The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner can carry about 250 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,400 times in 2012. If it were a Dreamliner, it would take about 6 trips to carry that many people.
Everyone has an old friend, who you can go for years without seeing, but when you finally sit down to catch up it’s like you saw them yesterday.
Listening to Pink’s new album The Truth About Love is like catching up with that old friend. We’ve been with her through coping with coming from a broken home, young rebellious party days, and a devastating break-up. So approaching this album, it was like knowing that your punky friend has now reconciled with her husband and had a baby. I wondered if becoming a mother would soften her hard-core attitude to life. It hasn’t, and I was delighted that it hadn’t.
Pink has to be one of the few great lyricists left, even though she doesn’t receive much recognition for it. She tackles the most common or even benign topics like love and heartbreak, and gives them the dirty human grittiness that makes you smile because you actually relate. The title track, The Truth About Love includes gems like “The truth about love is it’s nasty and salty, It’s the regret in the morning, it’s the smelling of armpits. It’s wings, and songs and trees, and birds. It’s all the poetry that you ever heard.”
Here Comes the Weekend is the weakest song for me. It’s as if Pink felt she had to return Eminem a favour after she appeared on his 2012 Recovery album. It didn’t fit in well with the rest of the album, and the throbbing distorted baseline actually gets a bit annoying after a while. Lyrically, it doesn’t include any of the familiarity Pink includes normally in her songs, it sounds like it could’ve been written by Ke$ha, which is not comforting. Not her best effort, but maybe she just owed Eminem.
The opening beats of Walk of Shame are old-school Pink. It’s her 2012 version of Get the Party Started. This song will be blasting from cars filled with girls going on summer holidays. If that makes you cringe, then you’re probably not Pink’s target market anyways.
For the hard-core hipster crowd, if you need Pink to prove herself as an artist, you don’t have to look further than her ballads. Pink has proved her ability to deliver goosebump-giving performances of heart-breakingly beautiful songs all throughout her career.
Over her six albums Pink has given us acoustic ballads Dear Mr President, Glitter in the Air and I Don’t Believe You. This albums offers Beam Me Up, opening with the words “There’s a whole n’other conversation going on, in a parallel universe, where nothing breaks and nothing hurts. There’s a waltz playing frozen in time. Blades of grass on tiny bare feet. I look at you and you’re looking at me.”
The acoustic guitar and violins give this song a live-feel, and really shows off Pink’s range, which she doesn’t feel the need to show off in every song like some artists (*cough cough Mariah Carey*).
Once again Pink is completely unapologetic about her rawest feelings, and allows critics and fans alike to look deep into her life.
This is a quality that makes Pink a pop star, but also a great musician. She shares when she is happy, when she is sad, when she is angry and frustrated.
I was very glad to sit down with this old friend again.
This was a video I made for Human Rights Day earlier this year- started as a Vox Pop but we quickly realised that many people didn’t actually know why we had a public holiday on the 21st of March…
Sitting in a prayer group with her eyes closed, all Nikki could do was draw on the spiritual energy of the people around her. She was so exhausted she felt she couldn’t even bring herself to experience God, the absolute worst side-effect of her disease.
“He came and picked me up. I wasn’t physically picked up- the vision was of Jesus picking me up and carrying me into God’s presence.”
She knew in that moment that she had nothing more to give, nothing to add to life, nothing left, and God was coming to carry her. She remembered a scripture, where Mary Magdalene comes to Jesus, and pours her perfume on his feet. The people around Jesus chastised him for fraternising with a known prostitute. His reply came to Nikki; ‘He who has been forgiven much, loves much’.
Nikki knew exactly what it meant. When someone saves you from a moment of absolute desperation and darkness and depression, and they are able to bring you back from that place, you will love that person with all your existence, no matter how broken it is.
But she knew in that moment, that God had taken her from a place of darkness to light.
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is an illness that leaves sufferers unable to function normally because of extreme tiredness. Sleep does not relieve symptoms and normally energy-boosting techniques like eating a healthy diet, exercising or consuming caffeine do not abate the slow, grinding fatigue.
It is a disease without one direct cause or one direct treatment. It is identified by a series of symptoms that are common in many other illnesses. The most commonly used diagnostic tool was developed in the United States in 1994 in which six symptoms must be identified. First, patients must suffer from severe chronic fatigue for at least six months that is not caused by ‘normal’ conditions such as over-exertion. Second, the fatigue must significantly affect the patient’s everyday activities and life. The third and fourth indicator can be chosen from a list of other symptoms that range from unrefreshing sleep to muscle pain.
