It is our second visit to Korea, less than two years after the first, and my initial (favourable) impressions of the country have been confirmed on more than one occasion already. I have been invited here by a colleague to present a paper at a conference on science fiction, but because we wanted to investigate […]
General
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
Vapid political posturing…
We all do it, some more so than others; but everyone has at some point, at least once, googled the name of a person that they haven’t seen in a while. It’s a strange, almost intrusive habit that we of the internet age have picked up. In more primitive times such individuals would have simply […]
Posted inGeneral
A private school with a difference
One usually associates a private school with the highest possible cost of school education, not so? I recall that, when my children went to school, they attended so-called model C schools, partly because there were several excellent schools in that category in the area where we lived, and partly because, even if I had wanted […]
Posted inEquality, General
Thank you Maya Angelou
I found out about Maya Angelou’s passing from a new friend while visiting Uganda. Access to the internet was sporadic and I hadn’t checked Twitter for a glimpse of what was happening in the world. When he told me I slapped him on the arm (a terrible reflex I have when I’m shocked or angry) […]
Posted inGeneral
Maya Angelou’s death reminds us old people are not ‘a waste of space’
You can upgrade your phone, your television, your car and even your vagina (see: vaginoplasty). It is all about the “up-to-date”, the next best thing. We have become a world that needs it young, fresh and new. The passing of poet, activist and Maya Angelou brought to the forefront of people’s minds the wealth of […]
Posted inGeneral
Atonal music as model for democracy
I can imagine readers thinking to themselves what a nonsensical title this post bears – atonal music as a model for democracy? Really? What possible connection could there be? And yet, someone familiar with the atonal music of Arnold Schönberg, and with the idea of optimal citizen-participation as a criterion of “true” democracy, might just […]
Posted inGeneral
Trash, ‘Idiocracy’ and how to avoid it
Viewing the movie Idiocracy is quite an uncomfortable experience, despite it being a comedy. Its premise is simple: smart, intelligent people tend to have fewer children – sometimes no children at all, in fact – compared to less intelligent, less “educated” people, with hardly any future perspective. Project the imagined consequences of this premise into […]
Posted inGeneral, Tech
Exploring space…
Space – a word with so many meanings, literal and figurative. I need my space. Is there space in the lounge for the new table? Headspace is essential for psychic growth. Deep space. Newtonian space, Einsteinian space. Space-time. Cyberspace. Virtual space. Space of flows. Space – the final frontier (any Trekkie would recognise this one). […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Show’s over: Beyond the abracadabra of political promises
The magical abracadabra promises of “houses, jobs, beer for all” are not unlike a magic show where you know it’s staged but you suspend logic for the entertainment. But, deep inside you is that secret desire that maybe, just maybe, there is truth to this magic, and somehow it is real, more than a sleight […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Trying to describe South Africa without ‘overkill’
The novel I am writing has its opening scene in Cape Town on the day Mandela was released from prison. This manuscript is my project for the masters degree in creative writing programme at Auckland University in New Zealand. My protagonist, Ruth, is a young South African, and Chinese in appearance. She does not know, among […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
‘House of Cards’: Machiavelli and Shakespeare all in one
In this South African season of political ambitions, would you like to know what principles the Florentine philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli advised aspiring political leaders — specifically “princes” — to adhere to ruthlessly in the 16th century in his famous (or is it notorious) treatise, The Prince (1515)? Or what Shakespeare, holding up the mirror to […]
Posted inEquality, General, News/Politics
Lessons in democracy from the poor
The decision by members of Abahlali baseMjondolo (AbM) in KwaZulu-Natal to endorse the Democratic Alliance in the 2014 election has not only raised many eyebrows, but has also unleashed stinging vitriol against this branch of the shack-dwellers’ movement. Started in 2005, AbM with its anti-evictions focus and its campaigns for decent public housing is recognised […]