Ok not really, not "wars" as such, metaphorical wars about who is bigger. A world wide biggest forest by city pissing competition, held in cyberspace. Yes, that's metaphorical too.
The city of Johannesburg is supposed to have the largest inhabited, man made forest in the world. Have, be, you know what i mean. So of course, because every knows it's true, someone has to come along and prove it wrong, it's how us humans work. We're NOT the largest inhabited, man made forest in the world, they say. We're big, and foresty, and well, we don't inhabit the trees as such, but well, we like them a lot, they'll tell us some more. We just grew a lot of them, really forest, i mean fast, and, it's a mistake, of some sort.
So then came along:
Nechama Brodie argues that while Johannesburg may not be the “largest man-made forest in the world” it can claim to be the “largest man-made urban forest”.
Yes, she know a hell of a lot more about this than i do, in her words:
It just takes a lot more digging, using a Google spade.
My kinda gal.
My Spidey senses, for what they are worth,
Research at it's finest. Anyhow, names and numbers are presented and parsed, and the conclusion is unanimously:
Given that, and given all of the other cities listed and mentioned above, it appears that Johannesburg is the largest man-made urban forest in the world.
Well done Johannesburgers. And Nechama Brodie.
Thursday, 30 May 2013
Wednesday, 29 May 2013
Think Bike
This is a great effort! With all the crash footage around they can run a long way with this theme. And yes, it's the message clearly needs to be put out there to those who are considering riding a motorbike.
Another suicide laner hit the deck yesterday, and another seperate bike crash (unconfirmed) today. Both on my 30km stretch to work and back. And i hear the same arguments about why people think the suicide lane is safer, against all argument, against all advice from those who have done it before ...
What gets me the angriest, is the fact that these guys actually mess up the biker lane, my biker lane to be sure, but the same one that would be safer for them, if they could only see it. The goodwill from cars every day really astonishes me, and in a twisted way, i'm the only person on earth who sees it.
Sunday, 19 May 2013
Blanket run
It was a damn fine event. Well done to all.
Thursday, 9 May 2013
Have You Ever Tried to Enter the Long Black Branches?
"Have you ever tried to enter the long black branches of other lives-
tried to imagine what the crisp fringes, full of honey,
hanging from the branches of the young locust trees,
in early morning, feel like?
Do you think this world was only an entertainment for you?
Never to enter the sea and notice how the water divides
with perfect courtesy, to let you in!
Never to lie down on the grass, as though you were the grass!
Never to leap to the air as you open your wings over
the dark acorn of your heart!
No wonder we hear, in your mournful voice, the complaint
that something is missing from your life!
Who can open the door who does not reach for the latch?
Who can travel the miles who does not put one foot
in front of the other, all attentive to what presents itself continually?
Who will behold the inner chamber who has not observed
with admiration, even with rapture, the outer stone?
Well, there is time left -
fields everywhere invite you into them.
And who will care, who will chide you if you wander away
from wherever you are, to look for your soul?
Quickly, then, get up, put on your coat, leave your desk!
To put one's foot into the door of the grass,
which is the mystery, which is death as well as life,
and not be afraid!
To set one's foot in the door of death,
and be overcome with amazement!
To sit down in front of the weeds, and imagine
god the ten-fingered, sailing out of his house of straw,
nodding this way and that way, to the flowers of the present hour,
to the song falling out of the mockingbird's pink mouth,
to the tippets of the honeysuckle, that have opened in the night,
To sit down, like a weed among weeds, and rustle in the wind!
Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?
While the soul, after all, is only a window,
and the opening of the window no more difficult
than the wakening from a little sleep.
Only last week I went out among the thorns and said
to the wild roses: deny me not, but suffer my devotion.
Then, all afternoon, I sat among them.
Maybe I even heard a curl or tow of music, damp and rouge red,
hurrying from their stubby buds, from their delicate watery bodies.
For how long will you continue to listen to those dark shouters,
caution and prudence?
Fall in! Fall in!
A woman standing in the weeds.
A small boat flounders in the deep waves,
and what's coming next is coming with its own heave and grace.
Meanwhile, once in a while, I have chanced, among the quick things,
upon the immutable.
What more could one ask?
And I would touch the faces of the daises,
and I would bow down to think about it.
