What I continue to love about Webworm is being exposed to stories, music, movies, books I would never have come across, it’s made my realize NZ isn’t the Utopia us Americans like to dream it to be, as well as seeing America through fresh eyes, and the dialogue of fellow wormers in the comments.
I recently started listening to Delve and it’s made me realize how brave you have to be to voice alternate opinions and speak up against powerful people in such a small country. In the Fractured season of Delve they often mention how in NZ no one speaks up against doctors. This hit home to me how courageous your investigations into Mister Organ and Arise church were and what a personal toll that must have taken on you.
I have spent the last year finding myself again after leaving a toxic job and decided to live a more authentic life going forward -- at least, as much as I can, given the parameters in which I live. A big part of that is getting back to the things I love most. Two of the biggest ones are going to shows & photography at those shows. This year has been a whirlwind of meeting new people and reconnecting with old, which seems incredibly wild because I think I spent the whole of my 30s wondering, how do you make friends as an adult??? And now, it just seems so easy & natural to me. It happens nearly every time I leave my house which seems like an exaggeration, but it's not...! I really like talking to people.
There are a lot of stories I could tell here but the one that most encapsulates the year is this one:
In September of 2023, I went to the Supernova International Ska Festival by myself. I had skipped the prior year because of work and I had just mostly fallen out of going to shows. I wasn't even sure what I liked anymore at that point. But after a year of getting my head clear, I got myself a hotel in Hampton, VA and just went, no expectations. And, for the first time in 7 or 8 years, I took my old DSLR camera with me.
I saw a few old friends from my time in the scene back in my 20s and a few folks I knew from bands but that was it. I had a good time, took some nice photos, saw some of my favorite bands, heard some new ones, but largely kept to myself. It was a good time. Very low-key. I thought, well, maybe this is what it's like to go to shows now as a legit grownup.
Over the days I was there, I kept seeing this woman walking around and I just thought she was absolutely gorgeous. Very striking. Great sense of style, smoking hot. I consider myself pansexual or bisexual but honestly, women pretty much never have that effect on me. The last day of the fest, she was wearing this sheer black dress coverup thing and I was like, damn, I want to be like her. I want to wear stuff like that but I could never. I'm too fat and gross. Later in the day, I discovered she was actually in a band; I saw her on stage with Rude Girl Revue, which is an all female band made up of women from bands across the ska scene. She sang! And I just thought she was incredible. I had no clue who she was but I was still thinking about her in the following days and completely hearteyes-ing over her. I messaged one of my friends on Twitter to tell her about this beautiful woman and was scolded for not talking to her or finding out any additional details about her. I showed her photos of the woman on stage and she agreed, yes, she's super hot, and encouraged me to find out who she was and tell her I liked her outfit and her set at the festival.
So, I looked up the band and found out her name is Karole and that she was one of the singers in a band called Stop the Presses. I followed her on Twitter and started comment on her tweets occasionally and we became friendly. A few months later, I drove all the way to Virginia Beach to see Stop the Presses play and finally got to meet her. She was so incredibly sweet; she gave me a bracelet she made and some band trinkets. It was still a little awkward and I didn't know what to say but overall, it was a good experience. We continued to talk online and then, a few months later, I attempted to see the band in DC, but missed their set due to traffic. This time, we definitely yapped a bit more. We were pals.
I'm not sure when I saw her again but after that, we yapped a lot. She was a friend. Fast forward to this year at Supernova. This gorgeous woman is actually my friend. We hung out and talked a lot. I told her the story of how I saw her and immediately had a crush on her and we laughed about it and took an anniversary photo together on the last day of the festival. And, that day, I wore a rainbow checkered bikini under a sheer black coverup and let everyone see my queer fat ass and I simply did not care because I felt awesome. This year, Karole had an amazing solo with Ride Girl Revue and she absolutely killed it. I was literally standing there going, OMG, that's my friend!!! That hot talented woman is my crush and my friend!!!
I just saw her a few weeks ago in Baltimore with Rude Girl Revue and it was pretty much a mutual gush session about how much we love each as friends because we love to lift each other up. Also, she was really gorgeous and I took a million photos of her, lol. Our most recent conversation online was about encouraging each other to purge some of our "too much stuff" in the new year even though it's sometimes hard to do.
That's how my life has been this year, though. It's incredible! Like, you mean to tell me that the ridiculous talented hot woman that lives in New York City wants to be friends with *me*?!! Sounds fake. But it's real!!! You guys, I grew up in Culpeper, Virginia and now I live in an even more obscure place called Orange, Virginia and I used to be an insurance agent and a nanny and I live with my parents now. I am nobody and certainly nobody cool. I am also weird and queer and neurodivergent. But man, people have been so kind to me this year. I have made so many friends and have other cool stories like this one. I'm not sure exactly what's going on other than, I am doing my best to be more authentic and not hide who I am. The things that got me in trouble as a kid and the things I was scolded for....the things my mother still doesn't like about me......are the things that people seem to connect with, I think.
