Die strelende skemer van my gemoed

 

Image: by Julie Rogers…Woven thoughts

Die strelende skemer van my gemoed

Vanselfsprekend dartel
jou skadu’tjie
langsaam, ritsellend
soos ‘n vlokkie
eind’lose skaterlag
vibrerend in my gemoed
en die weerspieëling
is onvermydelik verstrengel
tussen Haydn en Wagner
en die draaikolk
van my gryse gedagtes
wat in die
strelende skemer
van my gemoed bly vloei
©Nikita
29 Junie 2008

The soothing twilight of my mind
Self-evidently frolic and sprightly
Your little shadow
gradually quivering
– as a flakelet –
endless peals of laughter
vibrating in my mind
and the reflection
is inevitably intertwined
between Haydn and Wagner
and the whirlpool
of my ancient thoughts
flowing
through the soothing twilight
of my mind
–Translated: Nikita – 16/2/2012

[For a friend to understand the Afrikaans]

This poem is just a poem about my thoughts going back to South Africa and my childhood days – also on the farm where I grew up. My country and its people will always be in my thoughts!

Please click HERE to read the book Thought-Forms by: Annie Besant and C.W. Leadbeater on the site of the Gutenberg-project. In this book you will read about colour and thoughts.

Enjoy the music of Haydn…Piano concerto in D major – one of my favourites!


Haydn by Thomas Hardy
Source: wikimedia
Franz Joseph Haydn ==March 31, 1732 – May 31, 1809== was one of the most prominent composers of the classical period, and is called by some the “Father of the Symphony” and “Father of the String Quartet”.

A life-long resident of Austria, Haydn spent most of his career as a court musician for the wealthy Hungarian Esterházy family on their remote estate. Isolated from other composers and trends in music until the later part of his long life, he was, as he put it, “forced to become original”.

Joseph Haydn was the brother of Michael Haydn, himself a highly regarded composer, and Johann Evangelist Haydn, a tenor.

Gedigte
Afrikaans
Afrikaanse Gedigte
Afrikaans poems

Read Full Post »

Dortmund Chess 2008

Leko….the winner of Dortmund 2008….

Please click HERE to follow the games in Dortmund live.

Final results…from the Official Dortmund-site:

Sparkassen round 7…the final round…click on images for a larger view

Click HERE to play through the games of round 7.

Leko vs Naiditsch round 7 move 27

Leko vs Naiditsch round 7 final position 1/2

Nepomniachtchi vs Gustafsson round 7 move 17

Nepomniachtchi vs Gustafsson round 7 final position 1/2

Ivanchuk vs Kramnik round 7 move 25


Ivanchuk vs Kramnik round 7 final position… 1 – 0

Van Wely vs Mamedjarov round 7 move 11…final results: 0 – 1

Please click HERE to play through the games of round 6.

Gustafsson…image: chess.com
Standings after round 6…today it’s round7, the final round!
 
Round 6…Sparkassen…Dortmund…please click on the images for a larger view….

 
Kramnik vs Nepomniachtchi round 6 move 16..final results…1/2

Mamedjarov vs Ivanchuk round 6 move 16…final results: 1/2

Naiditsch vs Van Wely round 6 move 11…final results: 1 – 0

Gustafsson vs Leko round 6 move 15…final results : 0 – 1

Results of round 5…Sparkassen….Dortmund….
Please click HERE to play through the games of round 5.

Van Wely vs Gustafsson round 5 final position results: 0-1

Mamedjarov vs Kramnik round 5 move 33…end results… 1/2

Ivanchuk vs Naiditsch round 5 move 33…end results… 1- 0

Leko vs Nepomniachtchi round 5 move 29… move 30 f4 and game ends in a draw

Heinzel vs Trella round 5 move 28… end results… 1/2

Please click HERE to play through the games of round 4.

Standings : Sparkassen Chess Meeting
Dortmund   2008.06.28 – 2008.07.02

1: Gustafsson, J               2.5
2: Leko, P                        2.5
3: Nepomniachtchi, I      2.5
4: Mamedyarov, S           2
5: Naiditsch, A               2
6: Kramnik, V                 2
7: Ivanchuk, V               1.5
8: Van Wely, L                1

 

Dortmund – Sparkassen round 4 results:

Kramnik vs Leko 1/2

Gustafsson vs Ivanchuk 1/2

Litwak vs Trella 0-1

Naiditsch vs Mamedjarov 1/2

Nepomniachtchi vs Van Wely 1-0

Dortmund – Sparkassen  round 3 results…

Ivanchuck vs Nepomniachtchi round 3 move 13 end results: 1/2

Van Wely vs Leko round 3 move 16 end results : 1/2

Mamedjarov vs Gustafsson round 3 move 20  end results: 1/2

Naiditsch vs Kramnik round 3 move 19  end results: 1-0

Naiditsch vs Kramnik…end position….1 – 0

Trella vs Van der Weide round 3 move 14 end results: 1/2

Sparkassen results round 2….please click on the images for a larger view. 
Click on THIS LINK to play through the games of round 2.

Kramnik vs van Wely round 2 move 10

Kramnik vs van Wely…round 2 final position —Results: 1-0

Kluyner vs van der Weide round 2 move 12 — Results: 1/2

Leko vs Ivanchuk round 2 move 14

Leko vs Ivanchuk…final position round 2 —Results: 1-0

Nepomniachtchi vs Mamedjarov round 2 move 12 —Results: 1/2

 Gustafsson vs Naiditsch round 2 move 16

Gustafsson vs Naiditsch…final position…round 2 results: 1-0

Endposition Gustafsson vs Kramnik 1/2  round 2

Ivanchuk vs Van Wely round 1 draw

Naiditsch vs Nepomniachtchi round 1 draw

Zelbel vs Klyuner round 1 draw

Mamedjarov vs Leko round 1 draw

Gustafsson vs Kramnik round 1 draw

Dortmund…the 7th largest city in Germany, the 34th largest in the European Union.
Sparkassen Chess Meeting from 28th June to 6th July
The Dortmund Sparkassen Chess Meeting is an elite chess tournament held every summer in Dortmund, Germany. It is one of the three “majors” on the chess tournament circuit along with Corus and Linares. The reigning champion is Vladimir Kramnik.

Dortmund is an invite-only event, and only the strongest grandmasters are invited. The exception is that one slot at Dortmund is awarded to the winner of the annual Aeroflot Open in Moscow, a tournament that anyone with an Elo of at least 2550 is welcome to enter.

The tournament is usually played in a round-robin or double round-robin format. However, it took the form of a series of heads-up matches in 2002 and 2004.
Source: Wikipedia
Please click HERE for the Official site.

