We remember today...

Let us always keep doing so. What happened that day was one of those turning points in history.
As I mentioned in another post on this same day.
The day the world changed and we all knew the face of evil... and the face of Love.

We must never forget...

What was done in the name of so called religion this day.
  
Photo montage Wikipedia. 
"Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children." President George W. Bush, November 11, 2001

Accepting the challenge

This week has been a horrendous week for all forms of powered racing. Three pilots killed in Reno and Collin McCrae dies in a helicopter crash near his house. My thoughts go to the families of all involved.
A pictorial tribute...
In August of 2006, McRae and co-driver Nicky Grist competed for Subaru in the first live televised American rally in Los Angeles and finished second despite rolling his car

However one must remember all of them were doing something they loved and I am borrowing a poem from Scully at Skywritings to illustrate this.
And shouldn't I have,
knowing that this might be the last,
raced my craft around the sky once more,
just to feel the stick clasp my hand back,
joined in the thrall,
dancing with the wind
waltzing with the blue
knowing that never after should I feel so free,
so sure in risk, so sure in this, my calling
taming this sky with the pride of experience.
my future just a glint in the horizons
I hurl myself up to meet my fate---
"scully" 2007

I feel the same when I get on my bike, I know it has it's dangers, I am still in plaster from the last minor miscalculation, but the feeling of freedom and being able to give my thoughts wings as I wind my way down a twisty mountain pass is something I always want to be able to do. Actually I ache to do it, before the accident I would find any excuse to rather use the bike than the car. Now I can hardly wait for me to take it for a spin again. I am sure they also felt the same way about flying and racing.
People who pass from this mortal coil pursuing their dream and passion are fortunate in a sense... second only to those that give their lives protecting others. So I am sad at their passing but salute their lives as they were living their dreams and showing us all how to really live... You will be missed.
"Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power." - Lao-Tzu

Mother of mine

Mom, on this day I miss you, you would have liked the new bike, you would have loved to meet KatieB, you would be proud of M being the fitness coach of the lady Free State Cheetahs and so impressed with what L has done so far, traveling all on her own to the States and back... you would have thought my crazy schemes and dreams are achievable... you never said "never". You were an inspiration to me and today on your birthday I miss you once again. So here is my tribute to you;
MOTHER OF MINE - Donny Osmond

Mother of mine you gave to me,
all of my life to do as I please,
I owe everything I have to you,
Mother sweet Mother of mine.

Mother of mine when I was young
you showed me the right way things had to be done,
without your arms where would I be,
Mother sweet Mother of mine.

CHORUS
Mother you gave me happiness,
much more than words can say,
I thank the Lord let me breath with you,
every night and every day.

Mother of mine now I am grown
and I can walk straight all on my own,
I'd like to give you what you gave to me,
Mother sweet Mother of mine.

REPEAT CHORUS

Mother of mine now I am grown
and I can walk straight all on my own,
I'd like to give you what you gave to me,
Mother sweet Mother of mine.
Mother sweet Mother of mine.

This quote sums up my mom's view that life is for living... she always encouraged us kids to be adventurers and try everything... within limits of course... maybe that is why she turned grey at a young age... I remember her face when we called out to her to come and watch us jump from the garage roof into the dam... that gap always seemed like the Grand Canyon... or when me and Pat were both in plaster from bike crashes and middle boet Howard seemed to take forever to come back from that "test ride". He came back, minus bike... the car he had hit was almost split in two... he had a few roasties and could describe his crash in detail as he arced over the little Opel just to land amongst the waiting bus passengers on the pavement... she hid the tears of relief. We love you mom. You did sterling work... even if I say so myself.
"The art of mothering is to teach the art of living to children." Elain Heffner, O Magazine, May 2003

