Week 16/2025: The week that was

Week of 14 April 2025

The week that was

I feel like the things I should be writing about are too big and too overwhelming and changing so fast that I can’t keep up even thinking about them, let alone writing about them.

The US descent into fascism. The misleading comments and outright lies being told in our own election campaign. Strumpets. Parrots. The climate collapsing around us and people still thinking climate science is something they can choose not to ‘believe in’. The rise and rise of transphobia. Genocide in Palestine. AI rendering anything we see untrustworthy and stealing everyone’s work. Billionaire broligarchs taking control. Covid still making people sick and killing them.

I’m not sure I can say anything that hasn’t already been said about any of these things.

Sitting and writing pages and pages, like I keep going to do, isn’t going to achieve anything. I’m just going to end up with pages and pages of writing and nothing else to show for it.

My 4000 weeks are still ticking away, and given the current state of the world, I’m not so sure I even have that many. So maybe it’s time to go out and do things I’m not ready to do, make beautiful things because I like them, and engage in the pursuits I love while I still can.

What’s the worst that can happen? The people who think collapse is imminent are wrong and I live healthily into my 90s in a not too changed world and end up with more than 40 years of amazing experiences and fabulous work and a bunch of things ticked off my bucket list.

Right.

Some cool things I did this week

A tale of two bridges

I went to the Hobart Photographic Society’s annual exhibition at Salamanca Social. This was full of interesting work from HPS members, which you can see here.

This photo by Tammy Wilson was my favourite.

Heathers

On Saturday, we went to Isabella Rose Stage Company’s production of Heathers: The Musical (teen edition). This was, as you might imagine, a musical based on the 1990s movie Heathers, another movie I had no idea was also a musical. I listened to the original soundtrack on Spotify and I understand why it had to be rewritten for a teen cast. If you know the movie, you’ll get this.

It was a great show and I have many of the catchy songs going around my head. Some of Kramstable’s former classmates were in it, so it was cool to see them again too.

Duolingo

I reached my 2000-day streak in Duolingo.

I’m not sure that’s a cool thing. This app annoys me more than I benefit from the learning from it. I have the free version so I almost spent more time with ads than with learning, and the gameficiation is super irritating. I don’t want to be in a league against people I don’t know, I don’t want to do monthly quests or daily quests, the characters annoy me and they try to teach me words and phrases I will never use. They took away the ability to practice to earn hearts (aka health), and all I do is go through the motions and do one lesson every day just to maintain my streak.

Why am I still on it? Because the streak thing has sucked me in.

So it has won after all.

Summary of the week

Habit tracker

• Go outside & exercise first thing (7 days): 7/7
• 15 minutes morning exercise sequence (7 days): 6/7
• Hip exercises (5 days): 7/5
• 2 walks or bike rides or a combination (6 days): 6/6
• Long walk (1 day): 0/1
• Walk 8,000 steps (7 days): 5/7
• 9.00 shutdown & dim lights (7 days): 5/7
• Evening routine (6 days): 6/7

What did I learn this week?

Leucism is a condition in animals, birds or reptiles where the pigmentation in their feathers, hair or skin is reduced, giving them a pale colour or patches of reduced colouring. This is not the same as albinism, which is a complete lack of pigment.

What did I notice this week?

Little fungi in the chicken yard.

I saw the plovers on the rocks at the beach again.

Unlike last week, they were on the same rock.

What was the best thing this week?

I introduced myself to someone at work I didn’t know. I’m really not good at doing this. It was awkward and I probably said a bunch of inappropriate things but I didn’t die.

What am I reading this week?

• Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
• Gunnawah by Ronni Salt

What am I watching this week?

• Australian Survivor
• Resident Alien
• Heathers: The Musical (Teen Edition): Isabella Rose Stage Company
• Doctor Who ‘Castrovalva’
• Doctor Who ‘Lux’

What am I listening to this week?

• Heathers: The Musical (Original West End Cast Recording)
• Heathers: The Musical (World Premiere Cast Recording)