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Nik Dirga

@nikdirga.bsky.social
174 followers 102 following 403 posts

RNZ Explainer editor and journalist, indefatigable blogger, cartoonist and creator of small press comic Amoeba Adventures, website nikdirga.com! Used to be an American, New Zealander since 2006.

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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I also have Brady trauma! The episode that got me was the one where Peter is at the toy shop and a whole frickin' wall collapses and nearly kills a little girl and he rescues her and holy shit that terrified me for life every time I was in a toy store www.facebook.com/watch/?v=574...
facebook.com
335K views · 7.1K reactions | Peter jumps into action at the toy store and earns the title of “hero” after saving a little girl’s life. | The Brady Bunch
Peter jumps into action at the toy store and earns the title of “hero” after saving a little girl’s life.
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Been reading this myself in bits as I never have, and it does now feel very much like an edgelord parody of “relevance” too often. A special “child abuse” issue missed the mark so badly it was comical. And I haven’t even gotten to the really weird stuff.
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
New over on my website - In defence of Mississippi, the place where I became a writer, as I try to explain why you could still love a place despite its tortured history: nikdirga.com/2026/09/23/i...
nikdirga.com
In defense of Mississippi, the place where I became a writer
When talking to people, it doesn’t take long before I get asked where I’m from. My thudding American accent, still firmly attached after nearly 20 years in New Zealand, gives it away. “California,”…
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Sad Sack, for those who find Beetle Bailey too aggressive
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Captain America in the latest comics now didn’t come out of the ice until after 9/11. I KNOW 😳
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
I do hope this eventually still comes to pass, as the other two books did. There’s a Tim Truman KS I gave to probably 7 years ago now that utterly vanished, and I generally avoid crowdfunded projects now sadly.
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 05/09/2026
Howdy, folks! I'm only posting sporadically on most social media these days but if you're a fan of my writings, let me remind you of my handy website where I post essays and such at least once a week - you can also subscribe to get new posts, just look for the button and click away! nikdirga.com
nikdirga.com
NIK DIRGA
An American living in New Zealand, I write whenever I get the urge about life, music, books, comics, movies, and more.
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Thanks to everyone for a most excellent three-week, 11-state, 3000-mile American road trip adventure from Texas to California, and especially all the old friends who kept buying a poor Kiwi traveller meals and beers and offering lodgings, true heroes do walk among us
Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
I don't appear able to message you for some reason but message me and I'll give it a go - cheers!
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
It's giving me serious '80s Dragon Magazine vibes! 🐉
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
It’s so disappointing because other than the typos it’s a great looking book, but this journalist just stopped cold every time a word was mangled.
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
An utterly amazing one-woman show by Eddie Izzard that put a whole new perspective on Hamlet for me - alone on stage playing 20+ characters for more than two hours, bravo!
Eddie Izzard as Hamlet
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
'90s comics meeting: 'Guys we've run out of badass sounding villain names based on animals, anyone have an idea?' 'How about we just pick up a dictionary and grab the first or second animal listed?'
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 28/06/2026
Happiest of birthdays to the legend Mel Brooks, 100 years old today and funny for at least 98 of them!
static.klipy.com
Mel Brooks: Say What's In My Heart
ALT: Mel Brooks: Say What's In My Heart
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 25/06/2026
Only if you can see it on the biggest screen around - amazing visuals and O'Toole is legendary, but at something like 4 hours it requires a bit of patience 🐫
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
That was from a "satire" news site rather than a real one though: dunedinherald.com
dunedinherald.com
The Dunedin Herald
Our most special city's most special news
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 14/06/2026
New on the website today: An appreciation of Paul Chadwick's Concrete, one of the best comic books of all time and finally returning this week after far too long of a hiatus -- nikdirga.com/2026/06/14/p...
nikdirga.com
Paul Chadwick’s Concrete: The best comic book you may have never heard of
There were a lot of fantastic comics that launched in the 1980s – your Dark Knights and Watchmen, your Maus and Love and Rockets – but one of the closest to my heart is Paul Chadwick’s …
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
New on the blog: We’re living in the golden age of documentary deep dives into comedians, and it’s a funny thing - nikdirga.com/2026/06/10/l...
nikdirga.com
Laugh? I thought I’d cry – The best comedian documentaries do a little bit of both
Mel Brooks from the film “Mel Brooks: The 99-Year-Old Man!” (HBO Max via AP) The lives of comedians are a funny subject for documentaries, but I find I can’t get enough of them.  R…
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Soon, you'll have to pay to drive into parts of Auckland. Congestion charging is coming - but when, and how will it work? My latest for RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/news/communi...
rnz.co.nz
Explainer: Congestion charging is coming to Auckland - but when?
Explainer: The government and council are planning to charge drivers for going into parts of the city. Here's what we know so far.
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Streamers, streamers, everywhere you look - now that HBO Max has announced a price for its NZ launch, how do all these services compare? My latest for RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/life/screens...
rnz.co.nz
Streaming wars: HBO Max reveals prices - so which service is right for you?
Explainer - HBO Max has announced its prices before its 16 June launch. How does it compare to competitors, and which streamer is right for your home?
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
Over on my website today, I ask the immortal question — can Doctor Doom be funny? nikdirga.com/2026/06/02/c...
nikdirga.com
Can Doctor Doom be funny?
Doctor Doom is, of course, the greatest comic book villain of all time.  Forget the Joker or Darkseid – both way too overexposed – or figures like Catwoman, Magneto and Loki, who’ve all…
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 02/06/2026
New by me at RNZ: The 'Definitions of Woman and Man' bill now before Parliament and how the public can make submissions on it over the next month -- www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
rnz.co.nz
New Zealand's Definitions of Woman and Man Bill and how the public can give submissions
Explainer - A new bill would define gender in the law, and there's a month to make public submissions on it. Here's how.
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
This ‘90s kiwi klassik is the only cover anyone ever needs: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlUd...
youtube.com
#4 Darcy Clay - Jolene
YouTube video by diddlydoodledave
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
I might have gone a little loopy writing about the King’s Birthday holiday. www.rnz.co.nz/news/communi...
Who will get a King's Birthday Honour this year? Will it be you?

