Nobody puts Floyd in the corner!

Man, everyone is dying! I was never a big Swayze fan, but he seemed like a nice guy.

One story that did really take me by surprise was the death of REAL celebrity chef Keith Floyd! Dude was only diagnosed in June this year, so sad. I never rated his cooking much, but lots of people who know thought he was good, so i was probably just not paying attention. Regardless, he had personality, a great sense of humour, and made for compelling viewing, even if you weren't into food. In a totally different league to todays 'TV chefs' (I'm looking at you Kylie Kwong and Masterchef Australia!). He even handled his alcoholism with a frankness and dignity that i don't think you'd find in todays 'TV personalities' who mostly just seem to be famous for being famous. Anyone know what Nicole Richie actually does? No, me neither.

Is it a bird... Is it a plan... no its a Hero Rat!

I know I have mentioned this to some of you before but it came up again in conversation this weekend and I love these li'l critters and wanted to share it with you all!! Hero Rats to save the world from Land Mines

Carrots III

last week's carrot was, as you know, a weekend in Jozi with the posse. Can only offer glowing recomendations for the Earl Ridge B&B ;) Thanks Hels and Paul!
Weekend of catch ups, sundowners in the park, Rock vs Disco dancefloor fun (including an awesome line dance reunion) and lemurs, white lions and zebras at the zoo. For those, like me, who have always wondered what the difference is between a Mountain and Burchell Zebra - fear not, we now know the answer: Burchell's zebra has "shadow stripes"- extra grey stripes inbetween the black ones on its ass - and the Mountain zebra has a "dulap" of extra skin (looks like an adams apple) on his neck. So.. now you know :)

Some pics:



Also... just needed to share my excitement... The Giant Carrot for October:
We (ken, his posse and me) are all booked for Lake of Stars!!!
http://www.lakeofstars.org/festival.htm
10 days in Malawi, 4 days of which are at the fest - I am so excited I cannot concentrate on the daily grind that is this week's training in the grand metropolis of Hammanskraal (40km north of PTA).

Hectic

Justin Nurse's daughter dies in fire

JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA Sep 04 2009 07:21

Satirist Justin Nurse's two-year-old daughter Vanilla was killed when their car caught fire in the driveway of the family's Cape Town home, the Star reported on Friday.

The Honda Jazz she was sitting in caught alight in Noordhoek at about 2pm on Wednesday as the family was unloading groceries after a shopping trip.

Vanilla's mother suffered burns trying to get her out of her car seat and her father tried, but failed to resuscitate her. She was declared dead on arrival at a hospital.

Forensic expert Dr David Klatzow, who would investigate the matter, told the Star he would be looking for "possible sources of ignition, short circuits, point of ignition in the car and leaks in
the fuel tank".

The police were also conducting their own forensic investigation.

Western Cape police spokesperson November Filander said an inquest docket had been opened and a post-mortem would be conducted on the girl.

Several years ago Nurse made headlines with his T-shirts, one of which satirised South African Breweries' "Black Label Carling Beer" slogan, which he turned into "Black Labour White Guilt". The company took him to court for trademark infringement. Nurse eventually won the case in the Constitutional Court. - Sapa

BLK JKS

Lukewarm response to their first album from Pitchfork. Astute comment at the end about muddled messages and comparisons with District 9...

An option for you Grek

To speed up your perm. res. process in Oz...

I can see how this guy's story could be spun such that it may in places look convincing, but doesn't Canada know we have a Constitution and an extensive Bill of Rights? C'mon lawyers how did that oversight slip through?

