I mentioned the novel Spud in a post around this time last year. Well, in the meantime the movie has started doing the circuit recently in South Africa. The movie features a well established South African cast, with some English surprises, like John Cleese.
I'm very much looking forward to seeing Spud: The Movie and can only hope that it will still be showing in theatres when I get there in January.
Ek sal miskien ook Bakgat 2 kyk indien ek in Suid-Afrika is. Nie omdat ek dink dis noodwendig op dieselfde vlak as Spud nie, maar bloot omdat alle Suid-Afrikaanse films ondersteun moet word. Vernaam nie-Engelse Suid-Afrikaanse films.
Next semester I will be teaching very much the same classes I taught last semester, minus one class, Research Methodology. This is quite a relief. Research Methodology is a time consuming class, especially when you are working with over 40 students! My list of classes includes:
Intermediate English Listening and Speaking
Basic Vocabulary
19th Century British Poetry (Romantics)
British and American Essays
Literature and Visual Arts (Shakespeare Films)
The first list I got did not include the Romantics, which had me very disappointed. Instead I was going to teach Media English, whatever that is. Luckily the lecturer that was assigned 19th Century British Poetry (my favourite class) was willing to trade Media English with me so we suggested it to the department chair. He said he'd think about it. I haven't heard from him yet, but this afternoon when I went to the department office I saw the administrative personnel busy preparing the rosters for the different classes, so I saw my list of classes.
Update, 8 Dec 10:
I just had a department meeting this morning during which time the department chair told me that I may be required to teach Research Methodology after all . . .
Luke 14:5: "[Jesus] answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?"
May you have a blessed Sabbath, with no incidents of asses, oxen or other properties, physical or otherwise, fallen into any literal or figurative pits. Happy Sabbath!
My brother informed me that the episode of Consider This in which I was a guest speaker and spoke about Christianity vs Secularism has aired and that it is available on the counter.act media YouTube channel. The thought of me sharing ideas—particularly religious ideas—on television is somewhat troubling. When speaking about God and "oughts" and "naughts," one has to be very careful. As I mentioned elsewhere, I hope my views are sound.
At first I wasn't sure if I actually wanted to see myself on television. I felt a little like Johnny Depp who refuses to watch his own movies. Eventually I did gather up the courage and looked at the episode to see how I applied my 15 minutes . . . uhm, 8 minutes . . . of fame.
The three videos below are the three segments of the episode. I feature in the middle segment.
My broer het onlangs die nuwe Afrikaanse musical "Liefling - Die Movie" gekyk en sê dat dit verbasend goed was. Ek geniet musicals en aangesien die laaste Afrikaanse musical film wat ek gesien het -- een met Ge Korsten -- jare gelede was toe ek nog 'n tjokkertjie was, sal ek graag wil sien waarmee hulle in 2010 voorendag kon kom.
Ek hoop dit wys nog in teaters teen die tyd wat ek in Suid-Afrika gaan aankom in Januarie. Dis, natuurlik, indien ek 'n kaartjie gekoop kan kry.
Ek is geensins 'n fan van ligte Afrikaanse musiek nie, en al weet ek dat Bobby van Jaarsveld (die hoofkarakter in die film) sy oomblikke het, sal die musiek nie noodwendig die rede wees dat ek die film wil sien nie. Ek wil net graag sien wat gebeur in Afrikaans deesdae. Ek verlang na Afrikaans. Boonop, dis nie al dag dat Suid-Afrika 'n musical maak nie en ek hou graag die Afrikaanse film bedryf dop.
Today is World Aids Day. Like all such "days" the purpose is creating awareness about a specific social issue. Do you remember when people started to speak about AIDS in the 80s? I was still in elementary school when I first heard of the dreaded AIDS. Back then it was a "homosexual disease". I'm glad that we have passed such ignorance, but it is still far from appropriate to think the we (the world) have enlightened notions about AIDS.
In South Africa AIDS is still a rampant epidemic. For a long time I've heard that some African people believe that AIDS was invented by white people in an attempt to reduce their population. There are also superstitious beliefs that sex with a virgin will cure AIDS. While things have improved, South Africa has a history of presidents with questionable views regarding AIDS. There is the legacy of President Thabo Mbeki and of course the shocking example of the current president, Jacob Zuma, who took a shower after having unprotected sex with an HIV+ woman. Such examples nullifies years of sex and AIDS education. The real effects of this disease will be felt ten or twenty years from now when a great chunk of a whole generation in South Africa's will have died to AIDS-related deaths, leaving behind another generation of orphans.
In South Korea it is difficult to assess the affect of AIDS. As a far eastern country, saving face is an important part of the Korean culture, so statistics are often under reported. At least it is not considered a homosexual disease. It may, however, be considered a foreign English teachers' disease.
Het jy al ooit jouself in iemand gesien? Tot 'n skokkende insig gekom dat daardie persoon is wie jy kon gewees het, maar eintlik bly is dat dit nie is hoe jou lewe uitgedraai het nie?
