tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67676860132797321652012-01-26T13:57:14.614+02:00James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.comBlogger1961100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-78205409729965814952011-10-24T17:49:00.001+02:002011-10-24T17:50:57.259+02:00

Otelo Burning is showing at the BFI London Film Festival. There's an early draft of the screenplay here.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-24329114038363796782011-08-13T09:48:00.003+02:002011-08-25T09:49:58.295+02:00

‘Parting’ is an astonishing technical feat: written in utterly natural-sounding iambic pentameter, it stretches out like the kite lines it uses as images for our connection to our souls. It manages to be at once an utterly down-to-earth telling, a dramatically rendered scene and a sublime meditation. I wish thousands of beginner poets can see just what can be achieved by building with diction

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-8307721065249095792011-05-28T16:18:00.009+02:002011-08-21T11:26:27.239+02:00

"Frank Fourie is a man whose needs are fairly simple. He’s on holiday in Pringle Bay with his wife and children. Like so many other families from up country they’ve come to their holiday cottage for the Christmas break. It’s Christmas Eve and Frank is taking a black bag of rubbish to the dump." Review of The Story at LitNet. You can order South African Pens 2011 - New Writing from Southern

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-90144285344948390352011-05-24T10:23:00.012+02:002012-01-18T09:42:42.890+02:00

"First prize goes to 'The Story', an assured and professional piece of writing about a simple-seeming interaction between two men in which the true drama takes place beneath the surface. Dialogue is particularly deftly handled. In all, a fine illustration of the adage that, sometimes, less is more." JM Coetzee African Pens 2011 - New Writing from Southern Africa Jacana Thank you to SOUTH

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-47232821023134430242010-09-09T16:03:00.000+02:002010-09-09T16:03:03.098+02:00

Do you earn your living in South Africa writing television, film, screenplays, teleplays, radio drama? When you get into situations like this... The WGSA are the people to turn to. Join and support the WGSA. And when you need help, the WGSA will be there to support you.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-7010248917673807932010-08-30T12:05:00.007+02:002011-06-30T13:39:07.348+02:00

An early draft of the screenplay. (Circa 2007) The National Film and Video Foundation Otelo Burning page. Otelo Burning Screenplay selected for IFP's 31st Annual Independent Film Week Line-Up as part of the 15th annual No Borders International Co-Production Market. (2009) Strange Otelo Burning story in the Sunday World. (August 2010) The writer. Otelo Burning site Otelo Burning Trailer

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-63964890787388094072010-06-22T10:36:00.002+02:002010-06-22T13:40:48.786+02:00

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-20749073102384699742010-05-25T07:39:00.001+02:002010-05-25T07:39:25.492+02:00

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-38751257504699949112010-05-05T11:26:00.000+02:002010-05-05T11:26:17.208+02:00

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-53777692968035253202010-04-09T13:38:00.002+02:002010-04-09T13:41:22.243+02:00

MALEMA: This is a revolutionary house. And you don't come here with that tendency. Don't come here with that white tendency. Not here. You can do it somewhere else. If you've got a tendency of undermining blacks even where you work, you are in the wrong place. Here you are in the wrong place. JOURNALIST: That's rubbish. MALEMA: And you can go out. Ja, you can go out. Rubbish is what you have

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-63090682018435242102010-04-05T10:11:00.001+02:002010-04-05T10:12:10.478+02:00

"Two little views of the Leeu se Kop, the one in the Bo Kaap in February, sweating in the afternoon sun. The other done in March on a nondescript Saturday afternoon. Edward Hopper – a superb watercolourist – was fond of taking a watercolour from behind the frame of the windscreen." If you're coming to the World Cup in South Africa, there is one thing you should do. You should buy a Becker.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-90703609629633423022010-03-13T15:34:00.000+02:002010-03-13T15:34:34.661+02:00

The sound of white revolution - South Africa, 1984

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-23841854788949308602010-03-13T14:28:00.008+02:002011-05-02T14:43:01.697+02:00

