Take Me In/Home/Desire: My 16th blog of the year 2025

Well, hi there ladies & gents, welcome to all our readers here in New Zealand & around the world, I'm Whets here & you're tuning into my Kiwiavenger blog (And it was ANZAC day yesterday which marked 110 years since the joint Aussie & Kiwi military forces landed in Gallipoli in Türkiye (Back then it was Turkey, we will remember them, lest we forget) against the Turkish forces on April 25th, 1915 during World War I (And I was in Coromandel a decade ago when I was with both the late Nan (Who passed away 9 months later on the 6th of January back in 2016 (Which took place before our last Wellington trip 5 months later in which me & Pops attended an All Blacks test against Wales with John Coburn (For which was my only ever live AB's game that I've been (And that was 4 years prior to COVID that began in 2020), then a day later met both these gorgeous ladies of my biological aunty Cathey Middelplaats & my dear cousin Paige Ahearn (Back then where she was known as Paige Williams at the time, 7 years before Norah was born & got married to her husband Jarrod one last time, & I haven't seen them since but I would like to meet both of them one day along with Cathey's granddaughter & Paige's daughter Norah for the first time as part of my future holiday plans) at Cathey's place for brunch in Petone), 10 months before Nana Minnie's) & Pops (Who was born in the Coromandel area in the Thames Valley province (Although his dad of Poppa Jim who served in the military during World War II for his country also back then), compared to Dad who was born a year after Aunty Tan in Motueka in the Nelson Bays province at the time some 37 years before it was merged into Tasman with the Marlborough province way back in 2006 (That was 13 years before winning their first full NPC title back in 2019, before completing their successful defence in a COVID-affected year of 2020 for which was their last ever NPC crown to date (That was the year before Waikato won in 2021, then Wellington in 2022 followed by Taranaki in 2023 before Wellington won it back last year), but according to the previous blog that I did in 2021 saying that the Aussies always beats us in every sport except rugby) when it was during the centenary celebrations over there) but first in music such as the video clip that I saw that Rick Beato saying that the 4 main rock bands who haven't released new records, will be still be playing on radio stations in the future like in 2100 (With the rock & metal music genre set to become non-existent) such as the Beatles, Nirvana, the Police & Queen with the Rolling Stones not making the cut because of them always releasing new material that came out but Pink Floyd may certainly be a possibility of joining the other 4.

And secondly that next year is the Football/Soccer World Cup being staged in the US, Canada & Mexico in which they'll be 48 teams taking part (Although the All Whites of New Zealand might even sniff a chance of making it for the first time since South Africa 2010 because we are in the semis of the OFC World Cup qualifiers against Fiji led by former Nix star Roy Krishna at Sky Stadium in Wellington before the final takes place at the iconic Eden Park venue scheduled on the 25th of March against either New Caledonia or Tahiti if we beat the Fijians during the OFC World Cup qualifier semi) with 32 of them advance to the historic first ever round of 32 which is the first phase of the knockouts with the 16 winning sides will contest the Round of 16, then 8 will go through to the quarterfinals followed by 4 in the semi while both losing semifinalists will contest the 3rd place playoff, & then both winning sides in the semi would go through to the final being held in East Rutherford, New Jersey at New York/New Jersey Stadium on July 19th to determine who'll become champion of the world, & even though I fear that it might be a Argentina - Spain final just like in the Finalissma being staged in the same year (Which was scheduled this year, but it had to change due to scheduling conflicts which is packed with the expanded Football/Soccer Club World Cup being taken place along with the Women's Euro 2025 being staged in Switzerland with England defending their title 3 years after their triumph on home soil at the delayed women's Euro 2021 held in 2022, & the packed FIFA men's World Cup qualifying schedule) with both sides who are champions of Europe (Spain) & South America as well as the world (Argentina) due to square off.

While thirdly that I was still watching old clips of America's Cup races from 2000 (It's been 25 years since the magnificent events of the 30th America's Cup had happened, compared to 30 years since Team New Zealand's ultimate mission of winning the Auld Mug had been accomplished in San Diego in which we triumphed against Young America led by Dennis Conner (Our ultimate nemesis before Aussie Jimmy Spithill took over from 2013, right through until 2021) & his Stars & Stripes crew in which the America's Cup had left the United States again to a different down under, New Zealand way, way back in 1995 (Same year that the late great All Black Jonah Lomu (One of by far, rugby's greatest players of all time, but now Frenchman Antoine Dupont has since taken over as the world's best rugby player of our current generation) & his heroics in the semi against England in Cape Town, South Africa in which he scored 4 tries for New Zealand en route to the final, including barging over South African born English player Mike Catt to score his 1st of 4 tries in one of the men's Rugby World Cup's most iconic moments) such as race 3 where Team New Zealand got off to a flying start against Prada in which we tacked during the race in the 1st clip, then we had spinnaker issues that our lead had been drastically reduced that almost cost our chance in the 2nd clip & the 3rd clip shows TNZ crossing the line to go 3 - 0 up in the series with the crew shaking hands at each other appreciating our victory, then the 4th clip shows the 4th race of the America's Cup in which we tacked after the start to catch the good wind, even though with the Prada Challenge of Italy opted not to tack by making a bad call (And if they tacked, the Italians would've remained in the lead after being in front on the 3rd cross) before we even crossed the finish line to be on match point against Luna Rossa, but the 5th clip shows New Zealand retaining the heavyweight crown of world sailing on the 2nd of March 2000 that history was made on the Hauraki Gulf in which we crossed the line to take race 5 & win the series 5 - nil moments before PJ famously said that the "America's Cup, is still New Zealand's Cup", while the 6th & final clip shows the celebrations when the amazing sight earlier that afternoon as the fleet follows NZL 60 Black Magic back into the Auckland harbour, after a 5 - 0 whitewash over Italy.

