Wicked Wednesday word-wars

"Familiarity breeds contempt" someone once told me. What transpired this afternoon partly confirmed the validity of that claim. I say only partly because, to a large extent, today's fall-out wasn't necessarily founded in familiarity. Probably the larger contributor to this situation was that of growing disappointment and a touch of resentment. Here's what happened:

After seven and a half weeks of working together on our practicum, some of our colleagues have grown quite weary of those who had not contributed, engaged or done their part. This manifested in a heated exchange of words on our WhatsApp group, when a meeting to compile our group assignment was convened. Those who had been slinking by in the shadows were represented by statements of impropriety as to the "suddenness" of this arrangement, while the diligent faction responded by pointing out that participation throughout the practicum period would have negated any perceptions of "suddenness" and "unfair treatment".

In the end the Slinkers slunk away, and the worker bees did the work.

Lesson: Work hard with those who work hard, and reap the rewards.

Clean slates daily

It is imperative that one start each day anew, with a calm spirit and clean slates for all your learners. This is not the easiest feat to accomplish – and I suspect it takes enormous emotional reserves to maintain such an attitude. The longer one remains in Education, the tougher it seems to get...

"May you never be jaded."

This morning didn't start off all too well on a personal level. (I won't bore you with the details.) It follows that when a notorious class walked in for the first period, I wasn't exactly a picture of peace. Seeing one or two of the learners that got my goose yesterday didn't help my mood much either.

Then one of them melted my heart with a sincere question and a hopeful expression:

"When will you teach us again, sir?"

May that moment stay with me forever, for it shook me out of my own hazardous thoughts and showed me a glimpse of the soul underneath the protective layers of a "problem" learner. There are genuine, vulnerable children inside the armored veneers of the upstarts and trouble-makers. When one opens up to you, you can't help but realize how difficult and rare such acts of vulnerability truly are.

I might not have understood that child completely, but I was humbled. Touched. And terrified of making the wrong move! I realized that the smallest hint of nonchalance or apathy would wound the boy and destroy any possibility of connecting with him. So I smiled appreciatively and explained my Life Orientation timetable to him. His class wouldn't see me for English again, but that didn't mean that I did not want to teach them.

Thinking back, I realize that my own armored veneer sometimes leaps back in unguarded moments. Little chuckles of nonchalance.
Subconscious eye-rolls.
Sharp words.

This is not an easy course I've chosen, and I will have to check myself regularly.

Listverse: 10 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Smell

by J. F. Sargent, January 27, 2013

If it came to the crunch, and we were faced with losing one of our “five senses,” is there a single person who wouldn’t part with his sense of smell? Sure, it’s nice and all—but it just doesn’t compare to the usefulness of sight, the necessity of feeling, and the awesomeness of sound.

Or so at least we’ve been told. It turns out that the lamest sense is actually a lot more powerful than you might imagine. There’s an unbelievable array of subtle, subconscious things that we just wouldn’t be able to pick up without a functioning nose.

10 - You Can Smell How Old Someone Is

You’re probably familiar with the idea that old people stink. Whether it’s from first-hand experience, or just general pop-culture osmosis, somewhere along the line most of us begin to accept the concept of an “old person smell” as a fact of life. And in a weird way, we’re not wrong.

In a study which rather sadistically placed pads under people’s armpits and then gave them to others to sniff, scientists found that the sniffers could reliably distinguish the odors of people over seventy-five from the odors of other people.

Interestingly, the odor isn’t necessarily bad. Scientists believe that the negative stigma around the “old person smell” concept has more to do with a fear of old age than an actual negative response to someone’s body-stink.

 9 - You Can Wake Yourself Up With Smell

Since it’s the world’s most popular psychoactive drug, it’s fairly safe to assume that most of us enjoy a cup of joe every now and again. But according to one study, you may not actually have to drink it to get the necessary effects.