King Lear is the best play ever written English and contains some of greatest lines. Lines like, "It is the time's plague when madmen lead the blind." And many of those lines contain the words "see" or "eye". The play opens with a flattery competition. Lear is dividing his kingdom in three and giving it to his daughters. LEAR. Which of you, shall we say, does love us most? KENT. What wouldst

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-85922390639741818972010-02-21T14:46:00.000+02:002010-02-21T14:46:59.068+02:00

1 Marry somebody you love and who thinks you being a writer’s a good idea. 2 Dont have children. 3 Dont read your reviews. 4 Dont write reviews. Your judgment’s always tainted. 5 Dont have arguments with your wife in the morning, or late at night. 6 Dont drink and write at the same time. 7 Dont write letters to the editor. No one cares. 8 Dont wish ill on your colleagues. 9 Try to think of others

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-11108258842260081612010-02-05T09:17:00.000+02:002010-02-05T09:17:56.810+02:00

I suspect this is really good. I suspect Freimond's going to go big.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-78665908761689689182010-02-04T13:59:00.000+02:002010-02-04T13:59:50.151+02:00

"I received the screamworthy news that John Cleese had officially signed on the dotted line to play The Guv." John van de Ruit

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-3513429525332811852010-01-21T09:24:00.000+02:002010-01-21T09:24:03.557+02:00

“He would do better if he concentrated more on his work and less on entertaining his classmates.” – Headmaster’s comment, Perry’s school report, 1965. “Fuck right off.”  – Perry Iles, 2009.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-43547082389479600922009-11-25T11:18:00.002+02:002009-11-25T11:18:50.490+02:00

"ARIEL LEVY: Hi, Daniel. Well, I think that Caster Semenya thinks of herself as a woman and since nobody can say for sure, I guess I figure why not go with her own sense of identity? Who is a bigger Caster Semenya expert than Caster Semenya?" Read more: http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/ask/2009/11/questions-for-levy.html#ixzz0XrS82FHB

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-1218207737954284302009-10-14T08:45:00.000+02:002009-10-14T08:45:37.137+02:00

Home now. But it was good.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-23401065041036290352009-09-20T16:38:00.000+02:002009-09-20T16:38:07.913+02:00

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-91387158624138883992009-09-18T12:57:00.002+02:002009-09-18T13:08:24.297+02:00

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-79639350009009500612009-09-12T13:49:00.001+02:002009-09-12T13:49:37.374+02:00

Is going to No Borders.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-23475187653213267752009-08-30T19:33:00.002+02:002009-08-30T19:35:36.583+02:00

Okay it's good. The bastard offspring of The Office and Alien and an acute satirical portrait of contemporary SA. All it's missing is a Thabo Mbeki figure siding with the industrialists in private and blaming white racism and the CIA in public.It's also a morality tale, a fairy story with two morals:1 - Never piss off a Van de Mevwe2- Be kind to prawns.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-73244559253791101652009-08-20T09:48:00.002+02:002009-08-20T09:53:16.258+02:00

“You fucking mizungo [white person], I’m gonna get you!,” screams the menacing black Nigerian cannibal. ...District 9 illustrates the strange new state of racial and political identity. It suggests some lingering Afrikaans’ fear or, possibly, how Jackson really thinks about the Maori and Aborigines. New York Press - From Mothership to Bullship. By the ironically named Armond White (lefty)

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-43161158470408930002009-08-20T09:24:00.000+02:002009-08-20T09:25:24.159+02:00

This baby has the stuff to end the movie summer on a note of dazzle and distinction.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-9853580795704975992009-08-20T09:05:00.002+02:002009-08-20T09:19:55.106+02:00

...the locals are fed up and pushing for segregation......violent clashes between impoverished black South Africans and Zimbabwean refugees......Unemployment is rampant, healthcare is nonexistent...LA Times

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-55502532022505623632009-06-28T13:14:00.000+02:002009-06-28T13:18:17.899+02:00

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-1608417637350450072009-06-23T12:28:00.000+02:002009-06-23T12:29:23.210+02:00

Adderley - a small village in Shropshire

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-72442804303058858122009-06-21T16:30:00.002+02:002009-06-21T16:31:53.511+02:00

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-78335314293412081142009-06-21T14:25:00.000+02:002009-06-21T14:27:37.859+02:00

