Presents

“ Then there is the other kind of Christmas with present piled high, the gifts of guilty parents as bribes because they have nothing else to give. The wrappings are ripped off and the presents thrown down and at the end the child says—”Is that all?” Well, it seems to me that America now is like that second kind of Christmas. Having too many THINGS they spend their hours and money on the couch searching for a soul. A strange species we are. We can stand anything God and nature can throw at us save only plenty. If I wanted to destroy a nation, I would give it too much and would have it on its knees, miserable, greedy and sick. ”
- John Steinbeck 1959, Letters of Note

1959 hey? Hasn't improved at all. Anyhow, i'm feeling guilt for having neglected the blog of late, too many things i just don't want to say. Anyhow, part of my distraction lately has been adventure riding, a guy, a bike, and a thousand square miles of playground. It's where i want to get to ... that's my goal now.

No chance of it happening soon, except in my own head, but i'm fortunate to have people like Sibirsky Extreme Riders for insiraton.

ADVrider.com

ADVrider.com

ADVrider.com

peace and love

By Toutatis!!!

While Asteroid 4179 Toutatis was never a threat to hit Earth during its quite-distant pass on Dec. 11-12, astronomers were keeping their instruments and eyes on this space rock to learn more about it, as well as learning more about the early solar system. Even at closest approach, 4179 Toutatis was 7 million km away or 18 times farther than the Moon. But that is close enough for radar imaging by NASA's Goldstone Observatory, which has recently upgraded to a new digital imaging system, as well as optical imaging by other astronomers. Already, there are some preliminary findings from this 4.5-kilometer- long (3-mile-long) asteroid's flyby.

 http://phys.org/news/2012-12-asteroid-toutatis-earth.html

Flying

An entirely irrational narrative of ridiculous joy

Date: December 10, 2012

Author: Sarah

Over the moon

Date: December 11, 2012

Author: Sarah

Around and around

I watched dawn the other morning, first time in a long while and it was well worth it. Just that miracle of light returning, birds waking, nature flowing forth like a stream downhill.

This is the evening of the year already, that quiet time before sunset. I like to sit out in the garden at this time of the day, feet or hands draped in the pool, feeling the coolness and quiet of the water as opposed to the heat and buzz of the air. 

From the Toyrun wrap up meeting to Nollie Faith to more teddy bear deliveries ... nothing is as satisfying as this. Success and reward, Toyrun has been widely praised as the most organised ever, and giving the toys out to kids is the most rewarding feeling imaginable.

Thoughts drift to next year, improve increase streamline ... but the now is still fresh and invigorating and satisfying. This moment of clarity amongst the chaos of the year is startling, unexpected, and i know won't last long, but you have to appreciate the highs as much as the lows.

I'm feeling the end of an era ... not sure how, but a circle has turned, and we're in for another multiyear cycle of ... something. Who knows? Let's hope that it's better than the last?

peace and love and faith and hope and charity

Truth goodness and beauty, beauty will save us all.

Nollie Faith Hope and Charity

http://nolliefaith.org/

Right ok, so i featured them a while ago, those kids and skateboards in downtown joburg. Thanks to the kind folks at Toyrun, i have 2 more skateboards for the kids, plus some other goodies, although i have no idea what yet. Colouring books and crayons type stuff ....

 and chalk.

I'm dropping this here as an open invitation to anyone and everyone, come along, bring what you can, they're supposed to be at the cnr of Fox and Kruger st every Saturday from 11-2. Tomorrow is too soon, so i'm giving everyone a week's notice for Saturday the 8th December at 11am.

and a tin of Q20 (they make the wheels go faster!!)

fruit basket with exotic fruits (because they've probably never tasted pawpaw)

Any other ideas welcome.

http://hermanverwey.blogspot.com/2012/07/nolly-faith.html

Red Robot Project

http://redrobotproject.wordpress.com/

Long overdue for a really hard look, red robots in Johannesburg are a unique subculture all of their own. Here's how it works:

You're driving along going somewhere nice and gentle, robot changes to red, you stop. All of a sudden there are people surrounding you, your windows are being washed, homeless talk is held up for you to see, some bloke has a black plastic bag offering to take your rubbish ... a young boy with a circus type act is showing off in the pedestrian crossing, his friend running around to the cars for tips. Beggar at the robot smiles and puts his hands together in the "please or thank you" gesture ... and there are some toy dogs waving tails and dancing. Oh, i nearly forgot the cell phone charger salesman.

