SHOOT

Diary of a Sub 40 minute 10K #1

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Thu, 24 May 2012 18:04:58 PDT

The idea to revisit the 4 minute per kilometre (and faster) territory hit me this year, when I turned 40 on the 19th of January. There's an irony in the goal - turning 40 years old, effectively reaching the halfway mark through a lifetime - and then trying to run a time I last ran when I was half my age.

Going under 40. That's the goal.

You know, if I hadn't already run faster than 40 minutes in what sometimes seems like a former life - and if I didn't have it on record - it's possible I'd consider it a bridge too far. Because let's face it, in the good old days as a triathlete speedster I weighed 20 kilograms less than I do now. Literally.
To be honest, I've still had my doubts, that it was a bridge too far in spite of successful earlier efforts several decades - okay, let's not exaggerate - two decades earlier. Let's just say that I respect the difficulty of the goal. And this is why, although I had my heart set on the sub 40 goal as early as January, I've only just started communicating that desire to others over the last few days.

Why now? Because recently I've broken through the 50 minute barrier. It's taken 5 months to go from 58 minutes to 48 minutes, but the real work starts now.

My strategy is threefold.
1. Train consistently.
2. Lose weight (to get to sub 45 minutes I need to be under 80kg, to get to sub 40 minutes, I'll need to drop another 5kg, probably more.)
3. Run barefoot, or at least, strengthen the feet and legs by using increasingly minimalist footwear.

As I begin this diary, I've balanced those three goals quite nicely, which is why I've seen fairly rapid improvements.

Here's a summary of my training, copied from an email I sent to a friend last week:

I haven't been injured in a long time. One thing someone noticed not long ago was that my left foot was sort of collapsing inward at the heel. You couldn't see it from the front. He said it was painful to look at. When I got home I checked in the mirror and so waar, it was pronating inwards badly. It's because those shoes have a very high and soft heel. So I tossed away my Nike Pegasus and bought a pair of Nike Frees (5.0) which has a much lower heel (3.0 are even lower). Now I do all my running in fairly minimalist shoes, the Frees and Puma Faas. Once I've adapted a little better I'll do occasional runs in my Vibrams.

You have to transition slowly to less cushioned shoes. You feel quite stiff initially, so you have to be patient. It doesn't feel right running in 2-3 different pairs of shoes a week, but I think it teaches your feet and legs to adapt.

But beyond everything I've mentioned here, what's helped my running the most is running often, but quite slow. I run about 4-5 times a week, mileage is around 40km a week, and starting to add a bit to that now again. I started with quite a few very easy 5km runs, and then occasionally added a 10-14km run once a week, and then one hardish fast/uphill run. My easy runs are now each 7km.
Because I've been quite heavy it's been tough to run fast right off the bat, which has also helped gradually, slowly strengthen the muscles.

It's interesting that in the old days it was verboten to mix shoes; it was considered a prerequisite for injury. Now the opposite appears to be true. Incidentally, the above image is the best evidence I have of my fastest 10km, which was at a triathlon on the West Coast, Mykonos. If memory serves me I've run 37-38 minutes 3 times. During those years I was aiming for 35 minutes but never got there.

If that race seems like a flash in the pan, I remember this race (in Plett) below, like it was yesterday. I remember it well because I seemed to get stronger and faster as the 5km run went on, which for me was the exception, rather than the rule. I also remember the Plett race because by girlfriend at the time was there, and a friend from school, Garth, and both said that I actually finished 3rd, not 4th. It's one of my long time regrets that I never went to the organisers to make certain. I remember waiting for Rassie Smit in the parking lot to ask him what he thought, except I couldn't find him. In any event, it's stuff like this that leaves one with unfinished business. Something to prove.

The above race, a standard triathlon shows a near 40 minute 10km. Given my cycling and transition time (1:03:18) it's a fairly decent time. And below is another low 40's 10km run.

My fastest standard triathlon ever was a 2:00:00 in Richard's Bay, a SA TRI CHAMPS event. I got off the bike joint first with Francois Vorster and then lost 5 places on the run. But that was almost certainly another 37 minute 10km.

But that was then. My weight has gone from a skinny 66-68kg (and 7% body fat) to 94kg. Over the past 5 months I've lost 8kg, but even 86kg is heavy. My fastest 10km was 2-3 weeks ago, a 48:55 in the first 10km of the Glen half marathon.
My fastest 6km was just last Sunday, when I ran 28:52, more than a minute better than my previous effort (29:59). My average heart rate on the last run was 159, 1 lower than on my previous record attempt.

