Skallabrak -- "Sandveldboertjie"

Die knapie weet darem maar hoe om daai bekfluitjie te blaas. In egte boere-bluesstyl.

Girls' Generation, Prostitutes and Pygmalian

This music video of Girls' Generation reminds me of the first time I ventured into a red light district in Korea. It was during my first few months in Korea. I was in the Yongsan area -- I went to the digital market to get some computer gadgets. I decided to take a short cut down one alley on my way to another subway line. I didn't really take much notice of the mannequins in the windows. Then suddenly, from the corner of my eye I noticed that the mannequins moved. It nearly freaked me out, but I soon realised that these were not well dressed mannequins displaying boutique clothes, but in fact prostitutes displaying another type of merchandise. I remember being shocked at how beautiful these model-like women were; hence me originally assuming them to be mannequins. I've seen some beautiful mannequins in my life and can sympathise with Pygmalion. I've often wondered who sculpts clothing store mannequins and if they are cast from real models.

South Africa's Media Freedom Under Siege

From Avaaz.org:

I've just signed an urgent petition calling on the ANC to protect our democracy and basic freedoms by reversing an unconstitutional secrecy Bill and a new proposal to gag the media. I thought you would want to join me. If enough of us come together now and oppose these initiatives, our outcry will be too loud to ignore.

You can read more below and sign the petition here:

Here's the original email ---

Dear friend across South Africa,

South Africa's democracy is at risk -- a draconian and unconstitutional new secrecy Bill is in Parliament and a Media Tribunal could be endorsed by the ANC Council this week, muzzling the media and letting the security agencies operate without accountability.

The secrecy measures in the "Protection of Information Bill" and the proposed "Media Appeals Tribunal" threaten press freedom enshrined in the Constitution and will hamper public scrutiny of the government and security agencies, blocking the media from exposing corruption and abuse of power. Hundreds of prominent South Africans, business executives, civic leaders and journalists have condemned the measures and submitted amendments on the Bill to Parliament, but so far the ANC is defending both proposals. Only massive pressure from citizens across South Africa can wake them up and preserve hard-won freedoms!

We have just 3 days to be heard at the ANC Council. Let's raise an irresistible outcry -- join the call for the ANC to listen to the people, respect the Constitution and promote accountable and transparent government! Click to sign the urgent petition, then forward this message to everyone – it will be delivered at the ANC Council:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/protect_south_africas_democracy/98.php?CLICKTF

43% of South Africans survive on no more than R16 a day and half of our youth are unemployed, while Transparency International claims "corruption is increasing at an enormous rate and it impacts severely on the poor. Revenue destined for the poor is misappropriated". These new proposals would obstruct the media's bold efforts to expose bribery, corruption and fraud and would lead this proud democracy towards autocratic control.

The proposed Protection of Information Bill would allow any national or local government department or agency to classify and make secret any information that they consider against the 'national interest' and would punish whistle blowers or journalists with up to 25 years in jail if they leak or publish information that was classified, even if it was in the public interest. This violates Section 32 of the Constitution -- which protects the citizens right of access to any information held by the State.

The Media Tribunal would replace the Press Ombudsman with a state agency accountable only to the ruling party, tightly regulating reporting, and imposing penalties on journalists.

Just like when citizens came together to call for effective treatment for HIV and AIDS in 2007, if we rally now we could change the course of these repressive policies and efforts to silence the media can be stopped.

The ANC Council meeting is the decisive moment -- if we lose this chance, the ANC's 60% majority in Parliament will most likely push these proposals through unchanged. Inside the ANC Council COSATU delegates and others are strongly against the gag law -- if we raise a massive citizens' outcry this week, we could support their efforts on the inside to overwhelm an elite who attempt to railroad through these undemocratic proposals.

Sign the petition and forward this message to everyone.

Many fought, and died, for these freedoms. Now, if citizens stand up together to protect South Africa's democracy, our outcry will be too loud to ignore -- and we will beat those who want to protect their power and privilege by curbing constitutional liberties.

With hope and determination,

Alice, Paul, Ricken, Benjamin, Emma, Giulia, Pascal, Iain, Paula and the whole Avaaz team

More information:

Avaaz.org was launched in January 2007 with a simple democratic mission: work with citizens everywhere to help close the gap between the world we have and the world most people everywhere want. In three years, Avaaz has grown to over 5.8 million members from every country on earth, becoming the largest global web movement in history. Avaaz's largest membership is in Brazil and France and Mexico and India are two of Avaaz's fastest growing memberships this year. This campaign is being launched with the nearly 60,000 Avaaz members across South Africa.

Sources:

"SA journalists fight proposed media laws", Mail & Guardian

"It's your right to know, public reminded", Iol/Cape Times

Protection of Information Bill

"Media Appeals Tribunal" proposal in the ANC Discussion paper on "Media Diversity and Ownership"

South Africa's Treatment Action Campaign: Combining Law and Social Mobilization to Realize the Right to Health, Mark Heywood

Van Coke Kartel

"Daar was 'n tyd toe musiek nog vir ons heilig was; toe die dwelms not besonders was; en toe jou vriende nog verstaanbaar was . . ." -- Van Coke Kartel

Besonderse Afrikaans.

