A Rebellious Hellraiser: My 600th blog special (AKA my 24th blog of the year 2025)

Well, welcome to all of our readers here in New Zealand & around the world, I'm Whetu here & you're tuning into my Kiwiavenger blog (And welcome to my 600th special, but it has been 13 years since I started blogging back in 2012 where it was my first one, but now here I am doing my 600th this year), but first as February 24th this year marks 3 years since that brutal invasion began in which I have not fully mentioned since Pops told me not to post stuff on my blogs by still keeping it clean to avoid being deemed objectionable & sensitive to the country who started it, even though with US President Donald Trump is going to be the one that'll stop that dreadful war that has been going since 2022 (And he's not going to since the United States has switched sides by turning into the country who started it, but I heard about the latest update is that about the Ukrainian president got into an argument with US President Donald Trump (Who the British PM Keir Starmer labelled him as by far, a laughing stock worldwide amid a tariff debacle, therefore Trump (Whom he labelled the United States as a disaster & a flop as he blasts 'open borders' & 'weak leadership' in the aftermath of a pair of attacks in New Orleans & Las Vegas) has been humiliated once more on the world stage about himself with foolish statements ill-considered ideas as he made ridiculous comments about Democrats & the FBI following deadly mishaps sent shockwaves in the US following the French president Emmanuel Macron, & I mean, that is embarrassing & disgraceful, nonetheless (And Trump should never serve his third term as President of the United States, this is ridiculous! Come on!) by hurling abuse at him (I don't know that Volodymyr Zelensky had illegally used foul language towards Trump (Who sides with that lunatic who started that unprovoked invasion) during a heated argument that escalated upon which was a shouting match before he got thrown out at the White House by the US Secret Service who escorted Zelensky outta here for showing dissent towards the US President (And why the hell did the US President's security want to boot the Ukrainian president out of the White House like that by asking him to leave? Because of that Zelensky who showed signs of anger by getting aggressive as he misbehaved like a person who has TS & was having a bit of anxiety in front of Trump, if you know what I mean,).

And secondly in the Six Nations news department so here are the results that they had in round 3 of northern hemisphere's biggest rugby competition around:

Ireland 27 - 18 Wales

England 16 - 15 Scotland

& Italy 24 - 73 France

And continuing onto the rugby stuff in Super Rugby Pacific as here are the results that they had in round 2 of the southern hemisphere's biggest club rugby competition around:

Chiefs 49 - 24 Crusaders

Queensland Reds 56 - 36 Moana Pasifika

Hurricanes 38 - 34 Fijian Drua

Highlanders 29 - 21 Blues

& ACT Brumbies 42 - 45 Western Force

Bye: NSW Waratahs

And thirdly in the gaming department as Jonah Lomu Rugby had arguably by far, had the best commentary in the video game so far compared to other rugby games according to Dad who alluded to me as revealed on a comment that he made on the 23rd of February, including digging like a demented mole there according to one of the announcers of the late Bill McLaren while my fave commentary line would have to be the Ward 4 one where I always say the famous quote every time a player does a big thumping tackle during a rugby game shown on TV as Bill would say "Mercy me, that could've put him in Ward 4!", then one of the English rugby announcers of former rugby player as well as ex-president of World Rugby (And grandfather of current player Josh), Bill Beaumont responding "I hope not Bill, that's a maternity ward", but there was once a story about the late Jonah Lomu that he endured a tragic life as a professional sportsman as he escaped the clutches of gang violence when he was young just like 2023 men's Rugby World Cup winning Springbok player of Canan Moodie that he went to Wesley College to establish himself of learning the game of rugby, & he did, then after he left school that he signed a NPC contract with Counties Manukau where he was a relatively unknown at the time before making the AB's at 19 years of age for the 2 match test series against France way, way back in 1994, then he was dropped from the test side until he was impressed by the selectors during a North-South game in 1995 to make the men's Rugby World Cup squad for New Zealand before scoring his first 2 tries against Ireland in a pool game before beating both Wales & Japan (In which Lomu didn't play) in a record comprehensive score, then embarrassed Scotland in the quarterfinal scoring a try, then something happened in the semifinal as he would race in to score four tries, including running over the top of Mike Catt by trampling him, all the way to the try line in one of the men's RWC most iconic moments (Then we narrowly missed out against the Springboks (The team that Lomu had never ever scored a try against throughout his entire career) in the final therefore uniting the host country under the late president of Nelson Mandela who was in charge as I mentioned in my previous blogs), a year before he had a decent Super 12 for the Blues during the inaugural season in which they triumphed, then a year later in 1997 that he was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome which is a rare & serious kidney disorder which kept him out of the game, before a year later that he made a comeback to the sport (Although his appearances for the Blues had been limited due to chronic health issues) as he secured a gold medal in rugby sevens at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, then in 1999 (He played just the one season for the Chiefs) which came around during the World Cup as he scored tries against Tonga, England & Italy in the pools, then Scotland in the quarters before eventually falling short against France in the semi despite a double from him, then in 2000 (The year that he joined the Hurricanes until he left in 2003) as he scored the winning try against the defending world champions at the time of the Wallabies in Sydney in front of a world record crowd in Sydney during a Bledisloe test, then he won an NPC crown with Wellington in which he joined from Counties Manukau where he played the likes of Tana Umaga, Christian Cullen, Rodney So'oialo & the late Jerry 'JC' Collins in which the 4 of them were great players, then a year later that he was a men's Rugby Sevens World Cup winning player when the All Blacks Sevens triumphed in La Plata in Argentina when he got called up as an injury replacement for his good mate on & off the field of Eric 'Rushy' Rush, a year before his international rugby career had ended in which the Wales test, was his 63rd & last game (His last test try was against England in which he crossed over for his 2nd try (His 37th of his career) after scoring the 1st which was his penultimate of his test career), then 13 years later, he passed away due to a cardiac arrest relating to his kidney disease that he had been haunted throughout his life (And Lomu to me was one of rugby's greatest ever players of all time so he was like a complete package to start with if not one of the best operators & iconic legends of the sport in which he was established as the first true global superstar of rugby (But no other rugby players would emulate them of course, but Lomu (Who terrorised his opponents trying to tackle him every time he got the ball left, right & centre as well as his skills that he endured such as scoring tries, line breaks, big tackles, fends & bump offs but he was big for his size because mainly he was a power winger just like the late Inga Tuigamala & now Caleb Clarke, but boy he can run) was once my rugby idol since I was mainly a Michael Schumacher (The highly controversial German Formula One legend who was a multiple world champion just like Britain's Lewis Hamilton) fanboy back then according to the previous blogs that I did), but they recently remade a rugby computer game called Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge 4 as a tribute to the late humble man to rival against Rugby 25 which performed poorly in terms of the gameplay), but I have revealed a news report that he was broke mainly due to financial problems meaning that Lomu (Who is survived by his wife Nadene & his 2 sons of Brayley & Dhyreille (His middle name is Jonah which is named after his famous father while his nickname is 'Frenchie' due to him being born in France) who wished to play for a Six Nations team of France because he was born there whilst his famous dad spent time playing for Marseille therefore due to his eligibility criteria) ran out of money just right before he passed away at age 40 back in 2015 (The year that the All Blacks last triumphed at a men's Rugby World Cup just coming up to a decade ago by retaining it after our victory in 2011, right before the Springboks had their turn of dominating the last 2 Rugby World Cups in also back in 2019 in Japan & the most recent one in 2023 in France in which they became the most successful with 4 (And every time they appeared in the final, is that South Africa would always going to win, but at least our own Emirates Team New Zealand had dominated the last 3 America's Cups such as the one in Bermuda in 2017 (Once again! The America's Cup is, New Zealand's Cup!) where we emulated our 1995 triumph in San Diego, then Auckland 2021 where COVID had been around (The America's Cup, remains, New Zealand's Cup!), in a repeat of the successful 2000 defence & last year in Barcelona, Spain that we produced a Mediterranean masterclass (The threepeat is complete! And Emirates Team New Zealand, win, the Louis Vuitton 37th America's Cup!) to finally win 3 America's Cups in a row in modern history), especially the Bomb squad that made them the difference of winning the World Cup which is their main WMD (Weapons of mass destruction) in order to terrorise opponents as I also mentioned in my previous blogs last year (And the Springboks employing the Bomb squad, is like La Furia Roja doing their tiki-taka that they once had to win both Euros in 2008 & 2012, & a single Football/Soccer men's World Cup in 2010 for the Spain men's national football team), but the South Africans (Who became just the 2nd side to defend the men's Rugby World Cup in 2023 after our own All Blacks did it back in 2015) have always been tough to beat in rugby against from our NZ point of view according to the comment that Pops alluded to me on the 20th of March this year (Compared to in the sailing that Team New Zealand who beat the Americans (Who ran with the all-Aussie crew) first, then the Italians (With an Aussie helmsman) next time round followed by the British the last time we raced against (And at least our Taihoro boat was reliable last year, compared to NZL 82 in 2003 in which was unreliable, therefore we suffered our loyal defeat in the hands of the Swiss syndicate of Alinghi which lured key Team New Zealand personnel prior to the Cup which was the most controversial ever according to the previous blog that I did, statistically speaking).