General: Canada gives white South African refugee status
A white South African who claims persecution by black South Africans has been granted refugee status in Canada. A representative of the SA High Commission in Ottawa, Anesh Maistry, told News24 SA has taken note of the decision by Canadian authorities in the case of Brandon Huntley (31), who claimed he would be persecuted if he returned home. The Ottawa Sun reported earlier that Huntley had presented ‘clear and convincing proof of the South African Government's inability or unwillingness to protect him’ to a panel of the Canadian immigration and refugee board. Tribunal panel chair William Davis said Huntley's evidence ‘showed a picture of indifference and inability or unwillingness’ of the SA Government to protect ‘white South Africans from persecution by African South Africans’. Maistry told News24 that the High Commissioner had been aware of the ruling, but had not seen a transcript of the proceedings. Home Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said the government was ‘disgusted’ by the ruling. Mamoepa said the department had heard about the ‘baseless allegations against our people and our country’, adding: ‘It would have been courteous for the Canadian Government to allow the South African Government to respond to the allegations.’
Full News24 report
See also a Beeld report

Huntley argued in his application that he had been attacked seven times by blacks while in SA because of the colour of his skin. He claimed he was called ‘a white dog’ and ‘a settler’ during the attacks, notes a report in The Citizen. Davis noted that Huntley’s ‘subjective fear of persecution remained constant and consistent’ up to the time he made his claim for refugee status.
Full report in The Citizen

Huntley’s lawyer, Russell Kaplan, says he is a human rights lawyer who emigrated to Canada 20 years ago to escape the apartheid government’s discrimination against black South Africans. Kaplan told The Times that his sister, Lara, who emigrated to Canada last year, testified about the torture and murder of her other brother, Robert, by robbers in SA in 1997. Both Lara and Huntley gave evidence in camera in a full-day hearing on 18 August, the report says. Between 30 and 40 newspaper clippings were presented as evidence of life in SA. ‘One article exhibited was published in (the Daily Sun in 2004) by Africa Ka Mahamba. (It was) entitled ‘Taking from whites is not a crime’,’ Kaplan said. The article quotes the leader of the ‘Uhuru cultural club’ as telling youngsters who attended a Human Rights Day celebration to steal from whites because ‘it is the right thing to do’. ‘The judgment was a direct criticism of the SA Government,’ Kaplan said. He said affirmative action and black economic empowerment were two of the aspects that were taken into account in considering Huntley’s application for refugee status in Canada. ‘These legislated policies, even though there is an explanation for them, are discriminatory.’
Full report in The Times

Rachman on Japan. Snuggling Ifbot anyone?

Of course, Japan has its problems. Its average age is rising steadily and its population is shrinking. One in five Japanese is over 65. The Democrats have promised to raise pensions and payments to parents – and to cut taxes. It is hard to see how the sums add up. While the US and the UK worry that their public-sector debts could hit 80 per cent of gross domestic product, Japan’s debt is heading for 200 per cent.

Some of its efforts to deal with an ageing society are positively unnerving. The country has led the world in developing robots as companions for the elderly. These include a “snuggling Ifbot” that, according to press reports, “lives in an astronaut suit, chats about the weather, sings and plays games”.

It is best not to laugh. As the US and Europe struggle to come to terms with the aftermath of a bubble economy, rising public debt and the retirement of the baby-boom generation, they should look to Japan with respect. It may be the future.

Carrots II

The week in QwaQwa was an education and an exercise in conflict resolution as the team we were training came to blows with their management - only time will tell how much the scepticism on both sides of the table for each other will effect our programme's outcomes but I am hoping that the strength of the new information will overcome their difficulties and that the team will still manage to have an impact in their clinic sites.

Ended up staying at a little B&B I have stayed in before and the ladies there were, again, simply lovely. If any of you are ever in that part of the world and are looking for a place to stay ;) Having said that, I am thrilled to be home and in my own space - turns out i am not as much of an independant soul as I would like to think - and without my phone (it got nicked in clarens but I am back in the land of the cellulary connected again now) it was a pretty long and lonely week.

This week's carrot was a trip to the West Coast National Park and Postberg to see the flowers! It started out a pretty overcast day and the flowers were being stubborn and refusing to open and play along... but after a long lazy lunch picnic on a rock, the sun came out and so did the flowers. It was gorgeous and wonderful day. Cannot believe this is the first time I have managed to get out there - really is something I should do more often.