Dozens of New Zealanders will be given royal honours which will be announced on Monday for excellence in their fields.

It's the second time each year honours are given out - they're also announced every New Year's Eve.

Who decides who gets an honour? Can I nominate my mate Nigel?

Give it a go! Anyone can nominate anyone living who they think deserves a Royal Honour by using this form.

(However, don't try to nominate yourself, which is not allowed and also kind of weird. Maybe ask your mate Nigel.)
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
Clearly you’ve never been rocked by Amadeus.
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
New over on my website - how the sweary, sweaty satire of Deadloch gives us a new spin on the Australian cop show: nikdirga.com/2026/05/27/h...
nikdirga.com
How Deadloch shows us a different side of Australia
Australia is far weirder, bigger and louder than compact little ol’ Aotearoa. I love the place, but it always seems like the swaggering older brother.  The gloriously profane and funny TV series De…
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 24/05/2026
This has been a terrific year for live music in NZ and I'm amazed that I've managed to review David Byrne, Iggy Pop and Sparks for RNZ all in less than six months (and gone to see Pulp, Mountain Goats, Chappell Roan and a heap of others). Music is back, baby!
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
Sparks! They’re groovy and cool and they played New Zealand for the first time ever! My review of the Auckland show is now up at RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/life/music/s...
rnz.co.nz
Sparks show why they're your favourite band's favourite band | Review by Nik Dirga in Music
For a band that’s been making hit records for over 50 years, Sparks still feel a little bit underrated.
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
For the first time stalking is about to be a crime in New Zealand. Here's how the new law that takes effect May 26 works in my latest for RNZ: www.rnz.co.nz/news/crime-a...
rnz.co.nz
Explainer - How New Zealand's new anti-stalking laws will work
Explainer - Everybody knows what a stalker is. But until this month, it wasn't officially a crime. What will that mean?
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Public service announcement: You can pick up my huge book of memoirs and journalism CLIPPINGS and two collections of my long-running small press comics AMOEBA ADVENTURES right here on the internet by clicking here: www.amazon.com/stores/Nik-D....
The books Clippings, Best of Amoeba Adventures and Amoeba Adventures: Warmth of the Sun by Nik Dirga
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Wait why does Gerty look exactly like Kylie Minogue
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
🤨 I will NOT hear criticism of the galactic greatness of Stella Star and her space bikini.
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
I can't go past TIME WALKER (1982), which hurt my little Star Wars-primed brain with its bizarre combination of mummy movie and alien movie all apparently made with a budget of about $2.49. I watched it again a couple years ago to confirm my fading childhood memories that it was... not good.
Time Walker (1982) movie poster
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Dan, you've been QUISHED
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 17/05/2026
A most excellent week of the Auckland Writers Festival with hordes of fellow bibliophiles hearing about Shakespeare, Slow Horses, fake Russian oligarchs, mushroom murders, New Zealand zines, Kiwi gothic fiction and much more. Huzzah!
Auckland Writers Festival signAuckland Writers Festival  book haul
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
New by me at RNZ - how to get this year's flu vaccine, and what is this "super-k" flu strain you might have heard about? www.rnz.co.nz/news/health/...
rnz.co.nz
What you need to know about getting a flu vaccine this year and the 'super-k' flu
Explainer - Where can you get your flu vaccine this year, and what will it cost? Here's what you need to know.
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
“Temporary Secretary” finally gets its time to shine!
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
New on the website - in celebration of New Zealand Music Month, it's a fond look at all the Kiwi classics I didn't grow up with, festooned with a few wonderfully kitschy '80s videos to boot! nikdirga.com/2026/05/14/n...