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-59360604749485541192009-06-19T15:44:00.004+02:002009-06-28T13:36:45.890+02:00

"AVC: So you think that, despite your own initial reaction to it, McCarthy is successful in the way he uses violence in the book? HB: More than successful. It’s not only the ultimate Western, the book is the ultimate dark dramatization of violence. Again, I don’t see anyone surpassing it in that regard."AVClub.com"AVC: The violence in Blood Meridian is uncharacteristic. It’s not used as a cheap

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-17263051576840641232009-06-19T14:00:00.001+02:002009-06-19T14:00:56.315+02:00

ScreenAfrica

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-81752461316957738402009-06-17T12:45:00.000+02:002009-06-17T12:46:46.329+02:00

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-14791458429089739282009-06-16T14:01:00.001+02:002009-06-16T14:08:53.552+02:00

"RT #iranelection Tag is NOT BLOCKED, reports still coming through, they are trying to disperse us. STOP RETWEETING THE MISINFO" #iran9

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-86293684828224590262009-06-16T13:55:00.001+02:002009-06-16T13:57:28.921+02:00

"Every Iranian, Video EVERYTHING. Get it out 2 the world and be safe doing so.It is the only way the world can help #Iranians #Iran9 #gr881 minute ago from web"

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-32064487352923814102009-06-16T13:41:00.004+02:002009-06-16T14:00:12.840+02:00

#Tehran#iranelectionMousaviIranians OR #iranians#Iran9Is this a revolution?

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-6924216748413987842009-06-16T11:34:00.002+02:002009-06-16T11:35:46.626+02:00

Boston.com

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-7419390013099396152009-06-11T13:00:00.002+02:002009-06-11T13:10:01.475+02:00

Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy My review rating: 5 of 5 starsThis is the best, most thought provoking, book I've read for some years. McCarthy puts a child into the real history of the West and gives him a gun. The result is a blood encrusted epic of mythic slaughter and America's origins. It is also very beautiful. McCarthy is an alchemist. He does

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-48012769130249700202009-06-10T13:21:00.002+02:002009-06-10T13:50:47.734+02:00

Just click here.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-30676225896369669992009-06-09T11:07:00.001+02:002009-06-09T11:09:57.330+02:00

"I mentioned it a while back, it's the one lots of people had fights over. It's called (appropriately) Short Fuses, and contains stories by some of the best writers I've never met. It's a product of the Bookshed, a writing and critiquing site with several reputations, all of them justified."Danny Gillan

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-47605735853164606412009-06-06T14:33:00.005+02:002009-06-06T14:40:24.863+02:00

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-19452598269546664852009-06-05T09:14:00.001+02:002009-06-05T09:32:17.564+02:00

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-36386062712881307872009-06-05T09:04:00.006+02:002009-06-05T13:40:43.570+02:00

Short Fuses, a collection of short stories from The Shed, is now available on Amazon.It contains, among other volatile treats, a new Patrica J DeLois story, Bliss.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-80054277721607489742009-05-29T12:22:00.004+02:002009-06-05T11:42:13.915+02:00

The television industry is staging a protest action against the SABC on 4 June 2009. This is a call to the music industry to express your solidarity and join us. The crisis affects you too...OUR CONTACT: tvcrisis@gmail.comThis letter is written on behalf of the TVIEC (Television Industry Emergency Coalition) which consists of: IPO (Independent Producers Organization), SASFED (South African Screen

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-38494173158488837972009-05-28T15:43:00.004+02:002009-06-05T11:34:34.718+02:00

As you all know, the television industry is staging a peaceful protest action against the SABC on 4 June 2009. The response to our call for companies and individuals to join us has been well received and our numbers are growing. Many unions, actors and musicians are on board and we will also be putting out a call to the public to get involved.OUR CONTACT: tvcrisis@gmail.com

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-27054640669678197672009-05-25T09:59:00.001+02:002009-05-25T10:01:20.594+02:00

I'm reading Cormac McArthy's The Road, and it's so good and so sad that I think it's going to kill me.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-11371591697914102562009-05-18T11:28:00.001+02:002009-05-18T11:29:51.801+02:00

Can the Zulu Boys surf the finance wave at Cannes?