Postberg 09

Now it is a week in CT before heading off to KZN on Sunday for the next of the two week back to back training sessions. Carrot? Weekend in Jozi with the peeps!

all send some g'luck vibes out for me

hey peeps

i hear about some exciting prospects this week. throw some good luck out to the universe for me.

xoxox

How much would you pay to see the Killers?

Or would they have to pay you?

Help me decide y'all. Is R300 to R500 worth a night with the Killers? I suspect not, but welcome dissenting voices. Here are my reasons:

1. They are pretty rubbish. Ok their first album was fun. A lot, actually. One or two tracks from that album done live could be pretty awesome. But before you get excited, just listen.
2. The Joburg venue is the Dome (other one is somewhere in the Cape). The Dome is positively the worst live music venue ever. Outdoor concerts generate better acoustics.
3. South Africa's obession with a mile-square "golden circle" means that the "cheap" tickets aren't really an option. Especially since we're at the Dome, where, if you are standing at the back, the sound from the stage bounces off about 56 thousand curved surfaces before it only sort of gets to you. So actually we're talking R500. R526 to be precise. To put this in perspective, Oppi was R400 for the whole weekend and Bush Fire was R350 for the whole weekend. A pair of Converse hi-tops I just purchased from a Sunnyside shoe "store" cost R450. They're army colour and fckn rad.
4. I really don't know this band's second album, or if, heaven forbid, they released a third. So I'm not the hugest fan. But like I said I'm pretty sure I'm not alone amongst this esteemed group of blogifiers in having bounced around once or twice in crap bars to their first few singles. Chicks dig it, that's for sure.

Hurry with your comments - tickets went on sale today!

Coup in Tshwane!

No quite. But seeing SANDF members violently protesting working conditions and pay inside the Union Buildings grounds looks a lot like that. You can just imagine how the British media is going to interpret this.

SAPS were firing teargas and rubber bullets all over the show. At our army okes! Hectic. (By the way it's just down the road from my office, so maybe this is a little more exciting for me.).

Cabinet condemns soldiers rampage at the Union Buildings
SAPA	Published: 2009/08/27 11:30:51 AM

Picture: Financial Mail.

Cabinet on Thursday condemned the rampage by soldiers at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, saying attempting to “invade the seat of government is totally unacceptable”.

“Cabinet condemned in the strongest possible terms the illegal and violent protest at the Union Buildings by members of the South African National Defence Union (Sandu),” ministers said in a statement at the fortnightly post-cabinet briefing.

“Defying a court order, engaging in unnecessary violent behaviour, causing damage to public property and attempting to invade the seat of government is totally unacceptable, especially from people who have the responsibility of being the true defenders of the Constitution.” It warned that the protesters “must expect no sympathy from the state”.

Several soldiers and a policeman were injured and police and military vehicles damaged on Wednesday when a protest by 3000 soldiers demanding higher wages turned violent.

Police used rubber bullets and teargas to disperse the crowd when they refused to leave after handing over a memorandum with their demands and taunted officers. They threw a petrol bomb into one car and vandalised others.

Two soldiers were arrested.

Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu angrily described the incident as “anarchy” and said it had put national security at risk.

Carrots

Hey kids...
So here i sit in Phutaditjhaba (QwaQwa - eastern Free State) at the very beginning of the second of two training weeks back to back. I have become a big fan of carrot theory and am constantly looking for things to look forward to - faced with three weeks of training in September and very few Sundays to call my own. So from Mcgregor for Womens' Day weekend to Clarens this past weekend, but more on that later....First a little bit about work.

