yes, i was up between 3-5AM to watch the debates live. cuz, u know, its just not the same to watch the recording on cnn or youtube or wherever, cuz then you're not among the first to hear/see the action. it aint so fresh n clean no more. so i made sure to get it fresh from the source at the time of production, or something like that.
-- in my post below, i ripped a bit on mccain's health care plans, cuz i dont think it should be deregulated or privatized. to be fair, though, i do believe that health care has become a huge overhead cost for businesses and the ones that suffer the most are usually small to medium sized businesses. so something has to be done to reform this. something other than privatization. this brings me to my criticism of b-obama's healthcare plan as well. this criticism is actually about his tax plan, but over the past few weeks, b-obama has been trying to link his tax plan directly to healthcare, so i will endulge. b-obama wants to provide a tax cut for something like 95% of americans, he says, people making under $200,000. thats great. now, the problem lies in the fact that he also wants to use a similar threshold for small businesses. he claimed in the debate that this will only affect a "few" businesses as most small businesses make under $250,000 in revenue. as a firm believer that small and medium size businesses are the buffer and core of economies i disagree strongly with this. i hope someone smart tells b-obama that there are quite a bit more than a few businesses considered small to medium sized that make more than $250,000/yr in revenue. businesses with revenues of $2mil, $3mil, even upwards of $25mil are often considered small to medium sized. any economy needs to encourage these businesses and not stymy them with taxes. the healthcare part in this comes in the fact that more and more of these businesses are going under because of the evergrowing, sky-rocketing costs of healthcare. taxing individuals that make a certain amount is fine. taxing businesses that are at the core of economic growth at the same level as individuals, i dont think is wise. not knowing too much about the tax code or even healthcare, i would suggest that there be a tax code with threshholds for indiduals which is distinct from the thresholds for businesses. it only makes sense. at least in my head.
-- another problem i had with b-obama is he was given a golden opportunity to live up to his rhetoric as i mentioned in the post below: "to tell americans the hard truth, what they need to hear, and not just what they want to hear." The moderator asked both candidates if they are ready to admit to the public that things will get muh worse before they get better. americans aren't stupid. well at least most of them. or maybe just some of them. but regardless, smart people know that the economic "down-turn" in the US has not yet reached rock bottom and it's bound to go down before it rebounds. neither was man enough to say that, but simply begged the question with some lame response of something like we can skip the worst of it and the good ole days are not too far out in the future.
-- I enjoyed mccain pointing to b-obama and proclaiming him as "that one". bring a bit of debating back to debates. US debates in the last several cycles have seriously watered down the idea of debating. i enjoyed when b-obama used the age-old trick of using the opponents words against him ("...Well, you know, Sen. McCain, in the last debate and today, again, suggested that I don't understand. It's true. There are some things I don't understand.I don't understand how we ended up invading a country that had nothing to do with 9/11, while Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda are setting up base camps and safe havens to train terrorists to attack us.That was Sen. McCain's judgment and it was the wrong judgment.When Sen. McCain was cheerleading the president to go into Iraq, he suggested it was going to be quick and easy, we'd be greeted as liberators.That was the wrong judgment, and it's been costly to us..."). simply brilliant. thats debating.
-- finally, moving away from the US a bit, there are now rumors (pretty substantial ones) of a breakaway party forming in SA to provide an alternative to the ANC. I sincerely hope it gathers strength and is formed on a basis of more than just anger and greed. cuz it'd be nice to talk about meaningful debate in the run-up to SA elections, rather than this "the prez is already decided 2 yrs in advance" business...
chin chin.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
election rant - 1mth/7mths to go
the US election is less than 30 days away, the SA elections are about 7 months away, and we are full fledged in the midst of "silly season" in politics, as b-obama calls it. in fairness, it's hardly never silly season in politics. so in that light i think i just wanna offer a few thoughts, mostly on the us elections.
1st, apparently guilty-by-association is back, with sarah palin (who now reads the nyt) accusing obama of palling (nice choice of words) with terrorists. since they dont seem to be winning on substance, the idea is to convince americans that b-obama is not who he really says he is; that his character should be questioned and not trusted; that he's "not like us". by that, i can only assume they either mean that he is an alien, or that he's black.hmm, maybe both. and i dunno if you've heard, but u know, u can't trust those blackies. they go to churches where the pastor decries the government's treatment of minorities and the poor state of poor people in poor slums. not only that, he's also an elitist. cuz, u know, he's educated, and likes to eat healthy, and can actually put nouns and verbs and adjectives together to make a sensible sentence (take note gov), and plays basketball (wait...oops, thats not the elitist argument, thats the blackie argument)... maureen dowd from the nyt put the elitist argument nicely:
"We could, following her strenuously folksy debate performance, wonder when elite became a bad thing in America. Navy Seals are elite, and they get lots of training so they can swim underwater and invade a foreign country, but if you’re governing the country that dispatches the Seals, it’s not O.K. to be elite? Can likable still trump knowledgeable at such a vulnerable crossroads for the country?"
I would suggest that that happened around the time that g-dubbs convinced everyone that nuclear was pronounced nu-cu-lar. which brings me to the scariest thought. i'm almost sure that mccain-palin will win this election now. why? listen to the way she pronounces nu-cu-lar...she's obviously learned the lesson to winning US elections.
2nd, this 700billion dollar bailout/rescue/screw-u plan that was just passed. 700billion. i can type that and not feel anything, cuz i seriously have no idea what that kind of money feels like or looks like or means. btw, 700billion is twice the GDP of south africa, and then some. to be sure, i was actually in favor of this plan; something had to be done to save the essential institutions of the nation. but, this only confirms by skepticism of gov'ts when they claim they have no money for x, y, or z program. if its enough of a priority, you have the means. esp in the US where you can just print money apparently and it has little short term effects. who cares about long term, thats for our children to deal with... this is also a problem that, for some reason, the sa govt has been able to convince people here about. "oh, ARV's are much too expensive, these western firms just need to lower their prices." or in the us: "public education has become too expensive and ineffecient, lets just get rid of it and send everyone (who can afford it) to private schools." stuff it. then, stuff it again. the money is there. prioritize. if the education of your kids are important, u do like many africans do, like my parents did, like my parents' parents did, and you sacrifice other things because it is a priority to ejumacate your kids. if keeping you peeps from dying from HIV, depleting the workforce, or providing affordable healthcare, or improving security, etc are priorities you make it happen. in the words of napoleon dynamite, gosh!
leads me to 3rd...interesting article in the nyt (promise, its not the only newspaper i read) about the difference between b-obama's and mccain's healthcare proposals. my good friend will probably disagree with me on this, cuz he worked for a company that's trying to get people and employers hooked on buying your own healthcare type thing. this is basically mccain's proposal: to allow companies to not provide healthcare for their employees and have people buy healthcare directly from the insurer. hmm, sounds good and will be cheaper for people like me, who so far (knock on wood) rarely go to the doctor and are not a health care "risk". however, those who are sick often or older or have multiple condictions will find that buying healthcare themselves will be very expensive. market-related bullshit. so, to address this, mccain will give individuals a 2500dollar credit and families 5000 to use to buy (subsidize) healthcare; never mind that the avg health care costs are around $12000 for the avg family. so mccain solves the problem of govt/employer provided and subsidised healthcare and cuts costs, but its dangerous in my view to leave sick people without the healthcare they need. what the hell is the role of government if its not to protect citizens, keep them alive, and keep them healthy. this nyt article concludes:
"I agree: the McCain plan would do for health care what deregulation has done for banking. And I’m terrified."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/opinion/06krugman.html?ref=opinion
btw, i have these same issues with the sa govt. they are just now getting serious about combating HIV and now there is a new Health minister that seems to have real plans other than eating herbs and taking showers to cure HIV. there is still no evidence that crime is seen as a real problem and is attacked head on on multiple fronts (this includes police salaries, the judicial system and process, and possibly the adoption of the death penalty). education still ranks ridiculously low in terms of priorities in my view. it also doesnt help that the govt heaps out money (not enough but ok) for education and for the past few years, the dept ends the year with millions left over. what do you they think think theyre running? an exxonmobil? a govt dept's responsibility is not to produce a profit at the end of the yr, its to spend all you have and even what you dont have and request more. but spend it wisely. currently the sa govt in terms of education is not spending nor is it spending wisely.
so far, i've ranted on and on for a while. i am, in spite of all, still an optimist and i am waiting to see president b-obama, for example, live up to his promise to "tell americans what they need to hear and not what they want to hear". so get rid of your gas guzzlers, petrol price will now be $10/gallon, because without that there will never be an incentive to invest in renewable energy- type thing. i'm looking forward to continued progress in sa as far as infrastructure, job creation, and investment in education (from early childhood on). and of course, i'm looking forward to the first world cup on african soil. people, esp white south africans, are too quick to lament to plight of sa and then pack up as quick as humanly possible to head to their paradise, aka australia. me thinks thats just silly. understandable in some cases, but silly. the glass is still half-full for sa. they just need more kicks in the rear (a strong opposition party, maybe...). as a SA newspaper put it this weekend, in 20 years, ill be proud to tell my kids that, yes, i was there.
random post #2345609: in case anyone was wondering, i had another terrific weekend (hopefully thats the case for a loong while) and for all those that often describe me as a perfect specimen (which is pretty much everyone), i would like to let you know that you were/ are...absolutely correct. i got confirmation by a very reliable and credible source this weekend that theres hardly anything wrong with me (except for one minor "thing" which of course will be dealt with in time). i would simply like to affirm all of you who believed in my perfection even when i didnt. watd'yaknow, u were right all this time!