When the light changes to green, these people all flee to the pavements again, en route to the crossing roads, which are now stopped. And it goes like this all day. Beggars, from 8 year old kids to ancient old men without legs, black and white alike, cardboard signs or no, they are there, you cannot ignore them.

Being on a bike saves me being the target of any of these people begging for attention, and hopefully cash. For me they represent a huge threat to my (and their) safety ... so as long as they get out of my way, i don't really have any direct contact with them. I've made a special plan sometimes, my favourite is a mixed fruit basket, lady with a kid, and of course colouring books and crayons. Never money, but for a hungry and thirsty kid, mixed fruit must be awesome. They're there everyday, so if you forget today tomorrow is another day .... but day in day out, well, you'd have to be desperate to be there.

A huge thanks to Sarah Britten for starting this page, i'll add it on the right under blogroll somewhere.

peace

Chaplin's speech

I'm sorry but I don't want to be an Emperor, that's not my business. I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible, Jew, gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another, human beings are like that. We all want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone and the earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful. But we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned men's souls, has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed. We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in: machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little: More than machinery we need humanity; More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost. The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me I say "Do not despair". The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress: the hate of men will pass and dictators die and the power they took from the people, will return to the people and so long as men die [now] liberty will never perish. . . Soldiers: don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you and enslave you, who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel, who drill you, diet you, treat you as cattle, as cannon fodder. Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts. You are not machines. You are not cattle. You are men. You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don't hate, only the unloved hate. Only the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers: don't fight for slavery, fight for liberty. In the seventeenth chapter of Saint Luke it is written: - "The kingdom of God is within man" Not one man, nor a group of men, but in all men; in you, the people. You the people have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness. You the people have the power to make life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy let's use that power, let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give you the future and old age and security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power, but they lie. They do not fulfil their promise, they never will. Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfil that promise. Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness. Soldiers! In the name of democracy: let us all unite!

Don't be stupid

Toyrun by numbers

Years: 30
Toys: +- 30 000
Bikes: +- 30 000
Volunteers: 250
Bike marshalls 25
Stalls: 150
Bikes given away: 3
Setup: 4 days
Incidents: 1 (SVA, not serious)
Road distance all rides: 250km
Mileage by me over the year to Benoni: 2400km.

I add the last because i just worked it out, and it gave me a fright. Well done to every one who contributed and participated, "Many hands make light work" was the message for this year.

I feel the need to add: "miracles can happen ... sometimes".

peace and love and charity to all

Tenderness

I am trying to find the courage to be tender in my life.
I know that violent people are weak people.
Only the gentle ones are ever very strong.
- James Dean

Again.

"We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery, we need humanity. More than cleverness, we need kindness and gentleness." - Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977).

EDIT:

Life*

Windswept

Urban Wild Art

Done for the FNB art thingy, but nothing on their website? Can't figure out who blonde boykie is either.
Brilliantly done thought, found a pinterest thing with a whole bunch of photos, very nicely done!!

http://pinterest.com/source/i-art-joburg.com/

Pain

"Most of the pain you’re dealing with are really just thoughts.. ever think of that?"

- Buddhist Bootcamp

I take illegal drugs for inspiration

Daily Telegraph, Saturday May 21st 2005, pp 17-18

Susan Blackmore

Every year, like a social drinker who wants to prove to herself that she's not an alcoholic, I give up cannabis for a month. It can be a tough and dreary time - and much as I enjoy a glass of wine with dinner, alcohol cannot take its place.
Some people may smoke dope just to relax or have fun, but for me the reason goes deeper. In fact, I can honestly say that without cannabis, most of my scientific research would never have been done and most of my books on psychology and evolution would not have been written.
Some evenings, after a long day at my desk, I'll slip into the bath, light a candle and a spliff, and let the ideas flow - that lecture I have to give to 500 people next week, that article I'm writing for New Scientist, those tricky last words of a book I've been working on for months. This is the time when the sentences seem to write themselves. Or I might sit out in my greenhouse on a summer evening among my tomatoes and peach trees, struggling with questions about free will or the nature of the universe, and find that a smoke gives me new ways of thinking about them.
Yes, I know there are serious risks to my health, and I know I might be caught and fined or put in prison. But I weigh all this up, and go on smoking grass.

