Wednesday, April 19, 2006
DVD
The DVD is coming along nicely. I haven't been able to convert two Madonna songs which may be just as well (too worldly), but couldn't convert Michael W. Smith ( a Christian musician) either. I have plenty of music and so far everything is coming together in a good way.
Ben came round today to add more of his stock, and tonight at 9pm I'll have most of the other stuff (from Lizaan, Chrisna, Yvonne et al) and then I can really fill in all the gaps. Must say I am enjoying putting it together immensely.
Have a feeling they are going to love it.
Need a coach?
Golden Girl
At 4:10pm today, I went to see Riette at News Cafe - just one of a series of errands today (also paid my Physio bill - ouch). She's the number 1 biathlete in South Africa, and she wants me to coach her in triathlon. Basically the cycling and running bit. Should be good.
Here's the program (might be modified in future) so far:
Monday: rest
Tuesday: 4:30 Cycling (50km)/8:30pm Swim (timetrial) and short gym workout
Wednesday: 4:30 pm Running (trackwork/hills - 3-5km)
Thursday: Swim (Pulling and kicking) and gym
Friday: Brick session - 3-4pm Cycle 30-40km then Run 9km
Saturday: Race (Running or Cycling) or long slow distance (running alternating with cycling)
Sunday: Swim (distance)/ Gym and core
If you'd like to join us, sms or call 072 973 3929, and we'll confirm venue and route.
And Now For The Humdrum
The thought flickers across my mind that Mr Kunstler has possibly been bought by the Bushites. After all, who in their right mind finds reason to support war?
Then again, I can't help feeling the whole world - well, the Middle East area in particular - is going loony tunes. More I mean. More than usual. Can you feel the tension?
Now that oil is at $70 it's pretty difficult for me to realistically approach the idea of buying a car. And after driving the Renault Megane I feel like I've relapsed, I feel like a Christian who has backslid. Justus has provided me with two decent second hand options, both Toyota Conquests. So am gearing up for a test drive or two later this week.
Kunstler: Still Crazy After All These Years
April 17, 2006
Boy, did the "fuck you" letters come flying in last week after I said that strategic planning to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities wasn't such a bad idea.
So, what do you know -- Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke out again on Friday, saying Israel was a "constant threat" and predicted that it was on the verge of "being eliminated." Eliminated how? one is prompted to wonder. Well, President A-jad had been rather specific last year when he discussed "wiping Israel off the map." On Friday he referred to Israel as a "rotten, dried tree" that would collapse in "one storm." Interesting metaphor. Did he mean one atomic bomb? That would probably do the job to a nation about the size of Maryland, when you take into account the nuclear contamination, though a toxic smear could be carried downwind east as far as China, blowing back in Iran's face, so to speak.
Anyway, Mr. A-jad's remarks came during the same week that he publicly announced, with great fanfare, his government's success at enriching uranium into fissile material. It wasn't hard to put two and two together: wiping Israel off the map + how to.
The controversy over strategic planning of the harshest kind boiled over after Seymour Hersh's story "The Iran Plans" broke in the April 17th issue of The New Yorker. The agitated public and the news media (except for Terri Gross on NPR's "Fresh Air" show) generally overlooked remarks in the article made by Robert Baer, former CIA agent in the Middle East and author of See No Evil and Sleeping With the Devil, who, among other things, had investigated the Iran-sponsored Hezbollah group's links to the 1983 US Marine Barracks bombing in Beirut. Baer had followed President A-jad's career and connections for two decades, after Ahmadinejad had distinguished himself as a leader among the Revolutionary Guard "students" who captured the American Embassy in Teheran in 1979 and took 52 employees hostage.
Hersh writes:
"Baer told me. . . that Ahmadinejad and his Revolutionary Guard colleagues in the Iranian government 'are capable of making a bomb, hiding it, and launching it as Israel. They're apocalyptic Shiites. If you're sitting in Tel Aviv and you believe they've got nukes and missiles -- you've got to take them out. These guys are nuts, and there's no reason to back off.'"
So it would appear that the practical question is not so much what America might do but what Israel might do first. And that question puts everybody in the West in an uncomfortable position -- since a strike by Israel could 1.) ignite a major regional conflagration leading to even wider war, and 2.) shut down Middle East oil production (or even permanently cripple it). Baer seems to think that this is exactly what President A-jad wants. I think so, too. Crazy as it might seem, it is not crazier than waging war by suicide bombers. It's just kicking it up a notch, in the immortal words of Emeril Lagasse. It's jihad x-treme. And the reward, in Mr. A-jad's thinking might be that a large part of the Islamic world would survive, while Israel would be ganged up on and eliminated -- and the Shiites would get credit for it! (not to mention first-class tickets to heaven and all those waiting virgins).
Therefore one of the more remarkable elements of the story is Israel's restraint so far. By historical measure, the extremely belligerent remarks by Iran's president would have already invited an armed response by any sane nation. You wonder how many more times Mr. A-jad will spell it out before something has to happen.
Boy, did the "fuck you" letters come flying in last week after I said that strategic planning to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities wasn't such a bad idea.
So, what do you know -- Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke out again on Friday, saying Israel was a "constant threat" and predicted that it was on the verge of "being eliminated." Eliminated how? one is prompted to wonder. Well, President A-jad had been rather specific last year when he discussed "wiping Israel off the map." On Friday he referred to Israel as a "rotten, dried tree" that would collapse in "one storm." Interesting metaphor. Did he mean one atomic bomb? That would probably do the job to a nation about the size of Maryland, when you take into account the nuclear contamination, though a toxic smear could be carried downwind east as far as China, blowing back in Iran's face, so to speak.