I never make any new years resolutions but I think in 2025, I'd like to visit the west coast and/or get a passport so I can visit Mexico, Central America, or South America. I have more old friends to reconnect with and more new ones to make.
Figuring out who I am is an on-going, life-long process for me. Thankfully, there are kind people out there; you just gotta find em.
Good luck to your kids. And, it's wonderful that they have a family that supports them. That makes me really happy. :)
Oh, and just so nobody thinks I'm trying to misrepresent myself here, I am not trans. I'm a cis lady, I think. My gender identity has always been kind of weird and fluid but for the moment, I think gender nonconforming female describes me best. Or, just queer lady for short. To my understanding, queer is kind of an umbrella term, so it works well for me, someone that doesn't quite know what I am.
Hey, this is awesome and I feel like there's an uncanny number of parallels with my own journey of the last couple years...queer, ND, discovering myself later in life (I'm 37), having fulfilling relationships at long last. Oh plus I live in MD :) Really happy for you!
Oh, very cool! In the past year, since I've started going to shows again, I've been to Maryland quite a few times! Most recently, I spent a weekend in Baltimore for two ska shows.
Super happy for you, as well. Here's to continuing on our journeys of self-discovery in 2025! :)
That Heroes piece had a bit of a darker point, early in the drafting process - essentially I wrote that, given our diet of hero narratives as instructions for fixing an increasingly broken society, more assassinations and other forms of individualised violence against otherwise unassailably powerful people were all but inevitable.
I cut it, because I didn’t want to look like I was advocating violence. In light of recent events, I regret the error.
Also, how good was Absolution? So vivid and strange and otherworldly, I loved it.
Really enjoyed your Heroes piece! I remember my eyes getting wider and wider as I continued to read and take in the overall message. Very thought provoking! Thanks Josh :).
Being here on Webworm has been one of the rare good things this year for me. For a couple of weeks or so I've been incapable of reacting to or engaging with anything really, but I've been reading everything. Also, I'm going through the archives, and that's pretty much all I do now when I'm not watching TV or listening to podcasts. I'm ill, and nobody responds to it, the public healthcare system here is on its last legs. I don't know what's wrong with me, this time, other than I had that bad "flu" in September. I'm waiting for somebody to take me seriously, maybe it'll happen in 2025. But I'm glad I'm still here. I mean, on Earth. Maybe I'm now becoming one of the millions missing, maybe not, I don't know. I really don't.
I couldn't share anything as a gift, although I would've wanted to - because I have nobody to share things with. Since Twitter has been so utterly destroyed, I lost even the very few followers I had anywhere. I have a couple of friends I'm still in contact with and I tend to mention things I've read on here often, as people with special interests tend to do. But I don't even have the energy to have any conversations with anybody right now. Maybe later.
I remember "The Futility of Punishment" from June so, so well, and I had so many thoughts on it, and I wanted to share them, somewhere, but I couldn't find a way then. I still might do that, if things get better. It was a very important piece for me, but now I've spent all the spoons that I don't even have really, on this one comment, before I go to bed (it's past midnight, why am I still awake?) and can't really elaborate on that much more.
I just needed to say thank you for everything and I hope things go well next year, for everybody. I've found kindness here that I haven't expected from this world anymore for quite a while, and I wish a tonne of kindness for everyone in the future too.
We are very, very glad to have you here, S. Thanks for saying thanks - that all means a lot - and there is absolutely no rush to share thoughts. The articles are not going anywhere, and neither am I!
🫂 One of the "gifts" of spaces like this & writers like David & others, is the incidentals you learn along the way from both them & people in the comments - I don't know how many people have shared stories about being un-diagnosed or mis-diagnosed or dis-believed about their health 😢 and the kind & supportive responses. Sometimes strangers on the internet can help us get through enough until we are out the other side - being a "worm" always feels like a warm bath on a cold night, no matter how bad things are in your own life. Hope your 2025 is better for you on all fronts 💜
I've noticed it here, and I'm slowly getting in. Although it sometimes seems like I have no filters whatsoever (well, in a way I don't) and I'm yelling everything out loud all at once, at the same time I'm very introverted and always by myself nowadays. So I also keep a lot to myself to feel safe. I've got many diagnoses already but mostly lack treatment. And then there's the mystery of now, and what do I do about it by myself. But yeah, thanks again, to you too.
Thank you for sharing. I am grateful you are part of the worm family here and lament with you for the broken healthcare systems in so many places. I hope that you feel supported and encouraged that people in this space see you and value you.
I do feel that, so thank you. Just fighting against decades of gaslighting, telling me I'm the problem. In many things I've had no choice with. It takes time to rearrange a 47-year old brain.
🤔I find it hard to do "favourites" as some horrible topics are epic (Mister Organ-like if you see what I mean 👀) As with others I love the variety here, but most of all the diversity of people in the comments.
