The Ghost House - Erasmus Castle, Pretoria

The Erasmus Castle is commonly known as The Ghost House or Die Spookhuis was completed in 1903. It was the inspiration of Jochemus and Johanna Erasmus. The castle - which would feel quite at home in Transylvania - was designed by Dutch architect Van Der Benn. The Italian builder, Monte Bello used mostly imported materials to complete the house.

Jochemus had made some money from the gold rush at the end of the nineteenth century, and the family lived a flambuoyant lifestyle, hosting extravagent concerts and dances. The family's fortuned changed during the Great Depression and the castle fell into disrepair. Looking eerie in its dillapidated condition, the castle was used in the 1950 film Hier's Ons Weer.
Armscor later purchased and restored the house, but the original family are said to still be in residence in rather ghostly form.

Advantages of the recession

The seventies TV series 'The Waltons' shamelessly romanticised the Great Depression. The family as depicted by the narrator John-Boy was poor but happy. It was the family, their warmth and family unity that mattered. Who wouldn't be nostalgic for these wonderful times? But the schmaltzy portrayal of hard times contained an element of truth - there are really aome advantages of a recession.

A recession provides a dose of reality and perhaps a return to basic values.

The generation of the early twenty-first century is spoilt. Its members are accustomed to getting what they want when they want. Unlimited credit has made it all possible. Parents of young children have forgotten how to say NO.

The ever deepening global recession has changed all that. Cash-strapped parents are being forced to turn down demands for the latest Play Station, Ipod or quad bike. But instead of feeling guilty, these parents can feel good. Their children will manage very well without the latest technological toys and their possesions will acquire value.

Perhaps this will herald a return to traditional outdoor children's games. The transformation of children's play into sedentary activities has been a major cause of low-muscle tone and related perceptual problems. Children thrive when there are limits. For the first time in many years parents are once again learning how to say no. Saying no builds a sense of value.

Endless credit made it possible to get almost anything we wanted. But the novelty of each new purchase soon wore off, replaced by the craving for the next, and the next ....

During the recession times are tough. Each buying decision must be weighed up with care. Our things are beginning to acquire value.

The rampant materialism that has gripped our culture has driven many to taking on a second and even a third job. These were necessary to finance all of the 'necessities' of the age. It was all done for the family. The recession has put an end to the third job, the second job and perhaps the day job. At last there is time to spend with the family.

The recession helps us to discover that not everything worthwhile requires cash! A picnic on the banks of the river with a cool breeze caressing your skin is about as good as it gets. What can be better than sharing a bottle of ice cold Sauvignon Blanc on the beach at sunset? Sometimes the best things in life are free.

Take-out fast food became one of the curses of the age. Obesity has spread like wildfire as millions became overweight. Many have forgotten the pleasure of good home cooked food. One of the greatest benefits of the recession is that we are forced to eat good, wholesome home cooked meals. There is no going back!

Someone once said that a person is rich when he is content with what he has. Perhaps the single greatest advantage of the recession is the return to real values to value what is important, the people that we love and share our lives.

Songs with great opening lines

Words are flying out like
endless rain into a paper cup
They slither while they pass
They slip away across the universe

Lennon, McCartney - Across the Universe.

The Beatles provide a prime example of how the opening words of a song can help to capture our attention. Across the Universe illustrates something about us that many are unable to change. Whatever is happening elsewhere "nothing's gonna change my world".

It is often the opening lines of a song that grab our attention and define the music.

Rock and roll had not been famous for great lyrics. It was the rhythm, the beat that was all important. But all this was about to change.

As the "underground" flower power movement gathered strength, so the music and songs of the era grew in stature. The hippie culture was not just about drugs, but about expanding consciousness and awareness, seeking solutions to world issues from war to love to pollution. While there was always room for silly love songs, songwriters explored a range of issues, some political, many relating to the human condition. The words were no longer secondary to the beat but often reached the highest literary standards.

