) made history to win a test series against the All Blacks on New Zealand soil during the professional era, as well as the first visiting team to triumph a test series against New Zealand in NZ since France in 1994 which was during the amateur days) as we have not met them since the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal in which we beat them, & there was bad blood brewing between them such as the scuffle between Jonny Sexton (Who played his last game of his rugby career before falling victim to those toxic, abusive silly threats by the All Black fans for not shaking Ioane's hand post match) & Rieko Ioane after the game, but the AB's are without 2 frontline players for this clash such as Beauden Barrett & Codie Taylor who both succumb to head knocks during the test against England, compared to the Irish bringing back these 3 frontline players such as Jamison Gibson-Park (Who Pops alluded to me on November 8th last year that he's originally a Kiwi because he comes from Great Barrier Island which is near Waiheke), Mack Hansen (Aussie born ex-Brumbies player because his mother is from there as I heard a story before) & Hugo Keenan as all of the 3 players that didn't feature in the tour to South Africa, but the Ireland-AB's test (For which will be our most difficult as well as demanding but toughest rugby test of our lives (AKA the heavyweight championship of the rugby world, the green & white of the Emerald Isle, the All Black of New Zealand) since the 2023 Rugby World Cup final against the eventual world champions the Springboks of South Africa (Who will square off against Scotland at Scottish Gas Murrayfield in Edinburgh during their opening match of the tour while England lock horns with against the struggling Wallabies outfit at Allianz Stadium London) is our biggest test match of the year, as well as the biggest day of last year since the US elections is taking place on the 5th of November (And the former US president of Donald Trump is in front as he is ahead of current US vice president Kamala Harris according to the live updates (Even through with the American people who live abroad are still holding their breath), but I fear that if Trump loses that the violence might spread between the supporters of Trump by starting riots all over the place, & if they do, cops would be sent in to disperse the crowds (But this is like a cyber-Pearl Harbor invasion as well as a cyber-9/11 & then, the Troubles that took place in Northern Ireland, UK in the 70s (In which a truce deal had struck in April 1998 after 30 years of infighting betwen Catholic Ireland & Protestant England), but they'll declare martial law if the violence continues to spread between them similar to the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 (In which the year was marred by the global COVID pandemic), a year before the US Capitol riots on January 6th, 2021 which took place 3 years before Trump (Who was a former president at the time) surviving the assassination attempt from the clutches of a deceased 20 year old gunman named Thomas Crooks which triggered the most serious incident in the United States during the 2020's decade since the Insurrection on January 6th).

And the latest in the cricket as the Black Caps make history as they beat India by 26 runs in the 3rd test in Mumbai (The birthplace of Black Caps player Ajaz Patel (The hero for New Zealand as he is the highest wicket taker by a visiting bowler in India with 22 before getting his player of the game honours in the 3rd test compared to Rachin Ravindra in the 1st test & Mitchell Santner in the 2nd test while player of the series went to Will Young) before he & his family moved to New Zealand at the age of 4) to secure an unlikely series win against India (They'll be gutted that they lost the series before embarking on a tour to Australia against the Aussies for the Border-Gavaskar trophy, while New Zealand will be stoked before their preparation against England in our next test series (But they will head back to Sri Lanka first in a T20 series before heading back home to prepare a test series against the English), therefore bouncing back from disappointment against Sri Lanka before the series began in India against the Indians (And it was a feel good time of sport on the previous weekend of the 2nd to 3rd of November, but I prefer the England - AB's test as the most exciting part of sport) 3 - 0 on Indian soil with a stunning clean sweep as well as a whitewash by a visiting team in India for the first time ever which was the greatest test series victory according to our former players about captain Tom Latham & his team earn sweeping praise after creating history in India.

And also the latest in Formula One such as Max Verstappen who finally had his winless streak broken with a win at the Brazilian Grand Prix at Interlagos in Brazil after he started 17th in the grid but going all the way forward where the race was held in the miserable conditions in which the Grand Prix was chaotic which was the first win for the 3 time defending world champion racing for Red Bull since the Spanish Grand Prix (Although Max (Who finished 3rd behind his championship rival Lando Norris who had covered him throughout the entirety of the sprint race which went to Norris's Aussie McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri (Who has a manager in the form of Mark Webber (An ex-Formula One driver) who I saw on TV during the Australian Open this year when he attended a tennis match) was winless for 10 races stretching from Spain until finally in Brazil that he triumphed, finally that his winless streak has ended in which his chances of becoming world champion for the 4th time in a row, is on & well in truly alive), but there's 3 races left in the season beginning with Las Vegas, Nevada at the Las Vegas Grand Prix then Qatar & the season finale in Abu Dhabi (And I don't know his rivals said such as McLaren's Lando Norris is hoping to bounce back to keep his quest of winning his maiden world championship alive, but 10 races ago that Ferrari was McLaren's biggest threat of winning the constructors championship (Which is currently led by McLaren at the moment).