1st, apparently guilty-by-association is back, with sarah palin (who now reads the nyt) accusing obama of palling (nice choice of words) with terrorists. since they dont seem to be winning on substance, the idea is to convince americans that b-obama is not who he really says he is; that his character should be questioned and not trusted; that he's "not like us". by that, i can only assume they either mean that he is an alien, or that he's black.hmm, maybe both. and i dunno if you've heard, but u know, u can't trust those blackies. they go to churches where the pastor decries the government's treatment of minorities and the poor state of poor people in poor slums. not only that, he's also an elitist. cuz, u know, he's educated, and likes to eat healthy, and can actually put nouns and verbs and adjectives together to make a sensible sentence (take note gov), and plays basketball (wait...oops, thats not the elitist argument, thats the blackie argument)... maureen dowd from the nyt put the elitist argument nicely:
"We could, following her strenuously folksy debate performance, wonder when elite became a bad thing in America. Navy Seals are elite, and they get lots of training so they can swim underwater and invade a foreign country, but if you’re governing the country that dispatches the Seals, it’s not O.K. to be elite? Can likable still trump knowledgeable at such a vulnerable crossroads for the country?"
I would suggest that that happened around the time that g-dubbs convinced everyone that nuclear was pronounced nu-cu-lar. which brings me to the scariest thought. i'm almost sure that mccain-palin will win this election now. why? listen to the way she pronounces nu-cu-lar...she's obviously learned the lesson to winning US elections.
2nd, this 700billion dollar bailout/rescue/screw-u plan that was just passed. 700billion. i can type that and not feel anything, cuz i seriously have no idea what that kind of money feels like or looks like or means. btw, 700billion is twice the GDP of south africa, and then some. to be sure, i was actually in favor of this plan; something had to be done to save the essential institutions of the nation. but, this only confirms by skepticism of gov'ts when they claim they have no money for x, y, or z program. if its enough of a priority, you have the means. esp in the US where you can just print money apparently and it has little short term effects. who cares about long term, thats for our children to deal with... this is also a problem that, for some reason, the sa govt has been able to convince people here about. "oh, ARV's are much too expensive, these western firms just need to lower their prices." or in the us: "public education has become too expensive and ineffecient, lets just get rid of it and send everyone (who can afford it) to private schools." stuff it. then, stuff it again. the money is there. prioritize. if the education of your kids are important, u do like many africans do, like my parents did, like my parents' parents did, and you sacrifice other things because it is a priority to ejumacate your kids. if keeping you peeps from dying from HIV, depleting the workforce, or providing affordable healthcare, or improving security, etc are priorities you make it happen. in the words of napoleon dynamite, gosh!
leads me to 3rd...interesting article in the nyt (promise, its not the only newspaper i read) about the difference between b-obama's and mccain's healthcare proposals. my good friend will probably disagree with me on this, cuz he worked for a company that's trying to get people and employers hooked on buying your own healthcare type thing. this is basically mccain's proposal: to allow companies to not provide healthcare for their employees and have people buy healthcare directly from the insurer. hmm, sounds good and will be cheaper for people like me, who so far (knock on wood) rarely go to the doctor and are not a health care "risk". however, those who are sick often or older or have multiple condictions will find that buying healthcare themselves will be very expensive. market-related bullshit. so, to address this, mccain will give individuals a 2500dollar credit and families 5000 to use to buy (subsidize) healthcare; never mind that the avg health care costs are around $12000 for the avg family. so mccain solves the problem of govt/employer provided and subsidised healthcare and cuts costs, but its dangerous in my view to leave sick people without the healthcare they need. what the hell is the role of government if its not to protect citizens, keep them alive, and keep them healthy. this nyt article concludes:
"I agree: the McCain plan would do for health care what deregulation has done for banking. And I’m terrified."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/06/opinion/06krugman.html?ref=opinion
btw, i have these same issues with the sa govt. they are just now getting serious about combating HIV and now there is a new Health minister that seems to have real plans other than eating herbs and taking showers to cure HIV. there is still no evidence that crime is seen as a real problem and is attacked head on on multiple fronts (this includes police salaries, the judicial system and process, and possibly the adoption of the death penalty). education still ranks ridiculously low in terms of priorities in my view. it also doesnt help that the govt heaps out money (not enough but ok) for education and for the past few years, the dept ends the year with millions left over. what do you they think think theyre running? an exxonmobil? a govt dept's responsibility is not to produce a profit at the end of the yr, its to spend all you have and even what you dont have and request more. but spend it wisely. currently the sa govt in terms of education is not spending nor is it spending wisely.
so far, i've ranted on and on for a while. i am, in spite of all, still an optimist and i am waiting to see president b-obama, for example, live up to his promise to "tell americans what they need to hear and not what they want to hear". so get rid of your gas guzzlers, petrol price will now be $10/gallon, because without that there will never be an incentive to invest in renewable energy- type thing. i'm looking forward to continued progress in sa as far as infrastructure, job creation, and investment in education (from early childhood on). and of course, i'm looking forward to the first world cup on african soil. people, esp white south africans, are too quick to lament to plight of sa and then pack up as quick as humanly possible to head to their paradise, aka australia. me thinks thats just silly. understandable in some cases, but silly. the glass is still half-full for sa. they just need more kicks in the rear (a strong opposition party, maybe...). as a SA newspaper put it this weekend, in 20 years, ill be proud to tell my kids that, yes, i was there.
random post #2345609: in case anyone was wondering, i had another terrific weekend (hopefully thats the case for a loong while) and for all those that often describe me as a perfect specimen (which is pretty much everyone), i would like to let you know that you were/ are...absolutely correct. i got confirmation by a very reliable and credible source this weekend that theres hardly anything wrong with me (except for one minor "thing" which of course will be dealt with in time). i would simply like to affirm all of you who believed in my perfection even when i didnt. watd'yaknow, u were right all this time!
Monday, September 22, 2008
another reallllly good/not-so-good wknd
i'm getting kinda lackadaisical about posting now. its been a hectic month. finished my first "real" project experience in a flurry; 2 weeks of very little sleep. and then i was shipped to another project where it's basically just me and on a tighter-than-it-should-be schedule. so for the first couple weeks of this proj i barely saw my bed. now the project is nearly over and i'm beginning to realise that they don't pay me nearly enough to be spending sleepless nights up working my ass off. for a while there, i thought i was back at varsity, when days kind of just meshed into one another and there was little concept of bedtime until the body just decided to crash on its own, without warning. anyway its all good now.
except for the weekend before last, the past couple weekends have been pretty darn good and fun. this past saturday, i threw my first braai (bbq) at my place. the initial plan was to start out at my place and then move on to the picnic area in the complex. but things didnt go like that. we had everything at my place which turned out really good. got to spend time with some quality/fun people (including one especially one very quality person), grillin, chattin, jokin, and jistin. it was good times. lesson one from braai #1: throw the braai the week before the maid comes, not after. there was a huge pile of dishes that i just demolished tonight. it was a mission, but i couldnt just leave it for another week or so till the maid came. which brings me to lesson 2 from braai #1: don't throw another one!...well, not for a while i guess. unless i figure out a plan to use all plastic and paper material that can be easily cleaned and if i can have it somewhere else that i dont have to bother cleaning! all things considered, i had a blast. click on the link to see pics:
first braai
sunday was another awesome day spent with an extremely awesome person. i decided to cheat on my church and go visit another one. so that was in the morning. the church service wasn't that great, but there were some good parts, and i might go back soon. but ill go back to my old church now and hopefully they wont be too upset that i ditched them for a week! spent the afternoon lunchin'....then the sucky part came: having to wake up on monday morning.
