It's all in the game

I read this online the other day. We all know this story. We all have to do crazy stuff like this. It is how the game works.

A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his customer, 'This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you.' The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, 'Which do you want, son?'

The boy takes the quarters and leaves the dollar. 'What did I tell you?' said the barber. 'That kid never learns!'

Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store and says ; 'Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?'

The boy licked his cone and replied, 'Because the day I take the dollar, the game's over!'

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

Feeding the soul

Art and love needs to be great. We don't want average art, or average love. But everything else though seems to be ok with average. I eat average pizza, for example. I most often wear average clothes. An average burger is devoured at least once a week. As long as it does not kill me I am ok. Yes, we do lots of things that are average. And we consume lots of average stuff.

Feeding the soul and feeding the body are very different things. When it comes to feeding the soul, then it can't be average. If we feed the soul with average stuff, then we turn into zombies ...

Story telling is an art form, and the stories we remember are the inspired ones. Average stories are not memorable. They don't feed the soul.

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

"Maybe stories are just data with a soul."

Average art is like average love. Exactly!

Love only works when it is great. Same with art. When it comes to feeding the soul, to be inspired, we need the best. Art, like love, only works when it is really great. Average love, like average art, is for the birds.

Everything else though seems to be ok with average. I eat average pizza, for example. I most often wear average clothes. An average burger is devoured at least once a week. As long as it does not kill me I am ok. Yes, we do lots of things that are average. And we consume lots of average things. Feeding the soul and feeding the body are very different things.

Story telling is an art form, and the stories we remember are the inspired ones.

I read this on the Web recently - I like the sentiment here : A photographer went to a socialite party in New York. As he entered the front door, the host said ‘I love your pictures – they’re wonderful; you must have a fantastic camera.’ He said nothing until dinner was finished, then: ‘That was a wonderful dinner; you must have a terrific stove.’ – Sam Haskins

A few thoughts here, and a strong central them: the soul.

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

Everything, er, everyone is bigger in America

I read this in the newspaper today:

Soft drinks cups labelled according to calorie and sugar content are displayed at a news conference at City Hall [there was an accompanying photo of some fast food drinks' cups labelled with sugar content, size, etc.] in New York. Under a new law proposed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg all soft drinks above 16 ounces will be banned in restaurants and stores that fall under the jurisdiction of New York City. The proposed law is a part of the mayor's Obesity Task Force initiative and is aimed at reducing obesity.

Only in America !

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

Material !

In 10 days time the Material movie comes out on DVD here in SA ... we can't wait !!!

The DVD is packed with cool new, well, er, material. And also, from the 18th of June the movie will be available on Box Office on DSTV.

The Black South-Easter film is taking shape - we are seeing an assembly next week. And, the Sleeper's Wake movie will be premiered at the Durban Film Festival next month.

Our East/West script is being worked on, day and night, by the master, Craig. Towards the end of next month a first draft script will be delivered to me.

Very exciting times ahead, and a lot of nail biting tension.

Please help spread the word - the Material movie is magical, and this DVD should be a must have collector's item.

On the 19th of June we are showing the film to an important lady who is visiting from Toronto on behalf of the TIFF. This is a big milestone - please God luck is on our side.

Posted by Ronnie Apteker

Threats in Europe by John Cleese

This was too good not to share:

John Cleese - British writer, actor and tall person says:

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent events in Syria and have therefore raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved." Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross." The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out. Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance." The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots have raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Get the Bastards." They don't have any other levels. This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide." The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender." The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France 's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability.

Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing." Two more levels remain: "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides."

The Germans have increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs." They also have two higher levels: "Invade a Neighbour" and "Lose."

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual; the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Australia , meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No worries" to "She'll be alright, Mate." Two more escalation levels remain: "Crikey! I think we may have to cancel the barbie this weekend!" and "The barbie is cancelled." So far no situation has ever warranted use of the last final escalation level.

A final thought - "Greece is collapsing, the Iranians are getting aggressive, and Rome is in disarray. Welcome back to 430 BC."

Posted by Ronnie Apteker