And in news throughout the United States, as the greatest comeback in politics is complete, with Donald Trump winning against Kamala Harris (Who'll be heartbroken after losing to Trump who was overwhemingly dominant throughout the entirety of the election which had to be fair & square (First it was Hillary Clinton in 2016 who missed out to Donald Trump, now it's Harris who suffered the same fate as Hillary last year but what a disappointing end for Kamala Harris as she was attempting to become the 1st female president of the United States, but Donald Trump's win in the election last year is similar to the Springboks winning the Rugby World Cup again in 2023) to be elected President of the United States again for the first time since he left office on January 20th, 2021, by therefore thanking his supporters for voting him during the torrid elections because this year will indeed be Trump's year (Just because of him winning against Harris which was inevitable (But I wonder the headlines would say: REDEMPTION 4 YEARS IN THE MAKING FOR DONALD TRUMP, or probably more like: TRUMP OUTLASTS HARRIS TO WIN US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, or more appropriately: DONALD TRUMP RETURNS TO THE WHITE HOUSE TO SECURE GREATEST POLITICAL COMEBACK, & especially: HARRIS DOWN & OUT AFTER LOSING US ELECTION TO TRUMP), But it just had to be, although he intends to stop both wars such as that dreadful invasion which has been going since 2022 & Israel's war on both Gaza & Lebanon which is exactly located in the Middle East that are likely to end due to Trump's victory in the US elections (And many leaders who congratulated Trump including the President of China Xi Jinpeng, but there was joy, jubilation & elation (Absolute elation) throughout the Trump camp & their supporters who were voting by barracking/rooting for him throughout the entire election), but I'm gutted that Trump won (I'm sick of him winning the election, don't do that), & let's hope that the Ireland rugby team doesn't provide the moment inspired by Donald Trump if they beat the All Blacks on the 8th of November (That's November 9th New Zealand time) in Dublin) as he begins his 2nd & last term which starts on Inauguration Day on January 20th next year).

And continuing on to the rugby stuff as the AB's (Who have 5 players part of the casualty ward such as Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson, Dalton Papali'i as well as new additions to the injury list (IL) such as Beauden Barrett & Codie Taylor who are both unavailable as they go through the return to play protocols + Ethan de Groot who is still missing after sitting out the previous test against England due to breaking internal standards) name our team to play against Ireland (Who haven't played since the 2nd test against the world champion Springboks team at Kings Park in Durban which resulted victory to Ireland with a match winning drop goal provided by Ciaran Frawley, but the Irish haven't beaten us since 2022 in Wellington in the 3rd & deciding test in which New Zealand has had last lost a test series for the 1st time since against France in 1994 which was during the amateur era at Eden Park in Auckland where the last time we lost a test at Eden Park as well as the city of Auckland courtesy from the try from the end of the world by one of the French players that famously took victory in the test) at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin (Our most recent meeting between the 2 sides was in 2023 during the Rugby World Cup quarterfinal where the All Blacks managed to ease past the Irish to go through to the semifinal against Argentina after Sam Whitelock provided the winning turnover that broke Irish hearts, & after the game that Sexton was involved in a altercation with Rieko Ioane, then he got abused by the New Zealand fans on social media for not shaking Ioane's hand post-match, but we haven't played at that ground since 2021 in which we lost the test against Ireland (Who have always been competitive since their first win against us in Chicago, Illinois in the United States back in 2016 in which we were heartbroken thus creating a new rivalry between both sides in international rugby, but it's been 3 years since the last time Ireland tasted defeat at that ground, & it was against France in the Six Nations which was during the COVID era, & they haven't been defeated at that ground since 2021) a year before they went on to win the 3 match test series on New Zealand soil after being 1 - 0 down, & become the first side to win a test series since the beginning of the professional era) in the most difficult, but demanding as well as the toughest rugby test match of our lives since last year's Rugby World Cup final against South Africa which ended in defeat, so here's the starting lineup according to Razor:

STARTING XV

FORWARD PACK

FRONT ROW

1 (Loose head prop): Tamaiti Williams (Crusaders/Canterbury)

2 (Hooker): Asafo Aumua (Hurricanes/Wellington)

3 (Tight head prop): Tyrel Lomax (Hurricanes/Tasman)

SECOND ROW

4 (No.4 lock): Scott Barrett (Captain, Crusaders/Taranaki)

5 (No.5 lock): Tupou Vaa'i (Chiefs/Taranaki)

LOOSE FORWARDS

6 (Blind side flanker): Wallace Sititi (Chiefs/North Harbour)

7 (Open side flanker): Sam Cane (Chiefs/Bay of Plenty)

8 (Number 8): Ardie Savea (Moana Pasifika/Wellington)

BACK LINE

HALVES

9 (Half-back): Cortez Ratima (Chiefs/Waikato)

10 (First five-eighth): Damian McKenzie (Chiefs/Waikato)

MIDFIELD

12 (Second five-eighth): Jordie Barrett (Hurricanes/Taranaki)

13 (Centre): Rieko Ioane (Blues/Auckland)

OUTSIDE BACKS

11 (Left wing): Caleb Clarke (Blues/Auckland)

14 (Right wing): Mark Tele'a (Blues/North Harbour)

& 15 (Fullback): Will Jordan (Crusaders/Tasman)

& REPLACEMENT PLAYERS

16 (Reserve hooker): George Bell (Who returns to the side to replace Asafo Aumua who is elevated to the run-on XV as the starting hooker as part of the 2 injury enforced changes being made by the AB's)

17 (Reserve loose head prop): Ofa Tu'ungafasi

18 (Reserve tight head prop): Pasilio Tosi

19 (Reserve lock): Patrick Tuipulotu

20 (Reserve loose forward): Samipeni Finau

21 (Reserve half-back): Cam Roigard

22 (Reserve midfielder): Anton Lienert-Brown

& 23 (Reserve back): Stephen Perofeta (Who is called up to replace Damian McKenzie who is elevated to the starting lineup, starting at first five in another of both injury enforced changes that New Zealand have made)