And finally onto a cricket related story that former Aussie paceman Brett Lee who revealed his fave rock band is, & it is by far the Killers (Who the man the call him Binga who is a huge fanatic of the American rock band, but there has been sad news to the rock industry here in New Zealand such as legendary Kiwi rock band Shihad is going to call it quits following the announcement of their farewell tour that will be their last in which the band had been active for 37 years since 1988, while Old Gods was their 10th & most recent album to date by the band when it was released in 2021 during the COVID age (But my reaction about Shihad quitting is like "Holy hell! I can't believe this is happening! And so it is", & the main reason why that the band is retiring is that the band members have kids who have families of their own (Well, that is a bit of a shock) while his fave rock song would have to be also by far which is 'Mr Brightside' by the Killers in which he plays bass with according to the Aussie cricket program I saw on Sky Sport, compared to Danish tennis player Caroline Wozniacki's fave rock song that she reveals is Wonderwall (One of my fave Oasis songs now because it used to be 'Cast No Shadow') by Oasis as seen in the ASB Classic women's tennis programme in 2020, while another Aussie cricketer Glenn Maxwell & his fave rock songs are, & it's Everlong (Another one of my fave Foo Fighters songs along with former late night talk show host & IndyCar team owner David Letterman) by the Foo Fighters then Bittersweet Symphony (That is my fave song by the Verve because it used to be 'Lucky Man') by the Verve as revealed on his playlist, but continuing onto the cricket stuff such as Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya could even have a possibility of leading the side in the One Day International format, even if Rohit Sharma quits as captain when the Champions Trophy is being staged in both Pakistan & the UAE (With India scheduled to play the majority of its matches in Dubai (Including games against Bangladesh, New Zealand & Pakistan during the group games as well as their semifinal & final matches to be staged there for the entirety of the tournament, but the Champions Trophy is back after an 8 year absence (Including they were originally going to host it in 2021, but called off due to COVID in which the tournament has been moved to this year) in which the Pakistanis triumphed over their main rivals in the final at the Oval in London, including a no-ball from Indian ace bowler Jasprit Bumrah for overstepping that derailed India's aspirations of Champions Trophy glory once more, & also the Pakistani batter of Zaman for his ton as he posted 114 which was the turning point of the most recent Champions Trophy final to date) since their refusal of travelling to Pakistan, citing security concerns being the main factor in the aftermath of the ICC had recently approved a hybrid model with the United Arab Emirates not being far from Pakistan), just like if Pat Cummins is unavailable to lead Australia on a tour to Sri Lanka in a 2 match Warne-Muralidaran test trophy series due to a heavy workload of one of the tests, one of the co-vice captains in the test format of Travis Head may be the ideal man for the captaincy job although Steve Smith is maybe out of consideration since he already led the team in the past.

So that is my 592nd blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 16th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