The best thing about 2024-going-into-2025 is the emergence of pushback from more "ordinary" folks to govt over-reach in Aotearoa. We have to step up & hold back as much as we can & work to ensure a change of coalition govt in 2026. I hope all the talk about submitting AGAINST the Treaty of Waitangi Bill translates into actually doing it, and also the Regulatory Standards Bill due on 13th Jan, which is potentially more dangerous long term. I feel sad for the good people of the USA in the next 4 years, but have no hope of helping change anything there, whereas those of us who live in Aotearoa have SOME chance if we do our bit.
So, my philosophy in these dark times is take joy & fun where you can😂, hug people close to you "just because"🫂, smile & connect with strangers you meet as you pass by😁, and don't take no sh*! t from racist-misognyist-greedy-uncaring-destructive politicians 🤬or other people trying to make our world worse 👍💪
P. S. I have had a niggle about the "leaf blower" phenomenon in the US v Aotearoa.🤔 Yes most of our native trees are evergreen so less of a leaf dump from them, but due to the penchant for our colonial settlers to bring everything from "home", good or bad, we also have a lot of deciduous imports furiously dropping leaves in autumn. I was sure we have noisy tools for dealing to leaves in our gardening aisles so looked it up - ours are mainly called "Blower Vacs" with often a mulching phase for returning leaf litter as mulch for the garden or compost. So mainly NOT blowing into a pile & waiting on the wind to put them back out there, but vacuum up for disposal in the green rubbish bin or mulch for the garden 🤷 Would the noise be more acceptable if it was a vacuum??? Guessing sucking up & moving on would take less time than trying to push leaves around - someone should do that experiment in 2025 & share⁉️😁
My mum used to use a leaf blower for that purpose, to make it easier to pick up the leaves to mulch/compost. We are surrounded by eucalypts so a shit tonne of leaves that aren’t great in bushfires and spiders and snakes .I naively assumed that is what everyone used them for .
Your shoutouts to Gazan journalists have been my highlight. I have since been wondering, with a stone in my belly, if you've held back on this or have been at all reprimanded for taking a pro-human rights stance on the genocide. Maybe you cant talk about it be abuse it might hurt people you care about. But... Bloody heck.
I haven't held back. No point. People who come at you for talking out about genocide (and they do, in various forms) - they're not worth engaging with. I could not care less.
Its been quite a year. I havent commented here for many months, even though I read everything, except for three stories still on my tabs. Ill get to those now we are in the dead news phase of the year. I have been very distracted with the hopelessness of NZ's political decline. What a shit show the last year here has been with this coalition of racism and greed. But, there is a glimmer of hope as I see more and more people who voted them in unable to defend why they did. Not that they may vote the other way next time.
My dad from Holland stayed in February. That was awesome. He is getting old and it will be his last trip here. My younger brother is coming here this coming February, which is also awesome. He is bringing his partner, who I havent met, and plans to propose while here. We have been planing locations etc. A very exciting project to be involved in. This means our little family will again be going to Holland in the coming years for his wedding. Hopefully that times with my dads 80th. The last time we travelled there was for my younger sisters wedding just prior to the pandemic. My parents split after we moved to NZ when I was 8, dad went back and remarried. My siblings there are 25-28 years younger than me. Its amazing to watch their lives in a digital world they take for granted.
Im turning 52 in a few weeks, and last week I solved the Rubik's cube. Now I cant finish it again without help! Life gives, and life takes.
This was the year I was diagnosed with stage 2a bowel cancer. What a shocker. Five weeks later I had surgery, and several months after was told I dont have cancer anymore. I havent gotten my head around that yet. I dont feel its over, but do feel much stronger and have way more energy then I did a year ago. Maybe it is over. Stage 2a means no spread, stage 2b is spread. It was my dads visit and his doctors letter that prompted me to get checked out. There is history on his side of the family.
I like to think I am wiser after this year, but Im not really. I try to focus more on my son who just turned 8. He is a smart kid crushing it at school and football. I need to break away from this train wreck of a government and spend that extra time on him.
Im rambling now. Wishing you fellow worms the best for 2025. Thank you David for creating one of the best spaces on the internet. Webworm is a gem. I have learned so much here.
Thanks David. I missed your reply. A busy season with BBQs and submissions here.
It happened all so fast, so didnt impact my outlook that much at the time. Just got on with it. But now on the debrief, its sure is something to reflect on. There has been a reset.
Thanks David, all your guest authors and helpers, and all the Wormies who make this such a fabulous corner of the internet ❤️ This place is one of my happy places, here’s hoping the best story of 2025 is all the furry friends you meet and an end to the genocide in Gaza.
I want a boring, plain and almost forgettable 2025 please!
It's stuck with me and is something I've found myself discussing a bunch with friends.
The newsletter from my Substack that seemed to resonate most with people was this piece on reframing "Lifters and Leaners" in society when we manage to see beyond profit as our sole aim. It also proposes that politicians should campaign on increasing "GDN" (Gross Domestic Napping).
