Oldboy

Directed by Park Chan-Wook

South-Korean.
Winner of the Cannes Grand Prix in 2004.

Watch it. The dude eats a live octopus. The tentacles still move while he shoves the animal into his mouth.
It is DIS-GUS-TING. But its a reason to see the film.

Gunda, maybe this one is not for you. Or keep a pillow nearby to cover your eyes.



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I tend to forget

I tend to forget that you do not think they way I do.

Perhaps it would be good for you to consider that I do not see the world the way you do and accept it, hell, even appreciate it, instead of wanting conformity and rules and a life lived behind walls of righteousness, because you think family 2.0 is all one should aspire to.

I tend to forget to appreciate what I have.

Perhaps it would be good of you to look around a bit more, too. The boy on the street corner, the ladies in the taxis, the boemelaars under the bridge. How can I be unhappy when I have a home to return to, a deaf dog who greets me, an education that excites me and enough money in the bank to buy a plane ticket far away? It is depressing to know I have options and so many of you don't. On the other hand, so many of you think of themselves as a First National and life as not being able to pay its monthly rent when it should be the other way around.

I tend to forget names.
I am sorry, if I meet you for the first time and your name triggers no donkeys or bridges, I will not recall it the next time we meet. It is not intentional, it is more that you have not made an impression. Or that I do not care enough to make the effort to remember. Or, most often, I just could not hear what you said. Or, second most often, there were 20 people with new names.

I tend to forget one thing when I go to the gym. Everytime it is something different. Socks. A water bottle. A towel. Deodorant. A lock.
Small things. Small things that would have been comfortable to have, socks being at the top of my list.

I tend to forget mediocre music. And people with mediocre musical taste. But I am actually quite glad about this omission in my brain.

I tend to forget the things I want to do. Then I make lists of places to go and things to stare at. And then I feel I have done enough.

I tend to forget that everyone feels differently.
How wondrous is that. To laugh at and be shit-scared of the same thing.

I tend to forget how many episodes of a series I have watched. Then suddenly the series is done and my day was wasted.


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Marula Jelly

A few weeks back by mother returned from the Kruger Park with bags of Marulas. Since we had no idea how to make Marula Jelly and could not reach my grandmother on her phone, we turned to the Slowvelder's suggestions .
I think my mother added her own ideas along the way, but here are the basics:

1. Wash the fruit and then slice them in half without separating the two parts.

2. Place all the fruit ( we had about 2 kg I think?!) in a large pot and cover them with water. Then boil it for about 20 minutes. The water will look pale yellow now.  

3. Strain the water and the fruit through a cloth, we put one over a sieve, which worked quite nicely. 

4. Then put the juices back in the pot and add sugar ( for every cup of juice add a cup of sugar).

5. Let the sugar dissolve over a gentle heat. 

6. You could add some lemon juice for flavour, we added about 2 small lemons worth. 

7. Turn the heat up and boil for another 20 min. 

8. Then check if the contents have jelled enough, my mother throws a teaspoon full in ice water and sees if it forms a little ball. You could also place some on a plate and see if it is not runny. 

9. Sterilize your glasses.

10. Fill in the contents, bottle it up and let it cool. 

It tastes a bit like honey :)


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Mense. Ek kyk vir julle.

Disclaimer: my Afrikaans se spelling is nogals sleg.

Onder eikebome en jakarandas wag ek vir klas om te begin. Die lewe is groen om my terwyl die bankie om die bome slinger, herwonne plastiek deurgesit deur jare se swaar boude. Hout hou langer, ek sien dit sommer.

Die meisie links met moë oë wie se lippe beweeg, sonder worde om laaste brokkies te onthou. Sy lyk tipies: jeans, 'n grys t-hempie, 'n grys truitjie, swart chucks. 'n Blou rugsak langs haar, haar hare vaal en in 'n ponystert vasgekam. Sy dui met handbewegings in die lug haar kennis aan, dalk sou 'n dowe persoon beter verstaan. Ek sien haar lewe voor my : dis 'n lewe vol leesstof en opdragte maar sonder enige ervarings wat nie uit boeke kom nie. Ek skat sy sien die wereld nie groter as Pretoria nie.

Regs sit ook 'n meisie, met skinny jeans, 'n oker geel toppie en bruin truitjie. Ek verstaan nie hoekom altwee 'n trui aanhet nie, dit is 30 grade buite en hulle hoef alby nie 'n groot lyf onder klere te versteek nie.