Trouble/Ava Adore/Diamond Dogs: My 15th blog of the year 2025

Well, hi, welcome to all our readers here in New Zealand & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning into my Kiwiavenger blog (And happy Easter everyone to all of our loyal followers during the Easter weekend which begins on Good Friday today, then Easter Sunday 2 days later to wrap it up) but first in the news that there has been tragic events unfolded over the last 2 months such as a mentally-ill person who is a 50 year old doctor from Saudi Arabia who is expected to face charges for plowing over the crowd with a motor vehicle which resulted in hundreds of people suffering injuries that lasted about 3 minutes, with 40 seriously injured as well as a young child & 4 others is among the deceased last month during a Christmas market in Germany, then something dreadful has happened in Nelson in New Zealand such a police officer passed away with injuries after being run over by a car driven by that also senseless driver who is expected to appear in court on the 3rd of January which was 'completely unprovoked' as well as 'A cowardly attack', & the most tragic stuff had occurred when another vehicle ran over a crowd which was deemed to be a hostile, deliberate, blatant but malicious terrorist act (In which a person formerly from the Army (Whose life as a civilian had been dreadful), who acted alone as a attack that deemed to be a reckless act of terrorism in which the United States had been on high alert, took place when the vehicle plowed onto the crowd which resulted 15 casualties at high speed as the flag of ISIS was found in the perpetrator's utility vehicle in which cops shot him dead who is fully committed to ISIS for his actions) during New Year's celebrations in New Orleans prompting that the stepped up security measures must be upped following that unfortunate incident before the Sugar Bowl college gridiron match between Georgia & Notre Dame being staged at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome which is due to host Superbowl LIX which takes centre stage in February with security personnel (Whose numbers have been doubled, but is expected to remain that way when Washington DC takes center stage at Inauguration Day of the US President elect Donald Trump as extra security is being mobilized & dispatched all over the city in the nation's capital, even though with security are expected to be tight at the 3 upcoming events scheduled such as the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump in Washington DC, & Superbowl LIX also in New Orleans in the US) being sent by giving orders to protect the New Orleans venue & the city at all times, but this madness needs to stop! Because I'm getting sick of this criminals in vehicles used as a weapon to run over pedestrians (And the war on vehicle ramming attacks in which cars as being used as weapon has begun with those 3 separate incidents such as the Christmas market in Germany last month which was last year, then in Nelson, New Zealand that a female cop had been struck during a New Year's celebration while another officer had been wounded, & now the most tragic events unfolded during a New Year's celebration in New Orleans, Louisiana which was the most disastrous event to be staged since Hurricane Katrina in late August 2005) because I'm getting fed up over the last 3 incidents which turned into horrific scenes that was marred by tragedy which is potentially shocking (And it is reminiscent to Trump surviving an assassination attempt last year from a stupid scumbag named Thomas Crooks (The one that got shot dead by the US President's security marksmen) who opened fire towards a Trump supporter, murdering him instantly with the former US President surviving that fatal shooting during a Republican campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania (And in the aftermath of the near assassination attempt by Crooks that there they granted a security boost to protect the families of Donald Trump & their close associates to him as well as his businesses like Trump Tower International & Trump's official residence of Mar-el-Lago in the American state of Florida), although the New Orleans vehicle attack was the first recorded incident in the United States this year, & the first since the murder which was believed to be an act of terrorism of UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Officer, Brian Thompson in December last year who had been receiving threats relating to medical "coverage", according to his widow), so all hearts, but also thoughts, prayers & condolences go to the victims of that senseless idiots who will be sent to the slammer as well as the New Orleans suspect getting murdered by police for their crimes being committed in which the beginning of this year, was marred by one of the most horrific scenes they have ever seen in the United States, in recent memory in which a suspected driver got killed during a police shooting/shootout being engaged after taking the pedestrians out of commission by ploughing them over with a vehicle that drove into crowds in a vehicle-ramming attack that has been trending lately, which was shades of both separate incidents in Nelson, New Zealand & in Magdeburg in Germany (And also that a Tesla Cybertruck had been exploded when the bomb had been set off at Trump Tower in Las Vegas in the aftermath of a driver who took his own life with a self-inflicted GSW to the head which is dreadful stuff that has happened, & it's not the way to begin the new year with multiple, deadliest incidents ever recorded in a headline that just says: NEW YEAR, TRAGIC START which has had a somber tone (And there was a pair of shootings happened in both New York (In which a suspected gunmen opened fire for which I thought was a gang related shooting, wounding 10 people including children in a mass drive-by shooting outside at a nightclub called Amazura in Queens, New York in which there will be a clamp down for those senseless shootings according to New York state senator Gustavo Rivera) & in Montenegro (In which 12 including children had been murdered by that senseless gunman who committed suicide to avoid possibly being captured by authorities in a small town with calls from the Montenegrin government saying that gun laws needed to be changed in light of the Christchurch mosque massacre (Which is the worst tragic shootings in our country since Aramoana in 1990) in New Zealand back in 2019 which was inspired by the tragic Port Arthur mass shootings in Australia long ago in 1996 (Same year as the Dunblane massacre in Scotland in the UK that had to take place which was shocking) as well as the 2011 Norway attacks that took place in both Oslo & Utoya, & the ones in America such as Columbine also way, way back in 1999, Virginia Tech way back in 2007 & Newtown back in 2012 which resulted in tragedies related to gun violence that crippled the nation asking for gun control reforms to be made & handed out) that resulted casualties), as well as the war in Gaza between Israeli & Hamas fighters when Israeli airstrikes resulted in 19 Palestinians getting murdered on New Year's Day (And I have revealed that I'm an anti-war activist because of the 2 dreadful wars in both that terrible invasion that has been going since 2022 & in Gaza between Israel & Hamas forces since I'm both pro-left wing & pro-Liberal supporter, & I'm like Carole because of the situations being currently unfolded according to the previous blog that I did in which the Israelis (Who are like bullies for some reason according to Pops) currently invading Gaza for what looks to be a deliberate but atrocious act as I told Pops about it on the 14th of January), & also that there was an incident in Germany which resulted 5 people killed by fireworks as well as dozens of emergency workers wounded while 400 of them had been brought into justice following a New Year's Eve chaos which were also marred by tragic accidents & riots in several cities).

And secondly that Carole has returned to New Zealand as of the 2nd of January since I last saw her in December 8th last year, so it is great to have her back after being away from home when she went on an expedition to the UAE such as places in either Abu Dhabi or Dubai (And me, Pops & Carole went to Rutland on the 2nd of January to celebrate Carole's return & the New Year in which I had a pasta over there for my big lunch & it was quite nice I have to say, but I saw Dad visiting at our place, but my main Christmas present of the Rugby Challenge 4 PS4 game still hasn't arrived that Dad purchased it on Mighty Ape for me where it cost about $172 (That's over $100, but it must've been popular on demand since it's not available here in NZ), so he sent an enquiry of how much days will it be arriving, but I fear that it might not make it to our country, (And we'll have to wait & see about the situation being unfolded).

And thirdly such as South Korea is in mourning as 179 people (175 passengers & 2 crew) have been killed on a plane flying from Bangkok in Thailand in the worst domestic civil aviation disaster in 27 years so all thoughts, prayers & sincerest heartfelt condolences got to the people of South Korea & Thailand, as well as the family of the victims who lost their tragic lives, but there were just both crew managed to survive the plane wreck after they collided with a wall & bursting into flames at Muan International Airport (And police have raided the offices of Jeju Air & the airport after the tragedy had struck as they conducted search & seizure operations there by pressing charges of professional negligence resulting in death).

