Movember

Brace yourselves...

...the moustaches are coming!

Yep! This year, I've decided to join in the fun, sacrifice my beard and, in the spirit of Movember, grow a mustache from scratch. All with the aim of raising awareness of prostate- and testicular cancer!

Want to learn more about it? Or donate and sponsor my Mo?

Then go to mobro.co/absolutwillie right away!

*proof of a clean start: 1 Nov 2012

the gallery is open!

I'd like to thank everybody who clicked and requested my gallery opening - it worked y'all!!!

now everybody can click on through to http://instacanv.as/absolutwillie and have a look at my debut exhibition:

Pretty Liturgical - textile studies of religious vestments.

 and best of all? you can now legitimately OWN your favorites!! so go on and buy, buy, buy!

I've got tuition to pay for ;0)

selling out to school up

so here's the deal: I've applied to my alma mater (Stellenbosch University) for acceptance into the Postgraduate Certificate in Education program for 2013. it is a full time, residential program which will (finally) make me a "real" teacher in the eyes of the local job market.

getting certified as a teacher will open the doors to a proper job at home - something which is frustratingly unavailable despite my existing qualifications and international experience.

here's the kicker though: it is going to cost me about US$10,000 for the year...

while I am taking on every freelance opportunity that I can grab hold of, including piece-jobs of manual labor, it is becoming all too clear that I need to investigate additional avenues.

remembering the popularity of my photography when exhibited in Missouri (when the conditions of my visa prevented me from accepting payment for them), I've decided to put my work up for sale again. issues of copyright, production, pricing and international postage are a frightful headache, and I need some way to test the market and see wether this is a worth while venture.

enter Instacanvas:

Instacanvas offers me the opportunity to open a gallery, where they handle sales, printing and shipping of purchased artwork. naturally they keep the lion's share of the money, giving the artist (me) 20% of the money made in sales. I get to retain copyright on all my images, thankfully, making it possible for me to take things further when feasible.

so I put my name down, and readied my photos.

what can you do to help? plenty!

• first of all, by merely clicking and requesting my gallrey opening on Instacanvas, you help move my gallery's opening to the front of the cue.
• secondly, once the gallery is open, you could buy my prints! (Remember, I get 20% - so I need BIG sales, and plenty of them!)

instacanv.as/absolutwillie

• OR, if you're feeling generous, you could send a donation / become a sponsor! (leave a comment and get in contact)

developing websites

check out the website I've been working on:

www.museumhillneighborhood.com

Like it, and link to it!

Chain mail and hoaxes

I found the following message in my WhatsApp inbox, when I woke up this morning:

"Whatsapp is shutting down on 28th jan Message from Jim Balsamic (CEO of Whatsapp) we have had an over usage of user names on whatsapp Messenger. We are requesting all users to forward this message to their entire contact list. If you do not forward this message, we will take it as your account is invalid and it will be deleted within the next 48 hours. Please DO NOT ignore this message or whatsapp will no longer recognise your activation. If you wish to re-activate your account after it has been deleted, a charge of 25.00 will be added to your monthly bill. We are also aware of the issue involving the pictures updates not showing. We are working diligently at fixing this problem and it will be up and running as soon as possible. Thank you for your cooperation from the Whatsapp team"

I thought it sounded fishy, and it wasn't difficult to look them up and double check. As I had suspected:
“@WhatsApp: it is just a hoax: http://t.co/Go8KLqDi”

As is the case with email, our texting applications are targeted by hoaxers and scammers. It can be tough to keep a level head - but it is quite easy to check things out. Use your twitter or google search capabilities, if you are unsure. As unlikely as it is that Bill Gates is tracking the email in your mailbox, or that some Nigerian Bank executive has millions of dollars with your name on it - chances are equally unlikely that your chat-app usage is being monitored by the Giant Spaghetti Monster in the Sky.

Remember kids: If it smells fishy, it probably is. (Also consider washing your upper lip...)

Guess what I've been working on?

watch it. watch it again.

and watch it in full screen,

with the volume way up...

if you're going to drive - don't drink. AT ALL.

and if you see your "tipsy" friend taking his/her keys and heading for the door - take their keys, get them home safely, worry about the vehicle when everyone's sober. (an acquaintance of mine gave his buddy his bike's keys back, who proceeded to smash into someone else.)

THINK

before you

DRINK

before you

D(R)I(V)E

World AIDS Day 2010 - The Ribbon/Cucumber Timelapse

Be safe.

truth or lies - all stories should be told

true - if china didn't force this movie out of Taiwan by increasing the numbers of missiles pointed at us, i would probably have missed it.

from common room productions:

Synopsis:

THE 10 CONDITIONS OF LOVE is a love story – of a woman, a man, a family, a people and a homeland. It is the story of Rebiya Kadeer, China’s nightmare – the woman it accuses of inciting terrorism.

It is also the story of the other Tibet, the Muslim Tibet - the country its people call East Turkestan, but which the Chinese call Xinjiang Province - the other stain on China’s moral character.