tho this weekend was great for me, it wasn't exactly the best for south africa. the ruling party decided that they were going to pressure the president (a member of the ruling party) to resign. and he did. another win for the idiots and thugs that are threatening to take over the party. i felt really bad for mbeki, but not overly bad. he really brought it on himself when he tried to emulate the former nigerian prez (obasanjo) and both ostracize his veep and try to stand for a third term as party leader and ultimately as prez of s. africa. that was a silly, unconstitutional, and divisive move and it backfired. and now he's paying for it. but also allowing factions that think out of their asses (literally) to control the party. anyway, he announced his resignation on sunday night and until monday afternoon a replacement was not announced (cuz his deputy also resigned). and that got me excited, cuz there was essentially no sa prez for that period and i thought/expected/hoped i'd see something crazy happen. cuz...u know...theres no president...well nothing happened. shame. and one guy at work actually put it nicely that having no president is still much better than having george bush. at least zero is better than negative. how tru. next couple months should be interesting.
random post #952325: i like that it took a lengthy survey for people to realize that race does play a factor in the american elections. so people now know the answer to all those questions of why obama can't "close the gap". its cuz hes black. and white people are still scared of black people. and will believe anything that "whitie-i-will-now-change-my-position-however-is-popular-mccain (see republican calling for regulations and populism. wha???) campaign spews, whether explicitly (hes a muslim) or subliminally (he's not like u) or subconsciously, or through proxies (community organising is code word for "i am the antichrist"!!). im in the wrong line of business im sure. anyway, enjoy the article and ejumacate yo-sef:
Poll: Racial misgivings of Dems an Obama issue
except for the weekend before last, the past couple weekends have been pretty darn good and fun. this past saturday, i threw my first braai (bbq) at my place. the initial plan was to start out at my place and then move on to the picnic area in the complex. but things didnt go like that. we had everything at my place which turned out really good. got to spend time with some quality/fun people (including one especially one very quality person), grillin, chattin, jokin, and jistin. it was good times. lesson one from braai #1: throw the braai the week before the maid comes, not after. there was a huge pile of dishes that i just demolished tonight. it was a mission, but i couldnt just leave it for another week or so till the maid came. which brings me to lesson 2 from braai #1: don't throw another one!...well, not for a while i guess. unless i figure out a plan to use all plastic and paper material that can be easily cleaned and if i can have it somewhere else that i dont have to bother cleaning! all things considered, i had a blast. click on the link to see pics:
first braai
sunday was another awesome day spent with an extremely awesome person. i decided to cheat on my church and go visit another one. so that was in the morning. the church service wasn't that great, but there were some good parts, and i might go back soon. but ill go back to my old church now and hopefully they wont be too upset that i ditched them for a week! spent the afternoon lunchin'....then the sucky part came: having to wake up on monday morning.
tho this weekend was great for me, it wasn't exactly the best for south africa. the ruling party decided that they were going to pressure the president (a member of the ruling party) to resign. and he did. another win for the idiots and thugs that are threatening to take over the party. i felt really bad for mbeki, but not overly bad. he really brought it on himself when he tried to emulate the former nigerian prez (obasanjo) and both ostracize his veep and try to stand for a third term as party leader and ultimately as prez of s. africa. that was a silly, unconstitutional, and divisive move and it backfired. and now he's paying for it. but also allowing factions that think out of their asses (literally) to control the party. anyway, he announced his resignation on sunday night and until monday afternoon a replacement was not announced (cuz his deputy also resigned). and that got me excited, cuz there was essentially no sa prez for that period and i thought/expected/hoped i'd see something crazy happen. cuz...u know...theres no president...well nothing happened. shame. and one guy at work actually put it nicely that having no president is still much better than having george bush. at least zero is better than negative. how tru. next couple months should be interesting.
random post #952325: i like that it took a lengthy survey for people to realize that race does play a factor in the american elections. so people now know the answer to all those questions of why obama can't "close the gap". its cuz hes black. and white people are still scared of black people. and will believe anything that "whitie-i-will-now-change-my-position-however-is-popular-mccain (see republican calling for regulations and populism. wha???) campaign spews, whether explicitly (hes a muslim) or subliminally (he's not like u) or subconsciously, or through proxies (community organising is code word for "i am the antichrist"!!). im in the wrong line of business im sure. anyway, enjoy the article and ejumacate yo-sef:
Poll: Racial misgivings of Dems an Obama issue
Sunday, August 31, 2008
more mandela and asa (a--sha)
the last 2 wknds have been pretty amazing. last weekend, i went to a concert celebrating mandela's birthday in town. yes, this was yet another mandela birthday bash. its really become a birth year now. and they'll keep celebrating it for the rest of the year, i think, as long as it gives people an excuse to sing and dance and party. and see mandela. i kind of feel bad for the guy who's pretty old now and still appears at many of these celebrations. but not too bad, cuz i was as delighted as a kid in a candy store when he made a suprise appearance at the concert last weekend. i guess it wasnt so much like a kid in a candy store, it was more like you were in the presence of something that was holy and precious and super. what an honor.
mandela didnt speak, but he got on stage and sat down. pretty much everyone was quiet and still when people were speaking about him and reminiscing on his life. everyone, except for some guys that i was with. so i ask them, jokingly why they werent respecting the presence of god on earth! one of the guys replied with the, almost expected, response that a legend is always much more respected outside his home that within. pretty much the locals know him, his good side and his faults, too well to think of him with the same reverence as the rest of the world. i dunno if i buy that entirely, but i'm sure its true to some degree. i forgot my camera at home so i have no pics for y'all; i tried to take pics with my phone, but i gotz a crappy phone.
as some of you that stalk me on facebook might know, i have fallen hard for a lady with a brilliant voice, thick nigerian accent, and ability to hold her own on the guitar. her name is asa (pronounced aaaa-sha). i got to meet her finally this weekend. ok thats a lie. i saw her from about 100meters away this weekend when she played at this jo-burg jazz fest. she was very good. even better live. and better than i expected. there were a couple other artists that were pretty good, like ringo, and this weird, but good, traditional singer. see the pics below.
this pic shows 2 of the 3 people i went with; but all 3 of us in this pic are named fiyinfoluwa. even stranger, the boet on the left also has the same middle name as i do. hmm, i think our parents had an evil plan...
oh and finally, of course, congrats on b-obama's historic nomination. brilliant speech also. im beginning to believe that one of the good and progressive aspects of south africa, is that the people are not afraid to talk about race and often times confront it head on, no matter what difficulties or emotions may arise (cuz nothing can be worse to going back to how life was..). i think this is something the us still hasnt got. race is still very much a taboo thing that no one likes to speak of, but black people like to pull often whenever they're offended; or likewise, that white people like to ridicule, citing the savior, b-obama as evidence that they no longer need affirmative action or that they no longer have to watch what the say, do, or behave (im generalizing quite generously, but hopefully u get the point). anyway, check out this article and it will highlight some emotions brough about from b-obama's nomination: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/opinion/30herbert.html?ref=opinion
2nd finally: shout out to my sis and her hubby. happy 1yr anniversary guys!
mandela didnt speak, but he got on stage and sat down. pretty much everyone was quiet and still when people were speaking about him and reminiscing on his life. everyone, except for some guys that i was with. so i ask them, jokingly why they werent respecting the presence of god on earth! one of the guys replied with the, almost expected, response that a legend is always much more respected outside his home that within. pretty much the locals know him, his good side and his faults, too well to think of him with the same reverence as the rest of the world. i dunno if i buy that entirely, but i'm sure its true to some degree. i forgot my camera at home so i have no pics for y'all; i tried to take pics with my phone, but i gotz a crappy phone.
as some of you that stalk me on facebook might know, i have fallen hard for a lady with a brilliant voice, thick nigerian accent, and ability to hold her own on the guitar. her name is asa (pronounced aaaa-sha). i got to meet her finally this weekend. ok thats a lie. i saw her from about 100meters away this weekend when she played at this jo-burg jazz fest. she was very good. even better live. and better than i expected. there were a couple other artists that were pretty good, like ringo, and this weird, but good, traditional singer. see the pics below.