By studying the effects of coffee aroma on rats, scientists found that coffee’s smell makes the brain release proteins that will protect nerve cells from stress. Which is exactly what coffee does to you when you drink it.

 8 - You Can Smell Fear

Though it sounds like a movie tagline, the ability to smell fear is something humans really did develop for defensive purposes. Not only can we learn to identify what fear smells like in other people, but we will naturally become afraid ourselves after smelling it.

The evolutionary idea behind this ability is that humans, like all social animals, are strongest when acting as a group. If one person is so stunned by panic that he can’t communicate his emotions, the stink of his terror (as well as his body language) will spread fear to the others in his or her group. This keeps everyone’s actions—or at least their emotions—coordinated.

These days we don’t have so many encounters with predators. But we do have horror movies in theaters, and the principle still works in essentially the same way.

 7 - Women Can Smell When a Man Is Horny

Men might hope that they’re being subtle in their advances, but scientific studies have revealed that there’s simply no hiding their arousal from a woman. She can smell how turned on a man is—and not just in a subconscious way. In studies, sniffing pads soaked with the sweat of horny men was found to activate parts of a woman’s brain normally associated with perceiving emotions in others.

But what about men? Do their noses play any role in their eternal efforts to get some? Certainly—but not in the same way. While women have a definite advantage when it comes to perceiving the intentions of their potential sexual partners, men have a slightly different ability:

 6 - Men Can Smell When a Woman Is Ovulating

While a man’s ability to pick up on a woman’s sexual excitement might be entirely subconscious, his ability to tell when a woman is ready to get pregnant isn’t. In a blind study, scientists discovered that heterosexual men sniffing the T-shirts of various women would consistently label those of ovulating or fertile women as more “pleasant” or “sexy” than the T-shirts of other women who weren’t ready to conceive. Apparently, men can identify this scent up to a week after the clothes were worn.

 5 - You Can Smell a Compatible Sexual Preference

When you examine the findings from various studies about individuals’ sexual preference towards different body odors, an interesting pattern occurs: sexuality is actually detectable by odor.

If a straight man is given the T-shirts of a combination of gay and straight men and women, he will consistently find the odor of the straight women more pleasant than the odor of any other group. The same is true for gay men: they will be more attracted to the scent of other gay men, and so on for every other group.

Though the findings are hardly conclusive, this does provide strong scientific support for the idea that homosexuality is based in neurobiology, rather than being an individual’s choice.

 4 - You Can Smell Which Direction an Odor Is Coming From

We have the ability of a bloodhound, and we didn’t even know it.

It turns out that every human is born with the ability of “egocentric localization.” That’s the ability to tell where a smell is coming from without even moving one’s head—in exactly the same way that people can pinpoint the origin of a sound. It’s a skill that all of us possess, but which most of us never bother to hone.

 3 - You Can Smell How to Do Better On a Test

So far all these nasal tricks have been neat and perhaps unexpected, but not especially useful. So here’s one that’ll actually improve your day: you can use your nose to get better grades.

You probably know that smells can trigger a flood of old memories—but what you may not know is that without a sense of smell, you may have not been able to recall that memory at all. It turns out that olfactory (smell) perception is far more closely linked to memory than you realize: it stimulates both the ability to recall things and the ability to commit those things to memory. 

So next time you study while rubbing yourself down with lavender oil, be sure to take some lavender oil to the test. 

 2 - Women Can Smell How Sexy Men Are

Most of us have heard that facial symmetry is one of the most important factors in a person’s level of attraction. But studies show that symmetry isn’t just something we see—it’s something we also smell.

In a study that (once again) involved smelling other people’s dirty T-shirts, scientists found that women will rate the smell of symmetrical men as more attractive than that of non-symmetrical men—even when they’ve never smelled, seen, or even met the men in question before.

Basically, sexy people smell sexy—and so do their clothes.

 1 - You Can Smell How Healthy Your Offspring Will Be

Humans consistently make their choice of sexual partner based on whether or not the other person’s Major Histocompatibility Complex is different from their own. The Major Histocompatibility Complex, or MHC, are the molecules in the body that fight foreign invaders, like germs and viruses.