I haven't read as much Webworm as usual this year, but I'm still thrilled to be a part of it. Thank you, David, for what you do and thanks to the crazy talented guest writers for your bonus insights!
I don't like doing a year in review (I view New Year's as an arbitrary date, bc I'm obnoxious like that), but seeing everybody's posts all over had me reflecting anyway. My year summed up: The 2 worst events of my life occurred in 2024, yet I am still ending it feeling more self-confident and loved than I ever have in all my thirtysomething years. I have some beautiful, authentic relationships, and I'm certain I wouldn't have survived without my people.
Feels like you perfectly summed up a year in far less words than I did - which is a very good thing! I am incredibly happy that you feel that way despite two horrible things. That's an amazing outlook to have, and very pleased how things have worked out. I like happy worms.
Also - thanks for sticking around and supporting this place, even if you don't have the time to absorb all my ramblings. Means a lot.
"You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty." - Jessica Mitford
This year I've felt myself become more jaded with each injustice that piles up. Having Webworm as a place where a few bastards are uncovered, and talking about it all doesn't feel scary, helps a little bit. Thank you 🙏🏻
PS we are currently looking after a wee rescue duckling and you would love her. When she stretches you can see how tiny her wings are, they are absolutely pointless. She is flightless af.
I love that you have a duckling. Growing up, my dad worked as a vet, and at one point we had a whole family of ducklings (sans parents, sad - but why we had them) in the tub.
You rock.
And glad Webworm could be a lil' light / companion this year.
I have sooo many photos of her, but I don't think there is a photo posting function in this part of Substack. I posted one in the latest animals thread though 🤍 We just said goodbye to little Reid today, she has now been taken in by a nice lady in Karaka who has a whole flock of orphaned ducks of all ages on her farm. Once they can fly they can just go off, but mostly they end up chilling there anyway. Feeling so proud of our little one who has beaten the odds to live this long. Such a great way to begin the year, witnessing that kind of resilience in a soft creature.
I can't pick a single favourite Webworn for two reasons. One, they're all amazing and I appreciate every word you write. And two, I've worked so hard this year that my brain hasn't had the space to appreciate the good things in life as much as I'd like to.
But.
I survived the year, and I'm a midwife. I did it. I start in a couple of weeks.
In 2024 I discovered Webworm and it’s become a truly supportive online community to wrestle with life as it hits us from all sides. David is such a genuine human and a journalist
who truly cares about integrity and ethics - which is so hard to find with all the pink slime journalism out there. Thanks David for your work and this space…and stay curious!
Highly recommend Severance (Apple +) and Interview with the Vampire (AMC seasons 1 and 2) - yea they aren’t from 2024 but I binged both recently and they were fantastic.
Thanks for being here. There is SO much consistently good stuff on Apple - they just don't promote it eh?! Hanging out for Severance season 2 - and currently getting through season 1 of Silo.
Yesss! Excited for Season 2 of Severance and I’ve heard really good things about Silo. I’ll need to check it out! I did see that Apple + canceled the new Time Bandits series after season 1 - it was barely promoted.
It's been a rough one but a few highlights were sprinkled in.
1. I completed my Divemaster qualification. One thing that surprised me about the course was how much it boosted my confidence. My self esteem had taken a beating in my professional job and working with scuba instructors who had full confidence in me to make decisions and lead was huge for me.
2. I dived with hammerhead sharks in Japan. An animal long on my bucket list.
3. I left the aforementioned toxic professional job on 20 Dec and now have a six week break before I start a new job.
4. My cats 🐈 and guinea pigs 🐹 bring me joy every day.
Spaceman Barry really stuck with me after my partner told me about the old guy he moved in with when he moved to Wellington from the UK. Thankfully no dark twists, but the story of an unlikely, yet wholesome friendship between a guy in his 20s and his roommate in his 70s with the sad ending that the old guy died alone after my partner had to move on with his life really struck me. My partner wasn’t ready to listen until the FB ep came out, but was shocked how similar the bones of the story were to his own experience.
What I continue to love about Webworm is being exposed to stories, music, movies, books I would never have come across, it’s made my realize NZ isn’t the Utopia us Americans like to dream it to be, as well as seeing America through fresh eyes, and the dialogue of fellow wormers in the comments.
I recently started listening to Delve and it’s made me realize how brave you have to be to voice alternate opinions and speak up against powerful people in such a small country. In the Fractured season of Delve they often mention how in NZ no one speaks up against doctors. This hit home to me how courageous your investigations into Mister Organ and Arise church were and what a personal toll that must have taken on you.
Yeah - New Zealand definitely isn't the utopia it's often marketed as!
PS - thanks!
I have spent the last year finding myself again after leaving a toxic job and decided to live a more authentic life going forward -- at least, as much as I can, given the parameters in which I live. A big part of that is getting back to the things I love most. Two of the biggest ones are going to shows & photography at those shows. This year has been a whirlwind of meeting new people and reconnecting with old, which seems incredibly wild because I think I spent the whole of my 30s wondering, how do you make friends as an adult??? And now, it just seems so easy & natural to me. It happens nearly every time I leave my house which seems like an exaggeration, but it's not...! I really like talking to people.