Nikki’s illness started with a common CFS indicator of feeling “fluish”. The constant feeling of not being 100% feel often leaves patients bouncing from doctor to doctor without resolution, some treatments aggravating their fatigue even more.
“I was getting flu often, but I just tried to deal with it. My new job was very stressful, and I was having very bad headaches. I was very tired all the time. I would get a little bit better, and then get worse.”
Doctors point to stress as a reason for the constant malaise and send desperate patients away with advice to relax and get more sleep.
Because of its relatively new definition and difficult diagnosis, doctors are ill-equipped to deal with CFS sufferers, and little money has gone into researching the illness. Little research has been done in South Africa, and no statistic are available to determine the prevalence of CFS.
In the United States however, President Barack Obama has increased funding for research into CFS after a women challenged him to learn more about it at a 2011 town hall meeting in Reno, Nevada. Courtney Miller explained how CFS had debilitated her husband’s life, and asked Obama what he was doing about CFS research. A year later, CFS was moved to a priority illness at the National Institute of Health (NIH).
It is now determined that over a million Americans suffer from CFS. It was also noted in the research that CFS sufferers have a high suicide rate, believed to be related to isolation caused by an inability to function socially or work because of constant exhaustion.
The NIH also tackles the difficulties with the name of the illness. Many sufferers argue that the name implies that they are simply tired, and does not accurately describe the devastating effect the illness has on the patient’s life. NIH reports use an older, British name Myalgic Encephalomyelitis as well as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, using the abbreviation ME/CFS. Fibromyalgia is also often described and treated as the same illness as CFS in the patient community.
Nikki’s struggle to define what exactly was wrong with her led her to many of the suggested causes of CFS. In the past three years, she has seen nine different doctors who have all treated her with different medication depending on what they believed was causing her fatigue.
She went on iron tablet for anemia, was told she had an irregular heart beat and that she must “just get used to it”, she went on hydrogen peroxide drips to poison various viruses in her liver.
A homeopath used a Rife machine to pick up the frequency of viruses in her body, and the treatment left Nikki unable to sleep, walk, or even get out of bed. She was told she had to wait three months for the treatment to be effective but her rapid declined scared her and she stopped.
Nikki now believes her CFS is caused by the Rickettsia virus. Before she was ill she traveled South America and believes that she picked up her strain, a rare Rocky Mountains Spotted Fever form of the virus after working at a zoo. The virus is carried by fleas, ticks and lice, similar to other diseases which cause chronic fatigue like Lyme disease or the Epstein-Barr virus (which Nikki was also treated for).
After being failed so dramatically by the medical system, Nikki has a new perspective on western medicine.
“I think the human body is so complex, I think doctors don’t have a clue of how the body works. They have a very superficial understanding of it. They only pick up when things are very drastic- my liver isn’t functioning but on their tests I‘m fine.
They don’t know what they’re doing because all their tools are not good enough. Doctors treat the symptoms, like when I was put on sleeping tablets. I wanted to know why I was so tired, not just take a tablet. So they don’t treat the cause, they treat the symptoms.”
Nikki’s distrust of doctors is one felt throughout the CFS community. After being told that stress, flu and other common ails are causing the fatigue, many sufferers move to homeopathic and alternative medicine in the hope of finding a cure.
Less than 5% of diagnosed adults in the US recover from CFS, making it a chronic illness that has to be managed throughout a lifetime. The high suicide rates indicate that the hopelessness of the situation and the severity of the disease leave sufferers so desperate and isolated that they feel they have to take their own lives.
CFS is not well researched or catered for in South Africa. With other illness such as HIV/AIDS, TB, heart disease and obesity taking centre stage, little money and time is available for research into CFS.
The few doctors tackling CFS are overwhelmed with patients, and getting a consultation can often mean a long wait. These doctors all use different methods for treatment depending on what they think causes CFS.
Nikki, like many other sufferers, found strength in a higher power which helped her cope with the devastating effects of CFS.
“I’ve lost everything, in terms of worldly things. You lose friends, because your not putting in the effort. I lost my job and my income. I‘ve lost all that ambition and drive to do something, you lose where you were and where your were going,
“After I got married, we wanted to start having children, we moved out our house. Our marriage took such strain, I couldn’t even talk to my husband, I was just so tired.
“Everything in your life that used to bring me happiness was gone. Suddenly you have to look at your life and go, who am I, what defines me?
“I’m not defined by what I do, I’m not defined by my relationships. I’m defined by my relationship with God. Everything else is temporary and can be taken away. We all think we are invincible and that we will always be able to do all the things we want to do. And then we get sick, and suddenly we have to reassess how we view life and how we deal with it. So in that sense, this journey has been incredible, because it has forced me to think about why I am here, and what I am here for. And it has forced me to see myself through God’s eyes and not through the eyes of what the world sees as important. And it has taught me to rely on Him and only Him.”
