RAPE | SKIRTS

My cousin - the future president of the world - is a legend:

The end.

Aesthetic vs. Anesthetic.

FB Post of the day by Kaela Bermeister. If you have the time, do watch/listen to this. It's brilliant.

Circumstance

"Let no love fall victim to circumstance".

FB Post of the (other) day, thanks to Esthie Hugo:

Can't wait...

Beyonce/Feministing.

FB post of the day is by Anne Hirsch (mad-good South African comedian - blogged about her about a month ago here). This is it:

Booooya. Bye.

Osamacide.

FB post of the day by Daniel Jake Sher - kak funny:

Have a good one.

Ugandan Law - consideration of the death penalty for people in love.

Facebook post of the day is by Lara Bye (my physical theatre lecturer). There is the following text, followed by the following video... which is why I follow her on facebook...

'Strange Fruit Hanging from the Poplar Trees. Billie Holiday's wrenching song about the lynching of black men. I put this up in support of the protest against the proposed execution of homosexuals in Uganda:

Which got me researching this proposed execution, which got me thinking, which got me angry, which got me here.


This is what I received from Avaaz today (a donations funded charity organization):

It's monstrous -- thousands of Ugandans could face the death penalty -- just for being gay. On Wednesday, Parliament may pass a law that punishes homosexuality with death –we have 48 hours to act.

We've stopped this bill before, and we can do it again. Ugandan President Museveni is scared of losing valuable international aid from the West -- after a massive international outcry last year, he stopped the bill from coming to a vote. But political unrest is mounting in Uganda, and religious extremists in Parliament are hoping confusion and violence in the streets will distract the international community from a second push to pass this hate-filled law. We can show them that the world is still watching. If we block the vote for two more days until Parliament closes, the bill will expire forever.

With 48 hours to go, every moment counts. Over half a million of us have already joined the call -- let’s get to one million voices against Uganda's gay death penalty in the next 48 hours -- click here to take action, then forward this email to everyone:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/uganda_stop_homophobia_petition/?vl 

For Frank and thousands of others, being gay in Uganda is already dangerous and terrifying. They are regularly harassed and beaten, and just months ago, Avaaz colleagueand gay rights activist, David Kato, was brutally murdered in his own home. Now LGBT Ugandans are threatened by this draconian law which imposes life imprisonment for people convicted of same-sex relations and the death penalty for “serial offenders”. Even NGOs working to prevent the spread of HIV can be imprisoned for “promoting homosexuality” under this hate-filled law. 

Right now, Uganda is in political turmoil -- in the wake of the Arab spring, Ugandans across the country are taking to the streets, protesting high food and gas prices. President Museveni has responded by violently cracking down on the opposition. This upheaval has provided religious extremists in Parliament the perfect chance to slip in the shelved anti-gay bill just days before Parliament closes and all proposed laws are wiped from the books.

Museveni backed away from this bill last year after Obama called it an 'odious' law and international pressure threatened Uganda's aid and support. With violent protests sweeping the streets, Museveni is more vulnerable than ever. In the next 48 hours, let’s build a massive international outcry in support of respect for human rights, justice and tolerance and against the anti-gay death penalty law. Together we can save lives by stopping this bill -- sign below, then tell friends and family:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/uganda_stop_homophobia_petition/?vl 

Earlier this year, we stood in solidarity with Uganda's equality movement to show that every human life, no matter what creed, nationality or sexual orientation, is equally precious. Our international petition condemning the gay death penalty law was delivered to Parliament – spurring a global news story and enough pressure to block the bill for months. When a tabloid newspaper published 100 names, pictures and addresses, of suspected gays and those identified were threatened, Avaaz supported a legal case against the paper and we won! Our community has funded security for gay rights activists and operational funding for gay rights organizations. Together we have stood up, time and time again, for Uganda’s gay community -- now they need us more than ever. 

I think this is - as Obama said - an 'odious' law. In fact, it's much worse than odious. It's cool that we can affect the final decision from our bedrooms.

Peace. X

Jason Oosthuizen

FB post of the day - by Tara Notcutt - is a drum cover of Eminem and Rihanna's 'Love the way you lie'. Makes me wanna be a drummer again. Wowaweewa. Watch it; it's awesome.

Homophobia.

Facebook status of the day today is by a close friend / sister / mentor of mine, Robyn Swanepoel:

Homosexuality is found in over 450 species. Homophobia is found in only one.

Haha. Brilliantly simple.

Death of the Actor.

Today, the fb status of the day is my own one because it's just that damn epic:

"We presume that if the actor is not at class or rehearsal, it is dead - Sandra Temmingh".

Yep. That is what was said today. And that is also why I haven't been blogging nearly as much as I was before class (and rehearsals) started...!

I will try to do some this weekend. I have lots to chat about.

Cheerio.

x

No No's.

Facebook Status of the day:

"You can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose"


By The Plastics' drummer: Sasha Righini.

