Untukmu Para Pengunjung

We had a fairly normal weekend. Friday night we went to a wedding. I played the piano for it, and cried at the vows. I can't help it - I love wedding vows (I asked John if we he wanted to have a ceremony to renew our vows, but he said 4 years in is too early!) I think the kids in our neighbourhood are glad we're back. They came out in full force Saturday morning to play games and have a talent show. We found out that none of them could afford to go to the corps children's Christmas party, so I think we're going to throw our own little party next weekend. One of the kids was like, "do you think we can even have chicken at our party?" and then another said, "just because they're white doesn't mean they can afford chicken." But it IS Christmas... Sunday we were at our DC's retirement. John had to be up and down taking photos, but I found a seat in the back and brought a book. Do you think that makes me a bad person? Whenever there were music items, I closed the book and participated, but I read right through the 12 speeches and the sermon. After about 2 hours the young guy next to be started to get a bit antsy. I leaned over and said to him, "the last retirement we were at lasted 6 hours." He looked dismayed - probably wishing he had thought to bring a book. By the way, the book I'm reading is extremely good. "Exclusion and Embrace" by Miroslav Volf. Highly recommended.

Random memory: on one of our family trips to Florida, my dad, brother Josh, cousin JP and I were playing frisbee on the beach by the ocean. Our frisbee got caught in the wind and went over someone's fence into their swimming pool. We called out, but no one was home, so Josh (the youngest) climbed the fence and got the frisbee. It happened again. Josh went over, but this time actually had to get in the pool to retrieve the frisbee. And he said the water was wonderful. So, we all jumped the fence and had a grand old time swimming in this swimming pool. The owners came back. We froze, and didn't say anything. They went back into their house and we quickly jumped out of the pool, over the fence and back to the beach. Random! I love my family!

The latest online viral video trend for companies is showing the extreme durability of their product. Not a new concept but the environment is just right for these ideas to really get some great coverage. Thanks to the overwhelming popularity of video file sharing sites such as youtube.


The reason why these clips work is because they help to highlight the products major strength while at the same time being quite engaging for the consumer. Great projects for brand recognition.


The first example is the Triumph boats in the US, which are as seen in the clips unbreakable boats.

They do the Bubba test where they drag a boat behind a car with no trailer!


Check out the website for further examples
http://www.toughboats.com


The second example comes from Blendtec which has a high-powered food blender product. They have decided to show how powerful the product is by blending bizarre objects. The current video shows golf balls being blended. Other examples include marbles, credit cards and ball bearings


Check out the website for further experiments
http://www.willitblend.com/


This is a great success story as Blendtec is the 59th most subscribed channel on youtube. It has also acted as a great PR tool as other media have run with it, like the example below. A radio station in the US did their own Blending experiment on air.


This is an interesting example in itself as they did a mash-up of two online meme’s when they did a blending experiment with the current Wii controller

Here is the radio mashup of the two events


And here are the two videos they stole the ideas from
Blendtec video over 100,000 views


+

Smashing Wii over 60,000 views

More like Bore-yx and Crake.
Before I get started, I'd like to mention that I flip flopped between "Bore-yx and Crake" and "Snore-yx and Crake". I also wanted to title it "Bore-yx and Crappy", but a friend pointed out that "Crake" rhymes with "cake", not "crack-e".



When I asked for a book recommendation, a friend of mine brought up "Oryx and Crake", a novel released in 2004 by renowned Canadian author Margaret Atwood. I had never read an Atwood novel (not even in high school), so I decided to take a chance. A few other people I know have mentioned how good it was, and it was short-listed for the Man Booker Prize. The book seemed to be bursting at the seams with credentials and accolades.

The premise sounded interesting enough; a drifter drifts alone in a dystopian world after his friend's attempt at molding a utopian society went to shit. What was once the world we now know has become a desolate wasteland, and the drifter, unfortunately, survived the armageddon. His name is Snowman, but he used to be called Jimmy. Ever since that fateful event, the man has dubbed himself "Snowman." Why "Snowman"? What significance does a snowman hold in this man's life that has caused him to alter his ego around it? Did he enjoy snowballing with girls in the past? We'll find out.

I'm no author, but whether you're writing a paragraph, novel, dissertation, or essay, the structure goes as follows: introduction, body, conclusion. Notice how the introduction comprises only 1/3 of the overall structure, not 9/10.