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-60648465317265281712009-05-11T15:45:00.001+02:002009-05-11T15:48:25.619+02:00

Jann Turner's White Wedding grossed over R1.1 million at the Box Office this past weekend when it released on circuit in South-Africa. These results are in line with the opening weekend performance of the smash hit SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE's gross earnings on its opening weekend in March this year.NFVF

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-22254692387387245972009-05-08T10:05:00.003+02:002009-05-08T10:08:50.893+02:00

"With the working people, again it is not so well. Unlucky! For there are twenty to twenty-five millions of them. Whom, however, we lump together into a kind of dim compendious unity, monstrous but dim, far off... 'the masses.' Masses, indeed: and yet, singular to say, if, with an effort of imagination, thou follow them, over broad France, into their clay hovels, into their garrets and hutches,

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-66951769830753389292009-04-22T08:41:00.000+02:002009-04-22T08:43:07.400+02:00

“He told me it was a national service with a lot of money in the end. Then I took my gun and joined them. Years ago we used to fish a lot, enough for us to eat and sell in the markets. Then illegal fishing and dumping of toxic wastes by foreign fishing vessels affected our livelihood, depleting the fish stocks.”BBCIt seems that modern piracy is relatively polite. Compare and contrast:We'd a long

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-26636915662286932282009-04-13T12:27:00.002+02:002009-04-13T12:30:24.540+02:00

"Only male chimps hunt for meat, so females can only acquire meat if they are given it from males, or if they steal it. For the males, this means that the more successful they are at hunting, the more meat they will have to give away in the long term, and the greater the potential for sex. For the females, the benefit of this exchange is the meat, which is an uncommon treat for chimps, as they

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-18890051774302023122009-04-13T12:00:00.002+02:002009-04-13T12:04:28.859+02:00

"Joyce paid me 250 fr. for about 15 hrs. work on his proofs.... He then supplemented it with an old overcoat and 5 ties! I did not refuse. It is so much simpler to be hurt than to hurt."And again, two weeks later:"He [Joyce] was sublime last night, deprecating with the utmost conviction his lack of talent. I don't feel the danger of the association any more. He is just a very lovable human being.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-47971814397048649162009-04-13T10:43:00.000+02:002009-04-13T10:49:49.930+02:00

"Commercial television doesn't demand honorable conduct, but it doesn't preclude it." David Milch.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-9443315611534818362009-04-03T10:54:00.005+02:002009-06-07T11:55:15.987+02:00

Dan Holloway was once, in the same year, officially the most intelligent person in the world and the fourth best discus thrower in Oxford. The quest for “a storyline that makes sense” has, sadly, taken its toll on both of these.Sean Cunningham is a criminal vandal/sheisty supervillain, currently in hiding from the governments/policemens. He does not have a pet cat, but if he did it would wear a

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-86418999015659794592009-03-31T21:38:00.010+02:002009-04-03T09:34:10.127+02:00

...or just The Shed, whatever you call your writer's site, it's good to make a book.Yes. We. Can.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-78697232185693220932009-03-31T16:56:00.002+02:002009-03-31T16:59:52.473+02:00

RRP: £9.90And you can buy it here.ISBN: 978-0-9561534-0-1Spec: 264 pages, 15.24 cm x 22.86 cmAuthors:Dan Holloway, Sean Cunningham, Patricia J. DeLois, Roland Denning, Jasper Dorgan, Derek Duggan, Danny Gillan, Gillian E Hamer, Larry Harkrider, JW Hicks, Amanda Hodgkinson, JA Hudspith, Perry Iles, Lorraine Mace, RK Nathan, Lawrence Poole, Nick Poole, Jo Reed, Jane Dixon- Smith, James Whyle, Sean

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-4736598877703684062009-03-30T20:50:00.001+02:002009-03-30T20:52:11.653+02:00