________________________________________________

Read the full article, inspirational.

Banksters

This matter is of extreme public interest in view of the millions of people who have lost everything as a result of countless unjust judgements in the past, by our courts, handed down by ill informed judges, who have ignorantly upheld an unjust system in favour of corrupt banksters that have been getting away with fraud and extortion for years.

There is one MAJOR case in Cape Town, where 3 weeks ago, a judgement went against First National Bank – in favour of the defendant who will remain nameless until this Friday. This has now turned into the most sensitive case in SA history regarding banking. This is the straw that will break the camel’s back and allow all of our cases to be argued and won, by arguing legal precedent. It will also spread like a virus worldwide very quickly from here.

UbuntuParty

Share your thoughts?

The Number Problem

The document shows there were 51,770,560 people in the country at midnight on October 9 last year, the date of the 2011 Census, compared to 44,819,778 counted a decade earlier.

Consequently, we are left with approximately 2,9 million people who paid close to 99% of all income tax.

{PS: The author hadn’t factored out state employees. This group is obviously not true taxpayers. Rough estimate for state employees I think is around 1.3 million(?) I would guess that once this is factored out there are probably a few hundred thousand people paying tax out of genuine value added income.}

Among children younger than 17 in SA, 3.37 million have lost one or both parents. That is really tragic.

It's worse than anyone will admit.

Stop!

Remember the Buccaneer.

30 Days to Toyrun

TOYRUN GP 2012

The full press release:

THIRTY YEARS!
That’s how long the Motorcycle Toy Run event has been happening! An amazing number of years that the motorcycling fraternity has been donating toys to make the lives of less privileged children a little better!
From a small run organised by the Italian Motorcycle owners Club (IMOC) in 1982 it has grown to a country-wide event where motorcyclists gather to give in toys by the thousand. These toys are re-distributed to the needy by recognised service clubs like the Round Table, Rotary International and Lions International.
In recent years the focus has been to request educational gifts or packs for the children. These along with ball games are the most popular items to be received by the children when handing out toys.
In the last 30 years many sponsors, support staff and service clubs have come and gone BUT the Motorcycle Toy Run event is still here.
To celebrate this great achievement a carnival style event is planned at the Benoni Northerns Sport Grounds (John Barable Hall) at the end of November. This coincides with over 20 similar events being held around the country.
Already confirmed for the day are 3 popular bands using the SAB sound stage and over 80 various stalls and food vendors. Other entertainment will also be provided to please the crowds.
Although this day is focussed on the motorcycling community it is open to the public and there will be secured parking for cars and bikes. The public is encouraged to attend and bring their entire family along. The entrance fee after 30 years is still a toy (or many) for the less privileged children around us.
This year the Toy Run has also partnered with Canai South Africa to collect unwanted, old cell phones (working or not). This will ensure a ‘green’ disposal of those which cannot be repaired and those which are will be redistributed to people in poorer communities. PLUS they have promised school stationery packs for successful restorations. So dig in those bottom drawers for the old phones you don’t need and bring them in.
Part of the celebrations also includes a massive motorcycle give away of 3 bikes courtesy of Honda Kyalami and a performance motorcycle exhaust slip on canister from Inferno Performance Exhausts plus many other smaller prizes throughout the day, All this for … a TOY or educational gift!

BIKERS NOTE:
The ever popular road mass rides are all leaving at 9am from – 
Blockhouse Engen 1-Stop - On the R59 between Randvaal Rd & Heidelberg Rd - NORTH bound 64 kms Irene Village Mall - On the R21 40 kms 
Meadowdale Mall - Edenvale Road between R24 and N12 24 kms 
SilverStar Casino - R28 Paardekraal Road, near Pinehaven intersection 96 kms
(SilverStar is a LONG ride so make sure the tank is full and the bike is up to it)

The rides will be speed controlled at 80km/hr, Metro police escorted and intersection controlled
All bikes must be street legal and capable of completing the distances.
Quads and off-road bikes to please use the off road Toy Run venue of Dirt Broncos, where there will be an organised off-road route and entertainment laid on.
See you there on Sunday, the 25th November 2012.
Benoni Northerns Sport Grounds (John Barable Hall),
Benoni

____________________________________________________

Please also see @ToyRun2012 and Toyrun on Facebook, share and enjoy!

PS: Paul Rotheram is THE MAN!!! Thank you for doing the radio ad!