The Theatre Obligation Scale. By Amy Jephta.

Facebook article of the day. Of the week. Hell, it may even be of my life. I don't know. You don't know. So just read it. Especially if you're a "theatre-goer" (whatever that constitutes). It's brilliant.

Going to the theatre can be annoying. 

Sure, I make theatre. Sure, I love it when people come to my shows. 

But man, dragging ones ass out the door can be a real pain.

How does answer the to-see-or-not-to-see question? What if I really, really don't want to? What if I'd rather sit on the couch with a tube of Pringles and paint my toenails? I'd never get out then. If left to my own devices, I'd sit and watch movies and my friends (both of them) would hate me. 

So, I hereby present The Theatre Obligation Scale. A custom made tool for determining whether or not you should go see a play tonight. Just read each question and score accordingly. Award yourself a plus (+) or minus (-) point as indicated.

It beats having to make up excuses or conveniently "forgetting". Don't fight the facts. Just roll with it. 

QUESTIONS:

1. Are you a personal friend of anyone in the show? This includes "yes, I've known them for 10 years" or "yes, I slept with them in undergrad". Because that's pretty personal. (+1 for each person)

2. Have you previously worked with anyone involved in the show? Any and all forms of work qualify. (+1 for each person)

3. Is there a chance that in the future you will need to either a) work with or b) request favours from anyone in the show? This includes "please can I borrow your coffee table" and please will you act for free". (+1 for each person)

4. Did you make an unwitting promise that you would see the show? Anything along the lines of "oh okay, I'll definitely check it out" qualifies. If you said "uh huh", "sure", "yes", "mmkay", "maybe" or "I'll see", that also qualifies. (+1)

5. Will it be educationally enriching for you to attend said show? As in, will you learn something you didn't know about a historical event, or a period in human history, or a topic not on Wikipedia? (+1)

6. Have you heard a favorable review from a critic or a mouth that you respect? Not applicable is "yeah, it was cool" or anything resembling. (+1)

7. Will there be snacks, food, wine, or any manner of edible things on sticks? (+2)

8. Will you be overwhelmed with guilt when asked "hey, why didn't you come see my show" during a chance encounter in Spar? (+1)

9. Have the person/persons involved been to more than 50% of your shows? People who beg for comps excluded. (+1)

10. Do you respect or have you enjoyed the past work of someone in the show (+1 for each person)

11. Does it have a bad title? (-1)

12. Did you cringe when reading the synopsis and/or press release? (-1)

13. Is there nudity from an undesirable source? (-1) For nudity from desirable source, (+1)

14. Are the tickets overpriced? Overpriced being "I could treat myself to a three course meal for that amount". (-1)

15. Is there a sports event of mild to strong significance happening simultaneously? (-1)

16. Does the running time exceed 1h30 mins? (-1/2 point for every half hour exceeded)

17. Does the play require you to move from location to location? (-1/2 point for every move, excluding foyer to seat)

18. Is it written by Athol Fugard? (-2)

19. Did the poster cause you to dry retch? (-1)

20. Have you been continually spammed via email, sms, Facebook or direct confrontation? (-1/2 point for every spam crime exceeding 3 pieces)

Now, to the scoreboard!

1 - 5 points = Stay home. Have a bagel. Hell, go to bed at 8pm. Your conscience does not deserve to be wracked with guilt.

6 points = You should take a shower and seriously contemplate leaving the house, at the very least.

7 - 9 points = Go. Now. Book a ticket and go. Refusal to adhere makes you a Bad Person.

11+ points = There are no options in this matter. If you choose to pass, you will lie awake at night with shame nibbling at the edges of your delinquent brain. When you die, no one will attend your funeral. Even if they agreed to "definitely check it out".

End.

An honest opinion openly expressed.

How much did you enjoy working out your score? Exactly.

Thank you, Amy.

Deuling Cellists.

Facebook Post of the day today is by Jesse Wentzel... I love the music, and the video is really fun and pacey and the conviction that both of the cellists express is hilarious. Proves my theory that muso's often make for good actors - or, at least, good muso's often make for better actors than non-muso's could. Make sense?

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

14 Actors Acting.

So, this is not quite a facebook status of the day, but rather a post of the day. Gabi Pinto, a friend from varsity posted this link on someone else's wall and it caught my eye. I watched them several times over. Love the style - the music, the black and white, the detail, the stories, the actors, all of it. My favourites: Javier Bardem, Vincent Cassel, James Franco and Matt Damon.

Enjoy xxx

Best Status.

I decided today that every now and then (hopefully every day but I'm trying not to be unrealistic), I'm going to post my favourite fb status - as in someone else's. I'm putting it under the label "fb status" so eventually, when you want to see all my favourites as a collective bunch of fb status', just click on that label in my cool little label constellation on the right hand side of my posts :)


Today:


"Favourite morning headline: ANC not into sushi and naked girls"
-Jonx Pillemer (Photographer)

Peace. x