donald trump – Stilgherrian

13 April 202520 April 2025

Weekly Wrap 776: Check that grass and check that podcast, if you can

Viewed from below and seen against a bright blue sky are the upper parts of tall grasses with fluffy cream-coloured flower remnants, ready for the wind to carry away their seeds. They sparkle in the backlighting. *Miscanthus sinensis*, or Chinese silver grass, is native to East Asia and South-East Asia, but it’s escaped from gardens in the Blue Mountains and here we are.

I am pleased to report that my week of Monday 7 to Sunday 13 April 2025 saw me return to more normal levels of productivity — although that’s still relatively low by most people’s standards. And a certain podcast nearly appeared, finally.

06 April 202516 April 2025

Weekly Wrap 775: The pollen turns their poo yellow!

Close-up of a banksia flower, probably a variety of Banksia spinulosa, or hairpin banksia. The tall cylindrical inflorescences (flower spikes) have hundreds or even thousands of individual little flowers arranged along its length like a bottle brush. Each one is yellow, ending in a dark red hook. Sitting on this flower is a small bee.

My week of Monday 31 March to Sunday 6 April 2025 wasn’t very productive, but I’m feeling much, much better after a too-long period of fatigue. Have a flower. Have a bonus bee.

26 March 202526 March 2025

The 9pm Dreams of American Empire with Associate Professor David Smith

*Associate Professor David Smith smiles in the face of an increasingly dangerous world. (Photo: US Studies Centre)*

There’s a lot going on in The America. You may have noticed. So as the summer series grinds on — way behind schedule — we’re joined by Associate Professor David Smith from the United States Study Centre.

23 March 202524 March 2025

Weekly Wrap 773: Remembering a little train in the sunshine

On a bright sunny day a pair of diesel railcars sit at a station platform in the open air. They’re silver, with their flat noses painted bright yellow, and just behind that a red stripe and a a small flash of blue.

My week of Monday 17 to Sunday 23 March 2025 wasn’t hugely productive but I’ve started planning more things. I also thought back to 2018, for some reason. Have a train.

16 March 202522 March 2025

Weekly Wrap 772: Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be

In the blue sky above a typical inner west Sydney red-brick block of flats a skywriter has scrawled WASH HANDS.

My week of Monday 10 to Sunday 16 March 2025 was slightly more productive than the previous week, thank the gods, but for some reason I found myself thinking about the past. Wash your hands.

09 March 202510 March 2025

Weekly Wrap 771: Never mind the productivity, feel the parrot

It’s a wet day in a eucalypt forest. On an old tree stump sits a pair of birds eating a handful of seed. On the left, the male bird has red head, breast, and lower undersides, with a blue band on the back of the neck between the red above and green on the back, the wings are green and each has a pale green shoulder band, the tail is green, and the rump is blue. On the right, the female has a green head and breast, a grey beak, and the pale shoulder band is small or absent

Productivity started to return during my week of Monday 3 to Sunday 9 March 2025, but not entirely. So here’s a photo of two king parrots and some links and stuff. There’s also a video of a grey butcherbird.