And finally in the Champions Trophy cricket as New Zealand got off to a flying start against hosts Pakistan at National Stadium in Karachi with a 60-run victory all thanks to a ton scored by Tom Latham who posted 118 not out & did get player of the game openers while Black Caps opening batter Will Young got a century as he scored 107 (And there has been an update as the Black Caps march on to the semis of the Champions Trophy following our win against Bangladesh for which I thought was a tough side to start with, but our next match is against India (Who haven't got Jasprit Bumrah who is by far the best bowler in world cricket through injury, but they have a danger man in the Indian pace attack of Mohammed Shami (Which is going to be a gigantic problem for the Black Caps (Who are still sweating on the fitness of the injured 'Chinny' Ravindra (The one who got a ton against Bangladesh) who hasn't played since he badly hurt his eye whilst attempting to make a catch during the Tri-Series match), especially our batters point of view facing him) who won of course in which we did not get the result after the Indian spinners who were overwhelmingly dominant from start to finish who had embarrassed our batters in which we struggled to contain against even though we had encountered the toughest of matches to start with, therefore we avoided Australia by squaring off against South Africa in the semi instead (And are we reminiscing about 10 years ago that Grant 'Jav' Elliott's heroics with the bat which put us through to our historic first ever men's Cricket World Cup final following our victory in the semi against Elliott's country of birth of South Africa who posted a bigger score? But it became low when rain shortened the innings, especially the target score (And I remember that now that it would be impossible to win should rain had not happen, it would've been a bigger score anyway) while India lock horns with the Aussies in the 1st semifinal of the Champions Trophy taking place in Dubai (And facing off against South Africa (Who haven't been to a final since 1998 during the inaugural competition that they've won) could even be tougher than India (Who are seeking their 3rd straight appearance in the final (A win against England back in 2013, then a loss against their rivals Pakistan also back in 2017) in which we haven't reached a final since 2009 (In which the last time Australia had contested a Champions Trophy final in which they were successful against us to claim the white jacket) who returned from injury when he missed the Border-Gavaskar series which resulted in a series win for Australia, but they still have the most followed cricketer in the world of Virat Kohli (Just like both Kapil Dev first, then Sachin Tendulkar who were both India's iconic cricket legends before Kohli) who retired from the T20 format last year when his country triumphed for the 2nd time in the men's T20 World Cup against South Africa in the final at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, therefore ending a long overdue wait of winning ICC sanctioned tournaments after 11 years where they became title winners of the Champions Trophy 2 years after winning their 2nd men's Cricket World Cup back in 2011 (That was 4 years after winning the inaugural men's T20 World Cup way back in 2007), to add to their title long ago in 1983) in Dubai, UAE which is going to be a much tougher assignment than both the host nation Pakistan & Bangladesh).

So that is my 600th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 24th of this year, viva Ukraine (On behalf of myself, bye for now).