nikdirga.com
New Zealand Music Month and the songs I didn’t grow up with
May is New Zealand Music Month, and as always, I’m all for celebrating the towering cultural footprint little ol’ Aotearoa has made in the music scene with everything from Flying Nun Records to Lor…
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
I believe the correct term for a gathering of West Coast Avengers is a 'whirlwind of Wackos.'
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
You left us two years ago today. Miss and love you always, Dad. "There's a bit of magic in everything, and some loss to even things out." - Lou Reed
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 10/05/2026
“You know what I want? A statue of my favourite hero, but at his lowest and most dishevelled moment! Now do Batman just after his back was broken in a hospital bed with a catheter.”
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 09/05/2026
New over on my website - how Star Trek navigated the 80s by embracing being a story of old guys getting older: nikdirga.com/2026/05/09/a...
nikdirga.com
Aging like fine Romulan ale: How Star Trek survived the ’80s
When I was an ’80s kid, I guzzled down all the sci-fi that was coming our way. Star Wars was king, of course, but I was also all about Flash Gordon, Battlestar Galactica, V, that scary adult …
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
My latest piece at RNZ looks at why Parliament might soon make English an official language in NZ - and what that actually means - www.rnz.co.nz/news/politic...
rnz.co.nz
What is the English Language Bill and what would it actually do in New Zealand?
Explainer - You're reading this in English right now - but should English be an official language? Parliament is soon set to decide.
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
This latest one I’ve done for RNZ is set in my own part of town - Why everyone is talking about the future of the Waitākere Ranges: www.rnz.co.nz/news/environ...
rnz.co.nz
Why planning reforms have people concerned about the Waitākere Ranges and development
Explainer - Could government reforms lead to increased development in the ranges? Here's why locals are concerned.
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Gonna join me a band of threatening yet adorable baseball mimes
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
Smaller regional news websites doing this blows my mind. Why make it harder to read your news?
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 03/05/2026
New on the website today: A look back at Marvel Comics' mysterious Human Fly, the real-life stuntman who became one of comics' weirdest heroes - nikdirga.com/2026/05/03/m...
nikdirga.com
Marvel’s mysterious Human Fly or, why real life people don’t always work as superheroes
The Human Fly’s brief run in Marvel Comics never really got a lot of buzz back in the 1970s, but I still have a soft spot for this oddball stuntman-turned-comics hero. The first issue – relea…
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
This is really an essential read by @dylanreeve.com. One of the saddest things unfolding the past few years is EVERYONE - left wing, right wing - seems to have succumbed to perpetual conspiracy theory brain 24-7.
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Because god knows we all can't get enough of America politics in 2026, for my latest piece at RNZ I hopped into the time machine to take a look ahead at what might happen in 2028: www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/5...
rnz.co.nz
Why it's not too early to start thinking about the US 2028 presidential election - seriously
Explainer - What's going to happen in America after Trump? A former National Party leader says the 'MAGA' movement may continue.
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Nik Dirga @nikdirga.bsky.social · 28/04/2026
Look out, it’s a new issue of Amoeba Adventures! AMOEBA ADVENTURES #38 I here for you as a FREE PDF download! It’s the latest issue in the small press comic book I’ve somehow been putting out on and off since 1990! This issue - Ninja Ant gets a job! nikdirga.com/2026/04/28/h...
nikdirga.com
Hang on tight, it’s time for Amoeba Adventures #38!
Friends, romans, countrymen – brace yourself – it’s time for Amoeba Adventures #38, the latest issue of the small press comic series I’ve been bravely publishing on and off ever since 1…
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