So that is my 580th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 4th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

Civil War/Better/I Touch Myself/Check It Out: My 3rd blog of the year 2025

Well, g'day guys & girls, welcome to our audience here in New Zealand & around the world, it is Whet here tuning into my Kiwiavenger blog but first to our whanau news such as Paige Ahearn (My cousin) who is following the American restaurant located in Wellington called Mama Brown's (We might go there if we were in Wellington) according to the comment from Pops on the 28th of October last year, but I always say the name of Paige's daughter (Norah who has always been my cousin once removed, but I saw a picture of her taken from Pops phone on November the 1st last year as she wore her Halloween costume on Halloween according to the social media account of Norah's mum Paige Ahearn that she posted) every day therefore teasing a return to Wellington in January next year as our next possible holiday (And I want to do it of me & Pops wanting to meet both women of Cathey & Paige, & a baby girl of Norah before I miss out as part of my only bucket list that I have, but I decided to shelve that holiday that me & Pops are planning to go in January next year, & postpone it to December next year to January 2026 (And we'll go if both Aunty Tan & Rejean are here in New Zealand) because me & Pops (Whose memory is far from improving, but maybe getting too old to travel that far to Wellington but maybe I'll go with Dad once he retires from his teaching job because he has only got 10 years left until retirement) will always have to look after the house, & I'm happy to be at home doing the gaming stuff that I literally enjoy), even if Pops isn't tied up to something (And we might stay for 3 nights from Friday to Sunday then come back home on a Monday a day before the Graze Out bloke arrives for our Tuesday to Thursday meals, but I have decided to cancel the Wellington trip (No I'm not going with either Pops or Dad, I'm not interested) altogether citing fears of Pops old age, & in the interest of excessive fatigue meaning that I will never ever meet Cathey & Paige again, & Norah for a lifetime, & for the rest of my life (Damn these people, damn your cause, that hell's over, I will never go on a holiday again with anybody like Pops & Dad following my announcement of not going to Welly by calling it off (And the Northland trip from 2023, will probably be my last holiday along with Carole & Pops, but I'm retiring from going on a trip because I quit from now on, I'm giving up) mainly because the reason why is the money which is during the current cost of living crisis (And everything is expensive at the moment regarding to inflation caused by that dreadful invasion that has been going since 2022, but we need to always save our money), & I have made the decision to cut ties by ending my links/finishing my connections with Paige (Who already has started a family with Jarrod, but she's asking for respect as she is requesting privacy towards her, her husband & their daughter throughout their lives, as well as being a bit too busy that she's mainly a hard worker & a workaholic as well as being a full-time mum & housewife by looking after Norah all the time) as my honorary sister (And the reason why that I may be getting intolerant to her, Cathey & Norah due to the fact that I'm getting fed up as well as being sick & tired about these 3 that I often criticise them for not meeting those people for the remainder of my life (And I wish to meet all 3 of them before I die, but that is unlikely about to happen due to mainly travel costs, meaning that you have to pay for everything), especially Paige for cutting ties as my honorary sister from now on), because I've got only one, & that is Kelsey).

And new cases have gone up on the new COVID XEC subvariant that we are declaring war on that had arrived in New Zealand & in the UK as well as France, Australia & the United States when it was first arrived in Germany & detected in 27 countries across North America, Asia & Europe, but it could be spreading everywhere like in January next year during the summer, & they're urging people to be aware by wearing masks as possible if there is a situation going on there like that, but vaccinations will be required for the matter for dozens of people (I thought it ended but we are now entering our 5th year since it began in 2020, a year after the 1st recorded confirmed case of COVID was taken by animals at a market in Wuhan, China, but there was controversy regarding Facebook (Now Meta) who were heavily relied on blocking COVID related content in 2021 which was during the pandemic in which they declared war on them on social media by censoring those terrible COVID stuff according to chief executive officer & founder Mark Zuckerberg (Who said after blocking content regarding to COVID related stuff in 2021: "Don't even think about it").

And I did not know that the former Prime Minister of New Zealand of Jacinda Ardern (Who was the victim of hateful abuse made by the Christchurch mosque shooter (Who should not have recieved a gun licence after being such a good actor in which he illegally acquired one for all of his clean background, according to his sister) in 2019 before carrying out the worst shooting incident ever recorded on New Zealand soil since the Aramoana massacre in 1990 (And the terrible mosque shootings, was reminscent of Port Arthur in Tasmania, Australia in 1996 in which 35 innocent victims have been taken away in which an AR15 rifle had been illegally used before the clamp down on assault rifles being brought into Australia in the aftermath of the tragic shootings by prohibiting them in the process such as the implementation of gun control measures just like New Zealand did in 2019), on March 15th which resulted in 51 casualties, but the shooter has since been locked up behind bars for the imprisonment for life sentence that he's currently serving) recieving her damehood therefore becoming Dame Jacinda Ardern for her services of leading our country for 6 years from 2017 until 2023 as well as her services of leading her political party Labour & leading the way in terms of COVID response back when we had the pandemic here in 2020.