Die meisie het brëe bo-bene, dra sandale en kort swart hare wat sy net-net in 'n miniatuur bolla agter kon vasknyp. Haar naels in skoon en haar hand permanent aan haar selfoon vasgeplak. Dit blyk sy wag vir iemand wat nie bestaan nie.

Verder links sit drie werkers, dit is middagete tyd en hulle pak toebroodjies en coke uit. Ek wonder hoe die oudste man dit gaan eet, hy het geen tande meer nie. Dalk suig hy die brood tot dit soos babakos lyk?

'n Tannie, om die sestig, staan drie verdiepings oor ons en beloer die skouspel nes ek. Sy geniet haar sigaret op die wenteltrap. Met 'n oorgroot pienk en wit hemp en en 'n witbroek lyk sy soos die dames wat sondae met hoedens uit die NG kerk peul. Haar gewig is toepassend aan haar ouderdom, haar gesig  beoordeel almal onder haar : God vat 'n lunchbreak.

Oorkant my staan 'n wit bakkie in die skadu van die Ou Lettere gebou geparkeer. Die man slaap, sy kaal voete hang uit die venster. Ek is lus om hulle te kielie. Skielik skrik hy wakker en strompel uit die kar. Hy lyk soos iemand wat terug wou gaan Witbank toe na 'n harde dag by die werk en sy pad verloor het. Rooi-bruin vellies smelt in die Afrika aarde in, sy blou werksbroek en blou werkshemp het al te baie die wasmasjien leer ken. Die broek is te kort, die hemp te groot. Sy wit-geel hare staan soos bossies in elke rigting, die Einstein van die platteland get aangekom.  Die man se beloning na die middagslapie : 'n bottel guava mengsel, just add water ( 4:1).

En ek in die middel van dié middag, bruin leer skoene, 'n rokkie wat val en 'n manlike leerband om my arm om nie soos almal wat by Jay Jay's koop te lyk nie. My linker oog is rooi soos die robot. Hy waarsku almal om nie te naby te kom nie. Pink eye sou bang wees vir hierdie vlam. Dalk ontplof hy binnekort, wie weet.

Mense stap verby, future-engineers wat bang is vir meisies, girls met kort broekies, koshuis meisies, 'n meisie met boude wat enorm lyk vir haar klein beentjies. Blinde mense wat gelei word, sienende mense wat leiding kort. Almal lyk anders. Almal lyk eensaam.

Moenie bekommerd wees nie, mense. Ek kyk vir julle.
Nee, ek sien julle.  

Illustration of the Day

Design on Threadless

Grab it as a T.

Pine Mouth

For the last two days, everything has been tasting bitter:
The spinach and feta phyllo pastry pie
The strawberry milkshake
The sweet sesame chicken salad
The water

It is weird.
So I googled it ( what else would one do these days when presented with weird symptoms?!)  and it turns out the culprit could be PINE NUTS.
Who knew.
I had some the other day in my salad.
Apparently unoxidised pine nuts can cause a bitter after-taste for days, even weeks.

Ts I was getting exited that this would last forever and I could use it as a reason for a diet:
"Sorry delicious piece of chocolate cake, sorry little falafel balls, sorry pasta, you all taste terrible so I will just not eat you and lose 50 kg. awesome."

Let's see how it tastes in a few days, enjoy your taste buds.

simple

from white breeze

I liked this photo. And i love baking :)

Joburg Photowalkers

This is one of the geckos living in our house. He is creatively called Mr Gecko since he is the biggest.

I have a love hate relationship with them, because they eat the spiders etc., but they way they move FREAKS ME OUT!

Don't even get me started on those fricken black-yello-striped lizzards in the garden. Freaks of nature. Ughhh and the way they scurry around!

anyways, here the actual point : 

I heard about the Joburg Photowalkers, and thought it would be cool to start one for Pretoria as well. 

Basically people meet up and explore an area they would otherwise not have the courage to. We could get someone local to guide us? Like when going to Sunnyside, get someone who lives there? Or help out at some community centre and ask someone to show us around?

Let me know what you think ( this is a HINT for you to leave comments, it is weird writing and not knowing whether readers think you're an absolutly ignorant twat with no idea and dumb opinions or whether someone can relate to your interests).

.wwf

This is rather awesome.
Kick .pdf to the bucket.
Use WWF's new wwf format to create pdf's that one can't print.
Save the planet one tree at a time :)

get it here

Lunch Hour Concert: Charl du Plessis Jazz Trio

I don't like Jazz. One song, maybe two. But I won't go to a Jazz club and spend my night sitting at a tiny round table, ordering whiskey and enjoying the music.