Keys to the Keep

It has been two days and I need a vacation! Tomorrow I have to go tell my new boss that I need 3 new screens... yep, one packed up earlier this year, one packed up while on leave and the other one went berserk today. It keeps on flashing between a pink hue and normal plus everything seems out of focus... this is the one I use for my PC at home so it is mine! I brought it to the office while the first one went in to be diagnosed and I have been waiting since for the upper Echelon to decide if I should or not get a new screen... I will not bring my new flat screen from home! My work laptop also died just before I went on leave... it needs a new power brick... so I cannot use that as a backup machine... eish! I feel like a gardener that has just broken the rake handle, bent the spade and broken the fork's tines... toofless and tool less!
So this evening I took Shrek for a short ride to de-stress and the clock went over to 4006 kilos! Will be needing that second service pretty soon by the way I am putting on kilometres.
Taking a break today I visited Danette's new blog and one of her missives on what happens to blogs when people pass on made me decide to hand over a set of keys to someone I trust. I don't want those left behind having to fight to get hold of things like what happened to Gut Rumbles. I want a smooth transition for those remaining behind... so to speak. So henceforth you will notice another name under "Contributors", my friend and fellow Adventurer KatieB. Please feel free to re arrange the furniture my dear... but leave the couch where it is... the cats are wont to lie on it in the late afternoon sun...
I also started to put into motion another dream... albeit a very tentative step but as they say, every journey starts with the first step. One has to start somewere you know, may as well be a virtual adventure at first.
KatieB sent me a text message or 2 while I was registering the domain... but I think I may have answered her in a distracted way... sorry for that, I can't multitask like she can. Even Winamp has been playing a very disjointed selection but at least one was appreciated, I always used to code to Vangelis and Pinta, Nina, Santa Maria is 13 odd minutes of his music.
If you have visited my fellow adventurer's blog and read her expose on the word Adventure you may smile reading this closing quote... we are planning to go pulling some beards.
"When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers". Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

WOW I have hit the Googlejackpot

with my wacky blog Megalicious Mayhem, it is ranked first!
Speaking of mayhem, what a week this has been, murder at the CWC, Maputo blowing up and the rest of the world pretty well going to pot at a rate of knots mon...
I think I will sit back and compile a list of songs to soothe the soul... while busy I listened to Nelly Furtado's new CD and this Porra Chick can sing dude! She always had a good voice but she has now matured from her earlier songs... so I decided to call the compilation "All Good Things" based on one of the songs on the CD, plus here are the lyrics to the title track:
All Good Things (come to an end)
Honestly what will become of me
don't like reality
It's way too clear to me
But really life is daily
We are what we don't see
Missed everything daydreaming

[Chorus]
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to end?
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to an end?

Traveling I only stop at exits
Wondering if I'll stay
Young and restless
Living this way I stress less
I want to pull away when the dream dies
The pain sets in and I don't cry
I only feel gravity and I wonder why

Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
[ these lyrics found on http://www.completealbumlyrics.com ]
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to end?
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to an end?

Well the dogs were whistling a new tune
Barking at the new moon
Hoping it would come soon so that they could
Dogs were whistling a new tune
Barking at the new moon
Hoping it would come soon so that they could
Die die die die die

Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
Flames to dust
Lovers to friends
Why do all good things come to an end
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to end?
come to an end come to an
Why do all good things come to an end?

Well the dogs were barking at a new moon
Whistling a new tune
Hoping it would come soon
And the sun was wondering if it should stay away for a day til the feeling went away
And the sky was falling on the clouds were dropping and
the rain forgot how to bring salvation
the dogs were barking at the new moon
Whistling a new tune
Hoping it would come soon so that they could die.
And once again the The Screaming Tangerines present the latest megaclicious collection All Good Things:
A collection of some of those songs that remind me mostly of good (and some bad) things...
58 tracks in playlist, average track length: 4:12
Playlist length: 4 hours 3 minutes 38 seconds