That was then, which hasn't ended yet.
Now the sun begins to swing down. Under the peach-light,
I cross the fields and the dunes, I follow the ocean's edge.
I climb, I backtrack. I float.
I ramble my way home."
~ Mary Oliver,
"West Wind: Poems and Prose Poems"
runningcauseicantfly
Wednesday, 8 May 2013
Been too long
Hi, just hi.
Been a while since i had anything to post, or maybe it was the time to post, having the opportunity and will, and the same time.
hmmm. In the meanwhile:
www.motogymkhana.co.za
peace and love
Been a while since i had anything to post, or maybe it was the time to post, having the opportunity and will, and the same time.
hmmm. In the meanwhile:
www.motogymkhana.co.za
peace and love
Thursday, 11 April 2013
Saturday, 6 April 2013
Civil obedience
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that numbers of people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of the leaders of their government and have gone to war, and millions have been killed because of this obedience. Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty. Our problem is that people are obedient while the jails are full of petty thieves, and all the while the grand thieves are running and robbing the country. That's our problem.": Howard Zinn, from 'Failure to Quit'
Sunday, 31 March 2013
Monday, 18 March 2013
RideApart
How and Why Motorcycle Lane Splitting is Safe and Good – RideApart
It's a long one, but thoroughly enjoyable. Every part of this i relate to, still dreaming of a gopro, to show you and others how it is every day for me. Wondrous and free.
peace!!
Tuesday, 12 March 2013
Je crois entendre encore
I still believe I hear
hidden beneath the palm trees
her voice, tender and resonant
like the song of a dove
oh enchanting night
divine rapture
delightful memory
mad intoxication, sweet dream
in the clear starlight
I still believe I see her
half drawing her long veil
to the warm night breeze
oh night...
hidden beneath the palm trees
her voice, tender and resonant
like the song of a dove
oh enchanting night
divine rapture
delightful memory
mad intoxication, sweet dream
in the clear starlight
I still believe I see her
half drawing her long veil
to the warm night breeze
oh night...
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
My own way to burn
"The real damage is done by those millions who want to 'survive.' The honest men who just want to be left in peace. Those who don't want their little lives disturbed by anything bigger than themselves. Those with no sides and no causes. Those who won't take measure of their own strength, for fear of antagonizing their own weakness. Those who don't like to make waves-or enemies. Those for whom freedom, honour, truth, and principles are only literature. Those who live small, mate small, die small. It's the reductionist approach to life: if you keep it small, you'll keep it under control.
If you don't make any noise, the bogeyman won't find you. But it's all an illusion, because they die too, those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe?! From what? Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues, and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn."
Sophie Scholl - 1921 - 1943 - German student, a member of the White Rose society, a non-violent anti Nazi resistance group.
If you don't make any noise, the bogeyman won't find you. But it's all an illusion, because they die too, those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe?! From what? Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues, and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn."
Sophie Scholl - 1921 - 1943 - German student, a member of the White Rose society, a non-violent anti Nazi resistance group.
Sunday, 24 February 2013
Liquid Sunshine
Wow.
Just, wow.
My thanks to Terri for tweeting about this, found at the following site:
"
Eruptive events on the sun can be wildly different. Some come just with a solar flare, some with an additional ejection of solar material called a coronal mass ejection (CME), and some with complex moving structures in association with changes in magnetic field lines that loop up into the sun's atmosphere, the corona.
On July 19, 2012, an eruption occurred on the sun that produced all three. A moderately powerful solar flare exploded on the sun's lower right hand limb, sending out light and radiation. Next came a CME, which shot off to the right out into space. And then, the sun treated viewers to one of its dazzling magnetic displays -- a phenomenon known as coronal rain.
"
Wow.
Friday, 22 February 2013
Deranging America
The article was called Deranging America, but it echoes so well with what i've seen in South Africa, it could be Deranging South Africa.
dissidentvoice.org - Deranging America by Linh Dinh / February 20th, 2013
Violence, always violence. From infancy, Americans are conditioned to enjoy violence, then lured or pressured to support it at every stage of life. Merely by voting, Americans sanction carnage against foreigners, and to have a healthy stock portfolio, one should also invest in mass murder.