Last week we were in Sterkspruit which is about 70kms east of Aliwal North in the far north of the Eastern Cape. It snowed, it sunned, we sang, we ate and the group was lovely. Such a contrast from the first training week I did - guess experience really is everything. We were working with a group of 30 Community Care Givers and Assistant Nurses and I have to say if the fate of the health system was in the hands of these committed ladies and one gentleman we would all be in great hands! Everyone was so warm and welcoming. It was so inspiring to be part of the week - even if it was complicated and difficult with little reception, delayed courier deliveries and complicated management structures.

having issues uploading some of the pics... so I will have to add them at a later date :)

So... my carrot last week was a weekend in Clarens with some of the jozi crew (Phil, Mez, Helen, Paul and Mamedupi) and it was an amazing escape! Red wine, fireplaces, amazing views, horse riding in Golden Gate National Park, great conversation and catch ups, (a beautful tea set) and, of course, the Monopoly Marathon :)

CLARENS AUG 09

So off to another week of training - hoping it will be good and hassle free (despite its rocky start today) and looking forward to Sunday's trip to Posberg and the flowers on Sunday!! Bring on the Carrots!

yay

Flashbacks, fishing and fucktards

First up, i have to post a little krackah of a track by a voice you may recognise...

I think the divshare thing says it already, but yes! its Lethu! It's really fucking good i think... Anyway, he's in a band called Metropolis, based in Durban. I'd say check them out, but i dont think anyone in Durban reads this blog. I think he does tours in Jozi semi-regularly. Another person you can say you knew when... In fact i think that web page has tour dates on it, so checkidout.

In other news... I took The Kerrigan (or Tin Lizzie) out this weekend. Even caught me a fish (snapper, but below legal size). Sunday was an awesome day to be on the water, even if it is just in a 3.1m long tinnie.

It took a while to motor all over the harbour because we were using a pretty small backup motor - we would have used our new (second hand new, that is) 9.9HP Mercury two-stroke that goes like scalded cat, but the shit-for-brains bogun that sold us the motor in 'good condition' apparently doesn't consider a broken steering shaft to be something worth mentioning in the advert. The fact that said steering shaft is shattered and could result in the engine falling into the water at any time does not justify downgrading the motors condition from 'good' to 'essentially fucking useless until you spend $600 dollars on it'. Apparently.

Anyway, we've been negociating with this spineless ballsack since we bought the motor a few weeks ago to try and get him to take the motor back. I finally cracked on the weekend (not wanting to have to get into a steaming argument and threaten a law suit - a threat i would be unlikely to follow up on) and offered to split the repair bill with him. He said he would think about it, but it would depend on what his wife said. Did i mention that this guy was a spineless sack of shit? Anyway, i'm waiting for his response, but i'm not expecting anything positive. I was almost ready to just let the whole thing go. Swallow the $750 we wasted on the motor and just walk away, BUT it turns out its relatively easy to sue someone in the NSW Small Claims Tribunal (I think i'm allowed to call it suing? makes me sound tough) so if that turdburglar doesn't come back with a positive response by the end of play tomorrow, he can expect to be served with papers (it actually costs more to have the papers served in the flesh, so i might just get them mailed, but still that mu'fuggah gon' get SERVED!). It's not about the money anymore you understand, it's about inconveniencing this fucktard as much as i possibly can. I believe him to be of only mediocre intelligence, so a letter with the a semi-official letterhead may scare him into giving me back my money, but if not, I'll have my day in court I tell ya! I'm hiring A Few Good Men this weekend...

Watch this space.

Acoustic Africa at Bushfire

Just to give you a taste, this is one song from the acoustic africa set that Phil mentioned

Muziks makin' me dans

So highlights from the two festivals I was at recently.

Festival Number One: Bush Fire, Swaziland

1. Acoustic Africa feat. Vusi Mahlasela (SA), Habib Koite (Mali), Dobet Gnahore (Cote d'Ivoire), and the coolest lefty bassist I've ever seen. Truly moving music in a fantastic setting.
2. Busi Mhlongo (SA). Soulful and commanding-on-stage as they come. The whole passing on the baton to the new generation thing at the end of her show was particularly touching. Kinda bummed I've missed most of her career.
3. Some dude named Elemotho and his band from Namibia. Billed as an experimental acoustic set, it couldn't have been much further from that.
4. Jose Mucavele (Moz.). White anvil beard, crocodile skin boots and a guitar-is-optional attitude on a small stage = Portuguese blues like I've never heard before.
5. Sipho Hotstix Mabuse (SA). Only because his band plays that rad song whose name I don't know, and I didn't know his band played that song. A nice surprise to hear I'm burnin' up, all my looooove. Burnin'! Allll my loooove. Over and over for like 15 minutes.
6. Bob and Kenzhero's Michael Jackson and Brenda Fassie tributes, on both nights, after the bands had finished.