1. Nelly Furtado - All Good Things (Come To An End) (3:57)
2. Madelyne - Beautiful Child (Hiver and Hammer Mix) (4:07)
3. Frou Frou - Holding Out For A Hero (3:22)
4. Lipstick - Back For Good (4:12)
5. Savage Garden - Tears of pearls (3:48)
6. CJ Stone - The sun goes down (6:55)
7. Sash! - La Primavera (3:36)
8. Zager and Evans - In the year 2525 (3:17)
9. Everything But the Girl - Missing (4:06)
10. 10000 Maniacs - Because The Night (3:43)
11. The All American Rejects - Move Along (4:00)
12. Bosson - I believe (Up-Tempo Version) (3:15)
13. Sarah Brightman - Only an ocean away (4:55)
14. Hooverphonic - Vinegar and salt (3:20)
15. Sarah Brightman - Eden (3:59)
16. Nightwish - Ever dream (4:44)
17. Aria - Dido (armin van buurens universal religion mix) (8:52)
18. ATB - Don't Stop (3:47)
19. Shakira - How Do You Do (3:46)
20. 4 Strings ft Tina Cousins - Diamonds (3:11)
21. ATB - The Summer (3:41)
22. Vanessa Carlton - Paint it black (3:30)
23. John Mellencamp - Hurts so good (3:36)
24. Imperio - Veni Vidi Vici (2:19)
25. Enigma - Modern Crusaders (Distinction mix) (3:55)
26. Stuck Mojo - Home (4:49)
27. Nena - Willst du mit mir gehn (3:46)
28. Belinda Carlisle - Little black book (4:12)
29. Nadia Ali - At The End (album ver) (3:39)
30. ATB - Ecstasy (4:21)
31. Rammstein - Amour (4:50)
32. DJ Tiesto - Ten seconds before sunrise (7:31)
33. Rachel Stevens - I will be there (4:03)
34. Nelly Furtado - In God's Hands (4:54)
35. Tocadisco - You're No Good For Me (Tocadisco's Recover Mix) (6:50)
36. Gigi D'agostino - La Passion (3:25)
37. Yoomii - A kiss is all I miss (3:25)
38. James Brown - I feel good (2:46)
39. ATB - I Dont Wanna Stop (3:34)
40. Heart - Will you be there in the morning (4:24)
41. Roxette - The Sweet Hello, The Sad Goodbye (4:49)
42. Dht - Sun (3:12)
43. Belinda Carlisle - Summer rain (5:29)
44. Pink - Feel Good Time (3:42)
45. Nickelback - Good Times Gone (5:18)
46. Blank & Jones - Catch (Radio Video Mix) (3:17)
47. Gigi d´Agostino - I wonder why (3:29)
48. 4 Strings - Until You Love Me (4:16)
49. Black - Everything's Coming Up Roses (4:06)
50. The Killers - Somebody Told Me (3:17)
51. Cascada - Wouldnt It Be Good (Club Mix) (5:06)
52. Gregorian - The sounds of silence (4:15)
53. t.A.T.u. - Dangerous And Moving (4:35)
54. Nia Nell - One lifetime (4:02)
55. Sonique - Feels So Good (5:25)
56. Placebo - Every you every me (3:33)
57. Royksopp - Only This Moment (3:55)
58. Avril Lavigne - Who knows (3:30)
So I end with condolences to the family of Bob Woolmer, may the painful memories be erased and the joyful ones be etched in their hearts.
“One good thing about music, when it hits- you feel no pain” Bob Marley

See the yellow spot...

way up the mountain? That was one of the Marshall points on the route for the Rouxville 200 off road race.

Being MSA Steward afforded me more time to take pictures, here is the Bike Start at 09:30, 56 bikes entered

Kenny screwing his eyes shut from the glare of a scorching sun!
And this was the Quad Start at 13:30, 67 quad entries in all. Minus the one dude that had no racing kit!

Last quad home was at 17:25. To Sarel, Ria and all the other organizers and sponsors, job well done. The venue was 100% better than last year and the route was well marked as usual, technical but not dangerous, the average speed of both the leading Quad and Bike was well within the 60 Kph target. To all the Welkom riders... grow some! This is off road racing, not flat track or drags! Here one can see the dust trail of one of the quads negotiating the trail down the first leg.
And this was the same guy approaching the pit section... still going flat taps, balls to the wall!
A dedication Cross for Elmer Symonds was also present during the race and prizegiving, it will be at each of our regional events, thanks guys this is a wonderful memorial to a bloke that lived for the sport.
After the racing the dam became a good spot to relax and cool down in after a very hot and hectic days racing.
All in all a great event and I am looking foreward the the Mayaputi 200 next month... but as I will be scoring there will not be much time for picture taking.
"Dedication is not what others expect of you, it is what you can give to others." Unknown

Requiem for a namesake

I am researching my family history and Roux was a recent possible contacts that I was going to be following up shortly... To his family and wife Pamela, my deepest sympathy.
Once again words are not adequate. All I can say is he died doing something he clearly loved and enjoyed.
"Waste no more time talking about great souls and how they should be. Become one yourself!"
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (121 AD - 180 AD)

Tora, Tora, Tora...

