Completing an Everest challenge
This time last year I visited the Australian Alps for a week of walking. I’d done similar things after escaping lockdown in December 2020 and December 2021. But this time, it was also the central part of my plan to complete an Everest challenge.
A duckling finds its way
I want to tell you the story of a duckling I saw the other day. There was nothing particularly remarkable about it, but it was very cute. It was walking along a concrete structure with its parent, then wasn’t able to follow said parent into the water. It ran back and forth cheeping with increasing distress, before eventually finding its way into the lake to the cheers of the human onlookers.
And that’s just one of many animal encounters I’ve had in the last week alone - some with other humans about, some by myself.
Covid Diary: Two Covid Christmases (with new carols!)
You may remember 2020 as the year Covid began. That also made Christmas 2020 the first Covid Christmas, before 2021 gave us the bad re-run nobody wanted. In those two Christmases we had new experiences, new troubles, and even some new carols.
It’s now thirty days before Christmas 2024 (where does the time go?!?) and here in Melbourne the decorations are well and truly up. When better to reflect on that increasingly distant time?
Another five post November
Five years ago (pre-Covid, even!), I set a goal to publish five posts in November. What’s more, I actually achieved it!
I’d like to try again this November (starting Friday…).
The binding of the winged monkeys: A horror story
The Wizard of Oz is a classic which has been endlessly updated and adapted. In my youth, I read it and enjoyed it, and I still have a soft spot for it (though I now prefer Gregory Maguire’s Wicked novels).
Leafing through the original recently, I found a very instructive horror story.
I don't have a problem with writing
I don’t have a problem with writing. Sure, posts have been thin on the ground, and if I didn’t have my “one post a month” streak to keep up this blog might be finished.
But the real problem is with publishing. With finishing. With catching one idea from the many flitting through my head and chasing it down till it’s done.
Have you got your TOAD bracelet yet?
I remember cheap WWJD (“What Would Jesus Do?”) bracelets being a thing in Christian circles when I was a teen, and the idea hasn’t gone away. Perhaps you’ve seen someone wearing one, or heard someone talking about it. Let me tell you about another fun bracelet - but with a serious message.
No bracelets were harmed in the making of this post.
What makes you excited?
It was a Friday pizza night after work, and some of us were playing a game. The question came up “What makes you really excited?” I had my answer quickly, but didn’t share it because I didn’t think it would be understood. So instead I’ll share it here.
The Belgrave Lantern Festival: Lighting up the Longest Night
The Belgrave Lantern Festival has become an important winter tradition for me, so last weekend I went along for the sixth time. I wasn’t able to be there last year, and it was good to be back.
Splinter of the Mind's Eye: The Star Wars that might have been
Splinter of the Mind’s Eye is a Star Wars book I’ve been intending to read for several years. Written before The Empire Strikes Back, I found it a real time capsule, showing very different directions Star Wars might have gone in.