September Rush ?

In line with my recent estimates, it has now occurred to me that I have not put pen to paper ( or in this case, keyboard to screen ) in a few months. Examinations are less than a month away and the briskness of this year has me scrambling for a sense of reflection and introspection. What ? Why? Whom ? How?  All valid points of referral as I try to connect the dots that is my life. The weird thing about my blog entries is that they are usually inspired in the depths of the night, whereas I feel more productive academic wise in the glorious rays of the ( in these time, rare) Cape Town sun. Well, before I become sloppy and reveal any further details of my insignificant life, let me keep those cursors on the move.

The Deputy Dean of Commerce at the institution of my academic studies ( an engaging and informed lady ) recently made the comment that universities are not places where you go obtain a degree, but rather where you go and obtain skills. Folks of the lesser cerebral encompassing ability would quickly point out that, that statement would render examinations an act of futility, but that is not the focus of this blog nor my place to determine cerebral capacities. What the lady was correctly hinting fixating on, was the fact that the world today is smaller, faster and more integrated than ever, meaning that the demand and flow of information is a prized commodity. Yet, the impact of this is counter-intuitive, as individuals seek to specialize in their fields, whilst all individuals seek to learn more about everything. Surely these two actions are counter-productive as no individual ends better off, an assumption I am willing to accept. Now that the (boring ?) framework for my discussion has been outlined, let me see if I am worthy of Deputy Dean skill adequacy levels. 

Every day we are bombarded with new information, or rather stale information, depending on your source or manner of accessing this information. Any auditor worth a penny would tell you that the integrity of information is dependent on its Validity, Accuracy and Completeness. Take for example a regular billboard from one "newspaper" called the Daily Sun that indicates that a 'gogo' (elderly woman,) robbed a bank, would be scrutinized for its validity levels. The recurring exclamation marks on billboards every! single! day! also brings the English language into disrepute! As a sidenote, were the full stop or comma buttons deactivated at the Daily Sun billboard production facility ! (They'd probably have an exclamation mark at the end of that lame joke too) . Sadly but entertainingly, an encounter with a few of Cape Town's beggars is like having a talking Daily Sun article, but that's an issue for another day.

Stepping up the level of information gathering and moving onto state owned affiliated news broadcaster ANN, a valiant argument for accuracy could be made. Take beleaguered Aussie cricket captain, who not only had to face the humiliation of losing the Ashes to the Cosmopolitan XI, but had his named rubbed in the dirt by the "sport" presenter who referred to him as  "Michelle" Clarke, to a a live audience of uhmmmm nobody, and an increasing Youtube audience. Geez, I get that his teammates call him Pup, but show some respect woman ! ( That exclamation needs a #NoDailySun to emphasize its importance and accurate use) Another example could be the tax return form submitted by Comrade Julius Malema to SARS, oh schuks, wouldn't that be reaching that unchartered waters of not meeting any of the above qualities ? Rather we avoid contentious issues and move swiftly along. Accuracy of any Roman Poite refereeing decisions ? I thought we agreed to cut the contentious out, let's play nice !

Completeness made me think rather profusely, before examples came flooding to me like a Piers Morgan  Twitter rant. The trick was asking "When are we not being told the whole story here?" and in most cases, that involves levels of bias. On a domestic front, think of any briefing session held by Mac Maharaj or any response to what the Nkandla compound holds, wading into highly murky waters. Foreign diplomats also provide swayed perceptions of global events with relative comfort. Bringing the discussion closer to home, directly into your lounges, watch a football game with Manchester United supporters to expose yourself to the delicate balance in achieving Completeness. Case Closed.

Now, ladies and gentleman of the mass acceptance, the trick to beating the system is not in being good, but being better than the rest. Intuitively, if we all read the same information and accept all this information, we'd just cancel each other out. It's always rewarding to gather your information from new (reputable) sources and diversify your knowledge pool. In terms of everyday conversation, people who know the daily moans and groans of the newspapers make for highly tedious conversation, because chances are, they've read the same opinion piece as you have and haven't formed their own opinions. A case in point being most rugby predictions I get from friends, hinge suspiciously on pundits exact words.

This blog piece also shouldn't be a platform for you to collect useless information, as a general rule, most shows on E!Entertainment should be avoided. I rarely  see the need to know that some Kardashian sister is on her yacht and which Kardashian doesn't want to leave London ( as you can tell, I'm working of sketchy third hand information *yawn*), unless you want to join a sorority. No gossip will ever meet the Valid, Accurate and Complete standard, so that's a huge no-no. I'm no Mike Ross by any standard, but I've accumulated plenty of useless information that could be useful to my field of study or my everyday conversation. Just today I learnt that the South African VAT system was 'stolen' as a concept from New Zealand or, that France is planning an increase in household taxes as they tighten fiscal policy or that there was a hyena on the loose somewhere. Intriguing stuff.