Choosing a mate with a different MHC than your own will improve your offspring’s MHC, meaning that they’ll have a stronger immune system and will be more resistant to disease. Women are most likely to be attracted to men who have a different MHC—and interestingly, it seems that the sense of smell is pretty much the only way to determine the compatibility.

The best piece of advice for young people looking to find a serious partner? Follow your nose.

J. F. Sargent is a workshop moderator and frequent contributor at Cracked.com

Gay high school athletes blog (from: outsports.com)

Jan 8th, 2011 

by Jim Buzinski.

“Three kids. Three time zones. One mission …” That’s the tagline for a fantastic new blog, “Walk the Road” (with the url www.bradrobertben.wordpress.com), created and written by three gay teenage high school athletes. That’s unusual in and of itself. What makes it even more unique is that the three are not anonymous.

The three bloggers are Brad Usselman, 16, (a runner from Washington state in the Pacific time zone); Ben Newcomer, 16, (a soccer player from the Southeast in the Eastern time zone) and Robert, 17 (a soccer player from the South in the Central time zone). Robert is not using his last name since he lives in a conservative area, but like Brad and Ben he is using his photo and is comfortable telling his story. (For those wondering, I have verified all their identities).

I have been e-mailing, texting and webcamming regularly with the three since Brad first wrote me and I am very impressed by their drive, intelligence, energy and passion; they are also just fun to talk with.

For example, I asked Brad what his goals are for the blog and he replied: “One goal is to dance on ‘Ellen.’ Another one is to help the younger generations. The last goal is to meet Lady Gaga. Those can go in any order, haha.”

The blog actually got its start in the aftermath of last year’s Mikey hoax (the alleged teen hockey player who turned out to be a 40-something married man). Said Brad:

“Finding out that he was a phony destroyed me, and I went through a hard time because I built up a relationship with a lot of people on that website. Still to this day I have not found a blog with an openly gay high school athlete who uses his real name. My friends and I would like to change that. … Our goal is hopefully to change people’s perceptions that openly gay athletes would be ostracized from their sports team. Also, we want to build a grass-roots movement with my generation to show that equality isn’t just something we strive for, equality is something we want now and we will go against society’s view of being normal to prove our point.”

They are committed to making a difference for other LGBTQ young athletes, wanting them to know they are not alone. As Ben wrote me about how easy it is for athletes to stay hidden in the closet: “Gay people who fit in shouldn’t feel like they have to just because they can.”

While there have been anonymous blogs by gay athletes, this is the first I know of where the bloggers are in high school and not hiding who they are. That alone makes their blog special and makes them more real and accessible since they are not freaked out about hiding details or of someone finding out. It will make their blog that much richer.

From left: Ben, Brad, Robert

Excerpts from some of their first posts give a glimpse of what they’re about:

Ben:

You could call me gay. Or you could call me bisexual. Or you could call me straight, or pansexual, or maybe just Ben. These labels that define our sexuality, personality, individuality are just that. They are labels. Labels that people use to box up society into neat little packages. I am here to say to those people, “Here’s a run for your money.” Labels are comforting, but where’s the fun in life without a little ambiguity?

Brad:

I have grown up in a society filled with stereotypes of every group of people. These unhealthy views of certain people destroy some. I myself have been affected. Words such as “faggot” and “homo” being used in daily conversations have shut the closet door on me and not let me out. But I made a promise to be who I am and not let others define me just by my sexuality. I, Brad Usselman, am a varsity athlete who is gay and this is my story.

Robert:

We are free to be what whatever we chose to be and how to do it. I was led down a rough path for many years until I began to figure out who I am and how I’ve become stronger in spite of the past. In retrospect it is better to be happy with whom you are rather than try to be something you are not.