Anyway, Mr. A-jad's remarks came during the same week that he publicly announced, with great fanfare, his government's success at enriching uranium into fissile material. It wasn't hard to put two and two together: wiping Israel off the map + how to.
The controversy over strategic planning of the harshest kind boiled over after Seymour Hersh's story "The Iran Plans" broke in the April 17th issue of The New Yorker. The agitated public and the news media (except for Terri Gross on NPR's "Fresh Air" show) generally overlooked remarks in the article made by Robert Baer, former CIA agent in the Middle East and author of See No Evil and Sleeping With the Devil, who, among other things, had investigated the Iran-sponsored Hezbollah group's links to the 1983 US Marine Barracks bombing in Beirut. Baer had followed President A-jad's career and connections for two decades, after Ahmadinejad had distinguished himself as a leader among the Revolutionary Guard "students" who captured the American Embassy in Teheran in 1979 and took 52 employees hostage.
Hersh writes:
"Baer told me. . . that Ahmadinejad and his Revolutionary Guard colleagues in the Iranian government 'are capable of making a bomb, hiding it, and launching it as Israel. They're apocalyptic Shiites. If you're sitting in Tel Aviv and you believe they've got nukes and missiles -- you've got to take them out. These guys are nuts, and there's no reason to back off.'"
So it would appear that the practical question is not so much what America might do but what Israel might do first. And that question puts everybody in the West in an uncomfortable position -- since a strike by Israel could 1.) ignite a major regional conflagration leading to even wider war, and 2.) shut down Middle East oil production (or even permanently cripple it). Baer seems to think that this is exactly what President A-jad wants. I think so, too. Crazy as it might seem, it is not crazier than waging war by suicide bombers. It's just kicking it up a notch, in the immortal words of Emeril Lagasse. It's jihad x-treme. And the reward, in Mr. A-jad's thinking might be that a large part of the Islamic world would survive, while Israel would be ganged up on and eliminated -- and the Shiites would get credit for it! (not to mention first-class tickets to heaven and all those waiting virgins).
Therefore one of the more remarkable elements of the story is Israel's restraint so far. By historical measure, the extremely belligerent remarks by Iran's president would have already invited an armed response by any sane nation. You wonder how many more times Mr. A-jad will spell it out before something has to happen.
Rough
Back to school was no walk in the park. Brebner, it soon turns out, is in a league of its own, and it's a big school, with over a thousand students. The staff contingent alone is at least 30 individuals...some fresh faced and some fairly withered looking. Overall, an engaging group.
Mr Taylor, the principal, introduced me shortly after welcoming everyone. He seems a fair and straightforward guy. Michelle was on hand to offer some guidance, and I also met Elbe, another Michelle, Johan (hockey coach and part time ceramics maker).
But the real stars are the students. There are a lot of kids in each class. Two kids that struck a chord were May and Cindy, from Manila and Taipei respectively. A kid called Brian referred to himself as Mr. Brian $%%#*$$ on his test paper. He told me his ambition was to become the president. After Zuma's antics, and more circus acts to follow, I'd give Brian a good shot at being South Africa's number one guy.
It's odd to be called 'Sir' after being called 'Nick Teacher' for 4 years. One thing that hasn't changed is that most students have unpronouncable and unmemorisable names.
It was my job today to take attendance and to hand out test papers. I tried to get to know them over the mayhem of fetching desks and their still fresh-from-the-holidays exuberance. Almost all the kids got below 50% in their end of term exams, and I told them I thought the standards were unacceptably low.
I was told a teacher would be with me in class for the first two days, but no one was with me for the first few minutes or any other time. I'm not complaining. I endured pretty shaky organisation in South Korea more often than I care to remember. I'm also being moved out (I'm in Mr. Harris' English class, who, despite being utterly devoted to his students, is now working in Saudi Arabia) to the Economics department. Kind've happy about that...
After school today any thoughts of going to gym (to swim) completely evaporated. In fairness, sleep deprivation made the day a lot longer and harder than it would otherwise have been.
At 14:30 I went to the hostel to take a peek at my new abode. A fairly humble setup, and unfurnished. Well, that's okay. I'll fill it with a few tasteful, but humble furnishings and accoutrements. I have a nice view from the second storey, which is a bonus. There are three prison style beds in one of the rooms which will probably have to go.
A friend called me to ask how my day went and she wasn't surprised when I said I felt a bit shattered and defeated. Depressed is another word. It's not going to be easy, it's a rigorous job just keeping the students in line (have I mentioned they're rowdy), but it's useful practical experience which may mean getting a PGCE next year will be a mere formality (since I'll already have some months of practical experience).
On the bright side I am being paid to stay at the hostel, and it's close to gym and a few friends in the area. This term is also really short, just 10 weeks, with plenty of long weekends, so it's a fairly easy start. I think part of the challenge is just becoming familiar with a new process, a new pattern, and integrating hundreds of new personalities into the mainframe. It's going to an interesting test of endurance and resolve, personal discipline and fortitude. Now balance becomes crucial as work starts to gnaw at the heart of vital energies. Exercise is going to be an important conduit towards stress relief, health and sanity.
I'll try to get to the pool tomorrow...to heal newly formed scar tissue in the brain and smooth out the rough emotional patches. Breathe. Stretch. Swim. Smooth again...
Mr Taylor, the principal, introduced me shortly after welcoming everyone. He seems a fair and straightforward guy. Michelle was on hand to offer some guidance, and I also met Elbe, another Michelle, Johan (hockey coach and part time ceramics maker).
But the real stars are the students. There are a lot of kids in each class. Two kids that struck a chord were May and Cindy, from Manila and Taipei respectively. A kid called Brian referred to himself as Mr. Brian $%%#*$$ on his test paper. He told me his ambition was to become the president. After Zuma's antics, and more circus acts to follow, I'd give Brian a good shot at being South Africa's number one guy.