Next Thursday (I'll be blogging on this each Thursday) I'll write more about what I'm eating, and how that has significantly changed my energy levels and weight.
Wishing you well for your road.

Fracking in the Karoo - Model of fracking fluid migration

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Thu, 24 May 2012 06:05:47 PDT

My aunt - Joan Schrauwen's - watercolor artwork

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Thu, 24 May 2012 05:54:19 PDT

Joan Schrauwen is the granddaughter of the well known South African landscape artist Tinus de Jongh.

Nearly 300 climbers attempt to summit Everest on one day [VIDEO]

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:07:17 PDT

Study of a Sugarbird

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Tue, 22 May 2012 07:16:21 PDT

New Title Sponsor of Cape Pioneer Trek

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Mon, 21 May 2012 03:18:31 PDT

Emile Aldum, CEO bridge, a market leader in the financial services industry, announced that the bridge company is the new title sponsors of the Cape Pioneer Trek.

The bridge Cape Pioneer Trek route is designed by the legendary adventurer, Katot Meyer. The route traverses two mountain ranges, across the arid semi-desert Karoo and continues through the coastal forests of the garden route coast. The final route will be announced at the end of May 2012.

The bridge Cape Pioneer Trek takes place between 14 and 20 October. Only 250 teams of two riders will be allowed to enter.

“This partnership will enable us to bring even better service to the riders, and increase the allocation of resources to our ever willing and passionate community partners. bridge is a company with strong social responsibility principles, and this aligns perfectly with what this race stands for”, said Henco Rademeyer from Dryland Event Management. He added: “. The bridge values include the uniqueness of the product, the accessibility, efficiency and dynamism in which challenges are addressed, and the calculated risks that riders face on this pioneering exploit”.

Emile Aldum of bridge says that the bridge Cape Pioneer Trek is the ultimate test of endurance and aligns with the core values of the bridge business and daring to be different. He says that the family atmosphere and the camaraderie of the riders he experienced during last year’s race, influenced his decision to sponsor the Cape Pioneer Trek .

Johan van Wyk, CEO Marketing of bridge says that the company is proud to be associated with such a prestigious event and is looking forward to a long lasting relationship with the bridge Cape Pioneer Trek.

“In addition, we will be serving and be visible in the communities we serve. By sponsoring this race we will uplift the community. This is just another way of thanking them for the loyal support they have shown us over the last 18 years”, says Johan van Wyk.

The duration of the sponsorship will be five years.

About bridge
The success of bridge can be ascribed to the appetite for risk the Aldum family has shown over the years. In addition to this, the company understands its clients and their needs, while remaining focused. The bridge company aims to be an employer of choice where bridge is a household name and synonymous with fast, uncomplicated and easy financing.

The business grew from humble beginnings in 1994 at the back office of a dry cleaning business in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, into the hugely successful business it is today. It has become one of the fastest-growing business opportunities in the industry. The head office moved to Pretoria to accommodate the growth and to position it as a foremost loans company.

More information can be found at http://www.bridge.co.za

The Facebook Phenomenon - FT.com

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Sun, 20 May 2012 16:55:32 PDT

Therapists fear that social networking is changing the way we relate to each other

“People are coming home and getting on their computers instead of having sex with their partners,” says Cameron Yarbrough, a couples therapist in San Francisco and a friend of the reporter. “I see couples break up over this stuff. This is real.”

Read the original article here.

On another level, communicating over electronic channels strips the emotional context from conversations. Some people, young and old, are choosing to communicate with each other through texting and social networks specifically to avoid the ambiguity and awkwardness of telephone and in-person conversations. But it is through those ambiguous, awkward moments that people truly get to know one another. It is by interpreting facial expressions, tones of voice, and half-finished sentences that we figure each other out, and become sympathetic to others’ points of view.

Some experts worry that the more people habituate themselves to these rational, binary communication channels – thumbs up, thumbs down, smiley face, frowny face – the less they pay attention to, and tolerate, the nuances of emotions. Our brains are increasingly colonising our hearts.
“Those parts of who we are as human beings are becoming less available as we become more attached to our technology,” says Michael Klein, a clinical psychologist and couples’ therapist in San Francisco. “It has a very negative impact on relationships.”

In the past few years, Klein and other therapists have also noticed an increase in extramarital affairs facilitated by Facebook.
“People reconnect with old flames from college or school, and there’s this easy way to flirt or chat,” he says. “And when people are dissatisfied in their marriages, which is a fairly chronic condition in our society, it’s easy for those flirtations to catch fire.”