Festival Number 2: Oppikoppi 15 - "Smoorverlief"

1. Has to be Koos Kombuis. The Godfather of Oppi still rocks hard after all these years.
2. Lucky Fonz the Third. Huge surprise and probably my personal highlight. Best small stage act I've ever seen. And from de Nederlands nogal! He's playing the Bo on Sunday - I shall be there.
3. Shadowclub. I think the best rock band in SA right now, but the Oppi organisers clearly don't agree putting them on at 1pm on Sunday.
4. Acoustic Africa (again). Everyone was so amped to see them play again so it was a real pity that Habib and Dobet were late and they had to truncate their set. However, Vusi's one-man-show-crowd-pacification-while-we-waited, including a rendition, in Afrikaans, of "'N Donkie is a Wonderlike Ding" made for a true new South Africa moment. Al daai vet boere sing baie mooi, arm in arm, met die swart oke, ne.
5. Balthazar (Belgium). Kinda hipster skinny jean punk rock but tons of energy and attitude, and overall a pleasant surprise.
6. Thandiswa Mazwai. The former Bongo Maffin frontwoman is quite large these days, and I think she was high because she kept interrupting all her own songs, but still, she has a sweet voice and kicks it proper when she's concentrating.
7. aKing. Yes I know melodic rock from Belville is kak. But on stage with 5000 fans they actually moer the stuffing out of you, melodically. Awesome.
8. Fokofpolisiekar. Ok ok they aren't even a band anymore, and they also play stupid doosrok from Belville as aKing (perhaps because they share band members?), albeit much harder, but they've driven Oppi for about 3 years now and the okes still go bos for them in the biggest, most Afrikaans way imaginable.
9. The unofficial official anointment of Oppikoppi as a National Heritage Site. Kak funny but according to those in the know, perhaps not too far from becoming a reality. The whole importance of Afrikaans kultuur and its relationship with Oppi, sort of thing.
10. Foto na Dans. I was told in Swaziland to keep an open mind. I heard them last time I was at Oppi and they actually made me want to go home. This time they didn't. Apparently they don't take themselves seriously, and that makes a massive difference. As much was lost in translation last time. So if you want to hear some self aware Afrikaans opera-rock, give them a try. I won't ever bother though, unless I'm at Oppi. Time and place people, time and place. For everything.

I won't list the supakak stuff. Just a paragraph of advice: Die Antwoord will make your ears bleed. Watkin Tudor Jones is die enigste oke wat nog steets lief vir sy lewe is. But of course him and Yo'landi Visser (yo, yo, Yo'Landi!) still have a large following. Apparently they're married now too? Terrifying kids in the offing then. Pahty Pahty Pahty! (for one whole song, that's all she screeches).

in other words

and this is an image about to be used in my next incarnation of In Other Words, the show I'm redeveloping and taking to Buenos Aires in Oct!!!

fran has inspired me

View Larger Map

Tread lightly Wallabies...

This is where Greg 'Lomper' Abramowitz made his U15 3rd team rugby debut. Hallowed ground indeed!

I am not a macroeconomist

If you have time to read, this is a fabulous - and simple - way to understand the basic macro debates.

Yours in education.
The Doctor

Economics is in crisis: it is time for a profound revamp

By Paul De Grauwe

Published: July 21 2009 22:27 | Last updated: July 21 2009 22:27

There can be little doubt. The science of macroeconomics is in deep trouble. The best and the brightest in the field fight over the most basic problems. Take government budget deficits, which now exceed 10 per cent of gross domestic product in countries such as the US and the UK. One camp of macroeconomists claims that, if not quickly reversed, such deficits will lead to rising interest rates and a crowding out of private investment. Instead of stimulating the economy, the deficits will lead to a new recession coupled with a surge in inflation. Wrong, says the other camp. There is no danger of inflation. These large deficits are necessary to avoid deflation. A clampdown on deficits would intensify the deflationary forces in the economy and would lead to a new and more intense recession.