And finally the All Blacks team (Who still have 3 players that are part of the IL (Injury list) such as Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson & Dalton Papali'i, unavailable for this test along with prop forward Ethan de Groot for breaking team protocol, but is expected to return for the clash against Ireland in Dublin) have been named to play against England (Who haven't played since the 2nd test at Eden Park in Auckland where the AB's successfully defended our fortress therefore winning the 2 match test series 2 - 0, but haven't beaten the AB's since 2019 during the semifinal of the Rugby World Cup in Yokohama in which New Zealand were defeated on Japanese soil for the 1st & only time, & the last time we lost a test at Twickenham in England was in 2012 in which the English won the Hillary Shield for also the 1st & only time) at Allianz Stadium London (Our most recent meeting between the 2 sides was last year where the AB's managed to cling on for the win, but the English fell short in the end by 7 points in which we almost conceded a penalty try for collapsing the maul as well as a yellow card against an All Black player, but one of the Aussie referees ruled that an English player may have adjudged to have been caught obstructing a New Zealand player, meaning that England may have derailed their quest of sealing a draw) in which we haven't played at that ground since that drawn test in 2022 which resulted in Beauden Barrett being shown the yellow card for which I thought it was deemed to be a penalty try as a result of a professional foul which sparked a certain England comeback after we were leading for quite a while, in which the English thwarted us for our chances of a victory as well as TJ Perenara & his achilles heel injury that took him out of the game for an entire year in 2023, especially the Rugby World Cup (Along with other All Blacks including Sevu Reece (Knee) & Patrick Tuipulotu (Broken arm) before even returning a year later for the Hurricanes during the Super Rugby Pacific competition, for our 1st test of 4 in the Northern Tour, so here is the starting lineup according to Razor:

STARTING XV

FORWARD PACK

FRONT ROW

1 (Loose head prop): Tamaiti Williams (Crusaders/Canterbury)

2 (Hooker): Codie Taylor (Crusaders/Canterbury)

3 (Tight head prop): Tyrel Lomax (Hurricanes/Tasman)

SECOND ROW

4 (No.4 lock): Scott Barrett (Captain, Crusaders/Taranaki)

5 (No.5 lock): Tupou Vaa'i (Chiefs/Taranaki)

LOOSE FORWARDS

6 (Blind side flanker): Wallace Sititi (Chiefs/North Harbour)

7 (Open side flanker): Sam Cane (Chiefs/Bay of Plenty)

8 (Number 8): Ardie Savea (Moana Pasifika/Wellington)

BACK LINE

HALVES

9 (Half-back): Cortez Ratima (Chiefs/Waikato)

10 (First five-eighth): Beauden Barrett (Blues/Taranaki)

MIDFIELD

12 (Second five-eighth): Jordie Barrett (Hurricanes/Taranaki)

13 (Centre): Rieko Ioane (Blues/Auckland)

OUTSIDE BACKS

11 (Left wing): Caleb Clarke (Blues/Auckland)

14 (Right wing): Mark Tele'a (Blues/North Harbour)

& 15 (Fullback): Will Jordan (Crusaders/Tasman)

& REPLACEMENT PLAYERS

16 (Reserve hooker): Asafo Aumua (Who is dropped to the pine at reserve hooker to replace George Bell)

17 (Reserve loose head prop): Ofa Tu'ungafasi

18 (Reserve tight head prop): Pasilio Tosi (Who is dropped to the bench at reserve tight head prop as he replaces Fletcher Newell)

19 (Reserve lock): Patrick Tuipulotu (Who is also dropped to the pine at the reserve lock position as he replaces Josh Lord)

20 (Reserve loose forward): Samipeni Finau (Who takes Peter Lakai's place at the reserve loose forward position, therefore wearing the number 20 jersey)

21 (Reserve half-back): Cam Roigard (Who is dropped to the bench as he takes TJ Perenara's spot in the reserve halfback position)

22 (Reserve midfielder): Anton Lienert-Brown (Who is expected to replace David Havili to wear the number 22 jersey at the reserve midfield position)

& 23 (Reserve back): Damian McKenzie (Who is relegated to the bench to replace the 2 try hero in the previous test against Japan in Yokohama of Ruben Love as he covers the reserve back position)

So that is my 579th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 3rd of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

Heavy Is the Crown/Harder to Breathe/This Love: My 2nd blog of the year 2025

Well, kia ora guys & girls, as I always say welcome to all our audience here in New Zealand & around the world, it's Whetu here in this Kiwiavenger type of blog but first in the rugby as the AB's thumped Japan with authority by 64 points to 19 including test debutant Ruben Love bagging in a double as he scored both tries on his test debut by coming off the bench despite the All Blacks having a clunky 2nd half so let's dive into the last 11 minutes of the test according to NZ Herald website (And I haven't been doing the live updates to the rugby since the England test at Eden Park in Auckland back in July):

69TH MINUTE, TRY JAPAN: Opeti Helu

The reserve prop is in and Japan have a third try. He had some work to do. All Blacks 50 Japan 19

73RD MINUTE (4 MINUTES LATER): Seven minutes to go

All Blacks first half: 43

All Blacks second half: 7

75TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): Japan back on attack

Can they get a fourth? Nope they spill the ball and the All Blacks get a chance to clear. 

77TH MINUTE (2 MINUTES LATER): All Blacks chance to end with a try

PENALTY ALL BLACKS: McKenzie chips into the in goal for Samipeni Finau to chase but his tired legs say no and it goes out. Penalty advantage and the ABs kick to the corner.

90 seconds left.

SCRUM FEED JAPAN: Another break for the All Blacks. Sititi puts Perenara into space but it drops the ball.

