It's Amazing How I Feel When I'm Around You

It's amazing how I feel when I'm around you,
How my heart pounds when you come into a room.
I look at you and think: My God! How lovely!
And everything I am bursts into bloom.

I feel as though you must, you must be mine,
Not as a possession but a goal,
Something almost unimaginable:
The free devotion of another soul.

As though I were about to enter heaven
Or just within the hour condemned to die,
My mind with one fierce thought keeps running over,
With you, and only you, the reason why.
Nicholas Gordon

Paraskevidekatriaphobia

Friday the 13^th – OoOoooooo. Yes well, Paraskevidekatriaphobia, is being afflicted with a morbid, irrational fear of Friday the 13th. Its difficult to believe that in 2008, the age of modern man there are still people with the fear of a number, when theres a perfectly good hijacker standing at your front gate.

Well I started of this as normal as any other, not cowering in fear, or wanting to stay under the blanket all day to avoid the number 13. And the guys on the radio got me interested in this Friday the 13^th phenomenon and why exactly people have this superstition and any others for that matter. Personally when I think of Friday the 13^th I think of Jason chasing down some poor blonde college girl with a big knife.

Though no one can say for sure when and why human beings first associated the number 13 with misfortune, the belief is assumed to be quite old, and there exist any number of theories — all of which have been called into question at one time or another but there still remains no house number 13 on my street. It seems even the poor guy numbering our home has succumbed to this superstition.

A few other familiar examples:

• Breaking a mirror will result in 7 years of bad luck.
• Walking under an open ladder is bad luck.
• It will bring you bad luck if you step on the cracks in a sidewalk.
• Turning salt to avoid the “evil eye”

Is it just me or do most superstitions tell you not to do seemingly sane and normal things? Yet I subconsciously avoid walking under that ladder (to avoid the guy on it falling on me), or breaking that mirror (cos damn I'd have to buy a new one)

So what are some of the things that your granny told you? What are your most memorable superstitions?

Happy Friday the 13th!

Have you tried switching it off and on again?

No matter what your job is or how you fit into this space we call the world there is a pretty good chance you have a story of an intellectually challenged co-worker, you know the one that feels less is more. As in less work more pay. Our little corner of the world in South Africa seems to be teeming with these people.

It just doesn’t seem to make sense to have a country with thousands, possibly millions of people who feel they should be paid for sitting on their behinds, when there are so many unemployed who are eagerly awaiting a chance to prove themselves.

Durban seems to be getting taken over by our friends from the orient who have the work ethic to back up a successful career and business – well from what I’ve noticed in the automotive industry anyway. And while I’m not saying we should send 5 year old kids to the grocery shopping with a few challenges to make them cry (Yes they actually do this), South Africans as a whole need to improve their work ethic, we spend most of our time at work anyway.

And while you may be thinking that I’m just ranting on about the lazy buggers at my place of work, I’m not. The poor ethic seems to carry forward to the children of these people and they’re off to get the passing grade at school so they can move forward with their friends to the next grade/year.

I’m a firm believer in, if you do anything do it to the best of your ability which somehow seems to be waning with the current South African population. This is quite a nuisance when you’re trying to get things done and have to cater for the lazy idiot before you who hasn’t finished his job.

2 weeks later, aforementioned lazy idiot has no clue how the system works. And his response – “Oh no it doesn’t wek” – and when that’s the explanation you get over a crackly cellphone line it takes a lot of self control not to cut him off, or worse.

And while it may be easy to just sit back and accept that South Africa is falling to pieces and blame everything on that fact – it would be better for the people here to try a bit of an attitude adjustment and do that little extra, to prevent the skilled few, who are really trying, in the country so that they can keep their jobs. Cos sometimes just switching it off and on again won’t work.