Short Fuses is a compendium of 20 incendiary confections created in the fractious online assembly known as the Bookshed: an unruly gathering of linguistic fugitives whose only common bond is a passion for writing, absinthe and monkeys. Most of the writers represented here are escapees from other peer-review websites, although at least one is on the run from constabularies not merely virtual.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-76332867105966978852009-03-17T17:46:00.001+02:002009-03-17T17:48:14.864+02:00

SOUTH African batsman Ashwell Prince clashed heatedly with his Test teammates during a domestic match this week.Prince has just returned to the national side after missing the five past Tests.He is said to have been involved in a heated, abusive slanging match with A. B. de Villiers and Paul Harris.Prince plays for the Eastern Cape Warriors and the other pair for the Northern Titans.Prince had

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-69432415747686900392009-03-13T08:23:00.002+02:002009-03-13T08:26:17.796+02:00

"Any suggestion that players are being picked solely on comic headline potential must obviously be laughed out of court. At least until Brett Geeves is asked to carry the drinks."The Guardian

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-22572541208937698502009-01-28T10:41:00.001+02:002009-01-28T10:42:45.342+02:00

That's my boy.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-48852249324226743562008-11-25T10:41:00.002+02:002008-11-25T10:46:09.690+02:00

Clarke told General Colin Powell: “Having been attacked by al Qaeda, for us now to go bombing Iraq in response would be like our invading Mexico after the Japanese attacked us at Pearl Harbor.”Richard Clarke, quoted in the Pennsylvania Gazette

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-21857580346837661092008-11-20T15:35:00.002+02:002008-11-20T15:40:38.301+02:00

For those wanting to contact COPE, find contacts for local reps, or donate to the cause, I believe that this is the official website:http://www.congressofthepeople.org.za

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-7860827209459823962008-11-16T15:47:00.006+02:002008-11-21T14:56:08.776+02:00

THE ANC has allegedly ordered the SABC to reduce its coverage of President Kgalema Motlanthe and to stop projecting him as being so presidential, to the disadvantage of the party’s president, Jacob Zuma.City Press.Meanwhile the ANC continues its ongoing revolutionary struggle to ensure democracy and justice for all South Africans. By bussing its supporters to COPE meetings so that they can throw

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-74142200741660783232008-11-15T10:47:00.003+02:002008-11-15T11:02:50.756+02:00

Nicolas Sarkozy saved the President of Georgia from being hanged “by the balls” — a threat made last summer by Vladimir Putin, according to an account that emerged yesterday from the Élysée Palace. . . .The Russian seemed unconcerned by international reaction. “I am going to hang Saakashvili by the balls,” Mr Putin declared.Mr Sarkozy thought he had misheard. “Hang him?” — he asked.“Why not?” Mr

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-50875949820829355072008-11-13T09:59:00.005+02:002008-11-13T16:48:35.134+02:00

Here are two views on Sarah Palin. One, from George Saunders writing in the New Yorker, is laugh out loud funny. The other, from Camille Paglia writing at Salon.com, is measured, mature, educated and on Palin’s side. What a great writer Ms Paglia is.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-79325046970533317432008-11-12T09:53:00.002+02:002008-11-12T15:39:14.558+02:00

We can have a country where all citizens ARE equal before the law. We can have a country that respects its constitution.We can obey the law and charge and try those who don’t.We can have a country which says no to a fascism which threatens to kill those that disagree with it, wants to send youth to re-education camps and boasts that it will rule till Jesus returns.We can pump money and work and

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-76997907961469423952008-10-28T08:37:00.001+02:002008-10-28T08:39:10.980+02:00

Answer the calling.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-76093987976240342392008-10-10T10:14:00.002+02:002008-10-28T08:40:50.616+02:00

All citizens must be equal before the law. Including Jacob Zuma.The courts must be independent of political influence.Beware those who sing songs of death or threaten to kill people who disagree with them. They are the real enemies of South Africa.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-48384617864023557632008-10-09T17:20:00.000+02:002008-10-09T17:22:47.526+02:00

“The demand for equality before the law is enshrined both in the Freedom Charter and the constitution of the republic. But recently, our leadership has been calling for a political solution to the charges against the president of the ANC. This suggests that there is law for some and not for all South Africans — a departure from one of the vital principles of our constitution,” Lekota said.The

