Dizzy Dee

A while back I joined the Unity Project on Flickr. The group consists of people who want world unity. The photo’s which get added to the group must contain two things - 1. a person, and 2. the word unity. This was my first submission…

The owner of the group, Barbara Doduk, was so kind to post my pic on her site!
Thank you Barbara!
If you’re interested in this, feel free to join us on Flickr - its actually a lot of fun!

Apparently you didn’t believe my previous post, and thought that I’d spent my time in photoshop, just to put Bush in a baby blue tunic?

Just to show you that this isn’t a hoax, and regardless of the angle of his foot in the previously posted photograph, or the length of his arms, these are for REAL! Take a look at these photo’s, and their sources if you wish. As you will see, they’re all from well known and reputable online news centers.

Hope this satisfies all the critics!

[Click each image to go to the original website]

USA Today [Asian-Pacific leaders sweat it out in silk tunics]

Telegraph.co.uk [World leaders ill at ease over tunics and North Korea]

Personally I don’t have much of an opinion about the whole Bush situation, I know a lot of people might even get a bit aggro if I said I don’t have anything against him. Quite frankly I have enough political news to make sense of right here in South Africa, without having to pick sides between political leaders in the rest of the world. Whilst browsing through the “Weird World” section on News24.com, I found this rather amusing photo of president Bush. Never thought I’ld see him in a dress!!

According to News24.com, “US President George W Bush looks out of place wearing a Vietnamese ‘ao dai’ silk tunic on an official state visit.”

Original Article: www.news24.com [see picture #3]

I’ve been blogging with SoulCast now for a short while. I heard that I could get paid to blog, so I tried it.

I’m mainly doing this as an experiment, so if anything comes of it, I’ll be sure to let you know

We all use them. I don’t know whether they come with the “times” - maybe there were 80’s buzzwords, 90’s buzzwords, and finally today’s buzzwords.

I can think of a whole lot. We have certain buzzwords at work - if you use them in a meeting, people will either be pleased, or they will be seriously upset.

There are magazine buzzwords, advertising buzzwords, political buzzwords - “Innovation” is one of the advertising buzzwords. The real meaning behind the word? “The act of introducing something new”. Now I’ve heard that word being in a lot of ways - and not all of them was introducing “something new”. A “buzz-phrase” that magazines like to use is “10 Easy Steps To…” whether they’re selling a weight loss programme, or a new guide to meet the man of your dreams, those phrases make people buy the magazines.

Why do people use buzzwords? According to Matt “…buzzwords are often a mask. People who use them are covering up their ideas — or the lack thereof”

I have to agree with this. If you had to remove all the buzzwords from our conversation, it will remove a lot of the bullshit from adverts, magazines, and politicians’ speeches!

We might end up talking a lot less, but saying so much more.

This movie was such a disappointment! Apart from the terrible animation, the story line is weak. “Grandma” is portrayed as some adrenalin junkie, little red riding hood is a wise-ass teen, and the woodchopper is a yodeling German weirdo. I found this movie less than amusing; rather a waste of my time. It doesn’t do the original story any justice, but then again - it doesn’t even do itself justice!

If you were planning on watching it - DON’T EVEN BOTHER!

A while back I got a traffic fine. Depressing I know, but not as bad as what is to follow. I got the fine on October 12th, 2006 - the date by which it was suppose to be paid was the 8th of October, else I would get a summons. Great!

I then tried to find out where I could pay the fine. My Mom told me that I could do it at Pick ‘n Pay (A local supermarket), which I tried. I went there with the original ticket, and indeed, they said I could pay the fine there. I handed the lady the ticket, and she started looking for the “Easy Pay Reference Number”. She couldn’t find any, this I assumed from her stunned reply: “Eish…” She asked the guy next to her to help her look I assumed, cause she handed the ticket to him, to which he uttered the same astonished “Eish…”

Okay, so my traffic ticket didn’t have an “Easy Pay Number”. This was still okay, as I could also pay it at an FNB ATM. Though I don’t have an FNB account, I know someone at work who does. He tried to do the transfer, at the ATM, but just got a message which said that “The reference number is not recognized.”

By then it was already November, my ticket was due nearly a month ago, another person at work told me that I could pay it at the licensing office, so I decided to go there. When I got there, just after 9am, they sent me away, and told me that I couldn’t pay my ticket until 11am. How bizarre, the staff are working, but traffic fines can only be paid after 11am - at least that’s what the security guard told me. (Note to self: Never believe security guards again).