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After the interview, Nikki added:
“Maybe I was a bit forecful on the western medicine.
Its not that I don’t think they have a clue about how the body works- I think they are limited in the sense that they can only see when things are radically wrong.. and if there is no test for something, they can’t pick it up. and I don’t think I distrust them, so to speak, I just think they are not equipped to deal with everything that people are dealing with..
I don’t want to bash the western medical field- it will just make people defensive and unable to listen to what I am saying. I want them to realise that there is lots they don;t know about the body and that there is lots more to learn… so that they invest in learning about CFS you know?
Then I wouldn’t say I have lost all the drive and ambition to do something- I have lots of ambition- just little energy to execute..”
Photo: African Photography Blog
In north-west Gauteng lies the sleepy town of Magaliesburg. The only visitors are tourists moving through to the various hotels that lie in prettier parts of the mountain and truck drivers going towards Botswana.
And then there are the people who come from all over the country, and the world, to seek advice from Salvatore Serio.
Driving down a potholed road just past the city centre, there are weather-battered petrol stations with glaring attendants, resentful to be standing outside on the rare occasion of snow in the province. After a cluster of shops advertising fairy ornaments and hot coffee, the winding road to Serio’s Healing Sanctuary begins. The trees running up the driveway look abnormally green compared to the dry cold surroundings.
This morning, Serio sits outside his consulting room, hot air rising from his mouth into the cold air as he pats the collection of dogs surrounding him.
A father-like figure
At the age of 75, Serio’s energy is that of a much younger man. His physicality is father-like, a large strong presence that fills the small rooms and offices that lead to his consultation room.
Although he has been in South Africa for more than six decades, his strong Italian accent and expressive hand gestures belie his heritage.
Serio holds intense eye-contact while he speaks and punctuates his speech with “You understand, hm?” and light jabs on your shoulder. He’s comfortable with placing his hand over your heart when talking about love, or running a finger across your head when explaining your thoughts.
His physicality is unusual in a world where touch between strangers has been made taboo, however it is not invasive or uncomfortable in any way. His frequent repetition of that overused phrase “I love you” seems so genuinely heart-felt that it is difficult not to smile and squeeze his hand back.
But the work Serio does in this quiet, peaceful place appears to be a lot more powerful than hugs and smiles. Serio’s reputation as a healer and psychic of sorts has kept him busy for the last 42 years, and he has consequently built a hospice in neighbouring Krugersdorp, an old age home, and this healing sanctuary to advance his work.
Undefinable gift
He rejects attempts to define what he does as psychic, clairvoyant or fortune-telling.
“To me, it’s nature, you understand? I want to feel you, you have an aura. So I must enter your aura, your energy. When I have your energy, I know everything. Not psychic, or you feel vibrations, because we are one people, we remove the body and we love each other so much, you understand?”
How this bubbly Italian man ended up in Africa, let alone the small town of Magaliesburg is a tale in itself.
“When I was ten, I told my mother, my wife, she is in Africa. I did come to Africa, I did meet my wife. I had never had a girl before. At the same age, hm, my wife told her friends at school that her husband was coming over from Italy.”
“We are like this, joo!” He brings his hands together and links his fingers. “You go to the right place, you meet the right person. We are 52 years married, and we are still like this,” he says, holding up his interlocked fingers.
“I remember how good it is to get some food”
Serio grew up in war-torn Italy. As the only boy in his family Serio was unable to finish his schooling as he began to work to help support his family.
“It was the best time of my life, because I remember how good it is to get some food, and now I get joy in giving other poor people food because I remember how good it is. I needed that to know.”
A turning point came when a hobo came in to his town, in need of assistance. Serio, his sister and his cousins helped wash the man with hot water. Whilst doing this, Serio saw a growth on the man’s neck.
“He had a growth here, on his neck, and I cut it off with a blade. All the rubbish came out, but then it started bleeding and the skin was hanging”
His sister and cousin told him that the old man would die and Serio would go to jail for killing the man. Serio spent the night praying that the man would be okay, and discovered in the morning that the man’s wound had completely healed.
“When I showed my mother she said ‘You have the devil inside you’. From there I knew I had to do something, but I didn’t know why when people were sick I wanted to help them, and I could help them.”
Off to Africa
It was soon after this incident that Serio was given an opportunity to come to South Africa to work on the mines. Serio proved a successful builder, a skill he had never studied formally.
Marisa Serio, his daughter, grew up with her Catholic father and Afrikaans orthodox mother. She remembers stories from when her dad ran a construction business, where he could pick up faults and problems before the quantity surveyors could work out what was wrong.