And finally in other news reports such as the West Bank is shutting down Al Jazeera just like Israel is cracking down on Aljazeera reporters from providing the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, in that country about the conflict being spread in that area due to a legislation that bars/suspends the Qatari news outlet from providing coverage over there.

So that is my 591st blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 15th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

P.S. And the music & political world is in mourning as both famous country music singer & actor Kris Kristofferson (The star of the Blade movies), & the former US president Jimmy Carter (Who was the 39th President of the United States) who both passed away (Kristofferson in September last year, & Jimmy Carter late last month also last year) so all thoughts, prayers & heartfelt condolences go to both of them during this most sad & difficult time, may you rest in peace (RIP).

Kris Kristofferson

1936 - 2024

& Jimmy Carter

1924 - 2024

Hey Baby/Hella Good: My 14th blog of the year 2025

Well, hey everyone, welcome to all our readers here in New Zealand & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning into my Kiwiavenger blog but first in rugby, such as the Six Nations is getting ready to begin in late January this year to start the international rugby year (Which lasts until March), with France squaring off against Wales (Who are currently struggling as they are on a 11 game winless streak, but they're now on a rescue mission to save Welsh rugby since their last win against Georgia in 2023 which was during the Rugby World Cup in the pool stages) in a Friday night fixture, then Scotland lock horns with Italy before Ireland kick off their title defence against England in a epic rematch from last year which is the key game of the round when the English won via a match winning drop goal from Filipino born Englishman Marcus Smith which was Ireland's only blemish en route to the championship as they missed out on completing both the Grand Slam & Triple Crown once again, while the Super Rugby Pacific season (Which will be the first full Super Rugby season since 2010 not to feature the Rebels after it went bust last year due to financial woes that stopped them from continuing to participate meaning that the amount of teams is cut to 11 for the start of this historic season, & boy oh boy, this promises to be one of the most exciting Super Rugby Pacific tournaments, in a long, long time) kicks off on Valentine's Day with the two former Super Rugby champions of the Crusaders (Who have taken over as favourites in one of the most cleanly anticipated seasons, in a long, long time & so it should be, as the red & blacks goes about, reclaiming the Super Rugby Pacific championship what is rightfully theirs following the signing of former Wallaby James O'Connor (Who has Kiwi parents, but he originally lived in Auckland for several years as a kid in Te Atatu, while JOC is really looking forward to play for the Crusaders after playing for the Reds until last year, with the red & blacks side thrilled to have him there of course) from the Reds according to former Crusader Justin Marshall after a dreadful season last year through a couple of ludicrous refereeing decisions throughout the course of the previous season, ultimately leading to what was best described as a moral high victory to the Crusaders main rivals of the 4 time defending Super Rugby champions, the Blues (And we can only hope that the referees can get it right this time since the red & blacks had last won a Super Rugby Pacific championship in 2023), but I fear it might be an Aussie team that could win like the Brumbies (Who are still by far, one of the most competitive Aussie Super Rugby Pacific sides against New Zealand opposition) for example according to ex-Wallaby player Drew Mitchell) facing the Hurricanes (Who'll be without one of the key men of Ruben Love as he opts to go under the knife in order to repair the injury that he suffered during pre-season training, just like All Black captain at the time of Richie McCaw in 2011 who nursed a broken foot also sustained during Super Rugby pre-season training for the Crusaders throughout the course of the Rugby World Cup at home here in New Zealand) at the Apollo Projects Stadium in Christchurch, a day before the defending champion Blues (Who'll have the services of All Black Beauden Barrett back after spending his 2nd season in Japan, to rejoin his All Black teammates like Caleb Clarke, Mark Tele'a, Rieko Ioane, Patrick Tuipulotu & others) take on the Chiefs (With World Rugby breakthrough player of the year of Wallace Sititi being one of the main players to watch & keep an eye out for alongside the star studded All Blacks of Damian McKenzie, Anton Lienert-Brown, Luke Jacobson, Tupou Vaa'i & others throughout the course of the season) in a rematch of last year's epic final at Eden Park in Auckland in one of the key matchups of the round to open the brand spanking new season in which the season culminates in a final scheduled at an unknown date in June, a month before the mid-year rugby test series (Which is going to be the last before the establishment of the World Rugby Nations Championship next year) begins with the AB's squaring off against France in a 3 match test series for a chance to avenge our demons from last year during a Northern Tour match in which we are now on a wretched 3 game losing skid against the French that began in 2021, then the Andy Farrell coached British & Irish Lions embark on a tour to Australia which includes tour matches & a 3 match test series against the next hosts of the men's Rugby World Cup in 2027 of the Wallabies & of course, the last ever Rugby Championship takes place a fortnight after the 3rd test in Sydney between Australia & the British & Irish Lions with the defending world champions the Springboks (Who were undefeated throughout the Northern tour with wins over Scotland, England & the struggling Wales side coached by Warren Gatland) kick start their title defence against the Wallabies in South Africa then the All Blacks start our quest of winning back the Rugby Championship what's rightfully ours against Los Pumas in Argentina.

