The Art Of Listening

It really is an art, you know.
I grew up with a special kind of love for a good debate. Irrespective of topic, it's the one time when my skills of persuasion really shine through. If I've learned anything about debating in all the years that I've had the opportunity to be involved in one, it's that the best and most effective of debaters are those who listen more than they speak.

This is a fact. Allowing our opponents to ramble on also allows them to ramble into a wall, and a good debater will seize that opportunity to close his argument.

I watched two people on Twitter engage each other earlier today on a political issue, and it was the purest lesson on human weakness. I've always respected them both for their strong opinions, and their passion in expressing those opinions irrespective of opposing views. However, today the debate got so intense that they allowed their ego's to overshadow what could have been an amazing learning experience.
Suddenly you realize that the strong facade portrayed on Twitter masks a very weak and insecure character behind those tweets in reality.
I suppose this is true of most anybody on Twitter, myself included. I just wish people wouldn't allow themselves to lose control of their emotions on a social networking platform as easily as some obviously do.
Remember Nonhle Thema ?

These are some of the things I have learned and cherished over time:
* Never allow anger to be the driver of your tongue.
* Raise your argument, not your voice.
* Always maintain your composure.
* Even when opinions differ, mutual respect must never be negotiable.
* There are times when your silence makes a stronger argument than your words ever could.
* God gave you two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you speak.

I guess these words are apt not only in the debating arena, but also in everyday life.
As guys we like to think that we are good listeners, but are we really?

Sometimes I find myself at the supermarket picking up milk, bread and toilet roll, because that's what I think I heard the missus say I should remember to buy.
Then I get home and realize she's on holiday in Durban and never really asked me to bring anything back at all.

You Say The Tweetest Things

I always knew that I have lots to say on any given day. Some may even call me opiniated. Yes, I have an opinion and I'm not afraid to voice it. I'm like Donkey in Shrek. I have layers. Like an onion. I make people cry. Like donkeys. Yes, I have an opinion that's full of layers and makes people cry like donkeys.

So when Twitter came along, it seemed like the perfect marriage. My opinions, and a platform to voice them. Now I'm not one of those people that get thrilled by follower counts on Twitter. On my blog, yes. Because reading the blog means you had to take the effort to click a link and actually want to read something I've written in more than 140 characters.
On Twitter, I'm pretty much in-your-face with constant random tweets that you can only get away from if you unfollow me. Clearly there's around 850 people who think I'm worth following on Twitter.

Imagine my surprise when I started hearing my Tweets mentioned on my favourite radio station, 5FM!
It started with Gareth Cliff early one morning, and then Grant and Anele, and then Sasha Martinengo who I ended up speaking to on air, and finally DJ Fresh who's now mentioned me a few times on his slot.

You know people liked what you said on Twitter when they retweet it so often, you end up becoming a Trending Topic. That happened today.
I got a message from a follower saying "Dude! @kaloo5 is a Trending Topic . Bloody well done!"

Today I got an interesting message from one of my Twitter followers who demanded, yes demanded to know why I haven't yet done stand-up comedy.
Honestly, it's something I would totally enjoy and I'm pretty sure I'd be a half-decent comedian, but I'm also sure I'm not very adapt at dodging tomato's. Not just yet.

Until then, my friends and followers will just have to put up with me on Facebook and Twitter @kaloo5

Happy tweeting!

The Story Of Irma & Tiffany

There's these two awesomely cool and amazingly funny tweeple I follow on Twitter, and this is the story of how they met.

Irma (@irma_murray) and Tiffany (@jislaaikit) had been out partying in and amongst the same circle of friends without having known each other at the time.
Now I may get some or all of the facts wrong here, and I may even make some up as I go along, but Wikipedia calls this Poetic Licence and I sprinkle it about like rice at a Chinese wedding :) So bare with me here folks.

Anyways, sometime during this night of epic debauchery and random awesomeness, Tiffany ended up at Irma's place and was intending to get a ride home. It was just the two of them, as the song goes.
As I understand it, before they left Irma's place, Tiffany needed to use the loo.
Twenty minutes later and with no sign of Tiffany, Irma was starting to think that the chloroform air-freshener she had sprayed in the loo earlier may not have been such a great idea after all.
Tip-toeing toward the Porcelain Palace, imagine her surprise when she opened the door to find it empty and devoid of Tiffanyness!
A quick once-over of the ingredients of the Hunters Dry she held in her hand confirmed that the alcohol content was too small to induce delusion or epileptic drunkenness. She turned and headed toward the bedroom, more out of curiosity than from a belief that she would find the lost party therein. She already had Missing Persons on speed-dial, John Edwards from Crossing Over on the landline, and The Psychic Network on Google, so she knew she had all her bases covered for any eventualities.

She reached the bedroom and with timid hands, silently and slowly began turning the knob. With the door now open just wide enough to fit an un-permed head through the crack, she peeped into the bedroom and was greeted by the sleeping form of Tiffany, cuddling a pillow in the foetal position and looking like a splash of   rainbow that had broken away from a rainy sky and spread itself across her white linen sheets.
She stood there breathless and in awe. Never before had her bed looked so inviting.
She did what any rational and normal person would do given the circumstances.
She hopped into bed and snuggled up next to Tiffany :)

Today, Irma and Tiffany are happily engaged and have no idea when they were formally introduced.
(Hey, I did say I use Poetic Licence like rice at a Chinese wedding, didn't I? ;)

Ok, so you're probably wondering what the car in the pic has to do with this story, right?
Well, I have no idea.

But something tell's me that it will feature in Part Two of this Trilogy: The Running Of The @KerriBowie , followed by the final chapter, The Silence Of The @chef-lamb

Watch this space!