Tweeting better stories, episode five: April 2021

Wanting to find a lighter-hearted way I offer readers this fifth post in a series.

The following appeared at 12.52pm on 2 April.

On 29 April at 6.15am the following appeared.

Famous people

I’ll refer in what follows to Prince Philip’s death simply because it was such a massive event. For a while it seemed as though nothing else in the public sphere was of any consequence. To begin with, a salute from a supporter.

Another relevant tweet appeared on 10 April at 7.17pm. This was also a minimal comment and, like the first one, showed a body at rest.

The duke was leveraged in a range of different ways by people wanting to make rhetorical points, as in the case of this person who, on 22 April at 5.55am, strove to help migrants. It seems as though the prince had powers beyond death, and that, even from the grave, he was able to change things in the real world.

Another famous person appeared with a tweet that also showed a body. This was at 12.32pm on 11 April. Assange, of course, is, like Prince Philip, a talismanic individual, one whose powers of persuasion reside in the mere listing of his name among others. Set beside anu number of disparate facts, the letters of Assange’s name are supposed to move mountains. Or at least to bring those in power, and who abuse it, to justice.

History

On 25 April at 5.45am the following appeared in my feed. This individual – the person who posted this retweet – is commonly to be found talking about the biological record as it is evident in fossils.

History was also served by this tweet, which appeared in my feed on 28 April at 6.45am.

The following appeared on 25 April at 5.19am.

On 28 April at 8.46am the following two tweets appeared in my feed. They were right next to one another and, even though they comment directly on each other’s concerns, no intentional act by me was involved in this conjunction. It was purely accidental, which speaks to the arbitrary nature of meaning.

Madness and desire

On 24 April at 6.02pm the following appeared in my feed.

The following appeared on 26 April at 5.32am.

This person describes herself as an introvert, but does so with such force and certainty that I very much doubt that it is true.

The poetry itself was terrible but afraid of upsetting the woman’s equilibrium I said nothing to her in this vein.

The following appeared on 30 April at 5.36am. This tweet contained so little in the way of affect, but carried with it such a load of frustrated desire, that I decided to make the clip.

On 28 April at 6.08am the following appeared.

The following appeared on 27 April at 7.17am. It also contained oceans of unfulfilled desire, and spoke of a search for a safe harbour. I wondered what kind of place this might be.

The following drawing appeared on 27 April at 6.13am. There are so many drawings of this kind, which link in with an individual’s desires and wishes in a way that no other kind of commentary can do. Many of these artists are talented, as in this case, though some are not.

Protest

I am going to list a few items that have a topical phase simply because there are so many of them. But these tweets are, still, ephemeral and embody transient desires. To start with, on 19 April at 6.56am, I saw the following tweet.

The goal of this comment is clear, though the execution was a little askew. Or perhaps this person was trying to be funny … In any case, the effect is whimsical.

On 4 April at 3.20pm the following appeared.

At 8.55am the same day the following appeared.

On 6 April at 6.11am the following nature-oriented tweet appeared.

On 18 April at 6.17pm the following appeared in my feed. The aim of this person’s remark is entirely obscure due to the consumptive fashion in which the ideas are expressed. This comment was therefore very striking and I thought it warranted inclusion here in my survey.

Contemplation

On 5 April at 10.16am the following appeared.

This tweet reprises the nature theme of an earlier example included in this survey. Here, however, the focus is on the eternal qualities of the natural world, as a refuge and as a source of comfort and of solace amid the cares and trials of communal existence. It’s as though this person were saying, “Time out!”

Humour

More funny tweets follow this heading. It makes a change from the previous theme. This one appeared on 4 April at 6.31am.

On 3 April at 6.36am the following appeared.

A rear end also features in the following humorous tweet that appeared on 27 April at 5.53am.

This tweet also serves to complete my survey. Ciao!

Grocery shopping list for April 2021

This post is the twenty-eighth in a series and the seventh to chronicle diets. 

2 April

Morning weigh-in had me at 91.1kg. Later, went to the fruit & veg store in Botany and bought an avocado, pears, apples, plums, Cremeux blue cheese, and a round of brie.