It's odd to be called 'Sir' after being called 'Nick Teacher' for 4 years. One thing that hasn't changed is that most students have unpronouncable and unmemorisable names.
It was my job today to take attendance and to hand out test papers. I tried to get to know them over the mayhem of fetching desks and their still fresh-from-the-holidays exuberance. Almost all the kids got below 50% in their end of term exams, and I told them I thought the standards were unacceptably low.
I was told a teacher would be with me in class for the first two days, but no one was with me for the first few minutes or any other time. I'm not complaining. I endured pretty shaky organisation in South Korea more often than I care to remember. I'm also being moved out (I'm in Mr. Harris' English class, who, despite being utterly devoted to his students, is now working in Saudi Arabia) to the Economics department. Kind've happy about that...
After school today any thoughts of going to gym (to swim) completely evaporated. In fairness, sleep deprivation made the day a lot longer and harder than it would otherwise have been.
At 14:30 I went to the hostel to take a peek at my new abode. A fairly humble setup, and unfurnished. Well, that's okay. I'll fill it with a few tasteful, but humble furnishings and accoutrements. I have a nice view from the second storey, which is a bonus. There are three prison style beds in one of the rooms which will probably have to go.
A friend called me to ask how my day went and she wasn't surprised when I said I felt a bit shattered and defeated. Depressed is another word. It's not going to be easy, it's a rigorous job just keeping the students in line (have I mentioned they're rowdy), but it's useful practical experience which may mean getting a PGCE next year will be a mere formality (since I'll already have some months of practical experience).
On the bright side I am being paid to stay at the hostel, and it's close to gym and a few friends in the area. This term is also really short, just 10 weeks, with plenty of long weekends, so it's a fairly easy start. I think part of the challenge is just becoming familiar with a new process, a new pattern, and integrating hundreds of new personalities into the mainframe. It's going to an interesting test of endurance and resolve, personal discipline and fortitude. Now balance becomes crucial as work starts to gnaw at the heart of vital energies. Exercise is going to be an important conduit towards stress relief, health and sanity.
I'll try to get to the pool tomorrow...to heal newly formed scar tissue in the brain and smooth out the rough emotional patches. Breathe. Stretch. Swim. Smooth again...
Monday, April 17, 2006
Gray and Rain
It's been raining virtually constantly for the last 24 hours. I'm still working on the DVD. Have some additional music to use as soundtracks, but Ben hasn't been able to give me any additional images. Will probably get them tomorrow.
Spent the first half of the morning composing 'Ad awards' for reporter.co.za, and just before lunch took the Megane out for a little photo shoot. Nice.
Elmarie - a girl on the tour who I 'Spooked' for (sending and giving her gifts without her knowledge) was sitting beside me in the Lab when I arrived.
Need to get cracking on my two assignments. The third the lecturer graciously postponed by a week (only for me), so I have some additional leeway. I'm also going to be using the Megane tomorrow, which will make the first day of work slightly less stressful.
Feel bad about not getting round to work on the GQ article (Blood and Dust). Will give it my full attention as soon as I can focus on three dimensional objects again.
400 Tornadoes in Two Months
Incredibly, places across the United States, from the Plains states to the Midwest and South, have collectively suffered 400 tornadoes over the past two months.
Scenes from a Cycle Tour
Still don't have time to write much on the Sendingfietstoer. Will try to put something up by the end of the week.
The 3 photos attached are of: the view from God's Window (the spot where our 813km trip ended), a 18 metre high jump at Sabie and Yvonne, a student studying teaching at Free State University.
H5N1 is our fault – Experts
Experts believe H5N1 is caused by our bad habits
by Nick van der Leek
A few months ago I interviewed Professor Robert Bragg at the Free State University Microbiology Department. I asked him whether the demand for junk food – KFC for example – might be factor leading to unhealthy poultry farming. He said no, but we were thinking specifically of those indoor poultry factories. These are usually sealed units and infection from the outside in (or vice versa) is rare.
No, the real source of the H5N1 problem lies in the degree of environmental destruction and degradation caused by the hand of man. Loss of territory forces flocks of waterbirds to fly further to find suitable habitats. It also means these waterbirds come into closer contact with people and other animals than they otherwise would have.
Dr. David Rapport, a Canadian environmental expert also points to the mass production of poultry in open air markets in Asia. To maximize profits birds are tightly packed in cages, and cages are packed tightly in dense urban markets. This creates a template for diseases such as H5N1.
Dr. Robert Hebworth (an expert on migratory animals) has said that culling of infected animals is not a long term solution. Our focus ought to be on restoring thousands of damaged and diminishing wetlands.
5 countries in Africa have reported cases of bird flu: Burkina Faso, Egypt, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria. Recently large numbers of dead waterbirds were reported in Botswana’s northern Okavango region.
Fear has been expressed that Africa will not be able to afford the expensive process that is necessary to contain the virus wherever it emerges.
by Nick van der Leek
A few months ago I interviewed Professor Robert Bragg at the Free State University Microbiology Department. I asked him whether the demand for junk food – KFC for example – might be factor leading to unhealthy poultry farming. He said no, but we were thinking specifically of those indoor poultry factories. These are usually sealed units and infection from the outside in (or vice versa) is rare.
No, the real source of the H5N1 problem lies in the degree of environmental destruction and degradation caused by the hand of man. Loss of territory forces flocks of waterbirds to fly further to find suitable habitats. It also means these waterbirds come into closer contact with people and other animals than they otherwise would have.
Dr. David Rapport, a Canadian environmental expert also points to the mass production of poultry in open air markets in Asia. To maximize profits birds are tightly packed in cages, and cages are packed tightly in dense urban markets. This creates a template for diseases such as H5N1.