this pic shows 2 of the 3 people i went with; but all 3 of us in this pic are named fiyinfoluwa. even stranger, the boet on the left also has the same middle name as i do. hmm, i think our parents had an evil plan...
oh and finally, of course, congrats on b-obama's historic nomination. brilliant speech also. im beginning to believe that one of the good and progressive aspects of south africa, is that the people are not afraid to talk about race and often times confront it head on, no matter what difficulties or emotions may arise (cuz nothing can be worse to going back to how life was..). i think this is something the us still hasnt got. race is still very much a taboo thing that no one likes to speak of, but black people like to pull often whenever they're offended; or likewise, that white people like to ridicule, citing the savior, b-obama as evidence that they no longer need affirmative action or that they no longer have to watch what the say, do, or behave (im generalizing quite generously, but hopefully u get the point). anyway, check out this article and it will highlight some emotions brough about from b-obama's nomination: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/30/opinion/30herbert.html?ref=opinion
2nd finally: shout out to my sis and her hubby. happy 1yr anniversary guys!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
roomy, etc
hmm, it's seriously been a while since i've posted anything. well, truthfully there hasn't been much excitement in my life since the last time i posted. i go to work usually before the sun comes up to try to avoid traffic. 1.5hrs later (if im lucky) i'm at work. and then i leave well after the sun goes down to avoid traffic. 1.5hrs later (if im lucky) i'm at home. day over. this actually brings me to a story from last week actually. the HUGE trade union federation here, COSATU, decided to have a national stay away and organize rallies in many big cities around the country. i don't know the number, but i think many people did decide to stay away from work for that day, including the ubiquitous taxi drivers. that day i left a bit later than i usually do and was prepared to stranded in traffic all morning. instead, i got to work in 30 minutes. that day i left work at peak hour, also mentally prepared to be sitting in traffic. instead, i got home in less than 30 minutes. THIS seriously was the best day of my life. i dont know what they were striking or staying away from (perhaps some global problem that no one in sa really has any control over??...) and i dont really care. but im firmly advocating now that COSATU or anyone with any pull call for at least one stay away/strike per week. and im not being selfish here. i do this because i care about workers right. viva!
on to bigger news. i finally got a roomy. he is p-eter from p-oland. well kind of. he's sort of a mutt: polish-canadian-south african. its been very interesting living with a flatmate after going so long without one. i didn't realize just how much i'd grown accustomed to doing my own thing and how interesting it would be to adjust back to having a roomy. well, its taking a bit of adjustment. plus he's a huge house music fanatic. huge. also a dj when he feels like it. so he's trying to get me into house music. it hasnt worked that well. tho im tryin, cuz ~98% (to put it modestly) of sa-ans love their house music. i like house when it doesnt all have the same beat and they change it around a bit. no, ive actually heard some/a few house beats that arent too bad. think im just too stuck on my hip-hop/blues/jazz ways. anyway, if u see p-eter from p-oland at ur local house club, say hi to him and welcome him to chez folu.
finally, you avid ubuntu-adventures readers (all 2.8million of you. congrats.) will appreciate this. a few posts ago, i mentioned how the bathroom at work has a stall that looks like a stall with a stall door, but when you open it its actually 2 very closely placed urinals. when i wrote the post, i said it was weird, 1 to have a stall door (do u open it or lock it) and 2 to have 2 stalls that close to one another. i now believe that there someone at work reads my blog (welcome), cuz now they have removed the stall door. solves one problem. bt theres still the fact that the stalls are close together. well u can't ask for transformational change to happen too quickly i guess. but this is one change i can believe in.
speaking of change, i read this column a couple days ago that laid into clinton and her supporters for still creating problems for the democratic party and wanting to hi-jack the DNC. The op-ed ended by stating: "A woman who wildly mismanages and bankrupts a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar campaign operation, and then blames sexism in society, will dampen the dreams of our daughters." yikes! best part, this was written by a very popular female columnist. yoh!
till next time.
on to bigger news. i finally got a roomy. he is p-eter from p-oland. well kind of. he's sort of a mutt: polish-canadian-south african. its been very interesting living with a flatmate after going so long without one. i didn't realize just how much i'd grown accustomed to doing my own thing and how interesting it would be to adjust back to having a roomy. well, its taking a bit of adjustment. plus he's a huge house music fanatic. huge. also a dj when he feels like it. so he's trying to get me into house music. it hasnt worked that well. tho im tryin, cuz ~98% (to put it modestly) of sa-ans love their house music. i like house when it doesnt all have the same beat and they change it around a bit. no, ive actually heard some/a few house beats that arent too bad. think im just too stuck on my hip-hop/blues/jazz ways. anyway, if u see p-eter from p-oland at ur local house club, say hi to him and welcome him to chez folu.
finally, you avid ubuntu-adventures readers (all 2.8million of you. congrats.) will appreciate this. a few posts ago, i mentioned how the bathroom at work has a stall that looks like a stall with a stall door, but when you open it its actually 2 very closely placed urinals. when i wrote the post, i said it was weird, 1 to have a stall door (do u open it or lock it) and 2 to have 2 stalls that close to one another. i now believe that there someone at work reads my blog (welcome), cuz now they have removed the stall door. solves one problem. bt theres still the fact that the stalls are close together. well u can't ask for transformational change to happen too quickly i guess. but this is one change i can believe in.
speaking of change, i read this column a couple days ago that laid into clinton and her supporters for still creating problems for the democratic party and wanting to hi-jack the DNC. The op-ed ended by stating: "A woman who wildly mismanages and bankrupts a quarter-of-a-billion-dollar campaign operation, and then blames sexism in society, will dampen the dreams of our daughters." yikes! best part, this was written by a very popular female columnist. yoh!
till next time.
Monday, July 21, 2008
happy b-day madiba!
a couple months ago during the height of the most recent "xenophobic" violence, i remember talking to several south africans who were completely ashamed of their country and countrymen for perpetuating such heinous crimes against fellow africans; some even apologized on others behalf. well, this weekend, rather than being ashamed, south africans truly have a reason to be proud. of their country, country-man, and fellow africans. what madiba was able to accomplish after 27 years in prison and the way he was able to inspire africans of all kinds and bring out the best in all, is truly something to cherish. so many people shared their experiences of meeting madiba or shaking his hand, and even people that had never met the man spoke of how their lives had been touched, nonetheless. i wished i had my own memory of mandela. i only know that were it not for him, and his courage, hope, and perseverance, i probably would not be here at this time.
my only concern, amidst all the hype and praise and celebrations is that, while south africans are proud of their living legend, they are rapidly forgetting what he stood for, what he worked for, and what he was prepared to die for. I'm reminded of another defining moment of my (and lots of people's) lives. 9/11. after the attack on the WTC, i remember students everywhere searching for meaning and what lessons to take from this. how to move forward. i remember writing a paper about it, but im not sure i came up with any conclusions. we looked for guidance, but were only told to go shopping. i hate shopping. 7 years later, i'm afraid we've taken very little if any lessons away from the disaster. all of his life, and particularly after he was released from prison and subsequently became president of the republic of south africa, mandela reminded all people that "true reconciliation does not consist in merely forgetting the past". he said: "Our daily deeds as ordinary South Africans must produce an actual South African reality that will reinforce humanity's belief in justice, strengthen its confidence in the nobility of the human soul and sustain all our hopes for a glorious life for all." i wonder how he really feels when he surveys the political and social landscape of south africa today. i am concerned that the country risks losing the dream espoused by madiba. i am concerned that i've missed the lessons.
i'm just gonna end this post with some of my favorite madiba quotes:
"Let us never be unmindful of the terrible past from which we come that memory not as a means to keep us shackled to the past in a negative manner, but rather as a joyous reminder of how far we have come and how much we have achieved. The memory of a history of division and hate, injustice and suffering, inhumanity of person against person should inspire us to celebrate our own demonstration of the capacity of human beings to progress, to go forward, to improve, to do better.
"There is enough reason for cynicism and despair. But then we should take heart from our own experience and performance. Let us refrain from chauvinistic breast-beating; but let also not underrate what we have achieved in establishing a stable and progressive democracy where we take freedoms seriously; in building national unity in spite of decades and centuries of apartheid and colonial rule; in creating a culture in which we increasingly respect the dignity of all.
"In a cynical world we have become an inspiration to many. We signal that good can be achieved amongst human beings who are prepared to trust, prepared to belief in the goodness of people.
"Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world.
"Let freedom reign.
"The sun shall never set on so glorious a human achievement!
"God bless Africa!"