And things have still gone wrong in the 2020s decade (Which is easily the worst in history since the 1930's (In which the decade ended in a world war which started with World War II) as it is more likely to be disappointing about it due to in fact that the 2020s is more likely a decade of disruption because of the global COVID pandemic first in 2020) for which has been tumultuous, torrid & turbulent decade that they're currently having (And my reaction about the 2020's decade which is easily the worst since the 1930's that I'm stunned, absolutely stunned, completely), first it was COVID & the lockdowns (We've had 5 in fact here in New Zealand (In which we led the way in terms of COVID response when Jacinda Ardern was in charge of our country according to the previous blogs that I did), including the 4th one was Delta & the 5th & last one was Omicron compared to the 1st 3 was standard), & then the 2 wars that they're still having such as that dreadful prolonged invasion since it started in 2022 on the 24th of February (For which I originally posted about it of mentioning that terrible situation, but Pops told me not to post anymore stuff about it by still managing of keeping it clean to avoid backlash about free speech as well as being offended by the country who started it that is deemed to be objectionable & sensitive) which resulted in inflation meaning that the prices have still gone up as of today during the cost of living crisis that we & the other countries that they're currently having to deal with, then the war in Gaza between Israel & Hamas forces since it started on the 7th of October in 2023 (And there has been an update as the number of casualties has been risen to 46,000 during another horrendous war in Gaza between Israeli & Hamas forces because of the situation being arisen over there at the moment, but I asked Pops on the 13th of January that I'm like Carole that I'm an anti-war activist just like her because of the situations in both that horrendous invasion that has been going since 2022 & the Gaza one between Israel & Hamas, & I totally agree with Carole that we have a terrible gut feeling about the current situations over there), & now the 2nd Trump presidency that many American people are getting fed up about president elect Donald Trump (Who is a convicted criminal & a survivor of an attempted assassination just like the late great Ronald Reagan by a suspected gun person of John Hinckley Jr (One of another one of the assassins along with the late Lee Harvey Oswald (The one who assassinated JFK (Who was the last US President to be assassinated) in 1963) who had tweeted 'Give Peace a Chance' in light of Trump who nearly got shot) who was once an film star before entering politics by becoming president) except his pro-right wing & conservative supporters who heavily favour him.

And that I thought in cricket that the Ashes between Australia & England is the most important test cricket series to start with before the establishment of the World Test Championship which is now test cricket's pinnacle event (They already have the Men's Cricket World Cup as the most important competition in the ODI format, compared to the Men's T20 World Cup as the most important in the T20 format), but now the Border-Gavaskar trophy between Australia & India has now taken over as the most followed test cricket series (And unlike in football/soccer that the Football/Soccer World Cup is the most important international football tournament in the world, compared to the Euros which is the 2nd most important football tournament in the world (And the most important in the European continent), mainly because of the Euros being the most demanding to win than the Football/Soccer World Cup which is exciting, while before Euro 2024 started that England were the favourites to win the tournament followed by France who were the 2nd favourite of winning the Euros, even with Spain who eventually triumphed failing to get a mention in the pre-tournament preview before they took over as the favourites from the English midway through the tournament, & there was once a motor racing related story that after the 7 time world champion Michael Schumacher had his first retirement from Formula One way back in 2006 that there was a new kid on the block who was 16 years his junior of Lewis Hamilton when he finally made his debut a year later also way back in 2007 (And Hamilton was 19 when Schumacher last collected the drivers world championship also way back in 2004, a year before Alonso first became the world champion also way back in 2005 when Hamilton was 20, compared to current 4 time world champion Max Verstappen (Who was 7 when Schumacher became the world champion way back in 2004, for the last time, & 8 when Alonso first became the world champion also way back in 2005) when he was still attending school as a schoolboy at 11 in his home country of the Netherlands when Hamilton first collected the title way back in 2008 while Schumacher was a young 19 year old when Hamilton's idol of the late Ayrton Senna first collected the championship long ago in 1988) + there was a rugby related story that global sporting icon Siya Kolisi (Who is by far, my favourite rugby player throughout the South African team) was 4 when the Springboks first collected the William Webb Ellis trophy way, way back in 1995 with captain at the time of Francois Pienaar hoisted the trophy aloft, then he was 12 whilst attending school when South Africa triumphed at the Rugby World Cup for the 2nd time way back in 2007 when John Smit did the same as Pienaar in '95, compared to current chopper pilot Richie McCaw when he was a young kid at 6 when David Kirk lifted the trophy in front of a packed crowd at Eden Park in Auckland when the AB's went on to win the inaugural Rugby World Cup long ago in 1987, & also that triple America's Cup winning skipper of Peter Burling (The bloke from Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty province who attended Tauranga Boys High along with Sam Cane & Kane Williamson) who was 4 when Team New Zealand won the Auld Mug for the first time in San Diego, California, United States also way, way back in 1995 against Young America led by Dennis Conner & his Stars & Stripes crew according to the previous blogs that I did, then he was 9 when TNZ successfully defended on home waters in Auckland 2000 against the Prada Challenge of Italy who would gone on to beat America One led by former Il Moro de Venezia skipper Paul Cayard in the Louis Vuitton Cup challenger series in which the 30th America's Cup was the first in history without involvement from the US, & finally onto the cricket stuff that Pat Cummins was 6 as he attended school when Australia won their 2nd men's Cricket World Cup championship in England way, way back in 1999, then he was 9 still attending school when the Aussie cricket team retained it way back in 2003 & 13 when he remained going to school where the Aussies had a successful threepeat also way back in 2007.