Dr. Robert Hebworth (an expert on migratory animals) has said that culling of infected animals is not a long term solution. Our focus ought to be on restoring thousands of damaged and diminishing wetlands.
5 countries in Africa have reported cases of bird flu: Burkina Faso, Egypt, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria. Recently large numbers of dead waterbirds were reported in Botswana’s northern Okavango region.
Fear has been expressed that Africa will not be able to afford the expensive process that is necessary to contain the virus wherever it emerges.
Ad awards: Rocks vs Rubbish (4)
This week’s look at what ads rock and what should be sent to the recycle bin
Advertising has to be entertaining, but not just entertaining. Advertising is effective when we’re given good reasons to buy what you’re selling.
Rock
The Sunsilk commercial is a gem. It features a cute blonde and appropriately dinky guy who find a gaping hole in the place of their bathroom wall (and mirror). Shock leads to curiosity, and in a snap, something seems to be developing between these two. Instead of a mere mirror, the two give advice on the other’s appearance, specifically hairstyles.
It’s a clever commercial, it’s fun and it’s rewatchable.
Huh?
Tell better stories. This is for a car ad (Nissan I think), and in theory, a 4x4 ad with this message ought to work. My father often goes to Botswana and I think the all important moment is the hour or two after he arrives back when we hear about how close he was to a lion or elephant. So why on Earth are two brats in the ad? Are you supposed to buy a 4x4 to impress your kids? Really! Something tells me that the person who conceived the ad is not a parent. The most annoying thing about driving long distance (and especially in the bush) is having young kids with you. To remind potential buyers of this is just plain dumb. Come on guys; write ads that make a bit more sense.
Rubbish
I’ve seen two variations on the same theme. Basically we’re given the price of blood (or champagne) and then, relative to that we’re given the price of ink, and referred to a Nashua printer. Sorry, it doesn’t work. It’s too much of a leap. Blood and wine just don’t flow in the direction of a laser printer.
Good advertising requires at least a little bit of intelligence. People with money aren’t dumb, so take a little time before preaching to the converted.
Advertising has to be entertaining, but not just entertaining. Advertising is effective when we’re given good reasons to buy what you’re selling.
Rock
The Sunsilk commercial is a gem. It features a cute blonde and appropriately dinky guy who find a gaping hole in the place of their bathroom wall (and mirror). Shock leads to curiosity, and in a snap, something seems to be developing between these two. Instead of a mere mirror, the two give advice on the other’s appearance, specifically hairstyles.
It’s a clever commercial, it’s fun and it’s rewatchable.
Huh?
Tell better stories. This is for a car ad (Nissan I think), and in theory, a 4x4 ad with this message ought to work. My father often goes to Botswana and I think the all important moment is the hour or two after he arrives back when we hear about how close he was to a lion or elephant. So why on Earth are two brats in the ad? Are you supposed to buy a 4x4 to impress your kids? Really! Something tells me that the person who conceived the ad is not a parent. The most annoying thing about driving long distance (and especially in the bush) is having young kids with you. To remind potential buyers of this is just plain dumb. Come on guys; write ads that make a bit more sense.
Rubbish
I’ve seen two variations on the same theme. Basically we’re given the price of blood (or champagne) and then, relative to that we’re given the price of ink, and referred to a Nashua printer. Sorry, it doesn’t work. It’s too much of a leap. Blood and wine just don’t flow in the direction of a laser printer.
Good advertising requires at least a little bit of intelligence. People with money aren’t dumb, so take a little time before preaching to the converted.
Serendipity
Dusk falls on a little dorpie called Belfast
Serendipity: The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.
The past 2 weeks have shot by like a pair of shooting stars across a brilliant night's sky. Have you ever seen shooting stars? If you blink, you'll miss them. Even if you don't, you might wonder if what you saw was real.
I feel a bit like that. I've had a lot of fun today after being stuck for hours yesterday with a crashing Windows Movie Maker. I finally found and terminated a conflicting codec. Being sleep deprived for much of Fietstoer (Cycle Tour) meant that it does sometimes feel like a dream. Fortunately there is a decent amount of photographic material, and even video to disprove that. I'm on Day 5 of the DVD I've called Lig/Light. Video brings a satisfying intimacy, a much greater immediacy to images...It's the combination of sounds, and moving images, that add the final, all important flourishes.
I wish I could lock myself in a room and play Spielberg for at least a week. Unfortunately, I have only one day left, and in it I have to squeeze in a lot.
This week I start teaching Economics and Business Studies to Std 8's at Brebner High School. My mom's side of the family were in Bloem recently to attend Brebner's 100th anniversary. My mom was Headgirl at a very different school. It's going to be weird teaching there after Korea, and after going to school at Grey. But, I think, also an interesting and positive experience.
Discipline is a factor at Brebner, I'm already well aware of that. I think they chose me because I'm a male teacher and because I toughed it out in Korea for 4 years. It's probably obvious that I have good mental endurance. Justus told me that his mom suggested being very tough with the kids for the first 2 weeks. And then being a little more friendly. Will do.
Emotionally it's been a real rollercoaster the last few weeks. So many new faces have come into my life, and also blasts from the past. Fransa and I have been through a rocky period, but we've come through so far with a much better understanding of each other and ourselves. So far she's rededicated herself to stop smoking. Tammy also made an appearance, and today I took her for a spin in the Megane. She showed me some pictures and we spoke quite seriously about where our lives were going. It's strange and bewildering to see her again at 23...when I last knew her, and lived with her, as a cheeky sister, a dark haired little girl. I also met some lovely people on the Tour...like Ize Marie, Lizaan, Porter, PJ...too many really to mention. I'll try though, to post a diary of the 12 days over the course of the next 2-3 weeks.