There is little quantitative research on these points. Various studies have been conducted about people’s use of technology and social media platforms, but few have examined the kinds of sensitive issues that arise in therapy offices on a larger scale. Many questions remain to be asked, let alone answered, about the effects online social networks have on our closest relationships.

We are in a transition. Humans have always created technology before figuring out how to manage it socially. Both benefits and pitfalls emerge, and humans adapt. Many people praise mobile phones and social networks for keeping them connected to loved ones, especially those they must be apart from – for work, school, or even military service. Humans are still identifying and balancing the pros and cons. Online social rules and etiquette have yet to be codified. But the trend is forging ahead, and people, young and old, are increasingly living their relationships online.
. . .
When Facebook was in its infancy, Mark Zuckerberg and his co-founders sat around a table in a house in Palo Alto and zeroed in on their computers. Eyes glued to the computer screen, no one talking. Early accounts of Zuckerberg, by venture capitalists and journalists, describe him as an introverted, socially awkward guy. Brilliant, visionary, yes. But willing to chit-chat or engage in social niceties, no.

When we tweet, we get surges of dopamine and other neurochemicals that make us feel excited - Stan Tatkin, assistant clinical professor, UCLA

Silicon Valley is a land of introverts. Scores of geeks flock to the area to join or start their own technology company. They are idealistic and passionate about the computer code stored in their laptops. But social charmers, there are few. Many, though certainly not all, are painfully shy, quiet, awkward. They are reluctant to make eye contact, staring at the table while they describe how they get people to connect with each other online. They detest talking about themselves. And yet these are the young men Valley venture capitalists call “the geniuses of social”.

How these engineers define social in the online context is, of course, markedly different from how their psychotherapists would define it. In Facebook-land, social = clicks. What these engineers are good at is manipulating which buttons you click, so that you click more of them. Accept more friend requests. Like more posts. Join this game. The idea is that the more you share, the more you invite your other friends to join the site, the bigger Facebook’s audience grows and the more robust the virality of the network becomes. This enables the company to demonstrate what a dominant internet powerhouse it is – to convince other companies, such as music businesses and newspapers, to allow Facebook to distribute their content; to convince advertisers to spend money on advertisements, and to convince investors to buy its stock in the public markets.

Facebook measures its success by the 901m monthly users it has around the world, who “Like” things or write a comment 3.2bn times every day, and who attracted $3.7bn in advertising sales and gaming payments for the site last year.

That is why Facebook’s debut on the public markets this month has been one of the most hotly anticipated in history, and why venture capitalists are eagerly scouring Silicon Valley for the next social media phenomenon. They have invested billions of dollars in recent years in a range of “social” start-ups that provide us with even more opportunities to log in to our devices – to share photos, celebrity news, our shopping habits, our eating habits, our illnesses. The more users a company attracts, and the longer they spend on the site, the more excited the investors become.
Virality is not depth, however. Humans have always shared things, for many different reasons, well before social networks came along. Now, these digital sharing sites have encouraged people to share more things, with many more people, and much more quickly than before. They have created a platform for continuous feedback that keeps us coming back for more, checking to see if anyone else Liked, or retweeted, our post. It is an ego-pleasing activity.

In extreme cases this can lead to “social media addiction”, with two different types of people most at risk: egocentric types who derive pleasure from positive self-presentation and positive feedback, and people with low self-esteem who find online social networking easier to navigate than “the demands of real-life proximity and intimacy”, according to a paper in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Whether we do it for healthy or unhealthy reasons, we are doing it. Facebook’s blue thumbs-up logo is all over the internet, reminding us to share and share again. Engineers who were terrified of asking a girl to a dance, who got bullied by the popular kids in high school, now have nearly 1bn people logging in to their creation every month, abiding by a new set of social customs they created.
It is the ultimate revenge of the geeks.

©Steve

On Facebook, people get to edit, delete, retouch ... We’re performing all the time - Sherry Turkle, clinical psychologist

With Facebook, a range of things that were once private are now public. Mark Zuckerberg has frequently said he wants Facebook to push contemporary boundaries of what people share, so people will share more. He believes this will make the world a more transparent place in general – holding governments and corporations to a new, higher level of accountability.

In many respects, it has worked. Airlines and consumer companies with bad customer service have been publicly shamed on Facebook, and forced to modify their policies and business practices. Governments in the Middle East have faced social uprisings and revolutions facilitated by people organising on Facebook and other social networks.

