A funeral attended by presidents past and present. It is Senator Edward Kennedy’s final farewell held at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Boston. A milieu has come full circle in American politics. The “new king” presides over a ceremony rich in symbolism, a king spiritually descended from the noble line of Camelot. America is […]
2009
Posted inLifestyle
Crickets from hell — encounters with Parktown prawns
Why is that that Parktown prawns (a misnomer I’ll come back to) elicit so intense a degree of revulsion? True, they are appalling ugly. In addition, their tendency to jump when startled — frequently straight at you — is, to say the least, disconcerting, and the smell of their excreta is indeed revolting. And when […]
Posted inGeneral
Farming meat is not evil, and I support the seal hunt
I read with disdain a Thought Leader blog that called the farming of meat “evil”. I have just returned to Canada and I visiting my parents on the farm and it is killing time. I say this to be provocative and honest about what we do. The chickens and turkeys are fully grown and we […]
Posted inLifestyle
Do you know what you’re touching?!
Yes, I know. It’s anal. Even slightly creepy. But it makes sense. I freely admit that I am one of those people who hangs around in public toilets waiting for someone else to come in or go out so I don’t have to touch the door handle. Or performing acrobats so I can use my […]
Posted inGeneral
Merciful justice
To build the society that we want to live in, which principle do we think is more important — mercy or justice? This was the topic of the latest of the discussion groups that I attended. At first most of us had our knee-jerk opinion — we had decided on our principles and decided which […]
Posted inGeneral
The ‘big men’ of the field
When de-colonisation was sweeping across Africa, the leaders that took charge of the newly created democracies on this continent were often given the title of “Big Men”. It describes those individuals who were directly responsible for their countries’ liberation, and then took control with an unyielding fist. Examples include Kenya’s Daniel Arap Moi, former Zaire’s […]
Posted inGeneral
Is media obesity tempering our enjoyment of sports?
Today, sport is everywhere. With satellite communications becoming the norm rather then the exception in the 1990s, the Oozies (2000s) have seen satellite television coverage, especially that of sport, mushroom in a fashion comparable to that of the daisies in the Namaqualand spring. SuperSport is one of the world’s largest and most successful broadcasters of […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Understanding Allan Boesak
I am no apologist for Allan Boesak, who hit the headlines again this week after he resigned from the Congress of the People. However, I have known the man for a long time and have tried to understand his mind through all the dramas in his life. These dramas, of course, include the Di Scott […]
Posted inMedia
Yesterday, a short-lived war broke out between the US and SA
“Irony 101: #thingsdarkiessay is not racist in South Africa — What’s NOT racist in South Africa? Apartheid wasn’t Disneyland.” A virtual war between the United States and South Africa was full-on yesterday, the weapon of choice being Twitter. Unfortunately, the weapon was an American one too. Of course in the bigger scheme of things, even […]
Posted inNews/Politics
What drove the Aids holocaust?
A genocide which has claimed more lives than Adolf Hitler’s gas chambers: the 20th century African holocaust. Who is to blame this time? What devil lurks in the background wreaking such ruin on our people? The answer is plain and simple — party politics. A chapter in the long Aids death march has come to […]
Posted inGeneral
Personal classifieds for ANC, DA et al
If you like Peeing in Eldorado, and getting caught in the rain. If you’re not into yoga, and you can’t stand the arms deal drain. Call Patricia at 021 792 6435 —————– Man looking for Women — South Africa From each according to his ability, to each according to his need And man did I […]
Posted inLifestyle
Goodbye Citi Golf…
The announcement by VW that they are going to discontinue the iconic Citi Golf range left me all warm and fuzzy inside and took me down memory lane. Getting my first car, which was a 1.6i indigo blue Citi Life with massive wheels, stunning rims and dropped suspension, was a bit like falling in love […]