Opinion: Paul Hickey - Election weekend here, emojis, jeans and Christmas cheer

Election weekend for 2020 is here. Photo / Electoral Commission

Happy election weekend, it has been a long time coming!

I love following closely with what's going on and am also a bit of a traditionalist, so I'll be off to the polls tomorrow.

It's voting on the day for me, but if the surge in early voting is any sign, it appears that the encouragement to vote message is getting through, which can only be a good thing for democracy in Aotearoa.
*
A few years ago if someone mentioned "emojis" we would look back at them with a confused look on our face, right?

But in just a few short years the emoji has become a common and integral part of many of our everyday lives.

They've become so big they even made a movie about them. It was bad I know, but shows how much of an influence they hold now.

I do use them occasionally, but I'll admit to sometimes getting a little confused over what some of them mean, and others I haven't even looked at that closely.

But others do, and in these Covid-times there has been some concern that the face-with-medical mask emoji had exasperated downturned eyes, and looked a bit sorry for itself.

So Apple has updated the emoji for the new iOS 14.2 operating system, making it look a little more cheerful, in an effort to show that wearing a mask is not a bad thing.

Now, the face not only has cheerful blushing cheeks, but its happy eyes imply there's a smile going on under that covering.

The new version should be on your device later this month. Yes we will all be looking closely at that one now!
*
Last week I wrote about some very expensive new jeans from Gucci that came complete with rips and green marks to resemble grass stains.

That story generated a bit of exasperated feedback on my radio show, but this week on a related note it's the famous jeans brand Levis in the news. And it has received a much more positive reaction!

Levi's is offering to buy back their old jeans. The Levi's Secondhand programme is the company's way of creating what they call a "circular marketplace" for its best customers.

People are invited to drop worn jeans and jackets off at Levi's stores, where they will receive a gift card for $15-25 for each denim item that can be resold, and up to $35 for vintage.

If it is too worn for resale, customers still get a $5 credit. Clothes sold in the Secondhand marketplace are priced between $30 and $100.

Levi's, which has made sustainability corporate priority, says that buying a used pair of jeans saves about 80 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions in an industry that has been identified as one of the worst polluters.

Levi's says this is the first second hand programme of its kind from a global denim brand.
Good work Levi's!
*
One of the most rewarding parts of my job is telling lucky locals that they have been the winner of a major competition.

We've had some great highlights in what has been a pretty average year overall, and we are about to start something pretty special at The Hits.

For some, Christmas can be tough, but at The Hits we are ready to change that, with our most heart-warming competition of 2020.

LIVE FREE is back and this time we're playing Santa with Live Free - The Christmas Edition.

From Monday listen to The Hits for your chance to go in the draw to win the cost of your presents and food covered this Christmas.

Join us to make it a Christmas to remember. Terms and conditions apply, and you can visit thehits.co.nz from Monday for more details. Just 10 weeks to go!
*
Paul Hickey is the host of the locally based 9am-3pm show on The Hits Rotorua 97.5FM. Follow on Facebook The Hits Rotorua and on Twitter @paulhickeynz.