Source: Wikipedia…The Town Hall

Image: Wikipedia…The City Centre of Dortmund
Read HERE more about Dortmund on Wikipedia.

From 28th June to 6th July 2008 everything in Dortmund’s Civic Theatre will once again revolve around chess. Eight Grand Masters will compete for points and victories during this year’s Sparkassen Chess Meeting. The spectators at the classical chess tournament with the richest tradition in Germany can look forward to exciting games at this attractive venue. The festival mood of the Sparkassen Chess Meeting is heightened by the Sparkassen Open that will be played in Dortmund Town Hall.
The tournament rules: there will be a total of seven rounds so that each of the eight grand masters will play each opponent once. Once again the spectators in the Civic Theatre can follow the matches of the chess stars closely and in a pleasant environment: all games will be displayed live on big screens, and the German Grand Masters Dr Helmut Pfleger and Klaus Bischoff will provide live commentaries via headphones.

Participants…

Vladimir Kramnik, Russia 2788
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Azerbaijan 2752
Peter Leko, Hungary 2741
Vassily Ivanchuk, Ukraine 2740
Loek Van Wely, Netherlands 2676
Ian Nepomniachtchi, Russia 2634
Arkadij Naiditsch, Germany 2623
Jan Gustafsson, Germany 2603

Shakhryar Mamedyarov

Ian Nepomniachtchi

Vassily Ivanchuk
Images: Chessdom.com and read HERE more on chessdom.

Time Schedule Sparkassen Chess Meeting 2008
Grand Masters‘ Tournament [Civic Theatre]
Saturday, 28th June 3 p.m. 1st round
Sunday, 29th June 3 p.m. 2nd round
Monday, 30th June day of rest
Tuesday, 1st July 3 p.m. 3rd round
Wednesday, 2nd July 3 p.m. 4th round
Thursday, 3rd July day of rest
Friday, 4th July 3 p.m. 5th round
Saturday, 5th July 3 p.m. 6th round
Sunday, 6th July 1 p.m. final round

PAIRINGS: Images: Chessbase…click on images for a larger view

Previous winners:

 (1) 1928 Fritz Sämisch
(2) 1951 Albéric O’Kelly de Galway
(3) 1961 Mark Taimanov
1 1973 Hans-Joachim Hecht
2 1974 Victor Ciocâltea
3 1975 Heikki Westerinen
4 1976 Oleg Romanishin
5 1977 Jan Smejkal
6 1978 Ulf Andersson
7 1979 Tamaz Giorgadze
8 1980 Raymond Keene
9 1981 Gennady Kuzmin
10 1982 Vlastimil Hort
11 1983 Mihai Suba
12 1984 Yehuda Gruenfeld
13 1985 Yuri Razuvayev
14 1986 Zoltán Ribli
15 1987 Yuri Balashov
16 1988 Smbat Lputian
17 1989 Efim Geller
18 1990 Alexander Chernin
19 1991 Igor Stohl
20 1992 Garri Kasparov
21 1993 Anatoly Karpov
22 1994 Jeroen Piket
23 1995 Vladimir Kramnik
24 1996 Vladimir Kramnik
25 1997 Vladimir Kramnik
26 1998 Vladimir Kramnik
27 1999 Péter Lékó
28 2000 Vladimir Kramnik
29 2001 Vladimir Kramnik
30 2002 Péter Lékó
31 2003 Viktor Bologan
32 2004 Viswanathan Anand
33 2005 Arkadij Naiditsch
34 2006 Vladimir Kramnik
35 2007 Vladimir Kramnik

Image: Vladimir Kramnik…chess.com
Vladimir Kramnik (pictured) was born on 25 June 1975 in Tuapse, on the shores of the Black Sea in Russia. His father was Boris, a renowned sculptor and his mother was Irina, a music teacher. He learnt to play chess at the age of 5 and by the time he was 12 he was studying at the prestigious Botvinnik school in Moscow.

At 16 he won the World under-18 Championship and emerged onto the world chess scene with a Gold Medal at the 1992 chess olympiad in Manila.

In 2000 Vladimir Kramnik achieved what few had thought possible; he defeated the great Garry Kasparov 8.5-6.5 to take the title of World Chess Champion without losing a single game.

He successfully defended his title against Peter Leko in 2004 by dramatically winning the final game to tie the 14-game match 7-7. In 2006 he beat Veselin Topalov in a hugely controversial match which reunified the competing versions of the World Chess Championship title.

At the end of 2006 he married Marie-Laure Germon, a French journalist (pictured with Kramnik below).

He put his title on the line by agreeing to play in the World Championship Tournament in Mexico City in September 2007 against a world class field. Vishy Anand won the event to end Kramnik’s reign as World Champion.

Kramnik will have an opportunity to regain his title in October 2008 when he challenges Anand for the title in a match to be held in Bonn, Germany.

 
Dortmund seen by the artist Luigi Kasimir…source: http://www.mosgallery.com

Dortmund by the artist: JOSEF EIDENBERGER …source: http://www.eidenbergeretchings.com

 

Read Full Post »

Chess Picture of the day

Cats playing chess!

Image: Etsy

Read Full Post »

Songbird

Fields of Gold
Wade in the Water
Autumn Leaves
Wayfaring Stranger
Songbird
Time Is A Healer
I Know You By Heart
People Get Ready
Oh, Had I A Golden Thread
Over the Rainbow
~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is one of my favourite CD’s in my collection. You can read about Eva here and on the link at the bottom of the post, it’s sad to know that she died of cancer.  I enjoy “Songbird” the most and my other favourite on this album is “Fields of Gold”, enjoy it here.

Eva Marie Cassidy was born on February 2nd, 1963. Music was introduced to Eva at an early age by her father, Hugh – who surrounded her with the voices of Pete Seeger, Buffy St. Marie and Ray Charles. He taught Eva how to play the guitar and she learned to accompany herself and her siblings (Anette, Margret and Dan) in a family music group.

As a teenager, Eva sang with friends in several bands and groomed her musical talents and performance skills. By the early 1990s she was doing studio work, performing with her friends – and then recorded “The Other Side” with Chuck Brown. Eva’s career turned a corner that would lead her to pursue more solo work. She developed a repertoire of “great” songs that inspired her, and would later be the reason we all remember her – not for songs she wrote, but for songs that she interpreted and made her own.

Eva’s voice was recorded at many of her performances at local Annapolis and Washington DC venues, and at studio sessions – little did we all know that this was a miracle. Eva’s young life was cut short on November 2, 1996, by cancer. She was surrounded by music her entire life – now she surrounds our lives with her music.

Order the cd from HERE or read more about her and her love for art here too…links at the bottom of the page once you’re on the site.

Read Full Post »

Ready Steady Go!