When nostalgia hits

The arrival of a large cap to my bandwidth limit (Please Telkom it’s still not enough) has allowed to me to revisit some of the old series from my childhood. Being brought up in a television generation, in spite of the many ‘when we were younger we used to roll tyres down the street’ speeches, there are many such series. The Gummi Bears, Grammi, Gruffy, Tummi, Sunni, Cubbi and Zummi are characters that should be introduced to a whole new generation of followers. The little blue smurfs who somehow managed to produce kids with only one smurfette was quite the entertainer. The Thundercats were the 90’s answer to spiderman though somehow I fail to see how I ever watched that show. Beware people watching Thundercats now will leave you bewildered and have you breaking your Lion-O swords in shame.

This however lead me to wonder which of the series I watched as an impressionable young boy would still be relevant in 2008, and would have the kids of the 21^st century switching off their X-Boxes for a good dose of child entertainment. My 5 in no particular order are :

1. - Pumpkin Patch – Many (that talking donkey, and the scary purple dinosaur) have tried to claim the throne but none have close to the infinite wisdom of Uncle Bill, Woofles, Speckles, Freckles and that blonde lady. Pumpkin Patch wo o o pumpkin patch – sing along you know you wanna

2. - Gummi Bears – Gummi Berry juice was all the rave and I’m positive the kids now would be bouncing off the walls with this one. No I’m not gonna sing again.

3. - X-Men the series – The only reason I’d wake up early on a Saturday. Do I really have to explain what the X-men are?

3. - Bravestarr – Speed of the puma, eyes of the hawk, ears of the wolf, strength of the bear, nuff said. Oh and a horse with a big gun. Can’t quite remember the name of the little dwarf deputy thing.

5. - Darkwing Duck – It was the other Duck show. He was a duck. He was a crimefighter. He wore purple. He was brave…

And so it has come to pass...

And so the time has come to return to the blog. It was looking lonely and desolate and I've noticed there are a few friends who stop by to say hello. Sadly even I haven't done as much over the last few months.

In the last few months so much has changed, the petrol price has soared, JZ has been made ANC head, and we all talk about loadshedding as if its an acceptable measure. It's weird how my cellphone just seems to know that it should go 'low battery' during my loadshedded hours. I walked pass a salon last week that had load shedding going on but there was some guy in there having a haircut - whoever you are - you've got Maksi for letting that lady cut your hair by candle light.

The company I work at recently had it's own version of the loadshedding phenomenon, when a construction worker managed to hit the main electricity line with a pickaxe. For you guys not in the know of all things electrical - It's dangerous to strike into a cable running a few thousand volts with a sharp metal object. and 5minutes after doing it the guy continued working, never really comprehending just how close to a hospital visit he had come.

So it's here I place my friendly service warning to all - Metal + Power + Human = Very Bad Day.

So I take this occasion on my return to blogger to say 'Hello World' again. This time I hope to stay for the tea and biscuits....

and so I shall return

And so I shall return.
My blog has sat and adjusted and sulked for too long now, and is either beggin for some attention or a small dose of euthanasia. I'm not quite one for pulling the plug so I shall return..... though like so many a crappy movie I've watched recently or this disappointing seventh season of smallville I'll let the hype accumulate......

the return of shiraz happens in approx 40Hrs...... synchronize your watches. Clear your schedules.... I shall be back...........

Roald Dahl Day

The anniversary of Roald Dahl's birthday was on 13 September, now known as Roald Dahl Day. even Google honored him by a reworking of its logo, adding in the golden ticketed Wonka Bar, the Giant Peach and Matilda.


Through my childhood years Roald Dahl has been one of my favorite authors and I hope many children for years to come get to experience his excellent works.
I personally can never quite decide on my favorite Dahl book, it difficult to choose between Charlie Bucket, Matilda, James Trotter or the BFG. Somehow though when I think Dahl I think Willy Wonka, so I guess Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is my favorite.

There are also a few good adult books like Henry Sugar, Boy and Going Solo. but he is best known for the way he captures the imagination of children.

It's sad that so few people read books these days, unless they're following the masses and buying the latest Harry Potter to use as a paper weight.

I sincerely hope more people return to reading the stories and novels put out there, the Chocolate Factory awaits.