Tag: bad news

The outside world

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I have noticed (and I’m sure that you have too, looking at reader figures, lol), that a disproportionate number of recent posts have been all about me (me, me). I don’t really have any problem with this, because my most important reader is me (me, me), but this isn’t a decision that I have made: it’s just something that has happened.

Why? Well, two reasons mainly. Firstly, I have been so busy lately that I haven’t really noticed anything else that’s been going on in the outside world. But I’ve told you all about that ad nauseum. And then, when there is time to look at what’s been going on in the outside world, well, why would you want to?

There’s very little encouraging news out there at the moment.

If it’s not war in Ukraine, famine in Eritrea, potential terrorist attacks in [checks notes] Johannesburg(!?!), global fiscal meltdown or the Loud Mouth Space Wanker taking over Twitter, it’s probably something equally depressing like wild conspiracy theories about Covid vaccine side-effects. (Always remember.)

Brushing this stuff under the carpet by simply ignoring it doesn’t solve any of those problems, but then neither does having them thrust in your face by news sites, and being reminded that everything is going to hell in a handbag and all the gory details therein does nothing (or everything, depending on how you want to look at it) for your existential dread.

And so sometimes it’s better to bury one’s head in the sand of lists of jobs, taxiing kids around, and the daily mundanities of one’s own life, rather than having to endure constant reminders of all the crap going on out there.

Thus, I shall probably continue doing just that. Sorry, not sorry.

UPDATE: It’s October 31st, and apparently someone agrees with my sentiments…

Exactly.

Day 473 – Misery everywhere

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There’s no good news today.

I’m not feeling great (no, not that).

Defeat for England (although), preceded by an unpleasant frontlash and followed by a (now sadly usual) disgusting backlash.

Rain, gales, floods and cold in Cape Town. More leaks in our house.

KZN and parts of Gauteng right on the brink of… something terrible.

Copious sexual intercourse won’t cure Covid-19.

More loadshedding on the way.

And this is just the stuff I feel I can share.

I have a lot of amazing memories from a few days away, and a lot of photos to process. But today doesn’t seem the right day to do anything except just hope that things get better.

Mixed bag

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I refuse to succumb to the temptation to use the phrase “Good News / Bad News”. Let’s be positive here. There’s only Good News and Less Good News. The Good News is really rather good, and the Less Good News, while being less good, really isn’t that Bad. In addition, there’s a good deal of Good News, and much less Less Good News today.

Which is good.

Good News 1: It appears that The Boy Wonder has done really rather well in his end-of-year school exams.

Good News 2: His sister made it onto the high achievers list for the Western Cape for her Trinity Singing exam. Hashtag VoiceOfAnAngle.

Good News 3: I spent the morning wandering around Kirstenbeagle Gardens with my dad. Loads of chat, loads of birds, loads of plants. And some photos using my new ND filters, too. More of that later.

Less Good News 1: I bought cheap shaving foam and it makes my face smell like a recently cleaned shopping mall restroom.

See? Not Bad at all!

…please don’t take a picture

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Channelling Michael Stipe:

It’s been a bad day…

…please don’t take a picture.

“Student protests” which suddenly(?) seem to be much more than just student protests, a staff member involved in a nasty RTA (he’ll live), the political puppetry of Jacob Zuma and his apparently relentless agenda to ruin the entire country via the Punch & Judy Show which is the National Prosecuting Authority versus the Finance Minister, the fact that I was already feeling rather crap – physically and mentally – before all of this nonsense started.

And it’s not even midday yet.

I do like that REM song though. They need to update the video to HD.
Doing it over an actual news report in SA today would be a good idea.

But equally thoroughly depressing.

Smile through the tears

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Hard(er) times are coming for SA. The effects of high inflation and the weak Rand are beginning to show more and more, with new stories of job losses, struggling families and desperation becoming an almost daily occurrence. It’s heartbreaking and it’s worrying.

Even those of us who are lucky enough not to be directly affected are seeing a difference. The shopping bill is suddenly through the roof, the requests to help support more members of people’s families and friends are up, and the soaring crime rate is back on the agenda at every braai and dinner party (not that it ever really went away). Such is the lack of confidence in our beleaguered police force that petty criminals can act with complete impunity knowing that their victims won’t even bother to register a case, as all parties concerned are well aware that nothing will come of it.

Here’s a good example:

Opportunistic thieves were caught on a dashcam by Cape Town businessman Marc Nussey last Thursday just after 11am, casually opening the canopy of a bakkie that stopped at a traffic light before making off with a box of toothpaste and other goods.

Nussey posted pictures and a video of the incident on Facebook to warn people and identify the culprits.

He said when he caught up with the driver and told him what had happened, the man did not seem interested in laying charges.

And in the same report:

The Facebook post attracted a number of responses, including from one man who said he watched the same men snatching a box of frozen food from a similar bakkie.

“I jumped out and chased them into Lavender Hill, but could not catch them. I then drove directly to Kirstenhof (police station) to report the crime. They practically yawned in my face,” he wrote.

Still, there’s always hope. And the hope comes in the spirit of one of the other comments on the thread:

Last month, a motorist warned people to stay alert when he saw some guys forcing open a delivery vehicle and running away with a large tin of tomatoes “all in view of a metro police vehicle standing two car lengths ahead”.

“The delivery guy gave chase picking up a brick and unleashed from 10m range, hitting the skollie between the (shoulder) blades who returned fire with the tin of tomatoes like a world-class shot putt athlete.”

The problems are real, but I feel that while we’ve still got a sense of proportion (and humour) about them, for the most part, they’re manageable. The situation is bringing out an almost altruistic “Blitz” spirit in people and that’s good to see.

Just how far that can carry us is up for debate though.