There are a lot of stories I could tell here but the one that most encapsulates the year is this one:
In September of 2023, I went to the Supernova International Ska Festival by myself. I had skipped the prior year because of work and I had just mostly fallen out of going to shows. I wasn't even sure what I liked anymore at that point. But after a year of getting my head clear, I got myself a hotel in Hampton, VA and just went, no expectations. And, for the first time in 7 or 8 years, I took my old DSLR camera with me.
I saw a few old friends from my time in the scene back in my 20s and a few folks I knew from bands but that was it. I had a good time, took some nice photos, saw some of my favorite bands, heard some new ones, but largely kept to myself. It was a good time. Very low-key. I thought, well, maybe this is what it's like to go to shows now as a legit grownup.
Over the days I was there, I kept seeing this woman walking around and I just thought she was absolutely gorgeous. Very striking. Great sense of style, smoking hot. I consider myself pansexual or bisexual but honestly, women pretty much never have that effect on me. The last day of the fest, she was wearing this sheer black dress coverup thing and I was like, damn, I want to be like her. I want to wear stuff like that but I could never. I'm too fat and gross. Later in the day, I discovered she was actually in a band; I saw her on stage with Rude Girl Revue, which is an all female band made up of women from bands across the ska scene. She sang! And I just thought she was incredible. I had no clue who she was but I was still thinking about her in the following days and completely hearteyes-ing over her. I messaged one of my friends on Twitter to tell her about this beautiful woman and was scolded for not talking to her or finding out any additional details about her. I showed her photos of the woman on stage and she agreed, yes, she's super hot, and encouraged me to find out who she was and tell her I liked her outfit and her set at the festival.
So, I looked up the band and found out her name is Karole and that she was one of the singers in a band called Stop the Presses. I followed her on Twitter and started comment on her tweets occasionally and we became friendly. A few months later, I drove all the way to Virginia Beach to see Stop the Presses play and finally got to meet her. She was so incredibly sweet; she gave me a bracelet she made and some band trinkets. It was still a little awkward and I didn't know what to say but overall, it was a good experience. We continued to talk online and then, a few months later, I attempted to see the band in DC, but missed their set due to traffic. This time, we definitely yapped a bit more. We were pals.
I'm not sure when I saw her again but after that, we yapped a lot. She was a friend. Fast forward to this year at Supernova. This gorgeous woman is actually my friend. We hung out and talked a lot. I told her the story of how I saw her and immediately had a crush on her and we laughed about it and took an anniversary photo together on the last day of the festival. And, that day, I wore a rainbow checkered bikini under a sheer black coverup and let everyone see my queer fat ass and I simply did not care because I felt awesome. This year, Karole had an amazing solo with Ride Girl Revue and she absolutely killed it. I was literally standing there going, OMG, that's my friend!!! That hot talented woman is my crush and my friend!!!
I just saw her a few weeks ago in Baltimore with Rude Girl Revue and it was pretty much a mutual gush session about how much we love each as friends because we love to lift each other up. Also, she was really gorgeous and I took a million photos of her, lol. Our most recent conversation online was about encouraging each other to purge some of our "too much stuff" in the new year even though it's sometimes hard to do.
That's how my life has been this year, though. It's incredible! Like, you mean to tell me that the ridiculous talented hot woman that lives in New York City wants to be friends with *me*?!! Sounds fake. But it's real!!! You guys, I grew up in Culpeper, Virginia and now I live in an even more obscure place called Orange, Virginia and I used to be an insurance agent and a nanny and I live with my parents now. I am nobody and certainly nobody cool. I am also weird and queer and neurodivergent. But man, people have been so kind to me this year. I have made so many friends and have other cool stories like this one. I'm not sure exactly what's going on other than, I am doing my best to be more authentic and not hide who I am. The things that got me in trouble as a kid and the things I was scolded for....the things my mother still doesn't like about me......are the things that people seem to connect with, I think.
I never make any new years resolutions but I think in 2025, I'd like to visit the west coast and/or get a passport so I can visit Mexico, Central America, or South America. I have more old friends to reconnect with and more new ones to make.
What a cool story. With two transitioning children, we are so happy when they meet people who accept them and are kind, so can totally relate.
Figuring out who I am is an on-going, life-long process for me. Thankfully, there are kind people out there; you just gotta find em.
Good luck to your kids. And, it's wonderful that they have a family that supports them. That makes me really happy. :)
Oh, and just so nobody thinks I'm trying to misrepresent myself here, I am not trans. I'm a cis lady, I think. My gender identity has always been kind of weird and fluid but for the moment, I think gender nonconforming female describes me best. Or, just queer lady for short. To my understanding, queer is kind of an umbrella term, so it works well for me, someone that doesn't quite know what I am.