I have quite a few ideas on how to apply my energies to the Brebner work experience. There's The Bugle, Brebner's newspaper, that I'd like to develop. I'd like to really educate the kids on how to use computers and the internet, especially in terms of researching homework. I'd like the Asian kids (I guess all of them) to correspond with other kids in Taiwan and/or Korea, and possibly work together on similar issues. Will speak to the teachers I know in those countries. I'd also like to make a DVD for the school, for each semester.
With enough practise (in film) I might use the next school vacation to do a road trip and interview guys like Colin McClelland and other guys at Eskom and Sasol and do a sort of Michael Moore cheapie/documentary on the Energy Situation in South Africa. And then write a book on it.
The GQ story is in stasis at the moment. Just don't have time to focus all my energies on it. Will have to email what I've already done, or block out a weekend and become a hermit so I can finish it.
Also bought WEG and GETAWAY with a view to sending them a pitch for Sendingfietstoer. I also think it will be wise to get the abbreviated Fietstoer story in the next issue of Heartland, because 6 months from now I am not sure if people will really care that much.
But first it's work at Brebner, moving out of 108 and into the hostel, and figuring out how to be a teacher and a student at the same time. On top of that I need to balance sport, and coaching, and try to maintain the guise of a - GASP - writer. My primary functionaility, as I see it, is to write. To communicate on the urgent matters - matters really of crisis - that we are faced with. I'm sure there's some good I can do as a teacher (but masquerading as a crusading journalist).
Many of the vital issues have become so cliched that people are unable to actually think about them. In the same way that the word God is an almost useless term (Being is better, in terms of being actually meaningful), so too, have the implications behind the empty banners of Climate Change, Peak Oil and H5N1 become decolorised and seemingly unimportant. In terms of Climate Change, I read a report indicating that there were 400 tornadoes in some or other American state...unusal both because of the number and for them being unseasonal. The tornadoes are only supposed to be due later this year. 400!
I worry that within weeks, the world we know will be forever changed. But disease, or war, or simply that the carrying capacity - which has already been far exceeded - starts to unravel. It really seems that we are in a multiple catastrophe (AIDS etc) and yet our behaviour is modulated by TV, easy motoring, the mall and sports. We ought, I sometimes imagine, to all run down the streets in unadulterated panic...knowing where we are in the world and what is about to be unleashed.
But I am happy that we can still celebrate life in the meantime. And I do, and I want to encourage others to do the same. Celebrate with your body. Run, swim, cycle, laugh, and dance. For tomorrow we may be dead.
And then there is the issue of buying a car. I'm thinking a Panda, for just under R100 000. But realistically, if I took the advice of Mr Kunstler, I ought to buy a beat up second hand mobile for less than R10 000. The emphasis should possibly not be on fuel efficiency, but on a car you almost never drive. The Panda purchase does not fit in with my views of consumption, or of congruency. The last thing we need, is another car on the road. And if anyone is aware of that, it's me. So what to do? I will buy a Raleigh Hybrid for the interim, and make up my mind further into the week about how committed I want to be to being another daily consumer of fossil fuels once more. Buying second hand seems a better bet too...
It's possible the world will ticker along for two or three more years before nature bites back in ways that we notice (lost pounds of flesh, bite wounds etc). It may be less, three or four months, or weeks. Gold clearly shows that the world is facing an imminent crisis.
Wisdom, as I see it, is to learn to begin to live lives congruent with reality. Living in sustainable ways.
The message of Easter is one of renewal. Rebirth. Revival. Let's turn towards the road ahead of us with happy hearts, and steely resolve. The road is long, but it doesn't need to be more difficult than it will be.
A Streetcar Named Desire
I've been driving around in a Renault Megane today. It becomes almost inevitable, driving such a beautiful car, that one attempts to forget or deny completely the realities beyond the window sheilds.
I'm looking to buy a car and am currently leaning towards a 4x2 Fiat Panda with awesome fuel efficiency (under 7), or a Kia Picanto (also under 7). Dhaihatsu, Ford Ka and a Golf Chico are also possible contenders.
The winner ought to be announced sometime this week...
Motoring Review: Renault Megane
When you take her top off, it's pure joy
by Nick van der Leek
There was a time when the only cars on South Africa's roads were made either by Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen or Mazda. The lucky could afford a BMW or Mercedes Benz. But the point is, this country was isolated and we weren't exactly spoilt for choice. That's changed.
Today the European manufacturers are all back; Fiat, Alpha, Citroen, the Korean car makers are here too and all the Japapense brands fly their flags side by side.
The Renault Megane is a sexy, classy car. The model I test drove was silver, and oozes style. There's no key, just a stiff black disk (with embdedded locking and unlucking mechanisms) that you insert into the instrument panel, and a start and stop button. It's just one of a host of modern, and nifty touches.
The Megane has 6 gears, and runs on diesel. It's sheer power made me think of the Alpha GT. This baby has a lot of power, and is very jumpy when you first get behind the wheel. She launches forward, turns effortlessly and stops at the slightest touch of brakes. Once you're aware of her subtleties, she has all the grace of a Japanese princess.
The upholstery is some of the best I've seen. Is it handstitched? The seats hug the body, and the instrument panel is sensibly functional and stylishly practical.
The cars headlights turn on and off automatically. Another nice trick is the easy push button assembly of the roof. Prepare to attract a small crowd. The car resembles a rocket that's adjusting airlerons for blast off. And when you emerge from your vehicle, remember to wave and smile gallantly.