P.S. And there has been an update in the rugby department as here are the results that they had in round 3 of the southern hemisphere's biggest club rugby competition around:

Moana Pasifika 29 - 31 Highlanders

NSW Waratahs 29 - 24 Fijian Drua

Chiefs 49 - 24 ACT Brumbies

Hurricanes 29 - 33 Blues

& Western Force 24 - 28 Queensland Reds

Bye: Crusaders

The Fly/Elevation: My 23rd blog of the year 2025

Well, hi & welcome back to another blog, but welcome to all of our readers here in New Zealand & around the world, I'm Whetu here & you're tuning into my Kiwiavenger blog (And a shoutout to Carole (Who I first met her back in 2017, a year before she would move here to Whanganui also way back in 2018 (That was 2 years before COVID in 2020 where they once had the pandemic), & she has been here since) for her belated 73rd birthday on the 17th of June this month, so best wishes but we've already headed to Mint Cafe like yesterday for lunch 3 days after her actual birthday), but first in there was once a motor racing related story as 2001 wasn't even a great year in terms of motorsport standards such as the tragic passing of NASCAR racer Dale Earnhardt Sr (AKA the Intimidator who was Dale Jr's dad & was a champion long ago in 1980, 1986-87, 1990-91 & 1993-94 as well as a Daytona 500 winner way, way back in 1998 as well as he won 76 NASCAR races, his last was in Talladega way back in 2000) in Daytona Beach, Florida during the Great American race of the Daytona 500 (The pinnacle event of the NASCAR Cup Series) earlier in the year in which the HANS device had been mandated following the tragedy, then twice CART Champ Car champion from 1997-98 of Italian Alessandro 'Alex' Zanardi (Who had to win gold in the hand cycling event in London during the Paralympic Games back in 2012) had lost both limbs that ended his open wheel racing career in a huge accident during a CART race in Lausitzring, Germany which took place after the 9/11 tragedy (Even though with the 2001 United States Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course marked the first time an major international sporting event had to be held within American boundaries in the aftermath of the tragic events of September 11th according to the Grand Prix circuits book that I bought from the Warehouse in Palmerston North back in 2017 in which they gave them their seal of approval, compared to 2005 where it was a farce 20 years ago where the constructors ran with Michelin tyres opted to pull out following an accident by Ralf Schumacher (The one who got injured before Brazilian Ricardo Zonta drafted in as replacement for the injured Ralf Schumacher before all hell had broken loose as Zonta was one of the 14 runners alongside the eventual champion Fernando Alonso (Who was a Renault driver at the time) & one of the championship contenders of McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen withdrew as 6 cars lined up on the grid were racing just like in the old Gran Turismo games from the 1st one until the 4th, & it was during the Grand Prix that Michael Schumacher won the most controversial race in F1 history which was an unpopular victory for the multiple world champion while one of his teammates of Rubens Barrichello finished in 2nd ahead of a Jordan driver of Portugal's Tiago Monteiro who was the only driver of his country to appear on the podium as he celebrated with a champagne spray in the aftermath of Michael & Barrichello leaving the podium early much to the disapproval of the race fans who were supporters of the constructors who ran with Michelin tyres such as Renault (Currently Alpine), McLaren, Toyota (Who departed after the 2009 season), Williams, BAR (Now Mercedes-AMG), Red Bull & Sauber (Kick Sauber as of today) in the Toyota during Friday practice by allowing the constructors fitted with Bridgestone tyres ran the whole 73 lap race meaning that the crowd were stunned by giving them raspberries according to the story that I did on my blog in 2023), & then the Champ Car movie called Driven starring Sylvester 'Sly' Stallone (AKA that Rambo & Rocky Balboa guy who played that legendary race car driver as well as former champion of Joe Tanto who tempted to come out of retirement to help by mentoring a young hotshot rookie named Jimmy Bly (Played by American actor Kip Perdue) in order to beat Beau Brandenburg (With German film star Til Schweiger portraying the role of him) of winning the championship, just like British racing legend who was the 1992 Formula One world champion of Nigel 'Nige the Lion' Mansell who beat his main challenger of 2 time Indy 500 winner who is also a motor racing legend of Brazil's Emerson Fittipaldi (The man who was a twice Formula One world champion way long ago in 1972 (In which he claimed the then record as the youngest driver to achieve the feat before Spain's Fernando Alonso took over 2 decades ago) & 1974 who dominated the Indy 500 twice long ago in 1989 then way, way back in 1993 in which he beat Mansell who embarrassedly got beaten by Fittipaldi (Who had to retire in 1996 due to injuries sustained in an accident) during the restart in which he struggled) did way, way back in 1993 where he won the IndyCar title as well as the rookie of the year honours, followed by a Colombian driver who was a future twice Indy 500 winning driver of Juan Pablo 'JPM' Montoya also way, way back in 1999 who did the same as Mansell, win the championship when he outperformed his main challenger of future 4 time IndyCar champion & twice Indy 500 winner just like Montoya, British driver Dario Franchitti (Whose career ended with serious injuries sustained in a wreck in an Indycar race on the streets of Houston back in 2013), then become the best performing rookie for the entire season) that came out in cinemas which was considered the worst Hollywood sports movies ever made, mainly because of the use of computer generated imagery (CGI), but they're about to release the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt (Fight Club, Troy, Mr & Mrs Smith) & featuring Spanish actor Javier Bardem (3:10 to Yuma, Skyfall) which is due in cinemas this month in June this year & the F1 movie is about a ageing former driver named Sonny Hayes who competes in IMSA as he mentors a young gun named Joshua 'Noah' Pierce (Played by British actor Damson Idris) who is willing to win the Formula 1 World Championship crown in a backmarker team called APX GP Team which is the 11th team on the F1 grid & it is set during the 2023 season, but the plot is similar to Driven & other motor racing related movies such as the 1990 NASCAR movie starring Tom Cruise (Of both Top Gun & Mission Impossible fame), Days of Thunder as well as the 1970's Formula One film about the Hunt-Lauda rivalry called Rush that came out in 2013 (And I've seen the movie like twice before which features the likes of Aussie Chris Hemsworth (The one who played the Norse god of thunder of Thor in the Marvel comics movies such as both Thor & the Avengers) who played the famous racer of the late James Hunt & the movie that came out in 2023 that I've got on Blu-ray, but never seen the whole movie of it of Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story which is about Jann Mardenborough's pathway from gamer to racer.

