Windows

On a recent (this afternoon, in fact) road trip with a friend, I noticed something. As we were driving down the N1, I noticed (in between bouts of fearing for my life) that very few people actually look around them when they drive. When I say this, I don't mean in a way that will cause an accident, I mean that most people just stare straight ahead of them without looking out the windows, and those who did, had vacant expressions, like they were given a strong dose of morphine.

This got me thinking for reasons I still cant figure out. I noticed that sometimes at school, it works the same. People stare at their feet or straight at the classroom they need to get to. People are so focused on getting where they need to be as fast as possible that they don't realize that they're missing out on some of the best scenery life has to offer. Now, I know I'm not the first one to make this observation, and I think this is actually a very cliche idea, but it still has to be said. Or rather, I need to give my view, how ever uninteresting it might be.

I have a very deep fear of becoming one of those people. I have a fear of being blinded by the tar road that stretches ahead of me. I have a fear of being caught up in the sight of the window rather than what's beyond it. I have a fear of being too focused.

Let's face it, its good to be focused. We would never get anything done if we weren't. And if drivers weren't focused, South Africa's (and the world's) death toll would be a helluva lot higher. Focus is a good thing. Most times. Other times, its an all-consuming thing that leads to stress, insomnia and burn-out. That's why its good to unwind.

Now, I'm not saying that drivers should not look ahead of them when driving, just don't be consumed by the road ahead. Be consumed in where you are at that very moment. Be consumed be the bush you just drove passed or by what might be waiting on the horizon. Take in the absolute beauty around you and not the monotony of the tarred road in front and behind you. Trust me, its not going anywhere. Unless you take a wrong turn and wind up on a gravel road in the middle of nowhere. I take no responsibility for that. Seriously do yourself a favor and take a look around next time. And don't be caught staring at the window instead of out of it. That makes you just as bad as the people who look straight ahead.

Naturally, I voiced this to my friend. His reply was typical of him, and also what's going through your mind right now.
"Dude, jou kop raas."

Andy Irons 1978 - 2010

I know this post is over a moth late, but unfortunately I was otherwise occupied with things that sucked up all my creative energy and I'm only now (slowly) beginning to get it back.

This post is about a surfer, one of my favourites. 3 time ASP World Champion Andy Irons, or AI. He was one of the best competitive surfers of this generation and is still considered to be Kelly Slater's biggest rival. At the age of 32, his life was cut short. On November 2 last year, AI was competing in the Rip Curl Pro in Puerto Rico when he started feeling ill and withdrew himself. He passed away in a Texas hotel room on his way home to Hawaii. A paddle out was held in Puerto Rico and a service was held in Hawaii on November 14, where his wife Lyndie, who was pregnant with their first child at the time of his death, and brother Bruce scattered his ashes in Kauai. His wife gave birth to their son, Andy Axel Irons on December 8, the opening day of the Billabong Pipeline Masters in Memory of Andy Irons. AI was a truely amazing surfer and person who will forever be in the hearts of his family, friends and fans. The great Maximus once said "What we do in life, echoes in eternity." Andy's life will echo forever in the beautiful waves of Kauai, his home.

AI Memorial video with some very wise words. seriously, do yourself a favour and check it out.

AI Memorial

"You ever heard of being kissed by God? Cause that's pretty much what it is. It's the closest thing you can feel as if being kissed by God."

Around The World Isn't Too Far

This is the last one for the night, I promise. This is one I wrote quite a while ago, and I've been thinking of some of the lyrics a lot lately. Hope you enjoy it.

I know you never thought I'd go
And leave you here alone
December air is gone forever
I'm missing us together

So now the road will catch my tears
And hold me in it's arms
It teaches me to be without you
It teaches me to miss you

There's been nothing worse than this drive
I see your eyes as the stars in the sky
So many  words being left unsaid
This pen is starting to fall behind

Can you see me through the window?
Have you bothered to clean the glass?
Distance never seemed to hurt you
It always seemed to follow you

And all of the things that I wanted to say
It's all been set aside till I see you again
These pages can't hold my thoughts nor your hand
And the tears that I cried will be falling again

This car seems to be going the opposite way
Of the highway I take to see you again
Nothing beats the comfort of your voice

Speed up time
These days go by so slowly
The road home is never-ending

Slow down time
I'll savour the comfort of your arms
And the love you show with your eyes

I'm missing you

Please

This is another one with no real reason behind it. Also not really about anything.

The earth is slowly turning
With each new day we're learning
So much still left for us to see
The whispered words of lovers
Float in the sky above us
Why should we let them slip away

Wherever sound could last a thousand years
A single light could change the world
So lets sing out together

Please be the one that won't leave me
I'll never let you down
Please belive that whenever you need me
I'll always be around
Please

A choir of angels singing
Behind every new beginning
Let's try again to get it right

I wish you could last another thousand years
The stars and moon will lift you high
There's nothing left to wonder

Please be the one that won't leave me
I'll never let you down
Please belive that whenever you need me
I'll always be around
Please

Let Go

In a recent bout of madness I decided to go through all my old poems and stuff, some dating back to 2008. Now, I know I'm nowhere remotley close to ever being called a poet, but I was even less so in '08. Maybe if you ask nicely, I'll put some of them up. This one however, only dates back to May of 2010, and was written for reasons I still don't quite know. Hope you dig it.