11am came, and there I was again, and this time the security guard let me in! I went to the front desk to ask the receptionist where I could pay my fine. She looked at me strangely, and then said that I couldn’t pay traffic fines there, that I had to go right into Pretoria city to pay it at the Traffic Department.

Arrrrgh…. If you have any idea what Pretoria city looks like, you’d understand that I was NOT going there. Not even to pay a traffic fine.

A third person at work suggested that I mailed the ticket with a postal order to the Traffic Department. I decided that this was a fool proof method, which would also save me time, effort and frustration. I could definately do without frustration. I went to the post office, filled everything out, got a postal order, put it in an envelope with the ticket, and sent it as a registered letter. I even got the tracking slip with a referrence number. GREAT! This was two weeks ago.

Today, in my mail, guess what I found? A slip for a registered letter? Upon opening it I found MY TICKET & POSTAL ORDER. Noooo……….. It has come back to haunt me? The wonderful South African postal service has failed to notice the difference between the “To” and “From” addresses, and sent the letter to me instead of to the Traffic Department. Can you believe it? That is so pathetic? They work with envelopes everyday of their lives, and STILL THEY MAKE MISTAKES LIKE THIS?? How can that be excusable? I didn’t know how stupid these people were till today.

I had it all sent back ofcourse. I hope it reaches its destination before I’m summoned, or locked up!! Hopefully the administration at the Traffic Department is as bad as that of the Post Office. Maybe if they made it a bit easier to pay fines, they wouldn’t have to go around arresting people for outstanding fines!

Sad to see that MOST South African government services are so careless and clueless…

Finally Tom & Katie tied the knot. To me, they are two of the most beautiful people. This morning I came accross a photo of the wedding, which was yesterday.

I hope they’re truly happy.

Glass Wall Toilet

Romantic Toilet (Perfect for the honeymoon suite?)

Sidewalk Toilet

Musician’s Toilet

Freaky Mouth Urinal

Freaky Mouth Toilet

Geek Toilet

Flattering Urinal

Soccer Toilet

The Aquarium Toilet

Classic questions about South Africa!! The questions below were posted on a South African Tourism Website, and were answered by the website owner. I thought this was absolutely hilarious, especially since I had to answer some pretty strange questions about South Africa while I was in the UK. Also, while my sister was on a train in the US, the lady next to her was astonished to hear that we wear jeans in South Africa. I wonder if she pictured us all in loincloths?

Does it ever get windy in South Africa? I have never seen it raining on TV, so how do the plants grow? (UK)
We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.

Will I be able to see elephants in the street? (USA)
Depends how much you’ve been drinking.

I want to walk from Durban to Cape Town - can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden)
Sure, it’s only two thousand kilometers, take lots of water…

Is it safe to run around in the bushes in South Africa? (Sweden)
So it’s true what they say about Swedes…?

Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in South Africa? Can you send me a list of them in JHB, Cape Town, Knysna and Jeffrey’s Bay? (UK)
….and what did your last slave die of?

Can you give me some information about Koala Bear racing in South Africa? (USA)
Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the Pacific. A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe which does not… oh forget it. Sure, the Koala Bear racing is every Tuesday night in Hillbrow. Come naked.

Which direction is north in South Africa? (USA)
Face south and then turn 90 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we’ll send the rest of the directions.

Can I bring cutlery into South Africa? (UK)
Why? Just use your fingers like we do.

Can you send me the Vienna Boys’ Choir schedule? (USA)
Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is… oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Hillbrow, straight after the Koala Bear races. Come naked.

Do you have perfume in South Africa? (France)
No, We don’t stink.

I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in South Africa? (USA)
Anywhere significant numbers of Americans gather.

Can you tell me the regions in South Africa where the female population is smaller than the male population? (Italy)
Yes. Gay nightclubs.

Do you celebrate Christmas in South Africa? (France)
Only at Christmas

Are there killer bees in South Africa? (Germany)
Not yet, but for you, we’ll import them.

Are there supermarkets in Cape Town and is milk available all year round? (Germany)
No, we are a peaceful civilization of vegan hunter-gatherers. Milk is illegal.

Please send a list of all doctors in South Africa who can dispense rattlesnake serum. (USA)
Rattlesnakes live in A-me-ri-ca, which is where YOU come from. All South African snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.

I was in South Africa in 1969, and I want to contact the girl I dated while I was staying in Hillbrow. Can you help? (USA)
Yes, and you will still have to pay her by the hour.

Will I be able to speak English most places I go? (USA)
Yes, but you’ll have to learn it first.