Or take monetary policy. One camp warns that the build-up of massive amounts of liquidity is the surest road to hyperinflation and advises central banks to prepare an “exit strategy”. Nonsense, the other camp retorts. The build-up of liquidity just reflects the fact that banks are hoarding funds to improve their balance sheets. They sit on this pile of cash but do not use it to increase credit. Once the economy picks up, central banks can withdraw the liquidity as fast as they injected it. The risk of inflation is zero.

Both camps line up an impressive list of Nobel prize-winners to buttress their arguments. Economists have often disagreed in the past, but this time the tone is different. The protagonists do not hesitate to accuse the other camp of ignorance or bad faith. I have never seen anything like this.

So what? Does it matter that economists disagree so much? It does. Take the issue of government deficits. If you want to forecast the long-term interest rate, it matters a great deal which of the two camps you believe. If you believe the first one, you will fear future inflation and you will sell long-term government bonds. As a result, bond prices will drop and rates will rise. You will have made a reality of the fears of the first camp. But if you believe the story told by the second camp, you will happily buy long-term government bonds, allowing the government to spend without a surge in rates, thereby contributing to a recovery that the second camp predicts will follow from high budget deficits.

Most people are not sure which camp is right. They hesitate. One day, when green shoots are popping up here and there, they believe the story warning about inflation; the next day, when the shoots turn brownish, they believe the other story. Disagreements among economists take away the intellectual anchors around which market participants interpret events and forecast the future. Ultimately, all our forecasts use a particular economic model to interpret data and to forecast their future course. The existence of wildly different models takes away this intellectual anchor and this translates into more market volatility.

This conflict matters not only for market participants, but also for policymakers. The two camps of economists have wildly different estimates of the effect of a 1 per cent permanent increase in government spending on real US GDP over the next four years. According to the first camp, the Ricardians, the multiplier is closer to zero than to one, ie 1 per cent extra spending generates much less than 1 per cent of extra GDP, producing little extra tax revenue. Thus budget deficits surge and become unsustainable.

By contrast, the second camp, the Keynesians, predict that the same 1 per cent of extra government spending multiplies into significantly more than 1 per cent of extra GDP each year until the end of 2012. This is the stuff of dreams for governments, because such multiplier effects are likely to generate additional tax income so that budget deficits decline.

With so much disagreement it is no surprise that policymakers are unsure and vacillate. Some countries, such as the US and France, go all out for the Keynesian story; others, such as Germany, put more faith in the Ricardians. Personally I think the Keynesians are right, but my opinion is irrelevant. The point is that the cacophony of analysis helps to explain why policymakers react in different ways to the same crisis and why it is so difficult for them to come up with co-ordinated action.

How to resolve this crisis in macro-economics? The field must be revamped fundamentally. Some of its shortcomings are obvious. Before the financial crisis, most macroeconomists were blinded by the idea that efficient markets would take care of themselves. They did not bother to put financial markets and the banking sector into their models. This is a major flaw.

There is a deeper problem, though, that will be more difficult to resolve. This is the underlying paradigm of macroeconomic models. Mainstream models take the view that economic agents are superbly informed and understand the deep complexities of the world. In the jargon, they have “rational expectations”. Not only that. Since they all understand the same “truth”, they all act in the same way. Thus modelling the behaviour of just one agent (the “representative” consumer and the “representative” producer) is all one has to do to fully describe the intricacies of the world. Rarely has such a ludicrous idea been taken so seriously by so many academics. (Other fields of economics have not been deluded by this implausible idea and therefore do not face the same criticism.)