I was tagged by Wipneus to write about my “slogan” in life…well, firstly I want to apologise, as this entry will be in Afrikaans…basically, I’m saying that I’m a “ready-steady-go”-person…as you can see from this picture…and that I believe to do what is expected from you, when it’s expected and also, try to do more than what’s expected and….to use my logical mind!/use your brain!! …and…be positive and see an opportunity in every problem! I don’t have patience with myself and in general, I want to get things done! So,  if you’re a bit too slow for me, I’ll do your work too just to get the job done. I can’t hang around doing nothing and would use my logical mind to do what needs to be done.

Personally, I  think Chess is the game to develop the logical mind!! Slide down to the bottom of this post to read about the logical mind…and read about Susan Polgar and her brilliant brain. Everybody has a brilliant brain, it depends on how you use it! I’ve said to so many children that there is no such thing as a dumb child…each child learns in a different way and the same with adults. You use your brain in a different way and some people don’t use it at all… it’s not that they are dumb..they have to learn how to use it..  And now…tagging time…(you can find them all on my blogroll) Ray (bookstoysgames)…Norrbu….Tony…and Luigi!

Vir iemand om saam met my te werk, moet dit seker een groot vet fees wees…Ek weet presies wat ek wil doen, hoe ek dit gedoen wil hê en wanneer ek dit wil doen. Ek raak gou besig met ander mense se “opdragte” as hulle nie gou genoeg ‘n ding doen nie… en gelukkig waardeer hulle dit wanneer ek dit doen. Ek geniet dit ook om meer as net te doen wat van my verwag word…nie omdat ek wil iewers wil “inkruip”  nie, maar net bloot omdat dit in my natuur is om raak te sien wat gedoen moet word en om my logiese verstand te gebruik wanneer dit kom by dinge wat gedoen moet word. Sommige mense sien sekere take as benede hulle posisie en ander sal wil hê hulle moet eers gevra word om ‘n ding te doen – dalk dink hulle hulle word meer belangrik geag as hulle eers gevra word, maar in my oë sien ek dit eerder as ‘n geval van nie jou logiese denke inspan nie!  Ek vra myself die vraag…waarom nie doen wat gedoen moet word, jy spaar energie/tyd, want sekere opdragte hou verband met ander en daarom gaan alles soveel vinniger as opdrag 1 uit die pad is en opdrag 2 kan voortgaan…ek vra myself ook soms, “dink mense nie vir hulself nie”? ek verkies om kinders in die laerskool te leer hoe om vir hulself te dink, hoe om verstandig te dink en net deur logika te gebruik, spaar dit almal baie pyne en deur in ‘n span te werk, maak jy dit vir almal ligter en almal is soveel gelukkiger! Jy ontwikkel jouself as mens en skep geleenthede vir jouself in in die proses  dalk vir ander ook! Dit is nou waar “sien ‘n geleentheid in elke probleem” inkom! — en om eerlik te wees…(jammer vir die nie-skaakspelers…dis geen aanklag teen jul intelligensie nie!!)…skaak is ‘n spel wat jou beslis logika leer!

Met myself is ek baie ongeduldig… ek moet aan die gang bly en kan nie sit en niks doen nie, my familie – gesin – weet gewoonlik dat hulle met my altyd “gereed” moet wees… wanneer daar iewers heen gegaan moet word, is dit gewoonlik algemeen aanvaar dat almal gereed is wanneer hulle gereed moet wees…sjoe! Dit klink verskriklik…maar dis nie so erg nie! 😉 Wanneer ek skoolhou is dit deel van my algemene omgang met die kinders…”are you ready?” in Suid-Afrika was dit gewoonlik ‘n koor wat antwoord…”Ja…steady….” julle ken seker almal die “are you ready” van die Gladiators..wel, dis nou ekke…hoor dit in jou gedagtes en jy hoor vir my! lol….hier in London…sal daardie selfde koor kom met…”no!! wait!!”…hierdie Engelse is te stadig na my sin…… 😉

 Read and enjoy this article about the logical mind…Don’t be held back..it says…

 

 We are blessed to have such powerful minds to put to work for us. Unfortunately, our minds tend to end up getting a much bigger role than they should. This can cause us to be held to the same old comfortable reality, which I imagine, you would probably like to see improvements in!

Our logical mind has a definite purpose, it can figure things out, it can plan, it can analyze, figure out how to make things work, figure out how to implement a plan. These are all wonderful things that help us in our day to day life.

But the logical mind is just that, logical. It does what “makes sense”.

And just what makes sense to the logical mind? What has worked in the past. What it has seen work for others.

Hmm, let’s see, so if you are making decisions and living your life with your logical mind in charge, what could the future possibly look like?

Same as the past!!!

And is that what you want? I’m guessing no. We are always growing and expanding and with that comes the desire for more. That is a natural part of this life and it is a good thing.

So how can you prevent your logical mind from holding you back like this?

It helps to see it from a bigger perspective. You see, if the mind had the perspective of the soul it would have a much bigger picture of your life and of what is possible. It would not look to the past to see what to do. It would see the potential and move forward.

But the logical mind does not see this big picture. It only sees what is and what has been.

So if you are wanting to take your life to a new level, to break into wonderful new territory do you really want to be putting your logical mind in charge?

I don’t think so.

So how do you deal with this? Who is in charge then?

You.

You are not your mind. Your mind is a tool you have available to you.

And you have the ability to access higher information through your intuition. You can receive guidance from a higher part of yourself that sees the big picture.

It is up to you to choose how you make decisions in your life. From the logical mind, or maybe based on a higher knowing. You choose.

That is why your intuition is an important part of this journey to your even better life. It is your access to the big picture. And you may never get to see that bigger picture and that doesn’t matter. You just need the insight from the part of you that does see it.
Please click HERE to read the entire article.

Read about Susan Polgar, Woman Grandmaster in Chess…American…what she says…you can read her blog..it’s on my blog roll in the “Chess” section.

My Brilliant Brain –  

Exploring the incredible inner workings of the human brain, this compelling three-part documentary series looks at a group of remarkable people and poses questions about the origins of genius: are these extraordinary abilities genetic, developed or acquired by accident? This episode focuses on Susan Polgar, the first female chess grandmaster, whose incredible story suggests that genius does not always have to be innate, but can be taught.

At 38 years old, Susan Polgar has reached heights that few women have ever equalled in the chess world. Despite the common assumption that men’s brains are better at understanding spatial relationships, giving them an advantage in games such as chess, Susan went on to become the world’s first grandmaster. Susan’s remarkable abilities have earned her the label of ‘genius’, but her psychologist father, László Polgar, believed that genius was “not born, but made”. Noting that even Mozart received tutelage from his father at a very early age, Polgar set about teaching chess to the five-year-old Susan after she happened upon a chess set in their home. “My father believed that the potential of children was not used optimally,” says Susan.