I wanna walk beside you
But the wind's too heavy
Now I'm trying to find you
And the road is long

I'm on a dried up river
Beside a broken down Levy
I've got nothing left to give you
But a lonesome song

I'm just a litle bit worn out
Just a little bit bitter
I gotta let my guard down
I gotta loosen my grip

I hear these voices
They don't sound familiar
They're making all these choices
Taking all these trips

If I hold you tonight
I may not let go

Now it's come a long way
And my heart feels older
And I feel that shiver
Runnin' down my spine

And the ground is frozen
The air is colder
But my heart is open
Beating out of time

Show me a place that I can hide
Tell me you'll see me tonight

The old train keeps rolling
Nowhere bound
I can hear the whistle blowing
Such a lonely sound

And if I hold you tonight
I may not let go

I may not let go

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari

I'm not really one for silent films, but I love a good creepy thriller. This one, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (or Das Kabinet des Dr. Caligari in the origional German) is both, and was one of the first. Filmed in 1920 and directed by the legendary Robert Wiene, it is one of the most influential German Expressionist films and is considered one of the greatest horror movies of the silent era and many consider it to be the first proper horror ever made. It paved the way for the so-called 'brain melting' and 'what is reality?' films such as Inception and Shutter Island. It is also cited as having introduced the twist ending into the world of cinema.

The plot is relativley simple, in a small town of Holstenwall, a man named Francis tells a story of how, at a fair, his best friend Alan and his fiance Jane meet Dr. Caligari and his somnumbulist (sleepwalker), Cesare, who can predict the future. Cesare reveals to Alan that he only has until dawn to live. The prediction proves true when Alan is found murderd. Cesare becomes the prime suspect and then abducts Jane before dying of exhaustion from running from the townspeople. Dr. Caligari returns to a mental asylum, where the truth is revealed. Though the film isn't very scary and the production quality not too good, I can guarantee you that if you were watching this in 1920 (or in the middle of the night with all the lights off alone at home as I did) you'd be pretty damn freaked out, especially when Cesare opens his eyes. The film itself is presented  in flashback form, also one of the first films to do this. It stars Werner Krauss, the legendary silent movie actor with over 120 - yes, really - films to his name, as Dr. Caligary and Conrad Veidt as Cesare. If this movie is something that sparked your intrest, you can watch it here,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrg73UBxJRI

Other mentionable silent horror movies are:

• Le Manoir du Diable (or Devil's Manor, also considered one of the first horror movies, 1896)
• Frankenstein (1910)
• The Student of Prague (1913)
• The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920)
• Häxan (1922)
• The Hands of Orlac (1924)
• Waxworks (1924, also featuring both Krauss and Viedt)
• The Monster (1925)
• The Unknown (1927)
• The Cat and The Canary (1927, second only to Dr. Caligari in my view)

All of these movies are available for veiwing on Yutube. This will be my last post on silent horror movies. I promise.

Untitled

Granted a lot of my stuff is "Untitled" but in this case it fits the story.

"Ek sit hier op die lang pad soos so veel kere van tevore en iewers langs die highway het ek my beste pel verloor" - Karen Zoid.

The hazy yellow outline of the fields on either side of the road are kind of a comfort. The fields themselves tough serve two purposes. Firstly, it captivates whoever drives along this road by its absolute beauty. Secondly, it serves as a reminder of how empty something can be.

This is what goes through my mind as I slowly make my way along this old, broken road. I’ve made this drive countless times before, but always with some sort of purpose and almost always with someone sitting in the seat next to me. Now however, its only me, a single bag in the backseat and just under 100 kilometers of open road where I know from experience I’ll pass nothing and no one, apart from the odd tortoise.

The wind blowing in from the open window feels warm. Odd, considering the time of year. The almost bare trees and the orange-yellow light remind me of this. Autumn. A season I’d always liked, but now I’m not so sure.

I glance again at the empty seat next to me, remembering the events that led to this moment. The memories are almost overpowering. You’d think I’d be used to this by now, but it doesn’t feel like a year. It feels like an eternity.

I remember the first time I made this drive with you. The first time we drove over that hill and the sight took your breath away, though you tried not to show it. In that instant you saw what I’d always wanted to show you. You saw the one place that meant everything to me and in that moment, you understood why.

As I see that hill in my memories now, I feel my foot press down a little harder on the accelerator. After almost fifteen years the beauty of that town still captivates me, though I haven’t been back in a long time.

As I pulled over at the beach, you asked me how one place could mean so much to me, though I knew you already understood. You were always the closed one, but I saw that you were slowly, finally letting down your walls. As you got out of the car I saw the world in your eyes. Those emeralds that stared down into my very soul and heard everything I’ve never been able to say. When you looked at the beach for the first time, at the waves breaking in the sunshine, you didn’t think anything would surprise you. When you looked back at me, you were at a loss for words. I remember the look on your face. Your smile. Suddenly, neither the mountains nor the beach held my attention.
Now it was my turn to be speechless.

Lost in the memory, I almost miss the turn-off. Barely a moment later, that familiar pothole notifies me that I don’t have that far to go. Smiling silently, I put my hand out the window to feel the warm wind. This old road never changes.


As I finally near the hill, I feel myself suck in a deep breath. As the car nears the top, I grip the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turn white. Suddenly the car reaches the top and the age old-town is laid out before me.
A few minutes later, I find myself winding through the familiar streets. Autumn has reared its ugly head here, too. Leaves scatter the empty streets. The old, run-down petrol station still bares the faded ‘welcome’ sign and the liquor store is still right next to the church. It’s a comfort to know that some things never change.

I don’t even realize that I’ve stopped until the locals’ faces stay the same. Some wave at the car as they recognize it. A few of them remember me. I smile and wave back as I get out of the car and start walking toward the beach.

As I get to the railing, I slow down and reach for it. Suddenly, as I feel the cold metal under my palm,  a thousand memories come flooding back. As a smile spreads slowly across my face, the wind the wind picks up and gently plays with my hair. I smile wider as I feel you all around me and hear your voice in the breaking waves.

This was the one place I could always go. For comfort. For peace. For rest. I’m happy to know now that it’s the same for you.