And secondly in the cricket that the history of the Champions Trophy (For which I label that tournament as a mini-World Cup with the top 8 teams from the previous men's World Cup, qualify for the Champions Trophy) cricket takes it all back to 1998 where South Africa (Who were fresh off from their Commonwealth Games gold medal triumph in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia) triumphed in Bangladesh (Who were once a football playing country until they converted it to cricket as their main popular sport there in the country) to claim their one & only major international cricket tournament, then our own Black Caps of New Zealand went on to become champions of a limited overs tournament for the 1st & only time following our victory against India (Who had Sourav Ganguly scoring a ton during the 1st Indian innings) in Kenya with Chris 'Cairnsy' Cairns (Son of famous cricketer Lance) also scoring an unbeaten century that proved to be the game changer in which he had been awarded player of the game honours by getting the Knockout Trophy final MVP (Most valuable player), but the player of the tournament went to English born who plays for New Zealand of batter Roger Twose (Who after the tournament had decided to move on from representing his adopted country a year later due to a form slump), then fast forward to 2002 where India (Who beat South Africa who should've won in the semi, but a hamstring injury by batter Herschelle Gibbs had derailed South Africa's chances of making the final according to the comment I remember from former South African bowler Shaun 'Polly' Pollock) & hosts at the time of Sri Lanka shared the trophy apiece as co-champions after the final as well as the reserve day got rained out but abandoned without a ball being bowled before the West Indies went on to win the tournament way back in 2004 against hosts at the time of England in the final, then Australia won in 2006 against the defending champions at the time of the West Indies in the final when the tournament was held in India before retaining it in 2009 in South Africa against us (Who had before the final that our own skipper at the time of Daniel 'Dan' Vettori who had to pull out at the last minute which proved to be the turning point even though with the Aussies thinking that they have a better chance of becoming the first & only side to retain the Champions Trophy also according to the comment that I literally remember from former player Shane 'Watto' Watson, & they successfully did to claim the white jacket which is awarded to the winning players of the winning team) in the final in South Africa, then 4 years later in 2013 that hosts at the time of England (Who had their best chance of winning the Champions Trophy which could've gone either way) made their 2nd appearance of a Champions Trophy final, in which they fell short against India who prevailed in the final which was reduced to 20 overs a side because of the rain had fallen at Edgbaston in Birmingham before 4 years later in 2017 where Pakistan (Hosts & defending champions of this year's tournament who won their first major cricket tournament in the ODI format since 1992 (And we already heard that story before according to the previous blogs that I did) eventually triumphed over arch-rivals India (Whose chances of retaining the Champions Trophy proved costly due to a no ball by Jasprit Bumrah who thought he got a wicket of Zaman who eventually survived when he eventually posted 114 which proved to be the winning knock), but there has been an update in the cricket as the Black Caps win the Tri-Series against Pakistan in the final which was marred by a bizarre incident overshadowing Pakistan's last match prior to the mini-World Cup tournament which has taken a dramatic turn when a black cat that stormed onto the field causing chaos, therefore setting the tone before both sides square off once more, in the opening match of the tournament, but I fear it might be an India-South Africa final (Although Australia might not make the semis due to their 3 frontline seamers unavailable such as Mitchell Starc (Who withdrew through personal reasons), Josh Hazelwood (Who is currently out with an injury) & regular captain Pat Cummins (Who is injured just like Hazelwood as Steve Smith assumes the captaincy duties for the whole tournament) according to former South African cricketer JP Duminy, just like last year at the men's T20 World Cup when Suryakumar Yadav took a catch during the last over of the T20 international game that won them the final of course at Kensington Oval in Georgetown, Barbados, in the West Indies that was questionable which broke South African hearts) in the final at the Oval in London courtesy of a ton by Zaman where the tournament was held in England again.

And thirdly in the rugby as the new season of Super Rugby Pacific gets underway with the Crusaders bid of completing the greatest sporting comeback in history starts with the opening win over the Hurricanes (Who had to lead at halftime, but they fell short in the end) all thanks to a hat-trick to Wellington player who plays for the Crusaders of Kyle Preston (The hero of that match who is a relatively unknown but new to the rugby scene as the man who used to back the Hurricanes as a young kid, played for Wellington in last years National Provincial Championship season that they eventually triumphed, but he could be the next big thing in New Zealand rugby as he was called up to the Crusaders by coming into the squad as replacement for the retirement bound former English international halfback Willi Heinz to join both other halfbacks in the team, fearing that he might not get any game time for the Hurricanes behind Cam Roigard, such as Noah Hotham (Who suffered an injury early during the game, & then hey presto! Enter Kyle Preston) & the wily old veteran who is experienced of Mitch Drummond) before the New South Wales Waratahs break Highlanders hearts with the winning try scored by reserve prop Siosifa Amone, then the ACT Brumbies did the same thing as the Waratahs when they beat the Fijian Drua with starting loose forward Luke Reimer (Who could even be a Wallaby in waiting, in the coming months) providing the match winner when he scored a try off a rolling maul seconds until full time, then the Blues (Who were without Sam Darry for the whole season due to injury suffered during the pre-season) would gone on to lead at halftime, but the bench by the Chiefs (Who were without Wallace Sititi through injury that ruled them out of the entire season just like Darry) made them the difference of securing the win during the battle of the Bombays thanks to a double by one of their star men of Damian McKenzie, & to exact vengeance following last year's result in the final, before the Western Force break Moana hearts with a stunning try at the death to tie the game by Ben Donaldson who would run all the way to the try line then he would gone on to seal the match winning conversion much to the delight of the Force fans who were in a frenzy when Donaldson scored then converted his own try that won them the match.