Throughout the rest of her childhood, Susan practised for hours, memorising thousands of moves and scenarios, and devouring books and stratagems. She took on the men in her local chess club at the age of five and began beating them. By the age of 15, she was the best female player in the world. A year later in 1985, she sensationally vanquished a male grandmaster for the first time. But Susan is not the only family member to achieve such incredible success – her younger sisters Judit and Zsófia are grandmaster and international master respectively, thanks to similar schooling from their father.

So how has Susan trained her brain to such a formidable degree? Chess is so complex a game that there are four billion choices for the first three moves alone. Susan has committed to memory tens of thousands of possible patterns and scenarios. Every time Susan sees a grouping of chess pieces on a board, she can browse through her back catalogue of memorised groupings, using instinct to tell her the right move. “We seem to heap a lot of praise on people’s calculating ability,” says former British champion William Hartston, “but we take for granted all sorts of mental abilities that are absolutely intuitive.”

Susan displays her skills as she takes on a friend at ‘Blitz’ – a form of chess in which players must complete their moves in just one minute. Susan uses her razor-sharp instinct to not only move her own pieces, but guess her opponent’s moves in milliseconds. “I have to trust my instincts, my recognition,” she explains. “It’s almost like guessing, but basing it on prior games and experience.”

In order to isolate the areas of her brain she uses when playing chess, Susan is given an MRI scan. There is an area at the front of the brain which deals with face recognition, allowing most people to remember a face in 100 milliseconds. Astonishingly, this is the very place where the experts find that Susan has moulded her recognition of 100,000 chess scenarios. Over years of childhood practice, Susan has hardwired these countless scenarios into her long-term memory and can recognise one in an instant – as quickly as someone might recognise the face of a friend or relative.

It is this lightning-quick instinct, coupled with a phenomenal memory and years of relentless practice, that have earned Susan the status of ‘genius’. Her story presents strong evidence to suggest that her father was right – genius may indeed be nurture over nature. “I really believe that if you put your mind to it,” reflects Susan, “you can achieve it, whatever it is”.
Article to be found HERE about Susan Polgar…”My brilliant brain”…

Image:www.sv-goerlitz.de/Foren/Gallery/images
On THIS LINK you can watch a long-ish video about Susan and her brilliant brain. It is a video longer than 40 minutes and worth to watch. She wasn’t born with this brilliant brain, it was created….

Watch this movie about Susan Polgar and her “brilliant brain”.

As a space-lover..I couldn’t resist this picture! of the day…as it immediately reminded me about our brains…almost the shape too!

Image: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/
 

Read Full Post »

Die Broosheid van my Siel

 

 
Die Broosheid van my Siel

Dit is soos gister
dat my gedagtes swerf
op golwe van stormwinde;
ongesiens, verwyder dit
die eind’lose groenbedekte
ystergrendels van my hart

Verstommend genereer dit
beelde uit lande
versamel van die Ooste en Weste
die Noorde en van die see af
– ‘n half herwonne reis

Diep onder lê ‘n sluimerende stilte
ontsnapte krete reën om my
helder buitelyne van donker oë
kruis my lewenspad
en ek huiwer

Hunkerend na ‘n somers-motreën
blomruigtes, onweerstaanbare weerligstrale
waterfonteine, ‘n ontnugterde haelbui
Vind jy my siel op haelwit wolke

Ja, soos gister
stap ek deur die Dorsland
met lofoffers
en êrens omhels die broosheid
die gedagtes van my siel.

©Nikita 18 Junie 2008

Die verlange na Suid-Afrika bly daar vir enige persoon in die buiteland. Iemand moet nie vir my vertel dat hy die stof van sy voete afgeskud het en nou “klaar” is met SA nie, daardie persoon bluf homself, beslis nie vir my nie. Vanaand was ek – soos baie ander tye – weer hart en siel in Suid-Afrika…geniet hierdie stukkie “gedagtes” of herinneringe wat ek hier saamgeflans het…en geniet dit met die musiek van Hilary Stagg…

Gedigte
Afrikaanse Gedigte
Afrikaans poems
Afrikaans
Afrikaans poetry

Read Full Post »

Suid-Afrika my skaduwee

I’ve got this CD of Hilary Stagg…beautiful music…enjoy this track and do get yourself this CD!!

This is an Afrikaans poem, just my thoughts about life as a child…

Indien jy ooit by die Opelug Museum in Pretoria ‘n draai maak, maak gerus ‘n draai by die Watermeule. Hierdie watermeule het op ons plaas gestaan en is hy klip-vir-klip gemerk en net so herbou in Pretoria. As kind van ongeveer 7/8 jaar oud, het ons gedurig op die wiel gespeel en was dit ‘n heerlike wegkruipplek vir die kat om haar kleintjies te kry!! Daarom dat my gedagtes ook in hierdie gegriffel ‘n draai gaan maak het op die watermeul se wiel! Ek kon vir ure die miskuiers volg wat in veld hulle bolletjies gerol het…wanneer ek gaan stap het om verdroogde stukkies takkies te versamel en grassade vir my versameling wat ek gedurig in my kamer uitgestal het…die gedrooge takkies…spesiale mooi uitgesoektes natuurlik, het ek in gebruik in rangskikkings en was my kamer omtrent ‘n “nes” van alles wat ek van die veld aangedra het. Selfs verdwaalde tarentaal-vere het hul ere-plekkie gehad…en hoe kon ek die karretjies uitlaat, dit het ek meer gespeel as met my poppe wat altyd net op my bed gelê vir die mooiheid…

Baie dankie aan Francois vdM wat vandag [18/6/2011] hierdie pragtige foto van my geliefde waterval op ons familieplaas – waar ek ure kon sit en ontspan, rondklouter en saam met familie/vriende geniet het, aangestuur het. Francois bly ook in die omgewing en ken dit ook alte goed. In die volgende gedig lees jy juis van die waterval!

Suid-Afrika – my skaduwee

In die skadu’s
van die groot ou Eik
stoot ek weer in die sand
Boeta se karretjies een-vir-een
‘is verstommend hoe die mierleeus uit hul tonnels
krioel met kierang-hier en kierang-daar

Langs die waterval
sit ek, halfbewus
my gedagtes vind perspektiwiteit
en rol ragfyn ligstraaltjies voor my uit
op die kabbellende water

Op die meulwiel van vervloë
versamel ek babakatjies
pas gebo’, versteek
teen elemente daar buit’
en ek streel die sagtheid
wat ek koester
verder op my reis

Ek verdwaal tussen rante
soekend na onweerstaanbare
toktokkies en miskruiers
‘k neem ‘n honger teug
uit die kom van fluisteringe
“ons-vir-jou-ons-vir-jou”

Hoe sal ek jou kan vergeet
jou alledaagse ontwykende
en eindlose horison
onwetend
bly jy daar vir my
en ek vir jou
Hoe kán ek dan
Vergeet van: “ons-vir-jou”…?