To put an end to this rant, as the clock in the bottom of my screen signals 2:19am, my point is that get your daily dose of Diary of a Guji Girl or Diary of a Zulu Girl, or whatever floats your boat, but getting ahead means that you get the edge. And if you can't bother to read the news, you sure as hell better learn to read people. I leave you with the (paraphrased) words from August Rush - " The information is all around you, all you have to do is just listen"

Full disclosure:

If you didn't apply Valid, Accurate and Complete to every thing I just said, you've wasted 5 minutes of your precious life.

Gogo's can rob banks, but the Daily Sun needs new material other than muthi or sangoma related stories.

On last order of business, this is not something a gentleman should say  or heard from me, but Youtube "Poop-Pourri"

Midnight Ramblings

As I sit at my computer tiredly typing, the clock in the bottom of the screen shows "12:57am", the first clue that I am way way way way past my usual bed time. This compounded by the fact that I have been awake since 6am yesterday, that gives you a good indication that I should be 'hitting the wall', a proverbial barrier where sleep deprivation meets mind induced euphoria, which usually leaves one with a short bout of verbal diarrhoea. Fortunately tonight, I have an audience for this spectacle.

The night is still, in the upper Observatory area, save for the dog from across the road who barks at every inanimate and animate object. The night guard should be on patrol, but I'm guessing the crisp of a Cape Town winters night has made him succumb to his shed.This would not be the case had the weekend night guard been on duty,much like the Stig, some say he was Bruce Wayne in a past life, all we know is that he is indeed named Bruce!!! Aha, a lame joke, blame it on the tiredness, right ? I do feel this mystery man who guards the front of Devon Place and is feared by all who cross his path deserves a blog post, but that's for another time.

Some of you might interpret this nightly composition as an indication that I have too much time on my hands, yet this cannot be further from the truth, as exam season is well and truly upon us. By "us", I am referring to that crop of students who possess a light superiority complex brought on by there title of "UCT students|. "Come to UCT", I was told, "Africa's number 1 higher education facility". Well, that's exactly what I did, and one trip later to the mens bathroom and the array of male genitalia graffiti was proof that a "higher education" is not based higher brain power for some. Despite the public perception, which to many Durbanites who think that a degree from UCT involves endless days on Camps Bay and daily trips up Table Mountain, life as a student can be demanding. Conversely, if you want to have a jol as opposed to study, you might as well do it in a place with a pretty insane view. Sadly, you actually do have to pay more for the view, with fees that would not be unrealistic when attending a private school. However, that would be more picturesque than the UDW cafeteria or the parking lot, this on the assumption of where people of that institution relax.

Ironically, this is the time of year (exam season) when the season finale of series, sports fixtures and movie premieres all seem to conglomerate, as if the powers that rule plot to disrupt students and fuel the constant need for distraction. I won't go into depths with series finales for fear of throwing out some spoiler alerts, but the sport and movie scene add weight to my argument. The final round of league football, the Champions League Final, Super Rugby every weekend and even a pending British and Irish Lions tour all awaits the eager beaver of a sports fan ! For the woman folk, or less testosterone inclined, Leonardo Di Caprio is stealing hearts (in cinemas) and married woman in his latest role as Jay Gatsby. The South African craze fuelled by the fact that its (a) Leonardo Di Caprio and (b) based on the set book, "The Great Gatsby" that has been utilised by the Department of Education since Leo died in Titanic! Even the IPL has reach boiling-point with the play-offs...( The part about the IPL was a stupidity test, if you nodded in agreement, kindly apply that head motion on a wall !)

As my verbal diarrhoea seems to be fading, and my contact lenses becoming irritable, my midnight ramblings can be concluded by my major thoughts for the week. As much as my hand loses all sense of touch after a marathon Accounting session or I tear out my hair at the prospect of having to digest large amounts of information, I wouldn't trade my place for a second. The hours are long at times and the thought of a cold, rainy and miserable Cape morning would deter most determined souls, but whats reward without strife, results without sweat and success without sacrifice...

Flip.
Outdid myself with that conclusion.
Over and out.

