The Duck that won the Lottery

I couldn't recommend this book enough to people that like to think that they think; in other words all us armchair philosophers. What the book deals with are short examples of phrases and arguments that sound good when they roll of the tongue but on reflection are either poorly thought out or completely misleading and although there is a small amount of moralising in some of the sections basically the book sticks to the topic at hand. Highly recommended but not exactly light reading.

The Black Book

Went to see the film "Black Book" by Paul Verhoeven on Sunday evening with Pippa and Glynne. What a great movie but definitely not for the prudish nor the faint of heart. Pretty intense viewing but highly recommended and it really does put the issues we have in South Africa in a very different light. Compared with the conditions shown in the movie we live in paradise but it is a pity that it takes something like this to put things into perspective. Watching it was a little weird because it was in Dutch with English subtitles and although my Afrikaans is pretty poor I could definitely follow the audio while reading the subtitles at the same time. Came out of the movie a little traumatised and that was just from watching what actually happened to people. I don't know how those who survived WWII actually managed to move on with their lives. Not exactly a feel good movie.

In Debt we Trust

I happened to get invited (along with the trusty wife) to a screening of Danny Schechters latest documentary which I found extremely interesting and illuminating particularly since the line of work that I am in was cast as the evil empire - chewing up innocent, ill-informed americans and spitting them out on the trash heap of life.

The basic premise of the movie is that the credit card industry gives people, in this case americans, access to too much credit and once they have availed themselves of this seemingly free resource - they find out that it isn't really free and it drags them down in a spiral of interest induced debt. The director spends most of the movie concentrating on the evil empires of Mastercard and VISA and how they actively plot the impoverishment of the masses for the enrichment of the few which, although difficult to prove, is even more difficult to disprove.

While I appreciate that one needs to lay it on thick to really punch the point home I do feel that Danny should have attacked the credit industry as a whole rather than just the credit card industry. Nonetheless, he makes a very good point which is that while credit in some instances is a necessary facility, in most it is merely an additional cost on the purchase of the goods in question and that without management it can lead to people entering the debt spiral.

One really interestig tidbit that emerged from the movie was that research conducted by the credit card companies in the 60's and 70's showed that the poorer people were, the more likely they were to be honest and the more likely that they would try their utmost to repay their debts. I've never heard this from any other source but it sort of makes subjective sense.

In south africa we are currently suffering from a lack of capacity of electricity and the government has set up a division of eskom (I think) called "Demand side management" which is supposed to come up with ways and means of limiting the demand for electricity. We need some Demand side management programs for individuals to help them manage their insatiable demand for credit. If one managed to solve this conundrum one could gain instant osama bin laden status because of the number of industries it would destroy. It's easy to make up a few sensible rules as when to or when not to use credit but that definitely isn't the answer - nobody wants the rules.

After the movie we were chatting around the table and one of the other film makers asked me whether I had reconsidered being in the card industry and I felt like responding by asking if she had ever reconsidered being in the film industry because there was porn but I held my tongue and laughed.

Making Globalisation Work

Joseph Stiglitz (ex chief economist of the world bank as well as a nobel economics prize winner) gives his view of what is wrong with the current international economics system as well as what should be done in order to address some of the structural inequalities that exist. If anyone is curious as to why the third world seems to be beyond hope then they should read this book - it presents quite a balanced (my view of course) view of what the problems are. Best of all, Stiglitz presents some suggestions for reform of the current system which seem pretty reasonable to me although I dare say that the devil is in the detail. Interestingly much of this book seems to resonate with "The Growth Illusion" although Stiglitz fundamentally seems to believe in economic growth as the solution whereas "The Growth Illusion" questions the fundamentals of economic growth as a driver of living standards. Highly recommended reading although not exactly easy going.

Nooooo! that's disgusting

If you manage to get through Sacha Baron Cohen's "Borat" without thinking this at least once, you are dangerously close to being mentally disturbed, please visit a psychiatrist and/or psychologist immediately. I think the script was written to find as many holy cows as possible and then to stamp all over them. I think he can say "mission accomplished" (unlike GW) although if I was him, a few extra body guards would probably be a good idea for a while.

Having now seen the movie, I think a fitting response to it would be to think of the most polically correct person you know and inveigle them into going and see it. I'm sure they would love it, not!

P.S. The age restriction is there for a good reason.

Defending the Caveman

Went to see "Defending the Caveman" more or less by accident. A group of people had arranged to go and see it at the Monte Casino theatre and one couple, George and Yvonne, somehow forgot (unbelievable as it may seem) that they were going to be overseas at the time of the performance, hence our short notice invitation to go and take their tickets. Both Caron and I have actually seen it before when Tim Plewman performed it at the Alhambra Theatre and remember it as side splittingly funny so we weren't exactly unpleased to have an opportunity to see it again. Until after the show, that was.