However, it is unclear how much all the online sharing we do within our social circles actually strengthens our closest relationships. To be fair, fostering deep, meaningful relationships is not part of Facebook’s mission statement. But we seem to be trading quality for quantity. The bigger Facebook networks have grown, the more concerned people have become with the image they present of themselves on Facebook. It has strayed from the destination for “authentic” communication that Zuckerberg envisioned, into a platform for the “performance” of the self.
“On Facebook, people get to edit, delete, retouch,” says Sherry Turkle, a clinical psychologist based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and author of Alone Together. “Facebook has raised the issue of performance of self to the main event, [for people] from nine years old onwards. We’re performing ourselves all the time online.”

And we are also performing our relationships – proving to our friends, to our ex-lovers and to ourselves that the love we have now is real, maybe better than what we had before.
“You’re a real person in real life, but you can manipulate that Facebook world,” says Michael Fishman. “It’s its own living social environment, so you live vicariously through these computer relationships.”

Michael regards Facebook as a creative outlet, a place to recreate his real-life relationship in photos and love notes and elusive quotes. Sometimes Lori will spend hours on Facebook to look at all the photos and comments, and reminisce. “It made our bond stronger,” he says.
Sometimes, they fight about Facebook. On Facebook. Lori might get upset about something he posted, or didn’t post, Michael says, or if other women flirt with him on the site. In response, he might post an indirect comment on his page about trust and loyalty, and attract scores of comments from friends. Sometimes, if they’re really mad at each other, Lori threatens to tell everyone on Facebook that they’re breaking up. “Facebook is always involved in some aspect,” he says.
. . .
Therapists have seen this kind of public airing of dirty laundry in numerous cases. While some couples talk things through and resolve their conflicts offline, some are using online communications to lash out at each other and, in effect, avoid their problems, according to Cameron Yarbrough, the couples therapist in San Francisco. They bring others into the fight by posting about it, and allow comments from other people to play out, rather than discuss it directly with each other.
“That’s called triangulating,” says Yarbrough. “It disperses stress and anxiety to a group, rather than containing it between the two people. Facebook is like triangulation on steroids.”
The fallout involves more hurt feelings and a loss of trust. Something private and intimate in a relationship has been exploited, and that confuses the couple’s ability to understand and empathise with one another.

“To protect those feelings, people have to become more removed emotionally, less vulnerable,” says Michael Klein. Which means that people actually share less with each other, or that what they share is less meaningful. The connection can be diluted further if the couple retreat into technological escapism. People avoid the difficult issues by spending more time online.

“It’s a case of, ‘I don’t want to clean the house, I can always check Facebook,’” Yarbrough says. “Or, ‘I don’t want to work out this problem I’m having with my girlfriend, I can look at Facebook. We’re not having sex enough and I don’t want to deal with that, I can always look at my Facebook.’”
It becomes a repeating cycle. The more we retreat to our computers, the more we train ourselves out of confronting difficulty, and we actually start to lose our ability to deal with it. “We lose this quality of self-reflection,” says Klein. “Because once you’re distracted, self-reflection becomes harder. And as self-reflection becomes harder, there’s a pull to become more distracted.”
The social network revolution is still new to adults. Facebook launched just over eight years ago on college campuses. So while the married couples whom therapists are seeing today might have met on Facebook, they formed their first relationships and intimate bonds before the ubiquity of status updates and Likes.

The more we retreat to our computers, the more we lose our ability to deal with difficulty - Michael Klein, clinical psychologist

Today, young people are on Facebook from age 13, and often younger. They are on Twitter, Tumblr and Instagram too. Some 77 per cent of teens have a mobile phone, and 23 per cent of them have smartphones, according to Pew. They are constantly connected with their friends from school through the internet. They can talk about homework and gossip online well into the evening, text their friends from bed before they go to sleep, and reach for their phones the moment they wake up.
Online relationship dramas are common among the younger generations – as common as offline relationship dramas tend to be in adolescence, says Danah Boyd, a senior researcher at Microsoft Research. She argues that young people are conducting their relationships primarily through texts and social networks, mainly because the opportunity to see each other alone without adult supervision is so limited. For this younger generation, digital communication is the path to intimacy rather than a distraction from it.

The performative aspects of these networks are amplified for teens, with the panoply of romances and breakups on full public display. Boyd saw one 17-year-old boy’s online sentiments go from “I love my girlfriend AMY” to “I hate my stupid bitch ex-girlfriend” in a matter of a week.
“Today’s teens are part of a significant shift in how intimate communication and relationships are structured, expressed and publicised,” writes sociologist CJ Pascoe in the book Hanging Out, Messing Around, and Geeking Out.