80TH MINUTE (3 MINUTES LATER), TRY ALL BLACKS: 80th min - All Blacks try - Ruben Love

And Love finishes with a second right on fulltime. 

FULL TIME: ALL BLACKS 64 JAPAN 19

Patrick Tuipulotu

"It was quite tough. We started quite rough, didn't get our set piece right and let them in with an early try. Managed to get some retention with the ball so as long we held the ball we were able to get good possession and end up with some tries.

"We probably just got a bit tighter, we let them in around our ruck. Once we shored that up we got to get some good tackles and they obviously carry low so we had to get lower than them. Managed some good drop tackles and our second guy coming in. Managed to slow it down and get our line set." 

To work on for rest of tour

"Just consistency in our set piece. We left a lot of lineouts out there. Something we want to pride ourselves on is having top quality ball off out lineout especially so that our backs can get some go forward our scrum, that will be a work-on for us as well especially against the European teams who love set piece."

And what do I think of the test? Well, it was a comprehensive win by the All Blacks out there, to be honest after a shaky 2nd half against the Japanese in which our starting first five Damian McKenzie who continued to struggle through the entire game (And he needs work to improve on being spot on, that is for sure), & what about Ruben Love eh? What a way to score in for a double on test debut off the pine, but bring on England as we head to Allianz Stadium London to take on the English in which we haven't played against them since July last year in a 2 match test series.

And continuing on to the rugby news as Wellington who had to defy heavy hearts & a freak injury, win their 6th full NPC championship after their win in the final which was played during extra time in which the entire game lasted 100 minutes which was decided against Bay of Plenty at Sky Stadium in Wellington (Including a double to ex-AB Julian Savea just like Ruben Love on test debut for New Zealand during the Japan test while reserve first five Callum Harkin kicked the winning penalty goal that sealed the deal for Wellington to win an epic nail-biting final which was decided at extra time) in Jackson Garden-Bachop's 100th game meanwhile the former All Black of Hika Elliot (Who was playing South Canterbury in the Heartland Championship (Which was won by Thames Valley in the Meads Cup & King Country in the Lochore Cup respectively) had been called up to the Wellington squad via an SOS call following an injury to hooker Penieli Poasa.

And in the cricket department as the Black Caps led by Tom Latham who took over from Tim Southee, made history by clinching the series against India (Who would lose their first home test series since 2012 when England triumphed against the Indians) for the first time on Indian soil after our win in the 2nd test in Pune by 113 runs with the help of Mitchell Santner who took 13 wickets in the match after enduring 93.5 overs & 18 wickets that we took during the test.

And onto the America's Cup related stuff that I have been reading my main 5 America's Cup books such as Gulf Wars: How we kept the cup, Lone Wolf: How Emirates Team New Zealand stunned the World, The Team New Zealand story 1995 - 2003, Back to Back Black Magic & Black Magic: Team New Zealand's victorious challenge, as well as rewatching the 9th race of the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup (Whether it's the ones that I've recorded such as the live race or highlights) in the aftermath of our instant success that the defender of Emirates Team New Zealand had on the water to retain the heavyweight crown of world sailing yet again for a successful America's Cup series hat-trick against the challenger of INEOS Britannia (Who will be our challenger of record again at the next America's Cup which could potentially be held in possibly 2028 (But it has been confirmed that the next one will take place in 2027 according to plan in terms of the protocol being set), but they'll be using the same AC75 foiling monohull boats that they're having just like in the last 2 editions of the Auld Mug in both Auckland 2021 & Barcelona last year) as we made history already in Barcelona, Spain, & my utter celebrations had been almost unabated by continuing on since, but I have been watching old clips of America's Cup races from 2000 that I downloaded it straight off the internet from the old ESPN America's Cup website meaning that I did get insight about the boats that we used to race back in the old days (In which was known as the IACC (Which stands for International America's Cup Class which it did not have foils in it) used from 1992 until 2007 (That was 3 years before the deed of the gift challenge took place in which Oracle won against Alinghi, & replaced them with AC72 foiling multihulls which was only used back in 2013, in an effort to make it more attractive to the sport, especially the America's Cup fan base before being replaced by the AC50's which they were used only in 2017) in which these boats were slow unlike the present day America's Cup racing boats in which they're quicker than the old IACC ones used for 15 years) compared to today's America's Cup boats that we're using now (We have used the AC75 foiling monohulls since 2021 in order to make it appealing towards the new generation of America's Cup followers), but now there is Stephen McIvor that I heard that he is a current day voice of yachting that appeals to our new or current generation of America's Cup fanatics, compared to Peter Montgomery who was the original voice of yachting who was many loved to the older generation of aficionados (And I like McIvor wherever he put his sailing commentary skills to the test in which he has been the voice of the America's Cup since 2021 (I didn't hear his voice back then when TVNZ had the broadcasting rights (And Scotty Stevenson was our commentator back then) until I watched a YouTube clip before finally hearing his actual commentary when Three (In which the New Zealand TV channel is currently owned by Warner Bros Discovery before shutting it down this year as it switches to internet only in a bid to reduce costs) had the broadcasting rights to the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup last year) in which he took over from Aly Ekykyn (Who is a British rugby commentator) who only appeared also back in 2017 as a commentator, but I prefer Montgomery because he's always gets excited as Pops told me on Labour Day last year), & finally the reason why that our country of New Zealand first started competing in the America's Cup in 1986-87 beginning with the Louis Vuitton Cup is that we drew inspiration from the Aussies who won in 1983 from the Americans therefore the longest active winning streak which lasted for 132 years had brought to a halt, before failing to defend the America's Cup in 1987 to Dennis Conner (The only individual above them all as he is the only bloke in the world to have lost the Auld Mug (First Australia in 1983), then to regain it (In which he & the rest of his American crew managed to beat the Aussies in 1987) & to lose it yet again (Then New Zealand long ago in 1995) all the time in the world according to the previous blogs that I did) & co of Stars & Stripes unlike Team New Zealand was able to defend the oldest competition in international sport way back in 2000 against Prada of Italy in which we finally did what the Aussies failed to achieve something big, but the winning boat of Taihoro last year in Barcelona, my word that is the best boat that we have ever seen in the America's Cup (But first, it was NZL 32 (In which was the greatest America's Cup boat of all time by Black Magic that we used to have, producing the 2nd biggest upset in America's Cup history behind Australia winning in 1983, in which we were overwhemingly dominant against the Young America boat led by Dennis Conner & the rest of his Stars & Stripes crew according to the previous blogs that I did) in San Diego 1995 then NZL 60 (In which was another one of these great Black Magic boats along with NZL 32 in 1995) in Auckland 2000, Aotearoa in Bermuda 2017 & Te Rehutai in Auckland 2021, & now Taihoro in Barcelona last year which was superior than the other 4 as by far the most standout America's Cup winning boat ever that Emirates Team New Zealand (The current CEO of our defender is Grant Dalton because it used to be the late great Sir Peter Blake (1948 - 2001) who led the mercurial Team New Zealand which ushered a new era of Kiwi dominance in sailing's greatest prize) has had throughout our lifetime, not just in recent memory), during the AC75 era which began in 2021).