And finally in the gaming department such as the Rugby 25 game (Which features the internationals (With rugby playing nations making an appearance such as New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, France, England, Australia, Argentina, Scotland, Wales, Italy, Fiji, Japan & others) as well as Super Rugby Pacific (Which features sides from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand & the Pacific Islands), Gallagher Premiership (An English club competition), Top 14 (It's a French domestic competition), URC (United Rugby Championship featuring teams from the 3 Celtic nations of Ireland, Scotland & Wales as well as Italy & South Africa) & MLR (Major League Rugby which is an American comp) that came out digitally on the 13th of February (20th for the physical version that I pre-ordered at EB), & the gameplay to me was dreadful but most disappointing & below par (And I should've sticked to Rugby Challenge 4 due to the woeful gameplay that they're having to deal with in the Rugby 25 game), but I manage to unveil my new secret tactic of getting past the defence by utilising the pick & go when I play on the Easiest difficulty until the team that I play scores a try (And I've got to watch the cleanouts from the opposition as they may intend to strip the ball in possession), & man I should really start using that (And an international rugby test is like a war to start with, compared to a domestic rugby game which is similar to a civil war), but I always struggle in the scrums as I would always concede penalties for certainly collapsing the scrum, but I need to improve by working on it in order to win scrums like that (And I always put my blogging skills to the test (And the blogging stuff is like being a news or sports columnist of a news outlet because I'm an expert on this) compared to my computer game skills that I always have, but I've managed to clock GTA V especially all of the 75 missions that I've completed (And I've achieved 20 gold medals in the missions department in the game) but I'm now doing the money investments stuff (And both of the 3 protagonists of the Grand Theft Auto V game of both 'Frankie Frank' of Franklin Clinton & Michael 'Mikey Mike' de Santa (Formerly Michael Townley) are up to a billion dollars except Trev (Trevor Philips) who remains as a multi-millionaire, but I'll still be doing it in both the afternoon & evening sessions on the 27th of February this year (And I got a keep an eye of investing on Merryweather which is a private military & security firm as well as the antagonistic faction in the GTA V game (For which I first played in 2023 (I thought I wasn't so keen on the game, until now), but now I'm starting to master it as of this year as all 3 of the protagonists are now billionaires), but I now establish the passing game as part of my new tactic since the update had already been dropping in.

So that is my 599th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 23rd of this year, viva Ukraine.

P.S. I went to Palmy with Pops & Carole about going to Palmerston North that we visited Mobility Manawatu to get her new shower chair for her as well as pumping her wheelchair's tyres, then we headed off to the Plaza to get me both $100 PlayStation network cards at EB (I've got lots of them, but I really need to use them up before both Aunty Tan & Rejean get here in possibly December this year), then the 2 Fast 2 Furious (For which I have not seen the film for a very long time which starred the late Paul Walker (AKA that Brian O'Conner guy who tragically passed away in a crash back in 2013 whilst he was in the passenger seat), Tyrese (Roman Pierce) & Eva Mendes (Monica Fuentes), but the first time I watched it was way back in 2004 on Sky Movies (And the entertainment world is in mourning as retired American Hollywood film star of Gene Hackman (Whose last movie appearance was Welcome to Mooseport in which the movie came out way back in 2004 where he starred along with Everybody Loves Raymond star Ray Romano) has tragically passed away at the age of 95 according to the comment that Carole alluded to both me & Pops while we were at Little Savannah restaurant in Palmy so all thoughts, prayers & condolences go to the loved ones of Hackman & his wife who believe that they were eventually murdered by their daughter who is sentenced to life behind bars in this sad, difficult but tough time, RIP) Blu-ray movie that I purchased at JB Hi-fi that I watched late at night on the 3rd of March (A day after 25 years since the America's Cup was still, New Zealand's Cup, in the aftermath of Team New Zealand (Skippered by Dean Barker who raced in race 5 with Russell Coutts opting not to race just before he left TNZ (But he would've in order to break the all-time record for most consecutive wins as an America's Cup skipper in the finals of the Auld Mug because of the current record being set by 9 with Coutts & alongside him, the late American Charlie Barr) which set the tone for the 2003 America's Cup which was embroiled by controversy, therefore we suffered our loyal defeat in the hands of the Swiss syndicate Alinghi (Who lured many of our Team New Zealand personnel, especially Coutts, Brad Butterworth, Simon Daubney & Murray Jones to sail for the Swiss in which they manage to pull off the Auckland heist) of bringing the Auld Mug to Europe for the first time in which our NZL 82 boat wasn't reliable (Compared to Taihoro last year for which was most reliable (Although it had some damages in which we overcame the disaster just like in Bermuda back in 2017 in which we had a frightening pitchpole during the Louis Vuitton Cup semifinal race against Land Rover BAR) compared to NZL 82, in which we successfully completed a America's Cup threepeat in modern day history) pulled off by completing the first successful defence of the Auld Mug outside of the United States against the Prada Challenge of Italy) before heading to Little Savannah's which is a South African-Kiwi hybrid restaurant where I had a prawn pasta, but during that we got back that I thought I lost both of my passport & wallet, & it fell down from my pocket but I found them on the bottom of the seat (Just like Pops left his cell phone behind at the Commercial Motel after he went to the toilet a day earlier until a cop had found it therefore handing it in to him late at night, a day before he got a new purple coloured cellphone cover to replace the old brown/tan one) to end an incredible day it was (And I went to Fielding for the first time just before we went to Palmy).

Gene Hackman

1930 - 2025

Tainted Love/Whatever It Takes/Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)/Natural: My 22nd blog of the year 2025