Today we remember Pearl Harbour, I just hope it does not take another one to awaken the sleeping tiger of the free world... Click on the title for an amazing read that will make you think about where the Free World is in the scheme of things...
"behind them lay a shattered fleet hidden in a pall of fire and smoke; and the vengeance of the United States" British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (after the attack).

Tigers don't cry

Martin van Straaten, #2 of the 3 plane Sasol Tigers aerobatic team was killed today when his L29 Delfin crashed off Milnerton, no one is sure why it happened. We all mourn the loss of a brilliant aviator. This is second fatal accident with this team over the period since they first got together to form the team in 2002.

" . . . If I take the wings of the morning,and dwell in the innermost parts of the sea." Charles A. Lindberg

Lest we forget...

Bloggers have united to remeber the 2996 slain...
"If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything." Mark Twain (1835 - 1910)

Crocodile tears...

Moonbat feminists and underachiever Germaine Greer has attacked Steve Irwin's achievements in a horrid way, so I want to know hagface, what have you done for the World lately? Quite frankly I would rather have 100 more Irwins than one more Greer... I for one will not be shedding any crocodile tears at her demise...
Prune juice anyone?

"Don't think there are no crocodiles because the water is calm." Malayan Proverb

R.I.P. Acidman

a Tribute from Chris Muir @ Day By Day
As we say in this part of Africa... Hamba gahle Nkosi... may he rest with his forefathers...
Rob's Gut Rumbles was always one of the blogs I look into each day. I will miss him and his rapier wit.
To all his loved ones I bid fond memories... and keep the blog up as a memorial.
HT to the Rottie and Da Goddess!
I think this from the Great Bard sums it up, in his own unique way Rob lived up to this...
"Conversation should be pleasant without scurrility, witty without affectation, free without indecency, learned without conceitedness, novel without falsehood." William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

I believe he is in Tulsa...

Gene Pitney found dead in hotel
This is such sad news, just like Roy Orbison when he started his comeback. Well as they say... only the good die young... relatively speaking of course.
I will always remember him and Marc Almond when they sang Something's gotten hold of my heart.
Yup... I am a sentimental...

The Journey Continues

Ricky is off again, read all about it on the website and follow it on the blog...















Good luck and bon voyage boet.

Scotty has beamed up

BBC NEWS Entertainment: TV and Radio Star Trek's Scotty dies aged 85
So sad to hear this, as a Trekkie I always enjoyed that line "Beam me up Scotty". He sort of reminded me of my Grandad om Mom's side, he was also an engineer and of Scotish decent, a distant decendant of William Wallace by the way, a pity he died before TV. I think he would have enjoyed a lot of todays technology. Possibly got some of my love of tinkering with things from him as well. Scotty or James Doohan in real life was one of the Star Trek characters that was a hero in his own right, always ready to go the extra mile to get the Enterprise on line... so even being a Canadian by birth I salute him in the language of a true Scot, Soraidh laoch Scotty! (Hope my syntax is correct.) Today's lyrics come from Sarah Connor and Zero to Hero, a upbeat tribute to a TV hero of mine. She is German by the way...
Baby, now I'm gonna get my message to you
And I hope that you believe that it's true
And maybe take some time but all that's in your mind
You can make it come true
And it's crazy, that the people wait for someone who's strong
Even though they could do it on their own
'Cause everyone of us has a hero in his heart

So this is your time, you can take it
And love is no crime, you should make it
Whenever you feel you gotta go deep inside your soul
From zero to hero
So this is your life, you can live it
And if you feel love, just go out and give it
Whenever you know you gotta go deep inside your soul
From zero to hero

Baby, you've been falling deep in love with a girl
You're so happy, wanna tell the whole world
You better wait a while, until you make her smile
And you'll know she loves you, too
Don't be lazy, gotta prove to her your love is so strong
And without her all you do is just wrong
She will be loving you for the hero in your heart

So this is your time, you can take it
And love is no crime, you should make it
Whenever you feel you gotta go deep inside your soul
From zero to hero
So this is your life, you can live it
And if you feel love, just go out and give it
Whenever you know you gotta go deep inside your soul
From zero to hero