Hey, this is awesome and I feel like there's an uncanny number of parallels with my own journey of the last couple years...queer, ND, discovering myself later in life (I'm 37), having fulfilling relationships at long last. Oh plus I live in MD :) Really happy for you!
Oh, very cool! In the past year, since I've started going to shows again, I've been to Maryland quite a few times! Most recently, I spent a weekend in Baltimore for two ska shows.
Super happy for you, as well. Here's to continuing on our journeys of self-discovery in 2025! :)
That Heroes piece had a bit of a darker point, early in the drafting process - essentially I wrote that, given our diet of hero narratives as instructions for fixing an increasingly broken society, more assassinations and other forms of individualised violence against otherwise unassailably powerful people were all but inevitable.
I cut it, because I didn’t want to look like I was advocating violence. In light of recent events, I regret the error.
Also, how good was Absolution? So vivid and strange and otherworldly, I loved it.
Really enjoyed your Heroes piece! I remember my eyes getting wider and wider as I continued to read and take in the overall message. Very thought provoking! Thanks Josh :).
Being here on Webworm has been one of the rare good things this year for me. For a couple of weeks or so I've been incapable of reacting to or engaging with anything really, but I've been reading everything. Also, I'm going through the archives, and that's pretty much all I do now when I'm not watching TV or listening to podcasts. I'm ill, and nobody responds to it, the public healthcare system here is on its last legs. I don't know what's wrong with me, this time, other than I had that bad "flu" in September. I'm waiting for somebody to take me seriously, maybe it'll happen in 2025. But I'm glad I'm still here. I mean, on Earth. Maybe I'm now becoming one of the millions missing, maybe not, I don't know. I really don't.
I couldn't share anything as a gift, although I would've wanted to - because I have nobody to share things with. Since Twitter has been so utterly destroyed, I lost even the very few followers I had anywhere. I have a couple of friends I'm still in contact with and I tend to mention things I've read on here often, as people with special interests tend to do. But I don't even have the energy to have any conversations with anybody right now. Maybe later.
I remember "The Futility of Punishment" from June so, so well, and I had so many thoughts on it, and I wanted to share them, somewhere, but I couldn't find a way then. I still might do that, if things get better. It was a very important piece for me, but now I've spent all the spoons that I don't even have really, on this one comment, before I go to bed (it's past midnight, why am I still awake?) and can't really elaborate on that much more.
I just needed to say thank you for everything and I hope things go well next year, for everybody. I've found kindness here that I haven't expected from this world anymore for quite a while, and I wish a tonne of kindness for everyone in the future too.
I'll be back when I can. <3
We are very, very glad to have you here, S. Thanks for saying thanks - that all means a lot - and there is absolutely no rush to share thoughts. The articles are not going anywhere, and neither am I!
Ty 💙
🫂 One of the "gifts" of spaces like this & writers like David & others, is the incidentals you learn along the way from both them & people in the comments - I don't know how many people have shared stories about being un-diagnosed or mis-diagnosed or dis-believed about their health 😢 and the kind & supportive responses. Sometimes strangers on the internet can help us get through enough until we are out the other side - being a "worm" always feels like a warm bath on a cold night, no matter how bad things are in your own life. Hope your 2025 is better for you on all fronts 💜
I've noticed it here, and I'm slowly getting in. Although it sometimes seems like I have no filters whatsoever (well, in a way I don't) and I'm yelling everything out loud all at once, at the same time I'm very introverted and always by myself nowadays. So I also keep a lot to myself to feel safe. I've got many diagnoses already but mostly lack treatment. And then there's the mystery of now, and what do I do about it by myself. But yeah, thanks again, to you too.
Thank you for sharing. I am grateful you are part of the worm family here and lament with you for the broken healthcare systems in so many places. I hope that you feel supported and encouraged that people in this space see you and value you.
I do feel that, so thank you. Just fighting against decades of gaslighting, telling me I'm the problem. In many things I've had no choice with. It takes time to rearrange a 47-year old brain.
Webworm is the best journalism on the internet. Hope everyone has a Happy New Year 🫶
Thanks, Jaz - and happy new year to you. Let's hope 2025 has a bit more light in it.
🤔I find it hard to do "favourites" as some horrible topics are epic (Mister Organ-like if you see what I mean 👀) As with others I love the variety here, but most of all the diversity of people in the comments.
The best thing about 2024-going-into-2025 is the emergence of pushback from more "ordinary" folks to govt over-reach in Aotearoa. We have to step up & hold back as much as we can & work to ensure a change of coalition govt in 2026. I hope all the talk about submitting AGAINST the Treaty of Waitangi Bill translates into actually doing it, and also the Regulatory Standards Bill due on 13th Jan, which is potentially more dangerous long term. I feel sad for the good people of the USA in the next 4 years, but have no hope of helping change anything there, whereas those of us who live in Aotearoa have SOME chance if we do our bit.
