Mimic

I took this photo yesterday of a mimic. It looks like a bee, but it isn't a bee. I have noticed that bees become irritable around other insects, but not around the mimics. This is an Ischiodon aegyptius, which is common in Africa. You may click on the image to enlarge.

Youngsters

I took this photo yesterday of youngsters in a township. The boy on the left was camera shy, as one sees. OBSERVATION: The boy in the foreground shows some signs of malnutrition, which I find is quite widespread in our townships. In South Africa, about 10,000 children die every year of malnutrition -- yet we are considered an advanced society in Africa. Adults, too, may be malnourished.

Impartial Consultant?

Church consultants may be counter-productive. My Church hired a Church consultant. There were two groups in the Church, at odds. Separately, he highly praised each group in their presence and crudely vilified the other. This was, needless to say, contradictory. When I discovered this, I opened it up to the Church's diaconate (a Church council). This brought more of the same to light. They decided that same night to dismiss him.

Nails Stolen

Here's a new angle on "the scene of the crime" at Moria Pentecostal Church outside Kareedouw, in South Africa's Eastern Cape. I took the photo today. This was a Church of appreciable size (perhaps seating 100+ people). Someone stole the nails, and the roof collapsed. That was the beginning of the end.

Wilde Als

My parents-in-law are cultivating their own Wilde Als, or African Wormwood (Artemisia afra). One boils it and drinks the liquid. I have seen it work. Its effects on bronchitis are stunning. It is said to be anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and antidepressant.

Preview of an Interview

I received a preview today of an interview with me in the January SHARE magazine (pictured). I have found this to be a first class philosophy magazine. It runs serious philosophy which is a pleasure to read, unlike so much "academic" philosophy.

Annual Philosophy Lecture

May I invite you to attend? On 20 March, 2025, I am scheduled to hold the Annual Philosophy Lecture in Malta, hosted by the Philosophy Sharing Foundation, a member of the Fédération Internationale des Sociétés de Philosophie. The subject is Holism. Tickets are now available here: Annual Philosophy Lecture.

A Tight Ship

In 2011, my wife died. What effect would this have on the Church? One of the most important things for a Church's stability, harmony and progress is running "a tight ship". Some Christians have wonderful spiritual discipline, while others do not, thus one needs to cultivate a culture of discipline. One sees this writ large all over Scripture. Following my wife's death (she was an ordained minister, and effectively a co-pastor), our Church encountered creeping turbulence. I attribute this to a large extent to her death, since one of her major roles was applying discipline in the Church. OBSERVATION: However, she was discreet, subtle, and cheerful about it, so that the application of discipline did not seem overt.

Extortion Twice

I faced a second apparent extortion attempt this year (see a previous post). I haven't posted on it until now, because I wanted to see the outcome first. In this case, I filed a report with the police, but didn't open a case. To my surprise, a Lieutenant Colonel got in touch: "Good morning Sir. Could you please provide us with an address to send a patrol vehicle to open a case." I passed on this message to the extortioner. This put fear into him. It changed everything. OBSERVATION: This, in my experience, was an unusually proactive response by police, and just what was needed. I call it an "apparent" extortion attempt because the attempt was interrupted. If it hadn't been interrupted, I would have lost around R10,000.

One Day At a Time

I live in a large, pleasant, secure complex, with trees, grass, and beautiful succulents in front of a big sliding door on the ground floor. One floor up, for as long as I have been here, a woman has thumped out a song, "One day at a time, Sweet Jesus." She has played it over and over and over, perhaps as many as 100 times in a day. During the last week, management distributed fines for inappropriate disturbances of the peace. Sweet Jesus went completely quiet. OBSERVATION: I can understand how people might listen to the same song a few times ... but hundreds and thousands of times?

Franciscan Monk

I had a pleasant meeting this morning with a Franciscan monk (pictured). He said, "This Church is too dark for a photo." I said, "This camera can handle anything." Can it? OBSERVATION: It was an interesting encounter. We spoke the kind of language that monks and ministers speak, so we understood each other at a deeper level.

Splattered With Blood

Just when you think you've seen it all in South Africa ... I entered a well known supermarket today, to find that the floor was splattered with blood from wall to wall, and corner to corner. "Didn't it smell of blood?" someone asked me afterwards. So it did. One had to step around puddles of blood all the way through the place. OBSERVATION: Where did the blood come from? That remains a mystery to me.

Swamp Weed

I took this photo of a swamp weed this morning -- at least, I tried -- in Cape Town's Zoarvlei. Although merely a photo of weed, I took this at a fast 1/1250 s shutter speed. as the wind was blowing. As best I remember, I used manual focus, too.

Next Book

I have completed the draft of a book which is based on my "Malta lecture". It is what I call "fictional philosophy". With my original lecture being about 5,000 words long, this takes it to about 40,000 words. It requires Grade 5 to read (extremely simple), and it scores 65% for strength of style (very strong). Apparently, now is the best time to approach agents and publishers. OBSERVATION: The text may be ready to tell agents and publishers, but is the author ready? I don't feel ready. The "fictional philosophy" may in fact be below Grade 5, because it includes, at the moment, the "Malta lecture".

Secretary's Accident

Here is a story which, I think, has not been told on this blog before. We had a Church secretary, who drove her car over the side of a mountain road. It made newspaper headlines. She said that she had been carrying all of the Church's petty cash -- and at the scene of the accident, someone had grabbed it and run away with it. She was admitted to hospital. OBSERVATION: Unfortunately, she did not return to the Church office. This incident did make me more aware of the well-being of secretaries, both inside and outside the office.