My ander-ek is Dash Snow, 'n Amerikaanse kunstenaar wat in 2009 op die ouderdom van 27(?) gesterf het. Ek lees oor die lewe van Dash Snow en ek sien hoe klomp geleenthede daar was vir my lewe om soortgelyk aan syne te kon uitdraai. Het ek drie of vier ander keuses tydens kneloomblikke in my lewe gemaak, was ek ook dalk nou al dood nadat ek 'n uitspattige kunstenaarslewe geleef het. Ek probeer nie sê dat ek ook so bekend en opsprakend wekkend as Dash Snow sou gewees het. Dit is nie die punt wat ek probeer maak nie. Wat ek probeer sê is dat ek ook op 'n stadium daardie tipe lewe wou leef en dat ek die geleentheid gehad het om in soortgelyke destruktiewe (kunstenaars/dwelm/ens.) kringe te beweeg.
Om eerlik te wees, partykeer dink ek aan van daardie keuses—daardie “sensible” keuses wat ek gemaak het—en ek wonder of ek die regte keuses gemaak het. Soms wonder ek of ek uitgemis het op iets. Oor party keuses is ek soms spyt. Maar meestal dank ek God dat ek nie sekere paaie langs gestap het toe die opsies daarvoor oopgegaan het nie. Ek is oortuig daarvan dat sekere mense se gebede, veral die van my ouma en ma, gehelp het dat my lewenspad anders uitgedraai het. Ek leef dalk nou 'n minder “opwindende” lewe, maar dis 'n baie gesonder een.
Daar is steeds 'n bietjie Dash Snow in my; my ongesonde alter-ego is nie dood nie, net relatief getem. Dash Snow steek nog steeds kopuit by tye, maar hy's redelik onderbeheer. Die mense wat my ken sal weet van daardie kant van my. Daardie eksibisionistiese kant. Daardie kant wat so maklik verslaaf kan raak en wie ek van byna elke gewoontevormingde ding weerhou. (Ek vermy dwelms, alkohol, sigarette, kaffeïen en selfs videospeletjies!) Daar is steeds 'n rebel, 'n anti-establishment drang, bietjie van 'n anarchis, effense paranoïa. Alles onderbeheer, maar steeds daar. Krokkedille in die onderbewussyn, soos Steven King sou sê.
Beny ek Dash Snow? Nee. My lewe is opwindend genoeg en ryk aan ervaringe. Ek het 'n vrede wat Dash Snow nie het nie. Daar is 'n stabiliteit wat ek nou het, 'n fokus, wat ek nie wil verruil nie. Ek is bewus van my blekke, maar is ook bewus van God se goedheid.
Apparently, if I go by the fact that I'm South African, I'm expected to live until around 58. That means that I've lived more than half of my expected life so far. If I pretend to be from another country, like South Korea, I can expect to live to around 74 or so. Not what I was hoping, but still better.
Another week has come to and end, another week ahead. Last Sunday I taught a Parkour workshop again. I enjoyed the group of people that attended, from various countries. They members also learned the techniques with a fair amount of ease, and after only about 30 minutes they were able to do a basic run.
On Thursday night last week the senior students, for whom the current semester is their final one, organized a banquet in honour of the teachers. In Korea senior students host such a banquet to thank their lecturers for what they have done for them during their years at university. As a teacher I can only say that it is a much appreciated gesture. This was the first such a banquet I've attended, and was definitely the best one so far. We were taken to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Kangnam, which included an excellent buffet.
There are only two weeks of classes remaining at the university where I work, which means that we are very focussed on finish the material in time. Of course this means that I've started doing lots of grading in order to finish the assignments and class tests before the final exams start December 13.
Saturday night I met up with a dance instructor focussing on Jazz and contemporary dance. We had a very interesting conversation, mostly comparing the similarities between dance and the martial arts. I learned a lot.
Today (Sunday), I attended a Taekkyeon tournament (as a spectator). Although I have seen Taekkyeon tournaments online, todays one was the first time for me to see in person. Most of the events were group events, with five members per group. If a fighter wins his bout, he stays on to fight the next challenger from the opposing group. In one of the sets, a girl stepped up and won against all the members of the opposing team. She was quite good. Of course, I enjoyed the adults fights much better, as they used much more intriguing techniques. I took my video camera with and will put together a video once I have time.
The tournament ended around 7PM, it was supposed to end at 5PM. Starving by then two of my fellow Taekkyeon mates and I went to Itaewon for dinner. We had fabulous Thai food, including tongue smackingly good Thai deserts. While having dinner it started to snow.
By the time I headed home it was snowing quite hard. At first I was tempted to take a taxi from the subway station to my house so that I do not have to walk to far, but then I decided to rather take the bus and enjoy the fifteen minute walk in the snow to my apartment. Although I've experienced it now for a number of years, snow is still a novelty to me—I grew up in Africa, after all. That white blanket that covers everything is to me a beautiful spectacle year after year.
