I stare at the messy kitchen used by seven people where we live here in Auckland and see the challenge. Long ago I learned to see domestic work as a form of meditation. It can also be an exercise in gratitude. As I pick up rubbish and put it into the large garbage bag I […]
Rod MacKenzie
CRACKING CHINA was previously the title of this blog. That title was used as the name for Rod MacKenzie's second book, Cracking China: a memoir of our first three years in China. From a review in the Johannesburg Star: " Mackenzie's writing is shot through with humour and there are many laugh-out-loud scenes". Cracking China is available as an eBook on Amazon Kindle or get a hard copy from www.knowledgethirstmedia.co.za.
His previous book is a collection of poetry,Gathering Light.
A born and bred South African, Rod now lives in Auckland, New Zealand, after a number of years working in southern mainland China and a stint in England.
Under the editorship of David Bullard and Michael Trapido he had a column called "The Mocking Truth" on NewsTime until the newszine folded.
He has a Master's Degree in Creative Writing from the University of Auckland. if you are a big, BIG publisher you should ask to see one of his many manuscript novels. Follow Rod on Twitter @ https://twitter.com/Rod_in_China
Posted inGeneral
SA News? Best thriller read on the planet, but…
I love following SA news. The kiwi stuff is lukewarm potty water compared to the fiery mampoer of the SA film scripts that get dished out every week. Yes, they’re potential film scripts: from the shenanigans of Julius Seizure to the recent, apparent uncovering of the first democratic election in 1994 being rigged in places […]
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In a world of rape and tweets, what’s happened to handwritten love letters?
There’s something heartwarming about the thing made over time with tenderness and given to a loved one. Hallmark cards have nothing on a child’s personal creation made with bright crayons for his mom. Nor do tweets and SMSs, filled with “mwah” and gratuitous images of flowers. Imagine coming home with a crown of flowers for […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Booted out of school for speaking Xhosa?
Sixteen-year-old Luthando Nxasana was allegedly asked to leave a class at Roosevelt High in Johannesburg for speaking Xhosa. This, on the face of it, sounds scandalous and has managed to make news internationally. But it becomes less scandalous when one realises that the class she was attending was given in the medium of another language, […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Koran burning: How much of Terry Jones is in us all?
“What a dick,” I muttered, shaking my head as I watched Terry Jones, yet another apostle of the Christian fundamentalist lunatic fringe*, declare on television that he was going to publicly burn the Koran as part of his church’s ceremony to observe the anniversary of 9/11. “What on earth makes him and his ilk think […]
Posted inGeneral
Poor SA immigrants volunteer for Kiwi earthquake clean-up
Dear Right Honourable John Key I was taking a lovely walk through your beautiful suburban countryside here in Auckland, contemplating the massive earthquake that struck Christchurch yesterday, which registered at least 7 on the Richter scale. Whenever I have the balls to think I am in a bad situation, not belonging to a country (more than […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Corruption works in China, not in SA
It was a sunny day in Shanghai on Nanjing West road, apparently the longest shopping road in the world. We ex-pats were doing what ex-pats do on a day off, sitting in a favourite pub, The Long Bar, fronting the Ritz-Portman hotel. While we sipped our beers a small body of citizens gathered outside the […]
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First sexual encounters and shame
So I have to change her name. Well, at least to the name I have chosen to use in a semi-autobiographical novel I am writing, tentatively titled Shame. Well I remember being attracted to Alexis in what was then a rural part of Boksburg. She had a younger brother, Cosmo, and the three of us […]
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Gays, race and this institutional thing of marriage
Truth be told, I am not married and have never been married, now at the sweet, tender, gullible age of 47. That’s right, the Chook and I (the Chook being my missus Marion) have never stood under showers of confetti and their lovely, tasteful representation of great fertility: clouds of sperm pouring luxuriously through the […]
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Rugby World Cup at Kiwi cut-throat prices
The current furore in New Zealand about the country being a rip-off for tourists (so look out rugby World Cup 2011 tourists) should be taken seriously when a former All Black who played in 81 test matches says NZ is “really expensive”and suggests that pricing needs to be addressed. Former All Black Justin Marshall bases […]
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Her ashes in New Zealand, her ashes in South Africa
A South African tourist, Tayla Storm, died in New Zealand after a lengthy battle with a rare infection. The tragedy for her and her family will be felt for many years to come. The clumsy cliché of the previous sentence reminds me of how words simply get in the way of expressing how we feel. […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Uninsured SA tourist in critical state gets amazing Kiwi medical care
A South African visitor has so far cost New Zealand about one and a half million rands because of a rare infection she contracted whilst travelling here in New Zealand. After reading this spectacular sample of hospitality and humanity I needed to take a walk and chose Takapuna beach to clear my mind. Takapuna beach […]