It remains to be seen what kind of cases this shift will deliver to therapists in 10 or 20 years’ time. They could grow out of certain social networking habits in the same way teens grow out of a range of behaviours, and arrive in their adult relationships no worse, or better, than their parents did. Right now, all generations are navigating the lines of public and private, deciding what to share or not to share, according to their own starting points.

hot Hot HOT!!! Marisa Miller on Conan O'Brien

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Sat, 19 May 2012 13:38:26 PDT

Victoria Grant introduces Banking

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Fri, 18 May 2012 06:42:30 PDT

Sarie Kompetitisie: Het jy fotos of 'n fotograaf nodig? Kontak my dadelik. Inskrywings sluit Mei 23!

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Fri, 18 May 2012 03:00:33 PDT

HOE WERK DIE WEDSTRYD

Jy moet minstens 18 jaar oud wees en ’n SA of Namibiese burger. Inskrywings (pos en aanlyn) sluit 23 Mei 2012.

Die beoordelaars sal 35 semi-finaliste aankondig wat in die Julie-uitgawe sal verskyn. Hieruit sal 10 finaliste gekies word, wat deur SARIE vir die September-uitgawe afgeneem sal word.

Daarna sal lesers aanlyn op sarie.com vir  hul gunsteling kan stem. Dié stemme sal saam met die beoordelaars s’n tel om die wenner aan te wys. Sy sal op die November 2012-voorblad van SARIE verskyn.

WAARNA KYK ONS?

* Jou gesig moet die praatwerk doen. Dit moet kopers lok om SARIE van die rak op te tel.

* Oë, oë, oë. Jou oë moet léwe – hulle  moet sprankel.

* ’n Aanloklike glimlag en mooi tande.

* Jy moet oop, vriendelik, warm en gemaklik met jouself wees. ’n Foto verklap als.

* Vroue wil jou beste vriendin wees, mans  wil jou uitvra!

* ’n Lewenslus en energie wat INSPIREER.

* Nee, nie beeldskoon nie, en nee, nie noodwendig ’n model nie: net ’n natuurlike skoonheid. Vir een keer hoef jy nie so slank en lank soos ’n model te wees nie.

* Positief en trots Suid-Afrikaans.

WAT KAN JY WEN?

1ste plek

• Jy verskyn op SARIE se  November 2012-voorblad
• Jy wen R50 000 kontant van Clicks

2de plek

• Jy wen R5 000 kontant van Clicks

Elk van die 10 finaliste kry ’n geskenkpak van Clicks en R1 000 kontant.

ONS "VENNOTE"

NB: SÓ MOET JOU FOTO'S LYK WAT JY INSKRYF

1. ’n Kop-en-skouers-foto – jy moet direk na die kamera kyk

2. ’n Kop-en-skouersfoto teen ’n 45°-hoek terwyl jou oë steeds direk na die kamera kyk.

3. ’n Vollengte-foto. Onthou, al 3 jou foto’s moet in kleur wees.

* Foto’s wat aanlyn opgelaai word, kan 72 DPI wees met ’n maksimum van 4 MB elk.

Vir fotos bel Nick van der Leek by 08 44 11 44 91, of per epos: nickvanderleek@gmail.com

The ANC in brief:

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:11:24 PDT

Introducing my first novel - HOLIDAY. How is this for an opening...

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Thu, 17 May 2012 02:06:55 PDT

One
Manila

I need a holiday.

Incinerating, the moth caught in the exhaust plume glimpses the black jet dancing demonically through the heat haze of the cigarette sky. Even as the burnt flakes of the moth eviscerate into the jet stream, the cold perpetrator continues to press a hard body against the smoky air. Far, far below its belly, below feathery fragments of a falling Lepidoptera, through palls of poisoned Asian air, a wide wave of foam crushes over a sugary shore.
There he is, a young man, full of fear and uncertainty, but outwardly handsome, and strong limbed. He is a long way from home, in this roaring dark dragon. More waters – the sky around it transforming from stained tobacco yellow to the color purple. Running along the inside of the dragon’s purple painted spine – painted by the light of the sky – is an echelon of strange and foreign people, something like cyclists seen from above in a cycling race, except they have nothing of the organic nature of the peloton. The holidaymakers have placed themselves with machine like precision in columns and rows, like numbers on a spreadsheet. Most of these numbers are asleep. Some are reading, but in Hugh’s case, writing. Trying to write.

