"He Autai'!"

He Autaia!

I love Dubya, he's my hero. Most Maori dialects translate "he autaia" as "a personable fellow" or "extraordinary person." Curiously, it can also mean "dreaded, fear-inspiring entity" or denote "ruinous calamity" and "unspeakable misfortune." But where I'm from, "he autaia" (contracted to he autai') simply means, "The Man!"

Freaky coincidences...
There's a King George (I'm sort of a monarchist), and a Saint George (my cousins are Catholics), and my father's middle name is George! The Maori transliteration of the name 'George' is "Hori," which is, of course, another word for 'Maori' (just like my mum!). It's as if there's this incredibly strong, fateful connection between me & the president. It's eerie... :-)

And speaking of autaia, Tana announces retirement from international rugby. Wow, that was pretty out of the blue! Good on him for being so upfront about the rigors of footy life. Thanks for you service, Mr Umaga! You're an awesome dude! He autai'!

And more autaia achievements with Brian Lara becoming the highest cricket runscorer of all time. His 11,175 tally just inching past Ozzy great, Alan Border's record. Well done! A superlative innings in anyone's book!