Bob Dylan exemplified this in his use of words. The Times They are a Changing is an early example of Dylan's exploration of language:

Come gather round people wherever you roam
And admit that the waters around you have grown
And accept it that soon you'll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you is worth saving
Then you'd better start swimming or you'll sink like a stone
For the times, they are a changing

The opening lines of Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone again illustrate the skilled use of words to express a personal view:

Once upon a time you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime in your prime, didn't you?
People'd call, say, beware doll, you're bound to fall
You thought they were all kiddin' you

Consider the opening lines of Just Life a Woman:

Nobody feels any pain
Tonight as I stand inside the rain
Everybody knows
That baby's got new clothes
But lately I see her ribbons and her bows
Have fallen from her curls

Bob Dylan's early works were often concerned with real political issues. The opening lines of Only a Pawn in their Game are an excellent example of powerful words to describe a social issue:

A bullet from the back of a bush took Medgar Evers' blood
A finger fired the trigger to his name
A handle hid out in the dark
A hand set the spark
Two eyes took the aim
Behind a man's brain
But he can't be blamed
He's only a pawn in their game

Dylan's lyrics became more abstract - perhaps even obscure - as the sixties took their toll, but he returned to similar themes when confronted with injustice during the seventies. Hurricane is a prime example:

Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night
Enter patty valentine from the upper hall.
She sees the bartender in a pool of blood,

Cries out, my god, they killed them all!

As Dylan became more and more influential in the music of the day, song lyrics gained in importance. The stars of the day were inspired to stretch themselves to explore the human experience, thoughts and emotions. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones became primary examples of this.

The Rolling Stones' Jumping Jack Flash (Jagger, Richards)
opens with the words

I was born in a cross-fire hurricane
And I howled at my ma in the driving rain,
But it's all right now, in fact, its a gas!
But it's all right. I'm jumpin' jack flash,
It's a gas! gas! gas!

Dramatic and visual, the words catch the listener's immediate attention. Jagger and Richards used a similar approach in Sympathy with the Devil:

Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a mans soul and faith

A song tells a story. Describing the hippie dream, Ruby Tuesday opens with:

She would never say where she came from
Yesterday don't matter if it's gone
While the sun is bright
Or in the darkest night
No one knows
She comes and goes

The Beatles' landmark album Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ended with a powerful song A Day in the Life. Over the years, the song's words have be interpreted and re-interpreted.

I read the news today oh, boy
About a lucky man who made the grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well, I just had to laugh
I saw the photograph

The sixties was a time when music became a means of expression. Singer-songwriters became true poets. None less so than Leonard Cohen:

Like a bird on the wire,
Like a drunk in a midnight choir
I have tried in my way to be free

Like Dylan, Cohen's work focuses on the human condition. Using a narrative format, The Partisan describes the life of a partisan during the Second World War. The song brings the experience close to us.

When they poured across the border
I was cautioned to surrender,
this I could not do;
I took my gun and vanished.
I have changed my name so often,
I've lost my wife and children
but I have many friends,
and some of them are with me

Pop music is not generally known for great lyrics, but these examples provide evidence that the medium can lend itself to some very profound and meaningful thoughts, ideas and true literary genius.

Karl Marx and his theory of alienation: How it can be applied to modern society

Amongst Karl Marx's earliest writings is a piece about alienation. The concept, developed by Marx is the subject of much interest in sociological discussions relating to the human condition and our relationship to society and the workplace.

Many theorists have distinguished Karl Marx's theory of alienation from his later work. The theory was produced before Marx's epistemological break.

There is a fundamental distinction between this work, and the later work where Marx had developed his own theories about the nature of capitalism and socio-economic development. Other argue that alienation is a theme that permeates all of Karl Marx's work including Das Capital.

The influence of Feuerbach and Hegel in Marx's thinking is quite evident in the theory of alienation. What Feuerbach and Hegel attribute to the spiritual world, Marx translates into the material world. Marx was aware that Hegel saw only the positive side of labour. It was up to him to draw attention to the negative side.

In Marx's view, alienation is a symptom of the industrial age and of capitalism. A worker on a production line sees only the part of the work that he is involved with. He has no knowledge or control over the final product that is produced and sold. Man specifically the workman has no relationship with the goods that he is producing. He is alienated from his own labour. He works purely for the money. There is no satisfaction in the work that he does.