We need a new science of macroeconomics. A science that starts from the assumption that individuals have severe cognitive limitations; that they do not understand much about the complexities of the world in which they live. This lack of understanding creates biased beliefs and collective movements of euphoria when agents underestimate risk, followed by collective depression in which perceptions of risk are dramatically increased. These collective movements turn uncorrelated risks into highly correlated ones. What Keynes called “animal spirits” are fundamental forces driving macroeconomic fluctuations.

The basic error of modern macro-economics is the belief that the economy is simply the sum of microeconomic decisions of rational agents. But the economy is more than that. The interactions of these decisions create collective movements that are not visible at the micro level.

It will remain difficult to model these collective movements. There is much resistance. Too many macro-economists are attached to their models because they want to live in the comfort of what they understand – the behaviour of rational and superbly informed individuals.

To paraphrase Isaac Newton, macroeconomists can calculate the motions of a lonely rational agent but not the madness of the crowds. Yet if macroeconomics wants to become relevant again, its practitioners will have to start calculating this madness. It is going to be difficult, but that is no excuse not to try.

The writer is professor of economics at the University of Leuven and the Centre for European Policy Studies

Mary's 30th Hoe Down

Ok. So we had some Line Dancing, Rodeo bull riding, more Dancing and dress up.

Jeremy got up to his usual party tricks on the dance floor. Brig exposed her wild side on the dance floor and by riding the bull. (Phil and Paul were too scared) - but Briggie braved it and was rewarded with a slap in the face (and chest) from the bull's horns (but she is fine!). The gay boys arrived to steal the show wearing very little (which got Mez squeeling) and with a special bday message in red lipstick. How they managed to stay in those outfits for the majority of the evening when half the 'venue' was outside in the 2 degree cold - I don't know. They managed to distract Nancy our elderly Line Dancing instructor quite often.

port cities - the start

you heard it first on this blog.......!

Why i love cats and Japan

Some musical tidbits

The TV on the Radio concert i went to see a while back was recorded by the ABC. They broadcast it (well, half an hour of it) on Monday night, and i was hoping the would put it up on iView, but they havent. Philimon gets to watch it when he visits though. Many times. Maybe stoned. YOU however, can watch Wolf like Me below...

Also, you may like this little bit of 80's glory.

Dont front, you know you love the hair.

hauntings at 891 -

just cos they're completely freaky!

New job

Hey Everyone

Thought it was time that I told you all of my big week this week. Somewhat disorientating and exhausting. But exciting nonetheless.

Sunday I decided to resign.
Monday I found new job
Tuesday I resigned & confirmed my appointment at new job
Wednesday I confirmed an early release from old job(My last last day at UCS will be next Monday!)
Today, Thursday I'm sorting out the mountain of admin and feeling a little tired

Next week Wednesday I start my new job with Change Logic at Standard Bank.

Bits n Pieces

while I am on the couch with the plague - and cannot hope to compete with the illness that is the beastie boys revelry - I thought i'd post a few bits n pieces. None earth shattering, just things I have been meaning to stick up for months.

Big news on the laan - well on the straat rather and blinde st to be exact is the arrival of ms youens. This is Paula's new house!! All the furniture is the previous owners still.
Work has taken me to some new places in the past few weeks... most rural and all cold :) So far its been Senqu (far north eastern cape), Qwa Qwa and Amajuba in KZN. All amazing places that it would be fun to go back and actually explore properly, instead of sitting in meeting rooms and getting the plague.


and introducing the little church:
off again on Sunday to ulundi :)

Sabotaging Bobby

Had this photo from our Rwanda trip. May I present Bobby Berkowitz as Officer Rutsomething.


Loving the icanhascheezburger gadget btw.

Lessons from the old school

This interview with Graham Boustred (ex-head of Anglo) was published in the Business Day this morning. It's sure to create a stir, but I thought I'd share it because it's frikken funny. How the world has changed!

Cap'n Sims!