And finally in the motor racing department as the latest in Formula One as Ferrari's Carlos Sainz Jr (Who is due to head to Williams next year to team up with British-Thai driver Alex Albon) has won the latest Grand Prix in Mexico with McLaren's Lando Norris closing the gap on his championship rival Max Verstappen (Red Bull) in terms of the championship to keep Norris's quest of a maiden F1 world title alive, but Ferrari are steadily improving by making all the upgrades possible (Like the Jack of all trades & stuff) by taking over from Red Bull as the 2nd quickest team in Formula One behind McLaren, therefore forming an age old rivalry between Ferrari & McLaren (Who are powered by a Mercedes-AMG engine) in one of the rivalries between both of Formula One's oldest teams (Similar to the late 90s/early 2000s in which there was a rivalry between the Finn Mika Hakkinen & the German Michael Schumacher, both driving for the respective constructors such as McLaren & Ferrari just like both the late Ayrton Senna (McLaren) & Alain Prost (Ferrari) driving for their constructors respectively in the early 90s), but recently that the star of Point Break, Speed, the Matrix & John Wick movies of Lebanese born Canadian of Hawaiian roots of Keanu Reeves making his professional motor racing debut (He had past racing experience as he won the celeb race in 2009 at Long Beach, California during the 2009 Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach Indycar event) at the iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway at the tender age of 60 when he teamed up with Cody Jones of Dude Perfect YouTube sports fame in a Toyota GR Cup race as he spun out on the grass on the exit of turn 9 about halfway through the 45 minute race as he finished in 25th out of the 35 drivers competing (Although he started 31st on the grid during qualifying for the race).

So that is my 578th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 2nd of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

Everybody's Fool/Come As You Are/Crash Into Me/One Tree Hill: My 1st blog of the year 2025

"And during the few moments that we have left, we want to talk right down to earth, in a language that everybody here, can easily understand" - Malcolm X

Well, happy new year ladies & gents, welcome to our audience here in New Zealand & around the world (Inspired by the opening lines of American news anchor who works for CNN of Wolf Blitzer, but it's my 13th year of blogging under the name Kiwiavenger since it began in 2012), it's Whet here tuning in to this Kiwiavenger blog but first, after our America's Cup (For which was originally known as the Hundred Guineas Cup before changing their name that they're currently using as of today after the winning boat of America, but it is my first post-America's Cup blog now since it ended at race 9 that had taken place in Barcelona when Team New Zealand crossed the line for the win against the true challenger of record of INEOS Britannia as we became the first syndicate to win the Auld Mug on 3 occasions in a row since the reign of the New York Yacht Club (Who had been holders from 1870, until the Aussies had won it 113 years later) had ended in 1983 therefore our America's Cup dynasty as well as our legacy & reputation in the 'Everest of sailing', continues (And I'm still stoked about the result, super stoked that we had therefore continued our dominance in the quest of our defence such as the contest of yachting's biggest prize, the Auld Mug for the 3rd straight time, especially our sailing hero of Peter Burling who cemented his status as the GOAT as well as I label Burling as the self-proclaimed sailing god, compared to the 2 time Rugby World Cup winning captain of the Springboks of Siya Kolisi who is always been the self-proclaimed rugby god) success once more on the water that we had for Emirates Team New Zealand led by none other than master sailor Peter Burling (A Tauranga Boys College old boy alongside 2021 World Test Championship winning captain for the Black Caps of Kane Williamson & last but not least, a 2015 Rugby World Cup winning player for the All Blacks of Sam Cane) & his Aussie co-helmsman Nathan Outteridge who had to complete our 3rd consecutive series win for sport's oldest international competition, the Auld Mug in Barcelona, Spain for another successful America's Cup glory against INEOS Britannia (And the first time we defended the Auld Mug on foreign soil, in which we produced a Mediterranean masterclass (And that fateful weekend of sport in New Zealand will be a weekend long remembered. It has seen the defeat of INEOS Britannia, & will soon see the end of the South Africa women's cricket team) according to the commentary from the current day voice of the America's Cup of Stephen McIvor, but at least we didn't disappoint), so too are the White Ferns who are finally on top of the women's T20 cricket world after our epic win against South Africa in the final in Dubai in the UAE as we turn our attention to the rugby (And the long weekend on the 26th to the 28th (Labour day here in New Zealand) of October last year is all about the rugby because we decided to move on from the success that we had when we triumphed in the yachting yet again as well as the women's T20 cricket) with the AB's side (Who are without the loose forward trio of Ethan Blackadder, Luke Jacobson & Dalton Papali'i as part of the IL (Injury list) for this upcoming test, but one of the rugby players that me & Pops met & took a picture with at Frank Bar of Stevie P (Stephen Perofeta) is returning to the rugby field as he is healthy again & raring to go) have named their team to play against the Brave Blossoms of Japan (Who haven't played since losing the Pacific Nations Cup final against the eventual champions Fiji) there at Yokohama Stadium in Yokohama (Our most recent meeting between the 2 sides was in 2022 where the Japanese almost made history, but they fell short in the end by 7 points which was marred by Brodie Retallick's red card for a sickening high contact which was deemed to be shocking on Japanese loose forward Kazuki Himeno which resulted in a fortnight's ban for Retallick) in which we haven't played at that ground since the 2019 Rugby World Cup semifinal defeat against England, so here is the starting lineup according to Razor:

