I’ve been speaking to a guy this morning who complained of being put on “short-time”. The factory where he is employed only has enough work to allow employees to work two days a week — meaning they only get two days’ pay per week. I used to work in a factory. And there, the marketing […]
2008
Posted inNews/Politics
Choices, choices, choices …
To pick up your son, or not to pick up your son — That is the question, Whether tis nobler in the mind to let him walk home by himself And get kidnapped or killed just by chance Or to take arms with you in your car And when you’re threatened, shoot them. Maybe you […]
Posted inLifestyle
And now for something completely different …
In light of the fact (no pun intended) that Eskom switched my power back on just in time for my favourite TV show of the week, here are a few of the best TV shows ever made (according to me). Feel free to add your own: Seinfeld. Top of my list and one of the […]
Posted inNews/Politics
White privilege and the ANC
Much focus has been placed on personalities in the efforts to understand the contestation between President Thabo Mbeki and ANC president Jacob Zuma. But this battle is primarily a contestation of ideas. On the one end is the hodgepodge of the Zuma motley crew, combining Cosatu’s social democratic capitalism and urban worker orientation; the ANC […]
Posted inLifestyle
Movies, movies and more movies
Oh dear, more movies to watch. It’s not like I don’t have three or four previews in a week, and then there are the DVDs piling up at home … The second edition of 1 001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (Cassell) is out. The previous edition (2003) ended with The Pianist; this one […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Crime is on the rise
This headline has been seen often over the past few days. Is it just me or is crime getting out of control? I decided to look at a few of the different newspapers over the past 24 hours and try to get a feel of what else is going on around here. Here is an […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Holy cow! It’s a judge!
In any country in the world, the leader of the ruling party is seen as the most powerful politician in the world. Even where this person is not necessarily the head of state or the head of government, the influence such a person has over the president or prime minister makes him or her very […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
The silence of the frogs
Frogs. It’s all about the frogs. Or at least not just about frogs as such, but about what our little amphibian neighbours teach us. Ecologists call frogs an indicator species because, with their highly permeable skins and living both in water and on land, frogs are among the first species to show if something is […]
Posted inBusiness, News/Politics
Private healthcare’s ‘super’ profits
People often accuse journalists of profiting from the misfortune of others. So do private hospitals, except they do much better. According to Business Day, the Hospital Association of South Africa, which represents the private hospital industry, is stepping up its campaign to convince the government not to regulate private hospital fees. It is arguing that […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Astronomy the answer to Eskom and our injured national pride
No one thought any worse of Californians when that US state plunged into a power crisis a few years back. Yet we South Africans are upset about both our current (or lack thereof!) situation and its effect on our image. The sentiment is that we’ve now been shown up as no different to the “rest […]
Posted inLifestyle
Is it possible to go crazy from being put on hold?
Yes. After some extended quality time with Telkom’s automated hold system this morning, these are a few of my (least) favourite things about being put on hold: They’re cheap. They only invested in 45 seconds of badly mastered pan-pipe instrumentals, and then looped it. This is more than a little annoying when you’re on hold […]
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle, Tech
Give me the info, but make it quick
I’ve developed a curious reading disorder and I’ve established that I’m not alone. I hardly read in the strictest sense any longer. I’m stretching if I have to read a piece of more than 500 words without getting to the point. I ignore articles that have vague headlines. Ninety percent of my knowledge of current […]