                                                                                                                 picture by  @waseem_wasp

The Oscar Irony

Wow, what an embarrassment of a nation we have become as South Africans. If our sickening crime stats and demographic inequalities were not enough to throw-up, we have succumbed to a new low. These days it is not only the violent street mugger, alcoholic abusive father or child rapist all of whom we rightly chastise, who brings pain to society, but rather ordinary people like you and I. Don't get me wrong, these viles are sickening but surely we share some of the blame.Our jokes, puns and harsh judgements on the sensitive issues of February 14th 2013, turned a day of would be national mourning, to a mockery of the value of life. I really hoped that my first blog piece would be an upbeat sports piece, looking at sport from an alternative angle or a light-hearted view on the joke that is T20 cricket, but that was never to materialise with more pressing issues on my mind. The irony of the situation being, it was a sportsman who became the topic of my piece...Oscar Pistorius.

These societal flaws became all too apparent to me during the current Oscar Pistorius fiasco, as educated and non-educated alike, made a mock of the values and morals that we so dearly crave and "demand" in our beloved country. With the advent of technology and social networking, the platform for freedom of speech has never been stronger. Yet as a nation, we have once again forgotten that the basis of every right, is the underlying responsibility. The events of the early hours of February 14th remain unconfirmed and debatable up until this point, yet one consistency remains,a woman lost her life, tragically.To go along with the other serious crimes, on average 50 people are murdered everyday in South Africa. However, this case had one critical exception, a celebrity or world renowned sportsman was at the center of it. A man who many of us would have posted pictures up on our fridges with some inspiring quote, as a daily reminder that no matter what life throws you, you can overcome the odds and achieve it all. A man who fully emphasised the Adidas slogan that "Impossible is (indeed) Nothing". Many would have celebrated and felt heart-warmed as he lit up the Paralympics and more recently the Olympic Games.But hey, who am I to question the acclaim and characteristics the Olympian recently upheld. These factors only made the stakes higher for some, the jokes harsher, the scathing criticism more unforgiving, the "retweet" motivation stronger and sadly, the sensitivity absent.

I remain a firm advocate in the belief that people can change, either for the better or worse and the same belief I therefore hold true for almost all individuals. Many South African's question the motive of the "uneducated masses" for blindly placing their faith and trust in the ANC, yet their fault lies in the inability to adapt to new information and circumstances. One must surely admire though, their underlying sense of loyalty, despite they themselves being victims of their own doings. How different or better educated are we if we are swayed so easily by sensationalist journalism and the thrill of celebrity bashing ? Others might argue that they have indeed adapted  to new information, but this can't be pre-determined as the course of justice has not been completed thus far. I am not for a second implying Oscar's innocence with respect to Reeva Steenkamp's death but I am questioning the character of individuals who are so easily influenced by (often false) media reports. We tend to kinder a spirit as South Africans, to hop on the bandwagon when the ride is smooth and pleasant, but abort the journey as soon as the road inclines and the potholes become apparent (the Proteas are partly to blame for this underlying tendency).

"What is it within these walls, that bonds the heart of men ?", is a famous quote from my alma mata that constantly reminds me of the power of unity, but recently I have begun asking; " What is it within these walls, that corrupts the heart of men?". My altered question has no connection at all to my high school, but rather looks at the national context, encompassing the choices and thoughts of society. Living in a country rooted in a past of ill-treatment and unjust behaviour, have we forgotten the pain that pre-meditated judgement brings about ? True corruption of the heart is when we mock the pain of others and seek enjoyment, if not a thrill from the misfortune of another human being. Much as a rapist will rape to fulfill a masculinity insecurity and enforce power domination rather than a sexual desire, we judge others, not so that we can hold a moral viewpoint, but rather to make ourselves feel 'better'. A scholar once offered a piece of advice , stating that if we viewed our wealth, based on what people less fortunate than ourselves possessed, but judged our actions based on people better than us, the world would be a different place.

The fate of Oscar Pistorius now rests in the hands of the judicial system of South Africa. Magistrates and Judge's are in no way influenced by the public's rantings on social media sites, but public perception is likely to be influenced. It is ironic that the public reaction prior to a judgement being passed was pre-meditated, much like the type of murder charge Oscar faces. It is ironic that the pain we overcame pre-1994 has now been replaced by the pain we inflict on others. It is ironic that the oppressed now sit behind their keypads and keyboards as oppressors. It is ironic that in the spirit of personal freedom of speech, we look to take away the liberties of others. The irony with a name like Oscar and the events that transpired, is plain to see.

Oscar. Ostracised.
Arguing differently can be deemed ... The Inconvenient Lie.