How I feel

Since turning 49 just over a week ago, I seem to have hit a writing slump. That’s not to say, that I was writing anything good up a storm prior to that milestone (for me it is).

I don’t know what it is. I feel great. Better than great actually. I could be 48, or 40 or 27 even. Maybe that’s it. I feel too young and my mind is on other things, younger, reckless things, and writing seems like a chore.

But…

I have been contemplating many things. And no, suicide isn’t one of them.

For instance, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is purring again after nearly two years of upgrades and renovations. Since Sunday, actually. That’s really great. It’s a reflection of everything that’s good about the world.

Elsewhere there’s ISIS, Boko Haram and Al-Shabaab, the last only recently massacring around 148 students in Kenya. Then there’s Pat Robertson and Deepak Chopra, alternate sides of the same ideologically unstable coin, whose regular mutterings are quite frankly, insane. I pick on mention a few, but all of these represent a side of the world that is not good at all.

And here in South Africa, we have a group of militant students who are of the opinion (or more likely have been manipulated into believing) that defacing and toppling historic statues will change their lot in life. Right about now they’re watching in glee as a statue of Cecil John Rhodes is being removed from a university campus.

But, the LHC is humming softly and I feel good…

Some timely tips from Croatia and Korea for South African politicians

This week  Croatian politician Josko Kraljevic Risa, running for the position of mayor of Prolozac (*LOL, is this town low on Prozac?) in southern Croatia, with the slogan “All for me, nothing for you,” finished second in the 1st round of elections, forcing a run-off election at the end of the month with the incumbent mayor.

Risa who also campaigned with the alternative slogan “It is definitely going to be better for me, but will be the same for you,” seems to have made a huge impression with on the locals with his (un-politician-like) honest approach. One local, Ivan Vjisnic, commented that “We’re going to get ripped off no matter who takes over. At least he’s being honest and up front about it. And he has said that if things get better for him then they will get better for us.” You can’t beat that logic, now, can you?

South African politicians, take note: you don’t have to promise the world to the electorate to win elections. The winning formula is to promise little, but deliver much. And in case you’re wondering, we’re as smart as the Croatians; we know you lot are going to rip us off too, no matter what little “good” you do manage to deliver.

The second tip comes from South Korea and concerns one of South Africa’s favorite pastimes: corruption. The former South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, who was involved in a corruption scandal, committed suicide earlier today, by jumping off a mountain. A local television news report indicated that Roh left a suicide note, which apparently said that life was “difficult” and apologised for making “too many people suffer.”

Now, I’m not suggesting that all corrupt South African politicians jump off the nearest mountain. If your cozy corrupt life has left you a bit too round in the midriff area, you are unlikely to make it up a mountain. For you fat-fucks, South Africa has some of the most beautiful high bridges in the world, which would suffice as an adequate alternative. How about it, then? You know who you are!