the positivity of kakness*

This is beautiful!

I know you are not supposed to judge a book by it’s cover, but if there is one book I’ll buy based on the title alone, it is this one:
Is It Just Me Or Is Everything Kak?
The Whinger's Guide to South Africa - from AA to JZ

The co-author, Tim Richman, has just released a sequel, Is It Just Me Or Is Everything Still Kak? More than that though, he’s written an interesting post for SA Good News, on finding a way through the polar opposites of blind optimism and distrustful pessimism. If you are a South African concerned and/or hopeful about the country’s future, I’d suggest you read the short article. Here are some good extracts:

Grumpy, angry, annoyed, aggravated, disappointed, dismayed, irritated, irate, incensed, infuriated, indignant, outraged, ticked off, hacked off, pissed off - guilty as charged. When I'm stuck in traffic, standing in queues, dealing with my bank, listening to hold music, listening to Julius Malema, then I'm all of these things and more. (Who isn't? And what medication are they on?) But I'm also a generally positive guy who loves South Africa and celebrates the fact that he can call it home…

"If you scratch a cynic you find a disappointed idealist."

Cynicism has its localised appeal, there's no denying it. It can be humorous and even insightful, and when dealing with certain elements of life - advertising, estate agents, Telkom - a cynical approach is possibly the only way to stay sane. But people who live their lives as daily distrustful pessimists, always predicting the worst, are ultimately insufferable. Not to mention boring.

"Utopia" does not exist…(The word, invented by Thomas More in 1516, comes from Greek and literally means "not a place".)

So you can call me a realistic skeptic. Or a skeptical realist. Take your pick. It boils down to this: while I hope for the best, I also plan for the worst - which means I genuinely believe that our country has every chance of a bright future ahead but I'm not overly disappointed when the rand drops through the floor or Malema says something particularly stupid or the Scorpions are finally disbanded.

One thing's for sure: there isn't much humour at those outer ends of the scale, and at times like these you're going to struggle to survive if you can't see the lighter side of things.

You can find more info on the books from the publishers TwoDogs who print ‘South African books worth reading.’ They also have quite an interesting selection of books, including another catchy title: Why I’ll Never Live in Aus Again.

[*for the non-Saffers reading this, 'kak' is an afrikaans word used widely by english speaking South Africans. It's literal afrikaans meaning is 'sh*t', but when used by english people it approximates to a milder expletive, similar to 'crap', but with more emotion. (Isn't it funny how other languages feel free to use words that, in the original language, wouldn't be acceptable?)]

the Ultimate YMCA national convention

I back on the Frisbee pulpit again this weekend.
(I'm assuming that to mean that my previous 'sermon' went down well.)
Australia's YMCA are having their National Convention in Canberra this weekend, including a multi-faith experience/service on Sunday morning. As the convention’s theme is ‘Active and Involved’, Gordon (who seems himself to be active and involved everywhere) thought it would be good to have a Frisbee ‘stall’ alongside the Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims.
So, after the Aboriginal smoking ceremony, and a welcome by Julia Gillard (deputy Prime Minister of Aus), delegates can pick two of the five ‘experiences’ to attend for this multi-faith service: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or Ultimate Frisbee!

Here’s my little blurb for the flyer:

Active and Involved – Ultimate Frisbee
Frisbee: (friz-bee) n. archaic – ancient fertility ritual involving graceful movements and the symbolic passing of a upturned round bowl. Accompanied by negotiations over alleged infringements or errors. Long abandoned by civilised societies.

“We used to say that Frisbee is really a religion - 'Frisbeeterians,' we'd call ourselves. When we die, we don't go to purgatory, we just land up on the roof and lie there” Ed Headrick, inventor of the Frisbee.

Ultimate Frisbee is not really a faith, but it is followed and played with as much devotion as if it were. Learn about the ‘spirit of the game’, how to play, and why it’s a great devotion to have. Perfect for being ‘active and involved.’


I’m interested to see who chooses the ‘Ultimate path to enlightenment’! ;) If you want to, we’re at the National Convention Centre in Civic spreading the good news of frisbee. The program starts at 9:00 this Sunday.

travel advisory

Quantas had a 2-for-1 deal on international flights yesterday, so Julie and I scooped up tickets home for half price. Hooray! We’ll be visiting for 3 weeks over Easter next year, and be back in Australia-land just in time for Aus Nationals in Perth. Unfortunately it does mean I’ll miss New Zealand Nationals in early April, but sometimes Frisbee has to take the back seat for family and friends!

I’m already looking forward to the visit. We’re going to be in Jozi, Durbs and Cape Town, so as to see all our friends that we miss so much. If you are in either of the cities, please pencil the dates in your diary (28Mar-18April).

double good news

South Africa, the Good News is a website that recently made it onto my Bloglines feedreader roll. It helps to counteract the (bad) news that the press throws at me daily. Two recent entries caught my eye today:

• A Restorative Justice pilot project in a township in KwaZulu Natal - I'm a big fan of restorative justice, and think this is a great project. Here's a line in the opening paragraph of the article that also made me think:

"I heard someone once say that our townships were designed to be “bastions of apartheid control” but with the advent of democracy, they have become “fortresses of criminal control”

• Secondly, a piece on "The Most Beautiful Object in SA". Need i say more?

Another good news site to watch is makenewsgood.co.za which has just been launched by Jo Higgs, a friend of Julie&I. She's involved in video journalism and also wants to see a change in the way news is reported and the belief that only bad news sells. I agree!