To my surprise this week's lunch hour concert's performers were incredible: yes they are a Jazz trio, but they redid classical music and jazzed them up, literally. The trio consists of Steinway Artist if 2006, Charl du Plessis, on piano; Hugo Radyn on drums and Werner Spies, who is almost as tall as his instrument, on bass.

See more about the Charl du Plessis Jazz trio here

In the hour they played, I closed my eyes and travelled around the world :
Mozart's Andante from Piano Concert no 21 transported me into 70s style Brazilian hotel lounges: sipping a caipirinha, then driving down the Copa Cabana, wind in my hair, sunglasses on and ready for a great day.

Next came the Argentinian pampas, riding horses and herding cattle with Chopin's Waltz in C minor ( Op. 64 no 2).

From Argentina I became a red balloon, released into the air at a carnival.As I slip from the small hand and sense freedom, Bach's Prelude and Fuge in C minor ( WTC I no 2) accompanies my joyful flight. But as night descends, so does my fear and the music rumbles like an approaching thunder storm. The instruments turn to day again and on my balloon flies, happily drifting in the sunlight.

The trio had a face-off in Johnson's Carolina Shout, which made me think of living in Kentucky or Tennessee, drinking a mint julep and listening to the insects buzzing in the garden while relaxing on my porch.

Lastly, they "funked up" Chopin's Prelude in C Minor ( from 24 Preludes, Op. 28 no 20), through which I became Daddy Cool, running my own sin city and driving around in some badass black car. The music changed from playing in the trailer for some Bruce Willis film to soft, delicate notes, almost like moonlight caressing a peaceful world.

That is why I like music : I don't need to physically go anywhere to see the world and learn something new I had not previously considered.

JR : can art change the world?

Download the original at TED.com

www.insideoutproject.net

Bittereinder

This is Bittereinder - A tale of three cities 

Check them out ici

also come to the botanical gardens 27 March for Park Acoustics with Bittereinder, aKing and others. 

La France

Hahaha, this is funny. And true. 

Download the original video here.

And be sure to check out Cedic Villain's other animations on his website 

People here often give the advice that when you are in France, speak to them in Afrikaans because they will be much friendlier. 

I don't know. Apparently it works. I don't think that the French just dislike anyone who speaks English, but rather that they are embarrassed by their knowledge of the language. I also don't like speaking Swedish simply because I only know two words : hej and tak.

Have a très bon weekend, mes amis :)

Open Letter to Jimmy Manyi ( News24 2.March 2011)

Dear Jimmy,

Let us drop titles for the purpose of a necessary exchange. So let us forget for now that I am a Cabinet Minister and that you are a Director-General equivalent, in the same government. I want to address you simply as a compatriot South African.

I want to draw to your attention the fact that your statements about "an over-concentration of coloureds" are against the letter and spirit of the South African Constitution, as well being against the values espoused by the Black Management Forum since its inception.

That you were a Director-General of the Department of Labour, as well as the President of the BMF at the time when you made these statements is quite a mystery.

It is a mystery because I must assume that you were elected as President of the BMF, without any familiarity with the history and constitution of that organisation; and that you were appointed as Director-General of the Department of Labour, without any familiarity with the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa or the legislation administered by the Department itself.

I observe from a GCIS press release that Mr Vusi Mona issues in his own name, you apologise for the statement because "some people may have taken offence". This continued negative behaviour merely serves to confirm the values that you hold, or more precisely, lack thereof. Firstly, why Mr Mona had to issue a statement is beyond comprehension since you distinctly did not utter those racist sentiments as an official of the GCIS.

Secondly, that you lack the moral conviction to publicly apologise says so much about your acute lack of judgement. Thirdly, the statement apologises only for the fact that "some people may have taken offence" says to me that you clearly fail to appreciate the extent to which your utterances are both unconstitutional and morally reprehensible.

These "things", (as the ANC statement says that your utterances reduce people to being mere commodities) in your view, "the coloureds who are over-concentrated in the Western Cape", are the sons and daughters of those who waged the first anti-colonial battles against the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British when they set foot on our shores. These "things", which so irritate you, include many who made huge sacrifices in the struggle against apartheid, at a time when people with views like Jimmy Manyi were conspicuous by their absence from the misery of exile, the battles at the barricades and from apartheid's jails. By the way, what did YOU do in the war, Jimmy?