So, my philosophy in these dark times is take joy & fun where you can😂, hug people close to you "just because"🫂, smile & connect with strangers you meet as you pass by😁, and don't take no sh*! t from racist-misognyist-greedy-uncaring-destructive politicians 🤬or other people trying to make our world worse 👍💪
P. S. I have had a niggle about the "leaf blower" phenomenon in the US v Aotearoa.🤔 Yes most of our native trees are evergreen so less of a leaf dump from them, but due to the penchant for our colonial settlers to bring everything from "home", good or bad, we also have a lot of deciduous imports furiously dropping leaves in autumn. I was sure we have noisy tools for dealing to leaves in our gardening aisles so looked it up - ours are mainly called "Blower Vacs" with often a mulching phase for returning leaf litter as mulch for the garden or compost. So mainly NOT blowing into a pile & waiting on the wind to put them back out there, but vacuum up for disposal in the green rubbish bin or mulch for the garden 🤷 Would the noise be more acceptable if it was a vacuum??? Guessing sucking up & moving on would take less time than trying to push leaves around - someone should do that experiment in 2025 & share⁉️😁
My mum used to use a leaf blower for that purpose, to make it easier to pick up the leaves to mulch/compost. We are surrounded by eucalypts so a shit tonne of leaves that aren’t great in bushfires and spiders and snakes .I naively assumed that is what everyone used them for .
Your shoutouts to Gazan journalists have been my highlight. I have since been wondering, with a stone in my belly, if you've held back on this or have been at all reprimanded for taking a pro-human rights stance on the genocide. Maybe you cant talk about it be abuse it might hurt people you care about. But... Bloody heck.
I haven't held back. No point. People who come at you for talking out about genocide (and they do, in various forms) - they're not worth engaging with. I could not care less.
Its been quite a year. I havent commented here for many months, even though I read everything, except for three stories still on my tabs. Ill get to those now we are in the dead news phase of the year. I have been very distracted with the hopelessness of NZ's political decline. What a shit show the last year here has been with this coalition of racism and greed. But, there is a glimmer of hope as I see more and more people who voted them in unable to defend why they did. Not that they may vote the other way next time.
My dad from Holland stayed in February. That was awesome. He is getting old and it will be his last trip here. My younger brother is coming here this coming February, which is also awesome. He is bringing his partner, who I havent met, and plans to propose while here. We have been planing locations etc. A very exciting project to be involved in. This means our little family will again be going to Holland in the coming years for his wedding. Hopefully that times with my dads 80th. The last time we travelled there was for my younger sisters wedding just prior to the pandemic. My parents split after we moved to NZ when I was 8, dad went back and remarried. My siblings there are 25-28 years younger than me. Its amazing to watch their lives in a digital world they take for granted.
Im turning 52 in a few weeks, and last week I solved the Rubik's cube. Now I cant finish it again without help! Life gives, and life takes.
This was the year I was diagnosed with stage 2a bowel cancer. What a shocker. Five weeks later I had surgery, and several months after was told I dont have cancer anymore. I havent gotten my head around that yet. I dont feel its over, but do feel much stronger and have way more energy then I did a year ago. Maybe it is over. Stage 2a means no spread, stage 2b is spread. It was my dads visit and his doctors letter that prompted me to get checked out. There is history on his side of the family.
I like to think I am wiser after this year, but Im not really. I try to focus more on my son who just turned 8. He is a smart kid crushing it at school and football. I need to break away from this train wreck of a government and spend that extra time on him.
Im rambling now. Wishing you fellow worms the best for 2025. Thank you David for creating one of the best spaces on the internet. Webworm is a gem. I have learned so much here.
S - I am so, so glad you caught it and beat it and I can't even begin to imagine what that does to your outlook/brain.
Here's to you, and your dad, and your son who's crushing it.
Fuckin a.
Thanks David. I missed your reply. A busy season with BBQs and submissions here.
It happened all so fast, so didnt impact my outlook that much at the time. Just got on with it. But now on the debrief, its sure is something to reflect on. There has been a reset.
Here's to you and yours.
Thanks David, all your guest authors and helpers, and all the Wormies who make this such a fabulous corner of the internet ❤️ This place is one of my happy places, here’s hoping the best story of 2025 is all the furry friends you meet and an end to the genocide in Gaza.
I want a boring, plain and almost forgettable 2025 please!
Thanks for continuing to make this place the perfect blend of weird, expansive, curious, and an expletive-laden pursuit of a more just world.
My non-Webworm piece of the year was this stunner from @celestemdavis "In defence of horrible botox": https://celestemdavis.substack.com/p/in-defense-of-horrible-botox.
It's stuck with me and is something I've found myself discussing a bunch with friends.