©Nikita 17 Junie 2008

Read Full Post »

Blatant lies

‘Blatant lies’ in history book
13/05/2008 19:48 – (SA)
Durban – The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) is arranging a series of protests to stop the use of a Grade 12 history book it describes as “biased propaganda… poisoning the minds of children”.

National protest organiser Albert Mncwango said on Tuesday that the book titled In Search of History is currently being used by schools throughout South Africa.

“The IFP is protesting viciously (about) biased propaganda masquerading as Grade 12 history,” he said in a statement.

“This Grade 12 history book, which is being used in some schools as a prescribed work, tells blatant lies and deliberately distorts facts about the role of the IFP and the contribution made by its leader, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi,” he added.

He said protests would start in KwaZulu-Natal on Wednesday.

“We cannot allow our children to be poisoned with this… abominable propaganda and the deliberate twisting of history to distort who did what, when and where.”

He stressed that schools should be places of learning and “not propaganda incubators where learners are brainwashed”.

Two protests are scheduled to take place on Wednesday in Empangeni and Port Shepstone where a memorandum is expected to be handed over to representatives of Education Minister Naledi Pandor.

Well done, Buthelezi…I’ve always thought you’re a better leader than “some” other leaders in South Africa…for standing up/speaking  out  for what’s wrong…and wished that more of our young children in other countries could have been better informed about South Africa too…as they are also getting brainwashed about “certain” facts which is in my opinion…wrong…some of those facts …e.g. is…that ALL white South Africans are racists…and that we in South Africa used to have slaves in our “modern” days…they don’t know that slavery was undone in the 1800’s by the British…this is only two of about twenty or more facts….EISH!! …..
Read article HERE …

Read Full Post »

Kitty of the day!

This picture was sent to me by Braam…he is a South African living/working in Azerbaijan. He’s found my blog for the recipes and in particular the
buttermilk rusk recipe… and he’s baked his own and he sent me pics of the evidence too…which I will upload on the post with the recipe…and he’s also tried my own pizza-recipe … HERE  he’s thought to send me this pic to make my day…and being a catlover…he really HAS made my day!! This is soooooo cute!!!  btw…he’s also in Baku!!! –and I’m so jealous!! as Baku is the city where the Chess tournament was held a couple of weeks ago and if you’ve seen my posts about it…you will remember the beautiful pics of the old city…and hopefully Braam is going to send me a few pics of Baku too!
If you’re a cat-lover…try getting yourself this book! It’s really a fantastic book to have!

“The Cat Lover’s Companion”

And…this is me, of course!!

Read Full Post »

Inspirations

Danie de Wet

Painting celebrating African and European influences –2008

Danie de Wet

The Way (2005)

Oil on board

Roelof Rossouw

Blaauwklippen Estate from Jamestown

The Red Boat, Hout Bay

Roelof Rossouw

Walter Koch

“untitled”

His inspirations come from African Rock and Graffiti

Francois Krige…Blue Cranes (they are South Africa’s national bird)

I was sent this link earlier this week by a relative of mine. Her hubby is an artist and a very talented person when it comes to art and music and I’ve thought to blog a few artists from this site as I think that we have wonderful artists in South Africa and apart from that, we have such a beautiful country and I personally think that SA is a paradise for any artist. I’d wished many times that I was a natural artist. I want to sit down and start a drawing and after five minutes I want a master piece! But, unfortunately, I was at the end of the line when God handed out that gift! By looking at all these masterpieces then I’m really rubbish when it comes to art! although I’ve done some fabric painting, but that’s easy peasy…it’s like  colouring a picture with  paint! and I’ve done some Chinese painting….that’s painting on plates…even easier than fabric painting! ….nothing really difficult about that and you don’t even have to be an artist to do that! In my school in SA I used to do that with my gr3’s…and they did some wonderful paintings on small plates as a Mothers’ day-gift.  One of my gr3’s even taught her mum how to do it and they started a club at home painting plates as Christmas presents…so, you see, you don’t have to be an artist and I want to be one!! lol! The first two piece of art is from her hubby and the others are just some of the beautiful art which I like…the first one in particular reminded me about chess…if you know what I mean…the bottom half….and I do love any beautiful painting with boats…and it’s even better with a South African mountain on the background!! ….I know I will find more pieces of art which I will like by spending more time on the site…so, here’s the link for you to play around! Please click HERE for more South African artists and their art work.

Enjoy this piece of painted fabric… I might scan one more later…if you have your image transferred on your fabric…it’s….dead easy…almost like “colour-by-the-numbers”….
On THIS SITE you can view a gallery of art from many well-known artists of South African e.g. Maggie Laubscher, Walter Battis, W H Coetzer, etc. Francois Krige’s “Blue Cranes” is from this gallery…do enjoy!

Read Full Post »

Le Jeu des échecs moralisé

Images: http://roseandchess.lib.uchicago.edu/chess.html

“When you see a good move, look for a better one”
(Emanuel Lasker)
In real life…when you want to do something good…try something better instead!

 

Chess can be used, at least indirectly, as a component of character education. Michael Potts, “Chess and Aristotle’s Ethics,” in Chess and Education: Selected Essays from the Koltanowski Conference

If you could be a piece on the chess board, which piece would you like to be? …if it was a real life situation and you could chose a “position” according to this book that was written in the 13th Century? I have said before in my own chess games-posts that I find the Knight very useful on a chess board whilst other people value a Bishop more…I think if I have to chose a “position”, I will stick to the Knight…they are there for “protection” and I think in real life situations, this is what I would like to do…to “protect”.
Roer has tagged me to blog about what’s important in my life. She’s blogged about God and Love and I agree with her as I put God/Jesus first in my life and secondly…or with God, comes love…almost automatically…….because I believe if you have Jesus in your heart, you have love the same time…you can’t separate the two…..but to follow-up my homework I want to add to her post education/discipline. These two can definitely not be separated and if you do separate it, you get chaos. My opinion about education in schools? If there’s no discipline, you can not teach, thus…no education/learning can take place. If you think it’s possible, you fool yourself….If you want to disagree, feel welcome, make your head stand and sing your tunes, but I will stick to my view. Do you want to see an unmanageable class where learning doesn’t take place? Go into a school/class where there is NO discipline.  To come back to “protection”… I would like to be a  protector of Children and I would like to keep a “watchful eye” over any educational issue…as I think education is very important and with education goes discipline and I would really like to see  any government taking on parents for not taking responsiblities when it comes to disciplining their children. Chess is really a game for “royals” played by “royals”……and by that I mean…people who can respect others and can take up a role in society to make it a better place for all….and you still can’t play chess? Hey, all you have to do in real life/society, to make it work for everybody…play your “part” and play it well! And if you have to make a “move”, make a proper move! A move that is there to the benefit to everybody around you!