Their banner image is of a solitary man walking down a tree-lined road. It has the words “Walk the Road: One common goal.” The idea is that young people wrestling with their sexuality need not walk alone. As Robert said: “Walk the road came to mind just out of the blue. The picture that we have that top made me think of how alone, at times, I have felt and with that I came to ‘Walk the Road’ (being that the road resembles a sort of life’s path that a lot of us have been on).”

Via the blog we’re watching three young people during their coming out process. And it is a process, with all its ups and downs. They are out to their parents (Ben’s mom posted the first comment) and some friends, but not yet to their teams or to most people at their schools. Ben is also out to his twin brother, whom he plays with on a club soccer team, and assumes some teammates on his high school team might know. As for Brad, “I am not out yet to my teams but will be soon. I am guessing people already know but I have never faced any criticism.”

Being so open is not without its potential risks, and I have been wondering how they will deal with people stumbling across the blog by doing a web search. “I’m at the point where I’m not announcing it, but I think I’m all right with people finding out,” Ben said. Added Robert: “We understand there might be things that come with this blog, as well as maybe a few gay-bashers, but I think we can handle it, as well as ask for advice.”

I have been telling people about the blog and they immediately get its uniqueness. At the end of a long interview with out rugby player Gareth Thomas, I asked him to videotape a short greeting to the trio, who see Thomas as a role model. He readily agreed and the clip is up on the blog. Wrestler Hudson Taylor and his fiancée Lia Mandaglio have friended them on Facebook and are big supporters. When I mentioned the story to a mainstream media colleague, she immediately asked for their contact information to do a story.

What I especially like is that the blog is entirely run by the three (it is hosted on a free Wordpress account). As a point of disclosure, I have offered them editing and general blog advice, but the words, layout and ideas are all theirs.

The site is in its infancy but it will be enjoyable to see it grow. They have no intention of just writing post after post filled with teen angst about being gay, and will deal with those issues when appropriate. They also want to be seen as well-rounded people with differing interests -– Brad loves “Jersey Shore,” March Madness and dancing; Robert can talk intelligently at length about cars, the Chicago Bears and the English Premiere League; and I hope Ben writes about why Einstein, the Buddha and Henry David Thoreau inspire him.

Most of all, the blog has a tremendous potential to bring together other young athletes (or non-athletes) wrestling with their sexual identity. These are three people who know what it’s like to struggle with that at a difficult point in life, and their journey is far from complete. They want more people to tell their stories, comment on posts and connect with each other.

I urge everyone to check out “Walk the Road” and read their posts and bio pages. They would love feedback, so please leave comments (there is also an e-mail address). And if you like what you see, please pass the blog address on. Connecting gay teenagers is especially hard, so the more exposure for the blog the better the impact.

Update: Brad, Ben and Robert are already posting submissions from others. Check out thisemotional e-mail from a fraternity member at Mississippi State and this one from a college swimmer and why he is in the closet.

speak softly of love

different people express their affections differently. (in fact, there are lectures doing the rounds on "love languages", i am told.)

some verbalize, some communicate through touch and some express their feelings through gifts. even others, as i've come to realize, cook ;0)

there are dozens of variants, i'm sure.

i, myself, am a gift giver and touch-lover (who's learning to verbalize better). i thank my parents for raising us (me and my beloved sister) in a house filled with "i love yous", hugs, kisses and tickles!

>>home is definitely where i learned what love is!!

i find that knowing my love language, helps me to perceive and appreciate those of others. especially here, where i'm immersed in a whole new culture. knowing that there are differences in how we love - and that this is okay - is a key to happiness, i think.

realizing that the apple of my eye also expresses his affection through food, for example, has saved me from countless unnecessary tears of frustration.

we all need to hear: "i love you" every once in a while.
but are we listening in all the right places?

and so i begin

WE CAN all start afresh! However far we have ascended, there is something higher; and however far we have fallen, it is always possible to make a fresh start.