Friday, July 11, 2008
well, momma okunade left earlier this week and all i have to show for it is a clean flat, lots of good food in my refrigerator, and peace of mind while i drive (my mom, who's normally tense when others are driving, was even more tense, cluthcing on to the brake for dear life and probably holding her breathe the whole time; promise i'm not that bad a driver). thanks mom.
the week was really busy, so i didn't get a chance to take time off and hang out with mom, but during the weekend we did find out where humankind originates (right here in the caves of jo-burg!...) and where humankind asserts its domination over all other species (at carnivore, the meat/game eaters' heaven). in other words, on sat we went crawling through the cradle of mankind caves and museum (my mom did it in a dress and heels...impressive):
and then we went to have lunch/dinner at this restaurant called carnivore, where they just keep bring you all kinds of meat until u put ur flag down. we had crocodile, antelope, kudu, ostrich, alligator, and the boring ones, chicken, beef, pork, etc. i was soo disappointed cuz people told me about having zebra and i was really looking forward to it, but they brought out no zebra. and when i asked them they told me they had none. too bad, i'll have to go back soon. anyway, we were both pretty full for the next 2 days:
check out the rest of the pics: here
in other news: i don't normally follow british politics that much (except for occasionally watching the absolutely hilarious british parliament session on c-span), but i just have to comment on the british foreign minister, david miliband. this dude must be one of the stupidest guys around, in my opinion. i say this on one basis only. he's here in sa, basically trying to drum up support for his zim solution. btw, he's pretty much alone in this solution he's preaching. this solution includes the following: disregard the run-off elections (fair enough) and recognize the march election, declare morgan tsvangirai as the president of zim and depose bobb mugabe (hmm...). this is stupid. thats the best way i can put it. here's the issue: if you legitimize the results of the march elections, then you MUST legitimize the rules under which those election results were received. the rules of the elections say that a candidate must get higher than 50% to win the presidency, otherwise there will be a run off. now im not defending bobb by any means (neither, btw, do i think morgan would be that great a person/leader), but i'd like to defend rational thought. now a better position would be to reject both elections and results as flawed and call for new elections or some kind of unity government. but accepting the results of one election, while making up new rules by which these results should be judged doesnt really make sense, does it. thank britain, once again, for your strong and useful insight into african politics.
back to the us: apparently b-obama is anti-dumb. check it out:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/opinion/10collins.html?hp
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/10/opinion/10collins.html?hp
also, what's up with all the craziness about b-obama moving to the centre? this is politics 101. plus he never claimed that he wanted to be president solely for lefties (see his 2004 convention speech). i like how the economist put it: (along the lines of) The real issue is that barack has not moved far enough to the center..."Mr Obama needs to embrace centrism as a matter of conviction rather than flirting with it as an instrument of political expediency."
Sunday, June 29, 2008
f*** the po-po
first the good news:
- happy 7th month anniversary to me. i've now been in sa for about 7months, and this is only significant because i meant to post a happy 6th month (1/2 yr) anniversary to me and i forgot, so this will have to do. 7 months seem like a long time, but it really hasnt felt that long, and i still consider myself a newbie.
- mama okunade (i.e. my mom) is coming to visit. tomorrow. so looking forward to seeing her and getting some good home cooking. finally. um, not that thats the only reason i love my mum. don't be offended, feminists!
- congrats to madiba (i.e. nelson mandela) on being 90. well, he's not really 90 yet, but the celebrations are under way. the huge one in london was very good, it was broadcast here as well. looking forward to seeing whats planned for when he's back here. on a tangent...sometimes its sad to look back at the man/icon and see what he's been through and accomplished, and then look at where sa seems to be headed now. im holding out hope tho. another tangent, kudos to madiba for rebuking bob mugabe (i'll get to him later); take a hint, mbeki.
now the crazy stuff:
- back to mugabe; or bobby as i say, cuz we tight like that. congrats on the sham election. the man is ancient anyway, he's gotta decay soon, ne? you know some "christians" apparently were all upset that he said that only god can remove him from office. now why would you be upset at that. first, you have to ask which god he's referring to. then instead of crying foul, tell u what you do: get on your knees, arms in the air, and pray day and night that mugabe's wish comes true, and that god does remove him...and, i mean, this can be in the form of a sniper, or the nigerian style "heart-attack slash food poisoning slash old age". god works in mysterious ways, i say.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/opinion/29kristof.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin
- a wk ago i filled up the tank in my tiny car. it cost me 500 rand. thats close to $70. and thats after the guy tried to top me off and i had to stop him at 500. 500! even in the US, 70 bucks is a lot of money. but this is south africa. average incomes are about 50-60% of the avg in the US. and we're paying so much more for gas. further, its been announced that prices will go up again on tuesday or wed by 12-15%. moh-fugga wha??! so yea, quit ur b**ch'n americans and go ride the damn bus/train.
caveat: this post has and will likely contain more french. I want to apologize now. I'm only foul when I'm pushed to it!
- last week wednesday, some people here decided to hold a protest/strike on the highway in johannesburg central, where i work now. this protest not only disturbed the flow of traffic at the time people got off work, it actually completely halted traffic on the highway and on some of the local roads. so here i was heading home, feeling pretty good, cuz u know, i was done with work for the day. all of a sudden i notice that what is supposed to be the on-ramp to the highway that i take has somehow become an off ramp and i can't get onto the highway (in hindsight, it was probably very well that i didnt, as traffic was stopped for 3+ hours on the highway. completely stopped, not just slow).
problem #1, the highway is the ONLY way i know how to get home. seeing that i couldn't get on, i decide to do what i've learned to do now when i'm lost: follow the car in front of me. so i did that for a bit. then decided to call some people when i realized i had no idea where i was. that helped for a bit (like a block and a half). then more traffic. in about 2 hours i had managed to move about 2 blocks away from the office building. when i managed to look up and see my office building i decided to just go back to the office and wait the stupid thing out (esp. after hearing on the radio that everywhere was packed). getting back to the office, 1 block away took me another 30 minutes, and that was that short because much hated and antagonized taxi drivers actually got out of their taxis and helped traffic along in the streets of town.
so on my way up the elevator from the parking lot, i, very coincidentally, ran into my client, who had been on the top floor of the office building apparently planning is route out of town. after unsuccessfully describing to me how to get out of town and skip the protests by using some route through the infamous nigerian, drug-dealing district, we decided that i would just follow him. thankfully, he eventually got me out onto another highway, free from protests and i got home. throughout this adventure, i must admit i went from thinking this was pretty funny (haha onramp becomes onramp, ladiladi-har), to being kinda frustrated, to being utterly pissed off and wanting to get out my rifle and go shooting some game (sorry, animal-lovers, but as a card carrying member of the NRA, i have my god-given rights!).
here's a pic of what the craziness looked like, but this doesnt really do it justice; it was much worse than this:
so who were the perpetrators of this bedlam? the f**king police. thats who. the decided to protest their salary by holding up traffic, like kidnappers holding down their hostages. now, i used to really hate protest, but my stance has softened a bit. and i do realize its a way of life in places like south africa or france. and i can understand u demanding better pay (don't we all). BUT, what the hell, do I have to do with you getting a pay raise. my point is, a protest/strike must be well planned out, well target, and well executed to be fully effective. why piss people off that have no effect on your situation. there were people that urgently needed to get home or to their kids, or people like me who had no clue how to get around that were stuck on the highway or in the streets of the city. why not go hold up your employees in their offices? the people actually empowered to make these decisions. and their actions created such madness in the city. criminals could go wild, cuz the cops weren't gonna stop them; they were busy doing their own criminal acts. at one point another police unit was dispatched to quell the craziness on the highway, so they decided to use rubber bullets to scatter the cops that were protesting. and what do the protesters do? they bring out their real guns and start shooting. hah, this is almost comical. if it wasn't so bloody ridiculous.
my argument i guess is kind of moot, as now the protesting cops have reached an agreement with their bosses which im sure includes some pay raise. still, im pissed off.
random post 328950: today, my church announced that one pastor was leaving the church and that another one would take over. the importance of this is the one taking over is a black african (s africa has made me reallly color conscious, sorry). this is really an interesting move, as this church is mostly white and trying really hard to get involved in the black community. this black guy is an awesome guy tho and now he will be heading the leadership team at the church. he's been at the vineyard for 20+ years and preaching at this vineyard on and off for something like 3+ years and very much respected by all members (as far as i can tell). i cant help but wonder tho: how many whites are gonna start leaving the church now?...