 

Le Jeu des échecs moralisé (The Moralized Game of Chess) was written in Latin in the 13th century by Jacobus de Cessolis, an Italian Dominican friar. Cessolis took advantage of the opportunity to use a relatively new game, chess, to describe an ideal society through the medium of the chessboard. Written at a time of political instability, his work was read centuries later as a guide to proper behavior, both because of the readily understood nature of the metaphor and the references to biblical and classical literature that buttress the argument.

Each piece and its attributes is thoroughly described; for example, if the Knight can move in front of a Pawn it is because the role and responsibility of the Knight is to protect the commoner – who in turn serves the Knight. Morality is prescribed: the King who leaves his wife for another acts against nature; the Queen must be chaste, docile, and concerned with the raising of her sons; the peasant should respect the laws and serve the lord. Each of the eight Pawns stands for a group of people, such as innkeepers or doctors and apothecaries. An intertwined society of mutual obligation is neatly laid out, as Cessolis says, “talents are distributed so that no one suffices by himself, but only has value in his relationships with others.”

With the focus on societal behavior rather than on the rules of the game, it would be nearly impossible to learn to play the game of chess from this text, but it is clear that the rules of medieval chess are quite different from those in place today. The King, for example, was restricted in his movement to the first three rows of the board, as it is his duty to stay close to home and defend the country.
Source:
http://roseandchess.lib.uchicago.edu/chess.html

 

Read Full Post »

Chess Giants 2008 also now the Karen Asrian Memorial

Congratulations Levon Aronian, Winner of the Asrian Memorial, 2008.

1st place: Levon Aronian 8.5 points
2nd place: Peter Leko 8 points
3rd place: Alexander Morozevich 7.5 points
4th place: Boris Gelfand 7.5 points

Live games link HERE …
For the results on the tournament, follow the link to the official site or on the second link where you can play through their games too.

Chess Giants Yerevan 2008″ rapid chess tournament which will be held in Yerevan, Armenia from June 8-15, 2008. Eight giants of the chess world will pair off and play two games a day in what promises to be a week of fighting chess. You can follow the games every day at 18:00 PM local time (GMT+4) from Yerevan’s picturesque Opera House. Please click HERE for the Official site of Chess Giants.
On THIS LINK you can play through their games as the tournament goes…enjoy!

Standings after 10 rounds

1. Leko, Peter HUN 2741 6½
2. Aronian, Levon ARM 2763 6
3. Sargissian, Gabriel ARM 2643 5½
4-5. Bu Xiangzhi CHN 2708 5
4-5. Gelfand, Boris ISR 2723 5
6. Morozevich, Alexander RUS 2774 4½
7. Adams, Michael ENG 2729 4
8. Akopian, Vladimir ARM 2673 3½

Aronian and Morozevich

 

Morozevich and Adams

Alexander Morozevich – RUS 2774

Levon Aronian – ARM 2763

Peter Leko – HUN 2741

 

Michael Adams – ENG 2729

 

Boris Gelfand – ISR 2723

 

Gabriel Sargissian – ARM 2643

Vladimir Akopian – ARM 2673

Bu Xiangzhi – CHN 2708

 Round 1
1 Sargissian 1/2 Adams
2 Morozevich 1-0 Gelfand
3 Bu 1/2 Leko
4 Aronian 1/2 Akopian

Round 2
1 Adams 1/2 Sargissian
2 Gelfand 1/2 Morozevich
3 Leko 1-0 Bu
4 Akopian 1/2 Aronian

Note that due to the tragic news of GM Karen Asrian’s passing, the games scheduled for June 10 and June 11 have been postponed. The Chess Giants tournament will resume on June 12. Click HERE  to read about his death.

According to the decision of the Armenian Chess Federation, the Chess Giants Yerevan 2008 tournament has been renamed the Karen Asrian Memorial and will be held traditionally in honor of our cherished champion.

In addition, the rapid open scheduled to have been played in parallel to the main tournament from June 12-15, has been cancelled.

 It is with great sadness and difficulty we report to you that today, June 9, Armenian Grandmaster Karen Asrian passed away. He was 28 years old. Details will be forthcoming. Round 1 games started late after a moment of silence in GM Asrian’s memory.

Yerevan, Armenia, the Opera House is the round building on the left…and this is where this tournament takes place. Image: Britanica

 

Image: http://www.ecml.at/html/armenian/images/yerevan

In the valley of Biblical Mount Ararat lies the beautiful ancient city of Yerevan, the 12th capital of Armenia. Yerevan was built around the city-fortress of Erebuni established by the King Argishti the First the king of Urartu in the year 782 BC.The ruins of Erebuni still stand in the southeastern part of the city.

A large part of the Erebuni fortification had been reconstructed by 1968 when the city celebrated the 2750th anniversary of its foundation. The well-preserved walls permitted the complete reproduction of the layout of Erebuni.

Yerevan is situated in the north-eastern part of the Ararat Valley. Mounts Aragats, Azhdaak, and Ararat can be seen from the city. With its rugged terrain, Yerevan displays a 400m disparity between its lowest and highest points. The city is divided by Hrazdan River that flows in a picturesque canyon.

The climate in Yerevan is dry and sharply varied with temperatures in summer peaking over 35 C and falling below -15 C in winter.

Read Full Post »

Aerosvit 2008 International Chess Tournament

Magnus Carlsen winner with a total of 8 and Ivanchuk in 2nd place with a total of 7 games.

 Image: http://ukrchess.org.ua/aerosvit2008/foto_e.htm

 

 

The final standings:
1	Carlsen	2765	*	1	½	1	½	½	1	½	½	1	1	½	8
2	Ivanchuk	2740	0	*	½	1	½	½	1	1	½	½	1	½	7
3	Karjakin	2732	½	½	*	½	0	1	½	½	½	1	½	½	6
4	Eljanov	2687	0	0	½	*	1	½	1	½	½	½	½	1	6
5	Volokitin	2684	½	½	1	0	*	0	½	1	½	½	0	1	5½
6	Jakovenko	2711	½	½	0	½	1	*	0	½	½	½	1	½	5½
7	Shirov	2740	0	0	½	0	½	1	*	½	1	0	1	1	5½
8	Alekseev	2711	½	0	½	½	0	½	½	*	1	1	0	½	5
9	Svidler	2746	½	½	½	½	½	½	0	0	*	½	½	1	5
10	Nisipeanu	2684	0	½	0	½	½	½	1	0	½	*	1	½	5
11	Van Wely	2677	0	0	½	½	1	0	0	1	½	0	*	½	4
12	Onischuk	2664	½	½	½	0	0	½	0	½	0	½	½	*	3½

Standings after round 7…source: Chessgames

Please click Chessgames here to follow the results of games and to play through games played on any particular day!