Eph 4:20

i can be a hero, baby

every week, i have to write in the communication books of my students at kindergarten. it's quite a bit of work (we're talking 4 classes here) - and it often feels like pouring water into a hole in the ground. my comments have to be translated into Chinese so the parents can understand it (which means i can't use difficult words or elaborate grammar - who knows what that will translate to?), and i never get any feedback.

make that past tense - i never got any feedback.

i was surprised by the following little note:


Loosely, I'm told this translates to:

"Hi Willie:
Hunter recently told me that he would like to go back to USA with Willie when he grows up. I used the chance to encourage him to study English harder for it. Willie, you are his idol. Thanks for teaching so well!"

color me all warm an fuzzy :0)

*note: Hunter is barely 3 years old. taken into consideration that i'm pale, tall, hairy and that i speak English - in his world, where else would I be from than the US?

the universal decleration of human rights

do you know your responsibilities as well as you know your rights?


The Universal Declaration of Human Rights from Seth Brau on Vimeo.

Mom makes my day!

After a seriously rushed day - I was blessed with the following comment (via Plaxo) on my "How I did yesterday" post:

Today I want to give you a reminder of what I tried to teach you for almost three decades: Do not be too hard on yourself!!!

Nobody is perfect, but more important, no mortal soul is so important that his/her choices or decisions will rock the world off its tracks (except some African leaders like Mugabe).

Take your own advice, and let go and let God. Even if you sometimes take the wrong decision, there is mostly something good to be learnt or experienced as a result. You may not become a millionaire in a week, or be the next big inventor, or the greatest leader ever, but you are unique and special to those lucky enough to know you.

Some of us cannot imagine a day without your caring , joking, honesty and sometimes scalding sense of humor.

Keep it up, and keep going.

Yesterday is gone - nothing can be undone or changed about it; Tomorrow is still a dream - the best you can do is plan for it, but TODAY is your day - your chance to do something special, to laugh out loud, to be someone's friend, to live according to your principles and faith.

GO FOR IT!!

Love
Guess who.

(My Mom's the greatest!!)

Hugh does it best

It's no secret that i am a devoted fan (deciple?) of gapingvoid.
Imagine my excitement when I stumbled onto this presentation - using his cartoons!

Oh happy day!!

10 Ways to a Killer Blog

From: yizmo, 1 year ago

| View | Upload your own

Presentation of Robert and Maryam Scoble about how to blog well. The Blog Business Summit 2006 is a conference and seminar series focused on business blogging.


SlideShare Link

I spy with my little eye

Browsing through some photostreams on my People sidebar in Flock, I recognized myself in Tresblue's "Second Mossel Bay Seminar" set. It was an Internet Marketing seminar he hosted for the company webactiv8 - which I thoroughly enjoyed and, as a matter of fact, seriously motivated me to nurture my (then fledgling) blog.

Kudos!

Now for the pics:

Yes, I wear crocks with socs in winter.

I am multitask.

I say the darnest things...
(mind the emerging bald patch)

We giggle, we learn.

Funny joke, but...

A woman has an affair during the day while her husband is at work. Her nine-year-old son comes home unexpectedly, sees the illegal lovers and hides in the bedroom cupboard to watch. Then the woman's husband unexpectedly comes home.

She hides her lover in the cupboard, not realizing that her little boy is in there already.
The little Boy says: "Dark in here."
The Man says: "Yes, it is."
Boy: "I have a soccer ball, do you want to buy it?"
Man: "No, thanks."
Boy: "My dad's outside, I'll call him if you don't buy it!"
Man: "OK, how much?"
Boy: "R250-00."

A few weeks later it happened again and the boy and the lover were in the cupboard together again.
Boy: "Dark in here".
Man: "Yes, it is."
Boy: "I have soccer boots."
The Man, remembering the last time, asks the boy: "How much?"
The Boy says:"R750-00."
The Man says: "Fine, I will buy them."