Take your chances baby
You can make it through
From a zero to a hero
Just follow your soul

So this is your time, this is your time, you can take it
Love ain't a crime, so you should make it
This is your live and you'll be living it
From zero to hero
So this is your time, you can take it
And love is no crime, you should make it
Whenever you feel you gotta go deep inside your soul
From zero to hero
So this is your life, you can live it
And if you feel love, just go out and give it
Whenever you know you gotta go deep inside your soul
From zero to hero

Wins a girl's heart
"One man's "magic" is another man's engineering. "Supernatural" is a null word." Excerpt from the notebooks of Lazarus Long, from Robert Heinlein's "Time Enough for Love"

Tell Laura I love her...

Laura Branigan dies at 47 - 29/08/2004 11:53 - (SA)
New York - Laura Branigan, a Grammy-nominated pop singer best known for her 1982 platinum hit Gloria, has died. She was 47.
Branigan died of a brain aneurysm on Thursday in her sleep at her home in East Quogue, said her brother Mark Branigan. He said she had complained to a friend of a headache for about two weeks before she died, but had not sought medical attention.
Gloria, a signature song from her debut album Branigan, stayed atop the pop charts for 36 weeks and earned her a Grammy nomination for best female pop vocalist, the first of four nominations in her career.
She also made television appearances, including guest spots on CHiPs, and in the films Mugsy's Girls and Backstage.
Branigan released seven albums after her debut Branigan, including Solitaire, Self Control, and How Am I Supposed to Live Without You, which was co-written with Michael Bolton. Her songs also appeared on soundtracks for the films Flashdance and Ghostbusters.
Branigan was born on July 3 1957, and grew up in Brewster, New York. She attended the Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan. During the late 1970s, she toured Europe as a backing vocalist for Canadian singer and songwriter Leonard Cohen. She signed as a solo artist with Atlantic Records in 1982.
After her run of success in the 1980s, her releases in the early 1990s attracted little attention. In 1994, she sang a duet with David Hasselhoff called I Believe for the soundtrack of the television show Baywatch. She released a 13-track Best of Branigan LP the next year.
After the death of her husband, Lawrence Kruteck, in 1996, Branigan stopped performing but returned to the stage in 2001.
In 2002 she starred as Janis Joplin in the off-Broadway musical Love, Janis which earned her rave reviews.
Branigan recently had been working on material for a new release.
UPDATE:



Her new material has been released on a cd called Remember Me, the track The Challenge is brilliant.










She is survived by her mother, two brothers and a sister. Funeral services were scheduled for Monday.
Such sad news, I love her music. I think these words from The Corrs song Angel, are very apt for today.
Angel - The Corrs
She lived like she knew nothing lasts
Didn't care to look like anyone else
And she was beautiful, so beautiful
I still hear her laugh like she's here

Shower it down on all the young
It isn't so wrong to have such fun...

Forever angel, I hope they love you like we do
Forever angel, I'll be proud to be like you
Be like you (I'll be proud to be like you)

Does the sun shine up at you when you're looking down?
Do you get along with the others around?

It's got to be better than before
You don't need to worry now you're gone...

Forever angel, I hope they love you like we do
Forever angel, I'll be proud to be like you
Be like you, just like you...

And when I go to sleep at night
I'll thank you for each blessed thing surrounding me
For every fall I'll ever break
Each moment's breath I wanna taste
Confidence and conscience, decadent extravangance
Never ending providence, for loving when I had the chance

(Tin whistle interlude)

Angel, I hope they love you like we do
Forever angel, I'll be proud to be like you
Forever angel, I'll be proud to be like you
Be like you
I'll be proud to be like you
Apart from this, today was monday as usual... too much to do and too little time. Good story in Cold Case again and the music is once again quite impresive... Indigo Girls Closer To Fine, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Free Falling, Cowboy Junkies Sweet Jane, Poison Every Rose Has It's Thorn, Aerosmith Love In an Elevator, Roxette Listen To Your Heart, Tears For Fears Sowing The Seeds of Love, The Bangles Eternal Flame.
I am skipping the recipe tonight due to the theme, will do another double helping next week... be there!
"I love quotations because it is a joy to find thoughts one might have, beautifully expressed with much authority by someone recognized wiser than oneself." Marlene Dietrich 1901 - 1992