By contrast a craftsman such as a traditional shoe-maker is involved in every aspect of the production process. He may even make shoes for a specific individual. He will select the leather, measure the feet, and lovingly make the pair of shoes. He is proud of his work and enjoys handing over the finished goods to the new owner. Contrast that to the worker in a shoe factory. In all probability, he is involved in only one part of the production process. He rarely gets to see the whole shoe and never sees the people that buy the shoes. The skill or craftsmanship required to produce the shoes is almost gone.

The commoditisation of goods has led to increasing levels of alienation. Alienation may extend towards alienation from family, other people and society as a whole.

Marx sees alienation as the separation of a person from his essence his true nature. This alienation is a cause of some concern.

There are some disturbing and ever increasing trends in modern society. These are manifested by the exception rather than the rule.

School shootings and killings were unheard of a number of years ago. But they have become more common-place today and instances of this have occurred around the world. The level of suicides is high. Suicide is the ultimate result of alienation. An individual feels so alienated from society and himself that he resorts to taking his own life.

Drug and alcohol abuse are also symptomatic of the age.

Compulsive shopping and gambling are common. Antidepressants are prescribed to about half the adult population!

All of these are symptoms or manifestations of alienation in our modern society. While conditions and production processes in the workplace have generally improved, work is still something that is largely depersonalised. People are alienated from their essential being and from society. This alienation leads to all sorts of asocial behaviour and to a breakdown of social norms and values.

In modern society we are still able to compare the traditional shoemaker or tailor to the factory worker that produces the mass produced versions of these. The former is personally involved in the work. He knows fully what he is producing and even for whom. The latter is simply a cog in the machine or as Pink Floyd put it - only a brick in the wall.

Karl Marx's theory of alienation applies as much as ever to our modern era. Goods have become commodities. They have become depersonalised. The worker in a large corporation has little control over what happens in the company, in what is produced and how, or in how much he can expect to earn. The worker himself has become a mere commodity or a resource that is used to achieve production.

Have you chosen the wrong career?

One of the signs of midlife crisis is the sudden realisation that you're in the wrong career. You realise that the work is meaningless and that you are wasting your life away. What you really wanted to do was ...

One of our most difficult life choices is choosing a career. The choice is difficult because it has to be made before you know what the career really entails. It is a little like selecting your life partner from a catalogue. Compounding this is that fact that the choice is made at a very young age.

The lucky few school leavers that already know what they want are able to focus on their career choice, but many people don't really choose a career at all. They leave school and find a job. Their career chooses them.

There are also some highly qualified professionals that feel that they are in the wrong type of work. They were pressured by family to do medicine, law or accountancy.

These are two scenarios based on real people. Only their names have been changed. Dr Toad retired at age 65. His parents had forced him into medicine and he became a General Practitioner. He never enjoyed it. He welcomed retirement. He had always wanted to be an accountant.

John Lesse qualified as a dentist. His practice was very busy and he earned a lot of money. He bought properties and businesses, but was never happy. He hated spending his day gazing into patients' mouths. One day he chanced upon some research that revealed that a higher proportion of dentists committed suicide than members of any other occupation. That was the deciding point. John did not want to become another statistic and decided to change course. He sold his practice and joined the world of Information Technology as a beginner. The dentistry money has all gone, but John is happy.

How do we know that we are in the wrong career? In the right career you look forward to spending the day at work, you are stimulated and rewarded and learn something new every day.
When in the wrong career work becomes a curse.

Some of the signs that you are in the wrong career are:

• You have to force yourself to get up in the morning to get to work.
• You spend your days wishing away the time until the next weekend, the next holiday or retirement.
• You find yourself avoiding your work as much as you can.

The effects of being in the wrong career can be quite devastating. With no enjoyment in what you do, life becomes very stressful. The standard of your work may drop and your reputation becomes at risk. Many people experience this phenomenon. Work has become a daily grind, something has has to be endured. High levels of stress result in a lowering of the auto-immune system and health problems may ensue.

The option to change career is the obvious solution but few have the courage to change career in mid-life. Those that do are often successful in their new-found roles, but many struggle to find employment in their newly chosen role. The business world does not make it easy to change. Recruitment specialists want experience. Who wants a 40 year old trainee?

