The PB in PB Tech – The Internet Minute – Pen15
...and other recs this week!
Kia ora, welcome to this week’s newsletter.
Earlier this year I heard a story – actually more of a tidbit – that both blew my mind and put a smile on my face. It was about the provenance of the name of electronics retailer PB Tech, and earlier this week The Spinoff’s editor Madeleine Chapman finally unleashed this delightful tidbit out into the world:
The PB in PB Tech stands for Pat and Brenda.
The world is full of letters we don’t know the meaning of. Sometimes, like with the K in K Bar, it’s better left that way. But usually there is some small joy to be found in the knowledge that, for example, the JB in JB Hi-Fi stands for “John Barbuto”.
Pat and Brenda is easily the most outstanding example of this that I have ever come across. If you know of any other good ones, I would love to hear them.
–Cal
New on The Spinoff Podcast Network
In a Gone By Lunchtime [Apple | Spotify] political exclusive, Chris Luxon was last week announced as the new leader of the National Party!
On When the Facts Change [Apple | Spotify], Bernard Hickey looked into one of the great political conundrums of our time: is it possible to make housing more affordable without crashing the market?
In this month’s bonus episode of When the Facts Change, meanwhile, Duncan Greive spoke to Kiwibank CEO Steve Jurkovich about how he’s reinvented the organisation in his three years at the top.
On The Fold [Apple | Spotify], Duncan spoke to Guy Williams to test out the distortion levels on the studio mics and also hear about how he’s turned his cult hit TV series New Zealand Today into a podcast.
And on The Real Pod [Apple | Spotify] Duncan joined Jane Yee to discuss some of the week’s least important news stories from New Zealand and around the world.
There’s also a new ep of Nē? [Apple Podcasts, Spotify] out tomorrow morning!
As always please listen, follow, rate and review wherever you get your pods.
Extremely Online: Why is the internet so obsessed with cats?
Want to go viral? Get yourself a cat – preferably one that looks grumpy or loves jumping into boxes. What is it with the internet and cat videos? Why are we so obsessed? The Shit You Should Care About team explores our feline fervour in this week’s episode of Extremely Online.
‘Twas the Fight Before Christmas
Chris says: “Jeremy Morris just loves Christmas. All he wants to do is smother his house in Christmas lights, invite carol singers and camels onto his property, offer free hot chocolates and candy floss, and send out Facebook invitations to anyone who wants to come. They do – in their thousands. Bus loads of people show up, with queues of cars for miles. But, when Morris – who nicknames himself "Mr Christmas" – and his family move into a bigger house in a new neighbourhood, they find they're not so welcome. I won't spoil what happens next in Apple TV+'s incredibly doco 'Twas the Fight Before Christmas, but I will say it involves lawyers, guns, dogs, plenty of tears, and that poor lone camel. Won't anyone think of the camel?”
The Internet Minute
Lucy says: “Idk if you're sick of the "2021-wrap-up" articles already, but I think I just found my new fave one. The Internet Minute 2021 is exactly what the title suggests, (and stuff that a lot of us already know/assume,) but it's still pretty wild/freaky that in one minute internet users watch 167 million videos on Tiktok and drop $283,000 on Amazon. Also some good stats on the amount of people who get connected to the internet every minute, and how far we have to go to connect the rest... And I love the graphs.”
New Pen15
Amber says: “The final eight episodes of PEN15 just dropped on Neon and I cannot recommend them enough. I watched in a single sitting and cried like a baby – both because there are some truly devastating moments (in the last episode especially) and because this perfect show is coming to an end.”
Super Golf!
Alice says: “Like many over-14s, I was confused and scared by the concept of Roblox, and couldn’t understand the thrall in which it held my nieces (who were quoted in this story about that very bad time when it went offline). But when they asked me to download the app so I could play golf with them, I thought why not, I’ll give it a hoon. Now I’m obsessed. Super Golf! is the greatest game to ever grace a phone screen. It consumes my mind when I’m drifting off to sleep and my fingers itch to play it when I’m trying to concentrate on my work. I haven’t felt this way since the Nokia Snake era.”
Story Club with George Saunders
Sam says: “George Saunders (The Booker Prize, etc.) has a Substack now! Story Club is basically like a short, brisk writing masterclass, straight to your inbox every week. If you’re a writing nerd like me, it’s a great refresher – or at least the first newsletter is!”
Insecure
Eli says: “In the Monday madness that brings weekly episodes of Succession that have me anxiously hugging my pillow while cringing through each scene (all in a good way lol), Insecure (also on Neon) brings the relief. It doesn’t shy away from the real issues a lot of us face and the stories are shared in a way that allows you to breathe, to laugh and with a soundtrack that definitely makes you want to shake your booty. If you need an excuse for a night with your girls, pop on Season 5, Ep 7 for inspo. Kelly’s (played by the amazing Natasha Rothwell) one-liners are the real MVP.”
Transit
Tara says: “This is probably old news to many, but having just moved to a city with decent public transport, I can heartily recommend the Transit app. Type in where you want to go and Transit tells you what bus to catch, how long until it arrives, how many stops until your destination, and – super helpfully to a Nervous Nelly like myself in a new town – when to actually get off the bus. It’s like travelling with a grown up who knows everything, when you are a big baby who knows nothing.”
Cold water on tap
Dylan says: “This long, narrow 4 litre drink dispenser from The Warehouse is a really great way to keep a supply of cold water in the fridge without taking up too much space. I should warn that it can be hard to get the tap tight enough not to leak, but it can be done!”
Some words of wisdom
Bel says: “In the lead up to the summer break, when planning trips often feels like a complicated jigsaw of competing emotions and social obligations, I’d like to recommend the phrase: ‘Fish, family and friends – they all go off after three days’.”
OK, that’s all we’ve got time for this week. Please reply to get in touch and share with anyone else who might like to subscribe too. See you next Wednesday 👋
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