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-12639070612686355742008-10-08T12:05:00.001+02:002008-10-08T12:07:47.424+02:00

"We have put in place institutions of government … now there is a tirade of attacks on the courts and the judges. And there is even the demand that we must defend verdicts which suit certain individuals. If the judges are described as counter-revolutionaries … where is the comfort for the citizens of this country?""Now we are saying, no, in a particular case - of the state vs the president of the

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-7894093635597075072008-08-22T15:36:00.004+02:002008-08-22T15:59:47.669+02:00

COSAS “asked our teachers and organised a train for us to come here. But we were not well informed about the reason why we are protesting," Nomsa Mabona, pro-Zuma “protester” to a Times Reporter.This is yet another example of the fall of standards in the Rainbow Nation. In the old days, people were always told simply and clearly what they were protesting about. In fact, I’d go so far as to say

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-16457968931445542272008-08-20T11:54:00.002+02:002008-08-20T11:58:23.726+02:00

A fellow writer in the BookShed, William Spencer, made the following comment the other day:“Never have I encountered so much good writing in the service of an absence of dramatic tension. I’m fed up. I want a main character who is in crisis, who cares so damn deeply that he/she can’t see straight.”Got me thinking.Recently, for the first time in a year or so, I read a book that kept me up at night

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-28103874916057800472008-08-10T15:25:00.006+02:002008-08-17T15:10:51.093+02:00

Mozambique. It has a ring to it, that name. You enter from Mpumalanga, the Eastern Transvaal. Which is game farms and sugar cane and orchards, rich country, with touristy roadside stalls and game lodges, nestling between the escarpment and the Lebombo Mountains.At the border a man introduced himself. He looked at the third party insurance document as my wife was filling out forms.“Allied

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-87101019138372925502008-07-02T17:20:00.003+02:002008-07-02T20:15:37.093+02:00

Patricia J DeLois, reclusive author of BUFFLEHEAD SISTERS, and founder member of The BookShed, has just signed a two-book deal with Berkley Books, a Penguin imprint. DeLois will be working with editor, Jackie Cantor, whose list includes New York Times bestsellers Diana Gabaldon, John Lescroart, Eloisa James, and Hope Edelman, and Helen Fremont, author of the acclaimed memoir AFTER LONG

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-25290285983528356252008-06-29T13:46:00.002+02:002008-06-29T13:49:19.788+02:00

There is much interesting discussion on William Shakespeare in The Red Room In answer to Thomas Huynh's post, the REAL Shakespeare: Well, Thomas, what is a genius? I think the man was a working writer. Very good one. But like his friend Ben Johnson, who loved him, "this side of idolatory," I think he gains from editing. "Would he had crossed out a thousand." Lines, Ben meant. I think

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-56136570032888269812008-06-20T13:12:00.003+02:002008-07-03T11:36:00.087+02:00

This seems to be attested. And some folks are having fun with it. Here in South Africa, we have a politician who suggested that if the leader of the ruling party was tried for corruption (his partner in this corruption is already in jail by the way, which seems to suggest that said leader might just be guilty) people should kill to defend him. Maybe John McCain should join the ANCYL. Right age,

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-90972241067043040812008-06-19T16:20:00.003+02:002008-06-19T16:28:03.905+02:00

"We have noticed a distortion, misinterpretation, vulgar insults and defamatory comments which have been hurled against ANC Youth League".Malema said it was all part of a political agenda to discredit the Youth League. - The Times.This seems unnecessary, and I would urge all those involved to stop. Mr. Malema is quite capable of doing the work by himself.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-2886435319476754512008-06-18T15:34:00.002+02:002008-06-18T15:45:24.323+02:00

“The SA Human Rights Commission has given ANC Youth League president Julius Malema 14 days to retract his controversial "kill for Zuma" remark.” - The Times. This is a good thing. Mr. Malema’s remarks reminded me very much of Nat politicians in the old days. Then it was communists and terrorists. Now it’s “enemies of the revolution”. When questioned on ETV, Mr Malema said these enemies of the

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-63237101855171443932008-06-18T09:40:00.003+02:002008-06-18T09:46:14.117+02:00