A few days later, the Father says to the boy: "Grab your ball and boots, let's go outside and have a game."
The Boy says: "I can't, I sold them for R1000."
The Father says: "That's terrible to overcharge your friends like that... R1000 is way more than those two things cost. I'm going to take you to church and make you confess your sins." They go to church and the father makes the little boy sit in the confession booth and he closes the door.

The Boy says: "Dark in here."
The Priest says: "Don't start that sh!t again! This is my church and not your father's house!”

----------------------------

I got this joke in my inbox today - gave me a good giggle. But the punch-line bugged me, somehow. I tried to shrug it off and get some work done - but the gnawing in my mind kept getting worse.

I finally gave up and tried to figure out what was going on. Then it hit me:

"This is My church and not your Father's House..."

Now I'm not going to make a soap-box moment of this - but I realized that this sentence holds the key to a great revelation. I'm still hacking at the lock, but it feels like most of the unhappiness in the world is caused by a similar mentality:

This is MY church and NOT your Father's House.
This is MY presidency, MY company, MY rules...

The answer to serenity, peace and harmony is, of course, the antithesis:

"This is NOT my church, but your Father's House."

May God, as you understand God, reclaim the Place you need from those who deny you yourself.

8Tagg - a blogospheric answer to fb...

... and a lot easier than running around the school yard!

So there's this meme floating around the blogosphere – let's call it 8Tagg, seeing as how it requires you to reveal 8 things about yourself that people don't know.

First you list aforementioned 8 things.

Then you "tagg" a string of your blog-buddies. (This is apparently done by hotlinks, pingbacks and somesuch. I'm placing my hope on Technorati to inform those I tag, seeing as how Blogger doesn't support pingbacks - as far as I know.)

Tagging someone makes them "It" (fond memories right there...), which means they now have to do the same.

So, in the spirit of Twain's first meme, here goes:

1. I never ended an educational phase (pre-primary, primary, secondary, tertiary) in the same school I started it. With my Dad being one of the few Land Surveyors in SA, we moved around a lot. I guess it became a habit.

2. I'm a Geminian Earth Horse (Gemini sun and rising, Sagittarius moon, year of the Horse etc). This apparently also explains my bouts of wanderlust.

3. I love writing, but I suck at correspondence. (Okay, maybe you knew that *lol*)

4. I have an immense urge to snap my fingers over the flame when people light their cigarettes with a candle. (Somewhere deep inside, my inner child still believes that fairies die if you don't.)

5. I joined AA at the beginning of 2008. (Not very anonymous of me, is it?)

6. I'm addicted to puff pastry - especially if it's baked around a Russian. (But I try to avoid all starch in my diet.)

7. Quitting smoking was harder than quitting alcohol or starch. (1 month and 20 puff-free days now!)

8. I fall in love with faces. (Flickr breaks my heart every week ;0) hehe.)

Now, who'll be "It" then? checkitout:

- Geoff – my best blog-buddy, all the way from Idaho,

- Jayx – one of the zaniest characters to've lit up my life since my move to the Garden Route,

- Tresblue – he who got me blogging for real,

- Jockohomo – I'm a fan! A giant of the online world and my daily dose of provocation/inspiration,

- Warrior Scout – he who's kickin tina and inspiring me along the way.

I've tried not to tagg people who've already been 8Tagged. If I inadvertently did so, please accept my sincere apologies.

(Please advise if I'm somehow not adhering to proper online conduct in tagging you, or transgressing in any other way for that matter.)

load shedding schedule for George and Danabaai

We just phoned our local municipalities for the latest load shedding schedules:

George:
Daily from 10:00 - 12:30 and 18:00 - 20:30

Danabaai:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 14:00 - 16:30 and 22:00 - 00:30
Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday: 04:00 - 06:30, 14:00 - 16:30 and 22:00 - 00:30
Sundays: Random


Right, what does this mean for my business? In a nutshell: over half of my clients will have to place their orders between 08:00 and 10:00 or 12:30 and 14:00 - as I can only process these between 08:00 and 14:00. (That's a 3-hour window for George clients!)