It is a big story: a story of the ruthless oppression of 20-million people; of the global politics of energy; of Super Power politicking over the War on Terror; and of the pain of a deeply loving family torn violently apart.

Exiled in the US, Rebiya Kadeer is fighting for the human rights of her people, the Uyghur (pron. wee-ger), China’s oppressed Muslim minority. But Rebiya Kadeer’s campaign condemns her sons to on-going solitary confinement in a Chinese prison. Having done six years solitary herself, she understands the appalling consequences for them of her actions - but she will not relent.

Twice nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, once the richest businessperson in China, Rebiya Kadeer is a remarkable woman who pays daily a terrible price for patriotism.

And it will never be over.

spam on my blog?

yup - madness of madness: shock! shock! horror! horror!

my blog has been spammed. somehow, somewhere, a terribly clever new bot (deceptecon?) managed to hijack my blog-by-email settings. 2 posts were made without my knowledge - the last one being: "start earning 15 minutes from now", which automatically loaded another site.

these posts have been deleted and I have disabled blog-by-email.

if you have a blogger or blogspot blog - i suggest you double check your security settings.

sh!t happens.

toying with templates

just in case you drop in to see... erm... who knows what: DON'T PANIC!

i really am experimenting this time - it's a phase... it'll pass.

pretty soon, my blog will have a brand new face (that works).

the earth moved, but it wasn't me (this time)

Central Weather Bureau Web Site

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she was a 5.6!!

extended opportunity: leave your comments now

the past almost-24 hours has seen 2 comments on my previous post.

2 comments @ 10c a pop = 20c donation thus far? come now - that's less than the bank charges involved in making the donation...

i've decided to extend the comment-period with another 24 hours.

for every comment received on my Blog Action Day post - i will donate 10c to one of their listed causes.

you've got 24 hours - make it count.

Project 10^100

Project 10ˆ100 is a call for ideas to change the world by helping as many people as possible.

submission deadline in 10 days - so click on through, baby!

meanwhile, back in Azania

with american politics (Коростели летели, летели, ..., летели лет сорок - or whatever passes for it) keeping everyone entertained and blissfully unaware - south africa is set to bleed again:


Cape Town - Cartoonist Jonathan Shapiro on Monday defended his controversial cartoon of Jacob Zuma preparing to rape justice, saying he thought "very, very carefully" before doing it.
The African National Congress and its tripartite alliance partners have condemned the cartoon as disgusting, while ANC secretary-general Gwede Mantashe labelled it racist.
The cartoon, published in the Sunday Times under Shapiro's pen-name, Zapiro, shows a blindfolded female figure labelled "justice system", being pinned down by Zuma's political allies.
The ANC president is depicted in the cartoon unzipping his pants, while Mantashe urges him: "Go for it, boss!"
Shapiro said he "absolutely" refuted the racism charge, and that his record in the struggle years spoke for itself.
"There is a very, very pronounced tendency in this country towards exceptionalism, as if our politicians are more sacrosanct than politicians worldwide. That I take issue with," he said.
"I really feel strongly that they have to take a hard look at what they are doing and not use the red herring of racism."
He said he was not surprised that the cartoon had provoked strong reaction, as the image was "outrageous", and a "very explosive thing".
-------

i think the shower head is a nice touch!

National Warning - Issued on Saturday, 30 August 2008 at 16.00

Extremely dangerous conditions for the development of runaway fires are expected to persist in Limpopo, Gauteng, eastern part of North-West Province, northern Free State, Mpumalanga and northern KwaZulu-Natal.Very cold, wet and windy conditions are expected on high ground in the south and west of the Northern Cape, the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, southern Free State and Lesotho. Snowfalls are expected on high ground in the Western Cape, southern parts of the Northern Cape, and in the Eastern Cape. Strong to gale force westerly winds are expected between Cape Agulhas and East London. Very rough seas, with wave heights exceeding 7 metres in many areas and coinciding with spring high tides, are expected between the Orange River and Durban. ADVISORIES: Very rough seas, with wave heights exceeding 5 metres, are expected to persist along the entire coastline Monday, moderating during the day. Widespread black frost is possible in the central interior on Monday morning.

South African Weather Service :::

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its heeeeeeere!

Typhoon FUNG-WONG (0808)
Typhoon Status
1800UTC 27 July 2008
Center Location 23.0N 122.4E
Movement NNW 13km/hr
Minimum Pressure 948hPa
Maximum Wind Speed 43m/s
Gust 53m/s
Radius of 15m/s 220km
Radius of 25m/s 80km

another t-shirt entry! Vote now!! (3 days left)

My springleap | Designs

"umshini wami" is a Zulu song favored by ex-deputy president Jacob Zuma during his rape trial. it translates: "bring me my machine gun".

Peace!

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i love banksy

IMG_0455.JPG on Flickr - Photo Sharing!


Big love to Jockohomo for posting the link to photos of the opening of Banksy's Cans Festival in London.

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my T made it to the top 20!!

springleap | Garden Route Geeks


would you look at that!! my t-shirt made it into the top 20 designs for april!!!
oh how chuffed am i?

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