Tuesday, November 22, 2005
But officer...the pole just jumped out at me!
Pretoria motorists do not have to be drunk to claim that a telephone pole jumped into the road in front of them. Drivers on a new extension of Peperboom Street in the Chantelle area in Pretoria North have to drive carefully to avoid hitting a Telkom pole in the middle of the road.
It is situated on a curve in the road making it even more dangerous.
Yes, it's true and my response is: You've GOT to be kidding! But it's real...
Source: The Citizen
It is situated on a curve in the road making it even more dangerous.
Yes, it's true and my response is: You've GOT to be kidding! But it's real...
Source: The Citizen
Technorati Tags: bizarre, South Africa
A comic from Foxtrot
Paul van Dyke in SA
Festival Electric
Johannesburg Stadium
Sat, 26 Nov
Paul Van Dyk, D.O.N.S. and more
Johannesburg Stadium
Sat, 26 Nov
Paul Van Dyk, D.O.N.S. and more
Technorati Tags: Paul van Dyke, South Africa
Monday, November 21, 2005
Pretoria turns 150!
Friday, November 18, 2005
Catz on Saturday
Going to be hanging out at Catz PJ's in Melville from 7ish on Saturday night if anyone is keen to come. Invite open to all!
Moodly says he's not guilty
Donovan Moodley asked for a retrial in the Johannesburg High Court today, saying he did not kill student Leigh Matthew. What?! Assuming that's true, it's kinda odd he'd wait his entire trail before mentioning that. My own verdict? He's either guilty or protecting someone (and I think it wasn't just him involved in her murder).
Technorati Tags: news, South Africa
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Worms advice part 4 - how to pick chords for rock songs
Easy. Find a band you like. Like CREED...
The R-chord hasn’t been discovered yet, so that leaves us with, C Major, E Major and D Major. Excellent! That will be the verse, and the chorus can be D, then E and then C!! See what I’m doing??? I swapped them around. Sheer genius. As for lyrics, I’ll make something up about being… something something… arms open… hearts together… something something. And HEY PRESTO!! A song! And it’s all thanks to Creed.Worm goes on to look to what chords can be made from other band names, like Deff Leppard and Limp Bizkit (which really only leaves you with a song in "B" Major).
Technorati Tags: finkelsteins, music, South Africa
Friday, November 04, 2005
Friday on the farm
It's just after 7am and the lawn is getting mowed on the farm. The day has dawned like a cold, wet fish (apologies to Terry Pratchett). Hopefully we'll see some cricket later today - SA vs NZ in Durbs. I was thinking of going through but bugger me if the weather forecast isn't for 100% rain today. Maybe it'll clear up later - enough to make this victory number 13 in a row...
Shoutout to Andy (who is probably the only person reading this right now) and Bonnie (ok, person number 2) who heads back to the States today after a protracted time in SA. Go well, Bonnie, and be good to North Carolina!
Shoutout to Andy (who is probably the only person reading this right now) and Bonnie (ok, person number 2) who heads back to the States today after a protracted time in SA. Go well, Bonnie, and be good to North Carolina!
Make your own biltong
This looks interesting - the "Bluebird Mini Biltong Maker." It makes biltong in 1 or 2 days, costs R199 and delivery is between 10 and 15 working days.
Source: Joburg.co.za
Source: Joburg.co.za
Technorati Tags: biltong, South Africa
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Photography and copyright
In an hours time I'll be heading off to do some photography of the sunset here at Kilgobbin. I can see Midmar Dam from the front door.
On a related topic - who does the copyright belong to if the picture is of a sunflower? http://www.nocopyright.it/nocopyright.html
On a related topic - who does the copyright belong to if the picture is of a sunflower? http://www.nocopyright.it/nocopyright.html
Word for the day: takkies
takkies - sneakers, plimsolls, sports shoes; also car tyres.
From Wikipedia.
From Wikipedia.
Technorati Tags: slang, South Africa
Otter Trail
End of November I find myself on the Otter Trail - one of the best hikes in South Africa. Lekker. Check out some pics from the trail.
Technorati Tags: hiking, otter trail, South Africa
SA vs USA part 2
Also found Americans more cautious drivers - especially around children. If someone was crossing the road, the cars would stop about 20 metres down the road for them (admittedly this was in Sharon, Mass. - not the biggest town around but still, that wouldn't happen in small town SA).
