Last year on Facebook, I engaged in a discussion with a friend about the fact that violent acts seem to be the norm to make people notice things, in place of that time-worn cliché of "rational discussion". While my response does refer directly to South Africa, in hindsight it could apply elsewhere. Here it is, … Continue reading On violence in South Africa
Category: General
What Would You Do?
Many years ago, my family was on holiday at a cottage owned by an uncle. It was a seaside cottage, with no electricity. Light was provided by paraffin lamps, and cooking was done with bottled gas plugged into a gas oven. One evening, my brother and I, both recovering from chicken pox, were comparing our … Continue reading What Would You Do?
14 August
Two vastly different reasons for remembering the date today, and both have resonance. 14 August 1989: (Picture credit: Alex Jay on Twitter, but I'm not sure where he got it from, because it's a photo of a frame from a public television broadcast.) State President PW Botha, the second-last apartheid-era leader of South Africa, the … Continue reading 14 August
Become less ignorant
(Originally posted on Facebook.) Trigger warning: swearing and homosexuality. So much hate and anger stem from ignorance. The difference between ignorance and stupidity is that with ignorance you can learn, change your mind, and not rely on confirmation bias to continue thinking a certain way. I've just read a sampling of comments on a Facebook … Continue reading Become less ignorant
Professionalism doesn’t mean a collared shirt and tie
Being professional means treating your customers and colleagues with the respect you think you deserve in return.
13 November 2015
(Source.)
Classical Music Attribution
Today I have been listening (via Apple Music) to Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, most famous for its choral section in Part IV. And I realised that I attributed this piece to "Beethoven", as opposed to (in this case, a very good performance by) the London Symphony Orchestra with Wyn Morris, and the singing talents of … Continue reading Classical Music Attribution
Fifteen years …
My own memories of the last fifteen years on the Internet.
On male rape
Eusebius McKaiser wrote this essay on Facebook earlier today, and with his permission, I am reposting it here. On male rape, and the taboo around it: Earlier today I was interviewed for a news channel by one of my favourite television journalists. I had told her I would share some of my reflections of how … Continue reading On male rape
Change of heart
Site theme change. I really liked Scott's Decode theme, but the menus, oh, the menus. WordPress 4.1 launched two weeks ago, and Twenty Fifteen is pretty much what I was looking for. Now I've got a custom menu structure along the left of the screen, which expands to show the items more clearly. If you … Continue reading Change of heart