______________________________________
Short article, but very pointed.
dissidentvoice.org - Deranging America by Linh Dinh / February 20th, 2013
Violence, always violence. From infancy, Americans are conditioned to enjoy violence, then lured or pressured to support it at every stage of life. Merely by voting, Americans sanction carnage against foreigners, and to have a healthy stock portfolio, one should also invest in mass murder.
______________________________________
Short article, but very pointed.
Thursday, 21 February 2013
Thursday, 14 February 2013
Like Janis
And you measure for wealth by the things you can hold
And you measure for love by the sweet things you're told
And you live in the past or a dream that you're in
And your selfishness is your cardinal sin
And you want to be held with highest regard
It delights you so much if he's trying so hard
And you try to conceal your ordinary way
With a smile or a shrug or some stolen cliche'
But don't you understand, and don't you look about
I'm trying to take nothing from you
So why should you act so put out for me?
'Cos emotionally you're the same basic trip
And you know that I know of the times that you slip
So don't try to impress me, you're just pins and paint
And don't try to charm me with things that you ain't
And don't try to enchant me with your manner of dress
'Cos a monkey in silk is a monkey no less
So measure for measure reflect on my said
And when I won't see you then measure it dead
'Cos don't you understand, and don't you look about
I'm trying to take nothing from you
So why should you act so put out,
And sit there in wonder and doubt, for me?
Rodriguez
And you measure for love by the sweet things you're told
And you live in the past or a dream that you're in
And your selfishness is your cardinal sin
And you want to be held with highest regard
It delights you so much if he's trying so hard
And you try to conceal your ordinary way
With a smile or a shrug or some stolen cliche'
But don't you understand, and don't you look about
I'm trying to take nothing from you
So why should you act so put out for me?
'Cos emotionally you're the same basic trip
And you know that I know of the times that you slip
So don't try to impress me, you're just pins and paint
And don't try to charm me with things that you ain't
And don't try to enchant me with your manner of dress
'Cos a monkey in silk is a monkey no less
So measure for measure reflect on my said
And when I won't see you then measure it dead
'Cos don't you understand, and don't you look about
I'm trying to take nothing from you
So why should you act so put out,
And sit there in wonder and doubt, for me?
Rodriguez
Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Because
So I've decided that i really like Sarah Britten, who is a lady in Joburg who is alive and living and thinking and sharing and doing stuff. The blog The Red Robot Project is hers, and now there's another project:
Because Anene.
http://becauseanene.wordpress.com/
Because they were bored.
Because they took drugs.
Because they are poor.
Because they were angry.
Of all the hype and verbiage created by this soul destroying act that has claimed international attention, i think that this kind of response is more positive, inspiring and angering at the same time. This kind of statement is an EMOTIONAL statement ... and this problem needs an emotional response, angry, hurt, fearful and brutal.
Sarah's "thing" is using lipstick as paint, and in this "rape" debate it is a shamelessly pointed standpoint, as much as ! is nothing more than an sharp intake of breath.
It is time for rapists to feel the horror of police, prisons, prisoners and the awfully long sentence. It is long overdue that the fear is transplanted from our daughters and friends onto the men and boys who have nothing else to fear, yet delight in creating it for others.
And yes, if anyone asks, i am pro capital punishment on this, and also pro vigilantism. Taking a rape victim to a police station is only giving her over to a longer, more demeaning rape of public scrutiny of a woman's most personal space. If a man rapes someone, it is only good and proper that he is either killed outright or permanently scarred for life, castration seems particularly appropriate, i'm sure the medical services would be offered free by our good doctors and nurses, who must have seen hell in a little girl's eyes.
There can be no other reasonable, rational nor indeed compassionate response.
Because Anene.
http://becauseanene.wordpress.com/
Because they were bored.
Because they took drugs.
Because they are poor.
Because they were angry.
Of all the hype and verbiage created by this soul destroying act that has claimed international attention, i think that this kind of response is more positive, inspiring and angering at the same time. This kind of statement is an EMOTIONAL statement ... and this problem needs an emotional response, angry, hurt, fearful and brutal.
Sarah's "thing" is using lipstick as paint, and in this "rape" debate it is a shamelessly pointed standpoint, as much as ! is nothing more than an sharp intake of breath.