- happy 7th month anniversary to me. i've now been in sa for about 7months, and this is only significant because i meant to post a happy 6th month (1/2 yr) anniversary to me and i forgot, so this will have to do. 7 months seem like a long time, but it really hasnt felt that long, and i still consider myself a newbie.
- mama okunade (i.e. my mom) is coming to visit. tomorrow. so looking forward to seeing her and getting some good home cooking. finally. um, not that thats the only reason i love my mum. don't be offended, feminists!
- congrats to madiba (i.e. nelson mandela) on being 90. well, he's not really 90 yet, but the celebrations are under way. the huge one in london was very good, it was broadcast here as well. looking forward to seeing whats planned for when he's back here. on a tangent...sometimes its sad to look back at the man/icon and see what he's been through and accomplished, and then look at where sa seems to be headed now. im holding out hope tho. another tangent, kudos to madiba for rebuking bob mugabe (i'll get to him later); take a hint, mbeki.
now the crazy stuff:
- back to mugabe; or bobby as i say, cuz we tight like that. congrats on the sham election. the man is ancient anyway, he's gotta decay soon, ne? you know some "christians" apparently were all upset that he said that only god can remove him from office. now why would you be upset at that. first, you have to ask which god he's referring to. then instead of crying foul, tell u what you do: get on your knees, arms in the air, and pray day and night that mugabe's wish comes true, and that god does remove him...and, i mean, this can be in the form of a sniper, or the nigerian style "heart-attack slash food poisoning slash old age". god works in mysterious ways, i say.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/opinion/29kristof.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin
- a wk ago i filled up the tank in my tiny car. it cost me 500 rand. thats close to $70. and thats after the guy tried to top me off and i had to stop him at 500. 500! even in the US, 70 bucks is a lot of money. but this is south africa. average incomes are about 50-60% of the avg in the US. and we're paying so much more for gas. further, its been announced that prices will go up again on tuesday or wed by 12-15%. moh-fugga wha??! so yea, quit ur b**ch'n americans and go ride the damn bus/train.
caveat: this post has and will likely contain more french. I want to apologize now. I'm only foul when I'm pushed to it!
- last week wednesday, some people here decided to hold a protest/strike on the highway in johannesburg central, where i work now. this protest not only disturbed the flow of traffic at the time people got off work, it actually completely halted traffic on the highway and on some of the local roads. so here i was heading home, feeling pretty good, cuz u know, i was done with work for the day. all of a sudden i notice that what is supposed to be the on-ramp to the highway that i take has somehow become an off ramp and i can't get onto the highway (in hindsight, it was probably very well that i didnt, as traffic was stopped for 3+ hours on the highway. completely stopped, not just slow).
problem #1, the highway is the ONLY way i know how to get home. seeing that i couldn't get on, i decide to do what i've learned to do now when i'm lost: follow the car in front of me. so i did that for a bit. then decided to call some people when i realized i had no idea where i was. that helped for a bit (like a block and a half). then more traffic. in about 2 hours i had managed to move about 2 blocks away from the office building. when i managed to look up and see my office building i decided to just go back to the office and wait the stupid thing out (esp. after hearing on the radio that everywhere was packed). getting back to the office, 1 block away took me another 30 minutes, and that was that short because much hated and antagonized taxi drivers actually got out of their taxis and helped traffic along in the streets of town.
so on my way up the elevator from the parking lot, i, very coincidentally, ran into my client, who had been on the top floor of the office building apparently planning is route out of town. after unsuccessfully describing to me how to get out of town and skip the protests by using some route through the infamous nigerian, drug-dealing district, we decided that i would just follow him. thankfully, he eventually got me out onto another highway, free from protests and i got home. throughout this adventure, i must admit i went from thinking this was pretty funny (haha onramp becomes onramp, ladiladi-har), to being kinda frustrated, to being utterly pissed off and wanting to get out my rifle and go shooting some game (sorry, animal-lovers, but as a card carrying member of the NRA, i have my god-given rights!).
here's a pic of what the craziness looked like, but this doesnt really do it justice; it was much worse than this:
so who were the perpetrators of this bedlam? the f**king police. thats who. the decided to protest their salary by holding up traffic, like kidnappers holding down their hostages. now, i used to really hate protest, but my stance has softened a bit. and i do realize its a way of life in places like south africa or france. and i can understand u demanding better pay (don't we all). BUT, what the hell, do I have to do with you getting a pay raise. my point is, a protest/strike must be well planned out, well target, and well executed to be fully effective. why piss people off that have no effect on your situation. there were people that urgently needed to get home or to their kids, or people like me who had no clue how to get around that were stuck on the highway or in the streets of the city. why not go hold up your employees in their offices? the people actually empowered to make these decisions. and their actions created such madness in the city. criminals could go wild, cuz the cops weren't gonna stop them; they were busy doing their own criminal acts. at one point another police unit was dispatched to quell the craziness on the highway, so they decided to use rubber bullets to scatter the cops that were protesting. and what do the protesters do? they bring out their real guns and start shooting. hah, this is almost comical. if it wasn't so bloody ridiculous.
my argument i guess is kind of moot, as now the protesting cops have reached an agreement with their bosses which im sure includes some pay raise. still, im pissed off.
random post 328950: today, my church announced that one pastor was leaving the church and that another one would take over. the importance of this is the one taking over is a black african (s africa has made me reallly color conscious, sorry). this is really an interesting move, as this church is mostly white and trying really hard to get involved in the black community. this black guy is an awesome guy tho and now he will be heading the leadership team at the church. he's been at the vineyard for 20+ years and preaching at this vineyard on and off for something like 3+ years and very much respected by all members (as far as i can tell). i cant help but wonder tho: how many whites are gonna start leaving the church now?...
Saturday, June 14, 2008
politics and condolences
well, i tried to keep my mouth shut, but it was way too difficult. i have to have a thread congratulating b-obama for his victory as the democratic nominee for us president (i also congratualte myslef for successfully turning my us-citizen parents away from hillary-inevitability to hard core obama supporters; pat on the back for me!). its really an extremely historic and important moment for america, no matter what happens next. even the entire world (definitely here in africa) are going crazy over this accomplishment. it's also highlighting the exceptional nature of the US - the part that most people admire and love and have easily forgotten about the last 7 years while focusing on the bush-man foreign policy of the current administration. the day after b-obama won the nomination (even with hilary's "i'm making no decision's tonight" speech) all the major newspapers here had obama on the front page, countless op-eds were written about it, and radio stations were going crazy. thomas friedman, of the new york times, wrote an excellent piece highlighting the moment in the context of egyptian society today, again re-iterating the fact that in many parts of the world, a story like barack obama's can never happen. an excerpt:
Yes, all of this Obama-mania is excessive and will inevitably be punctured should he win the presidency and start making tough calls or big mistakes. For now, though, what it reveals is how much many foreigners, after all the acrimony of the Bush years, still hunger for the "idea of America" - this open, optimistic, and, indeed, revolutionary, place so radically different from their own societies.
Whether he does or doesn’t, though, the mere fact of his nomination has done something very important. We’ve surprised ourselves and surprised the world and, in so doing, reminded everyone that we are still a country of new beginnings.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/opinion/11friedman.html?th&emc=th
point # 454: after being severely disappointed at clinton's speech the day b-obama won the nomination, the night of the last primaries, i was just as pleased at the excellent concession speech she gave a couple days later (even with her fuzzy math relating to # of votes she got). my beef now is passed on to the ultra-feminists that say they refuse to vote for b-obama, but would rather vote for mccain. heh, explain this to me please...u'd rather vote against all ur beliefs (abortion, equal rights, etc) than vote for someone who is more aligned to ur beliefs but just happened to fairly beat your candidate. sorry to be heartless, but this seems like some of hillary's supporters are the sorriest losers around. i can concede that there were some elements of sexism in the campaign, however, how much of this was obama's fault (shouldn't we look at the media or american sentiment or even john mccain, who when he was asked, "so how do you beat the bitch", he made no gesture to correct or repudiate the questioner). i don't really see the complaint here, b-obama followed the rules by taking his name off ballot in michigan, didnt campaign in florida and realized the game was a delegate game (and not a # of votes game) and he won by the rules. clinton tried to bend the rules at the end, and even with obama conceding some votes in mi and fl, she still lost. good fight fought. there can only be one winner. there was. and there were losers. time to move on. consider me heartless, but don't hate the player, hate the game.