Kim Jong Il's Successor?

The Washington Post reported yesterday (Tuesday, September 28) that dictator-president Kim Jong Il promoted his youngest son and his sister to high military rank positions. It has been rumored for quite some time now that the young Kim Jong Eun (27), the youngest of three sons, is considered the likely heir of the cultic dictatorship. That he should promote his sister, Kim Kyong Hui (64), as a four star general as well is quite a surprise. Then again, Kim Kyong Hui’s husband is none other than Vice-Chairman of the National Defence Commision, Jang Song Taek.

I doubt the Worker’s Party will accept a woman as the ailing Kim Jong Il’s successor, but they could possibly accept her as regent while her nephew is groomed into his role. But will the Army accept them? Neither Kim Jong Eun (who spent his childhood in Swiss boarding schools) nor his aunt Kim Kyong Hui served in the military, so there new general statuses are basically “honorary degrees.” Will the other military generals who served for decades in the military value the ranks of these Kims?

"Fallen"

Fallen from Sascha Geddert on Vimeo.

Enlightenment often comes during moments of crisis. A really beautiful little movie.

Top 10 Action Heroes

A recent poll narrowed down the Top 10 Action Film Heroes, with Sylvester Stallone at the top. Here's the list:

#10: Jason Statham
#9: Will Smith
#8: Chuck Norris
#7: Angelina Jolie
#6: Stevel Seagal
#5: Jean Claude Van Damme
#4: Bruce Lee
#3: Bruce Willis
#2: Arnold Schwarzenegger
#1: Sylvester Stallone

If I have time later I'll see if I can come up with a list of my own, which would have looked somewhat different and would have included Keanu Reeves -- not merely for his Matrix films, but also his other action movies like Johnny Mnemonic, Speed, Point Break and Constantine. Who would you consider an important inclusion on your list?

Jeju-Do

The last couple of days I spent in Jeju-Do, Korea's largest island -- south-east of the peninsula.

Last week Wednesday was Chuseok in Korea, whereupon people return to their respective "home towns" to bring tribute to their ancestors. It is a holiday focussed on family and food, similar to Thanksgiving in America. Both the day before and after Chuseok is customarily public holidays as well. My work also gave my Friday off so I had a holiday from Tuesday until today during which I went to Jeju.

I went with a group of people, none of whom I know, but most of them were quite amiable. I met a handful of individuals whom I hope to enjoy their company with again. The highlight of trip was definitely the days I went open-water scuba diving -- the first on a small island off of Jeju called Moonseon, and the other a beach dive. In all I did four open-water dives as part of the scuba diving certificate course I started with a while back.

If I have time I will write up some of the experiences I had on the trip and hopefully include some photos.

Consider This

The first season of my brother's youth related unscripted talk show is nearly finished. He sent me the links to the following three segments of their pilot episode. The show will be aired on the Hope Channel and on other interested networks. My brother acted as director / producer for the show; he is also the chief post-production editor.







At the beginning of the year while they filmed the show I was invited to sit in on one of the discussion panels, discussing Christianity versus Secularism.

Chuseok

On Wednesday it will be Chuseok -- Korea's Thanksgiving Day during which people trek back to their home towns where they spend time with their family and bring honour to their ancestors. The days before and after Chuseok are also public holidays so that people can travel. The traffic during Chuseok is horrendous and public transport like busses and plains are often sold out weeks in advance.

For Chuseok I'm going to Jeju, the big island off the south of Korea. My intention is to go scuba diving but I came down with the flu. My first scuba dive is planned for Wednesday; I'm hoping that I will feel better by then. It is dangerous to dive when you're ill, since with congested sinuses one cannot properly equalize under water. So today I spent much of the day just sleeping and although I'm commencing my travels tonight, I will try to spend most of it resting. The same for tomorrow -- I'm hoping to spend as much time sleeping as possible.

I'll be sure to take photos and share them when I come back in about a week.

A happy Chuseok to everyone!

Cuppuccino en slapelose nagte

Image Source

Gistermiddag moes ek bietjie tyd omkry aangesien ek vroeer stad toe was, voordat my Taekwon-Do-klas begin. Wel om die tyd om te kry het ek in 'n koffiewinkel/kroeg gaan sit met 'n boek in die hand. Die plek het nie warm sjokelade gehad nie so toe bestel ek maar 'n cuppuccino. Ek behoort van beter te weet. Aangesien ek byna nooit koffie drink nie, affekteer kaffeien my nogals sterk. Ek is na een in die oggend bed toe. Dis nou byna vyf in die oggend en ek is reeds wakker. Ek is moeg maar kan nie slaap nie.

Vanoggend moet ek op kantoor wees vir 'n 8:30 vergadering. Gelukkig het ek dan 'n paar ure oop voor my eerste klas. Dalk kan ek terug kom huis toe en vinnig 'n uiltjie knip.