“My dad has developed a wonderful mind, where he can tap into the resources of the universe. He knows what he needs to know and applies it to what he does.”
It was this intuitive understanding of the world around it, and his ability to heal that led to him opening up the sanctuary.
Like any skill, Serio explains that what he does has taken years of practice and hard work.
His consulting room is the definition of cosy, with warm arm chairs lining the sides of the room, and a seat not unlike a doctor’s chair to lie down on when he performs Reiki. While Reiki traditionally is the manipulation of energy without touching the body, Serio moves his hands up and down your body, pushing and squeezing different parts as he goes. Like his affectionate jabs while he talks, it does not feel like an invasion of personal space. When he placed his large, soft hands over my forehead and eyes, I felt incredibly peaceful.
Spirit Guides
While describing the many portraits of spirit guides on his walls, Serio tells of an experiences that shows the very powerful work he does at the sanctuary.
A desperate mother brought her eight-year-old son, Antonio Gras, to Serio. He had cancer of the stomach.
“He was green. The doctors had told the mother, maybe one month, but they can’t help him.” He placed his hand over a scar from the treatment, and when he lifted his hand the mark had transferred onto it. He asked them to come back the next week to try to do more healing.
Serio points to a dark portrait of a pale, sombre man with dark eyes. He explains that the man’s name is Peter Angelou, and he is a spirit guide of Serio’s.
When the mother returned, her son walked into the room. “The mother tells me, that one, he came. He came in the night and said ‘I want to take the goggo out of your stomach.” Serio has a beaming smile when he tells of Antonio’s four grown children.
Seeking guidance
While extreme illness and depression are some of the more serious reasons people seek out Serio’s guidance, the everyday burdens of love, loss and hope for the future is the more common guidance people are seeking. Such personal and emotional information is shared with ease as Serio pick up issues.
Serio is against giving negative messages to people about their past or future, but prefers to tell the people to “pull yourself together” and “think right, be positive.”
“I must see the good in you, I must see the love. I mustn’t tell you bad things, because it gets more power,” says Serio sternly.
Serio’s work naturally draws criticism , especially in a town so long dominated spiritually by the Afrikaans Orthodox church, the NGK. Marissa describes growing up in such a small town where her family’s spirituality was not accepted by some parts.
“People are better now, and are more open-minded. In the beginning years, it was tough. Especially the Christian churches, and very rigid philosophies, they were very afraid of what my dad was doing. And judged it a lot without really exploring it properly. We were often rejected and judged.”
Marisa helped run the family hospice, where she came against resistance from people who were scared of her “different connection to God”.
“Our family philosophy was that this is not something we fight about, or try convince someone about. This is a way of life you find for yourself. We’d rather try to see the divinity in every body, and try to speak to that divine part.”
Marisa even quietly mentions that people from the church do come and visit Serio, and ask him to keep their visits a secret.
Spiritual community
Up the road from the sanctuary, I meet a woman named Tracey McMahone, whose own life has been changed by Serio and the healing sanctuary.
McMahone described her harsh divorce and loss of self that drew her to Serio in search of healing. Her eyes are bright and energised, and between them lies a Hindu bindi that covers a permanent bindi that McMahone tattoed on herself.
“He taught me that Tracey needs to be fed, Tracey needs to be clothed, Tracey needs to walk around with tattoos and shaved head if she wants to, and as long as she’s happy, she’s happy.”
Tracey embodies the mixed spirituality of many of the residents of this town who have come to Serio; Christianity mixed with unconventional spirituality.
Marisa explained the phenomenon as changing time in history where people were changing their conventional understandings of what it means to have a relationship with a higher power.
“There’s an awakening in humanity to realise, hey, wait a minute, this box is too small to fit God in.”
All about love
Back in Serio’s warm, cosy room, it seems that all his stories and conversations always come back to one point; love.
“My sweetheart, the reality is I have a feeling. I work for this gift. I want to touch you, I want to know what you need. But not always for a cure. You have the right to enjoy life, you have the right to be happy, you have the right to cry, you have the right to be poor, you have the right to be sick.”
“But you can change everything you want, by, you see,” he pulls my ribcage up with one hand my chest and one on my back, “you understand, hm”, he smiles, “Breathe life.”
As he waves me goodbye I notice that his middle finger on his right hand is missing from the second knuckle down.
It seems such a strangely human disfigurement on such a spiritually complete person.
A quick look at the 2012 Jo’burg Radio Days conference held at Wits University, with interviews with Anthiny Duke, James Cridland and many others!
Leigh Rodgers is a 3rd year Law student who has started her own Salsa styling studio catering specifically to women.
