The amount of research being done in the field of neurosciences is staggering at present. More amazing are the discoveries being made each passing day. They don’t command headlines because most of us can’t understand the stuff, let alone interpret these to make them accessible to the layman. I have a strong suspicion they are […]
Lifestyle
Posted inLifestyle
They really are watching you
You are right, they are watching you. I’m somewhat paranoid — who isn’t? But here’s a chilling little tale. You are on your way into the UK from Europe. You go through immigration. You get pulled aside. The official has a simple question: Why did you go to a particular Palestinian restaurant in London two […]
Posted inLifestyle
Public moments of intimacy
I’ve been noticing, lately, how many intensely personal moments there are walking around the streets every day. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about spying on people or stalking anyone; I’m not (despite anyone’s allegations!) the type of person who strolls around stealing people’s saris off beaches (see this blog post for the […]
Posted inLifestyle
The Law of Underneath the Furniture
The next time some smarty-pants says: “Numbers don’t lie, you know,” I promise I’ll rip his tongue off its root and make a necktie out of it. And I swear that the next time someone says to me: “Well, your argument falls flat on its nose if you consider the statistical reality,” I’ll grab his […]
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle
Wines of change
South African wines are rated top of the global connoisseur’s list and have been for very many years. For most South African wine consumers, the marvel of having so many award-winning vineyards on our doorstep is often taken for granted, as are the underlying facts of them being located in a very unique biosphere, giving […]
Posted inLifestyle
Valuing freedom
The other day, I downloaded an entire book from the internet. For free. It was an incredibly empowering act. In a society where knowledge is costly and education requires financial sacrifice, it was refreshing to find that someone had decided the value of a product lay not in the money one paid for it, but […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Politics in fiction: Yes or no?
It’s the eternal argument, isn’t it? Do South Africans have a responsibility to write political fiction? Or at least infuse their fiction with a political flavour, a current-affairs edge or some hint of HIV/Aids? I think not. But I just read an interesting review of my novel, Strange Nervous Laughter, that brought up this conundrum, […]
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle, Media, Tech
What is the meaning of Facebook?
There comes a time in a man’s life when biting another Zombie chump, waiting four days for your growing gift to turn into a money tree or refreshing the page so that you get status updates in your news feed doesn’t get you excited any more. It’s depressing to be so bored with Facebook that […]
Posted inLifestyle, Tech
It’s all in the attitude
Yesterday was a fun day. I was offered an LG Viewty phone to play with and to comment on, and it’s a fine-looking phone. And I get to keep it. I am beyond tickled pink. I am tickled all the shades of the rainbow. Why the excessive celebrations, one might wonder? It’s because I am […]
Posted inLifestyle
Sumophilia
A New Phenomenon: The winter of 2007 shall go down in the Sumo’s history as a time of boundless indulgence of the female kind. Allow me to elaborate, and in all that will follow, keep in mind that the Sumo is a bachelor. In the time leading to the winter of 2007, as the season […]
Posted inLifestyle
Engaging problem learners through digital storytelling
South Africa’s educators are severely stressed. In the classroom they face potential violence, dismal working conditions and massive workloads. Cases of educators being assaulted are becoming more commonplace. According to the Sunday Times: “The biggest dilemma facing educators today is how to deal with unruly charges while simultaneously maintaining their sanity, professionalism and dignity.” Hold […]
Posted inLifestyle
Blog party
I’ve been lucky enough to stumble on some rather extraordinary blogs of late, and I thought perhaps it was time to share them … Funnily enough, this whole blogging thing is still pretty new to me — I only discovered it a few months ago, and although at first I thought it was a bit […]