That said, driving in New York city traffic was one of the most hair-raising experiences of my life. Travelling at around 100km's (around 60mph) with a following distance of about a metre in 6 lane traffic...my heart still goes cold when I think about it.
Last time I checked, hardly anyone in the States sms's (or texts). Cellphones are for phone calls. Whereas trying to send an sms here on New Years Eve is almost impossible - paydirt for our cellphone companies.
Was told in Philadelphia to not refer to African Americans as "black" and in Boston to not make any jokes based on a person's colour. We do that all the time here - and it's hilarious (if done in good taste)! I think we exploit the racial stereotypes quite well - and often to great effect - especially in some well thought-out advertisments. I'll let Bonnie explain the Vodacom "black guys in taxi crashing into a shack with white guys watching rugby" ad sometime - for me it's the ad of the year.
Played baseball in high school, but very badly. Even among a team of fairly athletic guys I don't think we'd be able to make a double-play then. And basketball...my goodness. I remember playing ball against some inner-city Boston kids - myself and a British guy called Will got our butts royally kicked - and we looked pretty stupid in the process. But hey, we're white, and white men can't jump.
In terms of political climate and attitude towards the States...well, you could hardly call us friendly. In fact, the media here gives a pretty one-sided view of American government and Bush to the extent that most people think Bush is an arrogant numbskull who barely passed high school, has an underdeveloped vocabulary (thanks to widespread "Bushisms" - like "most of our imports come from other countries"), is an inept leader (thanks to Michael Moore's depiction of him in "Farenheit 9/11") and is a warmonger (direct quote from many newspapers and journalists) intent on finishing what his Dad started in Iraq.
Not that the American media is much better - a friend of mine returned from the States a few months after Bush was elected (and yes, he happened to be in North Carolina) with the firm conviction that Bush was brilliant, could do no wrong, was a great leader and exactly what the country needed. He couldn't believe that we had such a different view of him and after a few months of our media had his view completely reversed. Not that I'm saying that Bush is good or bad - that's not my point - my point is simply that most people's view of Bush is almost completely dictated to them by the media they choose to consume. Rather than seeing reality we're quite happy with the reality we're given - and that's the same whether in the States or South Africa.
That said, driving in New York city traffic was one of the most hair-raising experiences of my life. Travelling at around 100km's (around 60mph) with a following distance of about a metre in 6 lane traffic...my heart still goes cold when I think about it.
Last time I checked, hardly anyone in the States sms's (or texts). Cellphones are for phone calls. Whereas trying to send an sms here on New Years Eve is almost impossible - paydirt for our cellphone companies.
Was told in Philadelphia to not refer to African Americans as "black" and in Boston to not make any jokes based on a person's colour. We do that all the time here - and it's hilarious (if done in good taste)! I think we exploit the racial stereotypes quite well - and often to great effect - especially in some well thought-out advertisments. I'll let Bonnie explain the Vodacom "black guys in taxi crashing into a shack with white guys watching rugby" ad sometime - for me it's the ad of the year.
Played baseball in high school, but very badly. Even among a team of fairly athletic guys I don't think we'd be able to make a double-play then. And basketball...my goodness. I remember playing ball against some inner-city Boston kids - myself and a British guy called Will got our butts royally kicked - and we looked pretty stupid in the process. But hey, we're white, and white men can't jump.
In terms of political climate and attitude towards the States...well, you could hardly call us friendly. In fact, the media here gives a pretty one-sided view of American government and Bush to the extent that most people think Bush is an arrogant numbskull who barely passed high school, has an underdeveloped vocabulary (thanks to widespread "Bushisms" - like "most of our imports come from other countries"), is an inept leader (thanks to Michael Moore's depiction of him in "Farenheit 9/11") and is a warmonger (direct quote from many newspapers and journalists) intent on finishing what his Dad started in Iraq.
Not that the American media is much better - a friend of mine returned from the States a few months after Bush was elected (and yes, he happened to be in North Carolina) with the firm conviction that Bush was brilliant, could do no wrong, was a great leader and exactly what the country needed. He couldn't believe that we had such a different view of him and after a few months of our media had his view completely reversed. Not that I'm saying that Bush is good or bad - that's not my point - my point is simply that most people's view of Bush is almost completely dictated to them by the media they choose to consume. Rather than seeing reality we're quite happy with the reality we're given - and that's the same whether in the States or South Africa.
Technorati Tags: America, South Africa
