The Casual Observer

Report back on the Five Assegaais Hike in August 2014

By Dean McCleland in Hiking, Personal 24 August 2014 1 Comment

Deterred by blustery winds and icy cold conditions combined with a huge dollop of lassitude meant a truncated hike. Unlike the Quo Vadis Hiking Club of yore where despite the inclement weather or raging floods, the members would embark upon a hike with alacrity, it would not so be on this occasion. Never in the annals of the Club did I believe that such lassitude would prevail.

Never before could the Quo Vadis have been accused of disinclination to get up let alone hike. The disinterest was palpable on Saturday morning. Everybody procrastinated. With an icy blustery wind scything through the huts, nobody dared to rise. Even though my sleeping bag was rated to minus five, I was shivering. I dozed fitfully aware of the cold at all times. Having endured an uncomfortable night when I would awake every few hours due to the penetrating cold, I was not over enamoured to get moving. Inertia pervaded us all.

Final Photographs of some Famous Icons

By Dean McCleland in Historical 19 August 2014 1 Comment

In most of these cases there was no indication that these famous people would be dead within days if not hours if these photos being taken. In some cases the debauched lifestyle of the icon such as an Amy Winehouse predisposed them to a premature exit to the afterlife whereas for others such as John Lennon their demise was untimely and unpredictable.

Most were sadly mourned including the mass murderer Adolf Hitler but some more than others. Each in their own way left an indelible mark on history.

In the main photo above, John Lennon former Beatle and prolific song writer is shown signing an autograph for Mark David Chapman who is also shown. Chapman who returned a few hours later to Lennon’s apartment, shot and killed Lennon who was returning home with Yoko Ono.

Was the English Idyll of Yore a Myth?

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Opinion Pieces 18 August 2014 0 Comment

Does the romantisised imagery of verdant fields, sylvan lined cobbled streets and stone walled meadows belie the real England obscured beneath such idealistic mythology?

Being an avid reader of history and subscriber to history magazines such as the BBC History Magazine, I possess a smidgeon of an insight into the medieval world. The error that ordinary people make when they conjure up visions of the “good old days” is that they extrapolate what the Tudor reign would be like by means of picture postcards of the English countryside idyll of half a century ago.

The Week in Mzanzi’s Politics: 15th August 2014

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Opinion Pieces 16 August 2014 0 Comment

A tongue-in-the-cheek look at this week’s political events that mattered. The author has taken slight literary licence with the facts but only 10% are claimed to be exaggerations of the truth. As stranger things have happened, even that portion may well represent reality.

As the old adage goes, a week in politics is like an eternity. Undeniably the reason for this maxim is that the unexpected frequently occurs transforming yesterday’s hero into today’s enfant terrible. Such was this week.

Sublime pictures of the Lunar Perigee on 10th August 2014

By Dean McCleland in Other Galleries 14 August 2014 0 Comment

In astrological terms the phenomenon of the moon being simultaneously full whilst at its perigee ie its nearest point to earth is known as a supermoon. In scientific terms it is known as the perigee-syzygy of the earth-moon-sun system. This makes the moon appear to be 14% larger and 30% brighter than it usually is.

This selection of photographs from across the world illustrates the sublime almost too-perfect images contained in this blog.

Vicissitudes of Time

By Dean McCleland in Inspirational, Other Opinion Pieces, Running 13 August 2014 0 Comment

The arrow of time operates in only one direction: into the future. Like sands in an hourglass, they flow relentlessly ever onwards waiting for no one. Shouldn’t we be embracing it and utilising it as if it were precious before it is too late, like in all these examples, where with the inexorable passage of time, it has slipped from our grasp, never to be regained.

Three is not Necessarily a Crowd

By Dean McCleland in Animals 12 August 2014 2 Comments

Examples from nature where a threesome does not have a negative connotation. Of course going out as a threesome could result in all kinds of tense situations but not if the relationship is platonic.

Shocking Images of the Israeli-Gaza Conflict

By Dean McCleland in Historical, History, Military History 9 August 2014 0 Comment

These shocking images illustrate not only the destruction of property in Gaza but also the impact upon the people who reside there. These images are both graphic and disturbing and highlight the futility of war.

As this war is unlikley to resolve any of the underlying issues driving this tension, this battle will be proceeded by yet more wars as the cycle of violence never abates. Hatreds based upon religion, dispossession and culture are indubitably intractable and not subject to facile solutions.

Is the South African Civil Service capable of Delivering?

By Dean McCleland in Current Affairs, Opinion Pieces 9 August 2014 0 Comment

Anecdotal evidence suggests that, if anything, standards have plummeted. The consequence is that the Middle Classes and the rich folks no longer rely on the government to provide for their needs. In reality in some instances, the situation is far worse.

The Letters to the Editor’s Columns are replete with copious articles deploring the abysmal or non-existent service that they are receiving from one or more of the state departments or parastatals.

Like most people, I have become inured to the host of horror stories and skip such articles as they are now so commonplace. Alternatively we have ourselves have been subjected to appalling service and stopped caring or complaining. Like most people when a situation is immutable, they just want to get on with our lives. That is the centuries-old societal coping mechanism.

More Pictues of Adrenalin Junkies at Play

By Dean McCleland in Other Galleries 8 August 2014 0 Comment

Imagine being rock climber Alex Honnold as he sits on a ledge on the Northwest Face of Half Dome in Yosemite National Park. He literally has the space to himself with nobody else there to interrupt him as he espies the world. Perhaps his pulse will be racing so fast from the adrenalin rush that he will be on his own induced high. No need for my a stiff drink. In fact the opposite is true. On needs a clear head to focus on the ever-present danger that lurks for entrap the unwary adventure seeker