I want to put it to you that these statements would make you a racist in the mould of H F Verwoerd. I want to put it to you that you have the same mind that operated under apartheid, never merely satisfied with inflicting the hurt of forced removals and the group areas act, would encamp language groups so that horrible aberrations, such as Soshanguve, were created to accommodate "non-Tswanas" in their own little encampments in greater Mabopane. Mr Manyi, you may be black, or perhaps you aren't, because you do not accept that label and would prefer to be "only a Xhosa", whatever the label you choose, I want to put it to you that your behaviour is of the worst-order racist.

I refer to you in this way because for those of us who found our way into the struggle through the Black Consciousness Movement have always understood the origin of the Black Management Forum, as we have understood and supported the ANC documents that speak of "blacks in general, and Africans, in particular." Regrettably, in your understanding the term "Black" has quite a different meaning.

As a consequence of your behaviour, people like me - in the ANC and in government, are being asked to explain what was in the mind of the drafters of the amendments to the Employment Equity Act. We were present at the point of the debate of the first Employment Equity Bill; we expressed a complete comfort with the assignment of 'designated groups' to include “black people” which means "Africans, Coloureds and Indians" because it served as a representation of our constitutionality and as the fruits of our struggle.

When in your capacity as Chairperson of the Employment Equity Commission you made strange utterances that sought to carve away at the basic premise of the Employment Equity Act, we should have been more vigilant. The just and constitutionally obligated provisions for redress are not and can never be an excuse to perpetuate racism.

Now, in the light of the utterances you have made at a time when you were the DG of the Department of Labour, and given the fact that the amendments to the Employment Equity Act were drafted during your tenure, I have a sense that your racism has infiltrated the highest echelons of government. Count me among those who, in spite of my position, will ensure that parliament acts in the letter and spirit of our constitution when it adopts amendments to the Act.

I have never waged any battle from the premise of an epithet that apartheid sought to attach to me but I will do battle against the harm you seek to inflict. When I do so, it is not as a coloured but as a non-racist determined to ensure that our great movement and our Constitution are not diluted through the actions of racists like you.

I have been prepared to sacrifice before for the cause of the kind of society articulated in the Freedom Charter. It is not a cause that has ended. I have simply not been called upon to make the same kind of sacrifices since 1990. I must declare my willingness to make sacrifices now in deference to the opening lines of the Freedom Charter that boldly declare that "South Africa belongs to all who live in it".

I now know who Nelson Mandela was talking about when he said from the dock that he had fought against white domination and that he had fought against black domination. Jimmy, he was talking about fighting against people like you.

Yours sincerely,

Trevor A Manuel




see original article here


Finally someone acknowledges that it is not only white/black racism that dominates the minds of the ignorant and hateful, but rather that racism is blind to the skin colour of the person who is prejudiced against his fellow humans.


I admit, I crack racist jokes about Jews and Nazis and Turkish, I laugh about Ethiopians and stereotypical white-black jokes. Never though will I intentionally discriminate against a person based on their skin colour. There are stupid people and intelligent people everywhere, regardless of age, sex, skin tone and class. Just because you drive a Porsche does not make you a decent person. Just because you are black does not make you more African than coloured or white people born on the same soil.


This makes me angry, because I cannot understand how the proportion of bad people; of egotistical megalomaniacs; of selfish, self-centred suits and of criminals and killers can outweigh morally good people. How can the hard working, the poor, the ethical population of South Africa not be in more power than their corrupt counterparts? 

Happy Birthday Ka :)

my friend Karolina Rupp ( check out her photohgraphy here  ) turns 23 today, so let's all sing for her..

you had this turquoise eastpak that i was jealous of. even though we were in parallel classes, we only became friends in grade 7 and have been ever since.

there was britney, there was HIM and viking metal ( where i'm still unsure what it is), there were trips in cars and planes and trains, there were all the new year's eve's spent more inebriated than not, there was koppi and black label ( hunters for me), paddling on the schliersee and two minute noodles in glas bowls. there was the the landy and spending too much time at menlyn, the flo ecke and driving on the back of a merc slk, there was odds and wilderness and jeffreys. there was the oc marathon, bunking school to go to menlyn in a taxi, there were the matric holidays and the e-cigarette. now we have milk-less coffee, merlin, braais, real cigarettes, wine, music in the park, art exhibitions, photography, wanting to move to cape town...

 i know we don't always see eye to eye on things ( luckily) and i know our circle of friends does not really overlap, but i also know every time we meet, we have a lovely conversation. so here is to your future and me being in it on occasion :)

this party image via whatpossessedme