The Megane has beautiful curves, so expect to turn heads in traffic. She's a soothing ride, and if you're unlucky enough to be a passerby on the streets, a mere onlooker, she's a heartbreaker.
by Nick van der Leek
There was a time when the only cars on South Africa's roads were made either by Toyota, Ford, Volkswagen or Mazda. The lucky could afford a BMW or Mercedes Benz. But the point is, this country was isolated and we weren't exactly spoilt for choice. That's changed.
Today the European manufacturers are all back; Fiat, Alpha, Citroen, the Korean car makers are here too and all the Japapense brands fly their flags side by side.
The Renault Megane is a sexy, classy car. The model I test drove was silver, and oozes style. There's no key, just a stiff black disk (with embdedded locking and unlucking mechanisms) that you insert into the instrument panel, and a start and stop button. It's just one of a host of modern, and nifty touches.
The Megane has 6 gears, and runs on diesel. It's sheer power made me think of the Alpha GT. This baby has a lot of power, and is very jumpy when you first get behind the wheel. She launches forward, turns effortlessly and stops at the slightest touch of brakes. Once you're aware of her subtleties, she has all the grace of a Japanese princess.
The upholstery is some of the best I've seen. Is it handstitched? The seats hug the body, and the instrument panel is sensibly functional and stylishly practical.
The cars headlights turn on and off automatically. Another nice trick is the easy push button assembly of the roof. Prepare to attract a small crowd. The car resembles a rocket that's adjusting airlerons for blast off. And when you emerge from your vehicle, remember to wave and smile gallantly.
The Megane has beautiful curves, so expect to turn heads in traffic. She's a soothing ride, and if you're unlucky enough to be a passerby on the streets, a mere onlooker, she's a heartbreaker.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
No Go Zone
Crisis on South Africa’s Roads
by Nick van der Leek
Some weeks ago I wrote about the state of roads in Bloemfontein. I wondered what the rest of the country was experiencing. In the last 12 days I cycled over 800km on secondary roads. Almost all of it, at least 700km, was badly marked roads riddled with potholes. I’ve seen roads in Tanzania and Zimbabwe that make those roads look bad.
On the other hand, when we drove from Nelspruit to Bloemfontein, mostly on Tollroads, there wasn’t a pothole in sight. What’s going on? The government has budgeted funds towards road maintenance. I’d like to suggest an investigation be launched to see what projects are in the pipeline, and to audit the funds that have been made available.
Plenty of the cyclists on our tour punctured and broke their spokes, not because of thorns or glass, but against the volcanic lips of broken tar. If these gashes can cause so much damage to a bicycle, motorists ought to be concerned. And they are, as a recent article shows in The Star (Do holes in the road reflect holes in the system?).
One of the reasons behind our fast deteriorating roads is, believe it or not, bad weather. This year rain has been much heavier than usual. A road becomes like tissue paper when wet for long periods. It tears a lot more easily.
I have seen potholes near Piet Retief that are big enough to sit in. These may well become deathtraps for drivers traveling at night, in rain, or simply not concentrating while driving.
The Johannesburg Road Agency estimates that the cost of repairing a pothole is about R400. Since we’re not driving our way to better weather, someone needs to grab some treasure and get busy plugging up the holes we’re leaving behind on our way forward.
Priceless Photos
When a picture is worth far more than a thousand words
by Nick van der Leek
Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s first Everest ascent would not have mattered if they had returned from the world’s highest mountain without celluloid evidence of their being on the summit. It’s possible that other climbers reached the top of Everest before Hillary, George Leigh Mallory for one. Without a picture we, who weren’t there, can never know, and mystery is not the substrate for legacy.
I have twice used up rolls of film only to open the camera and find nothing inside. In the one case, I shot plenty of pictures of friend’s of mine on a gorgeous holiday (Llandudno and beyond), and only a short time later they got engaged and married. At the time it was heartbreaking to have no record of those halcyon days. The other film was meant to be filled with pictures of a bicycle trip I did through the Cotswold’s, with a few more photos of pubbing with friends in Bristol. Those days also represented the first shift out of a miserable post-breakup segment. Opening the camera to find no record of those breakthrough days was just sickening. It was as if reality itself had been wiped out.
Man walking on the moon brought us powerful images too, and here we reach a point where reality and fiction seem interchangeable. The images of man on the moon were priceless too – because they represented, in the end, the final evidence of a powerful mission. But arguably the most priceless photos ever taken were also the most expensive. Without them, of course, people could hardly share (or believe)in mankind’s greatest triumph.
Of course, there are some salient arguments that indicate that the moon landings never happened (flapping flags and conflicting shadow angles). There are those that believe that our fixation with photos – as a kind of Technicolor truth applied to paper – leads to our being doubly gullible. Advertisers and marketing moguls are at the forefront of this psychology. Fast food is made to look bigger and better than it really is. Magazine people appear to be so perfect as to be an alien race incompatible with the ordinariness of ordinary Earthlings. And even when it’s us, taking photos of each other, there’s a degree of falseness and posing involved.
As an enthusiastic photographer, I am keenly aware of the truth versus fiction of this craft. The best photos, in my opinion, are those that you get through happenstance. At the time they seem incidental, even unimportant. But when removed from that context, they speak more clearly than any man about a classic human condition, or about what it means to live on the Earth. It’s tricky, and invasive, but the best way to capture the subtleties of human emotions is to photograph people who are being themselves, not trying to represent themselves being themselves. The best photos need no cropping, touching up or coloration. For a simple reason: you’ve managed to capture reality.
In Alex Garland’s The Beach, Richard explains why he travels without writing anything down, why he chooses not to snap photos wherever he goes. When you have traveled a great deal, especially in a sleep deprived state, it becomes increasingly important somehow to be in the moment, because in the next moment, you will have left a place, and its people, that you will never see again. Like Richard, I feel you cannot absorb or connect to a place from behind the lens of a camera, or by adopting a point of view behind a pen or keyboard. There is only that moment, and when its truth soaks into our system, it does so better than a picture or words. Sometimes it’s a daydream. Sometimes it’s just simple observation.