If you click on the link of CHESSCLUB you can watch the “game of the day” on a movie!

Round 11 : Final round…results

Svidler, Peter ½ – ½ Van Wely, Loek
Ivanchuk, Vassily 1-0 Eljanov, Pavel
Karjakin, Sergey ½ – ½ Carlsen, Magnus
Volokitin, Andrei 1 – 0 Alekseev, Evgeny
Jakovenko, Dmitry ½ – ½ Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter
Onischuk, Alexander 0 – 1 Shirov, Alexei

Carlsen still leading!

Round 10 : Results

Van Wely, Loek 0 – 1 Ivanchuk, Vassily
Eljanov, Pavel ½ – ½ Karjakin, Sergey
Carlsen, Magnus ½ – ½  Volokitin, Andrei
Alekseev, Evgeny ½ – ½ Jakovenko, Dmitry
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter ½ – ½ Onischuk, Alexander
Shirov, Alexei 1 – 0 Svidler, Peter

Round 9 results:

Karjakin, Sergey ½ – ½ Van Wely, Loek
Volokitin, Andrei 0 – 1 Eljanov, Pavel
Jakovenko, Dmitry ½ – ½ Carlsen, Magnus
Onischuk, Alexander ½ – ½ Alekseev, Evgeny
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter 1 – 0 Shirov, Alexei
Ivanchuk, Vassily ½ – ½ Svidler, Peter

Results: Round 8

Van Wely, Loek 1 – 0 Volokitin, Andrei
Eljanov, Pavel ½ – ½ Jakovenko, Dmitry
Carlsen, Magnus ½ – ½ Onischuk, Alexander
Alekseev, Evgeny 1 – 0 Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter
Svidler, Peter ½ – ½ Karjakin, Sergey
Shirov, Alexei 0 – 1 Ivanchuk, Vassily

Round 7  results:

Jakovenko, Dmitry 1 – 0 Van Wely, Loek
Onischuk, Alexander 0 – 1 Eljanov, Pavel
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter 0 – 1 Carlsen, Magnus
Alekseev, Evgeny ½ – ½ Shirov, Alexei
Volokitin, Andrei ½ – ½ Svidler, Peter
Karjakin, Sergey ½ – ½ Ivanchuk, Vassily

Please click HERE to play through games of round 7.

Magical Magnus conjures win over Shirov

Round 5 at Foros and yet another elite Grandmaster crumbles in the face of Magnus Carlsen’s relentless pressure.  Alexei Shirov is a formidable player and has himself come close to the World Championship crown, but today he became Carlsen’s latest victim.

Shirov answered 1.d4 with the Slav defence and Magnus chose the popular ‘Moscow’ variation in reply.  A balanced opening developed into an even middlegame, but as in previous games, Magnus kept creating tricky problems for his opponent to solve and soon Shirov fell into time trouble as he sought to find the best answers.

It was on the 61st move that Shirov finally cracked, allowing Magnus to catch his King in a mating net.

Elsewhere on another exciting day, the closest challenger to Magnus failed to keep up the pace as Sergey Karjakin lost with the Black pieces against Andrei Volokitin.   The other decisive games saw Nisipeanu put Van Wely to the sword in a Najdorf Sicilian and Svidler employed his favourite Grunfeld defence to good effect against Onischuk.

Vassily Ivanchuk fought hard against Dmitry Jakovenko, but an extra pawn in a Knight ending was not enough and the game ended all-square after 72 moves.

Magnus Carlsen now leads by a clear 1.5 points with a very impressive score of 4.5/5.  If the world rankings were published today then Carlsen would be ranked second in the world, with only World Champion Vishy Anand ahead of him.
Please click HERE to play through the games of round 5…played on the 12th June.

 Source of article….about round 5: http://www.chess.com

Round 6  results!

Van Wely, Loek ½ – ½ Onischuk, Alexander
Eljanov, Pavel ½ – ½ Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter
Carlsen, Magnus ½ – ½ Alekseev, Evgeny
Svidler, Peter ½ – ½ Jakovenko, Dmitry
Ivanchuk, Vassily ½ – ½ Volokitin, Andrei
Shirov, Alexei ½ – ½ Karjakin, Sergey

Ukrainian Chess Federation
International Chess Tournament from 7-20 June 2008
Please click
HERE to play through the games of round 1 and on THIS LINK you can see the results of rounds 2 and 3.
On THIS LINK you can play through games played in round 2.

Results Round 3

Carlsen, Magnus 1 – 0 Van Wely, Loek
Eljanov, Pavel 1 – 0 Shirov, Alexei
Alekseev, Evgeny 1 – 0 Svidler, Peter
Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter ½ – ½ Ivanchuk, Vassily
Onischuk, Alexander ½ – ½ Karjakin, Sergey
Jakovenko, Dmitry 1 – 0 Volokitin, Andrei

Standings …Round 4

Van Wely, Loek vs Alekseev, Evgeny
Eljanov, Pavel vs Carlsen, Magnus
Svidler, Peter vs Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter
Ivanchuk, Vassily vs Onischuk, Alexander
Karjakin, Sergey vs Jakovenko, Dmitry
Shirov, Alexei vs Volokitin, Andrei

 

Day of Rest…Balaklava…

~Day of Rest…Balaklava…Images: Official site of Aerosvit

Magnus Carlsen, Norway, 2765

Peter Svidler, Russia, 2746

Vasiliy Ivanchuk, Ukraine, 2740

Alexei Shirov, Spain, 2740

Sergey Karjakin, Ukraine, 2732

Dmitry Jakovenko, Russia, 2711

Evgeny Alekseev, Russia, 2711

Pavel Eljanov, Ukraine, 2687
See 4 more players’ photos HERE with more information on all players.The list of participants:

1. Carlsen, Magnus NOR 2765

2. Svidler, Peter RUS 2746

3. Ivanchuk, Vassily UKR 2740

4. Shirov, Alexei ESP 2740

5. Karjakin, Sergey UKR 2732

6. Jakovenko, Dmitry RUS 2711

7. Alekseev, Evgeny RUS 2711

8. Eljanov, Pavel UKR 2687

9. Volokitin, Andrei UKR 2684

10. Nisipeanu, Liviu-Dieter ROU 2684

11. Van Wely, Loek NED 2676

12. Onischuk, Alexander USA 2664

June 8th, 2008, Round 1, Time 15:00…ALL rounds start at 15:00 —every day!
June 9th, Round 2
June 10th, Round 3
June 11th, Round 4
June 12th, Round 5
June 13th, Round 6
June 14th, REST DAY
June 15th, Round 7
June 16th, Round 8
June 17th, Round 9
June 18th, Round 10
June 19th, Round 11

Round 2 Magnus Carlsen

 

Image: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/31/55750874_ac414c2849.jpg

Church on the Rock…Foros…

Foros, Crimea is the settlement in the Ukraine where this tournament is taking place…

 

The region is also known as the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and lies on the northern coast of the Black Sea. The population is two million inhabitants, the capital is the city of Simferopol.