Well, hello, welcome to all our readers here in New Zealand & around the world, I'm Whets here & you're tuning in into my Kiwiavenger blog, but first & foremost that the ongoing trade war between the Donald Trump led United States who are implementing tariffs all over the place, & their main opposition which is Canada, China & Mexico is sort of like Brexit (Which is about the UK leaving the EU in 2020 right before the COVID pandemic a year after many Brits wanted that they want to depart from the EU (And this is before party gate during the COVID lockdown that Boris Johnson who was the UK PM at the time illegally threw a party in which they supposed not to do that because of the breach of the use of social distancing which deemed to be an infringement during the pandemic) to start with so that the United States wants to take out both illegal drugs & immigration in what is to be are their biggest issues that they're trying to tackle (And I mean Trump, what a scumbag he is known for his reputation as by far, the worst leader as well as politician in the world during modern day history, & now America is spiralling out of control of these legislations that they're currently having (First abortion in which the supreme court overturned Roe V Wade as the United States declared war on abortion in 2022 under the leadership of Joe Biden who was in charge, & now TikTok this year since America is getting tough on them believing that they think it's a Chinese company & the reason why that the United States is clamping down on TikTok is the Chinese owners who are willing not to sell it as the American users of the banned social media platform should stick to American companies like Instagram (For which has been cracked down in China along with Facebook & X in response to it, unlike that you can't threaten the US President like Donald Trump for example because it is considered a crime just like the US President's security are always assassination stoppers as they stopped Thomas Crooks who almost gunned down Trump was shot dead by the US Secret Service marksmen during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in July last year, 4 months right before Trump's election victory against Kamala Harris, then a certain assassination attempt by a gunman who was trying to open fire in front of Trump last year before he got detained & is likely having to deal with a longer sentence just like the Christchurch mosque shooter who is currently serving time behind bars after the judge punished him with an imprisonment for life sentence for murdering 51 innocent people who were mainly people who are in fact Muslims in the act of terrorism back in 2019 before our country changed our gun laws in an effort to keep our country safe such as issuing a clamp down on semi-automatic, high powered rifles used in the tragic but deadly shootings in a bid to stamp out violent gun crime (And Facebook has since stamping out on its live feature that includes violent but gruesome content which is prohibited (They'll deal with a longer sentence if the uploaders fail to remove the illegal stuff), but why did he want to abuse our PM at the time of Jacinda on social media in the leadup to the deadly mosque massacre? Because the reason why that he wanted to is because that he was willing to commit crimes by shooting those Islamic people dead that he bore hatred with in an ethnic cleansing whilst he was a supporter of the far-right wing movement for which far-right extremism is prohibited in Australia since that dreadful shooting had just happened in Christchurch back in 2019 which was inspired by the tragic events in Port Arthur, Australia way, way back in 1996 & the Aramoana Massacre here in our country also way, way back in 1990) starting from the 19th just a day right before the inauguration of the current US President Donald Trump) for example, meanwhile it has been almost 3 years since that horrendous invasion that they always had, begun for which I originally posted stuff about it in 2022, but Pops told me not to since it is sensitive & objectionable to the country who started it about that dreadful war by still keeping it clean because it's prohibited, & there used to be the war in Gaza between Israel & Hamas forces which ended due to a ceasefire agreement deal that Israeli forces have withdrawn allowing all of the remaining hostages to be released from Hamas custody in a conflict that lasted a year & 3 months, & now the US Army have been sent into Gaza in support of a plan of helping displaced Palestinians of rebuilding the entire country as I heard a comment from Dad on the phone on the 7th of February which was a day after New Zealand's national day of Waitangi Day, & unlike the first World War which marked the deadliest conflicts in history with 10 million casualties while more than 20 million had suffered injuries during the war (And I keep talking about of how that is worse than the terrible war that has been going since 2022, & the Gaza conflict between Israel & Hamas that they used to have, but this is like a shootout on police & NOOSE or FIB units for which is Call of Duty-esque that I always do on the GTA IV game that I always play on the Xbox 360 via the Xbox Series X console, for which the Israel-Hamas war being referred to is a time in Gaza where the Israeli & Hamas fighters were pretty much at war with each other with both in addition attacking Gaza in acts of terrorism. Rafah during that time was pretty much a warzone with the Israeli military battling (But there'll be a resumption of the Israel-Hamas war if Hamas fails to release the 3 remaining Israeli hostages in exchange of multiple Palestinian prisoners as I heard from a news report online lately for which is shocking (And Carole is heartbroken & sad about the Gaza situation that they used to have because of her being of Middle Eastern descent).

And secondly in the cricket that I have revealed that if the White Ferns (Who had the 3 elder stateswomen in their team who are labelled as grandmothers are like such as Suzie 'Suze' Bates, captain Sophie 'Soph' Devine & Lea Tahuhu) lost to South Africa in the final of the T20 Women's World Cup last year in the UAE, I would not have watched it, but that was lucky that we've won of course especially that we shocked the cricket world as we created history, even though with Mellie Kerr (Who played the young part of the New Zealand team that triumphed & emulated our success in 2000 when we won the women's Cricket World Cup at our home patch against our Trans-Tassie rivals Australia, unlike the Black Caps who failed to win the men's Cricket World Cup in 2015 (First Australia) & 2019 (Then England) & the T20 World Cup in 2021 (It was Australia who dominated) then making a semifinal appearance in 2023 in which we fell short against hosts at the time of India) being named one of by far, New Zealand's best female cricketers for her outstanding tournament that she's having (And she mad her first-class cricket debut for Wellington at the age of 15 back in 2014, then scored a unbeaten double ton as she posted 232 not out against Ireland at 17 years of age, therefore becoming the youngest to score a double century male or female also back in 2018 (And I did not know that she was hooked into cricket when she watched the White Ferns play in the 2010 women's T20 World Cup on TV whilst being a schoolgirl back then), including her contribution of being named the most standout player in both the final & the entire competition (And we even went into the tournament off the back of 10 defeats in a row but we managed to beat Pakistan & Sri Lanka before we suffered our defeat against the damn Aussies which was our last straw for our own White Ferns side, then defeated India (Who failed to advance just like another one of the powerhouses of England) to qualify for the semis before we outsmarted the West Indies in the semi to book a date in the final against South Africa who beat the defending champions at the time of Australia, therefore gaining sweet utu after losing to them in the final in 2023 in the other semi (And there is awesome news as Amelia Kerr has been crowned ICC women's cricketer of the year in which she became the first Kiwi to do so, either man or woman, just like Lydia Ko did in which she had been crowned both sportswoman of the year (I thought it had gone to Dame Lisa Carrington so easily, but Ko got the nod instead) & supreme award winner at the recent Halberg awards in February this year).