The show is a humorous dissection of male and female relationships within the gender boundaries as well as across the gender chasm. It looks at how men a.k.a "The Caveman" behaves and interacts with other Cavemen and then how they try and interract the same way with Cavewomen, which doesn't exactly work leading to some of the many situations that we see in our daily lives. Likewise, Cavewomen try to interract with Cavemen in the same way as they would with other Cavewomen and needless to say, has no more success than the Caveman has with Cavewoman. Stereotyped, the two sexes certainly are and in reality everyone is a bit of mix of both stereotypes but the stereotyping enables the play to bring out the humour of the interractions.

The play basically pokes fun at the two sexes explaining their behaviour by relating it to the behavior of their ancestors with a little more sophistication than the Caveman bashing the Cavewomen over the head and dragging her over the threshold. A little but not much.

One particularly funny episode was related to choices. Given choices A or B, Cavemen choose one or the other. Cavewomen choose C exasperating Cavemen while in their own minds C is a perfectly logical choice out of A OR B. I had a great real life example of this on the weekend. Went to visit family and the argument went like this. Cavewomen paints a toybox and accidentally sprays some of the cottage pain windows because she is painting too close to the windows with the roller. Caveman, asks politely (this particular Caveman is about as un Cavemanish as they come) why she painted so close to the windows when it was pretty obvious what the result would be. Cavewoman roars to life and asks "So when last did YOU (you slacker) do something around the house?" which, while a valid question has nothing to do with painting too close to the windows. Valid answers (for a Caveman) to the question would be something like "I did it especially to annoy you" or "Whoops, didn't think of that!" or "I like speckled windows, don't you?".

One woman, unable to keep quiet anymore shouted from the front a question which absolutely proved the point that was trying to be made. I think she wishes that she hadn't blurted the question out afterwards but too late, too late she had to dispense with her 7000 words a day and she was way behind having had to sit in silence for the better part of an hour.

While the play was funny, it wasn't nearly as funny as I remember it. Maybe just the rosy glow of memories but I don't think so. There was way more basic sexual innuendo in this one, designed to get cheap laughs, instead of witty wordplay saying and meaning the same thing. At least for me.

Note to self, if George ever arranges something. Check that he is actually going to be in the country on that date.

Up, Up and Away

A travel filled week. Caron departed on Tuesday for London so I was left to be a bachelor for the week. Not that I did much bacheloring seeing as I flew to Cape Town on Wednesday and back on Thursday evening. Quite amazing how flying does actually tire one out even though you are just sitting there doing absolutley nothing. It is similar to travelling in a car, you just sit there and when you get to your destination you feel tired after having done ... absolutely nothing.
Went to Cape Town to help with the launch of a new product which I am particularly proud of since it incorporates several technologies which are pretty rare and in some cases unheard of. You will probably find a geek hiding in a corner somewhere else in the world also thinking that he has invented something earth shatteringly brilliant. Time will tell if it really is novel or if it is just part of a large wave of innovation happening on cell phones. The launch went pretty well with some insightful after launch questions which is normally a good sign that the audience was at least awake.
Met three people which I happen to know (two separate ones going to Cape Town and one on the way back) going through the airports. What are the chances of that? Obviously greater than zero since it happened but still!
Went to go and see "The Devil wears Prada" for management lessons in the vein of Atilla the Hun and his management principles. I think I need to get a lot tougher at work, maybe wearing Prada is the secret. Originally it was going to be just Kim and myself going, that was on Monday. When I looked at the internet to book on Tuesday it was only on at some obscure cinema in Krugersdorp. Now, if a movie opens in a single cinema in Krugersdorp it means that the distributors really, really, really don't expect it to do well. Kim was insistent, she wanted to see the movie. Logged in to book on Wednesday and, relief, it is now showing just about everywhere. Need to book for Kim as well as Laurel now, hang on, yet another email. Kim, Laurel and friend Glenda. Better book quickly so the guest list doesn't get any longer. Going out with two divorcees and one of unknown marital status is going to be intimidating enough with anyone else joining the fray. By Friday the composition of the party had changed totally. Kim was sick so she couldn't make it. Replaced by Tony. Glenda couldn't make it at the absolute last minute due to someone hopping over the wall of her complex so it ended up Laurel, Tony and myself. Very enjoyable, maybe not a great movie but well worth seeing. While we were watching it in Sandton, Caron was busy watching it in the aircraft en route back to SA, talk about a virtual date.