STARTING XV

FORWARD PACK

FRONT ROW

1 (Loose head prop): Tamaiti Williams (Crusaders/Canterbury)

2 (Hooker): Asafo Aumua (Hurricanes/Wellington)

3 (Tight head prop): Pasilio Tosi (Hurricanes/Bay of Plenty)

SECOND ROW

4 (No.4 lock): Sam Darry (Blues/Canterbury)

5 (No.5 lock): Patrick Tuipulotu (Blues/Auckland)

LOOSE FORWARDS

6 (Blind side flanker): Samipeni Finau (Chiefs/Waikato)

7 (Open side flanker): Sam Cane (Chiefs/Bay of Plenty)

8 (Number 8): Wallace Sititi (Chiefs/North Harbour)

BACK LINE

HALVES

9 (Half-back): Cam Roigard (Hurricanes/Counties Manukau)

10 (First five-eighth): Damian McKenzie (Chiefs/Waikato)

MIDFIELD

12 (Second five-eighth): Anton Lienert-Brown (Chiefs/Waikato)

13 (Centre): Billy Proctor (Hurricanes/Wellington)

OUTSIDE BACKS

11 (Left wing): Mark Tele'a (Blues/North Harbour)

14 (Right wing): Sevu Reece (Crusaders/Southland)

& 15 (Fullback): Stephen Perofeta (Blues/Taranaki)

& REPLACEMENT PLAYERS

16 (Reserve hooker): George Bell (Who comes into the side with Asafo Aumua being drafted to the run-on team to replace Codie Taylor)

17 (Reserve loose head prop): Ofa Tu'ungafasi (Who returns to the bench as he replaces Tamaiti Williams who is promoted to the starting lineup)

18 (Reserve tight head prop): Fletcher Newell (Who returns from injury to be on the pine as he replaces Pasilio Tosi (The Taniela Tupou of New Zealand rugby) who is elevated to the starting lineup)

19 (Reserve lock): Josh Lord (Who returns as he takes Patrick Tuipulotu's spot at the reserve lock position with Tuipulotu earning promotion to the run-on team therefore captaining the side)

20 (Reserve loose forward): Peter Lakai (Who is in line to make his test debut off the pine as he takes the injured Luke Jacobson's spot at reserve loose forward)

21 (Reserve half-back): TJ Perenara (Who is dropped to the bench as he takes Cortez Ratima's spot in the reserve halfback position)

22 (Reserve midfielder): David Havili (Who is expected to wear the number 22 jersey to replace Damian McKenzie who is elevated to the run-on team)

& 23 (Reserve back): Ruben Love (Who is also in line to make his debut for the All Blacks off the bench as he covers the reserve back position once taken by David Havili)