Georgians also have a tiny one-hour window (17:00 - 18:00) in which to do all their private shopping, refueling, cooking and cleaning. Unless they wait till 20:30 - when most shops are closed.

Living in Danabaai is a lot easier. Work till 14:00 and (from 16:30) only worry about electricity again at 22:00.

Memo to self: Get a wind-up alarm clock and save the planet, as well as your working week! (Electrical ones reset close to three times a day, you know...)

Power in SA - a lucky draw

Welcome to the latest update on our power situation. Several "schedules" for load shedding in our region have been published - none of them showing the same times...

In an attempt to plan my days, I turned to the Eskom website for answers. Turns out there's no fixed schedule - whatever happens, depends on whatever happens.

[Your town is] subject to the scenarios listed at the times specified for load shedding. If any of the stages are reached today, these schedules will apply.

Brown Stage 3B
12:00 - 14:30

Brown Stage 3B
20:00 - 22:30

Brown Stage 1A
18:00 - 20:30

Brown Stage 1B
12:00 - 14:30

Brown Stage 2A
12:00 - 14:30

Brown Stage 2A
18:00 - 20:30

Brown Stage 2B
12:00 - 14:30

Brown Stage 2B
20:00 - 22:30

Brown Stage 3A
12:00 - 14:30

Brown Stage 3A
18:00 - 20:30

In short: Cross your fingers - you might be f*(%3d today, or not.

Mark Twain on Memetics

Not sure how memes work?
This Wikipedia entry might help as well:

"A Literary Nightmare" is a short story written by Mark Twain in 1876. The story is about Twain's encounter with a virus-like jingle, and how it occupies his mind for several days until he manages to "infect" another person, thus removing the jingle from his mind. The story was also later published under the name "Punch, Brothers, Punch!"

The story is significant in that it is a fairly accurate description of a meme, and how it can replicate itself in a short time, thus acting like a virus in some respects.

(In a nutshell, the story goes a little something like this)

The narrator, Mark Twain, sees a catchy jingle in the morning newspaper. The jingle promptly attaches itself to his mind, such that he loses concentration and can no longer remember what he ate for breakfast, whether he ate at all, and what words he was going to use in his novel. The jingle mentally incapacitates him, until, a few days later, he takes a walk with his friend, the Reverend, and inadvertently transfers the jingle to the reverend's mind. As this happens, Twain experiences a sense of relief, and returns to his normal life.

Some days after Twain was cured, the Reverend visits him; he is in a terrible state, as the jingle, which keeps on repeating in his head, has already disabled his concentration. He tells Twain of some incidents where the rhythm of the jingle influenced his actions, such as when churchgoers started swaying to the rhythm of his homilies. Taking pity on the man, Twain decides to cure him, and brings him to a meeting of university students. The Reverend successfully manages to transfer the jingle from himself to the students, curing himself and, at the same time, continuing the diabolical cycle of the jingle.

awesome feature from iafrica.com

Different worlds? Maybe not…
Jerome Simelane [Thu, 03 Jan 2008]

I am a guy and he is a guy. We are from different worlds. Ja well, no fine — what the hell do I mean? Well, here's the question: To all straight people, how many people do you know that are gay and your friends?

I am the first to confess that I never thought about it. Now, having watched a few episodes of 'Will & Grace' I feel I'm qualified to talk on this subject simply because I can laugh myself stukkend while watching the show.

It is a great programme, with sarcasm and satire that most open-minded people can relate to. It is both liberated and liberating.

I never thought I would watch a 'gay' sitcom and catch myself laughing and that got me thinking that the whole issue about straight people not relating to gay people is overstated.

In reality...

One of my life-long friends just recently came 'out' to me. What I find disturbing is that his revelation made me uneasy at first. Okay, maybe not uneasy but I was shocked and flabbergasted.

This oke, with whom I was so close, was gay and had been all along. It took me some time to process but I realised that it was not up to me to be judgmental — rather, I should be supportive.