Two Beavers on the Left Bank,One Dick in the Red Room, and...A Couple of Ellipses in Paris.Something is happening here, but I can't quite put my finger on it.Or them.It's a Moveable Feast.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-69888749152581919022008-06-16T12:31:00.004+02:002008-07-03T11:36:42.905+02:00

Here's a link to a little discussion on censorship in the Red Room. It arose when an earlier Red Room post of mine was tweaked.Red Room is an EXCELLENT SITE, and this post in no way denotes criticism thereof. I think South African authors interested in broadening their market should join Red Room with all haste.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-85099815641822239822008-06-03T14:09:00.006+02:002008-06-03T14:29:04.630+02:00

Have you got a book at that stage where first or second draft is down, but you can’t see the wood for the trees? You need an outside eye? An unbiased, educated response from someone who is not emotionally involved with you and the work?The BookShed awaits.The BookShed is a peer review and networking site for writers of fiction or narrative non-fiction. It welcomes genuine talent at whatever stage

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-22957619606572181002008-06-01T10:53:00.001+02:002008-06-01T10:56:56.802+02:00

Zimbabwe's army chief has told soldiers they must leave the military if they do not vote for incumbent President Robert Mugabe in next month's run-off poll. - BBC NewsSo much for democrasy.I think we must just pray for Zimbabwe.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-38179545697913725492008-05-29T08:34:00.001+02:002008-05-29T08:36:33.071+02:00

The meaning of words is important.What does the word “illegal” mean? My thesaurus offers: unlawful, dishonest, criminal. So if an immigrant is illegal, the state has an obligation to repatriate them, or to declare them refugees and process them in some other legal fashion. They cannot simply be dumped into already suffering communities.Burning people to death, whatever their origin, is also

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-86141880962930390152008-05-21T11:07:00.001+02:002008-05-21T11:10:15.840+02:00

Given that immigrants are people, and that xenophobia is another word for savage racism, I think that this information, received by SMS from the painter, Herman Niebuhr, should be publicized as much as possible:March to defend immigrants. Joburg, Saturday May 24.Gather at 9am,Marks Park, Empire Rd, near Hillbrow. Bring placards, banners, friendsetc.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-37613433484489916062008-04-15T14:07:00.003+02:002008-04-15T14:13:55.315+02:00

The snippet below is from Breaking News at the times. Interesting, because this is how the trouble in Rwanda started, with people on the radio saying, kill the cockroaches."The Media Monitoring Project Zimbabwe (MMPZ) said that over the weekend, Spot FM aired a number of "political songs" ahead of the country's coming Independence Day celebrations. One of them, "Mr Government" by Man Soul Jah,

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-23464293456548933572008-04-10T13:25:00.002+02:002008-04-10T13:45:15.602+02:00

Here's the location on the brand new Boycott Amazon group on FaceBook.You can find pointers on other ways to take action at The BookShed.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-2604013172709393562008-04-10T08:29:00.002+02:002008-04-10T08:31:18.127+02:00

Interesting to hear people who are complaining about the anti-China Olympic protesters use the above phrase. Last time I heard it was when white South Africans were complaining about the sports boycotts in the 1980s. After making a political decision that only white people could play sports, they said, “keep politics out of sport.” The phrase is as absurd now as it was then.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-61834021988877154752008-04-10T08:10:00.004+02:002008-04-10T08:29:31.097+02:00

YouWriteOn.com is taking on Amazon over its controversial decision that all Print-On-Demand (POD) books will now have to be printed through Amazon's printing company BookSurge, and Amazon’s attempts to stifle competitive book prices.You can find the full story, and learn out how to put pressure on Amazon to change their policy, at The BookShed.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-53129422302711880862008-04-05T10:09:00.001+02:002008-04-05T10:11:58.709+02:00

This could be construed as anti-Inuit, but...An Eskimo takes his car to the garage. The mechanic says 'Have you blown a seal?' and the eskimo replies 'No, that's frost on my moustache.'

