Best advert of late

Chuck Drives an Isuzu.
http://www.chucknorrisfacts.com/

Who should be shot next ...

this guy should be!

I am becoming more and more intolerant of unions and their bosses who seize every opportunity to invoke industrial action. Cosatu are now filing to hold a strike around the appropriation of the R20b dedicated to the development of Guatrain.

Their argument is that goverment should rather redirect that money from developing new infrastructure towards the upgrading of Metrorails already existing infrastructure. The reason: Gautrain will only benefit the rich, upgrading metrorail will benefit the poor.

Has this dickhead forgotten that Gautrain is being built for 2010, so that our gazillions of international spectators can be transported safely and comfortably from JIA to their hotels and stadiums? How the hell should we expect them to use metrorail?

So, R20b should be rather spent on improving transport for the poor, nevermind the knock-on economic benefits to thewhole countryby having our international guest looked after? Perhaps this guy should use his time to rather improve the performance of Metrorail staff so that their service improves instead of organising opportunistic strikes that severly hurt our economy. He clearly comes from a generation where you get what you want by uprising ... move on bru. Your shallow, same old same old communist strategy does not improve the lot of your members!

Can we strike against unions?

Still here ...

Johannesburg International Parkade ... episode 2! Whoever skipped the country 2 months ago, still has not come back!

Hello People

Hi there all you long lost Northfield People!!! (Ok, so I'm the long lost one, but hey...)
Just a quick heads up for anyone who is interested in worship and sacred living - I have just launched a new worship resource site Sacredise - www.sacredise.com. Feel free to check it out and please spread the word to anyone else who might be interested.
Also, linked with the site I have set up a new blog here at blogger.com - it's http://sacredise.blogspot.com. Again, please feel free to join in and spread the word!

I look forward to connecting with you all online from Knsyna (with my view of the Heads!!!) both here on idel banter and on my sites.

Blessings - and chat to you soon.
John

I long for you

30 years on ...

Yesterday I sat as a judge at the Gauteng contest of the annual Anglo American Sowetan Young Communicators Award. Hosted at the Apartheid Museum, 30 years since the Soweto uprising on June 16th 1976, young talented speakers have come from English 2nd Language schools to battle it out for a spot at the National Final in June. As a 26-year old white male, it is my first visit to the museum and the first time I have heard participants of the 1976 riots speak publically. Murphy Morobe, one of the convicted organisers of the uprising spoke of his experiences in Soweto some 30 years ago.

The riots started as what was meant to be a peaceful protest against the institution of Afrikaans as the medium of education in black schools. Interestingly, the police were handling the protest fine until a 2nd group of protestors arrived late, thus sandwiching the police. What happens when you corner an animal? Well, the ensuing shooting resulted in one of the most famous deaths in South African history. Hector Peterson was one of the youths killed in a spray of gunfire as the police desperately attempted to escape. What followed was one of the bloodiest and chaotic times in South Africa's history as riots sprung throughout the country. Thousands of people were killed throughout the country before the year was out. Today though, the organisers, particpants and those kille din the riots are revered as people who significantly challenged the unfair regime of Apartheid.

In aiming to conquer the land and people a regime uses some non-violent means to achieve this: 1 - it takes away a peoples language, 2- it then limits the ability to mass mobilise. The June 16th riots erupted in protest to the medium of education becoming Afrikaans - an language largely inaccessible to the learners of the day. These riots were mobilised in the schools - 20year old matriculants amassed thousands of students for the protests. But then, subsequent to the initial riots, the government shut down the schools. The people could not gather collectively to make the enxt move. As a late Xer I was not even born when these riots erupted. So much has changed, but I do not even really know it. The world I live in and the changes that happen are assimilated into my lived experience without even a reference point of what the world used to be.

However, the 12 contestants today resonated in a collective memory of the 1976 riots. Some lost parents and some lost grandparents. But none experienced it first hand. It begs the question: how does one convey the meaning and memory of such events as the generations move on? Some events have inthemselves the power to do so e.g. the Holocaust. I'm sure Apartheid will do the same.

As a judge it was a privelege to be included in this retelling of our history. It was also a great privelege to award the top spot to a Grade 11 Learner from Filadelfia Special who despite severe physical disability and speach empediments, inspired the audience to a standing ovation with his wit, eloquence and depth of thought ... oh, he's a damn good speaker as well. Just goes to show, physical limitations do not necessarily have to hinder a good public speaker. His words were slurred and it took him a minute to get onto the stage. But for a prepared speach and impromptu speach he had the audience "sitting at his feet".

In the coming months South Africans will comemorate and celebrate the events of 30 years ago. Today, we heard leaders of tomorrow. 30 years ago, a few youths changed the landscape of South Africa's history. Who of today's young voices will change the future?

Come on Guy

If you've been flipping through the (welfare TV) channels on a Tuesday night at about 10pm, you would have come across a pair of poorly dressed fools with fake 'staches ... in fact their shorts are tighter than Naas' were when he first burst onto the Currie Cup scene.

Corne and Twakkie are the hosts of The Most Amazing Show (phonetic, with Cape Town accent: The Moooost Amaaaaazing Shoooow). On a low budget Caravan Park set, Corne and Twakkie spoof local accents, celebrities and South African culture ... in general they put on a poor show of terrible comedy, unrehearsed skits and a jaccuzzi that doubles up as the guest couch. These guys are bad, really bad. Digesting their comedy will take more than a few stiff whiskey's between 6pm and 10pm before they come on air.

BUT I cannot get enough of these "guys" ... they have me in stitches on Tuesday nights and also between 10am and 11am on Zuraida Jardine's 5fm show as The Love Captain distills his guru-like advice for lovers, with a sick twist. Go ahead, take apart my fine appreciation for comedy and class ... say what you will, these "guys" are the best ... guy.

Ag ...

I didn't vote today. Do I suffer from Apathitus?