We watched on as villagers fled in terror from the path of incoming ash clouds as Mt Semeru erupted over Java island, Indonesia.

It's the second time that particular volcano has erupted this year, in a nation that faces near-constant threat from more than 100 active volcanoes.

On the east coast of Australia, we felt the weight of frequent severe storms and flooding as La Nina continues to extend its watery power over the nation.

The storms were so great in Penrith, NSW it managed to bring the roof of a Homeco centre down around unsuspecting Christmas shoppers.

Meanwhile, on the west coast, bushfire threats have returned as the Northern Territory, Western Australia and parts of the southern interior face heatwave conditions.

And then there's the alarming news that a 'world-first' mutation of the worrying Omicron COVID-19 strain may have been discovered in Queensland. The week is looking sunny with a chance of virus, apparently.

At the very least, we were told that in some parts of the nation, we might be able to expect a weather reprieve for Christmas Day.

So, as the worst of the news fills our minds, we in the Australia Community Media (ACM) video team wanted to find some pallette cleansers.

Here are a few of our favourite videos from the week that was.

A team of 12 dogs have been hired to help solve a decades-long dilemma outside the Sydney Opera House.

"Seagulls have been a problem at the Opera House since it was built," dog trainser James Webb said.

That's why his company, Mad Dogs and Englishman, have been brought in.

"When the dogs are not there, the seagulls have free reign at the food," Mr Webb said.

"Quite often the food wouldn't even get to the table before it was stolen by the seagulls or had to be taken back to the kitchen because the birds had gotten all over it."

Since the dogs have been on the patrol (or pawtrol, you're welcome), the Opera House bar and restaurant has indicated it's been able to save enormously on its costs and its overheads by not having to trash the food the seagulls so often get to.

This week, Canberra's National Film and Sound Archive officially published its 'Sounds of Australia' list.

It includes Gotye's Somebody That I Used To Know, Kevin Rudd's 2008 apology speech, Renee Geyer's Heading in the Right Direction, Australia's first gay and lesbian radio program Gaywaves, and so forth.

All of the iconic sounds that Australians believe make us who we are through history.

But, there is a bit of a question hanging over at least one of those listed above. Is Gotye really Australian?

The song features New Zealand singer Kimbra and while Gotye has had a long residence in Australia, he was born in Belgium.

It also didn't come out all that long ago. 2011, well that's just happened, hasn't it?! How has it already been a decade?

"This is an interesting one because it came out in 2011. Given that we have a rule that it has to be 10 years old or older, it's made it on the list in the first year it was available," National Film and Sound Archive curator Thorsten Kaeding says.

"That just goes to show what an impact it had when it came out, not only as a song, but as a social media phenomenon, and a YouTube sensation."

This one is an older video, but it's resurfaced this week and we're thrilled about it.

There's something so mesmerizing about a timelapse video, especially a bridge build timelapse.

The footage was taken between November 2019 and April 2020 when the new bridge over Batemans Bay was being built.

Shot from the northern foreshore, the video captures the gradual change in the city's skyline as the bushfires turned the world red.

Captured by Transport for NSW, a spokesperson said of the video it showed the "lasting effects of the bushfires and the rebuilding still to come".