14, what? Bastille Day? wrong month :-)

Up, Down.

when is Bastille Day? July of course, and the number 14 abounding with personal symmetry of all sorts

First of all, take 20 minutes and watch this:
A Cautionary Video About America’s ‘Stuff’, Leslie Kaufman, May 10, 2009.
The Story of Stuff, official website, all'a time 'buffering'.
The Story of Stuff, full video at YouTube, probably the least frustrating.

Then my famous Ginger Soufflé Salad Sauce:
half a dozen big garlic cloves and three or four lumps of peeled fresh ginger through the garlic masher into a jar, add 10 parts olive oil, size of a 'part' depends on how you want to serve - as a paste or as a dressing, 2 or 3 parts tamari, 2 parts lemon juice, and 1 part cider vinegar, shake it up, refrigerate, good on sliced cucumbers, avocadoes

On to Jacob Zuma and some of his wives:


Kate Mantsho killed herself. The others wearing fancy schmatas at his inauguration. Why isn't Sizakele smiling? Could be as simple as wanting to hide her teeth, or not. Neither he nor his predecessor, Thabo Mbeki, believe much in AIDS. Guests including Marc Ravalomana, Robert Mugabe, and Muammar Gaddafi, 'The King of Africa'.

But it does not do to mock, will not do; hell, crucify them and hang a sign up there, 'King of the Jews' whatever.

So, South Africa ... including Koeberg too eh?

Here's a wee bit of linguistic jiggery pokery for you: Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) + Elektrisiteitsvoorsieningskommissie (EVKOM) = Eskom



A-and finally, a Somali pirate, Abshir Boyah, his wife Hawo, and her friend and hairdresser Naima Ishmael Mohamed:

Can't get the images right of course, the first two (taken from the NYT) are not as the thumbnails show, the remainder are screen grabs from the NYT video.

a-and don't go underestimating that death-wish neither, the internal monologue going something like, "i would rather die than feel this alone" which is not quite that easy to walk around as some of you might think ... thank goodness for the flowers in the park and their perfumes coming to me, and especially a young woman on the boardwalk, haughty and reserved, but the wind was with her and her perfume came to me too and i wondered ... why on earth does she put on perfume to walk on the beach?

Down.