GoPro Alaska Expedition

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:06:43 PDT

The Barefoot Running Revolution [INFOGRAPHIC]

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Wed, 16 May 2012 05:16:39 PDT

Is Brainstorm Magazine South Africa's Most Boring Publication?

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Sun, 13 May 2012 13:25:29 PDT

If you've a) never heard of Brainstorm magazine, and b) never seen it on the shelves anywhere, you can be forgiven. It's possibly the most boring magazine published in South Africa. The covers look as though someone rifled through a stack of photos and found the most bland and forgettable one.

I know what they're trying to do; they're after that slick, smart, corporate look. But I suppose in order to do slick, you have to be slick, in order to do smart, you also have to be smart. Trouble is the content points to a serious lack of creativity and imagination, and on the rare occasion that the editors try something different, it irks. On one occasion Die Antwoord featured on the cover, including a badly doctored shot covering the male member (literally). Amazing. You have this pursuit of a corporate identity and then for one particular issue why not slap Die Antwoord on the cover (just because we can). I guess for some people that's creative.

I happen to have a copy of that magazine, with the Die Antwoord cover and feature. I'm not sure why, but I never bothered to read the article. What could an IT magazine possibly have to say about a rock band? I did look at the pictures, which were great, but once again, the back street trailer trash vibe and the whole zef psychology seems to be the antithesis of the corporate blue look and feel. As I say, in order to do smart, you have to be smart.

Another blapse was the piece on the late Steve Jobs. You'd think that this magazine, which claims on its website to be world-class analytical reporting on topical issues focusing on the people, issues, trends and technologies shaping South-African business...you'd think they'd be a good bet for an insightful, informative read about this most iconic of tech entrepreneurs. Except, and I cannot explain why, it was just more boring boring boring. There's something wrong when you know more than an article that appears 2 months after the fact, and what you know has been picked up via hearsay, the news, and curious browsing. Please, that's not world-class journalism. That's a very very late newspaper article with a bit of gloss and shine.

On the few occasions that my work has been published in Dull and DumberStorm, and I've attempted to find the magazine on the shelves, it's literally been like looking for a needle in the haystack, because the magazine never stands out. In fact on more than one occasion I've called and said I can't find it, and you'd think one of the largest shopping malls in the Southern Hemisphere, Canal Walk, would stock it at just one of their super book stores. Even when it's right in front of you it's hard to actually see it. Could the designers be consciously trying to camouflage the title in order to render it invisible? And if you're wondering why a world class read is not available at Pick 'n Pay, or Spar or anywhere else, well, presumably because it requires world class readers (which is code for an incredibly small, discerning, basically invisible audience.) In layman's terms, the magazine is so good, nobody reads it.

Yes, Brainstorm's audience is so incredibly discerning as to be...very very thin, which is why they are going ballistic right now, trying to sell subscriptions along with [GASP] a digital photo frame. It's trumpeted on their website, and on this month's cover. That's one thing I do remember about this months' cover, although since I have a desktop and a laptop and they're both adequate photoframes in themselves - once the screensaver kicks in - I really don't need a photoframe (nor, one would presume, would their target market and for similar reasons).

They're desperate for subscriptions, let me assure you. So much so, in fact, that they even have their own freelancers subscribed to up their circulation numbers. But don't take my word for it, take theirs. 8 635 magazines printed per month, of which a miserable 6775 are sold. The sales/subscription number is artificially inflated, because, as I say, the magazine is simply given away to every freelancer that writes for them (and given away for free).

Also, those circulation numbers which appear on their website right now are two years old, which presupposes that they have gone down since then, hence the failure to update. Well, it's tough times for the magazine industry isn't it, so perhaps they should be given a break?

Not so fast.

How does a random competitor to Brainstorm fare? Wow, that's better. You can immediately sense a little imagination is on the loose here. [See image above]. Panorama's Braintainment, which has been around far shorter than Brainstorm (since the end of 2011), probably figured they could do the job better, and they do. Braintainment has a circulation of 26 500. That's 3 times more magazines sold, and guess what, their advertising rates are about the same. So guess who is offering better value?

In terms of the magazine itself, well it's subjective isn't it? What I can tell you is that just yesterday my girlfriend picked Braintainment off the table and started browsing through it, and noted immediately how interesting it was. She had glanced at the cover, assumed it was Brainstorm, and then registered surprise at how interesting it was, and then flipped back to check the cover. Her reaction was, "Oh, that makes sense. It's another magazine."