Photography comes into its own when one is older and wiser, and perhaps more cynical. When you revisit places you visited long ago, you may find you need to care about them. If you’re armed with a camera, the blasé been-there-done-that approach becomes far more functional and interested. For priceless pictures, first be there, first connect to a place, or a person, and then pull out your camera.
Do you LIVESTRONG?
Where were you when you decided to LIVESTRONG?
by Nick van der Leek
Chances are, even if you’ve never heard of Lance Armstrong, you’ve seen someone wearing a yellow LIVESTRONG wristband. LIVESTRONG started it all – selling for $1, with all funds donated to Armstrong’s non-profit Foundation that assists cancer patients worldwide.
LIVESTRONG has made its appearance everywhere. In South Korea there are even knockoffs – yellow bands but with different messages, and these are sold for profit and for gain. And here in South Africa, there’s the reddish AIDS wristband, and others.
Being a keen cyclist, and an admirer of Armstrong and his 7 Tour de Force wins through France, I was eager to identify myself with LIVESTRONG. I was at a Virgin Active and while in the pool, noticed an assistant swim coach had one on. He was obviously a swimmer as well, because he was tanned and well built. Halfway through my workout I asked him where he got his wristband. He told me he had a few in the car and could have one for R40. He came back and offered me his, saying he’d left the others at home. When I had dried off I walked back to the pool and paid him.
When I first slipped it on I was surprised how rubbery and soft it was. I expected it to be harder, and more plasticky, more brittle. It cleans easily and the script on the band is sunken in and well defined. The word strong is slightly bolder.
At first I wasn’t sure if I was a wristband kind’ve guy. You can feel a bit of turbulence swimming with the thing. And sometimes I come across people who wear LIVESTRONG who seem to be everything that LIVESTRONG isn’t (badly-disciplined, fat, unhealthy).
Once or twice I’ve considered taking it off for good, because my identity shouldn’t be dependent on appearances, on devices. But every time you’re in a bicycle race (and hereabouts that’s every weekend) there’s someone wearing one that elicits inspiration.
For me though, LIVESTRONG is about two things, and I’m sure it’s not the same for everyone. The first is passion. Living strong. Gritting your teeth and going out hard. Life beyond mere survival. The second is that it links one to the cycling cult, the cult of the yellow jersey. Beyond that is a genre I can’t really put into words, but I like to be associated with that. It’s good to be part of a group that represents a greater good. I can live with that, and I’m sure we all can.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Kunstler on "Growth"
April 3, 2006
Americans ought to regard the word "growth" with trepidation. When invoked by presidents and economists, it is meant to imply ideas like "more" or "better." It's a habit of thinking left over from the exuberant phase of the industrial age, when there was always more of everything to get. Nowadays, though, as we enter the terminal years of cheap energy, the word "growth" invokes a new set ideas.
For instance, "impossible." With the price of oil edging toward $70-a-barrel now, and likely to flirt with $100 by the end of the year, the effect will be higher costs for virtually all products and services, and tremendous stress on every socioeconomic organism from the family to government at all levels to the Ford Motor Car Corporation. The only "growth" we might expect under these conditions is the growth in our exertions to stay where we are, and the truth is that many of the weak will simply fall behind.
Another idea that "growth" might invoke would be a fear of an unstoppable rising population competing for scarcer resources: incomes, energy, food, shelter. Surely this is one of the specters behind the illegal immigration issue, a dawning recognition that the American cornucopia is becoming an emptier basket, with fewer fruits, less energy, and not many gold nuggets left in it.
For those of us positioned against the suburban juggernaut, "growth" invokes the destruction of more landscape, the conversion of pastures and croplands into McHousing subdivisions, with a long menu of additional liabilities -- not least being the huge investment in a living arrangement with no future. One would think the "homebuilders" could see this coming -- with oil edging toward $70 -- but the truth is that their companies are programmed for only one kind of behavior -- to keep building 3000 square foot McHouses 27 miles outside Dallas, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Denver, et cetera. Since they won't change the programming, then they will continue their destructive behavior until circumstances make it impossible for them to continue -- when the housing bubble blows up in their faces -- and then the companies will just die.
The cheap energy era led us into a climax of surpluses, and these surpluses represented the general "more-ness" and "better-ness" of late industrial society. In a post cheap energy world, accumulated surpluses will be meager to nonexistent. There is bound to be a scramble for whatever is left. Geopolitically, this means a contest for the world's remaining oil, which tends to be concentrated in just a few places. In each nation, there is likely to be a parallel scramble for whatever fruits, gold nuggets, and therms are still to be had, throwing off a lot of red-hot political sparks that will burn people. A lot of the remaining energy worldwide will be devoted to these scrambles, and thus essentially wasted.
There are many ways of viewing this "growth" predicament, and some strategies we can turn to in the face of it. An obvious one is to change our behavior, to stop acting as though our destructive, terminal, and futile activities were beneficial or indispensable . For instance, we could yield to the reality that the age of mass motoring will have to end. Instead of desperately seeking "alternative fuels" to run our 100 million cars, we could make an effort to restore our railroads. Instead of a million McHousing starts out in the meadows and cornfields, we could repair our existing towns and cities. There is no reason why they cannot be rewarding, beautiful places. There may well be greater benefit in walking more and driving less. The well-off Americans who have visited Europe over the past several decades invariably notice this. Anyway, we are going to need every meadow, cornfield, and pasture that we have, because as cheap energy wanes, we are going to be desperate to grow enough food to feed ourselves -- another reason to be wary of alt.fuel fantasies based on growing crops dedicated to gasoline substitutes.
