Weekly Report

Weeknotes: December 1st - December 7th 2025

Good Morning Magpie

Good Morning Magpie

— 5 min read

Disclaimer: It should be mentioned that Weeknotes are always a snapshot of the week itself and lack the fullness of life - as is the case with any personal blogging.

✨ Happenings

  • The primary "happening" of the week as been a persistent sinus infection throughout the entire week beginning last Sunday evening. With a lovely ensemble of symptoms including the likes of nasal decongestion, headaches, fatigue, a sore throat, and muffled hearing, I had myself a splendid time playing the game of "distract my weary body or else I will sulk." It was mostly a pyrrhic victory with the cost being missed days of work (and even sadder – cycling).
  • For the first few days of the week, given I was off work, I laid on the couch to finishing reading Cory Doctorow's Enshittification, played Neon White (more on that later), and tried my hand at my oil pastels. I had plenty of hot showers and tea with honey. I continued with the home remedies throughout the rest of the week, but did end up going back to work on Thursday and Friday.
  • As I was still feeling under the weather, I stayed indoors throughout much of the weekend, though I did sneak a couple bike rides in. Most of the time was spent playing video games (specifically Guild Wars Reforged and Clair Obscura: Expedition 33), pastel painting, and reading W. David Marx's Blank Space. On Sunday night, after enjoying Happy Veggie House for dinner, Taylor and I put up the Christmas tree (later than usual) and listened to a CBC podcast on Christmas philosophy (link further down).

📗 Reading

  • Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It by Cory Doctorow - Finished Reading

I finished the last section of this book earlier with much of the final chapters turned from the symptoms of a platform's enshittification towards how public policy can be geared towards ending and reversing the process (like anti-trust policies, better industrial and consumer regulations, and right-to-repair legislation). But Cory Doctorow, as is his vibes, is not merely content with tinkering with our capitalistic system – it must end and something new must replace it that prioritizes people over corporate profit.

  • Blank Space: A Cultural History of the Twenty-First Century by W David Marx - Started Reading

It can be challenging to place ourselves within today's contemporary history. W. David Marx (no relation to the bearded 19th-century original Communist) makes an attempt to do so by discussing the outright cultural stagnation of the early 21st century. The first section of his book has discussed topics like poptimism, the enthusiastic adoption of digital technologies by the masses, and the "omnivore" nature of cultural consumption during the period. So far so good!

🎮 Playing

  • Neon White

This game was free for PlayStation Plus subscribers and I played it over the course of three days. It is considered a first-person shooter and puzzle-platforming, but the hook is related to speedrunning. Each level requires the player, Neon White, to get from start to finish as quickly as possible. In order to do so, you will acquire and utilize cards that you can either shoot enemies with or discard for movement abilities. There were often times I would finish the level with a bronze medal, then stubbornly continue to pursue a gold medal. The story and characters were fairly cringe initially, but I grew to love it over time - the voice actors are fantastic. This review gives a good characterization of Neon White.

  • Guild Wars Reforged

The first MMORPG I played growing up was Guild Wars: Factions back in late 2006. It was a stand-alone game/expansion within the Guild Wars series and I fell in absolute love with it. The nostalgia I have for it inspired by commitment to Guild Wars 2, so when I heard that Arenanet was updating their Guild Wars series from the late 2000s, I was really excited to get back into this world after last playing it nearly 20 years ago (holy shit). On Friday, I bought Guild Wars Reforged and created a couple characters to play through the campaigns (Ranger/Warrior for Prophecies and Mesmer for Factions).

  • Clair Obscura: Expedition 33

After hearing about the love for this game over the past several months (and given its recent nomination for GOTY), Taylor and I started playing Clair Obscura over the weekend. I don't want to say too much yet, but it is simply incredible so far.

  • Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

Taylor and I also spend a few hours playing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. They, with great relentlessness, and rather systemically, kicked my ass.

🎵 Listening

Look, it is that time of year again and if I am out participating in our forever-shopping society, they better, at the very least, blast this festive bop LOUD and UNAPOLOGETICALLY.

From CBC Ideas comes an episode on some of the moral and epistemological quandaries of Christmas. Discussed topics include: (1) What makes someone naughty or nice? (2) Is it ethical to lie to your children regarding the existence of Santa? (3) What does it mean to believe in Santa anyway? Taylor and I had a good time listening to this whilst putting up the Christmas tree this year.

📷 Photos

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