point 8973: the fist pump between b-obama and mrs. obama was probly the best moment i've seen in politics in a long time. that was pretty cool. and it showed that political couples can still have fun sometimes. with all the fake and orchestrated smiles and appearances its too easy to see political couples as nothing more than arranged marriages and to see a couple do something spontaneous like that makes it look like they at least like each other. plus its hip. com 'on.
point 54732: what a terrible speech by mccain. i used to like this guy but couple things ticked me off. first, i dont really remember him congratulating b-obama and the moment that just passed. i mean, even g-dubbs (president george w. bush), not thought of the most amicably in the black community, congratulated b-obama and the historical moment. mccain, however...who advises this guy. first u cant compete with b-obama in making speeches (or reading off a telli-prompter, for that matter). 2nd, the few times the camera showed the audience, this was just sad. forced claps, smiles, old white people (not that theres anything wrong with this group; i like y'all), but a speech like mccain's would not have been as severely criticized, if it was not juxtaposed to that of obama's an hr later. it was just not a good comparison. sorry johnny.
point 347: as many of you know, i like us politics. one reason: it takes my mind off of african politics (for at least 2 seconds). in nigeria: well, its nigeria. violence still raving, who knows how long the president will live (health reasons) and the jury is still out on how effective he can be even after a full year. in sa: the president is lamer than a lame duck. i think his actions now are just to spike his opponents. in the near future, JZ is coming to power, with his what 6 wives and corruption charges pending. and ahh, in nearby zim: ole boy bob mugabe warned that his staunchest supporters were ready to take up arms rather than let the opposition triumph in a June 27 election. this is after several beatings and killings of opponent tsvangirai's supporters; tsvangirai's deputy is currently in jail awaiting trial for treason. this really troubles me. the zims that i've met are some of the nicest, smartest people i know. they are also calm people (in general, minus mugabe and his drugged up army). i doubt they will take to the streets or perform a kenya still revolt if (i should say when) bob wins the upcoming run-off. so im pondering when should we declare silent diplomacy and civil disobedience a failure? i'm all for civil disobedience, don't get me wrong, but a part of me knows that something drastic has to happen in zim; the situation is just way too dire. but as the population continues to be subdued by mugabe and his guns, what should the citizens do. just sit there and hope? too often many africans have tried this to their detriment. south africa certainly will do nothing. the un has been allowed to monitor the elections and i can declare right now that they will report that the whole thing was a scam (plus most except for the absolute bravest of the opposition supporters will not show up to vote after being intimidated). then there will be a outcry, but the un is powerless to do anything. so the world will just wait until the situation is no longer on the front page, while civilian atrocities continue in the country. god help zim.
finally, point 9346034: my ultimate sincere condolences to NBS broadcast journalist, Tim Russert, who suddenly died yesterday. I'm really saddened by this. The guy was one of the best and my favorite tv journalist. he did the sunday morning meet the press (also one of my favorite shows) and asked some of the toughest questions ive ever heard an american journalist ask. his death was sudden and unexpected and he will be greatly missed. RIP Tim Russert.
Yes, all of this Obama-mania is excessive and will inevitably be punctured should he win the presidency and start making tough calls or big mistakes. For now, though, what it reveals is how much many foreigners, after all the acrimony of the Bush years, still hunger for the "idea of America" - this open, optimistic, and, indeed, revolutionary, place so radically different from their own societies.
Whether he does or doesn’t, though, the mere fact of his nomination has done something very important. We’ve surprised ourselves and surprised the world and, in so doing, reminded everyone that we are still a country of new beginnings.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/opinion/11friedman.html?th&emc=th
point # 454: after being severely disappointed at clinton's speech the day b-obama won the nomination, the night of the last primaries, i was just as pleased at the excellent concession speech she gave a couple days later (even with her fuzzy math relating to # of votes she got). my beef now is passed on to the ultra-feminists that say they refuse to vote for b-obama, but would rather vote for mccain. heh, explain this to me please...u'd rather vote against all ur beliefs (abortion, equal rights, etc) than vote for someone who is more aligned to ur beliefs but just happened to fairly beat your candidate. sorry to be heartless, but this seems like some of hillary's supporters are the sorriest losers around. i can concede that there were some elements of sexism in the campaign, however, how much of this was obama's fault (shouldn't we look at the media or american sentiment or even john mccain, who when he was asked, "so how do you beat the bitch", he made no gesture to correct or repudiate the questioner). i don't really see the complaint here, b-obama followed the rules by taking his name off ballot in michigan, didnt campaign in florida and realized the game was a delegate game (and not a # of votes game) and he won by the rules. clinton tried to bend the rules at the end, and even with obama conceding some votes in mi and fl, she still lost. good fight fought. there can only be one winner. there was. and there were losers. time to move on. consider me heartless, but don't hate the player, hate the game.
point 8973: the fist pump between b-obama and mrs. obama was probly the best moment i've seen in politics in a long time. that was pretty cool. and it showed that political couples can still have fun sometimes. with all the fake and orchestrated smiles and appearances its too easy to see political couples as nothing more than arranged marriages and to see a couple do something spontaneous like that makes it look like they at least like each other. plus its hip. com 'on.
point 54732: what a terrible speech by mccain. i used to like this guy but couple things ticked me off. first, i dont really remember him congratulating b-obama and the moment that just passed. i mean, even g-dubbs (president george w. bush), not thought of the most amicably in the black community, congratulated b-obama and the historical moment. mccain, however...who advises this guy. first u cant compete with b-obama in making speeches (or reading off a telli-prompter, for that matter). 2nd, the few times the camera showed the audience, this was just sad. forced claps, smiles, old white people (not that theres anything wrong with this group; i like y'all), but a speech like mccain's would not have been as severely criticized, if it was not juxtaposed to that of obama's an hr later. it was just not a good comparison. sorry johnny.
point 347: as many of you know, i like us politics. one reason: it takes my mind off of african politics (for at least 2 seconds). in nigeria: well, its nigeria. violence still raving, who knows how long the president will live (health reasons) and the jury is still out on how effective he can be even after a full year. in sa: the president is lamer than a lame duck. i think his actions now are just to spike his opponents. in the near future, JZ is coming to power, with his what 6 wives and corruption charges pending. and ahh, in nearby zim: ole boy bob mugabe warned that his staunchest supporters were ready to take up arms rather than let the opposition triumph in a June 27 election. this is after several beatings and killings of opponent tsvangirai's supporters; tsvangirai's deputy is currently in jail awaiting trial for treason. this really troubles me. the zims that i've met are some of the nicest, smartest people i know. they are also calm people (in general, minus mugabe and his drugged up army). i doubt they will take to the streets or perform a kenya still revolt if (i should say when) bob wins the upcoming run-off. so im pondering when should we declare silent diplomacy and civil disobedience a failure? i'm all for civil disobedience, don't get me wrong, but a part of me knows that something drastic has to happen in zim; the situation is just way too dire. but as the population continues to be subdued by mugabe and his guns, what should the citizens do. just sit there and hope? too often many africans have tried this to their detriment. south africa certainly will do nothing. the un has been allowed to monitor the elections and i can declare right now that they will report that the whole thing was a scam (plus most except for the absolute bravest of the opposition supporters will not show up to vote after being intimidated). then there will be a outcry, but the un is powerless to do anything. so the world will just wait until the situation is no longer on the front page, while civilian atrocities continue in the country. god help zim.
finally, point 9346034: my ultimate sincere condolences to NBS broadcast journalist, Tim Russert, who suddenly died yesterday. I'm really saddened by this. The guy was one of the best and my favorite tv journalist. he did the sunday morning meet the press (also one of my favorite shows) and asked some of the toughest questions ive ever heard an american journalist ask. his death was sudden and unexpected and he will be greatly missed. RIP Tim Russert.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
back home
made it back to sa in one piece and i gotta say the flight back was probably the best flight i was on. after a 5 hr layover at washington dulles airport and a terrible lunch i paid ~17 bucks for, i went to my gate and asked if i could get a window seat (since i requested for one when i booked, but they gave me an aisle instead). the bi-polar lady at the desk seemed nice at first, then turned cold and told me (in not-so-friendly terms) that the plan was full and there was nothing she could do. she then took my passport and ticket, typed something in her little computer, and gave me my ticket back; then said something in whatever language i couldnt understand (or maybe i just wasnt listening), but she was back to being friendly again. getting on the plane, i went to my aisle seat, sat down, put my bag up, tried to psyche myself into thinking an aisle seat was really the best way to go, anxiously awaiting probably the most "horizontally-challenged" person on the flight to come sit next to me. then they start making the awesome pre-flight announcements and the doors start closing, and still the seat next to me remained empty. i try my darndest to hold in my anxiety. it wasn't until the plane started moving and i cleared my eyes, twice, that i let out an extended smile at the empty window seat next to me. i had my 2 seat row all to myself. for 18 hrs. simply beautiful. i proceeded to lift up the arm rest. get out my blanket, pillow, and a good book and laid across the seats. i was briefly interrupted by the attendant telling me i had to sit up and put down my arm rest for take off, but luckily she left after 2 seconds and the armrest was back up and the laying down resumed.