On the odd occasion that I have shown her a Brainstorm magazine, she will limit her reading to my articles only. Funnily enough, so do I. I cannot honestly say I have ever done more than glance at pictures or read the odd sentence or paragraph in the magazine. While I've worked hard to write rivetting content for them, I've certainly never been able to read content (as in whole articles) from that magazine. Here's why. Look at this classic Brainstorm cover immediately below. A woman in a scarf. Might as well be my aunty.

So how does the magazine make money? I'm not sure if it is - the magazine I mean. It reminds me of those Caxton community newspapers that feel thick and juicy, but when you open them up, the gloss is all supplements and advertising (in other words, junk content). That's the meat of it. The magazine is an excuse to direct mail their clients advertising spam. Something else in my humble opinion that isn't good business, is a publication that criticises one of their own clients. In this month's issue, it has the usual mandatory stuck record article on the MXIT CEO (something one can rely on in virtually every issue), but as a departure, there appears to be an interesting, investigative piece lambasting ABSA for being a bunch of crooks (in terms of their current lousy employment practise). This happens to be a very ironic point of view for them, but let's leave that for now.

I presume the ABSA piece is not a bad article, but it's once again an odd move considering this bank is one of ITWEB's biggest clients (and Brainstorm belongs to ITWEB), and they - ITWEB - do custom publishing for ABSA Capital. So which is it? A hard hitting story about a bank that's full of tricks, an expose, or a magazine that's pretending to be investigative, but is really greasing its paws both ways. I have no idea.

Of course, none of this matters since no one has heard of the publication, and even if you were curious, you wouldn't find anything to read online since all their online content is behind a pay wall (it's that good). Oddly enough, in trying to find the images for this blog post, the few good one's that come up on Googles image search are from my own blog. That's how good a magazine about the IT industry has marketed itself online.

There are finer details to describe, such as slapdash editing - the publishing of entire paragraphs in duplicate, but once again, no one would notice these things even less bring these oversights to the attention of the editor, because no one is reading the magazine to begin with. And where is the editor? This month the magazine came out about a week late, and over the Christmas period one magazine appeared in the space of two months. During the same period a few of ITWEB's staff holidayed in Mauritius. Naturally, no one missed the magazine. And this month, since they simply forgot to publish one of their own commissions, again, neither will I. I predict that by the end of this year, Brainstorm will literally disappear off the few shelves it still appears on (such as at select CNA stores), and good riddance. It's rubbish.

FW de Klerk on CNN

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Sun, 13 May 2012 02:06:40 PDT

SHOOT: People who say de Klerck is a racist or the father of Apartheid show a shocking lack of insight and education. How many presidents in world history had the humility and the intelligence to not merely share power, but give it away?

The Koreans are an example of a nation that is today still divided and unwilling to share power politically. You never hear complaints of Apartheid there, when their's is far more shameful - a Capitalism based Apartheid, separating a nation into two based on levels of wealth, and keeping one trapped and in the dark about the real state of affairs beyond its borders. And while Mr Mandela is a respectable and in many ways incredible figure, one can follow de Klerck's reasoning, as a lawyer, that Mandela broke the law. Whether it is justified to violently overthrow an oppressive system is a stickier matter, but in the simplest terms, here is one president who literally authorised the release of a prisoner, and gave up his job as the president of a country, in favour of that prisoner.

It's difficult to understand how any person cannot celebrate the decency in this.

God Is Incredible in·cred·i·ble ( n-kr d -b l). adj. 1. So implausible as to elicit disbelief

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Sat, 12 May 2012 08:20:32 PDT

Hello,

We are making a documentary. Through our Indiegogo campaign we have already raised over $5000 from over 100 supporters. The film will be about religion in New Zealand from the view of an unbeliever.

If you want to be part of making this movie happen visit our website www.godisincredible.com

"A chaotic Greek departure should terrify everyone it touches" - The Economist

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Sat, 12 May 2012 04:25:57 PDT

THE respite in the euro crisis lasted a few short months. Now, despite a €130 billion ($169 billion) second bail-out for Greece, a fiscal compact agreed on by the euro-zone leaders in December, and €1 trillion of cheap long-term loans from the European Central Bank, the night terrors are back. How dispiriting that Europe is still so ill-prepared for the ordeal to come.