And the latest in the United States that a civil war might break out just like in the early to mid 1860's, even if Donald Trump is defeated in an election to the current US Vice President Kamala Harris, therefore sending the pro-right wing conservative people into a frenzy by starting a riot which would spread all over the place causing fears & concerns of an outbreak of violence (And I told Pops about it on the 25th of October last year in which we were on our way back home after having dinner at BK (Burger King), but I always play the GTA IV game (For which is my 2nd most standout video game that I've ever played behind Gran Turismo 7) & it's expansion pack of the Ballad of Gay Tony every day & my favourite part of the gameplay is the shooting system which is the best ever since the 2005 version of Star Wars Battlefront II, as well as engaging in a police shooting/shootout reminds me of I haven't seen combat like that since either Kyiv or Rafah (Which is during my experiences of watching both terrible wars that are still going on the news channels of CNN (The left wing American news channel that Aunty Tan usually watches) & Al Jazeera (Also the news channel based in Qatar that Carole always watches due to her Middle Eastern roots that is non-biased compared to CNN) about it, but I've now got the Call of Duty game on both PS4 & PS5 versions that I've never played due to me experiencing both sickening but shocking wars that they're still currently having that I've seen on both news outlets), but it's like being back in either that dreadful invasion that has been going since 2022 (In which Pops told me before to keep it clean about not mentioning that horrible war in full on my blogs which is prohibited (I originally posted stuff about it, but Pops says that it's deemed to be both objectionable & sensitive to avoid being offended to the country who started it, but is it fine to mention the Middle East war on my blogs? I'll probably get rid of it once the Israeli invasion in both Gaza & Lebanon ends) or the Israeli invasion of Hamas (For which I label Israel's war on Hamas as the worst tragic stuff that I have ever seen of my lifetime, since that awful terrorist attacks unfolded in the United States on September 11th way back in 2001 (A year before the US government's decision to establish the Department of Homeland Security also way back in 2002 following the 9/11 tragedy), you are wasting my time), & it was at one point that I took aim at either at one of the Russian, North Korean or Chinese gangsters with a gun in the game, then they shoot at the protagonist of TBOGT, Luis Lopez before police arrive, then I shoot at cops (Along with either NOOSE or FIB officers if it's four stars or above) & keep shooting at them (And Pops alluded to me before about that I'm always playing the Xbox 360 version of GTA IV via backwards compatibility on my Xbox Series X console in which he describes the horrible police shootings/shootouts as war stuff, like the ones in Gaza) until I reach the six star wanted level rating when Luis hops on in a good, correct fast car like the Grotti Turismo, the Vapid Bullet GT or the Ocelot F620 which are the main examples before law enforcement reinforcements arrive by evading the authorities until I lose that wanted level rating, similar to & inspired by both Gone in 60 Seconds & the Fast & the Furious movies respectively, unlike in the GTA IV game during the mission Three Leaf Clover (For which I have mentioned a story inspired by the controversial GTA games again, but the 'Three Leaf Clover' mission which was inspired by the Hollywood movies of both Heat, Point Break & the Italian Job was by far, the most standout mission in the history of the Grand Theft Auto franchise, & the most intense above them all, as well as the most during the High Definition era of the Grand Theft Auto series, & one of the greatest but if not the greatest mission of all time) were Patrick 'Packie' McReary said to one of the robbers during a heist that "Ireland's not the only thing that's green, dollars are too", & then Derrick McReary (Whose best line is that he tells him what to do, when he stop shoving half of Bolivia up his nose every Saturday night prior to Michael getting shot by an armed hostage who killed or murdered him should I say before he was shot dead by the robbers) said to both Niko Bellic & Packie that he has not seen combat like that since Belfast & also that he said that it's like being back in the Troubles (For which were a ethno-nationalist war in Northern Ireland in the UK colloquially known as the Northern Ireland war that lasted for about 3 decades from the late 1960s until long ago in 1998 in which the conflict concluded with the Good Friday agreement), by crikey & also that Derrick was saying that he hasn't been there at Chinatown in Liberty City since Frankie threw him a farewell dinner when he was going to Ireland because that was a lifetime ago.

And in rock music related news that I'm an Alanis Morissette, Avril Lavigne, Michelle Branch & Evanescence follower from now on as of today according to the previous blog that I did last year, because it used to be of my big 7 of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park (Who now have a female lead singer of Emily Armstrong who replaced the late Chester Bennington, but I should be a fanatic of that band it again just like the main 4 women in rock musicians & bands now), Incubus, a Perfect Circle, our own Kiwi rock band Shihad & Filter, but the famous American pop punk band of the Offspring who have recently have released a new single already called 'Make It All Right' (In which the song gives you Blink-182 vibes back in 1999/2000 as it sounds closer to 'All the Small Things' as well as back in the high school days in the United States, especially the movies that they made about it like American Pie for example, during the late 90s/early 2000s heyday period, but actually 'Make It All Right' is by far, one of my fave songs from the Offspring from now on) from the album Supercharged as part of the old time rock bands releasing new material or new stuff should I say last year & in 2023 along with Franz Ferdinand (Who released their new song 'Audacious' that I heard recently on Brian FM from the album the Human Fear which is due to come out this month which is this year), Kings of Leon (Who the band released Can We Please Have Fun on May 10th last year), Pearl Jam (Who the band also released Dark Matter on the 19th of April also last year a month before Kings of Leon had most recently released their new album) & Linkin Park (Their album From Zero came out on November 15th last year) as well as Sum 41 (Also their album had been released on the 29th of March also last year), Green Day (Whose album Saviors was released last year on January 19th) & of course, Blink-182 (One of their albums called One More Time... came out on the 20th of October in 2023).

And finally the entertainment world is in mourning on September the 9th as famous American actor James Earl Jones, better known as the voice of the iconic villain/bad guy of Darth Vader in the Star Wars original trilogy which instantly gained him recognition in both the United States & around the world, then he appeared in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith in which he had an uncredited role, has passed away aged 93 due to mainly old age so all thoughts, prayers & heartfelt condolences go to the family of James Earl Jones, RIP (Rest in power), but there is also Liam Payne who is the member of the famous boy band One Direction (Which features other members including Zayn Malik & Harry Styles, but are no longer together as of today) who lost his life so rest easy to him (And all thoughts, prayers & heartfelt condolences go to the young man who is gone but not forgotten).

James Earl Jones

1931 - 2024

& Liam Payne

1993 - 2024

So that is my 577th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 1st of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.