And finally I have listed my biological aunty Cathey Middelplaats as my honorary mum compared to Paige Ahearn (My cousin) who is still my honorary sister just like Kelsey Nichols, then Paige's daughter Norah (My first cuzzie once removed) could even be my honorary niece as well (But she could even be my god daughter since Sherylle-Anne who used to be my god cousin), but I told Dad that I would like to still see them one day since I decided to move on from the 3 after originally being planned to go to Wellington with Pops in January this year (Well I wanted to go in September this year before Aunty Tan & Rejean gets here next summer, but only if the weather is decent as Pops told me before on the 2nd of February during our conversation with Ben who came back here to New Zealand before heading back to the Philippines for his main job there) but somehow, I dropped out of it as well as me calling time going on holidays & trips citing fears of Pops old age & Wellington being too far away from here in Whanganui, & especially the cost of living crisis in regards of inflation mainly due to travel costs.

So that is my 590th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 14th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.

Look Who's Perfect Now/Bathwater/Ex-Girlfriend/Sweet Disposition: My 13th blog of the year 2025

Well, s'up y'all, welcome to all our readers here in New Zealand & around the world, I'm Whetu Ngapo & you're tuning into my Kiwiavenger blog but first that I still fondly remember about the biggest upset in sporting history such as the Miracle on Ice according to the previous blog that I did in 2021 & then 2 years later in 2023 about the strictly amateur US side would gone on to defeat the fully professional Soviet Union team during the Lake Placid Winter Games ice hockey game in 1980 (That was 11 years before I was born) when Al Michaels the future gridiron commentator who once commentated an ice hockey game, said that famous line after the Americans were triumphant against the Soviets "Do you believe in Miracles!" just before the United States won the gold medal after beating Finland in their last game, compared to James 'Buster' Douglas causing the biggest boil over in boxing over his historic win over the heavyweight champion of the world of 'Iron' Mike Tyson in Tokyo, Japan long ago in 1990 during a world heavyweight bout 23 days after Douglas's mum had passed away & also the famous line said by the then PM of Australia Bob Hawke that "Any boss who fires anyone for not turning up today is a backside" following Australia's historic upset victory against the United States (Who held on to the Auld Mug for so long as they had held the longest active winning streak in sports in which they held the trophy for 132 years) during the America's Cup (The oldest prize in international sport) on the waters of Newport, Rhode Island in America long ago in 1983 (That was 4 years before the Aussies reign had come to an end when Dennis Conner & his Stars & Stripes crew took the Auld Mug back what's rightfully theirs, & held on until New Zealand snatched it from the Americans way, way back in 1995 before losing it to Switzerland way back in 2003 as they took the America's Cup to Europe for the 1st time, & then all of a sudden that the Swiss got beaten by the Americans back in 2010, & held on until Team New Zealand returned to its former glory in which we dominated the last 3 America's Cups such as the one in Bermuda also back in 2017 against the Jimmy Spithill led Oracle Team USA to make amends of avenging our demons of San Fran in 2013 in which the Americans dominated after being 8 - 1 down, in one of the greatest comebacks of all time in the history of the Auld Mug billed as the San Francisco miracle, then on home waters in Auckland in 2021 which was during the COVID pandemic at the time against Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli led by Spithill (Who was in his final ever America's Cup match by appearing 4 in a row (His first was way back in 2010, then 2013, 2017 & his last in 2021) before being on the losing side against Great Britain in Barcelona in the Louis Vuitton Cup final last year) & Francesco Bruni & then, in Barcelona last year against the champions of the Louis Vuitton Cup of INEOS Britannia (Who appeared in their first America's Cup challenge for Britain since 1964 in which they missed out convincingly but emphatically against the Americans) led by both Sir Ben Ainslie & Tokyo Summer Games gold medalist Dylan Fletcher in we successfully won the Auld Mug 3 times in a row in modern day history).

Meanwhile that there's news in the US as the 2nd Trump presidency could even be worse after the 1st Trump presidency was bad before losing to Joe Biden in 2020 therefore missing out on remaining in power, then he returned to power when he defeated Kamala Harris in an election last year with many Americans except the pro-right wing conservative people are still grizzling about Trump (Who I label him as a damn animal in the process because of him having a reputation as by far, the worst politician as well as the most corrupt, woke leader in the world (And yeah, stupid Trump! What an idiot!) but the South African born American billionaire, founder of Tesla & owner as well as CEO of the social media platform X, Elon Musk is in fact a massive Trump supporter (Just like the Head of UFC Dana White who recently joined Meta/Facebook as a board member, with the social media platform set to prohibit fact checking in order to moderate it just like the Elon Musk (Who is betrayed by Trump supporters think that he is a anti-MAGA type of person) owned social media platform X which is always bad stuff like free speech, so they're trying to crack it down like harmful content being posted in the process according to its CEO Mark Zuckerberg (Another one of Trump's close allies & associates), but he's ineligible to become the president of the United States (But the loophole states that to become president of the United States, you'll have to be born there unlike Barack Obama being born in Kenya that resulted in a backlash, but his birth certificate states that he was clearly born in Honolulu, Hawaii in the United States), but life's messed up in America as of today because of Trump who is a dumb individual human being for which I'm an anti-MAGA type of person) by criticizing him in the process (Especially me in which I always criticize & grizzle about Trump a whole lot) in which he became the first convicted criminal to be elected president of the United States (And Aunty Tan as well as Rejean are heading to Florida in America to see Rej's sis Francine who lives over there near the heavily secure official private Trump family residence at Mar-el-Lago in which there is US Secret Service agents everywhere on all sides, left, right & center, especially if the President is there, on a grueling trip), while there is reports that Trump is trying to make Canada as the 51st state as he makes good to annex that country that can be found on the US Constitution that he will not use military force to invade the country, amid speculation that outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has shut down reporters where it's not going to happen as he said about Trump's rhetoric on 51st state 'flattering' but a 'non-starter' (And Aunty Tan could be worried along with Rejean if the United States intend to start an invasion on Canada as well as Greenland).