Time is short. In France voters have given their new president, François Hollande, a mandate to alter the “austere” course set by his ousted predecessor, Nicolas Sarkozy, and Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, and to focus on growth. Mrs Merkel says she will not change the fiscal compact, but Mr Hollande needs something to show voters in legislative polls next month. More threatening is the second election looming in Greece, where parties are struggling to form a government. If a majority of Greeks again vote to reject the spending cuts and reforms that go with their country’s bail-out, then euro-zone governments—in particular, Germany’s—will face a drastic choice. Mrs Merkel will either accommodate Greece and swallow the moral hazard of rewarding defiance or, more likely, stand firm and cut the Greeks adrift (see article).
The idea of a chaotic Greek departure from the euro at a time of Franco-German disunion should terrify everyone it touches. ...It is worst of all in Greece. The half-truth in Athens is that bigoted northern Europeans give Greeks no credit for the hardship they have borne. Greece really has suffered: between 2007 and 2012 its economy is expected to have shrunk by almost a fifth. The economy is being strangled by a severe credit and liquidity crunch, with more budget cuts and tax rises to come. Even if all goes well, Greece’s debt will be 161% of GDP next year. Whatever the make-up of its next government, the idea that Greece can repay this is the biggest fantasy of all....

Read the rest.

SHOOT: Greece should be written off. Germany and the healthy Euro-zone economies that remain ought to begin to manage a gradual break up of the eurozone and the single currency. Or else it will happen as a force of nature, suddenly, catastrophically.

Does This Look Like Europe's Financial Recovery?

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Sat, 12 May 2012 04:01:18 PDT

Robben Island Revisited [PHOTOS]

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Fri, 11 May 2012 00:02:31 PDT

This dude has apparently guided the likes of Mr Mandela, the late Gadaffi, Oprah, Obama, Mrs Clinton...you name it.

Scenes from a Blue Train

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Thu, 10 May 2012 04:27:36 PDT

How the 'Supermoon' Works (Infographic)

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Sat, 05 May 2012 20:46:46 PDT

Source SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration

Surprise Surprise - Adobe Study Reveals Global Creativity Gap

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Wed, 02 May 2012 21:28:37 PDT

SHOOT: Doesn't surprise me - in many corporate workplaces the culture is to choke you so that you're not creative, that you're not a threat. Your job is to tow the line, and know your place, and don't speak until spoken to... Sad, stupid - everybody loses, including the company. It's a dullards approach to the workplace, and one of the reasons I went freelance.

The Foster Approach to making Wildlife Films [PODCAST]

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:27:23 PDT

Note: This interview was originally intended for a particular magazine, but due to space limitations it was completely left out, which, as I'm sure you'll agree is a shame. At one point in the interview there's a lack of clarity about a camera mounted on a lion or a cheetah. I probably saw a similar technique, though not made by the Fosters, in a Nat Geo doc, featuring a very tight POV shot with a lion, but it amounts to the same technique. I'm still looking to place this - one magazine is interested by not committing upfront, so am sort've still shopping for a more definite sign of interest. I found this fascinating, as I'm sure many photographers, and folks interested in the great outdoors - particularly Africa - would be.

At the latter end of the interview I posed a personal question: I have a passion for a story centred on the Bushmen; which I would love to write and have folks like the Foster Brothers shoot. I call it The Quintessential South African Film, a powerful, existential flick, showing the human condition in all its majesty, tragedy and stark beauty - the beauty of the Kalahari and the Makgadikgadi, the Baobabs, the incredible sky and the power of the African sun. Then of course, the unique human connection we share with each other, the creatures that flock through the dust, and those that fly, and beyond that - the ancient roads this continent knows we've walked. Remembering our connection to this continent, and to ourselves, and each other. Where "primitive man" is both way smarter, and way fitter in his knowledge of the environment, in spite of his simple tools, lack of technology and obvious poverty. By contrast, we have incredible poverty of our spirits. As Jake says in Avatar, "We've killed our mother."

In the world today we as a species have become distracted and disconnected, lost and misled, unhappy and unhealthy. We have broken our own hearts, and we need a new compass to set ourselves straight. This is a story that sets about to fix the broken spirit of humanity, where we are once again all in it together - survivors, sharing (rather than owning) the land, in the brief but epic episodes that are individual lifetimes. What could be a deeper, more meaningful, and more inspirational story to come out of South Africa than that? I've already written it; it just needs to see the light of day, and then its name in lights. perhaps from that spark, we could see a new existential fire burn that makes more sense of the world we find ourselves in, together, right now.

Surreal Skies - Photos That Look Painted

noreply@blogger.com (Nick van der Leek) — Wed, 02 May 2012 15:44:55 PDT