Today America and South Korea performed their joint naval exercises in the West Sea; the largest ever naval drills.I guess they were pretty intimidating as North Korea didn't react much. Then again, there is still a couple of days to go as the naval exercises are planned to continue till Wednesday.
You can see a big version of the image above here. A look at Korea on the map would suggest that Korea is part of a hot zone. (You don't know where Korea is? Shame on you. It the peninsula that protrudes from China on the east, with the Japanese islands cupping it on the right. You are not to sure where China and Japan are either?! . . . Now that is sad. Well, they, including Mongolia, are all part of the "Far East." See a map here.)
Korea is actually quite safe as far as natural disasters go. There are no significant earthquakes plaguing Korea; it is Japan that suffer from those. Not only is Japan directly over the Sagami Trough (#25 on the map), an oceanic trench that is known for around 7.9 scale quakes, Japan has also a number of temperamental volcanoes. (South) Korea's only volcano is Halla Mountain, generally considered dormant with its last eruption in 1007. Mount Halla is on Jeju Island, so an eruption there, while serious, will not affect mainland Korea that much. Now, Mount Baekdu which borders North Korea and China is another story. Signs indicate that it is ready to blow and it is suggested that it will be more devastating than when Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano erupted and darkened big parts of Europe for days. I've been hoping to visit Mount Baekdu, but since trees started to die there because of volcanic gasses, I don't think it is safe to visit it any time soon.
The only natural disaster that does seem to hit South Korea on occasion are floods during the monsoon season and the occasional typhoon, but South Korea seems quite capable of handling these.
South Africa seems like one of the best places to live as far as natural disasters go. Southern Africa do not suffer much from serious natural disasters, except an occasional drought, which are usually not as severe as far as droughts can go in other places, like droughts in Eastern Africa (#37 on the map).
But then, who needs natural disasters if an HIV/AIDS pandemic and violent crimes kills people annually at equal staggering rates? Seen in this light, South Korea is still much safer to live. Or is it?
To all my American friends and American blog visitors -- may you and your family have a wonderful Thanksgiving and may your recurring dreams be premonitions of positive futures.
I've mentioned in a previous post that I am jealous of my younger brother. He was in high school when he set his mind on becoming a video editor. Ever since then he has resolutely followed this dream and is working towards that goal. Unlike him, I'm still not sure what I want to be -- or to put it more accurately, there are too many things I want to do and be, causing me to be the proverbial Jack.
The video below is a reel that my brother recently made, showcasing some of the projects he was involved with over the last two years, including the work he did while interning at LifeStyleTV in Sweden and SID Media in South Africa. My brother is establishing himself in the television industry, with special focus on Christian lifestyle programming, but he hopes to expand into film eventually.
He has set up a website for his freelance work that you can check out here: SilverSpark.
So America and South Korea are planning another joint naval exercise in the West Sea this coming Sunday. Is it just me or does it really look like they are trying to provoke more reactions from North Korea?
I am not pro-North Korea. Far from it. I wish the dictatorial regime to come to an end as soon as possible. Still, the current South Korean government seems to be quite hard-headed and keen for war. I'm still not fully convinced that the torpedo that sunk a South Korean vessel earlier this year was indeed North Korean.
In the meantime, the American Dollar has strengthened since the recent attack. A Korean War, which will definitely involve America may actually strengthen the USA which has been suffering under the global recession and losing respect in the eyes of the world over the last few years. Here's the problem with these corrupt governments, be it North Korea, America or any other oligarchical system, once their power and popularity fail, they try to reclaim power through war. Most people were against George W. Bush, but then came 9/11 and people flocked to him like he was their saver, during which time he led America into two immoral wars. President Obama is losing popularity fast and many analysts predict some kind of war or terror event (whether actual or staged) is to be used to regain his popularity. Advisers have actually suggested that he should go to war with either Iran or Korea in an attempt to stimulate the economy. Might it be with North Korea?
May I remind you that my gut -- fuelled by a consumption of many independent and alternative news sources -- has been telling me that's something was coming and it is something I especially expected to happen in November. I wrote a post on November 11 with the title "We Are Waiting." Will this South Korea-North Korea skirmish-turned-aggressive-retaliation be the event that my and other open minded people's intuition have warned us about? I'm not sure, but it could possibly escalate into something of the sort. I followed that post with another one the next day titled "War in the Air?" Where can this lead? Well, if the ceasefire should officially come to an end, the USA will definitely become very much involved. Keep further in mind that China and Russia will feel highly uncomfortable with aggressive American forces practically on there doorstep. Basically, a Korean War will not only involve the Koreas -- it is inevitable for America, as well as the neighbouring countries (Japan, Russia, and China) to also become involved.
Read an interesting article in which America's involvement in both North Korean and South Korea is highlighted.
In the meantime life is continuing as usual for me. I'm making dinner, might grade some more papers and afterwards, as I usually do on a Wednesday night, I'm going to train Taekkyeon in Insadong under the instruction of this scary man.