And thirdly that I heard about my cuzzie of Paige Ahearn had got another child, or at least she has just got one which is her daughter & my first cousin once removed of Norah (I might have to ask her that next time when I see Paige when me & Pops are in Wellington (That is my main focus as part of my planned as well as proposed, future holiday, & I really wanted to go in September this year with Pops just before Aunty Tan & Rejean arrives later this year, or wait until at least they're here in Whanganui with one condition which is only if the weather is decent & if Cathey, Paige & Norah (Who I saw a picture of Pops phone on the 10th of February) are there, but due to the rising costs regarding to the price hike as well as the cost of living crisis meaning that's impossible to travel that far from here in Whanganui) as I told Pops while we were on our way home after going to EB, the Warehouse as well as Woolworths & stuff.

And finally the latest in the Six Nations so here are the results that they had in round 2 of northern hemisphere's biggest rugby competition around:

Italy 22 - 15 Wales

England 26 - 25 France

& Scotland 18 - 32 Ireland

So that is my 598th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 22nd of this year, viva Ukraine.

Step on My Old Size Nines/Local Boy in the Photograph/Feels Just Like It Should: My 21st blog of the year 2025

Well, what's up guys, welcome to all our readers here in New Zealand & around the world, I'm Whets here (And happy belated 34th birthday to me! 2 days after Dad who just turned 56 (He is 9 years away until retiring from his teaching job, but I'd like to give a gigantic shout out to him for his 56th birthday throughout 2 days ago, & Aunty Tan (Who I have not seen her along with Rejean since 500 days ago which was on the 24th of January last year) over in Quebec, Canada with the now retired Rejean over in Mont Saint-Hilaire for her 57th birthday due on the 10th of June) & you're tuning in into my Kiwiavenger blog, but first & foremost in the gaming stuff that the latest Gran Turismo 7 update features a really cool fictional Formula One car which is inspired by the early 90's (Which took place at the same time that the grunge rock era had been dominated with bands such as Alice in Chains, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden & Stone Temple Pilots as they took over from glam rock/glam metal before the Britpop takeover in the mid 90's, as well as Pakistan led by the legendary Imran Khan winning the 1992 men's Cricket World Cup against England in the final in front of 87,000 people at the G in Melbourne in which the ODI that has made Wasim Akram for his performances with both the bat & mainly the ball, a year after the Wallabies (Which featured the likes of captain Nick Farr-Jones, David Campese, Phil Kearns, Michael Lynagh, Tim Horan & others who ended the reign of the All Blacks in the semifinal that made Campo as he scored a try then set one up for Horan with a blind, no-look pass in which the game had made David Campese) 1st triumphed at the Rugby World Cup against England in the final at Twickenham in London (And it was during the tournament that Samoa (Who were known as Western Samoa at the time) provided the first biggest boil over of the tournament as they upstaged & mesmerized Wales in a historic upset of the ages during the pool stages) way, way back in 1991, a year after West Germany led by the legendary Lothar Matthaeus triumphed at the Football/Soccer World Cup against Argentina (Who were down to 10 players then 9 after Pedro Monzon & Gustavo Dezotti became the first players in history to be red carded in a World Cup final followed by Frenchman Marcel Desailly also way, way back in 1998, then another Frenchman of Zinedine Zidane way back in 2006 & Dutchman Johnny Heitinga back in 2010 who was the last to be sent off during the FIFA World Cup final) in the final in Rome, Italy way, way back in 1990) & I started to love them not only that by far is my favourite car of the game nonetheless (And I bought 10 of them just in case including the one which features a McLaren inspired livery & other liveries like Leyton House March, Jordan, Ligier & the white & blue livery taken from both the F090/S (They appear in both the American & Japanese versions of Gran Turismo 3) & the Formula Gran Turismo that appeared from Gran Turismo 4, right until Gran Turismo 6), while there has been an update as Aussie video game developer Big Ant Studios announced a release date for the new Rugby 25 game (Even though with the early access version being available since late June last year after years of development in which the game had been delayed for so long) which is due to come out on February 13th this year which is during the Six Nations (Which got underway in which France thrashed the useless Welsh side coached by Warren Gatland whose thinking his coaching job wouldn't last long as I heard a comment from Pops just like Eddie Jones during his disastrous 2nd coaching tenure with the Wallabies in 2023, with a comprehensive shut-out win in a game that was marred by one of the most horrific scenes that they have ever seen in rugby union, in recent memory with French first five Romain Ntamack, sent from the field for a high contact by taking Ben Thomas out of commission (For which I thought the dangerous tackle incident involving Ntamack on Ben Thomas was like deemed to be a terrorist (Well, I thought the word is somehow controversial due to the fact that it's being considered offensive towards people who have Muslim beliefs because it is an Islamophobic slur) act as well as an assassination attempt just like the late Shinzo Abe who was fatally shot in Nara, Japan in 2022 in the hands of a suspected gunman during a speech which triggered a serious incident with Japan who had once been on high alert before, unlike what happens if I die, I would be unable to move by laying motionless & have both of my eyes closed) in which New Zealand referee Paul Williams had given him a card under review before the foul play review officer (FPRO) upgraded it to red indicating that it was a high degree of force, but always prohibited (And to me that the illegal head contact in rugby is like war, but without both firearms & explosives, so they already made it tough of stamping out contact above the sternum from the game altogether with World Rugby currently tackling a problem regarding to illegal, dangerous high tackles in which the war on dangerous head contact is still been declared with many Welsh people are turning away from rugby to play other sports like football (In which the Welsh national football team went to a Football World Cup twice in both 1958 (In which they achieved the best result to date as they appeared in the quarters when they fell short against the eventual champions Brazil which featured the likes of the late young teenage sensation at the time, Pele who passed away in 2022) & the most recent one in 2022 in Qatar where they failed to reach the round of 16 which is the 1st phase of the knockout stages, & the Euros also twice in 2016 (In which they reached the semi which was their best result at the European Football Championship in which they got beaten in the toughest of matches against the eventual champions Portugal led by its world famous ultra rich & wealthy footballer who is in fact a multi-millionaire just like Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic, Cristiano Ronaldo who were competitive throughout the entirety of the 90 minutes from start to finish (And even though the Welsh were missing Aaron Ramsey through suspension due to the accumulation of bookings or cautions should I say in the quarterfinal win against Belgium) & 2020 which was played in 2021 (In which they appeared in the round of 16 in which they went down to eventual semifinalists Denmark) & cricket (Although Welsh players like Robert Croft & Simon Jones for example, are eligible to play for England) because of the players who want to avoid getting a concussion according to the comment that I remember from Carole during our big lunch at her place on the 2nd of February) meaning that Ntamack is expected to be banned for the next game against England at Twickenham, then it was Scotland who had beaten the much improved Italy side before England had led at halftime against the defending champions Ireland, but couldn't cling on right through at the end (Including the English who scored 2 late consolation tries including the last one that they did have the final say (And there was Ollie Lawrence who had a searing break before the try had been scored (And the line breaks in rugby, is like a counter punch in boxing) in order to snatch a defensive losing bonus point) which resulted victory to the Irish who came from behind to kick start their Six Nations championship defence, & to gain payback after losing to them last year therefore the Grand Slam & Triple Crown that eluded the Irish, in the aftermath of a last minute drop goal from England first five Marcus Smith), & right before the new Super Rugby Pacific (In which they have been included in the upcoming Rugby 25 game for which I'll be getting it digitally on both the PS4 & PS5 versions if a physical copy is unavailable) season starts on Valentine's Day.