And in Formula One news that many predicted that the 4 time defending world champion Max Verstappen (Who is on a suspension for accumulating penalty points after the stewards had handed him a time penalty for allegedly causing a pile-up on McLaren's Oscar Piastri during the opening lap of the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year which was won by Lando Norris who gifted McLaren their first constructors championship crown in the 21st century in which they managed to beat their rivals Ferrari with ease, & since 1998 where the iconic British racing icon last triumphed, but while I say that the FIA are desperately needing to introduce a loophole regarding to lunging (Which is F1's cousin of IndyCar's dragon/snake move which is prohibited now since last year with tougher/harsher penalties will be handed out if they do that illegally, just like Josef Newgarden blatantly did at the 2023 Indy 500 in which he won when he defended his position against the 2022 winner Marcus Ericsson prior to the rule change) in which Verstappen always does it in a malicious way towards Norris during separate Grand Prix races in both the United States & Mexico last year, that it should be outlawed from Formula One altogether in order to make it fair, positive close racing, & assist Lando's chances of finally becoming champion of the world for the first time this year, just like Fernando Alonso who at last, became the world champion for the first time as he ended the dominant reign of Michael Schumacher by bringing in a raft of tweaks to the rules 20 years ago way back in 2005 such as abolishing tyre changes during pit stops which lasted just the one entire season, until they restored them by bringing it back to the rulebook a year later also way back in 2006, & also in 2018 that a crack down on winglets on the halo before the Spanish Grand Prix took place has ended Sebastian Vettel & Ferrari's chances of world championship glory during mid-season which helped Lewis Hamilton & Mercedes who eventually triumphed of securing a double title (And also Vettel's quest of winning his 5th world championship took a hit where he was beached in the gravel trap during his home Grand Prix which had gone in the way of Hamilton) whose title reign as well as his invincibility, might come to a possible end since McLaren's Norris has taken over from him as the clear favourite to secure a maiden F1 championship this year according of the bookmakers (Unlike the original favourite of winning the Auld Mug of Alinghi Red Bull Racing who got eliminated in the hands of INEOS Britannia in the Louis Vuitton Cup semi in Barcelona, Spain that handed Emirates Team New Zealand to take over as the favourite to defend the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup (And there was a football related story that France, Germany, Italy & Spain are the 4 European nations out of 10 (With the Soviet Union (Way, way long ago in 1960), Czechoslovakia (Then the Czech Republic & now Czechia who won it way long ago in 1976), the Netherlands (Long ago in 1988), Denmark (Way, way back in 1992), Greece (Way back in 2004) & Portugal (Back in 2016 led by the most glamourous footballer/soccer player in the world who currently plays for Al Ahly competing in the Saudi Arabian league where he is the skipper, Cristiano Ronaldo) being the other champions of the Euros) that have won both the Football/Soccer World Cup (In which France have won it twice long ago in 1984 & also way back in 2000 in the Euros, & also way, way back in 1998 & also back in 2018 in the Football/Soccer World Cup, then Germany won it 4 times in 1954, 1974, way, way back in 1990 & back in 2014 in the Football/Soccer World Cup & won it 3 times in 1972, 1980 & also way, way back in 1996 in the Euros, then Italy have won the Football/Soccer World Cup 4 times just like the Germans in 1934, 1938, 1982 & their last one to date was way back in 2006, compared to Spain who just won it once also back in 2010) & the Euros (The Italians triumphed twice in both 1968 & 2020 which was played in 2021 due to COVID, while the Spaniards won it a record 4 times in 1964, also way back in 2008, back in 2012 & last year in which they surpassed Germany as the most successful in the European continent), & become the 11th British driver to do so after the late Mike Hawthorn (1958), the late great Graham Hill twice (Way, way long ago in both 1962 & 1968), also the late great Jim Clark twice (Also way, way long ago in also both 1963 & 1965), the late great John Surtees (Way, way long ago in 1964), Sir Jackie Stewart 3 times (Also way, way long ago in 1969, way long ago in 1971 & also way long ago 1973), the late James Hunt (Way long ago in 1976), Nigel Mansell (Way, way back in 1992), the late Graham's son Damon Hill (Also way, way back in 1996), Lewis Hamilton (Who was Britain's last ever Formula One world champion & is currently racing for Ferrari now alongside Monaco's Charles Leclerc as he heads into a new chapter, just like Michael Schumacher did when he first came over to Ferrari way, way back in 1996 after spending 5 seasons with Benetton in which he won both world drivers titles between them while Sebastian Vettel joined Ferrari back in 2015 after spending 6 seasons with Red Bull in which he won 4 world championships between them, but was unable to rediscover glory during his time with the Italian racing icon & departed in 2020 when he joined Aston Martin in 2021 a year before he left Formula One, & Hamilton in which he went to Mercedes-AMG from McLaren (The team that he raced from way back in 2007 until also back in 2012) back in 2013, & the rest was history when he won 6 drivers world championships between them) 7 times (Way back in 2008, also back in 2014-15 & back in 2017-20), & Jenson Button (Also way back in 2009).

