Monday Musings 27 November: Hatching happiness: How backyard chicken-keeping gave me back my zen
Honestly, life already felt like a chicken run – kids, work, repeat. I didn’t have a minute to spare. Yet, in a moment of sheer madness, I decided to get chickens for my garden. And, let me tell you, falling in love with these mother cluckers was the best thing I didn’t know I needed. […]
Monday Musings 20 November: Where does your melodic time machine transport you?
Music has a funny way of worming its melodic tendrils deep into the crevices of our minds, stirring up memories and emotions we’d long since forgotten. A bit like your oldest friend who knows exactly which strings to pull to tug at your heartstrings, whisking you away to corners of your memories, some dustier than […]
Monday Musings 13 November: Why watching ads is the marketing superpower you never knew you needed
Raise your hand if you’re a serial binge watcher. I definitely am. But as I listened to a recent Marketing Against the Grain podcast episode, I realised how much I missed TV commercials. In their episode “5 Marketing Lessons from the Best Ads of 2023,” they made me nostalgic for the days when ad breaks […]
Monday Musings 6 November: Neither here nor there, but right where we should be
Ah, November – the Malcolm in the Middle of months. South Africa is fresh off the 2023 Rugby World Cup victory, while homes and stores alike are deciding when to transition from Halloween to yuletide decorations. Which begs the question: what is November’s claim to fame? Is it the forgotten middle child of the calendar […]
Monday Musings 30 October: In rugby, we share backward. In unity, we move forward.
Image credit: Flickr Government ZA It’s probably the wrong time to admit this, but I’m not that into rugby. I don’t really understand the rules. I cheer at the screen at random times in the hope I get it right, but I’m never quite sure. I’m like this little dude. And, although I’ve been told […]
Monday Musings 23 October: Juggling 101
You don’t have to be all things to all people. I love these 10 words. They serve as a mantra when I’m overwhelmed and stretched out like a sticky rubber band trying to please everyone and on the verge of snapping. I’m certainly not the only one who feels this tension. It’s in no small […]
Monday Musings 16 October 2023: The future of writers – according to ChatGPT
The recent Writers Guild of America strike cast a spotlight on the future of all writers, not only the scribes ensconced in Hollywood. Among the central issues were concerns about redundancy and exploitation. In their usual contractual negotiations that take place every three years, writers had asked studios not to use AI-generated scripts but the […]
Monday Musings 9 October: Is the canary in the coalmine as dead as a dodo?
Some people may not know what this title means. And that is exactly the point. In a recent conversation with a friend, who was brainstorming some ideas for a conservation campaign, she was suggesting something along the lines of “Stop the fat lady from singing…” My response, “Not sure that’s PC these days? And does […]
Monday Musings 2 October: Musing on our search for meaning
What ARE we searching for? For now, scrap looking for the car keys or the answer to your existential crisis. We’re talking about those questions we pose to man’s other best friend – Google. Heard of Google Trends? Not only is it a nifty research tool for the serious stuff (work and, like, life stuff), […]
Tuesday Takeaway 26 September: Embracing Home and Heritage
Heritage Day had me thinking about that ‘grass is greener’ feeling I think all South Africans feel every time Eskom flips that switch. We wonder if there’s a (literally) brighter future awaiting us in a faraway land. And more and more of us are turning the wondering into wandering – packing our bags and starting […]