Fully aware of the stigma of being gay, lesbian, queer, moffie, or whatever (who knows what homosexuals are called these days) made me think that my friend (and I still refer to him as my bra) was going through identity hell. He didn't need me to let his revelation get in the way of our friendship.

Which brings me to the next question: "What is so strange about someone being gay?"

Being heterosexual, I don't expect others to say: "Hey, mfowethu, look, I'm straight!" Duh! That is no revelation to me, it's like second nature. Which proves we tend to judge others, make assumptions and reach conclusions based on our own beliefs and way of navigating the world — and that subjectivity is so wrong.

What's the difference?

Back to my friend: We hang together, talk about politics, cars, sex, blah, blah, blah. In actual fact, there is, or rather there was, no difference that was 'out there' for me to evaluate.

Believe me, he is not a sissy or trying to be what he ain't. Now I know that whenever we talked about J Lo's behind, he was busy picturing Denzel Washington's eyes or Brad Pitt's torso and probably devouring Vin Diesel.

But he's still a guy's guy to me — we haven't stopped hanging out, drinking beer, chatting… (although I have to admit its hard to concur whenever he says, "That guy is cute").

So I guess if I'm going to be a friend I would have to hook him up with a decent, good-looking, to-die-for guy. I have no flippin' clue where I might find such a person, but I am making an effort. And, whoever said that "plenty of fish in the sea" thing was lying. Sometimes there aren't.

True friends

The saying, "you cannot choose family" should actually also extend to friends. We hit it off from the beginning and we have grown to know each other very well. A true friend would not desert another friend based solely on the fact that you are now attracted to a different gender.

That he was secure enough to come out is an indication that he trusts me and I admire and have a lot of respect for my bra. Not a lot of people can do that.

And even though this piece is entitled, 'Different World', how different are we, really, as people? So if you're a guy and struggling to relate to a gay friend, here's some advice — get some microwave popcorn and watch 'Will & Grace'.

I am a guy and he is a guy. Full stop.

iafrica.com | highlife | his life | features Different worlds? Maybe not…

Apparently, some (str8?) men need (more) help

The page cannot be displayed because you need to approach some women

The page you are looking for is currently unavailable. Your Mom told me you've been online for way too long and you
need to go out and approach some women.

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Please, try the following:

• Don't click the Refresh button. Go outside now.
• To go outside, first click Put On Shoes. On the Wussy tab, clic Time to Make a Girl's Day. The Ass is Plastered to My Chair setting should match those provided by your pickup coach.
  
• If you are addicted to information, try to cut down a bit.
• Click the Make a Commitment button and approach one woman every day. It gets easier with every approach.
  
• If you would like to be happier than you've ever been before in your entire life, click
  Go Out Into the Real World
• There are many hot women out there in the real world who are tired of wussies who won't come up to them and talk to them. If you are unable to get up, click back and pay for a coach to kick your ass.

HTTP Error 404 - File or Directory not found.

Internet Information
Overload (IIO)

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Technical Information (for a better life)

• Go to ApproachAnxiety.com and perform a title search for the words Fear, Overcome and Exhilaration.
• Open Coaching Help, which is accessible in the Coaching Section, and search for topics titled Push Me into Approaches, Show Me How to Do It, and Understand My Irrational Fear.

Blogged with Flock

The Knoetze Bloodline

If anyone wondered where I'd gone to - or why I've been relatively quiet lately - check this out! I've been researching and building my family tree - and am at a place where I can show the world!!

*Muwahahahahahaaa*

Click through to http://theknoetzebloodline.myheritage.com and have a peek. If you happen to fit in there somewhere - drop me a line and I'll register you as an administrator!!

All my love,
Willie

MadV - inspire

I've missed the Nov 5 deadline for the Remember project . Wasn't all too happy with myself - but then I realized that 5 Nov wasn't a deadline - it was the birth of a project.

After seeing MadV's latest video - I'm amped as ever to get it together!