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-33369052232014134372008-03-30T12:43:00.001+02:002008-03-30T12:45:40.626+02:00

The "National Lottery Committee, P O Box 1010, L70 1NL UNITED KINGDOM" want to give me 950 000.They don’t say what.Whatever they are, I don’t want them, but if you do, please contact Zonal Coordinator, Mr.Micheal Adamz, on his e-mail address: (mic_healadamz@yahoo.fr). Or try Mrs.Rose Mosa, the national co-ordinator.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-80640306164893497082008-03-28T11:09:00.004+02:002008-03-28T11:34:09.234+02:00

Writing a book, finding an agent, going into negotiations on a deal with a big publisher. What an adventure!If you want to live it vicariously, to see someone do it with style, with what Hemingway called "grace under pressure", look no further than Patricia J DeLois' blog, Pencils and Whatnot.The good folk at Litopia should really take note of how this is done.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-29521559362719723272008-03-28T10:58:00.003+02:002008-03-28T11:03:59.075+02:00

My good friend, author and playwright, Harry Kalmer, has got a new high profile blog, My Liewe Land, on the Rapport site. And I know for a fact that if Harry wrote it, it's going to be a great read.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-30001251505649685692008-03-28T08:23:00.004+02:002008-03-28T10:57:54.784+02:00

I've been thinking for some time that it would be great to have some kind of community blog for the suburb. And it seems some great minds have got there before me.As they did me the honour of inviting me, I joined the community with alacrity.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-14338908169321096422008-03-23T19:10:00.001+02:002008-03-23T19:14:06.538+02:00

Literary agent, and creator of Litopia, Peter Cox has accused the Association of Authors Agents (AAA), of being 'unprofessional and complacent'.You can read the full story at The BookShed.Where else?

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-4777651774066459552008-03-12T09:10:00.001+02:002008-03-12T09:13:18.097+02:00

When it comes to photographs Patricia J DeLois, author of Bufflehead Sisters, is as elusive as a Salinger. When I suggested that an image, even of someone else, might be useful for marketing purposes. DeLois, if only briefly, considered her friend Joan. "At one time there was talk of Joan posing as me. I first typed Buffleheads on a Mac Classic that I bought from Joan. She pointed out that the

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-81901562496287159252008-03-10T20:31:00.011+02:002008-03-12T10:33:14.657+02:00

"I find this post neither "friendly" nor amusing because it smacks of a personal vendetta you continue to have with me even though you're no long a member of Litopia. I have no idea why you've chosen to single me out and take personal affront at anything I've ever written on Litopia, but it's rather unprofessional. As editorial director for our publishing company, I critique writers - it's a

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-61228387270406780052008-03-06T11:23:00.003+02:002008-03-06T11:30:28.824+02:00

Andisiwe Makinana also picked up on the Biko extract in an interesting article in the Daily News."Like Binhoudt, Khoza was in a position of authority and was not to be questioned. He used the word in the same way Binhoudt used it on Biko. In saying, "Stop thinking like a kaffir", couldn't he be suggesting that there are people who can legitimately be referred to as kaffirs? "

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-20684712202148059902008-03-05T10:32:00.001+02:002008-03-05T10:35:56.194+02:00

I note that my recreation of the death of Steve Biko, who calls his torturers “kaffirs”, has got some interesting responses here. I continue to believe that we would do better to unpack words than ban them. If a word becomes too powerful, it is a sign that there is trouble in society, not in the word.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-39684388487487232902008-03-02T10:57:00.001+02:002008-03-02T11:06:52.799+02:00

Two BookShed writers are celebrating wins in the prestigious Arts Council England 'Book of the Year' competition.Patricia J DeLois celebrates a second victory in the adult category for 'Penguins in Amsterdam, and Dave Wardale is one of the winners in the Children's category for 'Get Santa'.Read the full story here.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6767686013279732165.post-21393192160756667492008-02-20T09:09:00.002+02:002008-02-20T09:58:21.106+02:00

An interesting remark, made by Irvin Khoza, and qouted on the South African Insult. Khoza's train of thought was not dissimilar to how I imagined Steven Biko thinking as he was murdered by apartheid police in this extract from And the Dead Watch Over Us.

James Whylehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03122517631049833720noreply@blogger.com5