back to my trip, i had a lot of fun in chicago/ st. louis. I definitely didn't get a chance to do all i'd like to do and see people that i'd like to have seen (sorry guys), but overall it was good. i didn't know how i would feel coming back to sa; maybe i would really miss the states and want to immediately go back. but it was kinda weird that on the way back from the airport i felt really good as if i was back home. it was a good feeling. also, i felt more comfortable driving here than i did driving in the us (i can't remember the countless times i hit the curb in the US or went to change the gear with my left hand.) still, of course, sa drives on the wrong side of the street! here are some observations from being back in the us and then back in sa:
Notes from chicago:
--it was late may and i was freezing my ass off. what was up with that. i get to chicago with my warm clothes, looking forward to some sun and all i get is windy and cold. not happy. started getting warmer near the end of my trip
--i enjoyed, a bit too much, getting to walk around. a lot. even tho it was a bit chilly, i walked (instead of driving) to work every day, walked to lunch, dinner, and sometimes just walked around aimlessly. i can't describe very well how awesome that was. i dont get to do that in sa.
--i accomplished my 2 most important goals in the first hour of landing: 1. get a starbucks coffee; 2. get some chipotle (i would have chipotle 3 more times)
--i couldn't get used to so many cops on the highway stopping people for speeding. what a foreign concept!
Notes from being back in SA:
--as mentioned, for some reason im more used to driving here now. i almost got into some funny situations in the US trying to drive on the other side of the street.
--i dont like walking up the stairs to my apartment door. reason: on both sides of me lives a couple indian families. walking up the stairs to my place i can smell the most delicious smelling foods and i get so angry knowing there's absolutely no chance its coming from my place. i've been close many times to knocking on their door. when i got back on monday, it was even worse, because i knew i had literally no food at my place (i think i had 1/4 bag of chips, but i let a friend stay at my place while i was gone and he cleaned me out of that! heh, it's all good).
--i thought jet lag didnt really hit me. that is, until friday. i went right to work at 730 on tuesday and started on a new proj in town and pretty much have been working 12hr+ days. when i woke up on friday, i felt like absolute crap. i couldnt physically get myself up for a while, and after i did, i knew right away that i would not make it through the day (at least not well). had a pounding headache all day and could barely concentrate on work or what my mgr was saying. anyway, i finally got some much needed sleep and refused to wake up this morning until almost 2pm.
--back to the new proj i started. its in downtown joburg, so i get to finally spend some more time down there. some "interesting" observations so far:
- i dont have a parking pass yet for the garage, so i park on the street (which is not always advisable), cross my fingers, say a prayer, and head to the building.
- whoever designed the elevators must've thought he/she was really cool, but i havent decided what my assessment is yet. for these elevators, you have to choose which floor you're going to before you enter the elevator. then the screen tells you which elevator to go to. the doors open you enter and it takes u to ur flr. no buttons inside the elevator! i mean, what if i change my mind..
- the bathrooms are also very interesting. as in, i have to laugh a bit everytime i go in. first there are 3 stalls, only the first one is not really a stall. it's got a stall door, but when you open it, u see 2 small urinals. so in theory 2 people could use this stall. so that begs the question: should you close the stall door when you use the urinals. if u close the door than ur taking away someone else's right and privilege to use the 2nd urinal. however, if u recall, i mentioned these urinals are small and allow for next to zero privacy. so if you leave the stall door open and someone decides to use the second urinal, you take away that person's right (as he opens the door) to not be scarred for life, and/or vise versa. hence the dilemma
- 2nd thing about the bathroom. as u finish with your duty, u go to wash your hands, of course. well, after i did this the first time, i then turned to what looked like it was the place to get the paper towel to dry my hands. but it was not. in fact, it was some kind of container and inside this container were some always useful condoms. no i didn't mis-speak, they gave out free condoms at work, in the bathroom (mind u i dont work at an aids clinic or anything even remotely close to a clinic). i guess gone are the times when they only give out free condoms at junior high schools and ultra liberal universities...
back to my trip, i had a lot of fun in chicago/ st. louis. I definitely didn't get a chance to do all i'd like to do and see people that i'd like to have seen (sorry guys), but overall it was good. i didn't know how i would feel coming back to sa; maybe i would really miss the states and want to immediately go back. but it was kinda weird that on the way back from the airport i felt really good as if i was back home. it was a good feeling. also, i felt more comfortable driving here than i did driving in the us (i can't remember the countless times i hit the curb in the US or went to change the gear with my left hand.) still, of course, sa drives on the wrong side of the street! here are some observations from being back in the us and then back in sa:
Notes from chicago:
--it was late may and i was freezing my ass off. what was up with that. i get to chicago with my warm clothes, looking forward to some sun and all i get is windy and cold. not happy. started getting warmer near the end of my trip
--i enjoyed, a bit too much, getting to walk around. a lot. even tho it was a bit chilly, i walked (instead of driving) to work every day, walked to lunch, dinner, and sometimes just walked around aimlessly. i can't describe very well how awesome that was. i dont get to do that in sa.
--i accomplished my 2 most important goals in the first hour of landing: 1. get a starbucks coffee; 2. get some chipotle (i would have chipotle 3 more times)
--i couldn't get used to so many cops on the highway stopping people for speeding. what a foreign concept!
Notes from being back in SA:
--as mentioned, for some reason im more used to driving here now. i almost got into some funny situations in the US trying to drive on the other side of the street.
--i dont like walking up the stairs to my apartment door. reason: on both sides of me lives a couple indian families. walking up the stairs to my place i can smell the most delicious smelling foods and i get so angry knowing there's absolutely no chance its coming from my place. i've been close many times to knocking on their door. when i got back on monday, it was even worse, because i knew i had literally no food at my place (i think i had 1/4 bag of chips, but i let a friend stay at my place while i was gone and he cleaned me out of that! heh, it's all good).
--i thought jet lag didnt really hit me. that is, until friday. i went right to work at 730 on tuesday and started on a new proj in town and pretty much have been working 12hr+ days. when i woke up on friday, i felt like absolute crap. i couldnt physically get myself up for a while, and after i did, i knew right away that i would not make it through the day (at least not well). had a pounding headache all day and could barely concentrate on work or what my mgr was saying. anyway, i finally got some much needed sleep and refused to wake up this morning until almost 2pm.
--back to the new proj i started. its in downtown joburg, so i get to finally spend some more time down there. some "interesting" observations so far:
- i dont have a parking pass yet for the garage, so i park on the street (which is not always advisable), cross my fingers, say a prayer, and head to the building.
- whoever designed the elevators must've thought he/she was really cool, but i havent decided what my assessment is yet. for these elevators, you have to choose which floor you're going to before you enter the elevator. then the screen tells you which elevator to go to. the doors open you enter and it takes u to ur flr. no buttons inside the elevator! i mean, what if i change my mind..
- the bathrooms are also very interesting. as in, i have to laugh a bit everytime i go in. first there are 3 stalls, only the first one is not really a stall. it's got a stall door, but when you open it, u see 2 small urinals. so in theory 2 people could use this stall. so that begs the question: should you close the stall door when you use the urinals. if u close the door than ur taking away someone else's right and privilege to use the 2nd urinal. however, if u recall, i mentioned these urinals are small and allow for next to zero privacy. so if you leave the stall door open and someone decides to use the second urinal, you take away that person's right (as he opens the door) to not be scarred for life, and/or vise versa. hence the dilemma
- 2nd thing about the bathroom. as u finish with your duty, u go to wash your hands, of course. well, after i did this the first time, i then turned to what looked like it was the place to get the paper towel to dry my hands. but it was not. in fact, it was some kind of container and inside this container were some always useful condoms. no i didn't mis-speak, they gave out free condoms at work, in the bathroom (mind u i dont work at an aids clinic or anything even remotely close to a clinic). i guess gone are the times when they only give out free condoms at junior high schools and ultra liberal universities...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)