It is time for rapists to feel the horror of police, prisons, prisoners and the awfully long sentence. It is long overdue that the fear is transplanted from our daughters and friends onto the men and boys who have nothing else to fear, yet delight in creating it for others.
And yes, if anyone asks, i am pro capital punishment on this, and also pro vigilantism. Taking a rape victim to a police station is only giving her over to a longer, more demeaning rape of public scrutiny of a woman's most personal space. If a man rapes someone, it is only good and proper that he is either killed outright or permanently scarred for life, castration seems particularly appropriate, i'm sure the medical services would be offered free by our good doctors and nurses, who must have seen hell in a little girl's eyes.
There can be no other reasonable, rational nor indeed compassionate response.
Monday, 11 February 2013
The ANC’s all-time top 10 most disturbing quotes
http://inside-politics.org/
By: Gareth van Onselen
FEATURE: I have compiled into a list what I consider to be the ANC’s 10 most disturbing quotes of the last 18 years. Each one made a significant impact on current affairs and, significantly, revealed the ANC’s real thinking, so they are worth documenting and recalling. But I am open to suggestions. The point of this article is to generate a discussion. So read them and leave your comments. Did Zuma’s shower quote make the list? Malema on nationalisation? Mbeki on Aids? Read on and find out. Also, leave your thoughts on Twitter, I will use the hashtag #ANCQuotes
___________________________________________
Please read it, it's frightening because as the author points out, these are all unopposed by the ANC, not their usual foot in mouth disease, denied within hours. These statements stand historically as the ANC's official standpoint on certain items. Some, like AIDS, is now history, but all have impacted mllions of South Africans negatively, ongoing and getting worse by the day.
By: Gareth van Onselen
FEATURE: I have compiled into a list what I consider to be the ANC’s 10 most disturbing quotes of the last 18 years. Each one made a significant impact on current affairs and, significantly, revealed the ANC’s real thinking, so they are worth documenting and recalling. But I am open to suggestions. The point of this article is to generate a discussion. So read them and leave your comments. Did Zuma’s shower quote make the list? Malema on nationalisation? Mbeki on Aids? Read on and find out. Also, leave your thoughts on Twitter, I will use the hashtag #ANCQuotes
___________________________________________
Please read it, it's frightening because as the author points out, these are all unopposed by the ANC, not their usual foot in mouth disease, denied within hours. These statements stand historically as the ANC's official standpoint on certain items. Some, like AIDS, is now history, but all have impacted mllions of South Africans negatively, ongoing and getting worse by the day.
Wednesday, 6 February 2013
Life for Rent
"Life For Rent"
I haven't ever really found a place that I call home
I never stick around quite long enough to make it
I apologize once again I'm not in love
But it's not as if I mind
that your heart ain't exactly breaking
It's just a thought, only a thought
But if my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine
I've always thought
that I would love to live by the sea
To travel the world alone
and live more simply
I have no idea what's happened to that dream
Cos there's really nothing left here to stop me
It's just a thought, only a thought
But if my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine
If my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine
While my heart is a shield and I won't let it down
While I am so afraid to fail so I won't even try
Well how can I say I'm alive
If my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine
If my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine
Cos nothing I have is truly mine
Cos nothing I have is truly mine
Cos nothing I have is truly mine
I haven't ever really found a place that I call home
I never stick around quite long enough to make it
I apologize once again I'm not in love
But it's not as if I mind
that your heart ain't exactly breaking
It's just a thought, only a thought
But if my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine
I've always thought
that I would love to live by the sea
To travel the world alone
and live more simply
I have no idea what's happened to that dream
Cos there's really nothing left here to stop me
It's just a thought, only a thought
But if my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine
If my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine
While my heart is a shield and I won't let it down
While I am so afraid to fail so I won't even try
Well how can I say I'm alive
If my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine
If my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cos nothing I have is truly mine
Cos nothing I have is truly mine
Cos nothing I have is truly mine
Cos nothing I have is truly mine
___________________________________________
No idea why, but this song has been on my mental playlist for the last few days. Very soothing.
Tuesday, 5 February 2013
Skating away
http://lifeissavage.com/2013/02/05/footage-of-cape-town-skateboarder-setting-off-kloof-nek-speed-camera-goes-viral-video/
This skater is now a legend!!!
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