Scorched

Fairy-tale princesses and Olympic fakes (M&G)

Friday, August 22nd, 2008 | Mail & Guardian column | 1 Comment

Cinderella was a money-grabbing trollop who used her looks to weasel her way up the social ladder. Or she was just a lucky kid who got the “hot” genes, the kind that sculpted a face which would catch the eye of the most powerful guy in the room. Either way, her glorious visage got her a seat in the royal throne room.

But the insinuation throughout the fairy tale is that the petite-footed, flaxen-haired, cinder-streaked bombshell was as flawless in moral fibre as she was of feature; that she was virtuous and pure and thus worthy of being fairyland’s first lady. Her gnarled, stout, ugly sisters were the exact opposite, the embodiment of everything that is mean, wretched and evil. They were as dreadful in character as they were in countenance. › Continue reading

Tags: beauty

Stormy weather (M&G)

Friday, August 8th, 2008 | Mail & Guardian column, climate change | 1 Comment

How many global citizens does it take to change an incandescent light bulb to something more energy-efficient? None, apparently, because the light bulb doesn’t need changing.

The dissident view of climate change is growing in popularity as the media continue to thrash out both “sides” of the story: the Earth may be warming, but it’s not our fault. Projections aren’t nearly as dire as the alarmists tell us. So sit back, everyone, and enjoy the sunshine.

This approach assumes there are two sides of the story — which just shows how vast the gulf is between climate scientists and those of us who aren’t privy to the reams of discombobulating data and models on which climatologists build their projections. › Continue reading

Tags: climate change, dissidents

Survival on planet celluloid (Extra Virgin)

Friday, August 1st, 2008 | uncategorized | No Comments

Celluloid has changed the world of storytelling. And it’s shifted the way audiences engage with the storyteller. Leonie Joubert sulks a bit as she considers a world where the entertainer is king and wonders how Brangelina’s twins might help to save the earth.

Urgh. I’m stuck. Writer’s block. It started when I read today’s headlines on one of my favourite news websites (a respected one, at that). Top of the “don’t miss” ticker scrolling across the page? Angelina Jolie gives birth to twins. And Madonna’s failing marriage to Guy Ritchie is held together tentatively by the Kabbalah. › Continue reading