I can't even say that the plot moves at a snail's pace, it simply doesn't move. Things finally begin to pick up around the last little bit, by which time readers may have tuned out (I've stopped books before just because they were utterly bad). In the end, I finished the book, and though I can honestly say I'm glad I did, the payoff in the end wasn't worth sitting through 250 pages of introduction and set-up. The only reason I'm glad to have finished it is to say "I've read an Atwood novel." If her other books are as boring as this one, this is an accomplishment I'm boasting for the wrong reasons. I'm likening it to a medal of survival instead of a literary status symbol.

Now, some comments on small parts of the story....(minor spoilers coming up).....

What is the deal with Crake and Jimmy watching porn? Jimmy speaks fondly of when he and his childhood buddy would watch internet porn, together, in the comfort of his bedroom. Jimmy doesn't go into further detail, and he admits that the porn videos eventually got boring. Despite the increasing boredom, the two managed to make the time pass, together....there's something unsettling about two heterosexual teenaged guys enjoying their sausages together, without the buns.


A computer simulation of Jimmy and Crake's teenaged years.

Finally, I will also never come to understand Jimmy's fascination with Oryx. Yes, she is beautiful, but what a fucking tease. "Oh Jimmy, why do you keep asking me that?" "Oh Jimmy, why do you always want to know that?" Maybe if you gave him a straight answer he'd stop asking.

(end spoilers)

You do eventually find out why Jimmy renamed himself Snowman. After the world went to shit, he just picked it. Neither snowmen, nor snowballing, held any significance in life. I don't even think winter was ever a major setting in the story. He could've fashioned a name that paid homage to his forgotten lover Oryx, or his beloved pet from childhood (for whom he still weeps), but no, he goes for the most insignificant, inert nickname possible...Snowman. That climax is more non-existent than a faked orgasm.

If you're a big Atwood fan, I suppose you'd like this book. If that's the case, you've probably already read it. So for the rest of you, stay clear and read something else. There are better ways to pass the time; like watching internet porn with a close friend.

*sorry, I tried to post this on Wednesday, but obviously it didn't work!*

I have a French name, which I love, because it makes me feel very Canadian. I am an anglophone, but I did French immersion all throughout school. I don't have much occasion to use my French here, but I have been using it a lot over the past two days. I have been a French interpreter for a wonderful doctor from the Congo who came to Zim to be part of a facilitation team at Howard Hospital. It was tiring, but quite an honour to be able to interpret for him. Translating from Shona to French was slightly more tricky, but English to French was fine. Basically this team of people was gathered at the hospital for strategic planning; looking at the future, particularly in terms of the hospital's relationships with the community. As part of the work, we toured the hospital. Amazing things are happening at Howard, and we saw our friend and fellow Canadian, Dr. Paul Thistle. Again, I was crushed by the children's malnourishment ward. I talked to one mother about her tiny little baby. I asked when he had been born, assuming that it had been a couple of days ago, and that he was premature. "He just turned 6 months." I waited until I left the ward before I cried. We also went out on visits in nearby communities. The Congolese doctor and I went out with a Zimbabwean community worker and a teacher and met with a family. They have a large homestead, and a big family. We talked mainly with the head of the family. He has two wives, and his main concern is agriculture, and being able to feed his children. We asked about their hopes for the future, and they talked about having enough fertiliser to be able to grow maize so that they do not starve. We asked about what they do when they are sick, and they said they pray. "We don't believe in going to the hospital if we are sick. We don't even allow our children to be immunized. We believe if God wants us to die, we should not fight it. If it's time, it's time." A fairly fatalistic outlook on life, and yet if you know you can't afford hospital fees... I also had a really sobering conversation with one of the teachers. He said, "you know, we used to say in Zimbabwe that the worst fate was death. Now we know that the worst fate is to be alive; there's no hope because it's like you are dead, but there's no rest or peace - just hunger and suffering." Last night we came back to the city, and today, I went to go play for a music exam. I saw someone who hadn't showed up for his rehearsals. So, I was joking with him saying, "what happened to you?" "Oh, I'm so sorry, Rochelle, but it's just that I had a funeral. My youngest daughter passed away. She was 5, but anyway, that is life. I hope to do my exam next year." That's life? Your 5 year old dying should not become a part of everyday, normal life. But I guess here it is. I realized over the past 2 days why I love hearing Zimbabweans laugh. Even when I haven't got a clue about what the jokes are about, I love it. Because if you're laughing, you're finding some reason not to cry. Laughing is good for the heart. It is a challenge, but I am committed and determined to maintaining my unrelenting belief that there is always hope. Il y a toujours de l'espoir.

I have just been surfing whilst eating my sandwich as one does at work when I came across the site http://www.blogsvertise.com/ . Have you had any experience with it? It looks like a site that pays you if you review an advertisers product. I am keen to find out more.

Watch this space for an update and maybe loads of reviews!