There is a classic belief that if you do what you are passionate about you will succeed. The successful musician that does what she loves and gets paid to do it is the classic example. But success does not always result in material reward. The world and history is full of such stories. Vincent van Gogh sold one painting in his short life. He lived in poverty. While he may have succeeded artistically, he certainly failed financially. Many would have told him to change his career.

Sometimes the right career is wrong simply because it is unable to produce the kind of rewards required. Some change course simply to improve their financial status.

There are times when it is not the career that is wrong but the attitude of the subject.
If you are able to change your career for something that you really want to do, then go ahead. But if the financial sacrifice is too great, then an attitude change can work wonders.

Perhaps a change in attitude could solve the problem of being in the wrong career. When you have made the wrong choice then the best option is to do everything you can to make the most of that option.

Life is too short to waste time pondering on what might have been.

Gambling and desperation

Desperate times can lead to desperate measures. Selling your household goods and precious valuables for money is a sign of desperation.

Joel arrived at the casino in the early evening after work. He found his way to a blackjack table and cashed in $500 for chips. He began playing. His luck was good and within an hour his chips were piled high on the table. His bets had risen from $50 to $1000 - the table maximum.

Joel felt elated. Every hand resulted in another win. With bets on three boxes, Joel had been dealt good cards.

Now the dealer was showing a ten, but this didn't worry Joel. When the dealer drew an ace, Joel lost the hand. He shrugged this off. He was having a wonderful run, and the odd win by the house was not a problem. Joel lost the next hand and the next. Not to worry, his luck would return.

The pile of chips became small. The last few chips would enable him to win everything back. But before he knew it everything was gone.

Back to the auto-bank to draw more money and Joel returned to the table. Soon, this too was gone.

Joel knew that he had to recover the money that he had lost. There was the rent to pay, the electricity bill - and of course he would need money to buy food.

Joel was desperate. He drove home and returned with the television set. The pawn shop was located conveniently next to the casino and was open 24 hours a day. The television set brought only a few dollars, but he was in with a chance. It would be retrieved as soon as Joel had won all his money back.

The next few weeks became very stressful for Joel. Money to pay the bills had become a problem. The bad runs at the casino had left him without the means to live and it seemed as if the only way out was at the tables.

One item after another disappeared from his apartment as goods were pawned or sold to give him a chance at the big win.
When all of his own resources were exhausted, he turned to his parents. What kind of parents would allow their son to sink?

With fresh money it was back to the casino. His next win would allow him to buy back all of his possessions. He would buy a huge gift for his parents. Joel's fortunes at the blackjack table went up and down. The occasional win was offset by heavy losses. Everything was gone.

One more act of desperation followed. Joel sold his mother's diamond engagement ring. It was a valuable piece that she had inherited from her mother. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

Joel was desperate.

Bob Dylan's Together Through Life - album review

Bob Dylan's latest album 'Together Through Life' rose straight to the top of both the US and UK album charts on its release. The sales reflect the strength of Dylan's fan base for whom the singer, songwriter and lyricist can do no wrong.
Together Through Life is Bob Dylan's 33rd album. At the age of 68 his voice sounds gravely. The album is a collection of ten tracks, all rooted in the blues. The opening track 'Beyond Here Lies Nothin' was written for a forthcoming film by French director Oliver Dahan. This is one of the strongest tracks on the album along with the closing song 'Its all Good'. Much of the album has a laid back and relaxed feel to it
Dylan still has the ability to put words together and to include humour and sarcasm in his songs. I have taken some time to listen to the album and have concluded that the the album is good. Repeated listening confirms this - rather than growing stale too quickly the songs improve with familiarity.
I certainly prefer Together Through Life to its predecessors 'Modern Times' and 'Love and Theft'.
While giving credit where it is due, the album is no masterpiece. It lacks the richness and variety of 'Desire', 'Blood on the Tracks' or 'Blonde on Blonde'. Dylan is still able to write and perform. But the inspiration is gone. The Dylan of thirty and forty years ago was truly inspired. Together Through Life is listenable and enjoyable but it is no masterpiece.
It would be interesting to find out who is buying Dylan's latest offerings. Are the buyers primarily baby-boomer generation Dylan devotees or is there a significant representation of the younger generation that is surprisingly familiar with the music of the sixties and seventies?