Mike Seccombe's customarily excellent reporting ("electric vehicles policy stuck in low gear") put me in mind of a front page story on the Adelaide Advertiser I recently encountered. Under the headline "Addiction to cars must go - Minister" the relevant federal minister said "everyone has his role to play, even if it's to wal to the shop instead of... Continue Reading →
Letter in Advertiser, abt energy transitions
Letter in Advertiser today (29 April) Two fascinating articles in the Advertiser yesterday. First in "Auf wiedersehen, Pete" (congrats to whoever came up with that headline, btw) we learn that SA Premier Peter Malinauskas is continuing the work of South Australia's political leaders - dating back to Mike Rann - in seeking advantages for the... Continue Reading →
Yomp #03 – Purple Swamphens, procrastination and podcasts
Yomp #03 0730-1110 on 27 04 2023 = 220 mins 18kgs of weights in the backpack Hmmm. This was supposed to be the one where I breached the 240 minute mark (See Yomp 2 here btw). But that would have involved actually leaving the house when my alarm went off, instead of faffing. And then... Continue Reading →
Letter in Advertiser about climate always being down the to do list…
Letter in the Adelaide Advertiser today- Your reporter Clare Armstrong, in reporting on a new opinion poll, that "climate change is seen as a mid-tier issue compared to immediate financial pressures" ('Power prices biggest worry,' Advertiser, 24 April). Long-term threats always lose out to the short-term; today's final demand letter thudding on the doormat will always... Continue Reading →
From “On the psychic costs of climate collapse” – (hairball rather than pill)
Arena is an Australian radical/left/sorta-Marxist publication, often very interesting and insightful. This from an article by a chap called Mark Furlong caught my eye. "Because climate collapse is a hyper-object, recognition promises to 'do your head in'. It suggests a disturbance so holistic, so total - of every aspect of life, now and forever -... Continue Reading →
The Oval Squared: the magnificent seven…
So, I am doing yomps around Adelaide (see here and here, with a 4 plus hour one to come), with 18kgs of weights in a backpack. Alongside thism I am doing shorter but "up hill" things at the local oval. There's a mound with stairs, but, better, there's a football stand (albeit not the really... Continue Reading →
Theatre review: “Miss Julie” (after Strindberg)- an Adelaide must-see.
When you read an effusive review in independent media of an independent theatre production, there’s a moment, just before you click ‘confirm’ on buying tickets that you think ‘hmm. Is the reviewer sleeping with the director? Does the reviewer want to sleep with the lead actor?’ The reviews for Miss Julie (After Strindberg), currently... Continue Reading →
From hope to despair – Two Australian books book-ending the beginning of the end and the middle of the end…
This blog is about two books I have not yet read, but will do so with great interest. They are (drum roll please) The Way Out: Radical Alternatives in Australia (eds Margaret Smith and David Crossley), published in 1975, when we still had (false, it turned out) hope of big transformative change and Summertime: reflections... Continue Reading →
The conventions of juggling – be kind and welcoming. (Excellent Adelaide event)
Juggling is fun (more on this later). There's a symmetry to the fact that I first started to learn while in quarantine in 2021 (thanks Heather!) and that the first actual juggling convention is attend is also in Adelaide. The Adelaide Juggling Convention is being held at the Goodwood Community Centre (nice bit of south... Continue Reading →
Letter in Advertiser about light pollution, #parklands and so on.
I will admit it is an illness, this compulsion to get letters published in newspapers. Chronic condition, but there are social gains, so I am unlikely to seek treatment or comply with it. Eric Mott ("Turn down the lights" Advertiser 20th April) makes an eloquent case for reducing the lighting in the CBD and Parklands... Continue Reading →