Awesome

Get Ill

For those of you that care (you should all care) The Beastie Boys have re released their watershed album (trying not to use the word seminal) Ill Communication. They have posted a lekker little website to mark the occasion. Go there and Sabotage-ify yourself, like i have. Post pics on blog. Come correct like Anthony Mason (whoever he is).

This picture makes me look like a girl, but whatever.

Shameless self promotion

For those in Jozi...

Rock Stars

As many of you know Paul played his first gig on Saturday night at the Tanz Cafe in Bryanston. The likes of Prime Cirlce, Louise Carver and numerous other South African bands perform there,not many bands that we all support, but famous in SA terms. Paul wasn't that keen on the venue as it doesn't really fit, Shooting School for Baddies, band profile or rather, their gig venue wish list. Nevertheless - they were a great success! All band members were rather nervous, but they soon relaxed and their performance created much foot tapping, wolf whistling and a venue packed with friends, wannabe groupies, locals and even a few parentals. Paul looked like a real ROCK STAR, playing his guitar, with a few little solo numbers thrown in. Well done! We are so proud to see you up on the stage looking so cool (and handsome). Mary has agreed to bring some extra underwear next time to throw on stage. Lara even went as far as making a comment about if she wasn't a lesbian Paul would be in trouble...

The band that they were supporting, the colour eight,managed to empty the room with their bad cover versions of U2 and Michael Jackson. The highligt for me, was when I realzsied that the main singer was in fact an old KTV presenter, who had hosted IDOLs for a while before being involved in some drug scandal.

Tanz cafe have even requested that they return this weekend!

SO keep an eye out for their GIG list - hopefully you can all come and support and share the music!

Lara took some footage from her cellphone - so the quality is not that great and iot sounds as if Alana is really screeching, (she has quite a deep voice). I will try and post it.

Political Apathists!

You can't debate about whether kittens or puppies are cuter and then three people vote neither! Phil and Greg stop fence sitting and vote for me! Stop the political apathy! Save cute kitties - change your votes!

Kerry, Tally and Hels I will not sit on your bed and purr for you. Paul I suspect you are the third fence sitter....

Finally!

Proof there is a god... Swine Flu be thy name.

Living the Australian dream!

Ahoy there land-lubbers!

I am a proud boat co-owner! Yesterday a friend and I 'won' a tinnie on eBay. Some rooster tried to snipe us at the end of the auction, but Tony (nickname 'Suey') was on the ball and we got it for a pretty good price. We still dont have a motor yet (so we can fang it like a scalded cat), and i need a license to ride it on the harbour. Anyway, once i have that stuf sorted i'm going to be on the harbour catching kinfish and flatheads (kingies and flatties) and getting in the way of the ferries and generally being a fisherman larrikin type. I have used a number of Australian colloquialisms in this post to reflect just how Australian this event is. You can have all the sausage sizzles you want, drink VB, watch AFL, and make fun of foreigners, but until you have a boat, you cannot consider yourself Australian (which i don't, but i can if i want to now). 

I want to call her The Kerrigan or The Joustin' Stick, or The Pool Room in honour of The Castle, but i'll have to confer with Suey.

Daily puppy/kitten eat your heart out!

Time have a pictorial of the Annual World's Ugliest Dog Competition on their website. I do however get the feeling that the word World is being used quite liberally in this context... sorta like the World Series. Anyhoo I thought it was pertinent and contextual due to our current democratic issues on hierdie blog.

Gideon Rachman on Twitter

"The problem is that Twitter simultaneously encourages extreme brevity and endless communication. Each shot is short but you can keep twittering all day if you want – and many addicts seem to do just that. If Marx really had lived in the age of Twitter, he would probably not have been sending out thunderous political messages. It is more likely that his Twitter feed would have read: “Just arrived at British Museum. Going for a cup of tea.” "

More here. Good piece.

What is this doing on The Daily Puppy?

http://www.dailypuppy.com/articles/p/how-to-prevent-vaginitis/df1c5e11-4ada-ecc4-8806-05fc61dbf7b9

The daily puppy sucks

IMHO.