Lifestyle

I have argued with myself over this one for years, but the mountain of evidence is now way too vast to warrant any other conclusion: BMW drivers are aliens who simply do not understand our earthly behaviour. I know, I know, it is madness to think in such terms. It is hideously unfair; surely there […]

There’s something magical about wild things in the midst of the concrete jungle. A couple of years ago, at a party at a house in Parktown North, somebody spotted something interesting up a tree. A torch was fetched and there, in the beam of light, was a genet. It seemed utterly unconcerned by the gawking […]

I know what you’re thinking: Philosophy? It’s for aged, bearded gentlemen sitting around with nothing else to do but postulate on man’s quest for meaning. That may be so. Practical philosophy, on the other hand, is a little more, well, practical. For the past couple of Wednesdays I’ve been going to an intro course here […]

Following some of the commentaries to my post on patriotism, I feel the need to defend the tomato — especially the red tomato. Now you may wonder what on earth I am on about. Don’t I have enough work on my hands having to design two syllabi? A tomato is a tomato is a tomato, […]

I’ve been living like a tortoise for the last week, carrying everything I need on my back. No, I haven’t suddenly been evicted. I’ve been going through the agony of moving house (if you can call it that, when the moving is from a cottage to a flat). And although I absolutely love my new […]

These bloody Australians won’t give me a credit card. I am most aggrieved. Last week, I applied again, online, on the off chance, and got an automated rejection with the reassurance that the bank would explain all in a letter to follow. Last week the promised letter arrived (it cast no light on the reason […]

A record 301 new medicines are being developed for mental illnesses in the United States, according to a report released a few days ago. Wow. A record. Neat, especially as the Olympics are around the corner and records are metaphors for human excellence. According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) who issued […]

So I’ve been doing some online exploration over the past little while, and happened to stumble across three artists’ websites that I think are just lovely. Care for some relaxing Friday web surfing? Yeondoo Jung (www.yeondoojung.com) is a Korean artist who did an amazing project in 2005, where he took children’s drawings and made them […]

It is seldom that Mongolia makes the news headlines but it did at the beginning of July. A rare republic in their part of the woods with Russia and China as neighbours, Mongolia’s people protested against alleged vote rigging forcing the President to declare a state of emergency. I knew so little about Mongolia, I […]