And finally in cricket news such as the Black Caps dominate the 1st T20 international as they won against Sri Lanka by 8 runs in front of a sell-out crowd at Bay Oval in Tauranga (But there has been an update as New Zealand clinch the T20 series against Sri Lanka after dominating the 2nd T20 international before Sri Lanka had denied New Zealand's quest of completing a stunning clean sweep as they had their turn of dominating the 3rd T20I in Nelson, even before the Black Caps won the ODI series 2 - 1 just like in the T20 series that took place (And I'm gutted that we lost the 3rd ODI in Auckland (Which is shades of Nelson in the 3rd T20I (And it's was in 2023 that the T20 format celebrated its 20th anniversary when it first came into life here & changed the game with its high-energy format in which the Aussies beat us in the first match of the new men's international format at Eden Park in Auckland that was inspired by Cricket Max in which the late Martin Crowe was the brainchild of the format to go along with ODI (50 overs) & Tests (5 days) in which the format lasts 20 overs, but bowlers would have to require to bowl the allocated 4 overs while 5 bowlers can be used to complete the full 20 & there has been the rise of franchise cricket with cricket leagues around the world dominate the format such as the IPL league in India which started way back in 2008, then the BBL in Australia back in 2011 & the CPL in the West Indies also back in 2013) after dominating the 1st 2 ODIs to clinch the series), but news coming straight out of the Boxing Day test in Melbourne as Australia (Currently led by bowler Pat Cummins who had their young 19 year old Sam Konstas (Who was called up to the squad to replace the out of form Nathan McSweeney) making his test debut by opening the batting while bowler Scott Boland has replaced the injured Josh Hazelwood (Who could potentially be ruled out of the tour to Sri Lanka along with skipper Pat Cummins who'll sit out the entire tour mainly due to his workload in this cricket season as well as possibly both the Champions Trophy in Pakistan & the UAE, & the upcoming IPL season for RC Bengaluru) according to the playing XI which was revealed at the toss by Cummins) are one hand on the Border-Gavaskar trophy in the aftermath of their 184 run win against India (Who for I was rooting for the entirety of the Boxing Day test since I support 3 teams such as New Zealand & whoever is playing against Australia & South Africa now, but I'm absolutely gutted that the Indians lost meaning that the BGT is on the line when they go to Sydney at the SCG during the New Years test) with Steve Smith scoring a ton during the first Aussie innings, then Nitish Kumar Reddy (Who had his Dad there witnessing his son of scoring his maiden test ton) replied with a century also during the 1st Indian innings, but then the Aussies turned it around with Yashasvi Jaiswal (Who dropped 3 catches during the 2nd Australian innings of the test, then their star Indian bowler Jasprit Bumrah thought that he got a 5 wicket haul when he had Nathan Lyon out caught, but the wicket didn't count because of a no ball being signaled by the umpire for overstepping (Real drama there) getting out caught behind after originally being given not out which was the turning point (Game changer) of the test, then the LB decision that was originally being given not out which was reviewed by the DRS (Decision review system) decided the outcome of the test which resulted victory as well as joy & relief for Australia (Who have 3 tests in hand against India in Sydney, in an effort of securing a place in the World Test Championship final again at Lord's in London against South Africa who became the first side to qualify for the final of the WTC following their incredible victory against Pakistan who the South Africans thought that they're out of it after not sending an A team to New Zealand against the Black Caps last year by sending a B or C team instead with much of their frontline players unavailable due to their commitments in South Africa's main T20 cricket league competition called SA20 in which they played for the inaugural Tangiwai Trophy), then they go to Sri Lanka for both tests) with the most followed test series being at stake at the Sydney Cricket Ground for the pink test on the 3rd to the 7th of January (And Australia have made one change with all-rounder Beau Webster replacing Mitch Marsh who had to be withdrawn due to a lack of form, in a bid for BGT glory for the first time since 2015 (And they need either a victory or a draw to clinch a spot against South Africa at the Lord's Cricket Ground located in London, England, in the WTC final in June this year, while the Indians need to win in order to retain cricket's most followed test series), while in the Indian camp that there is a rift (Or tensions should I say) between the coach in the test format of Gautam Gambhir & captain Rohit Sharma amid speculation that I heard about the Indian skipper might even quit the test side before the 5th test with Shubman Gill likely to take Rohit's place in the playing XI & have the best bowler in the world of Jasprit Bumrah as captain just like in the 1st test in Perth which resulted victory for India), but the Aussies have dominated international cricket since 2023 such as winning the World Test Championship for the first time, ironically against India during the final at the Oval in London, England, UK, then they retained the most recent Ashes series against England despite the series ended in a draw, before ending an 8 year wait of winning the men's Cricket World Cup also ironically against the previous hosts India in the final in front of the pro-Indian crowd at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, & finally that there is only one piece of the puzzle that the Aussies were missing, & that is the Border-Gavaskar trophy that they last held also back in 2017, in which India have dominated the last 4 series, & the Aussies are gunning to end the Indians reign as holders once, & for all.

So that is my 589th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 13th of this year, viva Ukraine & Palestine.