Foros, where the AeroSvit tournament is held, is a small village situated about 40 km from Yalta, in the southern part of Crimea. The climate conditions are gorgeous. Foros is the place were the dacha (summer-house) of the President of Ukraine is situated. The Russian writer Maxim Gorkiy lived and worked for some time in Foros. Today Ukrainian politicians and businessmen own summer houses there. Students spend their summers in Foros. There is the orthodox Foros Church and a beautiful national park. What is also good in Foros – you spell the name of the village exactly the way you pronounce it – F-o-r-o-s.

Source: chessbase

Last 2 Images: chessbase

In Foros, you will get this monument about Yuri Gagarin, the first man in Space!
Click HERE to read more about him.

Read Full Post »

Bloody Scary!

click on images for a larger view

Yesterday, we went into London…about an hour on the tube from where we live in West London….to London Bridge Station as we wanted to go to the South African shop (SAvanna) to buy our favourite goodies…which I will blog later this week…now…this “London Tombs” is a new thingy…and their website is at the bottom of my post…but let me tell you what happened yesterday! I think some of you heard a blood curdling yell and couldn’t make out from where it came from, well, that was ME! I was busy taking a picture of this mongrel you see here…and he really looks very, very scary in real life…those tusks!! but let me continue…while taking the picture, (remember I was already scared by just looking at him and I didn’t want him near me!)…a huge lorry/truck…something like a fire truck… blew his horn just on my right!!! —and I’m not finished!! —the same time, this mongrel-thing…reached out for me with those tusks!!! everything happened just the same time!! I think you can imagine what happened!! I was almost out of my mind!! Yelled….for the A-Team!! and a failed heart attack the same time!! You are warned…about this very, very scary what-you-call-it…btw…this is close to the London Dungeons, just 3 min-walk opposite…

http://www.londonbridgeexperience.com/pages/londontombs.asp

Read Full Post »

WHAT!!!??? Come again!

One of my friendly colleagues I’m working with, was so kind to bring me the SATimes this morning. This is a SA newspaper that’s available in the UK …see their website too…www.satimesonline.com…and it was at a station on her way to school. I was, of course, glad to have something “made by South Africans” hehehe…in my hands…

When I turned to page three, this article caught my eye and I asked my colleagues if they know that Mugabe is a knight….and then…suddenly… about five/six  people around me shouted…”WHAT!!!??” at once. “Yep, you heard me….” ….. “What did he do to deserve it…!” shouted about three of them….very shocked……and kind of angrily…..”Well, you tell me!” I replied…”..as I have NO idea what so ever…” Wonder if anyone reading here knows…”But did he not buy it!?” asked Nell (not her real name) in astonishment…”…did you know that you can buy it!” she continued, still in a state of “shock”.  “Actually, no, he didn’t buy it…not according to this article…”

Read Full Post »

Let’s count you in too!!

Map..click for a larger image

On the 6th June, South Africans unite against crime…the venue…
Union Buildings, Pretoria! From 6-12 noon…Main event 12:00-13:00…SMS the word…ENOUGH and your comment on crime to 34764 (charges R2 per call)…or….Please, click HERE NOW to add your vote against crime in South Africa! Even if you’re not a citizen…your vote will count!…. Football Worldcup 2010 in South Africa!! You want to go to a crime-free country! Even if you are not going…please vote for people who are and also for all people NOW in SA…and…it also means that you are in GENERAL against crime…not just for the sake of South Africa!! Show your support against crime in the world we live in…I want to report back on Sunday/Monday…how many people did show their support by clicking on that link…it does show on my statistics…so please, help us by having at least 1000 hits on that link by Sunday!! Do not just leave comments! Click on the link that says..”now here”…leaving comments only don’t add a vote at all!
What’s happening to our beautiful country!!..”verloren zijn we niet”….

Read Full Post »

Remembrance

Image:icecreamjournal.turkeyhill.com

 My blog is this month…ONE year old!! The actual “birthday” is the 9th….I’ve decided to link this “celebration” to some “memories”…after a year, you always think back/reflect on things that happened throughout the year..and you try to improve the next year…so: I’ve decided to “reflect” a bit…not really…hehehe…it’s just a blog! but to “refresh” some minds…I’ve decided to blog about the things I like/love…well, by just looking at that Springbok rugby player…I don’t have to say more!! Go to Sept/Oct 2007 and you’ll find about 10 entries on the World Cup Rugby…mostly about the Springboks ( of course!!)  and their games..but there is at least the one of England against France too! I love rugby…and that’s due to my very first boyfriend…he played rugby for about 3 clubs…the same time!.. and I  used to spend my days at Loftus!! ….all those days chewing biltong (jerky for the Americans!) and droëwors! with the other girls…the links to entries on my blog  is self explainable…according to the stats since Nov 2007.
Most popular Chess link …Bobby Fischer.. was and is…the most popular POETRY link….and the most popular ART link…all of these links have had 1000+ hits till now…and this link is the MOST popular link on my site…with 1500+ hits since I’ve moved my blog to WordPress in November.

Image: bestbiltong.com

I’m sure that TESSA wouldn’t mind me blogging  one of her fantastic pictures again..this is South Africa! and follow the link to see some more beautiful images!

I couldn’t help myself blogging this video! It has taken me back a couple of years…I  took piano lessons from  age 11…and when I was in secondary…. I was desperate to play this piece of music!! I practised it myself…it’s from a book which I didn’t use with my teacher….I could play it about half way at the end…but hey!! this piece of music is so tricky!! I really admire anybody that plays it like this lady does in the video! I still wish I could play it like that…<sigh>…sweet memories…ENJOY!
Here is an audio file to listen to… from THIS SITE …

If the above link doesn’t work, try this NEW link here.

Percy Montgomery!…my favourite Springbok rugby player.

Read Full Post »