One of my favourite writers, Walton Pantland, who writes Red Star Coven, has published a superb article on that old favourite of topics, the USA. Do yourselves a favour and read Return of the Texas Chainsaw President. Some choice quotes from his article: The maniac redneck is back in power, and this time he didn’t… Continue reading Texas Chainsaw President
Fynbos restoration and the media
Well, not quite a march of the ents, but I spotted this snippet in the Argus: The City of Cape Town has ordered the owners of two properties near Gordon’s Bay to rehabilitate their land after bulldozers ripped up endangered fynbos. A small item, with even less detail than the original article. But good news… Continue reading Fynbos restoration and the media
March of the Ents
I’ve just come back from 3 days in Betty’s Bay, a particularly beautiful part of the country. Apparently the coastal road between there and Gordon’s Bay has been voted the 4th most beautiful drive in the world according to some or other survey. I can well imagine, as I’ve known this area well since childhood,… Continue reading March of the Ents
Launch of Wikinews
A potentially exciting development slipped through my radar in late November – the launch of Wikinews. Just as Wikipedia allows anyone to contribute to encyclopedia articles, so Wikinews does the same with news content. With the commercial media so often reduced to regurgitating corporate and government press releases, Wikinews may be another counter to this… Continue reading Launch of Wikinews
Bush – Man of the Year
Time magazine can’t be doing its international readership any good with its recent choices as Person of the Year. Yes, who else but George W. Bush for sticking to his guns (literally and figuratively), for reshaping the rules of politics to fit his ten-gallon-hat leadership style and for persuading a majority of voters that he… Continue reading Bush – Man of the Year
First spam
Hooray, my first comment spam. I use b2evolution as an engine, and it comes with a handy antispam feature, maintained by the community, but it was only a matter of time before one slipped through. I’ve decided to keep the comment as a memento to this auspicious day; you can read it here.
Google and Reagan’s beautiful funeral
I’ve been closely monitoring the Google ads on my page to see how well contextualised they are. They’ve mostly been blog ads, so to try and skew the weightings a bit and get something more useful I changed Ian Gilfillan’s blog to Ian Gilfillan’s web log (this posting probably undoes all the good work!). That… Continue reading Google and Reagan’s beautiful funeral
Native American History, its overlaps with South Africa, and the villainous Ronald Reagan
I’ve just finished reading a book on Native American history, The Earth Shall Weep by James Wilson. The US government is not in my good books right now, and books like this don’t help! As one Amazon reviewer points out, the book does focus more on the settlers crimes, the massacres, the betrayals, rather than… Continue reading Native American History, its overlaps with South Africa, and the villainous Ronald Reagan
Donald Trump
I’ve just finished reading a biography about Donald Trump. My excuse for such a deed is that I’ve been watching The Apprentice, the reality TV show where a number of applicants get to compete against each other for the dubious privilege of working for Donald Trump. The book, Lost Tycoon: The Many Lives of Donald… Continue reading Donald Trump
Guinness, Shiatsu and the CES
I belong to the Cape Town Community Exchange System, a local currency (or LETS). The system has been fascinating for me, as its caused to me to think about how our economic system works (or not). For someone who’s never had any formal economic training, the system allows me to examine the implications of various… Continue reading Guinness, Shiatsu and the CES