Alexander McQueen's the Man! [And so is Lady Gaga. And let's not forget about Bjork.]

I love Alexander McQueen's designs. His 2009 Fall Men's Collection was one of the most interesting fashion collections I've taken note of. I wanted to blog about it but forgot completely. Then suddenly, the following design by McQueen reminded me about it.

Again McQueen impressed me with his great ingenuity. Yes, it's Lada Gaga dressed in a frock made of raw meat -- or at least it resembles raw meat. I doubt it's the real deal. And wasn't it for the connotations, it could actually be a "beautiful" dress. Lady Gaga said that it was meant to make a statement about [women?] being viewed as "a piece[s] of meat." This was one of the outfits she wore during the recent MTV Video Music Awards. Credos to Lady Gaga for making the pop world more interesting.

If you don't know it yet, Lady Gaga won eight awards, including the best video of the year.



This meat dress is probably the most talked about outfit since Bjork showed up as a swan for the 2001 Oscars.

Sondagkursusse

So paar weke gelede het ek twee Sondae in 'n ry die heeldag, vandaf 8:30 tot 17:30, deur gebring in 'n noodhulpkursus. Gister het ek my twee amptelike sertifikate gekry, een vir "First Aid" en die ander vir "CPR Course for Adult/Child/Infant," uitgereik deur Korea se Red Cross. Ek het op laerskool laas 'n noodhulpkursus gedoen en het gedink dat dit hoogtyd is om weer my vaardighede op te skerp.

'n Daaropvolgende Sondag het ek 'n inleidende kursus tot Hapkido gereël, wat 'n 5de Dan vriend van my aangebied het. Dit was 'n goeie werkswinkel en lekker om weer die basiese beginsels van Hapkido te verfris. In 'n onlangse skrywe op by Soo Shim Kwan-blog het ek terloops daarna verwys, maar het nog nie 'n kans gehad om werklik daaroor ter rapporteer nie. Ek het dele van die seminaar op video vasgelê en hoop om dit eventueel te redigeer en êrens beskikbaar te maak -- dalk op YouTube.

Verlede Sondag (gister) het ek die eerste deel van 'n skubaduikkursus gaan bywoon. Gedurende volgende week is Korea se Chuseok-vakansie. Chuseok is Korea se dankseggingsdag waartydens mense terugkeer na hulle tuisdorpe om daar tyd saam met die familie deur te bring en ere te bring aan hulle voorouers. Aangesien dit vir my byna 'n hele week van vakansie inhou het ek besluit om na Jeju-eiland, Korea se grootste eiland te gaan. Daar wil ek graag gaan skubaduik, en dus dan die rede vir die "Open Water Course" wat ek gister bygewoon het. Ons het in 'n swembad geoefen. Dit was lekker om myself soos 'n seeleeu te gedra. Volgende week sal ek die res van die kursus by Jeju-eiland gaan voltooi. Ek moet sê dat ek my tyd onder die water baie geniet het en kan byna nie wag om dit in die ope see te gaan doen.

Ek probeer my Sondae vul met verrykende ervaringe. Sabbatte spandeer ek gewoonlik rustig, maar Sondae is 'n aktiewe rekreasiedag vir my. Ten minste daardie Sondae waartydens ek die vorige aand nie te laat opgebly het nie. Twee Saterdagaande terug was so 'n aand. Ek het uitegegaan om 'n vriend te ontmoet wat oppad landuit was. Ons het so lekker gekuier dat ek my moltreinrit verpas het en het toe maar die hele aand opgebly en gewag vir die moltrein om weer die volgende oggend te begin hardloop rondom vyfuur die oggend. Sulke Sondae doen ek nie veel nie. Slaap maar laat en gaan kyk dalk 'n fliek in die agtermiddag.

Parkour, Friends and Stuff

A couple of years back I started doing Parkour. I met up with the "father" of Parkour in South Africa, Dane Grant and we just hit it off from the start. A wonderfully strange friendship developed practically immediately, which have stayed consistent even though we have only been in each others' company a handful of times. Dane has started to make the most of his Parkour experience and has recently starred in the Dunlop Zone advertisement below.



Dane learned Parkour from the founders of this art while he lived in England. When he returned to South Africa he started up Parkour - South Africa, to develop the art locally. It has grown tremendously; practically all major cities in South Africa has troupes of traceurs (people that practise Parkour) enjoy the freedom to be gained from this art of movement.

The video below is "The Making of Dunlop Zone", and shows how the add was put together. I'm sure my friends in the advertising business and video production will be interested to see it. The cinematography and editing are excellently done and, of course, my Parkour brothers are amazing!



Unfortunately I haven't done much Parkour since I've been in Korea. My time have mostly been taken up by all my martial art training. As the season changes and it becomes less hot and rainy, I do hope to go for a couple of runs before it turns cold and icy again.

Darth Vader Does the Tai Chi Sword Form

As a fan of both Star Wars and martial arts, this is just right up my alley.