And secondly there has been sombre news in the United States, especially in Washington DC as a American Airlines Eagle plane on a flight from Wichita, Kansas that collided in midair into a Black Hawk helicopter which resulted in 67 fatalities, same as a medical jet in a neighbourhood in Philadelphia that killed 7 of them & setting homes on fire near a really busy mall, so I would like to send thoughts, prayers & condolences go to the victims of the 2 dreadful crash that are happening in this sad but tough time, may you RIP (Rest in peace), but I still have not watched CNN since the US president Donald Trump (Who declares a trade war with Canada & the 2 other countries of China & Mexico, by imposing a tariff which is in effect beginning on February 4th for which I'm sick about him leading his country, he is such a moron that he wants immigrants out with the military being dispatched of sending them out of their country (And I finally watched bits on CNN about seeing Trump on TV, but I can't watch anymore from now on, holy hell, it's too much (Get over it), just because I still can't stand him anymore (Just like Carole who doesn't trust with pro-Trump supporter Elon Musk & his Tesla electric vehicle company that he founded) not only that he is a damn hypocrite & liar with Trump (Who is like the late Richard Nixon with his famous remark "Well, I'm not a crook" about the Watergate scandal that erupted in the US in 1972 which was the most shocking political scandal in American history prior to his resignation in 1974) ordering a war on Panama due to the country that had taken a deal with China but totally infringed American rights of taking back the canal as the new US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (Who is sanctioned by China in 2020 for poor, appalling behaviour on Hong Kong-related problems for clampdowns on political freedom in the region as the latest measure taken by the Trump administration in response to China’s imposition of a controversial national security legislation on Hong Kong) visits Panama in his first overseas trip amid violent protests by protesters who were told by cops who fired tear gas into the crowd to disperse) took office once more.

And thirdly that the new Star Wars: New Jedi Order (Which takes place 15 years after the events of the Rise of Skywalker) were thought that they're going to release it next year, but they might change it to 2027 to coincide within the 50th anniversary of the first Star Wars movie that came out in cinemas in 1977 for which the space opera film series franchise was a global but worldwide phenomenon.

And finally that during our big lunch at Carole's that me & Pops memory is working well since I eat both almonds & coffee is good for both the brain & memory according to a research study (And I have no problems whatsoever because I have not lost everything, but Pops has been taken his memory medication & every time he loses his key, phone or wallet, he always finds them, especially me).

So that is my 597th blog of the year 2025 (MMXXV) & my 21st of this year, viva Ukraine.

P.S. And there has been news straight out of the WWE Universe (For which I haven't heard the news from the wrestling department for a while) as ex-Intercontinental Champion Jey Uso wins this year's edition of the men's Royal Rumble (Oh yeet!) after he last eliminated the bloke of wily old experienced veteran John Cena (Who embraced Jey (Who had by far, his biggest triumph of his WWE career to date which thrilled him, of course) after the event by gradually appreciating him with respect, but Cena will get his second chance at the next WWE pay per view event which is Elimination Chamber) who dominated the wrestling scene for so long (He even attempted to go for the Attitude Adjustment on the eventual Royal Rumble winner, but Jey (Who had caught 'The Cenation Leader' napping during the Royal Rumble match) managed to counter Cena's trademark finisher as he eliminated him before Jey got excited as he didn't know about the news that he got it as Jey won), but now they'll be a changing of the guard as Jey Uso is being propelled into a main event championship match against either the defending WWE World Heavyweight champion of Austrian wrestler Gunther (For which is Jey's likely opponent, but this is because it's true, as it has been confirmed recently in a championship match billed as GUNTHER VS JEY: DECIDER IN SIN CITY), or the reigning Undisputed WWE Universal Champion of 'The American Nightmare' Cody Rhodes) on the Smackdown show even with the WWE has gone on to move into the subscription service of Netflix since the start of this year), at WrestleMania XLI in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States, even though one of his relatives of Rikishi is so proud of Jey's achievements of becoming the 4th different member of the famous Anoa'i wrestling family to dominate the Royal Rumble after the late Yokozuna, the Rock & Roman Reigns according to the voice of WWE, Michael Cole on the Pat McAfee Show that I watched on the 4th of February on one of the ESPN channels, while in basketball as Luka Doncic makes the jump to LA to play for the Los Angeles Lakers (He joins the likes of one of the veteran players of LeBron James seeking for a championship caliber that they haven't won since 2019-20 & are gunning to tie the all-time NBA championships record with the most successful side of the NBA of the defending champs, the Boston Celtics, but I heard reports in Super Rugby Pacific that Ardie Savea's move to Moana Pasifika could even destroy his career just like Doncic who would move to the Lakers from his beloved Dallas Mavericks that he used to play from his rookie season) that shocked the NBA trade deadline (In which many hoops fans think it is a scam move) as he leaves the Dallas Mavericks (Who'll have the services of Anthony 'AD' Davis who had just left the Los Angeles Lakers to join a different, new team) for good.