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Breaking the law
Dear Sirs
The letter with heading ‘No truck with bad drivers’ in your Oct/Nov ’18 issue refers.
Below is a photo taken in October 2018 travelling northward on the N1, just south of Bloemfontein. Two trucks were overtaking a ‘slower’ truck – I was travelling at 120km/h had to slow down and move into the concrete V-channel on the left to stay clear of the oncoming trouble. The fastest truck on the left of the photo was flashing its lights for me to get out of the way.
Saddest of all is that a Police bakkie was driving immediately behind the ‘slow’ truck on the left – without blinking an eye to stop this hazard! That is visible policing at it’s saddest!
– Hannes Kotze, Cape Town
Ed’s Note: It must have been horrifying! And surely one of the worst of such incidents. That there was a police vehicle right behind these dangerous drivers makes it even worse. SANRAL is not involved in law enforcement on the roads it builds, but we will make sure that our Eastern Region, which includes the Free State, will bring this to the attention of the relevant authorities.
Paper backer
Dear Sirs
Got Hello Limpopo at Carousel Toll Plaza on my way to RAL’s [Roads Agency Limpopo] annual general meeting in Modimolle. And By The Way for good measure.
Thanks. Kinda still like crinkle of paper.
– Makgwathane Mothapo, via email
Hot for teachers
Dear Sirs
I received a copy of BTW (Aug\Sep) edition at a toll plaza on the way to Limpopo and I liked the content. We currently have 250 learners on a Technical Support and System Support learnership and we are doing Module 1 and 2 in the following three weeks. These modules include Communication and Mathematical Literacy.
By The Way lends itself so well to the curriculum, with the crossword puzzle at the end, that I want to include it in our schedule.
Thank you once again.
– Nadine Olivier, via email
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In this issue |
3 |
Dieselit’s time to let go |
4 |
YES to skills developmentOur most important task in 2019 is to upskill and employ our youth – our future depends on it |
7 |
More interesting than a HamletDid you know there are more things to see along our national routes than are dreamt of in your philosophy? |
11 |
Other voicesWhy not sample some stories from outside your normal reading? |
12 |
Did you know?Of course you didn’t! Take a squizz through a listicle designed to make your dinner party conversation more interesting |
22 |
Your second brainTrusting your gut involves taking care of it. Here’s a primer… |
Samurai Jack (Season 5)
Who could forget the moment Samurai Jack exploded onto the small screen? A moody animated series that dealt with themes that seemed far too grown up for children’s TV.
Conceived by animator extraodinaire Genndy Tartakovsky, Jack is an ancient samurai who is dealt a devastating blow when Aku, the evil shapeshifting spirit he is fighting, casts him through a time portal into a dystopian future where Aku’s word is law. This future is populated by strange beings and even stranger robotic societies, mercenaries and criminals. The series premiered in 2001 and has since won eight Primetime Emmy Awards and been nominated for more.
Jack’s mission in each episode is to find another time portal to take him back home to deal the killing blow that will destroy Aku before he takes over the world. Tartakovsky’s brilliance lies in the moody, stylised, cinematic quality of each scene, rendering any screen still from any episode a visual masterpiece fit for printing and framing.
Then, as mysteriously as this cult classic appeared, the series ended in 2004, without ever concluding the story. Samurai Jack seemed trapped forever in evil future of Aku, having, by Season 4, run out of time portals through which to return to his own era.
Finally 12 years later, Tartakovsky delivered a very adult Samurai Jack Season 5, which is available on Showmax. This time, there’s no fooling around with PG ratings. Season 5 has all of the moody brilliance fans of the series fell in love with, but the story is much, much darker. We find Jack in the opening episode having lost hope, direction, honour and, it turns out, his grip on sanity. Where has our Zen hero gone? How will he fight if he no longer believes? And, for that matter, where is his magic sword?
Prepare to binge.