The newsletter from my Substack that seemed to resonate most with people was this piece on reframing "Lifters and Leaners" in society when we manage to see beyond profit as our sole aim. It also proposes that politicians should campaign on increasing "GDN" (Gross Domestic Napping).
https://theuntethereddilemma.substack.com/p/lifters-leaners-and-social-glue
Special mention to @lisasibbett and "The Auntie Bulletin", this piece connecting the U.S. Surgeon General's Warnings on the loneliness epidemic and the toll of intensive parenting was great: https://theauntie.substack.com/p/a-tale-of-two-surgeon-generals-warnings
Feel very lucky I got to hang with you in Melbourne briefly this year, Shane!
It was the best.
I’ll hold those gentle knee caresses in my heart until we hang again 😆
I haven't read as much Webworm as usual this year, but I'm still thrilled to be a part of it. Thank you, David, for what you do and thanks to the crazy talented guest writers for your bonus insights!
I don't like doing a year in review (I view New Year's as an arbitrary date, bc I'm obnoxious like that), but seeing everybody's posts all over had me reflecting anyway. My year summed up: The 2 worst events of my life occurred in 2024, yet I am still ending it feeling more self-confident and loved than I ever have in all my thirtysomething years. I have some beautiful, authentic relationships, and I'm certain I wouldn't have survived without my people.
Happy New Year/Really Just Wednesday, worms.
Feels like you perfectly summed up a year in far less words than I did - which is a very good thing! I am incredibly happy that you feel that way despite two horrible things. That's an amazing outlook to have, and very pleased how things have worked out. I like happy worms.
Also - thanks for sticking around and supporting this place, even if you don't have the time to absorb all my ramblings. Means a lot.
"You may not be able to change the world, but at least you can embarrass the guilty." - Jessica Mitford
This year I've felt myself become more jaded with each injustice that piles up. Having Webworm as a place where a few bastards are uncovered, and talking about it all doesn't feel scary, helps a little bit. Thank you 🙏🏻
PS we are currently looking after a wee rescue duckling and you would love her. When she stretches you can see how tiny her wings are, they are absolutely pointless. She is flightless af.
I love that you have a duckling. Growing up, my dad worked as a vet, and at one point we had a whole family of ducklings (sans parents, sad - but why we had them) in the tub.
You rock.
And glad Webworm could be a lil' light / companion this year.
Thanks for helping make it possible!
Do you have photos of said duckling? We have native ducks in the park behind us and I always hope they will migrate to our place❤️
I have sooo many photos of her, but I don't think there is a photo posting function in this part of Substack. I posted one in the latest animals thread though 🤍 We just said goodbye to little Reid today, she has now been taken in by a nice lady in Karaka who has a whole flock of orphaned ducks of all ages on her farm. Once they can fly they can just go off, but mostly they end up chilling there anyway. Feeling so proud of our little one who has beaten the odds to live this long. Such a great way to begin the year, witnessing that kind of resilience in a soft creature.
I can't pick a single favourite Webworn for two reasons. One, they're all amazing and I appreciate every word you write. And two, I've worked so hard this year that my brain hasn't had the space to appreciate the good things in life as much as I'd like to.
But.
I survived the year, and I'm a midwife. I did it. I start in a couple of weeks.
That is all.
YOU DID IT THIS IS GREAT NEWS TO ENTER 2025 WITH JAY!!!
In 2024 I discovered Webworm and it’s become a truly supportive online community to wrestle with life as it hits us from all sides. David is such a genuine human and a journalist
who truly cares about integrity and ethics - which is so hard to find with all the pink slime journalism out there. Thanks David for your work and this space…and stay curious!
Highly recommend Severance (Apple +) and Interview with the Vampire (AMC seasons 1 and 2) - yea they aren’t from 2024 but I binged both recently and they were fantastic.
Thanks for being here. There is SO much consistently good stuff on Apple - they just don't promote it eh?! Hanging out for Severance season 2 - and currently getting through season 1 of Silo.
Yesss! Excited for Season 2 of Severance and I’ve heard really good things about Silo. I’ll need to check it out! I did see that Apple + canceled the new Time Bandits series after season 1 - it was barely promoted.
It's been a rough one but a few highlights were sprinkled in.
1. I completed my Divemaster qualification. One thing that surprised me about the course was how much it boosted my confidence. My self esteem had taken a beating in my professional job and working with scuba instructors who had full confidence in me to make decisions and lead was huge for me.
2. I dived with hammerhead sharks in Japan. An animal long on my bucket list.
3. I left the aforementioned toxic professional job on 20 Dec and now have a six week break before I start a new job.
4. My cats 🐈 and guinea pigs 🐹 bring me joy every day.
Happy new year, David and fellow worms 🪱.
Oh, heck yeah! Here's to leaving toxic jobs!!! Good luck with the new one. :)
Spaceman Barry really stuck with me after my partner told me about the old guy he moved in with when he moved to Wellington from the UK. Thankfully no dark twists, but the story of an unlikely, yet wholesome friendship between a guy in his 20s and his roommate in his 70s with the sad ending that the old guy died alone after my partner had to move on with his life really struck me. My partner wasn’t ready to listen until the FB ep came out, but was shocked how similar the bones of the story were to his own experience.