One esteemed (and extremely shy) reader refers to the process of moving from a high entropy society to a sustainable one as "autonomic devolution."
"Positive feedback driven social systems breed self-amplifying trends which ultimately self-destabilize," he writes. "Autonomic devolution societies consist of localized islands of self-sufficiency."
I believe we are inevitably heading to that destination. The only thing I wonder about is how violent and destructive the process will have to be.
from www.kunstler.com
Americans ought to regard the word "growth" with trepidation. When invoked by presidents and economists, it is meant to imply ideas like "more" or "better." It's a habit of thinking left over from the exuberant phase of the industrial age, when there was always more of everything to get. Nowadays, though, as we enter the terminal years of cheap energy, the word "growth" invokes a new set ideas.
For instance, "impossible." With the price of oil edging toward $70-a-barrel now, and likely to flirt with $100 by the end of the year, the effect will be higher costs for virtually all products and services, and tremendous stress on every socioeconomic organism from the family to government at all levels to the Ford Motor Car Corporation. The only "growth" we might expect under these conditions is the growth in our exertions to stay where we are, and the truth is that many of the weak will simply fall behind.
Another idea that "growth" might invoke would be a fear of an unstoppable rising population competing for scarcer resources: incomes, energy, food, shelter. Surely this is one of the specters behind the illegal immigration issue, a dawning recognition that the American cornucopia is becoming an emptier basket, with fewer fruits, less energy, and not many gold nuggets left in it.
For those of us positioned against the suburban juggernaut, "growth" invokes the destruction of more landscape, the conversion of pastures and croplands into McHousing subdivisions, with a long menu of additional liabilities -- not least being the huge investment in a living arrangement with no future. One would think the "homebuilders" could see this coming -- with oil edging toward $70 -- but the truth is that their companies are programmed for only one kind of behavior -- to keep building 3000 square foot McHouses 27 miles outside Dallas, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Denver, et cetera. Since they won't change the programming, then they will continue their destructive behavior until circumstances make it impossible for them to continue -- when the housing bubble blows up in their faces -- and then the companies will just die.
The cheap energy era led us into a climax of surpluses, and these surpluses represented the general "more-ness" and "better-ness" of late industrial society. In a post cheap energy world, accumulated surpluses will be meager to nonexistent. There is bound to be a scramble for whatever is left. Geopolitically, this means a contest for the world's remaining oil, which tends to be concentrated in just a few places. In each nation, there is likely to be a parallel scramble for whatever fruits, gold nuggets, and therms are still to be had, throwing off a lot of red-hot political sparks that will burn people. A lot of the remaining energy worldwide will be devoted to these scrambles, and thus essentially wasted.
There are many ways of viewing this "growth" predicament, and some strategies we can turn to in the face of it. An obvious one is to change our behavior, to stop acting as though our destructive, terminal, and futile activities were beneficial or indispensable . For instance, we could yield to the reality that the age of mass motoring will have to end. Instead of desperately seeking "alternative fuels" to run our 100 million cars, we could make an effort to restore our railroads. Instead of a million McHousing starts out in the meadows and cornfields, we could repair our existing towns and cities. There is no reason why they cannot be rewarding, beautiful places. There may well be greater benefit in walking more and driving less. The well-off Americans who have visited Europe over the past several decades invariably notice this. Anyway, we are going to need every meadow, cornfield, and pasture that we have, because as cheap energy wanes, we are going to be desperate to grow enough food to feed ourselves -- another reason to be wary of alt.fuel fantasies based on growing crops dedicated to gasoline substitutes.
One esteemed (and extremely shy) reader refers to the process of moving from a high entropy society to a sustainable one as "autonomic devolution."
"Positive feedback driven social systems breed self-amplifying trends which ultimately self-destabilize," he writes. "Autonomic devolution societies consist of localized islands of self-sufficiency."
I believe we are inevitably heading to that destination. The only thing I wonder about is how violent and destructive the process will have to be.
from www.kunstler.com
Back
We left Nelspruit at 4:30 am and arrived in Bloemfontein at 13:30. The drive went by very quickly - I drove most of the way but slept between the Grasmere tollgate and Kroonstad.
Am feeling quite serene and happy after a very good, very busy two weeks.
After dropping San Marie, Berendine and Andre off, arrived home and had lunch with Dad and CJ. Tammy arrived a little later too.
Need to catch up on sleep tonight and will then get back to the usual routine - blogging, posting stories on reporter, working on the GQ and Heartland stuff and finishing my university assignments.
Am a lot redder and browner, and generally stronger than when I left a few days ago. Oh, I got voted Mr Casanova by the girls. Benedictus got voted Mr Bene (Mr Legs). Berendine got voted Queen of the Mountains.
Been a great tour but it's also good to be back. Got quite a few exciting things coming up so need to get cracking.
I have to take the car we hired - a white golf chico - back to Imperial Car Hire. More later.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Graskop Coffee
It's 11:12.
Just had a nice filter coffee and chicken sandwich with a few other riders. Riding now to God's Window and then on the bus back to Nelspruit this afternoon. Have cycled about 850km over about 12 days. Had to miss one day since the trucks's gearbox exploded on a downhill and we had to get a new one.
Feel good today. Hiring a car tonight for the drive back tomorrow. Been a good two weeks.
Gotta go to the Window now.
Just had a nice filter coffee and chicken sandwich with a few other riders. Riding now to God's Window and then on the bus back to Nelspruit this afternoon. Have cycled about 850km over about 12 days. Had to miss one day since the trucks's gearbox exploded on a downhill and we had to get a new one.
Feel good today. Hiring a car tonight for the drive back tomorrow. Been a good two weeks.
Gotta go to the Window now.
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