3 April

Morning weigh-in had me at 90.8kg. Later, went to IGA and bought (see receipt below) gouda cheese, a lettuce, mayonnaise, and mushrooms.

4 April

Went to the convenience store and bought milk. Later, went to IGA in Botany and bought (see receipt below) Bega cheese, sliced ham, sliced chicken breast, apples, almonds, eggs, and low-carb snacks.

My calorie count for the week was:

My activity chart was:

My macronutrient totals were:

In that week I ate an average of 40.8g of carbs per day.

7 April

Morning weigh-in had me at 91kg. Housemate went to IGA and bought cabbage, lettuce, milk, shallots, and ginger.

8 April

Morning weigh-in had me at 90.7kg. Later, went to the servo to buy petrol and at the same time got water and low-carb snacks. In the afternoon went to Coles and bought (see receipt below) fillet steak, lamb chops, barramundi fillets, salmon fillets, tuna steaks, chicken wings, apples, tomatoes, mushrooms, plums, sliced pastrami, sliced turkey, low-carb bread, and low-carb snacks.

11 April

Morning weigh-in had me at 90.3kg. Later, went to Botany and at the IGA bought apples, a lettuce, mushrooms, zucchini, broccolini, gouda cheese, sliced chicken, pears, and tomatoes. Then popped across the road to the fruit & veg shop and bought brie cheese, Cremeux bleu cheese, an avocado, onions, passionfruit, a sweet potato, and a Japanese persimmon. Receipts below.

In the afternoon went to Harris Farm Markets and bought (see receipt below) mushrooms (various types), chillies, blueberries, strawberries, walnuts, almonds, fettuccine, broccoli, mimolette cheese, a flounder, garlic, potatoes, and two cos lettuce.

This week my calorie count was, as follows:

The activity chart was:

And the macronutrient totals were:

I ate an average of 50.2g of carbs a day this week.

13 April

Morning weigh-in had me at 90.6kg. Later my housemate’s boyfriend went to the shops and bought instant breakfast porridge, biscuits, and milk.

17 April

Morning weigh-in had me at 90.3kg. Later went to get milk. In the evening went to Botany IGA and bought (see receipt below) steak, Bega cheese, a leak, mushrooms, zucchini, ginger, apples, an orange, nashi, pears, low-carb snacks, and toilet paper.

18 April

Morning weigh-in had me at 89.6kg. My weekly calorie count was:

The activity chart was:

And macronutrient totals were:

This week I ate an average of 49.7g of carbs per day.

20 April

Morning weigh-in had me at 89.7kg. Later, went to IGA and bought (see receipt below) milk, blue cheese, brie, sliced pastrami, low-carb snacks, eggs, avocados, a peach, mushrooms, and capsicums (green and red). Also went to the fruit & vege store and bought some more brie and a slab of the Cremeux blue cheese they conveniently sell (which is yum).

23 April

Morning weigh-in had me at 89.4kg. Later, went to pick up mail at Broadway and stopped at Coles to buy (see receipt below) rump steak, lamb chops, chicken wings, pork chops, sliced pastrami, sliced ham, barramundi, salmon, ling, tuna steaks, mayonnaise, rocket, baby spinach, Brazil nuts, marinaded goat’s cheese, red Leicester cheese, and low-carb snacks.

26 April

Morning weigh-in had me at 89.8kg. My week’s calorie count was, as follows:

My activity chart was:

And the macronutrient totals were:

This week I ate an average of 47.4g of carbs per day.

Later, in the morning, went to Broadway and at Harris Farm markets bought (see receipt below) sauerkraut, sardines, artichoke hearts, hummus, blue cheese, Moonbye washed rind cheese, Brussels sprouts, mushrooms, and apples. 

28 April

Morning weigh-in had me at 89.6kg. Later, went to the convenience store and bought milk, paper kitchen towels, and hand soap.

30 April

Morning weigh-in had me at 89.3kg. Later I had to go to see my GP so on the way I stopped at Broadway and bought low-carb bread at Coles.